Dear Sen. Felder, Your constituents in New York's 17th Senate district are requesting an on-the-record meeting with you as soon as possible before the end of the current legislative session so that we can discuss key issues before the New York Senate. Major unresolved issues before the body include: - The New York Health Act (S4840) - Legislation requiring New York to release the state tax returns of federal officials, including Donald Trump (S5572A) - The New York State Liberty Act (S4075A) - The Reproductive Health Act (S2796) - And other important topics affecting New Yorkers everywhere. We have been unable to learn where Sen. Felder stands on many of these matters. It is critical to publicly establish his position on these and other bills - and if he doesn't have a position on them, we want to discuss what information and analysis he is waiting to hear before making a decision. We are happy to discuss the logistics of our request with you (for example, whether Sen. Felder would be able to host one meeting, whether he would prefer several shorter meetings, and whether he would conduct the meetings in person or by phone). By an "on-the-record" meeting, we mean that the conversation can be recorded, so that it can be made publicly available and shared with Sen. Felder's other constituents. Thank you for your consideration, and we eagerly await your reply.

President Trump’s transgressions extend beyond incompetence; they are rooted in motivations that are transparently contrary to the values expressed in our nation’s Constitution. Collusion by House Republicans makes a mockery of the system of checks and balances our Founding Fathers envisioned and installed to protect our democracy. Every day Donald Trump remains in office stands as a repudiation of our system of governance and proud heritage of rule of law. Mike Coffman, Paul Ryan, and other Trump allies continue to back Trump at every turn. Even after his district sent a clear message by voting for Hillary Clinton with a 9 margin over Trump, Coffman has supported trump over 93% of the time. When those we’ve elected betray our trust and their oath of office, it falls to citizens to step into the breach. We don’t have time to wait for a Democratic Congress to hold Trump accountable. Unless and until he is removed from office, Trump will continue to do immense damage to our country. Coffman has proven countless times that he will change his positions to protect his own skin, such as when he vocally supported Republican’s move to take healthcare away from millions of Americans to pay for another tax cut for the 1%, only to vote against it when Paul Ryan said he could. In general, such naked self-interest is not to be applauded. But if Coffman’s true north is survival and if his constituents can convince him that his political survival depends on standing up to Trump before 2018, we certainly should. Anything that keeps more people from being harmed by Trump’s reckless policies is a victory for Americans. Since Coffman has proven he’s willing to do the right thing so long as he’s not expected to show actual leadership, I’ve worked with a team of legal experts to make it easy for him. We’ve assembled articles of impeachment and easy to follow step-by-step instructions that will allow Coffman and other Republicans to perform their constitutional duty and remove Donald Trump from office. We’ve done the hard work, all Coffman and other Republicans need to do is uphold their oath to America’s Constitution. Instructions: 1) Download the Articles of Impeachment at leviforcolorado.com [this can be done by an intern or staffer] 2) Print out the PDF [this can also be done by an intern or staffer. If you do not have a printer, Levi will hand deliver them to you at your district office or arrange to have them printed at a convenient union print shop for you to pick up] 3) Publicly call for Paul Ryan to bring these articles to the House floor for a vote [you need to do this one yourself] A simple majority vote by the House will initiate a trial. President Trump is operating outside the boundaries of ethics and law. His conspiracy-addled civic nihilism is at odds with the sober bedrock of idealism and progress, upon which our country was founded. Any clear-eyed citizen committed to seeing the world as it is rather than through the warped lens of partisan ideology must admit: Trump’s actions and associations during the campaign have breached innumerable ethical norms, traditional standards, and laws; the barriers erected by our forbearers to preserve civility, decency and the democratic order in our republic. Fortunately, Trump does not represent the collective will of the American people. Three million more people voted for Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump in the 2016 election. No doubt, Trump would lose election today in a crushing defeat. But that is cold comfort. Instead, he must be removed from office. Fealty to the law and to public decency demands his removal. By providing the necessary documents, we’re making it easy. The crimes are clear. The public is disgusted. The articles of impeachment are written. The only missing ingredient is leadership. Read the impeachment articles at https://www.leviforcolorado.com/single-post/2017/05/22/Resolution-Impeaching-Donald-John-Trump-President-of-the-United-States-for-High-Crimes-and-Misdemeanors-1

My wife and I are on Medicare and Social Security. My wife has a preexisting condition. I am afraid she will not be covered anymore if they cut this.

New Yorkers are demanding bold leadership to pass progressive reforms and stand up to Trump. But this won’t happen until we have a unified, progressive government in Albany. Republicans hold a minority of seats in New York's State Senate. The only reason they control the chamber is because of support from some Senators who were elected as Democrats but have formed an alliance with Republicans. In the era of Trump, we need to let them know this can no longer stand. Sign the petition: Tell the members of New York's Independent Democratic Conference to end their outrageous alliance with Republicans in the State Senate immediately.

