Partial and unofficial election results show that three New York City ballot measures that would have improved racial justice in the five boroughs received a resounding majority of votes on Tuesday.
According to the Board of Elections count, each of the three propositions received support from at least 70% of voters, and more than 97% of ballot scanners were recorded. All save Republican-led Staten Island had strong support.
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CEO of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies Jennifer Jones Austin said in a statement, “This is a new day for New York City!” She added, “today New Yorkers have made history – taking bold, unprecedented steps to upend systematic racism in local government in a way that other cities around the nation can follow.”
A new local agency dedicated to racial fairness will be created under the proposals, and the city charter’s preamble will require the city administration to address racial imbalances across a number of sectors. A new “real cost of living” statistic will also need to be measured by the city every year.
The policies were developed by the Racial Justice Commission, which former Mayor Bill de Blasio called together following the racial and social justice awakening brought on by the 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. RJC representatives claim that the ideas seek to center governmental decision-making on racial justice.
First, a prologue to the Local Charter will be added, urging city agencies and leaders to work toward a “fair and equitable city for everyone,” especially in housing, education, and resource distribution. This initiative received more than 72% voter approval in late results. The statement will also acknowledge indigenous land, pay homage to the ancient Lenape tribe that called the city home and acknowledge the harm caused by institutional racism.
Nearly 70% of voters supported the second issue, which establishes a new municipal agency and commission to oversee a process of citywide planning targeted at enhancing racial justice. Every two years, the city and its departments must develop “Racial Equity Plans” outlining their plans to advance racial equity and “reduce or eliminate” racial inequities in the city. Priorities for the planning process will be suggested by a new Commission on Racial Justice, which will be selected by municipal elected leaders, and will be coordinated by a new office of racial equity.
The city must develop and yearly assess a new “true cost of living” metric that takes into account housing, daycare, transportation, medical care, household goods, and other costs, according to the third plan, which has received more than 80% approval. The modification attempts to move the city away from the federal and local metrics of poverty, which are commonly regarded as being too low and out-of-date formulae used to determine eligibility for public subsidies.
The city invested $5 million to increase public awareness of the initiatives that were included on the ballot’s reverse. On election day, some voters claimed to know where to look when they got to the polls.
Kaylee Ramirez, a 20-year-old from Kensington, claimed she spotted a subway advertisement urging her to “flip her ballot,” but she was unaware she was being asked to choose between options advocating racial justice.
If that passes, Ramirez expressed the hope that our culture will change.
Before the vote, Commission Chair Austin stated that the effort intends to diverge from prior work.
“We’ve been taught, let’s just put forth another program. Let’s just put forth another policy,” Austin said during a City Council session in October. “The commission realized, no, we’ve got to change the foundations so that we can think, reimagine something greater than what is.”
She continued, “If the policies are based on the laws as they currently are, we’re just gonna stay in that space.”
Little public resistance to the measures was heard in a Democratic stronghold where racial justice is a frequent pledge made in campaign speeches. However, several detractors questioned the necessity for yet another bureaucracy and the associated red tape.
The three suggestions were created by the group de Blasio gathered after about five months of listening.
The commissioners interviewed 130 people from 70 neighborhood groups between July and November of last year. They also held nine issue-specific panels with academics and professionals and twelve public feedback sessions.
