To the editor:

If you’re a Democrat and a consistent voter, you’ve probably received close to 100 notices about the primary election this Tuesday. Between campaign mailers, election board info and interested people like us, that’s no exaggeration.

If you are also busy, you’ve tossed most of them without reading (we have too) and probably don’t know much about the races (that’s where we may be different).

If you are like the vast majority of voters, you’re still not planning to vote on Tuesday. This election is a one-off, scheduled after redistricting issues arose. Most voters have other things on their mind.

We’re asking you to vote anyway. Here’s why, and for whom.

Why: There are only two races on the ballot: one for our Democratic state senator and one for our Democratic congressional representative. With so much about government in disarray, those two offices have never been as important. The state senate race, in particular, represents one of the last lines of defense for democracy. In most years, that would be hyperbole. In 2022, it’s not.

Turnout Tuesday is expected to be historically low. As few as 20,000 people are likely to vote. The odds that one vote will make a difference have perhaps never been higher for N.Y. offices representing so many constituents.

Who: We are supporting Nathalia Fernandez for state senate, and Vedat Gashi for Congress.

This is normally where we’d list the complimentary reasons these are our candidates. But the fact is: all the candidates say they care about the economy, voting access, a woman’s right to choose, education, racial justice, climate change—the headline issues. They all list political backgrounds and promise to Fight! For! You! We trust they all mean it. No wonder people don’t know who to vote for and might end up not voting.

But the candidates aren’t all the same. And as is often the case with hiring decisions, a lot of the qualifications are intangible. Effectiveness is a hard word to quantify, especially publically. In vetting the candidates, we’ve concluded Fernandez and Gashi will best represent us and advance the values Democrats share. Local politicians we admire, including Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, former Rep. Nita Lowey and Westchester County Executive George Latimer (Fernandez/no endorsement in the House primary race), plus a long list of others have reached the same conclusion.

Some people are framing these races as progressive versus conservative Democrats. The truth of that depends on definitions. If you believe, for instance, that Joe Biden was a conservative candidate in 2020, you probably don’t share our views. If you believe he was the progressive candidate, because he was the one who could win—well, we do too.

Please: don’t leave this important race for other people to decide. On Tuesday, make the time to vote for Nathalia Fernandez and Vedat Gashi.

Marin Zielinski

60 First Street

along with:

Bill Bassell

Kristen and Sid Burke

Greg Breskin

Linda Carlozzi

John Cavelli

Kate Carpenter

Joe Marty

Mariette Morrissey

Dana Thayer

Zoe  Klein Henriquez

Kate Pringle