New Roosevelt – New Roosevelt was established by activist Bill Samuels to build a movement around making New York State’s legislature the best in the nation.
The focus of New Roosevelt are five pillars of reform – redistricting reform, campaign finance reform, fiscal integrity, legislative reform and ethics –
that are neither Republican nor Democratic issues but are necessary in order to eliminate the dysfunction that has plagued New York State. In this effort Bill advocates for progressive change.
Our focus in 2012 through the New Roosevelt Foundation will re-launch the Citizens Committee for an Effective Constitution to restore New York State’s reputation as the national policy leader through the critical analysis of outdated New York State Constitutional provisions that have contributed to statewide dysfunction.
In 2010 through New Roosevelt Initiative, Bill supported the election of idealist insurgents like now-Senator Gustavo Rivera to defeat disgraced now-former Senator Pedro Espada as well as women Senate candidates in Upstate New York in order to increase their representation from 16.1% to be more reflective of the fact that women make up half of our population.
Our ultimate goal is to create a truly great legislature that includes principled and capable leaders such as Teddy, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were when they started their political careers in Albany. Through New Roosevelt we will make New York’s State Legislature Best in the Nation.
ABOUT BILL
Bill Samuels has a lifetime of experience as a successful businessman and CEO, high tech entrepreneur, innovative political thinker and activist.
Raised in Rochester and Canandaigua, Bill’s family and political roots are deeply anchored in upstate New York. His great-grandparents were from Fulton, NY, where his great-grandfather ran for mayor, and his father Howard founded a plastics company, Kordite, in Victor, just outside of Rochester.
With products like Baggies and Hefty Trash Bags, Kordite (now Patciv) is still a major employer in upstate NY and today is one of the largest plastics companies in the United States.
As an undergraduate at MIT, Bill earned degrees in political science, economics and engineering, before attending Harvard Law School to get his JD.
Upon graduating, Bill made the decision to engage in socially responsible businesses, turning down a job on Wall Street to start an education company dedicated to training entry level workers who lacked the skills to get and keep a job.
While growing his small business into an innovative international corporation, Bill became active in the movement against the Vietnam War, raising money to finance the 1971 Vietnam Veterans Against the War March on Washington, one of the pivotal moments in the anti-war movement.
As a socially-responsible entrepreneur and business owner, Bill became one of the founders of the Council on Economic Priorities (CEP).
For over 30 years, CEP was the premiere public interest organization focusing on companies’ policies on the environment, women & minority advancement, corporate disclosure of information, labor relations, family benefits, and worker rights.
CEP publically rated companies on their behavior so investors and others could be well-informed about a business’ corporate practices.
Bill working the phones for his dad.
While growing his small business into an innovative international corporation, Bill became active in the movement against the Vietnam War, raising money to finance the 1971 Vietnam Veterans Against the War March on Washington, one of the pivotal moments in the anti-war movement.
As a socially-responsible entrepreneur and business owner, Bill became one of the founders of the Council on Economic Priorities (CEP).
For over 30 years, CEP was the premiere public interest organization focusing on companies’ policies on the environment, women & minority advancement, corporate disclosure of information, labor relations, family benefits, and worker rights.
CEP publically rated companies on their behavior so investors and others could be well-informed about a business’ corporate practices.
After building his education company to a worldwide enterprise with operations in Brazil, Europe, Mexico and Asia, Bill took the company public before moving on to other entrepreneurial ventures.
He built ACTV, a cutting-edge interactive education and media company.
Working with investors such as the Washington Post, the company developed some of the core intellectual property for interactive television and the web including two of the first fifty patents issued on the internet, before being sold to an affiliate of Liberty Media in 2002.
Bill is currently partnering with his brother, Howard Samuels, to found the Hills Treatment Center in Los Angeles, a facility dedicated to helping people overcome addiction, and he serves as chairman of Resonant Software, Inc., a provider of groundbreaking productivity software to financial services businesses.
While developing these businesses, Bill has remained involved in progressive politics, fundraising for Democratic candidates and speaking out on key issues.
