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Election? What Election? Oh, That Election — Brooklynian

Election? What Election? Oh, That Election

pitu
pitu
edited November -1 in Park Slope
wow, I was actually interested in this election, since the corrupt judiciary thing really bugs me -- and even I forgot to vote this morning . . .

Anybody see what's up at their polling station?
Lucky Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Sunset Park get to vote against Noach Dear . . .

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/election-what-election-oh-that-election/
September 18, 2007, 10:22 am
Election? What Election? Oh, That Election
By Sewell Chan

It’s an awfully slow election year, but even so, there are some contested primaries in New York City today for several judgeships and party positions.

In an important boroughwide race in Brooklyn, Diana A. Johnson, a State Supreme Court justice, is facing off against ShawnDya L. Simpson, a Civil Court judge and a former Brooklyn assistant district attorney, in what has become a clash of political powerhouses.

In District 5 in southern Brooklyn — including the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Sunset Park and Parkville — there is a contest for a Civil Court judgeship. Noach Dear, a longtime borough politician and former councilman, is running against Karen B. Yellen, a former judge, for the Democratic nomination. Mr. Dear is better known, but Ms. Yellen has tried to portray him as unqualified.

Of the two races, the surrogate’s seat is by far the more contested one.

Judge Simpson has the support of the Brooklyn Democratic organization and its leader, Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez, and is also backed by the Jefferson Democratic Club, one of the strong political groups in Brooklyn.

Justice Johnson has received support from a sizable number of black elected officials, as well as the Rev. Al Sharpton; Transport Workers Union Local 100 and its president, Roger Toussaint; Citizens Union, a reform group; and some political clubs, like the Independent Neighborhood Democrats and the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats.

On City Room, Jonathan P. Hicks has blogged about the race and the involvement of everyone from former Representative Major R. Owens to Mr. Sharpton.

The New York City Board of Elections has a full list of candidates [pdf] in today’s primary. Along with the judgeships, there are several party positions being decided today.

The Daily News has endorsed Justice Johnson and Ms. Yellen in their respective races.

The New York Times has endorsed Judge Simpson and Ms. Yellen. The Times also endorsed Katherine Levine, a union lawyer, for a Civil Court judgeship in District 6 in Brooklyn, over Sharen Hudson, a former law clerk to Justice Johnson who works for the Red Hook Community Justice Center.

Comments

  • sweet tea
    sweet tea
    agh! now that i've read a bit more about simpson and johnson, i don't wanna vote for either of em.

    what's a democracy nerd to do?
  • raulism
    raulism
    There are very good reasons not to vote for Johnson or Simpson, but the other race is pretty clear. Katherine Levine is clearly qualified and clean enough for deserve your vote- she's the Civil Court candidate for the 6th district, which includes Prospect Heights, most of Crown Heights, Park Slope and I'm not sure where else. Karen Yellen is also a strong candidate in the 5th District, which includes Windsor Terrace and Borough Park, and she's running against a real slime.

    If you don't want Simpson or Johnson, don't vote for them. But we still need you to vote for the Civil Court Judge.
  • sweet tea
    sweet tea
    i'm not in the dear district, but whoa:
    gotham gazette wrote: While still on the City Council, Dear drew the ire of his colleagues when he organized a trip for council members to South Africa, then ruled by the white minority apartheid government, and failed to tell them in a timely manner that the junket was funded by the whites-only Johannesburg City Council.
  • sweet tea
    sweet tea
    raulism wrote: There are very good reasons not to vote for Johnson or Simpson, but the other race is pretty clear. Katherine Levine is clearly qualified and clean enough for deserve your vote- she's the Civil Court candidate for the 6th district, which includes Prospect Heights, most of Crown Heights, Park Slope and I'm not sure where else. Karen Yellen is also a strong candidate in the 5th District, which includes Windsor Terrace and Borough Park, and she's running against a real slime.

    If you don't want Simpson or Johnson, don't vote for them. But we still need you to vote for the Civil Court Judge.
    okay, okay, you got me. i'd clean forgotten about that race. and as long as i was going anyway, i pulled myself together re: simpson v. johnson.

    votes cast. gold star now pls k thx.

    (big number 21 at my polling place, btw.)
  • limestonekid
    limestonekid
    Are you talking about the elections that have traditionally been held on the second Tuesday of September but now when that day happens to fall on 9/11 it gets moved to the third Tuesday of September?

    We'll move elections out of respect for 9/11 but not close schools, banks, businesses, etc...
  • kerchoo
    kerchoo
    I remembered to vote yesterday solely because of the other thread about judges. Thanks PH board!
  • sweet tea
    sweet tea
    looks like johnson and dear won, btw.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/nyregion/19elect.html?ref=nyregion
  • pitu
    pitu
    It's not my district either, but this news made my throat close up.
    Mr. Dear won even though he rarely campaigned and received a “not approved” designation from both the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the Brooklyn Bar Association.

    Mr. Dear received nearly 60 percent of the vote and Ms. Yellen 40 percent.
    wtf!?
  • pitu
    pitu
    p.s.
    Gotham Gazette wrote: The Daily Gotham draws its own harsh lesson from Dear’s victory. As noted in Gotham Gazette, Dear has been accused of various ethical lapses and was “not approved” for the post by the bar association.

    Writing in the blog, mole 333 slams his fellow Brooklynites for not showing up to vote against Dear. “’Judge Noach Dear’ will become the code word for what is wrong with Brooklyn, what is wrong with American democracy. Low voter turnout and voter apathy means you get homophobic, abysmally unqualified judges who get to be judges for purely political reasons,” the blogger writes. “[It] means the leadership of the Brooklyn Democrats, Vito Lopez and Marty Markowitz, can give a judgeship to someone who never practiced law and who is known to be anti-gay and the voters will do nothing about it. “
    http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2007/09/19/primary-lessons/ :cry:
  • raulism
    raulism
    Here's a searing posting by mole333, a local blogger:
    http://dailygotham.com/blog/mole333/abyssmal_voter_turnout_abyssmal_democracy
  • pitu
    pitu
    raulism wrote: Here's a searing posting by mole333, a local blogger:
    http://dailygotham.com/blog/mole333/abyssmal_voter_turnout_abyssmal_democracy
    that link didn't work for me, but mole333 is the blogger I quoted above.
    is it something different that you linked to?

    I wonder if Karen Yellen would run as an independent in the main election
    (is it possible for enough people in that district to become horrified that Dear won a primary since they didn't go vote against him?)

    and how long is a civil court judiciary term?
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