Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sidharth Ghoshal on the moral imperative to allow a vote on open primaries
4:08:04
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178 sec
Sidharth Ghoshal, a resident of Queens, testifies with passion, begging the commission to put the question of open primaries on the ballot.
As an independent, he says he has never had a chance to raise his voice in a primary.
He refutes the arguments made against the proposal, stating that it's "a little sad" that powerful people have said untrue things, like the idea that political parties would cease to exist or that a marginal improvement isn't worth it.
- Ghoshal urges the commission to let the people vote on open primaries.
- He pushes back against the argument that open primaries would destroy political parties.
- He argues that even a marginal improvement in voter turnout makes the reform worthwhile.
- He wants to be able to tell his children that he saw the commission do something remarkable by giving New Yorkers the right to vote on this issue.
Maria Danzilo
4:08:04
Good evening, and thank you to the chair and the commission for the opportunity to be heard.
4:08:08
My name is Maria Danzolo, and I'm executive director of the good government group, One City Rising.
4:08:13
We're a bipartisan group of thousands of members across the five boroughs, Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters.
4:08:20
This is my third time testifying on the need for open primaries.
4:08:23
We're talking about a ballot initiative to give voters the right to decide whether to franchise the million plus independent voters, including 700,000 veterans.
4:08:34
I'm disappointed in so much of the testimony earlier tonight against this good government reform that has been years in the making.
4:08:41
I fully support without reservation your proposal to franchise these million plus free thinkers in New York City.
4:08:49
My strong support for open primaries comes out of my experience two times as a candidate running in a party primary and by running a good government group these past five years.
4:08:59
In both elections, I spent months actually talking to voters on the ground.
4:09:03
I came out of my first campaign in 2021 clear about one thing, we must have open primaries.
4:09:09
I was in the trenches running for office and saw with my own eyes how the system was unfair and not inclusive.
4:09:16
I met many people who could not vote even though they really wanted to only because they were not registered in a party.
4:09:23
This included many people of diverse backgrounds reflecting the districts where I ran and their reasons for not wanting to vote or to to register in a party were very personal to them, and I didn't feel it was my business to tell them that they should, you know, register in a party just to be able to vote.
4:09:40
In a closed primary, as someone not supported by one of the big parties, I really didn't have a chance in the party primary system against an entrenched incumbent supported by large special interests.
4:09:52
I am concerned about some of the earlier testimony from elected officials in particular that somehow this open primaries movement is politically motivated by recent events.
4:10:02
This is a false narrative about the good government open primaries movement.
4:10:06
We cannot keep these 1,000,000 plus independent, free thinking, disenfranchised voters, including over 700,000 veterans, out of our system.
4:10:15
I find it concerning that any elected leader would defend a system that is not inclusive of every voter in New York City.
4:10:22
Why would anyone try to stop this commission's work of letting the voters decide whether we should franchise every voter in New York City at this particular moment?
4:10:31
In the recent election, the candidate who won the Democratic primary was by less than 11% of registered voters.
4:10:38
I don't think that's democracy.
4:10:40
Independents are the fastest growing segments of voters, especially young voters, and, they they really, should not be, out of the, voting system, and they should not be forced to join a party.
4:10:54
Freedom of association is a constitutional right, and that includes the right not to be forced to associate with any particular party.
4:11:01
Thank you very much.