Tonight was the first Brooklyn Democratic County Committee meeting my wife and I felt accomplished anything.

Our first County Committee meeting (sounds so romantic!) was Clarence Norman's last meeting before he went to jail. We were recruited by a friend and had little warning of what we were in for. My wife was 2 weeks overdue in giving birth to our son (his fault, not hers...he refused to get into position...kind of gave us a sense of his personality right there!). We wondered if his birth might upstage Clarence Norman's last stand...but he held on and was born later.

But the meeting was a farce. A circus. It was literally scripted from start to finish and was as uninviting and undemocratic as could be. The only saving grace was Ken Diamondstone's determined effort to stand up to the farce and at least SHOW that it was a farce. I wish we had been warned in advance. We might have been able to help Ken in showing what a farce the official Democratic Party was in Brooklyn.

Here's the key. I despise corruption. It puts the self interest of a handful of powerful folks over the actual governance of our country, our state, our city. I cannot stand when people put their own self interest so blatantly and completely ahead of the community. That is what Republicans do these days. When I was a kid even Republicans didn't do that so much.

I spend a great deal of time fighting Republican corruption. So when I realized that the head of the Democratic Party in my own area, Clarence Norman, was going to jail, it kind of made me feel sick. Seeing County Committee in action made me realize the corruption went deeper than Clarence Norman.

From then on I got to watch the Vito Lopez machine replace the Clarence Norman machine. I saw no real change. No recognition that the corruption in the Brooklyn Democratic Party was an embarrassment to the Democratic Party in general and was potential ammunition for the Republican Party. I predicted early on that this would mean we would start losing to the Republicans here in Brooklyn because the local Democratic Party was more dedicated to perpetuating the power of a handful of corrupt sleazebags than actually electing Democrats in contested elections.

Now, though the dynamics are more complicated than this, having in many ways to do with developments within a segment of the Jewish community that puts intolerance before community-interest, but the Democratic Party in Brooklyn has indeed been falling apart. We are losing contested elections like crazy. The number of contested elections are still small, but the dynamics are changing and the slack and corrupt attitude that I have seen locally in the Brooklyn Democratic Party has meant that we will continue to lose unless we start changing how we do business.

THAT is the most important thing to learn from the last 8 years as well as from tonight's meeting. And in tonight's meeting SOME people got it and, really, really sadly, some didn't.

more below  read more »

Brooklyn Blogger Gatemouth over at Room 8 makes a big error in his recent pieces on Brooklyn Politics. In it he refers to the reform movement that is fighting the massively corrupt (and apparently somewhat depraved) head of the Democratic Party machine, Vito Lopez, as being a monolithic group whose every statement is planned in advance by the Supreme Reform Soviet of Brooklyn before being uttered.

He knows full well the reformers are a disorganized, squabbling bunch who actually put up no less than FOUR candidates one year in a City Council election against Vito Lopez's pet, Steve Levin. Naturally Levin won. Had the reformers been as unified and monolithic as Gatemouth treats them, Levin may well have lost. Organizing the reform Democrats in Brooklyn is even more like herding cats than the general Democratic Party exercise in cat-herding.  read more »

REMEMBER TO VOTE TODAY!
Thursday Sept. 13th is Primary Election Day

Here are some recommendations from District Leader Chris Owens, my district leader:

NORTHWEST BROOKLYN (Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo, Fort Greene):

Elect Richard Montelione to the Kings County Civil Court. Richard is the only candidate with 28 years of legal experience as a practicing attorney and as a leader in the legal community. He has been found "Exceptionally Well Qualified" by four judicial panels, "Qualified" by numerous judicial panels and The New York Times, endorsed by the NY Amsterdam News, and Richard is supported by every "reform" Democratic political organization in Brooklyn (CBID, IND, LID, NKD).

The word is out that Richard Montelione is the best judicial candidate this year! Who shares that view? Major Owens, Jo Anne Simon, Lincoln Restler, Velmanette Montgomery, Joan Millman, Jim Brennan, Letitia James, Deborah Glick, Danny Dromm and many more.

Richard's opponent, law clerk Lara Genovesi, is a competent and qualified candidate. We need the BEST judges, however, not merely "decent" judges. Ms. Genovesi can run again in the future. In this contest, Richard Montelione is the superior candidate and needs your vote.

52nd ASSEMBLY DISTRICT (Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Park Slope, Prospect Heights): Please re-elect my co-leader and friend, Jo Anne Simon to the Democratic State Committee. Jo Anne is not only a seasoned and wise District Leader, she is an accomplished education attorney and could be Brooklyn's first female Democratic County Leader.

