This article needs to be updated.(December 2021) |
Rent Is Too Damn High Party | |
---|---|
Leader | Jimmy McMillan |
Chairman | Jimmy McMillan |
Spokesperson | Caprice Alves |
Founded | 2005 |
Headquarters | Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City |
Ideology | Populism Social welfare Anti-tax Anti-high rent |
Colors | Purple |
Slogan | "The rent is too damn high." |
The Rent Is Too Damn High Party (Rent Is 2 Damn High Party) is a single issue political party, primarily active in the state of New York, that has nominated candidates for mayor of New York City in 2005 and 2009, and for governor and senator in 2010. Jimmy McMillan was the mayoral candidate both times as well as a candidate for governor. [1] In 2005, he received more than 4,000 votes, [2] and more than 40,000 in 2010. [3] The party has three registered members in the state. McMillan himself is registered as a Republican (previously a Democrat) for the purposes of running in that party's primary elections. [4] [5] [6] McMillan is a perennial candidate, and a member of the party has never been elected into office.
In 2014, the party expanded beyond New York by endorsing a slate of candidates in the District of Columbia's Democratic primary elections. On December 1, 2015, McMillan put the party's trademarks up for sale with the intent to retire from politics. [7]
As its name implies, the central tenet of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party is that rents in the city of New York are "too damn high." [8] [9]
One of the taglines for the party is "breakfast, lunch, and dinner", indicating that the party seeks to end hunger and poverty in New York City. The party, prior to McMillan's breakthrough debate performance, sought to win "without a single vote from upstate New York," and the party website included a picture of New York with a giant "X" marked over upstate. McMillan surmises that reducing rent would "create 3 to 6 million jobs", freeing up capital to give businesses a chance to hire people. This would, in turn, increase tax revenue. The party is in favor of writing off all taxes owed to the state, cutting property taxes for homeowners, consolidating the rent boards in New York, seizing unoccupied apartment buildings, reforming the state court system, and providing tax credits for commuters and free college tuition. The party opposes any cuts in spending related to education and elderly care. [9]
McMillan was not opposed to same-sex marriage in the 2010 gubernatorial debate, replying: "if you want to marry a shoe, I'll marry you."[ citation needed ]
On the topic of religion and family, McMillan's website states "we need more reliance on the moral laws brought by religion and not limit out[ sic ] goodwill to our neighbors and co-workers to what the law demands alone." [10] One of the party's platforms involves "restoring family values", specifically desiring to ensure that one parent can remain at home to watch children. [9]
McMillan uses humor to promote the party's message, especially utilizing what the Christian Science Monitor has described as "theatrics", including "a booming voice, fast-paced patter ... and copious facial hair", as well as frequent jokes. [11] Although the party adopts a jocular and tongue-in-cheek image, the party has focused primarily on serious welfare issues and avoided outright satire, precluding it from being considered a frivolous political party.
For the 2009 mayoral campaign, the word "damn" was removed from the official ballot on account of the party's 17-letter name, two more than legally permissible under state board of elections guidelines. McMillan objected to the change, stating that he purposely used the profane word "damn" for its shock value. [12] In 2009, Salim Ejaz ran for the party for the position of City Comptroller, [13] without an endorsement from McMillan. [14]
The word "damn" was restored to the party's ballot line in 2010 by shortening "too" to "2". McMillan ran for governor on the line, while Joseph Huff ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by Kirsten Gillibrand. Neither were successful.
Under the numeric moniker, the party also ran McMillan in the 2013 mayoral election and submitted petitions for the 2014 gubernatorial election (with McMillan and Christialle Felix on the ticket). McMillan finished sixth in the mayoral election and was thrown off the ballot in the gubernatorial election due to his petitions being photocopies. He again submitted petitions for the 2018 gubernatorial election with Felix as his running mate, which were challenged; he was removed from the ballot and unsuccessfully sued to get back onto the ballot.
Former District of Columbia shadow representative John Capozzi and a group of incumbents used the name Rent Is Too Darn High for their slate while running for the District of Columbia Democratic State Committee in 2014. [15] McMillan endorsed the group. [15] On the ballot, the slate used the word darn rather than damn because District rules prohibit expletives on the ballot. [15]
McMillan sued the District of Columbia Board of Elections in federal court, saying the ban on expletives violated his right to free speech. [16] In December 2014, Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the suit, determining that McMillan lacked standing because he was not a candidate or registered voter in the District of Columbia, and determining that the matter was moot in any case because the slate had disbanded and "demonstrated no intent to use the plaintiff's party's name in a future election." [17]
The Liberal Party of New York is a political party in New York. Its platform supports a standard set of socially liberal policies, including abortion rights, increased spending on education, and universal health care.
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U.S. Senate in 1970 and served for one term. Since 2010, the party has held "Row C" on New York ballots—the third-place ballot position, directly below the Democratic and Republican parties—because it received the third-highest number of votes of any political party in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 New York gubernatorial elections. The party is known for its strategy of attempting to influence the Republican Party in a more conservative direction.
