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TESTIMONY
Testimony by Randy Peers, President and CEO of Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, on supporting open primaries as an unaffiliated voter
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Randy Peers, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, testifies in support of open primaries, identifying himself as a disenfranchised, unaffiliated voter since 2017. He believes open primaries will strengthen democracy by enfranchising over one million unaffiliated voters in New York City and electing leaders who reflect majority opinions.
Peers argues that open primaries will lead to greater voter participation and make general elections more meaningful in New York City.
Randy Peers
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Good afternoon.
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My name is Randy Pierce, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, largest chamber in New York state.
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In my current role, I am fortunate to interact with all levels of government on a regular basis.
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And I've had the pleasure to get to know personally many elected officials over the course of my thirty years as a professional in the workforce and economic development space.
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I've seen many good public servants during my time, and I've also witnessed others fall from grace for various different reasons.
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I'm also the face of a disenfranchised voter, having been registered unaffiliated since 2017.
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Given my intimate knowledge of and interactions with the political system in New York City, you may be wondering why I would deliberately choose to disenfranchise myself by not registering in a party.
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Simply put, I'm registered unaffiliate because that's truly where my politics lie, personally holding opinions across the ideological spectrum.
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So when I say I support open primaries primaries, it's very much because I care about democracy itself and truly believe that enfranchising the over 1,000,000 unaffiliated voters in New York City will produce better results.
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Open primaries will strengthen democracy by helping elect leaders that truly reflected majority opinions in the city.
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In fact, we already have open primaries called special elections.
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Open primaries will not only lead to greater voter participation overall, but general elections will also now actually matter in New York City.
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It's worth noting that 24 of the 30 largest cities in America have open primaries, and the results have been exceptional, increasing voter participation and expanding choices.
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Over that time, primaries have led to encouraging more people to step up and run for office given the fact that the playing field is more equal.
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In fact, combined with ranked choice voting and public financing of campaigns, New York City has the potential to once again lead the nation in expanding democracy and voter rights.
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As we see an unraveling of democratic institutions national level, now is the time to act decisively in defense of more democracy, not less.
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I urge the Charter Commission to include open primaries recommendation on the ballot this year.
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Thank you.