Watch YouTube video of the meeting.
Susanne Klebe led the Pledge of Allegiance. Jim Strawhorn read the Mission Statement. Martha Rowen did the roll call. Isaiah Vega read the minutes.
Jimmy Wagner and Elijah Diaz on We Reform NYC Charter Reform ballot proposals; Steven Gillen on the SAVE Act and state of the Republican party as related to the gubernatorial race; Charlotte Friedman, Republican candidate for State Senate, District 47 (Upper West Side, Erik Bottcher); Jose Vega, “Speak the Truth” candidate for Congress, District 15 (Bronx ag Richie Torres); Philip Sean Grillo, Republican candidate for State Assembly, District 26 (Primary against Robert Speranza); Thomas Barra, Republican/Conservative candidate for Queens Civil Court; David Rem; George Marsh, Republican/”Queens United” candidate for Congress, District 5 (Queens ag Gregory Meeks); Ruben Cruz, Republican/”Queens United” candidate for State Assembly, District 38 (Queens ag Jenifer Rajkumar); Martha Rowen on Promethean Action; and Haris Bhatti, candidate for City Council, District 3 (Manhattan ag Carl Wilson).
Spectators or Guardians? How Republican Retreat Is Clearing the Path for the DSA
Steve Gillan by Director of Political Affairs, Project Civica, Inc. SteveG@projectcivica.org
Last weekend, while speaking to an AMAC audience about the history of political parties in America, I discussed something many voters never see and many party leaders appear to have forgotten: political parties were never intended to exist only during election season. They were designed to be permanent institutions responsible for recruiting candidates, organizing neighborhoods, developing future leaders, and ensuring that every community had a voice in government.
The foundation of that system has always been the local committee structure.
County committee members and precinct committeemen were never intended to be ceremonial titles or rewards for loyal insiders. They were the eyes and ears of the party in every neighborhood. They identified future candidates, recruited volunteers, and maintained relationships with voters long before campaign signs appeared on lawns or mailers arrived in mailboxes.
When that process functions properly, parties grow stronger because they are constantly identifying and developing new leadership. When it breaks down, parties become dependent upon a shrinking circle of insiders focused more on protecting existing officeholders than building future candidates.
The June 23 Democratic primary in New York demonstrated exactly what happens when one political movement understands these principles better than an established political organization.
The Democratic Socialists of America did not achieve their recent victories by accident. Their success was the result of years of patient organizational work. They recruited candidates for local races, encouraged members to become involved in county organizations, attended meetings that others had abandoned, and built a disciplined grassroots operation that understood how low-turnout elections can reshape political institutions.
The lesson from June was not primarily about ideology. It was about organization.
With turnout at historically low levels, a relatively small number of highly motivated voters determined the outcome of races involving millions of New Yorkers. DSA-backed candidates defeated establishment Democrats despite facing opponents with institutional support and significant fundraising advantages.
Republicans should study that lesson carefully because New York is approaching the 2026 election cycle with nearly sixty legislative races that currently have no Republican challenger.
The trend is moving in the wrong direction.
In 2022, Republicans failed to field candidates in 48 legislative races across New York State. In 2024, that number increased to 53 uncontested seats. Now, in the 2026 election cycle, the number has climbed again to nearly 60 races without a Republican challenger.
This is not strategic concentration of resources. It is political retreat.
Every empty ballot line represents more than a race that will likely be lost. It represents voters who will hear only one side of the debate, local activists who will never gain campaign experience, and future candidates who will never emerge because nobody asked them to run.
Political parties do not grow by avoiding difficult races. They grow by competing in them.
More importantly, uncontested districts create political vacuums, and political vacuums rarely remain empty for long.
If Republicans fail to compete in dozens of districts while moderate Democrats continue losing primaries to highly organized ideological movements, the general election effectively disappears as a meaningful check on political change. The decisive election becomes the Democratic primary, where turnout is low and organized factions possess enormous advantages.
That creates a clear path for the continued expansion of the DSA and similar organizations throughout New York politics.
The responsibility for this failure falls squarely on party leadership, particularly in New York City’s borough organizations where candidate recruitment has increasingly become an afterthought rather than a priority.
The most basic responsibility of a political party is not fundraising, endorsements, dinners, or press conferences.
It is recruiting candidates and building organizations capable of competing for voters.
A party that cannot place names on ballots is not executing a strategy.
It is abandoning territory.
Republican leaders should explain to their voters why the number of uncontested races has increased from 48 to 53 and now approaches 60. They should explain why the DSA can recruit candidates in districts they are unlikely to win while Republican organizations cannot recruit candidates in districts where hundreds of thousands of Republican and independent voters still live.
Leadership carries responsibilities as well as titles.
If current party leadership is unwilling to recruit candidates, rebuild county organizations, fill committee vacancies, and compete in every corner of New York, then they should step aside and allow a new generation of leaders the opportunity to do so.
No leader has the right to preside over decline indefinitely while denying others the chance to rebuild what has been lost.
For too long, too many Republican organizations have acted like spectators watching New York politics unfold around them rather than guardians of our Republic charged with defending it.
The committee process was designed to prevent exactly this kind of decline.
Political parties are not supposed to surrender territory.
They are supposed to compete for it.
The greatest threat facing New York Republicans in 2026 is not the Democratic Party, the DSA, or changing demographics.
It is the belief that entire sections of New York are no longer worth fighting for.
History has shown repeatedly what happens when one side stops showing up.
Someone else always takes their place. Posted with permission. (Was written post June 23, 2026 Primary.)
