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NEW YORK, NY (June 22, 2010) — Last week, the Citizen’s Committee for Children released their annual report, “Keeping Track of New York City’s Children.” Once again, it revealed huge problems in almost every quality of life indicator for children. Driven by the ongoing recession, youth unemployment is high; use of food stamps has increased; children are being hospitalized for preventable illnesses; mothers are plagued by low birth rates and infant mortality. Our children are being incarcerated at alarming rates and abuse and neglect remain high. Perhaps most shockingly,  homeless families with children increased about 21 percent.

In almost every one of these categories, the communities of Upper Manhattan are disproportionately affected.

As a father, it breaks my heart to know that so many children in the district I hope to represent are so seriously disadvantaged and at risk.

If I am successful in my quest to represent the citizens of the 15th Congressional District of New York, my priority will be attacking the issues that plague our children and their families. I will devote my efforts to promoting programs that create jobs; improve daycare and educational options; eliminate health disparities and provide safety nets so that no child goes hungry, homeless or uncared for.

I want to get on the Democratic primary ballot so that I can have a fighting chance to fight for the children in my district.

Our children are our future. If we don’t improve their quality of life, I shudder to think what the America of tomorrow will become.

http://morgan4congress.com/wp-content/uploads/Childrens-Crisis.pdf

The M4C Team NEEDS YOU! to help us get Vince on the Primary Ballot!

East Harlem, Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood & the Upper West Side

We will be working in teams throughout the district collecting signatures from registered Democrats. Our goal is to collect over 10,000 signatures. Every qualified signature counts so if you can commit to 25 or 100 from your neighbors and friends, or commit to a few hours a week it will go a long way.

Take your building or your block! We will supply what you need to be successful.

E-mail: volunteer@morgan4congress.com
Text: M4C to 37619
or Join the M4C Volunteers Facebook group at the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116806221677427&ref=mf

Gotham Gazette Article: New York’s Ballot Access Laws

NEW YORK, NY (May 27, 2010) — What is happening in the Gulf of Mexico is beyond belief. Now confirmed as the largest oil spill in history, it has caught absolutely everyone off guard.

There is no doubt that BP is responsible. They must be held accountable in every way and spend every dollar necessary to mitigate this disaster. They are a private company that has financially profited for many years to an extraordinary degree. No amount of money can repair the damage done. This must be a wake up call to America and a call to action for our country to lead the way in finally investing in alternative energy sources.

On the public side, so many things have come to light that are astonishing. The Federal government must end the “cozy relationship” it has with all of the oil companies. There must be transparent relationships and meaningful oversight of the oil industry.

After viewing this afternoon’s press conference with President Obama, I am convinced that he is leading an intelligent response; employing all of his authority and marshalling every possible resource to mitigate this disaster. I agree with his approach of engaging long term solutions rather than knee-jerk reactions. The Federal government must never abdicate its responsibility to citizens, but at the same time, there is a delicate balance between public and private that has to be maintained. We need a national energy strategy and the formation of a national commission is a meaningful step in that direction.

If there is anything positive that can come out of this disaster, it would be that every American will act more responsibly in their personal energy consumption and improving their relationship with the environment. We must reduce our dependence on oil by developing alternative sources of clean, renewable energy. To not do so will result in a disaster even greater than we have at hand.

In this midst of everything, I hope no one forgets that 11 human beings died in this event. No matter what containment and clean up efforts occur, the families of those people will never have restitution of the lives of their loved ones. To them, I express my heartfelt condolences.

http://morgan4congress.com/wp-content/uploads/Deepwater-Spill.pdf

NEW YORK, NY (May 3, 2010) – The new Arizona immigration law is the most misguided, racist and insulting piece of legislation I can imagine. It violates the civil rights of law abiding legal immigrants and is not in any way a solution to the problems that exist in the structure and policies of immigration enforcement.

