Countdown 88: When NYC’s Majority Mobilized

Countdown 88/89: Infrastructure, Strategy, and the Rise of Black Electoral Power in New York City

Countdown 88 was a high-visibility, citywide non partisan voter registration and Get Out the Vote (GOTV) campaign for the 1988 presidential election in New York City. It was backed by the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), led by David R. Jones.

Countdown 88 Lead-up

In 1987, Bill Lynch approached Selwyn Carter and said, “I’ve got a campaign for you.” Prior to that point, Carter did not have much of a public identity in electoral politics, but he had been a well-known and effective New York City activist who had understudied Bill Banks in some election campaigns. Lynch and Carter had cemented a working relationship some seven years earlier when they both served on the steering committee of the Coalition to Save Sydenham Hospital. They had been brought together by Diane Lacey and a wide cross-section of Harlem activists, religious and civic leaders in an effort to save a West Harlem hospital targeted for elimination by Mayor Ed Koch.

Sydenham was the only hospital serving the west side of Harlem, and it sat just down the hill from City College of New York (CCNY) — Carter’s alma mater — where he had been a long-standing and popular student activist. He served as student government vice president and editor of the school’s African American newspaper, The Paper. Those roles gave him a large following on campus and deep roots in the Harlem community, stemming from his work to help community leaders make the college more accessible to students and partners from Harlem.

Carter brought these relationships to bear on the Sydenham struggle and helped lead a major mobilization of thousands who fought cityhall to a standstill. He helped lead a takeover of the hospital and solidify community and worker resistance to NYC budget cuts. He organized demonstrations and picket lines to build support for workers’ demands and helped broaden support from one local community into a city-wide campaign.

Lynch knew Carter to be an effective mass mobilizer and community strategist/tactician who had built solid relationships with organized labor — in particular AFSCME Local 420 and the New York CBTU (Coalition of Black Trade Unionists) led by Jim Bell — along with a plethora of grassroots organizations. Carter had also been an active and founding member of the NYC Metropolitan Black United Front (BUF) led by Jitu Weusi and Herb Daughtry. BUF had been formed in response to the police killing of respected Black businessman Arthur Miller Jr., down the block from Carter’s father’s office — also a Black businessman — on Nostrand Ave and Park Place in Brooklyn. BUF led many high-profile mobilizations in New York City in the late ’70s and early ’80s around police violence and other issues.

Mobilizing Harlem and Beyond

It was Lynch who introduced Carter to David R. Jones, president and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York (CSS). Prior to CSS, Jones had served as executive director of the NYC Youth Bureau and as a special advisor to Mayor Koch on race relations, urban development, immigration reform, and education.

In the late 1980s, as Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaigns galvanized Black voters nationwide, a quieter revolution was unfolding in New York City — one built not on speeches, but on spreadsheets, precinct maps, and voter files. Countdown 88 and its successor Countdown 89 were among the most ambitious voter mobilization efforts ever mounted by a nonpartisan civic institution. Sponsored by CSS under Jones’s leadership, the initiative helped empower the city’s disenfranchised majority and laid the groundwork for a new era of Black political infrastructure — culminating in the historic election of David Dinkins as New York’s first Black mayor.

Bill Lynch (left), seen here with NYC Mayor David Dinkins

✊🏾 The Countdown 88 Kickoff and the Two Bills

On Sunday, December 13, 1987, a kickoff meeting was held at the headquarters of Local 1199 (now SEIU 1199), the Drug, Hospital, and Healthcare Employees Union, on West 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. The meeting’s high-profile impact was no accident. It had been carefully staged-managed directly through Carter’s relationships with the two Bills of New York City politics: the well-known Bill Lynch, who recruited Carter and later became Deputy Mayor under Dinkins, and the quieter Bill Banks, a behind-the-scenes strategist who had served as a campaign manager and advisor to Congressman Ed Towns. These relationships were backed up by the institutional might of CSS and it’s formidable public affairs department.

Though known as a Brooklyn social service leader who had built Colony South Brooklyn Houses into a major community based powerhouse, Banks was originally from Harlem and also had a close behind-the-scenes relationship with Congressman Charlie Rangel and others in the Harlem Gang of Four. He had also been the campaign manager for a variety of NYC black elected officials, from Assemblywomen in the Bronx, to members of Congress, from Brooklyn, all members of COBED.

