Brenda McPhail and Allen Fisher speak with a resident of Renwick Street about pledging to vote next month.
By Nancy Peckenham
The November general election is just two weeks ago and this Saturday members of the neighborhood activist group Community Voices Heard, backed by members of the hospital workers union 1199, went door-to-door in the city of Newburgh to remind residents to vote.
CVH member Brenda McPhail says that she is not canvassing the neighborhood on behalf of any party or candidate, but to tell people that if they don’t vote they are not part of the solution. “It’s not about Republican or Democrat,” she explained as she prepared to go out with voter registration forms and pamphlets listing the candidates in next month’s election. “It’s about who’s going to do what is right.”
CVH member Darleen Griffin explains how the group is trying to reach its goal of canvassing 500 voters before November 8th.
CHV began canvassing neighborhoods in the summer and got pledges from 300 people before the primary election in September. The group’s goal is to reach a total of 500 voters by election day.
Rae Leiner, an organizer with the group, said that only one in ten eligible voters in the city actually cast their votes in most elections. In the 2010 general election, New York State had the lowest voter turnout of any state, according to data from George Mason University.
As they made their way up Renwick Street Saturday afternoon, Brenda and her colleague Allen Fisher knocked on doors and, when they found a registered voter at home, asked them to sign a pledge card that they will vote on November 8th. Some adults encountered said they weren’t eligible to vote because of their immigration status and others seemed unaware that an election is approaching. But Rae Leiner said the group is committed to its goal of getting the word out to make sure that “people know about the power of the vote and their power to take action in their community.”
Charter Commission to Explain Changes to Be Voted on in November
Community Voices Heard is also trying to get the word out about the historic changes proposed for the Newburgh city charter that would allow residents to vote for their city council representative based on a ward system and a change that would change how the city manager is hired and overseen. CVH will host a presentation by the City of Newburgh Charter Review Commission on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 7 pm at the Ritz Theater, Safe Harbors of the Hudson, at 111 Broadway.
Also, the Commission will be at the October 27, 2011 Citizens Advisory Committee meeting at 7 pm at the Activity Center, 401 Washington Street.
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