COURIER L 16 IFE, MARCH 19-25, 2021
PETITIONING
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you stop someone on the street and say ‘I’m running
for City Council’ and they say ‘what are you going to
do about dog poop?’ They’re not coming to a Zoom to
ask that question, that’s an honest reaction.”
In the 34th Council District in Williamsburg and
Bushwick, candidate Jennifer Gutiérrez has also
been happy to reconnect with locals at parks and
outside grocery stores, after a year of virtual gatherings
and organizing.
“There’s a ton of people in the community I
haven’t seen all year,” Gutiérrez said. “It’s really
been an opportunity to connect with people, to check
to see if people are alive unfortunately.”
‘Putting our lives at risk’
Health concerns remain, as evidenced when 33rd
Council Candidate Lincoln Restler tested positive
for the virus after the fi rst week of petitioning.
“It’s another reminder why it’s irresponsible
for the Governor to have forced campaigns to petition
during a pandemic — even if you take all precautions,
wear an N95 mask, like I did, and are primarily
outdoors — it’s still a risk,” Restler wrote on
Twitter.
In neighboring Fort Greene’s 35th Council District,
candidate Renee Collymore slammed the government,
saying it was irresponsible to force candidates
and their supporters to put themselves and the
public in danger of catching Covid.
“It is very dangerous because you have to approach
people and you’re up and them and they’re up
on you,” said Collymore. “We are out there putting
our lives at risk — there’s a pandemic going on.”
Krebs said Restler’s positive test hammered home
the inherent risk of petitioning in person, and made
his campaign reconsider their canvassing strategy
moving forward.
“However he got it is a reminder that getting
Covid is a real and present danger,” he said. “It made
us say about canvasses we had planned this weekend,
‘if our numbers are good enough, we don’t have
to ask people to do that again.’”
Candidate for Coney Island’s 47th District, Ari
Kagan, said he’s been extra careful after he contracted
a mild case of COVID-19 in early January,
advising his team to only collect signatures as long
as they and the people they’re interacting with feel
safe.
“I tell my volunteers, ‘If somebody doesn’t want
to open the door, don’t push them, if you feel unsafe,
don’t collect petitions,” said Kagan.
Council candidate Justin Krebs petitions outside PS 39 in
Park Slope. Photo by Ben Verde
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