OPINION: Return your law enforcement campaign contributions
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Photo by Torba K. Hooper/Flickr
By Ana Maria Archila and Julissa Bisono
As Black and Brown people and anti-racist allies in Queens and across New York rise up to demand an end to the murder of Black people by police, we know that the problem is not just a few bad apples. The system is rotten to the core. And changing that demands real accountability and structural change.
Here in Queens, we have some elected officials that have, for years, taken large sums of money from law enforcement political action committees, and it’s blocked that type of change. Our communities deserve better.
While the police have brutalized and killed Black people with impunity, important legislation has been off the table in Albany, where the Governor and most legislators have much preferred to avoid the issue altogether. In addition to the overwhelmingly sympathetic treatment the police get from the press, which shapes the statewide debate, politicians have been all too willing to take law enforcement contributions, and, unsurprisingly, have been far less willing to systematically confront police violence and abuse.
Now, as our communities take unprecedented action to affirm that Black Lives Matter and that the police must be reined in, Queens residents are paying attention. Our ally Aaron Fernando compiled a list of the contributions that elected officials were taking from law enforcement, and Queens residents were shocked by what they saw. In Queens and across the city and country, people are articulating the demand that candidates for office (incumbents and challengers alike) must cease taking contributions from law enforcement PACs. The shorthand for the campaign: #NoCopMoney.
Since the list came out, several Queens elected officials, including Senator Mike Gianaris, Assemblymembers Aravella Simotas and Catalina Cruz, and Councilmember Francisco Moya, have pledged to contribute all of the funds they received to charity. That was the right decision.
Others have fallen short of the mark, and they’re worth mentioning.
Fernando’s list indicates that Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz has taken $31,000 in law enforcement contributions. Her office’s close interactions with law enforcement on a daily basis make these contributions particularly concerning, raising real questions about conflicts of interest. So far as we can tell, DA Katz has remained silent about these funds.
Senator Joseph Addabbo has taken more than $7,000 in law enforcement PAC contributions, and responded to an inquiry by saying: “I don’t see myself returning funds.”
Meanwhile, Assemblymember Michael DenDekker took approximately $20,000 in law enforcement PAC contributions this campaign cycle. When community members began to raise questions about these contributions and demand he return them, DenDekker’s office told the Queens Chronicle, he had not taken them. Then, as pressure mounted to return the contributions and support accountability legislation, DenDekker announced he would donate $13,000 to community groups. He also finally co-sponsored the repeal of the state’s 50-A statute and other police accountability measures.
The example reveals three lessons about the #NoCopMoney effort.
First, community organizing works. Community members came together and, while taking to the streets, also directed their energy strategically at an elected official. Despite his long-standing close ties to law enforcement, he felt obligated to respond.
Second, no cop money means no money from law enforcement PACs, and a commitment to keep it that way.
Third, our movement demands real accountability. While candidates have now signed on to important bills that we want to see passed, they failed to do so for many years in office and have never been an advocate on this issue.
For elected officials to be real allies to Black and Brown communities under siege in this moment, they must show that they are with us unequivocally. They must clearly reject the pernicious influence of law enforcement institutions in our politics, and they must show through action that they will advocate strongly for a robust police accountability platform.
Ana María Archila is the Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy Action. Julissa Bisono is the Queens Coordinator of Make the Road Action. On Twitter: @anamariaarchil2 @BisonoJulissa.
