A Prospect Heights-centric Primary Day Missive

Asil wrote: I'm interested in hearing the full explanation.

The blog Room 8 has really done well recently covering our races. Here's a colorful, long and worthwhile screed about the 52nd:
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/52_pick_up.html

Here's a longish pro-Montgomery article regarding Charter Schools:
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/mary_alice_miller/montgomery_and_perkins_played_key_role_in_nys_race_to_the_top.html


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Very few people vote for District Leader/County Committee. A few votes either way will sway the results. This is an unpaid position, and it carries no perks, but it is the closest position to the voters, and every politician relies on the district leader to get elected.

This position is also critical because the County Committee elects the head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party - currently Vito Lopez, who took over the seat from Clarence Norman, who is rotting in jail for multiple convictions. Since Brooklyn is the second largest Democratic county in the country, it’s an extremely powerful position. Lopez the newest incarnation of a patronage system that sells development rights for political power. He also doles out judgeships as political favors, which is a frightening thought if you ever have to appear before a judge.

We need to elect Chris Owens because he can stand up to our local craven political system. He has proven himself to be independent over many decades- most people may know him as a leader in the fight against eminent domain abuse by Bruce Ratner. He’s more than an inspiring speaker - he knows the politics of Brooklyn block by block. He grew up here, lives here, and understands the needs of long-time residents and newcomers.

I’m endorsing Chris because of his knowledge of policy and undying fighting spirit. He’s someone who I can call up to get perspective. Most importantly, I am proud to count him as a friend. (By the way, the first blog link I posted is by Gatemouth, who is not a friend of Chris's and who doesn't really like his politics. Despite his differences, Gatemouth still supports Chris.)

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We are so jaded by politics that most people couldn’t recognize an honest politician if saw one. Velmanette Montgomery is that rare creature. She is a public servant first and a politician second. She is a real legislator, someone who cares about the numbingly boring minutia of policy. Thank goodness she’s doing heavy (mental) lifting on policy issues – I take her opinion very seriously.
As I talk to neighbors about her, I constantly find that she has championed some issue that is important, but ignored. She is a great champion of helping released criminals become constructive members of society. She has fought for school reform and disability issues. She is one of the most eloquent legislators in advocating marriage equality.

Her greatest crime, according to the corrupt jerks that run Albany, is that she has opposed Prokhorov/Ratner’s Atlantic Yards. For this, and for her opposition to turning schools into unaccountable profit centers, she has an opponent who has gotten the vast majority of his money from outside the district.

Velmanette was the first elected official to support Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus. This may sound like a no-brainer, and the EPA eventually agreed with Velmanette, but the federal cleanup was vigorously and disgracefully opposed by the Bloomberg administration.

Velmanette’s opponent has a long record of working in the community, but the way he has run his campaign shows that he will not be his own man, were he to be elected. The vast majority of his substantial campaign funding comes from hedge fund managers who don’t even live in Brooklyn. One of his campaign consultants recently bragged to a friend that they will send a mailing suggesting Velmanette is pro-sex offender.

While this is certainly a year to throw the bums out of office, Velmanette is the gem who has worked with bums for years, yet has not been infected with their thuggery.

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I endorse Olanike “Ola” Alabi, the current Female District Leader. She has proven herself to be a reliable advocate for our neighborhood. Whenever there is an issue that my block association is concerned about, the first person I call is Ola. She acts promptly and effectively, even though it’s not really part of her job description to deal with things like speed bumps. I also like her challenger Renee Collymore, so unlike the other races, I wouldn’t want to say anything bad about her.

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I have no great allegiance to Assemblywoman Joan Millman. She is far from the worst in Albany. Unfortunately, her opponent has really pissed me off. Let me leave it there before I get myself into trouble…..

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I have had my disagreements with Joanne Simon, the Female District Leader of the 52nd Assembly District — mostly over form and not content. She always comes out on the right side of the issue — she just deliberates a little more than me, which might be a good thing. She has a national reputation as an advocate for people with learning disabilities, and she is overqualified for the job of District Leader.

The best reason to support her is that she has shown fierce independence in dealing with Vito Lopez. She is hated by the backroom deal-makers that run our borough.

She is being challenged by a warm and friendly woman who barely has reached the age to drink. More importantly, Joanne’s challenger is closely associated with the Vito Lopez machine, and her only work experience, as far as I know, is through Vito’s patronage system. Give her some time and she may prove herself, but we need someone with independence representing us.

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You may have noticed that I didn’t include all the races. Some are not contested, or if there is a contest, nobody doubts the results. Cuomo will win, and I have heard good things about Gillibrand’s competition for the US Senate, Gail Goode. Ms. Goode doesn’t have a strong campaign, and while many progressives doubted Gillibrand for her support of gun rights, she has been a reliable liberal vote. Chuck Schumer was almost challenged by a local guy named Credico who failed to get on the ballot.

As far as I know, Eric Adams, Hakeem Jefferies and Walter Mosely are not facing challengers.

whynot_31 wrote: The only way I can think of reducing the amount of BS in government is to reduce the size of government.

Can we adopt a system wherein we get to not only vote "none of the above" but also to "eliminate this position"?

ah, fewer people (of all political parties) yelling at each other in Albany....

Um, the article talks a lot about Sate Committee position, which is UNPAID. And technically, it's not even a government position- it's a function of the Democratic Party.

To tell the truth, I'm glad the people are yelling at each other in Albany. At least the public has noticed how dysfunctional it is. Better to have a public fight than unaccountable backroom corruption.