'Send Him a Message'
WFP Pins Ballot Hopes on Spitzer

By RICHARD STEIER

The Working Families Party is urging union members who plan to vote for Eliot Spitzer for Governor to do so on its line, saying it could improve the party's ballot position and will send a message to the candidate.

ELIOT SPITZER: Key to WFP aspirations.

"It's obviously a crucial election for us because it affects our ballot position," said Josh Mason, the policy director for the WFP. He was referring to the fact that the order in which parties appear on election ballots for the next four years will be determined by the number of votes on their line in the Governor's race.

Aiming for 200,000

The WFP currently is found fourth on the ballot, behind the Republican, Democratic and Conservative parties, but has been gaining ground over the past four years. Mr. Mason noted that the party's choice for Senator in 2004, incumbent Charles E. Schumer, got 160,000 votes on the WFP line, and it is trying for 200,000 for Mr. Spitzer this time.

"It's also important for us because of the perception that Spitzer's not necessarily going to be our friend in a lot of ways," Mr. Mason continued.

The power the new Governor will be able to exert is a prime reason the WFP is focusing more on that race than on Sen. Hillary Clinton's bid for re-election to a job that has less impact on the day-to-day lives of working people in the state. He added, "There's a lot more enthusiasm for Spitzer than for Hillary in the party."

There is a certain disaffection for Ms. Clinton within the WFP because of her vote four years ago to authorize President Bush to go to war with Iraq. One of the goals of the WFP is to push the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction.

Major Unions Involved

Mr. Mason said the targeted voting campaign will be championed in major unions including the two biggest groups in the Service Employees' International Union, Locals 1199 and 32-BJ; Transport Workers' Union Local 100; the Communications Workers of America; the Public Employees' Federation; the Professional Staff Congress, and the United Federation of Teachers, which only recently became an affiliate of the WFP. Conspicuously missing from that list were the two largest public-employee unions in the state, District Council 37 and the Civil Service Employees' Association. "For various reasons, we have never been as close to them," Mr. Mason said.