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Independent Neighborhood Democrats Accused of Screwing It's New Members
Independent Neighborhood Democrats has been a club I have been involved with for nearly two years. I have publicized it and petitioned for them. Now, I have only recently gotten around to joining as a paid member and, as endorsement time approached, I pushed hard to get all who read my blogs and who attend meetings I host to join IND and other reform clubs. Some of those I have been pushing agree with me on candidates, some don't. I have urged all of them to join before the deadline to be able to vote in endorsement votes.
IND has just taken an action that makes me regret my past support.
IND has a reputation of standing up to the corrupt Brooklyn machine. That is one reason I have plugged them so avidly. They have been efficient, and honorable compared to many other clubs.
I favor certain candidates that are not favorites in IND. Naturally I hope to see their endorsement go the way I want it to. But, I know enough members of IND to know that they will be supporting some candidates who are not my favorites. I was prepared to face the decision of petitioning for them or not. What I was not prepared for was a move by the newly elected IND executive board that will screw nearly 100 new, dues paying members. For the record, my wife and I are not being screwed. We are already able to vote.
From On NY Turf:
The Independent Neighborhood Democrats executive board has moved to fix the club's endorsement for State Senate Incumbant Candidate Marty Connor and make life very difficult for Anti-Atlantic Yards candidate Chris Owens, before it's members cast a single ballot. Last Thursday, the board voted to disenfranchise 100 new club members, so as to assure that Mr.Conner receives an endorsement, and Chris Owens does not. This development is an ironic and dark twist for the Brooklyn based political club that prides itself on fighting Machine politics and helping marginalized candidates.
In the coming weeks IND members will meet to endorse a candidate for State Senate and a candidate for the hotly contested 11th Congressional seat. A majority of board members were concerned that new members were going to tip the vote for two specific candidates, Ken Diamondstone, running against Marty Connor, and Chris Owens, running for Congress against David Yassky (and 3 other black candidates). Instead of taking their chances, as they have in the past, the board decided to exclude these new members from voting in the upcoming endorsement election.
The board did not want to take a chance that Marty Connor would lose the endorsement vote of his own club. Additionally some board members are hostile to Owens for his opposition to the Atlantic Yards project. The club however does not officially have a position on the development plan.
To ensure the desired results, the board took advantage of the IND By-Law which requires that you be a member of the club for 60 days before you can cast a ballot. The endorsement votes in question were originally scheduled for May 18th. That date was announced at the IND March meeting and on the club's web site. Following the March announcement, the club was flooded with new members. According to the Treasurer of IND, Joseph Ringston, approximately 100 new members signed up between March 16th and March 18th, in time for the endorsement votes. To exclude these new members, the board simply moved up the date of the endorsement votes. The Senate Seat endorsement meeting is now scheduled for April 20th and the Congressional endorsement vote has been moved up by two weeks, to May 4th.
Now, I will be there and will vote on May 4th. But many of those I have been urging to join IND for two years and who didn't join until just before this deadline are screwed. And I feel that all I have told them about IND may be wrong.
I have asked those I know on IND's executive board for an explanation. I know that they did not condone this action, but as members of the executive board, I am hoping they can put a spin on it that will please me and all those who took my word regarding their integrity.
The leadership of IND seems as displeased as I am. Form the same article quoted above:
They were concerned that manipulating the endorsement process after the dates had been announced could give the club a black eye. IND Executive Board Chairman Kenn Lowy was livid about the change in dates, and past club president Devin Cohen, who voted no, noted the board's selective tolerance for packing. After last Thursday's board meeting, Cohen said to Chairman Lowy, "I guess the whole Mark Peters thing never happened", referring to the heated debate within the club last year about Attorney General candidate Mark Peters packing the club. When Lowy asked the board how and why this year was any different from what happened last year, several board members told him that it was no different. Still the board made it's extra-ordinary decision.
Devin Cohen and I don't agree on everything. But one think I know about Devin is that his integrity is impeccable. I am glad that he stood up to the new board, though unsuccessfully. My respect for Devin remains intact. My respect for IND is considerably reduced and I may never again publicize that particular "reform" club.
Trickle down corruption.
Trickle down corruption.
IND
It is completely in character for IND to do this - you shouldn't be shocked. Last year, when Mark would've won IND due to our membership drive, no one was complaining as they cashed the membership checks. However, once the ballots started coming in, it was odd that the number of people who voted didn't match the total number of ballots cast. That set up an unfortunate set of events for a club that likes to pretend it's in the reform mold - And, it's important to note that Devin was not responsible for the miscalculation on endorsement night nor the selective membership recognition practices of the people manning the ballot boxes. Devin is a stand-up guy.
IND is not a reform club, plain and simple. CBID* is the reform democratic club of Brooklyn. And, CBID doesn't discriminate against new voters/members - in fact, it's the opposite.
**Full disclosure: I'm on the board of CBID
Yes and no
I know that these issue have come up before at IND. But this is a major step in the wrong direction.
Here's my full disclosure: I am a member of both IND and CBID. I have closer ties with people at IND but politically lean more towards CBID and live closer to CBID meetings. IND has done things with such efficiency and often is seen as having more influence. CBID is the more chaotic club. Now that makes CBID both more interesting and a little more difficult to handle.
Both have been clubs that I have publicized and encouraged people to join. I have worked with members of both clubs and am known by people in both clubs. I also work the DFNYC and NDM end of things.
IND is more traditional but Devin, who everyone agrees is upstanding and not part of the problems at IND, was doing his best to steer IND in the right direction.
I find it fascinating that as soon as he yielded the presidency of the club something like this happened. Past problems have seemed less blatant. Here they basically are saying that they don't like the way the club membership is going so fuck you all.
I will also note that Lambda Independent Democrats is a good one as well, since we are mentioning all the reform clubs. I hope I will still be able to list IND as one such club but that looks doubtful right now.