Our Time Press Endorses Chris Owens

Our Time Press has endorsed Chris Owens for the 11th Congressional District seat.

Though the paper does not mention "Atlantic Yards," its editors are correct to say that this race is a fight for the soul of Central Brooklyn in more than one way. And for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz who smeared Owens in Carib News as "sucking up to the affluent minority" (which "affluent minority" is smaller and more affluent than the developer Marty "sucks up" to, Bruce Ratner, and the Mayor he endorsed, Mike Bloomberg?) it must come as a surprise that a prominent African-American owned and operated community newspaper, with "a distribution covering the African-American and Caribbean community in Bedford Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Fort Greene, Park Slope, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Heights, East New York, Starrett City, Wingate and Ocean Hill-Brownsville," has endorsed Chris Owens.

Owens panders to nobody and speaks, always, in defense and on behalf of community. He is a Community Candidate.

Here is an excerpt from the endorsement:

In our June 1st issue of Our Time Press, we'd suggested using the petition process to determine early organizational strength, commitment and support.

"If one of the African-American candidates garners an impressive number of signatures, that person would have a very strong argument to be the presumed front-runner and ...would be a difficult candidate not to endorse."

The Chris Owens Campaign has filed approximately 13,500 signatures to place him on the ballot (1,250 are needed), saying it is far more than any other candidate in this congressional contest. What is surprising about this is that Mr. Owens is working without the benefits of incumbency, or the deep pockets of David Yassky or Carl Andrews.

Mr. Owens has also shown a thoughtfulness and depth on issues that the other candidates lack and a level of campaign organization and communication that demonstrates how he was able to garner thousands of signatures.

Of the three candidates for office, Carl Andrews, Yvette Clarke and Chris Owens, Andrews can be most easily dismissed. The ethical baggage he carries is not what the district needs before a candidate even gets into office.

And while we like Yvette Clarke, we find her positions on issues too tepid for these times.

Our choice in this race is Chris Owens, a candidate endorsed by some of the most progressive members of Congress, including Representatives Dennis Kucinich (OH), John Conyers (MI), John Lewis (GA), Maxine Waters (CA) and Bernie Sanders (VT). But it is important to remember that whichever candidate you support, turnout is critical. A primary election in a non-presidential year is a fragile thing, easily swayed by a determined niche of voters. Turnout, turnout, turnout, will be the deciding factor in this all-important primary.