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10/21/96:		 The Rev. Al Sharpton's filing as a candidate in the upcoming New York City mayoral election has created an enormous amount of controversy. Many view his candidacy as a threat to the African-American base presently enjoyed by the New York City Democrats. Others applaud his efforts, believing that the Democrats have taken the African-American vote for granted too long.

Would Sharpton be more effective by working to implement change from within the Democratic Party? Or is he right to use the present political environment to initiate a third, predominately Black, political presence?



Name: Paul Roth
Email: paulroth@tiac.net
Response: Al Sharpton needs a web site to define his vision and his pragmatic solutions as well as an e-mail reponse and distribution system. Next he needs to define his priorities for the budget in terms of what is the current funding levels and what funding levels he feels would better meet the needs of the people. There is a 32 billion dollar budget for NYC as well as additional public budget items outside of the City's budget process. Living wage issue. If the starbuck coffee company can provide its part time employees with health benefits, the City must match this. If the city had less contract workers and more merit based civil service employees The local impact would be greater. Workfare should be converted into part time jobs at a living wage. The main problem with the police dept is that the Mollen commission recommendations would not solve the brutality and excessive force problem. If the police are to be professional they must be required to act professionally. This should be done by requiring them to purchase professional liabilty insurace for malpractice and malfeasance claims. The PBA et al could form a mutual insurance company to provide the coverage. Part of the cost to be paid out of union run welfare fund and part to be paid by payroll deduction. %0 percent of claims costs paid by the City should be paid by insurance policy as well as direct defense judgement costs against indviduals. As the with auto insurance, the more probllems you create, the higher the insurance costs like with auto insurance. To support local community needs the budget allocation to council members should significantly increase (several fold over four years) The police dept needs to reorganized to eliminate the regional task forces or the precents should be consolidated into these task forces. Community control of police functions requires only one operational group per geographic area. I hope others will present positive radical ideas that can be used by a visionary Al Sharpton. If you know how to get this to the campaign, please do so.


Name: Hal Bartlett
Email: hal@texas.net
Response: First: Rev. Sharpton has a constitutional right to run for office. He should recieved the respect as any other opponent running. The controversy about his past actions. While I am white, 51 year old male. Blacks have only began make changes for the injustices suffered against Blacks. There has been less violance from blacks compared to the shameful violance and murder and torture against blacks for decades. Any intelligent white person has no probllem living and supporting blacks or any other race. We are not talking about crime that exist with all races. We are talking about the K.K.K and all the murder and only in the last few years the truth brought out in movies, documentarys, pictures, history. Oh My God, Oh My God, Free At Last. But A Hell Of A Long Way To Go. I watch as past and any present peaceful black marchs for equal rights. And watch the low life white idiots throwing rocks, shouting nigger, and it is uaually a bunch of cross eyed white trash, undereducated fools that carry on this action. You never see any normal people out their or any busnessmen in suits and ties. (excluding all of the past politicians and police and elected officials from the southern areas that brutally murdered blacks. The old back of the bus, stand off the sidewalk when a white walk by, and on and on we go. Thank God for Martin Luther King, Rev Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Rev Ferakan, Malcom X and all the other black rights leader. Sure its easy to point out their rage and sometimes it is racial in content. Buy they are fighting their way out a white mans hell the hard way. Blacks have no equal opportunity. Any immagrant can come to this country, get loans for new business starrts, help, food, etc. And the blacks get little handouts to calm things down. Not equal opportunity. I live din St. Louis and have traveled chicago and the big citys that are populated by blacks. The areas are war sones. There are no jobs, just depression and hatred. Everything we buy in this country I would guess at 75% made in china and elsewhere, shows part of the story for the corporate rich. Every one of those blacks sitting around in the city drinking from a wine bottle, or a black whore on a street corner or a family living in every room on a two story flat falling apart. They would take a job anytime. We should be ashamed of ourselves for not being human beings and taking care of our own black citizens that march for peace and want work and have love. They have so much to offer and we are so good at keeping them in sufferage. Go ahead you dumb angry white person and burn another black church. you really got your brain somewhere.


Name: K. Leonard
Email: k8wra@juno.com
Response: If in fact brother Sharpton is a reverend, I think he should be ministering to those of his flock who need it; giving aid and comfort to those "sheep" who have been fleeced and are downhearted. I think he should leave politics to those who have dedicated themselves to politics. A person who is half Reverend and half politician, isn't likely to be of much use to anyone.