In 2000, he helped finance the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of New York’s notoriously gerrymandered redistricting plan.
In 2001, he led a civil rights lawsuit against the Gramercy Park Trust.
The Gramercy Park suit was brought on behalf of fourth and fifth graders from nearby Washington Irving School, who had been brought into the park by the National Arts Club.
The children were ejected by a representative of the Trust, leading Bill to launch the lawsuit and ultimately win a significant financial settlement for the students due to the derogatory way they had been treated.
In the 2004 Presidential campaign, many Democrats were outraged by the “swiftboating” and lies of the Republican Party against John Kerry.
Bill, who had known Kerry since his anti-war activities in the 1970’s, responded with action, producing the documentary Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry.
The documentary set the record straight on Kerry, rebutting the baseless Swiftboat attacks against the Senator.
After the 2004 elections, Bill turned his attention to state politics, working with Eliot Spitzer to raise money to help the Democratic Party regain the State Senate. He also funded the launch of The Albany Project, one of the leading political blogs in the country, and founded the Blue Tiger Democrats, an innovative grassroots organization designed to reconnect the Party to its communities.
Designed to be the civic engagement arm of the Democratic Party, Blue Tiger Democrats organized “Welcome Home” programs to help returning Vets readjust to civilian life in Erie and Niagara counties, held computer training to seniors at the Tilden Democratic Club in New York City, and provided similar services in New York and Michigan, reconnecting the Party to its base.
This has had a major impact in Michigan, where the state Democratic Party has built out their Blue Tiger initiative, making civic engagement a core part of their grassroots campaign.
In the 2008 elections, Bill served as Finance Chairman for the New York Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, leading to Democrats gaining control of the State Senate for the first time in decades.
In this role, Bill developed a deep understanding of the structural problems in the legislature that prevent good people from running for office, and ultimately corrupt so many of the people who do choose to run.
Bill with his wife Marie with the President.
Despite his best hopes for the new majority, Bill was deeply disappointed when the Senate Democratic Conference failed to make the dramatic reforms necessary to allow Albany to function effectively.
His disappointment turned to outrage when the Democrats, desperate to hold onto the perks of the majority at any cost, cynically reaccepted Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate back onto their side of the aisle following their failed June 2009 coup.
Recognizing the kind of fundamental structural change that is needed, Bill has launched the New Roosevelt Initiative, a multi-year campaign to achieve critical reforms in New York’s fiscal practices, ethics rules, redistricting policies and campaign finance, allowing our Legislature to regain the integrity, functionality and common sense the voters are demanding.
His goal is simple – through direct electoral work, elect the “New Roosevelts” – individuals who will approach government and elective office with the integrity and dedication we need to give our state the best legislature in the nation.
Bill and New Roosevelt were among the first to endorse Gustavo Rivera, in a crowded field, more than two months before the 2010 Democratic Primary.
Bill saw him as the best shot to beat disgraced State Senator Pedro Espada and bring reform to Albany.
In order to wipe the slate clean of both traitors in the Senate, Bill also took on disgraced former State Senator Hiram Monserrate by endorsing Francisco Moya against him for Assembly.
Soon after, New Roosevelt Initiative built from scratch a field organization totally devoted to Albany reform.
They executed a targeted field and mail operation directed at Bronx Primary voters as well as polling and get out the vote efforts.
Primary Day 2010 was a huge success.
Bill had led New Roosevelt Initiative to oust the traitors in the failed June 2009 coup defeating State Senators Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate.
Bronx and Queens voters joined Bill in sending a clear message to Albany lawmakers to end corrupt practices of Albany.
Bill’s father, Howard Samuels, was a leader in New York state politics for many years, serving as Undersecretary of Commerce and Director of the Small Business Administration for President Lyndon B. Johnson.
In 1966, Howard Samuels, ran for Lieutenant Governor as a pro-business, reform Democrat against the political machine.
With his experience as a CEO and entrepreneur, Bill is now working against that same kind of machine for much the same reasons as his dad.