Brooklyn, New York. Nov. 9, 2006. In a letter to registered voters, dated November 8, 2006, Gerry R. Hopkins announced his candidacy in the 2006 Special election to replace the outgoing Councilwoman Yvette Clarke, in the New York City Council – 40th District. The text of the letter is presented as the body of this press release. (Also see the attached flyer which contains some of the candidate’s biographic and platform information.)

“Schools & Jobs; not more prisons!” I am writing as your proud candidate for New York City Council’s 40th District in Brooklyn. I am Gerry R. Hopkins, a progressive long-time member of our community, who puts people first. I am running for this office because I am qualified to do the job by virtue of my formal college training in communications, political science and law. But more importantly, I am running for this office because I have been living and working in this community as a parent, an active member of my church, an educator, a community leader, a former union (UFT) representative and delegate, a conflict resolution specialist, a newspaper and radio journalist, and a cultural organizer.

Sisters and brothers, it is my pledge to involve everyone in this city, regardless of race or creed, to join in my mission to firmly assert the principles of ACCOUNTABILTY, COMMUNITY, and EMPOWERMENT as means to the end of improved quality of life for everyone in our district and New York City at-large.

In view of the times in which we live, we need now more than ever before, leaders who listen, reflect upon and study our problems. We need leaders who will take the time, and be available to take deliberate action to correct our existing problems, and to prevent the avoidable ones from occurring in the future. We need leaders of vision and positive action who know how to get the job done through inclusive consultation, solid initiatives and effective negotiation.

In the upcoming Special Election, I am offering you exactly that choice. Your support for HOPKINS is support for PEOPLE’S POWER! Your support for HOPKINS is support for an individual who values families as the basic building blocks of our communities, and respects all peoples equally, regardless of whether you are Caribbean-American, African–American, Jewish, White, Hispanic, Asian, or Middle-Eastern. Your support for HOPKINS is support for real solutions to our problems of under-performance in education, frustrated unemployed youths, a failing healthcare system with a rising HIV/AIDS epidemic, unsafe neighborhoods, neglected small businesses, and little or no real programs to bring new business into our district. Your support for HOPKINS is support for a man of faith who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

Your support for Hopkins is support for someone who will be available and present in his district – always ready to listen, always prepared to study our problems, always ready to work with others, locally and in Washington, to find solutions to our problems. Yes, a vote for Hopkins is a vote for a tough negotiator who already knows how to draft a bill, and who will be sponsoring legislative initiatives that bring real positive results to working class people.

To learn more about the platform of this campaign, feel free to stop by our campaign office at 1105 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. You can also call us at 347-742-7256, or email us at HopkinsForNYCCouncil@yahoo.com. Also look out for our upcoming website www.VoteGerryHopkins.com.

Please volunteer to assist this grassroots campaign TODAY. And please, do consider making a monetary donation to this campaign, as well. Our campaign office is at 1105 Nostrand Avenue, corner of Maple Street, Brooklyn, New York 11225.

Thank you for your time, your money and your vote.

Schools & Jobs; not more prisons. Forward Ever! Backward Never! May God Bless All of Us!


Contact:
Gerry R. Hopkins, J.D.
347-742-7256
hopkinsforNYCcouncil@yahoo.com
voteGerryHopkins.com