Erick Salgado Speaks To "The Rabbinical Alliance of America"

Long shot Conservative Democratic mayoral candidate, Erick Salgado, addressed Tuesday night the Rabbinical Alliance of America, a national rabbinic organization based in New York, in an effort to reach out to Orthodox Jewish voters from a standpoint of religion, faith and common values.

"We are living in a time when the values of people of faith are under sustained attack," Mr. Salgado started off. "whenever there is a person who believes, who wants to preserve his culture, his customs and his values, that person seems to be strange. And many of the elected officials don't respect the different communities.. that's the reality " he said.

Here, Mr. Salgado went on to counter the administration for undermining social values, in his view, by the office of the mayor, such as the morning after pill. "This is a real issue in the City of New York," he said. And it is going "to get even worse, if one of the current candidates takes office."  

Mr. Salgado promised to give a tax credit "to any person who sends their children to study in any private institution" as a substitute to school vouchers. "Right now, because of the blaine amendment, it is impossible to get vouchers for Yeshivah parents, but with a tax credit we can get immediate relief to those who care about the children, that are willing to spend the money for their childrens education." 

Mr. Salgado also addressed the issue of Metzitzah B'peh. "This is a practice that was commanded by God. This is a practice that the Jewish community has been practicing since God told Abraham to do so. But now, we have a mayor that is saying it's too dangerous.. My friends, it is going to get worse. If we don't act together, if we don't push our values, if we don't say enough is enough, we are going to have a mayor that will prohibit a lot of things," Mr. Salgado said.

"If I get the help that I need from the Orthodox Jewish community, we could surprise many people. Yes, I speak with an accent, but I am going to be fighting for all the common rights we have, and what we need. If you help me get elected, you will have a friend in City Hall," he definitely added.

(nymayor.blogspot.com)