Today was pure fun—I got to meet both Zephyr Teachout and Cynthia Nixon! I've recently won a seat on County Committee, the lowest ranked position in the Kings County Democratic Party, and I was at a picnic for new County Committee members when I looked over and saw Nixon next to me, looking at me curiously. She then asked, “Is your name really John Proctor?”
That was exciting, but I have to say my favorite part of the day was the ten minutes I got to spend talking to Teachout. We discussed my work at Rikers, Judge Jonathan Lippman’s proposal for closing it, and differences and similarities between Michelle Alexander’s and John Pfaff’s reasoning about the rise of mass incarceration over the past 40 years. All I could thinking after getting a photo with her was, This is a uniquely talented, immensely intelligent, and sincerely empathic human, and exactly the person to take the state forward as a leader in the fight against mass incarceration. I’ve never been so compelled to vote for a person into office as I am for her as State Attorney General.