More than one-third of the people who live in New York City — 2.82 million people — were born outside of the United States. In NY15, one in every five South/Central Harlem residents is foreign-born. In Hamilton Heights and South Washington Heights, that number is 50 percent. Although Dominicans are the greatest in number, there is a growing population of Mexicans in East Harlem and West Africans in Central Harlem. And these figures don’t even count the Russian, Polish, Chinese, East Indian and other Asian people who call this district home.

It is easy for people to forget that the only people who are indigenous to this land are Native Americans. For the rest of us, everyone has an immigrant in their family tree. This fact is one of the things that has made America so great.

The district I hope to represent teems with diversity, presided over by a statue that says: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Those words, written 124 years ago, should be no less poignant today.

In my own family, I have a grandmother whose family came to New York from Italy. My wife is the daughter of immigrants from Trinidad and Canada. In ancestral generations, there was some involuntary immigration rooted in slavery. We have collectively used our immigrant inheritance to inform the pride we have in being Americans; participating in a society that has historically been a beacon to the world.

In the long run, America needs sensible immigration policies that support economic growth by enabling immigrants to participate legally in our economy as consumers, entrepreneurs and investors. I hope the outrage that has erupted all over the country over this law will be a catalyst for achieving immigration reform that is based on realities, not myths, and that treats immigrants fairly and with dignity.

http://morgan4congress.com/wp-content/uploads/Immigration-Reform-Arizona-5-3-10.pdf

NEW YORK, NY (April 22, 2010) — I believe the children of NY15 need all the resources we can muster to ensure a solid education that prepares them for a meaningful future. That means improving public education as well as supporting charter schools, private and parochial institutions.

The majority of students in NY15 attend public schools. With the largest public school system in the world, more than 1.1 million New York students are taught in more than 1,500 public schools.

In attending these schools, they have an absolute right to the best quality teachers, materials and  basic education. That means we need more investment in public schools. We need to invest in raising the standards of public education, employing and rewarding good teachers and providing adequate learning materials and experiences. We need to build new schools to meet the growing demand in some of the most overcrowded schools in districts like 3 and 5.  Most of all, we need to change the perception that a public education is an inadequate education by making good education a reality in our public schools.

On the other side of the coin, parents should never be denied the right to choose which educational experience is most appropriate for their children. And, charter schools are, in my opinion, a good option.

With 21% of the children in NY15 attending charters, it has become increasingly obvious that they are making a positive impact. Charters boast a dramatically higher success rate on performance tests required by the State of New York. They have become so popular that there are waiting lists and lotteries to fill the seats.

Bashing charters with name calling and finger-pointing — which some people have been doing — misses the point. Charters provide a much needed boost to the educational needs of the children in our district. The notion that these schools are hurting our community or stealing resources is preposterous and misguided. Best practices should be shared and utilized by all.  As such, the techniques and curriculum being implemented at charters should serve as a model for other schools.

Charters are not, and never were intended to be, a replacement for our city’s public schools. In recognizing that there is an undisputed performance gap between charters and public schools, our focus should be on providing our kids with more options not less. Let’s make the public school system a more compelling choice for our kids. And, let’s keep charter schools and parochial schools solvent.

For the record, I need to state that, in my lifetime, I have attended alternative independent schools, parochial schools and public schools. Further, I have two small children on whose behalf I will soon have to choose an educational option. I would love for my children to attend a quality public school. But until that becomes a reality, I want to know that I have a choice because what I decide will have a profound impact on their future ability to earn a decent income and enjoy a meaningful life. I would ask nothing less for all parents in NY15.

http://morgan4congress.com/wp-content/uploads/Education-Options-4-22-101.pdf

“The Right Thing to Do is Sometimes the Hardest”

NEW YORK, NY (March 23, 2010) – New York Democratic Congressional candidate Vincent Morgan applauds President Obama and the U.S. Congress for “doing the right thing in making affordable, quality healthcare available to all Americans.”

