Albany Reform

Looking for a New State Legislator? Try Craigslist.

Upset about the way your State Assembly rep voted on congestion pricing? Here's a novel approach to finding a new one: Craiglist. While Manhattan's Richard Gottfried was one of the few state legislators who supported congestion pricing, at least one Chelsea resident appears to be in the market for a new Assemblyman. And why not? By Craiglist standards, Gottfried is a prized antique. He's been in the Assembly since 1970.

By Aaron Naparstek

1:15 PM EDT on April 17, 2008

Upset about the way your State Assembly rep voted on congestion pricing? Here’s a novel approach to finding a new one: Craiglist. While Manhattan’s Richard Gottfried was one of the few state legislators who supported congestion pricing, at least one Chelsea resident appears to be in the market for a new Assemblyman. And why not? By Craiglist standards, Gottfried is a prized antique. He’s been in the Assembly since 1970.

Wanted: Real Reformer for NY’s 75th Assembly District (Chelsea)
New York’s 75th Assembly district has been represented by an out of touch party hack for over 35 years with little to show for his efforts. Colleagues describe him as indecisive and lacking the leadership qualities to get promoted to the next level. He has also failed to adapt to the shifting customer base.
Even the local newspaper (NY Times) has called him to task in a recent editorial: “New Yorkers deserve to be mad as hell about Albany, and their best revenge is at the ballot box. All they need now is to find decent candidates. In Manhattan, where the Democratic primary is the election, it is time to challenge even the most established members of the Legislature – like Assemblyman Richard Gottfried on the West Side or Assemblywoman Deborah Glick.”
Even his website (http://www.richardgottfried.org) hasn’t been updated in over eight years. It still lists him as representing the 64th district – before the post-census redistricting.
Help Richard “Dick” Gottfried find a new job by putting in an application for his current one. Serious Reformers Only need apply.

Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.