Primary Night Speech
Gustavo Rivera
September 14, 2010
Thank you! Thank you very much!
Ladies and Gentlemen, we did it!
Tonight, the people of the Northwest Bronx have spoken. They've sent a clear message that will echo all across New York State:
WE WANT OUR GOVERNMENT BACK, AND WE WON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!
For far too long our community has been ill-served by a corrupt politics. We've been the brunt of jokes and the object of ridicule. Well Tonight you had a choice. You had a choice between progress or patronage. You had a choice between honest policy or the politics of "me." You had a choice between ethics or indictments.
Tonight, I am here to report that the people of the Bronx made the right choice!
You showed the rest of New York that we can end politics as usual, that we can stand up to powerful interests, and we can make a difference by working and sticking together.
Tonight you've started a movement that will reverberate from Fordham Road to Fulton County, from East Tremont to Irondequoit, from Kingsbridge and Riverdale to Kinderhook and Rensselaer.
It's a movement that says loud and clear to the people who think they control Albany: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. YOU WORK FOR US. AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FORGET IT!
Throughout this campaign, we knocked on thousands of doors and asked you not to lose hope or succumb to cynicism about those seeking to serve you.
We asked you to imagine an Albany without coups, corrupt lobbyists, and backroom deals.
We asked you to imagine schools that weren't overcrowded, and parks and streets that are safe for your kids to enjoy.
We asked you to imagine a community where tenants won't have to fear homelessness because their rent laws are being written by wealthy landlords.
And we asked you to vote for a state senator that won't lie to you or steal from you, that won't enrich his family and friends by placing them on the government payroll, that won't break the very laws he has sworn to uphold.
We asked the people of the Northwest Bronx to imagine all of these things and reject the corrupt politics of division and personal gain. And tonight, the answer we've gotten back is a resounding
YES. Le preguntamos a la gente del Noroeste del Bronx si se podían imaginarse todo eso y nos dijeron en voz alta: ¡Claro que SI!
YES TO CLEANING UP ALBANY.
YES TO RESTORING TRUST IN GOVERNMENT.
YES TO CREATING JOBS.
YES TO IMPROVING OUR SCHOOLS.
YES TO MAKING HOUSING AFFORDABLE AND HEALTH CARE ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL .
YES TO RETURNING POWER TO WHERE IT RIGHTFULLY BELONGS - WITH THE PEOPLE!!
This victory belongs to so many people, so please indulge me while I take a moment to give them a shout out. The first people I want to thank are my parents, who are not here this evening. They are not here this evening, they are back in Puerto Rico. I would not be a moral man, I would not be an ethical man, I would not be an honest man, if it was not for my mother and my father, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I want to start by thanking my friends and supporters Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter and Dan Padernacht. I thank them for joining our campaign and helping to unite our communities for the reform and change we need.
I WANT TO THANK MY CAMPAIGN STAFF AND ALL OF THE VOLUNTEERS WHO HAVE SPENT DAY AFTER DAY, NIGHT AFTER NIGHT KNOCKING ON DOORS, CALLING ON THE PHONES, GATHERING PETITIONS, AND TODAY, PROTECTING OUR VOTE.
State Senator Liz Krueger
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz
Senator Eric Schneiderman
Former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer
Reverend Al Sharpton
Former Mayor Ed Koch
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio
City Comptroller John Liu
Former City Comptroller Bill Thompson
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer
Former State Comptroller Carl McCall
Assemblymember Adriano Espaillat
Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz
Assemblymember Daniel O'Donnell
Councilmember Fernando Cabrera
Councilmember Margaret Chin
Councilmember Daniel Dromm
Councilmember Daniel Garodnick
Councilmember Robert Jackson
Councilmember Oliver Koppell
Councilmember Brad Lander
Councilmember Jessica Lappin
Councilmember Annabel Palma
Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer
Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito
Councilmember Jumaane Williams
Unions
1199 Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union 32BJ
Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU
New York State United Teachers
United Federation of Teachers
Professional Staff Congress
Council of School Supervisors and Administrators
TWU - Local 100
Hotel and Motel Trades Council
Laborer's International Union of America - Local 78 & 79
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500
RWDSU
Communication Workers of America Local 1180
Building and Construction Trades Council
Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers Local 1
Plumber Local 1
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3
District Council Painters Local 9
Central Labor Council
Freelancers Union
DC 1707
Organization of Staff Analysts
International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 12
Machinists
UAW - Region 9
Musicians Local 802
Organizations
Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club
Tenants PAC
Make the Road New York Action Fund
Educational Justice Political Action Committee
504 Democratic Club
Planned Parenthood
Citizen Union
Citizen Action
Stonewall Democratic Club
Jim Owles Democratic Club
New Roosevelt Initiative
And to all the members of the Working Families Party - I am so proud to have your endorsement and thrilled to be running on the Working Families Party line in November.
You know there is a phrase in Spanish: Dime con quien andas, y te dire quien eres. For those "spanishly" challenged, that means: tell me whom you walk with and I will tell you who you are. These are the people I walk with. YOU are the people I walk with - and that tells you all you need to know about me.
My grandmother had a saying: "God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason: you should listen twice as much as you speak." That is what this campaign is about, and that is what PUBLIC SERVICE is about. It's about listening. Listening to the concerns and needs of the community, and working together to find solutions to problems. No public official can do it alone. No public servant worth his salt should tell you otherwise.
If I should become your Senator this November, I won't stop listening to you - the doors to my offices will always be open. I will commit myself to working as hard as I can to solving our problems collectively. I will commit myself to being accountable to you. I won't earn your trust - I am going to EARN YOUR TRUST.
And together we're going to restore greatness to the Bronx!!!
Thank you everyone!
