First, the "full disclosure": I am the campaign coordinator for Leavitt for our Communities.

Last fall, when the City Council passed Mayor Bloomberg's term limit extension, one of the major arguments Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn used was that they were offering us "choice." Of course, our choices have become much more limited now, because the only "choice" Bloomberg, Quinn, et. al. want us to have is themselves.

In Queens, the Borough President was going to be term-limited out, and at least three people were set to vie for the position; all three have dropped out, leaving us with no "choice."

Until now.

Marc Leavitt, a Queens lawyer and long-time activist, is running for Queens Borough President. He has already demonstrated, in just one month, an ability to raise the kind of money needed to run a viable campaign, and the money is still flowing in.

We have a website up, at http://marccrawfordleavitt.com. It is very basic right now, but we're still gearing up.

This Monday, June 8, we are having a grand opening at our campaign headquarters at 50-11 Queens Blvd. in Woodside (take the #7 local train to 52nd St.), starting at 6:00. Feel free to stop in and meet the candidate.

Tuesday, of course, is when petitioning begins. We'd love to have anyone who is a registered Democrat in New York come out and get signatures. You can reach me about this at my e-mail address, at dan - at - danjacoby.com.

Remember, this campaign is not only about Marc's experience and ideas for making Queens a better place to be, it's also about choice -- having a real choice, that is.

With Governor Lynch's signature, New Hampshire became the sixth state to allow same-sex marriages. How much farther behind can New York fall?

Call your state Senator (you can find out who your Senator is at the NY Senate website). Tell your friends to call their state Senators. If your Senator is on board, call to thank him/her. If not, call to lobby for a "yes" vote on S.4401, the marriage equality bill.

There are only a few short weeks left in the legislative session. There is no time to waste.

One more note that should be passed on to many Republican Senators -- as long as this issue is unresolved, it will be a campaign issue. While the state (and your district) might be split, the people who are more likely to go to the polls on election day are the ones riled up by this issue. Vote yes this year, and your job will actually be a lot safer after next year.

The Parks Dept. estimates that 2,500 people showed up for the marriage equality rally in Astoria on Sunday! There is a growing movement to get this done without any more delays (we're trailing Maine and Iowa).

There are only a few weeks left in the legislative session. Several senators in NYC are not (yet) on board -- we need their constituents to call their offices in Albany to urge them to support the marriage equality bill.

Democratic Senators are:
Huntley (581-455-3531)
Kruger (Carl, that is) (581-455-2460)
Onorato (581-455-3486)
(Note: Ruben Diaz is considered a lost cause on this issue.)

and Repubican Senators are:
Golden (581-455-2730)
Lanza (581-455-3215)
Padavan (581-455-3381)

They could all stand to hear from their constituents. Make the call now. Spread the word.

Sunday, May 31, 2009, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Athens Park in Astoria, 30th Ave. & 30th St. (take the N/W train to 30th Avenue)

We need to let our state Senators, including those in Queens who have not yet come on board, know that there is tremendous support for marriage equality.

Recently, there has been positive movement in Queens; help keep things going in the right direction! Spread the word, and come to Astoria.

This event is sponsored by Western Queens for Marriage Equality and Marriage Equality New York.

At a press conference, Mayor Bloomberg announced, regarding the city's economy, that "I’m reasonably optimistic that we’ve turned the corner.” When Azi tried to ask him if his rationale for extending term limits was -- but Bloomberg cut him off, saying it wasn't a serious question. Moments later, Bloomberg called Azi "a disgrace."

Someone's a disgrace, all right; decide for yourself.