New York City board falls prey to Christian Coalition

IFAS | Freedom Writer | June/July 1993 | ccny.html

New York City board falls prey to Coalition
On May 4 the Christian Coalition of New York scored big in its first real test in that state the New York City school board elections. Published reports estimated that Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition, and other conservative groups, elected about half of the 130 candidates which they had supported. The Christian Coalition scored best in middle-class and poorer neighborhoods. While the Christian Coalition did quite well, almost any victory by the religious right in New York City is considered astonishi ng.

Three out of five lesbians and gays won the seats they sought: two in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. Four New York City school boards are controlled by liberals; religious right-backed conservatives now control three boards. There are 32 boards in New Yor k City.

The Christian Coalition of New York made headlines when they formed an alliance with the Archdiocese of New York. With the help of the Catholic Church, the Coalition distributed about 500,000 voter guides through almost 1,800 churches.

Throughout New York's five boroughs, about 425,000 voters turned out for the election, about 12.5 percent of those eligible. In recent years, only about 7 percent of eligible voters have participated in New York City school board races.