Op-Ed: Should We Vote by PAC Or in Packs?

In its glory days, Crown Heights was a hotbed of political activity, where hopeful candidates would come and grovel before the community for its coveted vote, says activist Meir Yediya in his latest op-ed. Read more to find out why this is no longer the case, and what could be done to bring the ‘good old days’ of Crown Heights’ political influence back:

Messages blaring from slow moving cars, flyers, and an active, flourishing civic engagement. Politicians courted Crown Heights like a prized jewel, a necessary final piece to their electoral puzzle. I remember my parents taking turns to go vote, despite a very hectic evening full with supper, homework, bathtime and much more, all with us, a rambunctious set of eight. Those were the days of Crown Heights’s glory—that can no longer be seen anywhere.

With the thrill of the recent primaries, which jolted many in our community from a state of nonchalant oblivion to proactive alertness, still upon us, the time is most opportune to rethink our civic engagement and political efficacy as a community, and examine whether our representatives in the halls of power are short-changing us.

It was a slow and steady decline to our current state of affairs (though lest the dignity of those words mislead you, there’s no ‘state’ to our supposed ‘affairs’…), where our political leaders must expend much of their political acumen to stage a photo-op. How a photo-op can be a favor TO the community, and not the other way around, is beyond ordinary political imagination, but entirely predictable. It’s our fault. No one else is to blame.

The importance of active engagement in the political process as a social and civic duty, with voting being the most basic, is not in question, even absent any tangible beneficial outcome. In addition, R’ Moshe Feinstein famously Paskened that in the spirit of Hakoras Hotov towards this country who’s finally afforded us the equal rights, including the right to vote, it’s incumbent on every Jewish person to register and vote.

When the candidate we prefer loses an election, we should not assume that our votes, retroactively, didn’t count, or that our precious time was wasted; nothing can be further from the truth. When politicians look at their electoral battleground in a quest for reelection, they look at all votes cast, and strategize a campaign based on those voters.

So how powerful are we as a community? There are an estimated 2,500 voters eligible to vote in the Crown Heights Jewish community elections. Of those, 2,064 cast their ballots in the 2010 elections for the Vaad Hakohol and 770 Gaboim. Now get this: to be eligible to vote in those elections one must be male, and either married or over 30. That’s 4,128 (double) voters for political elections just for counting female voters. Now add all our adult children ages 18 to marriage, (include out of town boys and girls living in our community basements, who are US citizens from other states now legally living here who, upon applying for social programs (i.e. SNAP, Medicaid, etc.) can simply check a box thereby registering themselves to vote), and it’s safe to assume that we can triple the original number to (4,128+2,064=) 6,188. Consider also, that these numbers are four years old. If we apply this supposition to the number given as an estimate of eligible voters (2,500), we reach a grand total of 7,500! Ok, we are five thousand for sure. Of course, these numbers do not exist in the minds of office-seekers. They only count the ones who vote, and by the looks of it, that’s not many.

Assuredly, this is still a wholly insignificant number in the grand scheme of politics. However, when focused and properly utilized its effects increase beyond proportion.

Primaries are some of the closest races around, and making good use of our numbers will surely guarantee us a seat at the table. It’s an open-secret in provincial Jewish communities that despite our Republican-leaning slant on Foreign Policy, Social Issues, and other matters of national impart, we nevertheless register Democrat. The reason: many of the most important elections we participate in are local, Democrat-dominated areas, where whichever Democrat wins the Primary will cost to victory in the General (oftentimes without a challenger). Hence, as registered Democrats, we can vote where it counts: the Democratic Primary.

Considering that most issues that truly affect us on a daily basis and that demand our upmost concern are decided at the local level, our power to influence local, primary election are the true test of our political dexterity.

Nevertheless, we still lack the numbers. In a larger community, the mere act of voting, no matter the candidate, already triggers the attention of anyone seeking political office, but with our miniscule value in even the local races, the only way to be given a voice is by standing united for one candidate. I envision a time when a politician, wishing to win an election, must make concrete promises and owe immense political favor to one representative entity to secure all our votes—all five thousand of them. If we wish to wield such power, they must be confident that we all vote, and vote for whomever our representative endorses.