I have reached my breaking point with Republicans as a whole. For example, the 5th's current representative Susan Brooks voted for the AHCA -- I refuse to let my daughter have to deal with such a garbage system! It is time for change, from healthcare to income/racial/gender equality. Sign my petition... if I win, you have another progressive vote in Congress!

After FBI Director James Comey was fired by Donald Trump, it became clear that we need an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the Trump team's ties to Russia. The American people deserve the truth.

I have had to use Disability insurance for several years in my life when a failed back surgery made it impossible for me to work. I have several friends who are disabled - who would LOVE to be working - but can't because of physical reasons. Medicaid is how most long-term Nursing Home care is paid for by Americans. Since the average cost is $5,000.00 a month, unless you are very wealthy, most people can not afford such an expense. The fact that the health care bill proposed by the Republicans comes with a tax break for the wealthy is a slap in the face. The taxpayers in our country pay for every member of Congress to have excellent, free health care, with no pre-existing condition clause, and no limit on catastrophic illnesses! We already have enough nuclear weapons to blow the entire earth into oblivion, and the idea of building more is totally insane. We have been warned about the Military-Industrial-Complex and Obama had begun to get us away from it, but Trump has put us back on track for an enormous military, that, instead of making us safer, will intimidate our enemies. I believe the Democrats and the American people need to fight against this budget. Please sign this petition.

Trump is sending the country and the state of Oregon in a frightening direction. We must fight back against it.

Trump's budget has a proposal to cut Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (aka food stamps) by $191 billion over 10 years. It is import to know who this impacts: Over 85 percent of all SNAP benefits go to households that include children, seniors, or those with disabilities, while 15 percent of all SNAP households are elderly individuals who live alone. If that wasn't bad enough, the budget also works to dis-incentivize stores from even *accepting* SNAP, by proposing new fees that would charge retailers a fee for participating in SNAP. This is a dangerous idea which will lead to fewer stores accepting SNAP, making it even harder for Americans who've fallen on tough times to get food. Sources: - www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/msar.pdf - https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/ops/Characteristics2015.pdf

The New York City Economic Development Corporation is attempting to take away public land that was mapped and promised as parkland in The Bronx. Known as Pier 5, the 4.7 acre is immediately adjacent to Mill Pond Park directly to the south and was planned as an expansion. NYC Parks Department included the acreage of Pier 5 into the total of Mill Pond Park until recently when they deleted all online evidence of it. We the people of The Bronx and NYC will NOT sit by while land is taken away from the public, land that was not only promised as parkland but mapped out as such as evidenced by our documentation. If the city is allowed to do this, this will be a precedent for the NYC to do this to any parkland in ANY borough. This is why we need you to sign this petition and let it be known that this is unacceptable and also illegal in the State of New York to take away land once it has been alienated as parkland. According to an attorney familiar with such cases: “In order to convey parkland to a nonpublic entity, or to use parkland for another purpose, a municipality must receive prior authorization from the State in the form of legislation enacted by the New York State Legislature and approved by the Governor. “Once land has been dedicated to use as a park, it cannot be diverted for uses other than recreation, in whole or in part, temporarily or permanently, even for another public purpose, without legislative approval.” United States v. City of New York, 96 F.Supp.2d 195, 202 (E.D.N.Y. 2000). This clear law has been applied consistently since 1871. The question is: what is parkland? The term “dedicated” is often used in referring to municipal parkland subject to State alienation requirements. Common phrases include “lands dedicated for park purposes” and “dedicated parklands.” The dedication of parkland may be formal through an official act by the governing body of the municipality. Dedication can also be implied. This may occur through actions which demonstrate that the government considers the land to be parkland or the public used it as a park. Examples include: a municipality publicly announcing its intention to purchase the lands specifically for use as a park, “master planning” for recreational purposes, budgeting for park purposes, or “mapping” lands as parkland. Kenny v. Board of Trustees of Village of Garden City, 735 N.Y.S.2d 606, 607 (App. Div. 2nd 2001)(property acquired for recreational purposes and used for recreation was instilled with public trust even though never officially dedicated). Here is the State’s handbook on alienation: http://nysparks.com/publications/documents/AlienationHandbook.pdf

We call for an investigation to determine whether Rep. Frelinghuysen violated House ethics rules by using his position to intimidate a citizen exercising her constitutionally guaranteed rights. No American should fear intimidation by an elected official for expressing his or her views.

News broke earlier that, according to a memo written by former FBI Director James Comey, Donald Trump tried to pressure him to stop the investigation of Michael Flynn's ties with Russia. If the reports are true, then Trump obstructed justice and should be impeached. According to additional news reports, Michael Flynn also told the Trump transition, led by Michael Pence, that he was under investigation before he joined the administration as National Security Adviser. If these reports are true, Vice President Pence was complicit in giving a foreign agent, Michael Flynn, access to the president and nearly every secret held by American intelligence agencies. He must be investigated along with Trump for collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice. And if found guilty, he must be impeached along with Trump.