The 2005 New York City mayoral election occurred on Tuesday, November 8, 2005, with incumbent Republican mayor Michael Bloomberg soundly defeating former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, the Democratic nominee. Several third-party candidates also ran for mayor. Bloomberg won four of the five boroughs, the exception being the Bronx.
The 2006 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of New York, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections, then incumbent Republican governor George Pataki chose not to run for re-election in a fourth term. Democrat Eliot Spitzer, the New York Attorney General, won the election over former Republican state Assembly minority leader John Faso. As of 2023, this is the last time the Governor’s office in New York changed partisan control. This was the first open-seat election since 1982. Primary elections were held on September 12. This is the last gubernatorial election where any of the following counties voted Democratic: Genesee, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Niagara, Fulton, Steuben, Tioga & Schoharie.
The Independence Party is a political party in the U.S. state of New York. The party was founded in 1991 by Gordon Black, Tom Golisano, and Laureen Oliver and acquired ballot status in 1994. They lost their ballot status in 2020 under a change in the New York state election law that required at least 130,000 votes on the party line every two years. Although often associated with Ross Perot, as the party came to prominence in the wake of Perot's 1992 presidential campaign, it was created prior to Perot's run. In 2020, it affiliated with the Alliance Party, but disaffiliated in 2021. It used to have one elected member of the New York State Assembly, Fred Thiele, until Thiele switched his party affiliation to the Democratic Party in 2022. On December 9, 2022, New York governor Kathy Hochul signed S1851A, banning the use of the words "Independent" and "Independence" from use in political party names in New York state.
The Maine Green Independent Party is a state-level political party affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. It is the oldest state green party in the United States. It was founded following an informal meeting of 17 environmental advocates, including Bowdoin College professor John Rensenbrink and others in Augusta, Maine in January 1984. From 1994 to 2006, the party's gubernatorial nominees received between 6% and 10% of the vote.
The 2009 election for Mayor of New York City took place on Tuesday, November 3. The incumbent Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, an independent who left the Republican Party in 2008, won reelection on the Republican and Independence Party/Jobs & Education lines with 50.7% of the vote over the retiring City Comptroller, Bill Thompson, a Democrat, who won 46.3%. Thompson had won the Democratic primary election on September 15 with 71% of the vote over City Councilman Tony Avella and Roland Rogers. This was the fifth straight mayoral victory by Republican candidates in New York despite the city's strongly Democratic leaning in national and state elections.
The Green Party of New York is the affiliate of the Green Party of the United States in the U.S. state of New York. It was founded in 1992 and is a part of the Green Party movement. The Party has had ballot access at various points in its history. It regained ballot status for four years when Howie Hawkins received over 50,000 votes in the 2010 gubernatorial election and retained it for another four years in the 2014 election, when the party moved up to line D, the fourth line on state ballots, passing the Working Families and Independence parties, with 5 percent of the vote. It lost its status as a ballot-qualified political party in New York as of November 2020 when the law governing ballot access was changed requiring a larger number of votes in the Presidential and Gubernatorial elections.
The 2010 New York gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson, elected as lieutenant governor in 2006 as the running mate of Eliot Spitzer, initially ran for a full term but dropped out of the race. Democratic New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo defeated Republican Carl Paladino to become the next governor of New York.
The Maryland Green Party is the state party organization for Maryland of the Green Party of the United States.
James McMillan III is an American political activist and Vietnam War veteran. He was a perennial candidate in New York City.
The Promise of New York is a 2009 documentary film documenting some less-well-known candidates in the New York City 2005 mayoral race.
The Freedom Party of New York is a party founded in 2010 by a former Black Panther Party member and New York City Councilmember Charles Barron on a black progressive platform.
The 2013 New York City mayoral election occurred on November 5, 2013, along with elections for Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough President, and members of the New York City Council. The incumbent mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-Independent, was term-limited and thus unable to seek re-election to a fourth term in office.
The 1993 New York City mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 2. Incumbent Mayor David Dinkins ran for re-election to a second term, but lost in a rematch with Republican Rudy Giuliani.
The 2014 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo sought re-election to a second term in office, though incumbent Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy did not seek re-election. Cuomo and his running mate, former U.S. Representative Kathy Hochul, won contested primaries, while Republican Rob Astorino, the Westchester County Executive, and his running mate were unopposed for their party's nomination. Astorino and Moss were also cross-nominated by the Conservative Party and the Stop Common Core Party.
The 2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2018 New York gubernatorial election occurred on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo won re-election to a third term, defeating Republican Marc Molinaro and several minor party candidates. Cuomo received 59.6% of the vote to Molinaro's 36.2%.
The New York City mayoral election of 1933 took place on November 7, 1933 in New York City. Incumbent Democratic Mayor John P. O'Brien, who was elected in a special election after the resignation of Mayor Jimmy Walker, faced Republican Congressman and 1929 mayoral candidate Fiorello La Guardia, and former acting mayor and President of the New York City Board of Aldermen Joseph V. McKee, who became acting mayor after Walker's resignation until the special election, and ran on the Recovery Party line.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)