AGENCY TESTIMONY
Overview of the racial justice ballot measures
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95 sec
Sherman provides an overview of the groundbreaking racial justice ballot measures passed in 2022, highlighting their focus on shifting the direction of government towards racial equity and justice.
- Introduces three core values: justly valuing all talents and contributions, ensuring conditions for thriving, and embracing vigilance, remedy, and reconstruction
- Emphasizes the measures' focus on systemic change rather than addressing single issues
- Discusses the opportunity to rethink and reshape how the city serves New Yorkers
Sideya Sherman
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And with that said, I'm pleased to update the council.
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As highlighted in my testimony before the council last September, the new preamble of the city charter introduces a groundbreaking set of foundational values designed to guide the operation of city remain and inform and shape how the city carries out its do duties, obligations, and authorities.
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This preamble cast a vision for a multiracial democracy where we affirm that diversity is our strength, acknowledge the harms of the past, and boldly commit to building an equitable future for all.
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The preamble urges us urges governments uphold 3 core values that we justly value all talents and distributions that we ensure the conditions of thriving for every person and embrace vigilance, remedy, and reconstruction.
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In crafting these ballot proposals, the former racial justice commission spent months engaging the public in examining the root causes of inequity.
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From our perspective, 3 the 3 resulting proposals were decidedly focused on shifting the direction of government rather than addressing any single issue area.
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With that charge, we have oriented our work around these foundational values and the broader vision of our city for example, presenting a monumental opportunity for us as public servants to rethink and reshape how we serve New York workers.
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As MOERJ leads implementation of these new charter amendments, we endeavor to translate these values into actionable measures, ultimately in institutionalizing progress across agencies and establishing new norms within city government.