“Finally, after months of debate and acrimony, this legislation enshrines a right I feel every American is entitled to. Everyone deserves access to comprehensive medical coverage and no one should be left out of the healthcare system because of an inability to pay.”

The law will have special significance for the district Morgan hopes to represent. “In the 15th Congressional District, our average income is under $27,000 per year per household,” he said. “Soaring healthcare costs have bankrupted individuals, devastated family savings and victimized those with pre-existing conditions. Small businesses in our community cannot afford to offer insurance to employees and big businesses cannot keep up with escalating costs.”

In spite of his positive comments, Morgan admits “The final bill is not perfect and does not solve every problem — but it is definitely a major step forward. The greatest reward from this exercise may be the realization of just how much we can achieve when we endeavor to do the right thing.”

He went on to say “I am proud of Congress for stepping up to the plate, making the hard choice and putting the people first. This new law will be remembered in future generations as a turning point for our nation.”

http://morgan4congress.com/wp-content/uploads/Healthcare-Statement-3-23-10.pdf

Here is a good summary from the NY Times that let’s you know what to expect:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/24/us/politics/20100319-health-care-effect.htm?src=tptw#tab=5

NEW YORK, NY (February 17, 2010) Sam Roberts, one of the most prolific political writers on NY Times’ staff interviewed the candidate last week, and wrote a pretty compelling article on the upcoming elections in Harlem.

Interestingly, he noted that Charles Rangel faces a challenge in the midst of an ethics investigation, that mirrors his own rise to prominence when he first sought Congressional office.

We have a serious but achievable mission ahead of us, which is to overcome the impression that Rangel can’t be defeated because he is a fixture on Harlem’s political psyche.

The reality is that change is inevitable. More importantly, at certain junctures in time, it is also necessary.  Its time for change in the 15th District. Vincent Morgan wants to be an agent of change.  Our goal is to give the people of the 15th District a candidate that they can believe in.

Let us know what  you think?

Full article from the NY Times here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/nyregion/17morgan.html?scp=1&sq=vincent%20morgan&st=cse

NEW YORK, NY (February 8, 2010) – Democratic Congressional candidate Vincent Morgan has called upon congress to reject the Afghanistan war surtax and renewed his call for a withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

“This legislation will tax working class people in order to enable those who would continue the US trend of perpetual war. If the Democratic Congress is concerned about paying for wars, they should stop funding them and bring our men and women in uniform home where they belong.”

Morgan’s opponent Charlie Rangel is one of three committee chairmen who support the war surtax which begins at taxing joint returns with households earning $150,000.

“A war tax on the working class is not unlike Charlie Rangel’s bill to reinstate the draft in that they both fuel the war machine. One provides the soldiers and the other pays for the bullets.”

“I can understand that the idea behind reinstating the draft is that the elite will be less eager to go to war if it’s their children on the front lines. However, George Bush would have sent rich kids from Harvard to fight and die in Iraq just as soon as he would send poor kids from Harlem. Besides, rich kids were able to evade the Vietnam War draft with a note from their doctor. Perhaps the reason George Bush did not invade North Korea or Iran or Sudan is because he didn’t have the soldiers. The draft should not be reconsidered and neither should a war tax.”

The tax proposal is structured to create three brackets. The first bracket covers joint returns with households earning up to $150,000. The second bracket applies to joint returns for couples earning between $150,000 and $250,000. The third bracket applies to those earning over $250,000. About $9 billion in revenues would come from the first bracket, $10 billion from the second, and $28 billion from the third.

“Under Charlie Rangel’s war plans, working class folks would play a larger role in both fighting and paying for these misguided wars. I don’t want to see anybody in the line of fire in Iraq or Afghanistan. Not rich kids. Not poor kids. Let’s bring them all home.”

http://morgan4congress.com/wp-content/uploads/Afghan-War-Surtax-2-8-10.pdf