Corruption charges! Backroom deals! Your judicial primaries!
Judicial primaries generate much less interest than people snooping on fire escapes (see http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=37633), but dear reader, you can have more effect on the outcome in these elections coming up on Sept. 18.
We The People :roll: are going to chose who is going to sit and decide the fates of people's estates. The positions up for grabs have enormous potential for corruption- the Surrogate Court used to be called the Widows and Orphans court, and several honorable justices have faced less than honorable fates when it was discovered that they were profiteering from some very vulnerable victims.
The reform movement is backing Diana Johnson for Surrogate Judge and Katherine Levine for civil court. These are the cleanest and most experienced candidates- I am posting some links to the harsh criticism these candidates have gotten, but they seem to be the best we got.
Diana Johnson has 18 years experience as a judge, versus 2 for her opponent, ShawnDya Simpson. Simpson has also faced a lot of criticism because she lives in New Jersey, and by law she is supposed to live in Brooklyn, which is not a good sign for someone who is supposed to uphold the law. Johnson is supported by our local representatives Tish James and Velmanette Montgomery, though she has also gotten support from some politicians who I don't really like as well, including Diane Gordon, who was caught on tape taking a $500,000 bribe. That's still better than Simpson, who is supported by Vito Lopez, who is carrying the mantle of Clarence Norman, and who just gave Ratner an extra $200,000,000 with no possible benefit to the citizens of New York.
The dynamics are similar for Katherine Levine versus Sharon Hudson. Nobody really knows anything about Hudson, and she has not met with any local clubs or gone before many committees evaluating relative experience. Katherine Hudson has roots with various local groups, and has gotten the endorsement of clubs like CBID and IND. I met Sharon Hudson and asked her to contact me so that my Prospect Heights neighbors could meet her, but she never got in touch with me. Rumor on the street is that she is just being put up by a political operative because of some back room bickering.
To witness some charges and counter charges, please visit
http://dailygotham.com/blog/mole333/brooklyn_politics_this_is_what_is_so_fucked_about_brooklyn_who_can_save_us
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2007/07/brooklyn_surrogate_lit.html
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=15258
There's also a discussion about the 5th district here:
http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=392987&sid=7ae4a8fbf2313dbee713fff2d4cb8f77
The 5th District is Windsor Terrace, and not Prospect Heights or Park Slope.
If you're interested in more biased opinions and unfounded rumors, please shoot me a pm.
We The People :roll: are going to chose who is going to sit and decide the fates of people's estates. The positions up for grabs have enormous potential for corruption- the Surrogate Court used to be called the Widows and Orphans court, and several honorable justices have faced less than honorable fates when it was discovered that they were profiteering from some very vulnerable victims.
The reform movement is backing Diana Johnson for Surrogate Judge and Katherine Levine for civil court. These are the cleanest and most experienced candidates- I am posting some links to the harsh criticism these candidates have gotten, but they seem to be the best we got.
Diana Johnson has 18 years experience as a judge, versus 2 for her opponent, ShawnDya Simpson. Simpson has also faced a lot of criticism because she lives in New Jersey, and by law she is supposed to live in Brooklyn, which is not a good sign for someone who is supposed to uphold the law. Johnson is supported by our local representatives Tish James and Velmanette Montgomery, though she has also gotten support from some politicians who I don't really like as well, including Diane Gordon, who was caught on tape taking a $500,000 bribe. That's still better than Simpson, who is supported by Vito Lopez, who is carrying the mantle of Clarence Norman, and who just gave Ratner an extra $200,000,000 with no possible benefit to the citizens of New York.
The dynamics are similar for Katherine Levine versus Sharon Hudson. Nobody really knows anything about Hudson, and she has not met with any local clubs or gone before many committees evaluating relative experience. Katherine Hudson has roots with various local groups, and has gotten the endorsement of clubs like CBID and IND. I met Sharon Hudson and asked her to contact me so that my Prospect Heights neighbors could meet her, but she never got in touch with me. Rumor on the street is that she is just being put up by a political operative because of some back room bickering.
To witness some charges and counter charges, please visit
http://dailygotham.com/blog/mole333/brooklyn_politics_this_is_what_is_so_fucked_about_brooklyn_who_can_save_us
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2007/07/brooklyn_surrogate_lit.html
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=15258
There's also a discussion about the 5th district here:
http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=392987&sid=7ae4a8fbf2313dbee713fff2d4cb8f77
The 5th District is Windsor Terrace, and not Prospect Heights or Park Slope.
If you're interested in more biased opinions and unfounded rumors, please shoot me a pm.
Comments
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Why are the judges campaigning at the farmer's market every weekend? What about the other races in the primary this year. I haven't heard anything about that.
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No joke. My husband and I have been trying to figure out who the primary is supposed to be for on Tuesday. Anyone know?
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gphant wrote: No joke. My husband and I have been trying to figure out who the primary is supposed to be for on Tuesday. Anyone know?
The Surrogate Court is a county wide race- it used to be called the Orphan and Widows court, since it deals with estates. I recommend Diana Johnson, who has 18 years experience, over ShanDya Simpson who has very little experience. Hudson's young children live in New Jersey, yet she has claimed that her residency is in Brooklyn.
For the Civil Court, we are in the 6th district, and the choice is between Katherine Levine and Sharen Hudson. Again, Levine has much more experience than Hudson.
Campaign literature offers no help in choosing a candidate. They can't talk about issues, since judges are not supposed to have preconceived decisions before making a judicial judgment.newtoyou wrote: Why are the judges campaigning at the farmer's market every weekend?
Judicial positions are important because they are often a source of cronyism, and our biggest crony, Vito Lopez is backing both of the less qualified candidates. Vito is the same guy who just took a couple hundred million dollars out of the taxpayer's pockets to give to Ratner for no public benefit as part of the 421a shenanigans.newtoyou wrote: What about the other races in the primary this year. I haven't heard anything about that.
This is an odd number year, and most races are on even years. The only other position on an odd year is City Council, but that's every four years. But look out for 2009, because most of the City Council reps will be facing term limits, so it's going to be a free-for-all.
I would be glad to offer more opinions about all these races. It's time to decide! -
gphant wrote: No joke. My husband and I have been trying to figure out who the primary is supposed to be for on Tuesday. Anyone know?
In addition to what raulism said, here are some links that are helpful every election:
Poll Site Locator (this will also tell you all your political districts)
Candidates List (the pdf contains all boroughs and all parties, so you have to skip through to find your candidates for the primary) -
thanks for posting all of this info.
I have been trying to find out who is running.
I knew that this site would help!
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