An obvious obstacle to our road to achieving political prowess and activating our numbers responsibly as a united-front is the recent proliferation of organizations and PACs that claim to either represent our community, or have a substantial following in the community who respect their endorsement. This democratic, bottom-up approach that splits our votes between different candidates is absurd when examined politically. Split-vote strategies, effective in forcing candidates to campaign hard to earn the group’s trust and vote, are only beneficial to large groups and demographics. To small communities like ours, it’s notoriously ineffective. Politicians are laughing at our community’s ineptness. A split vote in Crown Heights means they can ignore the few scanty votes that go one way or the other. The political anarchists in our community are sabotaging any leverage we wish to have over our elected leaders. So let’s call it like it is:  a few rabble-rousers wishing to jump-start a career in politics by hooking themselves to a candidate not yet endorsed by a Jewish community leader (which, by definition, necessitates endorsing the candidate that community leaders are LEAST likely to endorse).

Instead, there should be just one organization or committee that endorses candidates, so the entire community may vote together. This will force politicians to negotiate with our community in concrete terms in order to receive our support, i.e. votes. Should the politician not keep his promises, he’ll be held to account. Such a system would be immensely powerful and effective in getting politicians to listen to our needs and concerns, and restore us to our days of glory.

Instinctively, many are shaking their heads, “What a terrible idea!” you say. The potential problems with a system in which one committee will hold so much sway are as numerous as they are legitimate. Who can possibly claim to represent all of our voices in deciding which candidate in the best? What if they get it wrong? Who should the committee be? Who will hold the committee to account? How will the committee know our concerns upon which to base their judgment? And many more…

Our very own Democracy

We want a committee who we can elect, and vote out. Such a committee will find that they must achieve results, understand our concerns, and represent the majority of our voices, or they will find themselves out of the committee soon enough. It only makes sense that this committee should be acquainted with the social programs and services that benefit many in our community. Better, they should be the ones who administer these programs, which provides a double advantage: first, they can successfully represent us in negotiating with office-seekers without being taken for a fool; second, we can hold them accountable for everything—they can’t shift any blame for not providing us the maximum assistance possible. Therefore, they should be a recognized body by secular courts, government and politicians.

The idea of having our own little Democracy is not my idea, it’s an ancient Jewish idea established in Jewish law as the most legitimate communal means of authority, which obliges all community members to obey their guidelines and decisions. In fact, the Rebbe actively pursued and fought for exactly such an arrangement for Crown Heights, despite enormous pushback from the established powers of the time.

Ignorance abounds with respect to our own mini government. Community activists may well consider the positive affect Civic courses on how our communal institutions operate can have—so residents will engage and demand action and accountability. The only people who gain by our disinterested apathy (but again, mostly ignorance) are those in power, who become complacent and bored – indeed, finding the time for their own petty pursuits instead of the community’s. Education in this area is severely lacking.  Something so fundamental as our own mini government should not be taken for granted.

So what is our system and how does it work? This short space isn’t the platform for a comprehensive analysis of our system’s minutiae, nor for a mindful discussion of how it absolves so many of your concerns. However, I assure you that much was debated, discussed and thought-out when the institutions were established. The laws, or ‘Constitution’, is readily available online, and I encourage everyone to read it. In short, there are three branches: the Legislature, Judiciary, and Executive.

While the Legislative branch can work brilliantly towards solving communal issues if only we so chose (as there is currently no commanding institution who can enact any meaningful edicts, as is custom in established Jewish communities), what concerns us for this discussion is the Executive, namely, the Vaad Hakahol. Admittedly, some have lost trust in that institution, but then again, if we involve ourselves and hold them accountable—they can be transformed to a trusted and respected board.

When we don’t like the decisions they make, specifically, if we don’t like who they endorse, we shouldn’t resort to voting against the community; instead, persuade your friends and neighbors to vote them out! If this should work, we must resolve to work only within the system or we’re back to every man for himself—a political nightmare that we can no longer afford. What may seem as a surrender of your vote to the will of the community is actually making your voice many-fold stronger.

Thus, the next time you see a photo-op of our leaders with local politicians, look closely at the photo, and ask yourself: is that photo a conduit to further talk and cooperation between them? Does that photo raise our political stature and “put us on the map” in that politicians office? Is the photo, as political photos often are, a sign of continued friendship between the parties—of showing the success of a mission accomplished? Or, is the sum total of the photo—the photo?

On November 4^th there will be only one answer to that question. Go vote.