Bill Banks had committed to Carter that if he held the Countdown 88 kickoff meeting to coincide with the meeting of COBED — the Council of Black Elected Democrats — he (Banks) would deliver high-profile COBED members to the Countdown 88 event in a way that would maximize public impact. This arrangement worked for both of them. For Banks, it allowed him to demonstrate to the members of COBED that he was advising that he could associate them with, and have them listed as cofounders and cosponsors of this new voter registration and mobilization campaign. (As Banks explained to Carter on more than one occasion, “elected officials get nervous when you start talking about voter registration. They get elected from a known quantity of voters. When you start talking about registering new voters, you introduce an unknow element. They don’t know how these new voters are going to vote.“) For Carter, he got the power of COBED, representing the major black elected officials in New York City behind the Countdon 88 campaign.

New York political strategist Basil Smikle Jr. wrote about COBED in his October 2025 article discussing the New York City mayoral race entitled — Percy Sutton, Eric Adams and the State of Black Political Power in New York:

“He (Percy Sutton) also recognized the importance of political institutions within the Black community such as the once-powerful Council of Black Elected Democrats (COBED). Though largely forgotten today, COBED was a regular gathering of Black elected officials in New York City, an effort to set policy priorities and coordinate electoral strategy. Its decisions were not binding, but the effort at consensus gave weight to the concerns of Black New Yorkers. Many, including the other members of the Gang of Four, trusted his counsel.”

The two meetings were, in fact, separate, but overlapping. Banks delivered on his commitment. The Countdown 88 meeting, filled with community activists, clergy, and labor leaders, convened in the 1199 auditorium downstairs. The COBED members — consisting of every high-profile Black elected official in New York City (including Congressmen Rangel, Towns, and Owens, and Manhattan Borough President, David Dinkins) — had been meeting privately upstairs, organized by Banks on behalf of his friend, Selwyn Carter. (This is the first time this story is being revealed publicly.)

The impact of all these Black elected officials joining the Countdown 88 meeting and speaking about mobilizing New York City’s unregistered Black and Brown population was a headline grabber. Every major print outlet in New York covered the story:

• The New York Times ran the story under the headline “Voter Registration Drive Takes Aim at Minorities” on Sunday, December 13, 1987. Read the article
• New York Newsday wrote:
  
  “For a broad coalition of congressmen; community, city, and ethnic organizations; labor leaders and clergy, however, it was a fitting moment for the unveiling of Countdown 88, an ambitious registration campaign designed to sign up about 250,000 New Yorkers before the November election.” Reproduced from private hard copy archive.
  
  Newsday archive
• The Amsterdam News reported on Saturday, December 19, 1987:
  
  “A group of high-powered politicians last Saturday announced the launching of a major voter registration project with an eye on the 1988 Presidential election.”
  
  Amsterdam News archive

In the Amsterdam News artice, Nydia Velazquez, then the national director of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, now a member of Congress, noted that the city was home to some 400,000 unregistered Puerto Ricans, whom she called, “the sleeping giant”.

🧭 Origins and Strategic Vision

Before Countdown 88 became a citywide mobilization, it began as a strategic idea within Harlem’s most influential political circle — the Harlem Gang of Four — who saw voter registration as the key to unlocking long-denied Black political power in New York. The idea for the non partisan Countdown 88 didn’t originate inside CSS. It came through Bill Lynch, the trusted strategist of the Harlem Gang of Four — Congressman Charles B. Rangel, Percy Sutton, Basil Patterson, and David Dinkins. It, nevertheless, overlapped with the programmatic goals of CSS that, at the same time, operated three, much smaller, non partisan, community based Voter Participation Projects(VPP).

By 1987, New York City had never elected a Black mayor, despite decades of promises and demographic shifts. The Gang of Four understood that real power required infrastructure — not just charisma or coalitions, but data, precinct strategy, and institutional muscle. They saw voter mobilization as the key to unlocking Black political power in New York and beyond. Lynch turned to CSS, a civic institution with credibility, reach, nonpartisan standing, and a track record with non partisan voter registration and mobilization. Under the leadership of David R. Jones, CSS stepped forward — not just as a sponsor, but as a strategic partner in reshaping the city’s political future. The timing was perfect, given the high numbers of unregistered black and brown voters in New York City and the approaching two high profile elections – presidential, and mayoral.

This wasn’t a partisan endorsement. It was a strategic investment in civic infrastructure at the right time — one that aligned with CSS’s mission to expand opportunity and engagement, to significantly expand the reach beyond the three CSS targeted, community based Voter Participation Projects (VPP).

