Opinion: Vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on the Working Families Party line

Early voting Saturday in Astoria. Photo by Christina Santucci

By Zachariah Boyer and Shawna Morlock

We are Democratic District Leaders in Astoria — elected local leaders of the Democratic Party — and we are asking you to vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on the Working Families Party line. The Working Families Party is a bastion of progressive change in New York, and its fate depends on your vote this year. 

The fight for the survival of the Working Families Party line isn’t about Joe Biden — we know he is a deeply flawed candidate. But the Working Families Party is a crucial vehicle to pushing politicians to the left and holding the powerful accountable. 

This year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo made it harder for the Working Families Party to succeed in that mission. By increasing the threshold the party needs to meet- from 50,000 to 130,000 votes to maintain ballot status. He’s fighting to marginalize those who would hold him accountable. Voting for Joe Biden on the WFP line is a proud statement against cutting funding for hospitals and protesting the refusal to cancel rent. Voting for Joe Biden on the WFP line sends centrist Democrats the message that the politics of austerity do not have a home in the Empire State. 

No party is perfect and there won’t be agreement 100% of the time - that’s our democratic system. To that end, the WFP’s role makes our democracy healthier, gives all voters more options, and protects the progress we’ve worked so hard towards. 

The Working Families Party has succeeded in that mission over the years - working to defeat the Independent Democratic Conference - the Democrats who caucused with the Republicans in the state Senate. Because of WFP’s efforts, we wrested control of the Senate from the GOP. Incredible leaders including Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie are now state Senators and we have the largest - and most progressive - Democratic majority that we have seen in decades. Cuomo continues, however, to thwart the progress being made by his own party. 

New York — and the nation — needs forward-thinking, bold action for its citizens. We need to reject the austerity politics enacted on working people by the wealthy few. We must deliver on fully funding our schools, mass transit, and public housing by taxing the richest among us. That is what the WFP is fighting to deliver: your support on the ballot this year is going to make that possible. 

We want to make it clear that our ask of you to vote on the Working Families Party line is not an endorsement of Biden. 

We believe he lacks substantive policies to hold the police accountable, has ineffective foreign policy, and accepts Wall Street, Big Pharma, and Trump-enabling Republicans as his allies. But, we can continue to hold Joe Biden, Andrew Cuomo, and other centrist Democrats in power accountable through the Working Families Party. Voting for Biden/Harris is not a mandate that we accept- or continue to accept- flawed candidates such as Biden as the best choice to lead the Democratic Party or to handle the numerous crises across the country. 

Voting on the WFP line is one of our most accessible — and necessary — tools to hold our leaders accountable, strengthen our democracy, and speak truth to power. 

Early voting is underway. Join us in supporting the Working Families Party and continue the fight for actual working families. 

Zachariah Boyer and Shawna Morlock are Democratic district leaders in Queens’ Assembly District 36, Part B.