I'm proud of the campaign we ran, but ultimately with Council Member Garodnick and nearly all the elected officials lining up behind my opponent, the race was decided before voters showed up at the polls. My experience as a candidate over the past year opened my eyes and raised concerns, which you may share.

Earlier this month, I wrote an op-ed in City and State ' New York Democrats Should Practice What they Preach.'  I ask the question: Are we willing to speak out when leaders of our party fail to uphold our values?

Tonight we will have a roundtable discussion on this topic. We'll talk about what happened at County Committee on Monday regarding Manhattan Democratic Party Leader Keith Wright and the proposed anti-lobbying amendment.

We will also debrief the District 4 Council race, which demonstrated the power of lobbying firms and the hypocrisy of elected officials. One example is Comptroller Scott Stringer's endorsement of a  GEO Group lobbyist only months  after divesting New York City from private prison companies because of human rights abuses.

We love this city and our party too much to let special interests take control, to let those driven by power and ego to win, to let the boys club thrive. The stakes couldn't be higher - in this time of Trump we need NYC to be a beacon of progressive values.

So I hope to see you tonight at 7:30pm at Seafarers International House at 123 East 15th Street. Come hungry - we're having pizza to celebrate the club's decades of grassroots activism and kick off our plans for what is next...

Best Regards,

Marti Speranza