Election 2006

In 1994, Jimmy McMillan ran for Mayor of New York City in the Democratic primary. He lost. But this defeat did not end his political aspirations. In today’s election he appears on Line H of the state ballot as the gubernatorial candidate for the “Rent is Too High” party. Mr. McMillan’s one and only issue is high rent in New York.

The Rent is Too (Damn) High party, composed of Mr. McMillan and two women, President Christalle Felix and Vice President Samantha Felix, argues that rental rates in New York are in a state of emergency. “Rent, taxes, and prices are going down because I said so,” reads the caption of his promotional photo. If only it were so easy.

The building that houses Mr. McMillan’s apartment and party headquarters is three stories of brown brick nestled between two churches and a childcare center. At the nondescript doorway of 1996 Nostrand Ave., duct tape secures the wiring of four doorbells, labeled by white paint simply as 1, 2, 3, and BSMT; it is unclear which buzzer leads to Mr. McMillan.

An elderly neighbor threw up her window from the third floor in response to a ring. Mr. McMillan was not home, she said, noting that his car was missing from the street outside her window. He has a good campaign, she said. She thinks it is going well.

To counter what it sees as a state-wide problem — which is more accurately a city issue — the Rent is Too (Damn) High party is running its only candidate for governor. The party argues that current elected officials are “brain dead,” unable to perform their tasks and leading the state to ruin. “Landlords and politicians conspire to run all the poor people out of New York,” he says on the website.

Mr. McMillan’s own, self-described, qualifications are that he is a Vietnam veteran, a former postal employee, an independent private investigator, actor, author, and musician.

A sample of rent prices, taken from Craigslist.org, the free and highly-trafficked classifieds posting website, shows that the issue close to McMillan’s heart is less than universal. Outside of New York City, rents in the state are typically several hundred dollars per month. In Mr. McMillan’s Flatbush neighborhood, rents are low compared with Manhattan — often under $1,000 for a one-bedroom and less than $2,000 for a two- or three-bedroom apartment. While it is unclear what amount of rent the party considers to be fair, its platform includes proposals that would implement a rent freeze, reduction and cap, and “outlaw” rent control, guidelines and stabilization boards.

A “Housing Homeless Emergency Bill” on the party’s disorienting website asserts that the majority of New Yorkers are “one check away from being homeless; facing eviction, out of business, going out of business, lost our lease; can’t eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner; living under poverty; homeless, jobless.” But labor statistics contradict this claim. The September 2006 unemployment rate was 4.4 percent and 4.2 percent in New York City and New York State, respectively — on par with rates for the United States overall.

“Just give me my chance. I am ready to kick some ass,” the bill adds. Representatives of the party were unavailable to comment further on how they plan to use the scope of the governor’s office to implement the change they wish to see.

Mr. McMillan’s militant but solitary foray into public office is in keeping with several other third-parties’ strategies. While some well-known but relatively small parties, such as the Libertarian, Green, and Socialist Workers parties, endorse candidates of their own, it is especially difficult to win voters as both an esoteric party and candidate, such as Mr. McMillan. Kenneth Sherrill, Professor of Political Science at Hunter College, said that third-party candidates in New York do not have a hard time getting onto the ballot, but often struggle to persuade people to vote for them. New York Board of Elections regulations state that candidates and parties other than the Conservative, Democratic, Independence, Republican, and Working Families parties must register as independents. However, multiple parties may endorse a single candidate. Known as ‘electoral fusion,’ this strategy attracts voters who want to vote for the small party’s platform, but fear their vote would essentially be thrown away if not used for a more well-known candidate. These parties build support by gaining control of local offices and mobilizing their bases to influence the political platforms of larger parties to whom they can give or deny their votes.

This party is engaged in a familiar David and Goliath scenario. Although devoted to its cause, there are numerous obstacles lying in the way. Once an independent party achieves the 15,000 petition signatures required to initially access the ballot in New York, they face deficiencies of financial, promotional, and political capital. According to the party’s website, campaign promotion efforts are small and heavily reliant upon donations. There have been 8,142 visits to the website at last count, which, as the party’s most accessible source of information, is perhaps an accurate gauge of the public’s interest. A few blocks from party headquarters, at the busy intersection of Nostrand and Flatbush avenues, there are two election posters, but neither are for the Rent is Too (Damn) High party.

But a resident of nearby Crown Heights, Zach Neeley, 27, said he recently spotted the campaign at work while passing through the busy Atlantic Avenue subway station. Mr. Neeley said Mr. McMillan was parked at Atlantic Yard, his car plastered in party stickers. Through a megaphone Mr. McMillan repeatedly proclaimed, “rent is too damn high.”

Today voters will reveal if these strategies worked.