Haber to launch progressive organization on North Shore

Max Zahn

A new political organization will be launched on the North Shore next Monday with the goal of uniting liberals in their opposition to President Donald Trump and their commitment to a more progressive Nassau County.

The group, called Route 25, seeks “to inform, organize and encourage Nassau County residents to actively participate in the democratic process,” said Adam Haber, of Roslyn, who founded and leads the organization.

Haber is a member of the Roslyn school board and a former state Senate candidate.

Haber said the impetus for the group is 90 to 95 percent the result of liberal discontent with Trump and 5 to 10 percent due to aggravation with the state of Nassau County politics.

“I felt there are so many people who are fed up with the political process,” he said. “I want people to get involved because they’re sick of what’s going on.”

Haber said the group is “loosely affiliated” with the Democratic Party and will not seek to raise or spend money but to “inform people and point people in the direction of candidates.”

Haber envisions the organization as a “rapid response to get people to show up at rallies or get people involved in organizing around certain issues” like the Obamacare replacement bill that passed in the House of Representatives last Thursday.

The bill is “an abomination” and “a way of enriching the upper crust,” Haber said.

Haber said there is no Democratic Party club in the area from Hicksville to Great Neck, and noted that Route 25 aims to bring together disparate groups like Indivisible and even Republican organizations that oppose Trump.

People need to “stop fighting each other and get on board with the same issues to elect good candidates,” Haber said. “We’re shooting ourselves in foot; it’s time to look forward.”

Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) will speak at the group’s first meeting, which will take place on May 15 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center.

Haber, who lost to Republican Elaine Phillips last November in a race to represent New York’s 7th Senate District, said his “goal is to change our community from a position either inside as an elected official or outside as a community activist.”

He said he has not ruled out running for office again.

But “I haven’t ruled out playing left field for the Mets,” he added.

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