FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2022
Contact: Yuridia Peña, [email protected], (718) 790-0837
PROCHOICE VOTER ENDORSES VEDAT GASHI FOR CONGRESS
Choice Matters Rates Gashi 100% Pro-Choice.
NEW YORK – Yesterday, ProChoice Voter endorsed NY-16 Candidate Vedat Gashi for Congress. ProChoice Voter works to keep abortion legal and accessible for all women, regardless of age, race, class, status, geography or ability to pay. The organization joins a growing coalition supporting Gashi’s vision to deliver real results and real progress for the Bronx and Westchester.
“ProChoice Voter is proud to co-endorse Vedat Gashi for Congress. Gashi is a lifelong supporter of reproductive rights,” said ProChoice Voter Director Catherine Lederer-Plaskett. “As Vice Chairperson of the Legislature Committee, Legislator Vedat Gashi worked together with Choice Matters, and the bill’s sponsors, to pass the Westchester County Reproductive Health Care Facilities Access Act. This is a resounding victory that has taken over 12 years to accomplish and one that – given the huge uptick in violence and the overturning of Roe v. Wade – could not come at a more crucial time.”
“Women’s rights are human rights and as a proud girl dad and husband, this is personal to me and I am deeply committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose, to codifying Roe v. Wade and to securing legal and safe abortions in New York and across the country,” said NY-16 Candidate Vedat Gashi. “I am truly honored to have earned the endorsement of ProChoice Voter and rated 100% pro-choice by Choice Matters – I look forward to working together to ensure abortion is protected under the law as a fundamental right.”
As County Legislator, Gashi has implemented a series of policies and funding projects that have improved the quality of life for women and families. He passed a clinic access bill that protects women’s health and has delivered millions for childcare and affordable housing. He is committed to expanding crucial policies that provide families across the Bronx and Westchester access to affordable and quality health care including reproductive care.
ProChoice Voter joins a broad coalition of supporters that includes advocacy groups, elected officials, community leaders, labor unions, and clubs including Former Congresswoman Nita Lowey, Former Congressman Eliot Engel, NYS Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, NYS Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, Former New York Governor Paterson, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Yonkers Democratic Party Chair Tom Meier, Westchester County Board of Legislators Chair Catherine Borgia, Westchester County Legislator Colin Smith, former Westchester Democratic Party Chair David Alpert, former Westchester Democratic Party Deputy Chair Bill Serratore, former Westchester County Legislators Alfreda Williams and Ruth Walter, Asbestos Workers Local 91, Boilermakers Local 5, Bricklayers Allied Crafts Local 5, Building Laborers Local 235, Westchester County Corrections Superior Officers Association, Building Trades Council, Dockbuilders Local 1556, Ironworkers Local 40, Ironworkers Local 417, Laborers Local 60, Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters Local 279, Operating Engineers Local 137, Ornamental Ironworkers Local 580, Painters District Council 9, Plumbers/Steamfitters Local 21, Road Sprinkler Local 669, Teamsters Local 456, Teamsters Local 813, Teamsters Local 814 and Tile, Marble, and Terrazzo Local 7.
About Vedat Gashi:
Vedat Gashi is a current Westchester County legislator who came to the U.S. as a refugee when his parents fled an oppressive regime in Kosovo. Raised in the Bronx and now raising his own family in Yorktown, Vedat has experienced the promise and hard realities of the American Dream. He knows what it’s like to grow up without food on the table, which is why he is focused on getting real results for us in our everyday priorities. And as a refugee from a country without democracy, it pains Vedat to see our leaders and Democrats fighting each other instead of working together to get things done. As a county legislator, Vedat has always delivered and worked with others to get results – putting people and everyday issues, not partisan politics, first. As the Chair of Appropriations, Vedat has built support for expanding services while cutting taxes, and in Congress, he will do the same. Vedat is focused on making real progress on the kitchen table issues like holding down taxes, lowering health care costs, strengthening our infrastructure, and improving our economy.