Democrat Craig Schley, Endorsed by Republican Party And Dominican-American Community Leaders
Dear friends and supporters,
I am a Democrat, always was and always will be. But I fight every day to represent everyone in this district - Democrats, Independent and Republicans - a job the other candidates are not willing to do. This is why I have just accepted the endorsement by the Republican Party. A number of important Dominican-American community leaders endorsed me as well and our coalition is growing. But these are just first steps.
Now, lets win the Democratic Primary on June 26 together!
Your candidate,
Craig Schley
Press ReleaseNew York, NY - Last weekend Democrat Craig Schley’s campaign against Rep. Charles Rangel and New York State Sen. Adriano Espaillat scored big victories and began the promise of unifying the new 13th Congressional District. One endorsement comes from a large number of Dominican-Americans in the district which poses a big blow to Espaillat who is Dominican himself. Another comes from a party that had previously cross-endorsed Charles Rangel six times, the Republican Party, who now sees Schley as a unifying force in the new District.These endorsements follow support from prominent black community leaders such as Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated central park joggers who is a community leader and activist and supports Schley’s platform, especially ending Stop and Frisk; Anivil Barrett, President of the Veteran Action Group of Harlem, who sees Schley as the only candidate capable of representing veteransandthe diverse needs of the people in the district; and Papa Sette Drame, President of the Association of Senegalese in America, who represents a new community in the district and strongly supports Schley’s idea of strengthening the 116th Streetbusinesses in the district.“I am humbled by this show of support. I am truly honored by the people in this community who are willing to abandon the status quo, which has not worked, and instead stand together to improve our neighborhoods, our district and our nation,” said Schley. “I am proud that my campaign is delivering on President Obama’s dream to unify our country to solve our problems, not divide it. The policies we are proposing are in stark contrast to policies of those in power in this district today. United we make the difference.”“We are endorsing Craig Schley because he has proven that his interests lie in helping ALL the residents of this district. He fought the City Planning Commission and the City Council when they tried to displace 71 local small businesses because he knew it was the right thing to do,” explains Dominican Leader Francisco Spies, who ran for City Council in the Washington Heights in 2009. “If his commitment to all the residents of the 13th district is this strong as a citizen, just imagine what he can accomplish for us as our next Congressman.”“Craig Schley represents a new generation of black leadership who considers everyone,” says Yusef Salaam. “He is a new generation of leader who has proven himself in community activism, who has pushed for all cultures and leads by example. He will protect our older residents, but also bring a new sense of opportunity and access to our new and younger residents that our present leaders have failed to do.”Dominican leaders who recently endorsed Schley’s campaign include: Francisco Spies,a NYC Human Resources Administration caseworker who ran for City Councilman in the Washington Heights in 2009; Nelson Polanco, a Dominican Republic community leader for the last 15 years; Vinicio Taveraz, a former Ambassador of the Dominican Republic; Juan Espinal, a former NYPD and current Congressional Candidate in the Dominican Republic and; Miguel Cruz, a Democratic Judicial Delegate.
In 2007, Schley founded the Voices of the Everyday People (VOTE People), a human rights advocacy organization that works to manifest the needs and intent of the people of communities in which policy and legal reform is proposed. On behalf of the community, VOTE People, recently sued Mayor Micheal Bloomberg, the City Planning Commission, and the entire City Council for rezoning Harlem’s cultural center to stop the displacement of residentsand 71 local small businesses in and around 125th Street. Schley has also publicly opposed the expansion of Columbia University for parallel reasons. Schley has worked to bring people together during these critical times of rapid development in Harlem and the displacement of 100,000 long standing loved neighbors and businesses in the past 10 years. In addition to opposing unfair land use proposals, he serves his immediate neighbors as president of the West 123rd Street Residents’ Association.Schley was an active board member of the Harlem Educational Program in association with Columbia University Teachers College, a former Firemen and SCUBA rescuer, and the Harlem YMCA Youth and Government program as their Assistant Director. He is also a New York University Dean List Honors graduate.