50th ASSEMBLY DISTRICT (Greenpoint, Williamsburg): Please re-elect Lincoln Restler, one of Brooklyn's hardest hustling "reformers," to the Democratic State Committee ("District Leader"). Lincoln works to represent every person in his very diverse and changing district. The bottom line is this: Vito Lopez is gunning for Lincoln and we can't let this scandal-plagued County Leader take out a champion of change. In 2010, Lincoln's election was so close, it took multiple recounts to decide the victor!  read more »

On June 26th [it's good if I get the damned date right!] there is an important Democratic Primary election in NY State. The decisions are between reform and corrupt, progressive and regressive. I would like to do another of my round ups of endorsements from local clubs, focusing on those that are considered progressive and reform-oriented.

I want to note that voting in these primaries is critical. People complain about corruption in local politics all the time, but if they don't vote in these primaries they are doing nothing to fight that corruption. If you want a better system for Brooklyn and for NY State, pay attention to these primaries! It also helps to donate to or volunteer for some of these candidates.

So here is a round up of endorsements from local clubs and organizations. (Presented before with the addition of Lambda Independent Democrats' latest endorsements)

MOST RECENT ENDORSEMENT: Lambda Independent Democrats (LGBT issues)

For Congress...
Nydia Velazquez, 7th CD
Hakeem Jeffries, 8th CD
Yvette Clarke, 9th CD
Jerrold Nadler, 10th CD
Mark Murphy, 11th CD
Carolyn Maloney, 12th CD

For NY State Senate...
Eric Adams, 20th District
Kevin Parker, 21st District
Diane Savino, 23rd District
Andrew Gounardes for State Senate, District 22
Velmanette Montgomery for State Senate, District 18
Daniel Squadron for State Senate, District 25

For NY State Assembly...
Rhoda Jacobs, 42nd AD
Olanike Alabi, 57th AD
Jim Brennan for State Assembly, District 44
John Mancuso for State Assembly, District 60
Joan Millman for State Assembly, District 52

For Civil Court Judge...
Lizette Colon
Robin Garson
Wavny Toussaint

For District Leader...
Lincoln Restler for Male District Leader, 50th AD
Jo Anne Simon for Female District Leader, 52nd AD
Faryce Moore for Female District Leader, 57th AD
Joanne Seminara for Female District Leader, 60th AD
Jacob Gold for District Leader/State Committee, Assembly District 44
Lori Knipel for District Leader/State Committee, Assembly District 44
Chris Owens for District Leader/State Committee, Assembly District 52

CENTRAL BROOKLYN INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATS: Considered the most progressive and most reform club in Brooklyn.

One of the best things about this club is that they require candidates to fill out pretty tough questionnaires so you can read about each candidate. Click here to see the questionnaires that have been turned in for the June 1st primary.

Now here are the CBID endorsements:

Jo Anne Simon (District Leader AD 52)
Chris Owens (District Leader AD 52)
Joan Millman (52nd AD)
Jim Brennan (44th AD)
Nydia Velazquez (7th CD)
No Endorsement (8th CD)
Yvette Clarke (9th CD)
Lori Citron Knipel (44th AD District Leader)
Jacob Gold (44th AD District Leader)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (10th CD)
Sen. Velmanette Montgomery (18th SD)
Sen. Eric Adams (20th SD)
Sen. Kevin Parker (21st SD)
Sen. Daniel Squadron (25th SD)
Hon. Lincoln Restler (50th AD Male DL)  read more »

It is just a tad more than one month until the June 1st Democratic Primary election in NY State. I would like to do one of my round ups of endorsements from local clubs, focusing on those that are considered progressive and reform-oriented.

I want to note that voting in these primaries is critical. People complain about corruption in local politics all the time, but if they don't vote in these primaries they are doing nothing to fight that corruption. If you want a better system for Brooklyn and for NY State, pay attention to these primaries! It also helps to donate to or volunteer for some of these candidates.

So here is a round up of endorsements from local clubs and organizations.

CENTRAL BROOKLYN INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATS: Considered the most progressive and most reform club in Brooklyn.

One of the best things about this club is that they require candidates to fill out pretty tough questionnaires so you can read about each candidate. Click here to see the questionnaires that have been turned in for the June 1st primary.

Now here are the CBID endorsements:

Jo Anne Simon (District Leader AD 52)
Chris Owens (District Leader AD 52)
Joan Millman (52nd AD)
Jim Brennan (44th AD)
Nydia Velazquez (7th CD)
No Endorsement (8th CD)
Yvette Clarke (9th CD)
Lori Citron Knipel (44th AD District Leader)
Jacob Gold (44th AD District Leader)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (10th CD)
Sen. Velmanette Montgomery (18th SD)
Sen. Eric Adams (20th SD)
Sen. Kevin Parker (21st SD)
Sen. Daniel Squadron (25th SD)
Hon. Lincoln Restler (50th AD Male DL)  read more »