Status of those who filed as of 5/30: On the ballot ☄ Challenged ☘(subject to change)
☄ Governor: Bruce Blakeman (Vote Affordable)
☄ Governor: Larry Sharpe (Coalition Party)
☄ Lt. Governor: Todd Hood (Vote Affordable)
☄ Lt. Governor: Shannon Joy Bones (Coalition Party)
☄ New York Civil Court, 7th District: Ajia Tingling (Fair Courts)
Queens Civil Court: John J. Ciafone (Affordable & Safe) No cover sheet nor acceptance
Queens Civil Court: Julie M. Milner (Affordable & Safe) No cover sheet
Queens Civil Court: John J. Ciafone (Arts & Culture)No cover sheet nor acceptance
☄ Queens Civil Court: Julie M. Milner (Arts & Culture)
Queens Civil Court, 3rd District: William David Shanahan (Reform) No cover sheet nor acceptance
☄ Congress 5th: George Marsh (Queens United)
☘ Congress 6th: Joseph Chou (4 Our Immigrants)
☘ Congress 7th: Melvin Rivera (No Kings)
☘ Congress 7th: Melvin Rivera (Arts & Culture)
☘ Congress 7th: Windella S. Wells (Windella S. Wells)
☄ Congress 7th: Priscilla Ghaznavi (Our Future)
☘ Congress 10th: Nickie Kane (No Kings)
Congress 11th: Allison Ziogas (Affordable & Safe) No cover sheet nor acceptance
☄ Congress 12th: Winelda Negron (For All of Us)
☄ Congress 12th: Karen Ortiz (Karen Ortiz)
☄ Congress 13th: Candice Niles (Independent Voice)
☄ Congress 15th: Andre Easton (Party for Socialism and Liberation)
☄ Congress 15th: Jose Vega (Speak The Truth)
☘ Congress 15th: John Maynard Harris (What The HEC)
☄ State Senate 12: Sheryl Ann Fetik (Arts & Culture)
☘ State Senate 13: Hiram Monserrate (Affordable & Safe) No Acceptance
☘ State Senate 15: Danniel Maio (No Kings)
☘ State Senate 15: Danniel Maio (Queens United)
☘ State Senate 15: Danniel Maio (4 Our Immigrants)
State Senate 16: Philip S. Wang (4 Our Immigrants) No Acceptance
☄ State Senate 17: Stephen T. Chen (Stop Mamdani)
☘ State Senate 22: Sam Sutton (Fight Anti-Semitism) No cover sheet
☘ State Senate 23: Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (Affordable & Safe)
☄ State Senate 28: Alina Bonsell (Block Mamdani)
☄ State Senate 44: James Tedisco (Vote Affordable)
☄ State Assembly 23: Thomas P. Sullivan (We The People)
☄ State Assembly 23: Pesach Osina (Community First)
☄ State Assembly 23: Mike Scala (People Over Politics)
☄ State Assembly 24: Welson Chang (Queens United)
State Assembly 25: Kenneth C. Paek (4 Our Immigrants) No Acceptance
State Assembly 26: Robert Speranza (4 Our Immigrants) No Acceptance
☄ State Assembly 28: Jonathan Rinaldi (No Kings)
☘ State Assembly 28: Jonathan Rinaldi (4 Our Immigrants)
☄ State Assembly 28: David J. Kemp (4 Our Immigrants)
☄ State Assembly 30: Brandon P. Castro (Arts & Culture)
☄ State Assembly 30: Brandon P. Castro (Reform)
☄ State Assembly 32: Paul Nichols (The Answer)
State Assembly 34: Rosa Sanchez (Affordable & Safe) No Acceptance
☄ State Assembly 38: Ruben Cruz (Queens United)
☄ State Assembly 39: Ramses S. Frias (4 Our Immigrants)
State Assembly 39: Yonel E. Letellier Sosa (Affordable & Safe) No cover sheet nor acceptance
☄ State Assembly 43: Anna Shpilkovskaya (Community First)
☘ State Assembly 45: Rene M. Mitchell (Rene M. Mitchell)
☘ State Assembly 45: Joey Cohen-Saban (Fight Anti-Semitism)
☘ State Assembly 45: Michael Novakhov (Stop Mamdani)
☘ State Assembly 46: Chris McCreight (Affordable & Safe)
☄ State Assembly 47: John J. Ricottone (Stop Mamdani)
☄ State Assembly 49: Lester Chang (Stop Mamdani)
☄ State Assembly 55: Yahemia Harris (No Kings)
☘ State Assembly 63: Matthew Mobilia (Affordable & Safe)
☘ State Assembly 64: Shpetim Qorraj (Affordable & Safe)
☄ State Assembly 68: Tamika Mapp (Home First)
State Assembly 73: Nathaniel Gavronsky (Block Mamdani) No cover sheet nor acceptance
State Assembly 74: Veronica Gonzalez (Block Mamdani) No cover sheet nor acceptance
☄ State Assembly 75: Christina Fontanelli (Save NYC)
☄ State Assembly 82: Irene Guanill (Vote Affordable)
☘ State Assembly 87: Zakir Choudhury (People First)
☄ State Assembly 94: Daniel Guzman (Unidos For All)
☄ State Assembly 95: Laurie Ryan (Vote Affordable)
☄ State Assembly 100: Paula Elaine Kay (People Over Politics)
☄ State Assembly 111: Angelo Santabarbara (People First Party)
☄ State Assembly 113: Allen Caruso (Vote Affordable)
☄ State Assembly 130: Joseph Lamanna (Common Sense)
☘ City Council 3: Haris Bhatti (Haris Bhatti)
The next meeting is June 18, 2026.