Name:
Email: Kitsport@aol.com
Response: I think that Rev. Sharpton should follow the old adage, "If you can't beat them, join them!" In that way, he would have a place inside the 'house' instead of having to continually struggle to get in.
I believe he would garner more support from conservative Blacks who feel somewhat threatened when he speaks out against certain issues.
If he were in with the current party, he would seem more believable to them. But, in American, each has a right to do what they feel is best for them.
Thanks for the opportunity to give my opinion


Name: SAUSALITO
Email: ALLENB@CI.SJ.CA.US.
Response: It is disheartening to see black folks led astray by the likes of Al Sharpton. We are about to enter the 21st centry and we need leadership that is dynamic, visionary and clearly understands that as we enter the new milleniumn we have to leave the realm of the 60s style preacher/leadership that Mr. Sharpton reprsents and move to a new level of awareness. Al Sharpton like many of his type do not have any answers to the major challenges that our folks face now and will face in the future. There is a crying need for dynamic leadership in this country period and for Al Sharpoton to be serioulsy considered is a joke.Mr. Sharpton is the wrong man at the wrong time, we need and should demand better.


Name: Welton Dufor
Email: tony1z
Response: It is ok for Rev Sharpton to enter the election. He is well known in the city, He has a good knowledge of the cities needs. It is good to shake up the political system because it make them work harder to keep the votes they get. All cities should do the same. Run Al Run!!!


Name: Mayimuna
Email: mayimuna@ix.netcom.com
Response: I teach in the community where Al Sharpton launched his activist career-where his church and home are both located. I am unable to ascertain any improvements in the quality of life for the residents of this community that may be directly or indirectly attributed to Al Sharpton's efforts. It is difficult to be an advocate for one's own people when one does not direct one's own efforts towards that people.


Name: Leory
Email:
Response: It is time for a change not only in the A.A. community but in America. New ideals new blood, that is what the African-American needs. A new party will give me (us) a new sense of pride and responsibilty, we need to step out from the mainstream of the American way especially when this system has not in the past and has not worked in the present for us. In the spirit of the Million Man March it's time to take a new direction, America should not be afraid of us just check out our history we are great people oh yea I forgot they already know that.


Name: Jason McDonald
Email: jfmcdo00@pop.uky.edu
Response: This doesnt really have too much to do with Rev. Sharpton but its relevant to today:

October 16
Langston Hughes
Perhaps
You will remember
John Brown.
John Brown
Who took his gun,
Took twenty-one companions
White and black,
Went to shoot your way to freedom
Where two rivers meet
And the hills of the
North
And the hills of the
South
Look slow at one another-
And died
For your sake.
Now that you are
Many years free,
And the echo of the Civil War
Has passed away,
And Brown himself
Has long been tried at law,
Hanged by the neck,
And buried in the ground-
Since Harpers Ferry
Is alive with ghosts today,
Immortal raiders
Come again to town-
Perhaps
You will recall
John Brown.


Name: Marc
Email: mnsaunders@msn.com
Response: Rev. SHarton's veiws are MUCH too radical for him to be elected to the mayoral office. I agree with Ferron, some will vote for him, and it will divide the Democratic vote.


Name: Jimmie Johnson
Email: tezamiji@ix.netcom.com
Response: I think it's a waste of time for any african american to vote in this present sytem.Neither party is for us. Even if he runs for office, it would not help us as a people. First it is a possibility that if he were to win, he would not be able to be successful in helping the people of color because the sysem would not allow it. It really doesn't matter on which ticket he runs. Both major ones are one in the same. There purpose is to control the world. It would be nice if we could encourage Rev. Sharpton or some other African american to find some way to uplift our economic status in this country and the world. Then I will be all for it. Until then I will not vote. Why should I continue to vote for the enemy? geare


Name: Frances Murphy
Email: FrankieLou@aol.com
Response: It is too late to question why Al Sharpton is running for mayor of the Big Apple. He's out there and says he can win. If he does win, Lord help New York which right now seems to be so divided it cannot stand.


Name: JOHN L. THOMPSON II
Email: JOHN318@HOTMAIL.COM
Response: I THINK THAT REV. SHARPTON, NEEDS TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH HIS CONGREGATION IN TEACHING THEM THE WAYS OF GOD AND LEST TIME IN THE POLITACAL ARENA. I STRONGLY BELIVE THAT WE HAVE TO MANY OF OUR BLACK RELIGOUS LEADERS DIVIDING THERE TIME BETWEEN THE GOVERMENT OF GOD AND THIS WORLDS GOVERMENT AT TIME'S IT MAKE'S ME WONDER IF THEY UNDERSTAND OR EVEN READ THE BIBLE OR IF THE JUST EKNOR THE WORD'S OF GOD CONCERNING THIS WORLD'S SYSTEM.HAS HE AND OTHER BLACK OR EVEN WHITE'S WHO CALL THEM SELFS MEN OF G-D LIFT THE CALLING OF LEADING THE CONGREGATION THAT G-D HAS PLACED THEM AS HEAD OF I HOPE AND PRAY (THAT G-D HAS SENT TO LEAD HIS PEOPLE TO HIM) WHERE WILL IT STOP AND WHEN WILL WE THE PEOPLE OF G-D BECOME MORE AWARE OF THESE THING'S


Name: Ferron
Email:
Response: Rev. Sharpton's candidacy would split the Democratic vote and enable the Republicans to win.