Ben Wetzler, Democratic Party District Leader 76 AD Part A Candidate Speaks To Roosevelt Island Residents Association Common Council

According to the Manhattan Democratic Party web site:

A District Leader is an unpaid volunteer elected official. All formal parties in New York State are required to have at least one District Leader (DL) per Assembly District (AD). These positions are subject to primary elections every two years. This ostensibly guarantees that any party with formal status in New York State (e.g. a permanent ballot line) is democratically governed by its members. In essence, the District Leader is the representative of the party members in their district to that political party’s apparatus.

Ben Wetzler

 Image From Vote Ben Wetzler

is a Democratic Party District Leader candidate for the 76 Assembly District Part A which includes Roosevelt Island.  Mr. Wetzler spoke to the June 7 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) June 7 Public Session



and reports:

My name is Ben Wetzler and I am a candidate for Democratic Party District Leader looking to bring change to local politics here on Roosevelt Island. I am challenging the sitting party leader in the September primary in order to build a more active, grassroots Democratic Party and end practices that allow communities like ours to be neglected in city hall and Albany. If elected, I hope to organize volunteers to support Democratic candidates in other districts currently held by the breakaway "Independent" Democrats who have hindered progressive priorities in Albany, and plan to establish a stronger line of communication between local block and residents' associations and their Democratic elected officials.

I am running in the 76th Assembly District, Part A, which covers the Island and a portion of the Upper East Side near the river. Though this is my first time running for office, I have an extensive history of public service, working to develop affordable housing strategies and improve enforcement of the rent stabilization law. I am endorsed and supported by the Four Freedoms Democratic Club, which has been successful in opening up the Party to new voices that had previously been shut out of local affairs since it broke from the neighborhood's official Democratic organization in 2014.

I will be at Good Shepherd Plaza this Saturday for Roosevelt Island Day. If you would like to learn more about my campaign, you can stop by, or check out my website www.voteben.nyc and Facebook page.

The incumbent Democratic Party District Leader for 76 Assembly District Part A is John Halebian. Mr Halebian is a member of the Lenox Hill Democratic Club.

If you are interested in Democratic Party politics, come meet Mr. Wetzler during Roosevelt Island Day at Good Shepherd Plaza.