Councilman Greenfield: "Don't Vote In November. Your Vote Doesn't Count."

At a large gathering in Borough park, Tuesday evening, Councilman David Greenfield issued an unusual plea to the attendees ahead of a critical citywide election season. "I would like to ask everybody in this room not to vote in the upcoming November elections," Mr. Greenfield opened his remarks at the Bais Ya'akov annual dinner, according to excerpts provided to NYC Elects By Photo Journalist Shimon Gifter. 

Counting the challenges the Orthodox Jewish community faces, from tax hikes, high tuition costs, special ed funding cuts, public safety and the attack on religious freedom, Mr. Greenfield sought to rally the crowd to take notice of what's at stake in the upcoming elections, and the power of the Jewish vote in  the upcoming Democratic primaries, which, in his view, will determine who'll eventually become the next mayor of New York City.

"Despite all this I still don't want you to vote this November. Do you know why? Because your vote in November doesn't really count. The only vote that matters is in September," Mr. Greenfield explained.  "In this city 99% of those who win, especially in the democratic primaries, go on to win the election. And here is the secret: Most people don't know this. So the turnout during primaries is between 5 and 10 percent. That means that 90% of the city doesn't vote because they don't realize how important the primaries are. Your vote in September, literally counts ten times more in a primary than in a general election.

"So, I am appealing to you. Please! Skip the November election and vote in September. By voting in September, our community will have a real voice on the critical issues that matter to us. We can send a clear message that we are here. That we are not going anywhere. And we are making our voice heard loud at the ballot box," Mr. Greenfield concluded.