The Countdown 88 Infrastructure and PR Campaign

The Ground War

But Countdown 88 was an entirely different undertaking. It was a massive, city-wide, high visibility, non-partisan campaign with a citywide infrastructure and offices in the 4 targeted boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Queens. The campaign built a citywide staff and volunteer base (with the help of a key recruit by Bill Lynch – the experienced labor volunteer strategist and leader, Pat Caldwell), to register and mobilize new voters. As Vice President of Welfare Local 371 of District Council 37 (DC 37), Pat Caldwell had been one of the key leaders of the landmark 1965 New York City welfare strike. Her role was critical to the union’s organizing efforts both before and during the work stoppage. She was well known and well liked among New York City labor activists, allowing her to be extremely effective at volunteer recruitment. Pat had turned the Countdown 88 Manhattan main headquarters at CSS into a revolving door of union volunteers. As Countdown 88 grew, offices were established in the four target boroughs. In addition to Pat Caldwell, Anna Marta Morales served as the Citywide Latino Coordinator; Lorraine Witherspoon-Flateau (the wife of legendary political strategist John Flateau) as the Brooklyn Coordinator; Tracey Gray as the Bronx Coordinator; Norma Bradshaw as the Manhattan Coordinator; and Melvin Kelly as the Queens Coordinator. Joseph Haslip, now CSS board secretary, got his start with the organization through Countdown, serving as the Youth and Students Coordinator. After Haslip became involved in a City University of New York (CUNY) student campus takeover, John Anthony Butler took over that role.

The High Profile Media Campaign

This ‘ground war’ was supported by an equally impressive ‘air war’, implemented by the CSS Public Affairs department. Jones had convened the CSS executive staff team to strategize about how to create citywide buzz for Countdown 88. This team involved Carter, the CSS legal team, public affairs, and other department heads, and staff. It was agreed that the campaign would need to bring into New York City high profile African American civil rights personalities to promote Coundown to New York’s City’s black population. From his community activist days, Carter had been accustomed to mobilizing large gatherings using street guerilla tactics. But that wouldn’t work with CSS. Everthing had to be vetted with the lawyers to ensure it complied with the organization’s tax exempt status and that the institution was protected, especially when large crowds were involved. Carter had a flair for the dramatic, high profile civil rights names, and CSS had the budget and institutional clout to make it happen.

It was agreed that Rosa Parks would be the catalyst who could ignite the campaign, and, shortly thereafter, it was confirmed that we had secured a commitment from the courageous civil rights icon to associate herself with the Coundown 88 campaign. Countdown 88 brought Rosa Parks to the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, to the House of the Lord Pentecostal Church in Brooklyn (headquarters of the Black United Front), and to Antioch Baptist Church in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The organization deployed resources, staff, and technical expertise to support voter registration, education, and mobilization across New York City.

The air war included more. In order for the campaign to succeed, Countdown had to reach black youth, who were high among the city’s unregistered. Countdown secured rap icons LL Kool J and RUN DMC to make video public servcie announcements. And Harlem Gang of Four leader, Percy Sutton, who owned Inner City Broadcasting, the home of the very popular WBLS and WLIB radio stations, gave Countdown 88 a slot on the radio every mornintg to update the public on the campaign. Every morning during “Drive Time’, as commuters were headed off to work, Carter was on WLIB radio station with updates on the campaign. These included highlights on voter registration activity and locations where the Votemobile was going to be. (Bill Banks had secured from State Senator Joseph Galiber of the Bronx a commitment to allow the Countdown 88 to use his campaign bus as the Countdown 88 votemobile. This bus came equipped with a stage and massive loudspeakers and was decorated with the Countdown 88 slogan, Don’t Be Late in ’88-Register to Vote Now! (Carter had studied the voter mobilization campaign in Chicago four years earlier and was convinced that a catchy slogan ws essential for the campaign to take hold. In 1983, the “Come Alive October 5” campaign was a massive, multi-racial voter registration drive that created a groundswell prior to Harold Washinton’s election). A story entitled, Sidewalk Sale on Democracy, in New York Newsday by Dennis Duggan on Sunday Februsry 21st, 1988, had this to say about the Votemobile, “Carter..parked a 25 year old battered blue and white bus in front of the World Trade Center on Church Street all last week imploring New Yorkers to become voters.”

Countdown 88 is credited with registering hundreds of thousands of New York City unregistered voters, particularly in the black community. Those numbers were validated when historic numbers of African Americans and voters of color turned out to vote during the 1988 Presidential Primary in New York City. Countdown had teamed up with the Citizenship Education Fund to run a major city-wide non-partisan Get Out The Vote campaign (GOTV). It deployed vans in the 4 target boroughs and hired hundred of youth to flush the vote out in the black neighborhoods of New York City.

