ACTS-CNY

One family’s story: Bambi Rodriguez of Liverpool, says her husband, who is not a U.S. citizen, will return to Honduras

Syracuse Post-Standard

By Bambi Rodriguez

I was born and raised in Syracuse. My mother suffered from addiction and left my siblings and me in my father’s care; my father followed suit and left us, too. I was 1 years old. Since then, it hasn’t been easy. I have dreaded the day - Thursday - when my children, Joel and Daniel, will have to live without their father by their side.

Thursday my husband, Freddy Rodriguez, will voluntarily leave the United States and go back to his country of origin (Honduras). In 2003, Freddy crossed the border into Arizona. He had decided to risk his life and walk across the dessert with the sole purpose to help his impoverished family and his ailing mother.

We met shortly after that and fell in love. Two years later, we had Joel in Syracuse. Joel was 1 year old when Freddy went out for pizza one night but did not return. The police had stopped him because of his skin color, had asked him for his immigration status and had called immigration authorities to detain him. I did not know about his whereabouts for three full days. I was eight months pregnant with Daniel. I was terrified.

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LISA PARLATO, who opposes the use of arrest reports by prospective employers and land´lords, attends a county legislative committee meeting on the issue Tuesday.

However, the utility of information from the Criminal History Arrest Incident Reporting System, or CHAIRS, drops off fast in the hands of an area landlord or employer.

For one thing, the database doesn’t include out-of-county arrest records. For another, the database is not routinely updated. Was the case dismissed? Was there a guilty plea? A conviction or acquittal? Did a judge seal the case?

The fact is, employers and landlords have no business considering arrest records of prospective employees or tenants. State human rights law affirmed that point for employers just this year. The rationale is clear: In our legal system, you are innocent until proven guilty.

Yet in Onondaga County, many employers and landlords demand CHAIRS reports, which at $10 a pop earns the county up to $40,000 per year. “It’s become ingrained,” says Patricia Warth, an attorney advocate with the Center for Community Alternatives. “Employers say, ‘You will not be interviewed unless you have a CHAIRS report.’”

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On Election Day, a reminder that it’s all about a better world
By The Post-Standard Editorial Board
November 03, 2009

MAYORAL CANDIDATES (from left) Otis Jennings, Steve Kimatian and Stephanie Miner attend a debate Oct. 29 at the Everson Museum.

“If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody,” said the nation’s original political junkie, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, “come sit next to me.”

Negative campaigning “sells” - up to a point. But pure negativity curdles politics. The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” Today, the very facts seem in contention, with critics occupying parallel universes. Los Angeles Times columnist Tim Rutten worries that “we’re perilously close to the point at which we stop even talking past each other and the language of our politics dissolves.”

Rep. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt, seemed gripped by that same concern at a gathering at Henninger High School Sunday afternoon sponsored by ACTS - Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse. After committing himself to completing an overhaul of national health insurance, he begged his listeners not to be fooled by scary claims and erroneous “facts,” and to keep others from being frightened or fooled.

This Election Day, citizens will be picking Syracuse’s mayor, common councilors, school board members, county legislators and other local leaders. To the north, residents of the sprawling 23rd Congressional District will be selecting the only new member of the House.

In contrast to the generally positive tone of most local election contests, the North Country race has been a negative shoutfest, amplified by national party funds. When Republican Dede Scozzafava withdrew over the weekend and endorsed her Democratic opponent, Bill Owens, instead of Conservative Doug Hoffman, the conservative blogosphere erupted with charges of “traitor,” “enemy of the state” and “incoherent buffoon.” One blogger observed that “all liberals are amoral.”

Sunday’s ACTS meeting at Henninger was refreshingly different. The coalition of 36 urban and suburban church and community groups packed the auditorium. The mood inside was upbeat: Cheers erupted as members carried their affiliation signs across the front of the auditorium.

There was praise from the podium for elected officials who collaborated on efforts with ACTS over the past year, such as reducing the number of uninsured children. Task force leaders laid out their agendas and respectfully asked mayoral candidates to sign on. One by one, Republican Steve Kimatian, Democrat Stephanie Miner and Conservative Otis Jennings promised to work to bring a supermarket to the South Side, expand job opportunities and end racial profiling.

Sunday’s meeting may not have drawn clear distinctions - the campaigns should have done that long ago. The ACTS approach doesn’t signal an end to negative campaigning. Far from it: Those leaving the meeting found fliers on their windshields promoting one candidate and asking: “Are you sick and tired of being neglected, ignored and disrespected?”

But the positive, collaborative tone of Sunday’s meeting provided a reason to vote today: to commit with public officials and community advocates to achieving worthy goals together.