Social Justice Advocate from New York’s 9th Congressional District Michael Hiller Kicks Off 2020 Bid for Congress with “No-PACs Promise to the People”
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 23, 2019--
Social justice advocate Michael Hiller officially kicked off his 2020 bid for Congress for New York’s 9th Congressional District after concluding a district-wide listening tour, where he heard from voters, who expressed concerns that their current elected officials have been placing the needs of special interests, Wall Street and large corporations before the hard-working people of “Main Street.”
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Congressional Candidate Michael Hiller speaking to a crowd in front of the Cortelyou Brooklyn Library (Photo: Business Wire)
Joined by community leaders at the Brooklyn Public Library Cortelyou Branch, Hiller unveiled his “No-PACs Promise to the People,” a commitment to voters that he will not take any campaign contributions from corporate PACs during his campaign for Congress. Hiller also called on incumbent Yvette D. Clarke to sign a No-PACs Promise to the People and give back all corporate PAC money within 10 days. Today, New York’s 9th Congressional District remains one of the lowest-income in the entire state. More than 15 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, unemployment is nearly four times the national average and 52,000 people still live without health insurance coverage.
“Today, as a first-generation American whose family was granted asylum here in 1940, I find it shocking, heartbreaking and unacceptable to see that rather than breaking down walls, the Trump Administration and Republicans continue to fight to build walls between us,” said Democratic Candidate for the New York 9th Congressional District Michael Hiller. “We must come together to fight against the lawless Trump Administration, Republicans who rail against common-sense solutions and those in our own party, who should be held accountable for their inaction. I could no longer watch this assault on our national character continue. This is why I have decided to run for Congress. I believe our elected officials should be working night and day to both write and pass laws that improve the lives of the people they represent, instead of lining their pockets with money from special interest groups, who hope to control an entire separate, but equal, branch of government. It is time we put an end to the greed controlling the halls of Congress and stand up for what the American people are demanding: more accountability now.”
Whether representing the disabled, suing insurance companies and other large institutions, protecting those threatened with foreclosure and the loss of their homes or advocating on behalf of New York communities fighting to stop irresponsible development in their own backyards, Hiller has spent the last two decades fighting to improve the quality of life for all. Inspired to become an attorney by the decision of former Governor Mario Cuomo to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and prosecute those involved in the racially-charged murder of Michael Griffith, Hiller has committed much of his life to public service.
Hiller’s successes include: working with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to save the historic Hopper-Gibbons House Underground Railroad Site, the last, intact shelter-point of the Underground Railroad in Manhattan; preserving the First Church of Christ Scientist, an African American Church, under the threat of being converted into luxury condominiums; stopping the Metropolitan Museum of Art from charging unfair, illegal mandatory admission fees; stopping the city from converting the New York Public Library into a glorified reception hall for the wealthy; forcing insurance companies to pay the disabled; and fighting for the rights of patients to obtain the medical care they deserve. Hiller is also the lead counsel in Washington v. Barr, a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Schedule I classification of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act. It is the first-ever case to survive dismissal, which resulted in a directive to the DEA to reconsider the classification of the plant. Additionally, much of Michael’s legal work is conducted pro bono, providing legal services for free to those who cannot afford them.
The subject of dozens of articles, such as The Protector of the Little Guy, fighting “seemingly impossible quests,” Hiller has taken on the establishment on behalf of New Yorkers and won. In the book, Patience and Fortitude: Power, Real Estate and the Fight to Save the New York Public Library, Hiller was described as a “pugnacious” lawyer, unafraid to take on any challenge. Legendary Billie Jean King, the former World No. 1 professional lawn tennis player in America, has also called Hiller a “community defender” and a “genuine hero.”
For more information, visit https://www.michaelhillerforcongress.com/, https://twitter.com/mikehilleresq, https://www.facebook.com/welikemike2020/, https://www.instagram.com/MichaelHillerforCongress/, Hiller 2020 or email press@michaelhillerforcongress.com.
About Michael Hiller
Democratic Candidate for the New York 9th Congressional District, Michael Hiller believes that those elected to Congress should be working to both write and pass laws to create a better, safer and more equitable society. Hiller supports: restrictions on gun proliferation; universal health care; increased funding for affordable housing; protection for DREAMers and extension of D.A.C.A.; requiring insurers to pay for all medical procedures approved by patients’ doctors; equal pay for equal work; the Equal Rights Amendment; marriage equality; higher taxes on the super-wealthy; preservation of our environment; ensuring access to safe and legal abortion protected by Roe v. Wade; amnesty for illegal immigrants and their children; protection for Dreamers (D.A.C.A.); campaign finance reform (restrictions on the money donated to political candidates); social justice reform; the legalization of cannabis; increased funding for New York City’s infrastructure, including for New York subways; increases in teacher pay; other improvements to our education system; among other policies and initiatives.
This announcement has been paid for by Hiller 2020.
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CONTACT: Media Contacts:
Hiller 2020: press@michaelhillerforcongress.comLeland Radovanovic
Leland@PowerplantStrategies.com
845-200-5249Ellen Mellody
ellen@PowerplantStrategies.com
570-209-2947
KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW YORK
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ELECTIONS/CAMPAIGNS CONGRESSIONAL NEWS/VIEWS PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC POLICY/GOVERNMENT
SOURCE: Hiller for Congress
Copyright Business Wire 2019.
PUB: 09/23/2019 04:50 PM/DISC: 09/23/2019 04:50 PM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190923005812/en
