Joyce Johnson
Joyce Johnson
Joyce Johnson
Website: www.electjoycejohnson.com
4. What will your top 3 budget priorities be in your first term as Council Member? 1. Funding education and child services so NYC schools are the best in the nation. 2. Finding a solution to our pension liability that ensures a fair deal for NYCs labor force. 3. Smartly funding public safety departments in NYC so that were protecting and serving our communities with more dignity and less budgetary fat. 5. Do you plan to use participatory budgeting to allocate your discretionary funds? Why or why not? I do plan on using participatory budgeting to allocate discretionary funds across New Yorks 7 th City Council District. These are flexible funds that should be used to aid non-profits and organizations across the city who service our diverse populations and neighborhoods. Speaking with people in our local neighborhoods and the organizations who service them, the financial boon discretionary funding provides to these programs can mean one more child admitted to an after school program or the start-up of a community beautification project. These funds have a moral foundation, and I would be proud to allocate them in a responsible, humanitarian manner across the 7 th City Council District. 6. Please provide examples of recent legislation in Council that you believe promotes human rights. As mentioned earlier this years paid sick leave bill was a major victory in employees rights. Additionally, the Community Safety Act and the creation of a NYPD inspector general are a large step forward in combating racial profiling across New York City. 7. Legislation is only one of many ways in which Council Members can work to advance human rights. What ways other than through legislation will you advance the human rights of New Yorkers as a City Council Member? Simply, through community outreach and presence. As a resident of the district in which I hope to serve, I live with my neighbors around me. I know their issues, and as a city council member, I would be able to give voice to their issues against institutionalized forces that may serve as roadblocks to the recognition of their basic needs. Very often, people are discouraged from seeking the services they need or fighting for their rights because theyre overwhelmed by bureaucratic red tape and discrimination. As a Councilmember, I would fight for these individuals as far as I could. 8. Some advocates contend that the position of the Council Speaker has too much power over the progression of legislation. Please use this space to respond to that critique. I agree with this critique. The speaker has too much freedom to single-handedly hold legislation, as Speaker Quinn did with paid sick days earlier this year. Committee chairs should have more power to move legislation, even if the speaker opposes. The members of legislative bodies should be equal with the speaker as the first among equals not the ultimate gatekeeper to legislation.