Formation 1897 Headquarters New York City | Purpose Good government Executive Director Dick Dadey | |
Motto Making Democracy Work For All New Yorkers Subsidiaries Citizens Union Foundation | ||
Citizens Union is one of the United States' first good government groups. Founded in 1897 as a political party, the group was reconstituted in 1908 as a non-partisan member organization with the broad mission of serving "as a watchdog for the public interest and an advocate for the common good".
Citizens Union was founded by New York City citizens concerned about the growing influence of the Democratic Party political machine Tammany Hall. One of the founders was Laurence A. Tanzer, who stayed involved with the organization until his death in 1963 at age 88. The organization helped to elect New York's first reform Mayor, Seth Low, in 1901.
Today, Citizens Union continues to act as a government watchdog organization, with campaigns that focus on voting rights and poll workers, campaign finance reform and government accountability. Citizens Union's current Executive Director is Dick Dadey.
The Board of Directors includes President Robert Abrams, Chair Peter J.W. Sherwin, Vice Chair Judi Rappoport Blitzer, Vice Chair Gail Erickson, Vice Chair Robert M. Kaufman, Vice Chair Grace Lyu Volckhausen, Treasurer Nancy Bower, Secretary Christina R. Davis, Kenneth W. Austin, Monica Azare, Anthony Crowell, Nicole Gordon, George S. Kaufman, Ogden N. Lewis, Marc Norman, Juanita Scarlett, and Marjorie B. Tiven.
The Citizens Union Foundation, a nonprofit organization affiliated with Citizens Union, publishes the Gotham Gazette.