✊🏾 Children of the Movement: A Historic GOTV Moment

The New York primary campaign, which saw Jesse Jackson make history in New York City, had concluded in April — and Countdown 88 had continued its nonpartisan mission into the general election. Expanding outreach, deepening infrastructure, and mobilizing new voters across the city, the campaign shifted into high gear once more by late summer. It culminated in a landmark rally at Greater Bibleway Temple in Brooklyn that brought together the children of three iconic movements to launch its Get Out The Vote drive.

On Sunday, August 21, 1988, Countdown 88 convened a landmark gathering at Greater Bibleway Temple in Brooklyn to launch its Get Out The Vote (GOTV) drive. The event brought together Jonathan Jackson, Dexter King, and Attallah Shabazz — the children of Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X — in a powerful show of generational unity. Their presence electrified the congregation and underscored Countdown’s mission: to connect the legacy of civil rights with the urgency of voter mobilization. The symbolism was unmistakable — the heirs of three iconic movements standing together in Brooklyn, calling on Black New Yorkers to register, organize, and vote. It was one of the most resonant moments of the campaign, and a testament to Countdown’s cultural reach and strategic vision.

Countdown 88 received extensive press coverage across New York City and nationally. Articles about Countdown 88 were published in The New York Times and Newsday, December 13th, 1987; the Amsterdam News, December 18th, 1987; New York Newsday, January 11, 1988; The New York Times, January 21st, 1988; Newsday, January 22nd, 1988; The New York Times, January 24th, 1988; Newsday, January 24th, 1988; the New York Observer, January 25th, 1988; The City Sun, January 27th, 1988; USA Today, February 1st, 1988; Newsday, February 3rd, 1988; The New York Times, February 14th, 1988; Newsday, February 19th, 1988; Newsday, February 21st, 1988; Noticias Del Mundo, March 30th, 1988; The City Sun, August 17th, 1988; Newsday, August 17th, 1988; Newsday, August 22nd, 1988; The New York Daily News, August 22nd 1988; The Amsterdam News, August 27th, 1988; and The New York Voice, August 27th, 1988;

🧱 Building the Infrastructure

Countdown 88 focused on the 1988 presidential cycle and was credited by press reports with registering hundreds of thousands of new black and Latino voters in New York City. Tremendously pleased by the campaign’s success, Jones decided to extend it to the 1989 mayor’s race in New York City. Countdown 89 built upon the successes of Countdown 88. The initiatives trained organizers, mapped precincts, tracked voter files, and mobilizrd hundreds of thousands, if not millions of voters. They weren’t just reactive — they were architectural.

🏛️ CSS’s Strategic Departure

For the Community Service Society, Countdown 88 marked a strategic departure. The organization had long focused on poverty, housing, and economic justice, with a much smaller voter registrtion footprint. But Countdown demonstrated that civic engagement wasn’t adjacent to those goals — it was foundational. Under David R. Jones’s leadership, CSS showed that a nonpartisan institution could play a catalytic role in electoral empowerment without compromising its broader mission. Countdown 88 marked a shift — proving that civic engagement was not just compatible with CSS’s mission, but essential to it.

David R. Jones — whose civic leadership at CSS helped expand the conditions for Black electoral engagement in New York — comes from a lineage of public service shaped by his father, the late Judge Thomas R. Jones. A leading civil rights activist and co-founder of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Judge Jones laid the groundwork for community-based empowerment. David’s support for the nonpartisan Countdown 88 and Countdown 89 campaigns aligned CSS with a broader movement for enfranchisement and helped catalyze historic outcomes. Jesse Jackson’s 1988 New York breakthrough and the subsequent election of David Dinkins as the city’s first Black mayor must be understood within the context of the infrastructure and momentum built by Countdown 88 and Countdown 89.

🧩 Legacy and Loss

Though Countdown 88 changed the political landscape, its records remain elusive. Today, Countdown is largely absent from CSS’s public archive. Press coverage survives, but the internal reports, proposals, and correspondence — while likely preserved — are not catalogued or publicly accessible.BlackPolitics.org is working to restore that archive — not to reframe CSS’s identity, but to honor the full scope of Countdown’s impact.

Jesse Jackson, now battling Parkinson’s disease, remains a towering figure in Black and American political history. As tributes mount, many will seek connection to his legacy — and rightly so. But Countdown 88 was never about the candidate. It was about building lasting infrastructure, empowering communities, and mobilizing voters across New York City. It showed what was possible when civic engagement was strategic, inclusive, and unapologetically rooted in both racial justice and economic equity. That’s the legacy worth preserving..

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