The Staten Island Democratic Association, the Island’s progressive Democratic club, hosted a forum for candidates seeking to fill the late John Lavelle’s vacant North Shore 61st State Assembly District seat Thursday night at the American Grill, which was packed with onlookers and 11 office seekers.

There will be no primary. A relatively small cabal of County Committee members residing in the 61st AD will decide who gets the nomination. I moved to the 61st AD from the 63rd 2 days after Election Day. I was supposed to have been appointed to the County Committee back in June, but somehow I was never officially added, so I may be not be part of the cabal making the nominating decision.

Most Staten Island democrats live in the borough’s North Shore and those aspiring to run for office representing that part of the Island typically have to wait in line for a chance to do so. This is why 11 people at the forum sought the nomination, while there may be no Democratic candidate to contest Council special election winner Vincent Ignizio’s newly vacant South Shore Assembly seat, if his opponent Manny Innamorato doesn’t seek to represent the heavily Republican South Shore in Albany.

Lavelle’s son Danny was originally thought to have the nomination’s inside track for sentimental reasons. Councilman Mike McMahon was rumored to have sought the seat as well and would have been the front runner over Danny in my estimation, but he declined to interview for the nomination. McMahon running didn’t make sense, since most think he will seek the borough presidency in 09.

Many Staten Island former candidates and long time operatives have entered the race and it seems doubtful that Danny will get the nod based on his presentation. Danny was not that well prepared, perhaps because the only other formerly announced (although insiders knew about several other qualified candidates who would be throwing their hat into the ring) viable opponent was former borough president candidate John Luisi, who has made several enemies in the party including the late assemblyman and myself I might add with his behavior during and after his 2005 loss to James P. Molinaro.

If Danny thought Luisi was the only legitimate competition, which wasn’t the case since several people well known in party circles are running, then he may have felt he didn’t need to wow the crowd given the former Borough President candidate’s many detractors.

I had several strategy meetings with Luisi during the borough president’s race including one in a Starbucks near the Staten Island Mall, where I suggested targeting democratic affinity groups such as youth and minorities in both GOTV and advertising. These groups are to the Democrats as the Evangelicals are to the Republicans. Any Island Democrat in a borough wide race needs to target these groups and get them to vote to achieve much more than the 40 percent vote threshold they’re limited to if they only focus on white North Shore Democrats like themselves (which is precisely what he did and achieved).

The person with us that meeting, who I won’t name right now, then made a bigoted and boneheaded comment. He said, “Minority type people don’t vote. Let’s not waste our time with them.” Yes, he used the phrase “type people”. The genius who said this at one time worked for a Latino elected official no less. This person gets paid and credibility, while I was offering my services gratis and was ignored.

I begged Luisi to let me contact the media on his behalf to pitch stories. He never pulled the trigger and only received coverage from the Staten Island Advance. Nothing else. Luisi then had the audacity at the Assembly candidates’ forum to say that it was he that started getting Staten Island candidates media attention. That statement is what inspired me to waste this much space on him, because it was me during the Harrison campaign who finally succeeded in breaking through the anti-Statenite mentality of the New York and national media and getting them to cover a Staten Island Democrat, albeit not early enough to have a fundraising impact.

I buy media for a living and I estimate at current pricing that I’ve planned, negotiated or purchased 100 million dollars worth of media for non-political accounts over the last 20 years or so. I asked Luisi to allow me to negotiate his local cable schedule. He initially said yes, but never contacted me. He instead enlisted the help of one the Staten Island elected officials to develop his schedule.

At a post Borough Presidential debate gathering at Staten Island’s Muddy Cup coffee house and bar I begged Luisi to allow me at least look at the schedule so I can fine tune it. He initially said yes and told his second wife whom he married during the campaign to fax me a copy of the schedule. Despite me consulting with him for a couple of months, his wife said, “Who the hell is he.” She never faxed me the schedule.

The final straw was when he was a no show for a campaign appearance the weekend before Election Day. He was supposed to call me to confirm which he never did. He never returned any calls after the appearance and didn’t say anything to me during the defeat party. We haven’t said a word to each other at any Democratic or neutral civic events that we both attended since.

With the exception of Luisi and Rev John Johnson who is not really a Democrat but a member of the independence party and based on the reaction of the crowd who was more familiar with him than I, a bit of a nut job, all the other candidates would make decent assembly people.

Openly Gay attorney Matt Titone, who gallantly lost in November to Andrew Lanza for State Senate in a district gerrymandered to elect Republicans is probably the new front runner.

Kelvin Alexander is another former State Senate candidate seeking to replace Lavelle. Kelvin lost the primary in 04 to eventual winner Diane Savino. Kelvin, a former cop and teacher, was also the founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. He would be my choice if I’m allowed to vote in the county committee nomination proceedings.

Longtime Staten Island politico Bob Olivari gave a very good presentation and should be formidable.

Teacher and former Lavelle staffer Mark Zink is a longtime activist who also deserves a chance to run for office.

Ubiquitous union and educational activist Rajiv Gowdat joined the field at the last minute. He is a frequent Daily Politic commenter and works as an engineer for his day job.

Although they seemed like they’d be capable legislators if elected, I’m not too familiar with the other three candidates, banker Daniel McOlvin and lawyers, John Castelli and Cindy Lowney. McOlvin and Castelli appeared on NY1 last week in stories not related to the Assembly race.

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