According to the Constitution of Brooklyn's supposedly reform club the Independent Neighborhood Democrats (IND), several members, Executive Board members and Offiers should be expelled from the club.
May 4th is the endorsement vote for the NY-11 Congressional primary. Yesterday I received a letter signed by the following individuals asking IND members to join them in support of David Yassky in this race:
Debra Scotto, identified as being on the Executive Board
Joe Ringston, identified as Treasurer
Marisa Ringston, identified as Member
Tom McMahon, identified as Member
Eleanor Cunningham, identified as Recording Secretary
Bob Zuckerman, identified as being on the Executive board
Ira Cure, identified as past President
and Stephen DiBrienza, with no noted identification with the club
The letter is addressed to "Dear Fellow IND meber." According to the Constitution of IND, these individuals, by using their affiliation with IND in written material connected with a campaign that has not received the endorsement of the general membership, are violating IND bylaws.
To quote the IND Constitution:
Article IX Political Action
(1) No member of IND shall use the name of IND in any way which may indicate support by the club of any candidate, without prior authorization by the Executive Board in writing, or by the general membership.
(2) Violation of Section 1 of the Article shall be cause for immediate suspension of the rights and privileges of such member by a majority vote of the Executive Board at a meeting of such Board at which the member in question shall have been invited and shall also automatically constitute grounds for expulsion under the procedures provided herein.
(3) Any member of the Executive Board who desires to work for or publicly endorse a candidate opposing IND's endorsed candidate shall be given the opportunity to suspend his or her membership on the Executive Board for the duration of that campaign. If a member of the Executive Board does not exercise this option and found to have violated this provision, he or she shall be deemed to have resigned his/her position on the Executive Board.
(4) No officer of IND shall use his or her office as a vehicle to aid the campaign of an opposition candidate, nor may any suggestion of affiliation with IND be used in oral or written material in connection with a campaign that has not received the endorsement of the general membership.
In the context of recent events, this letter, prior to an actual endorsement vote, seems to further reduce the IND endorsement process to the level of mere farce.
After the election of a President who is on the staff of a politician, after the disenfranchisement of nearly 100 new members for the stated purpose (so indicated at the April 20th meeting) of protecting favorite candidates, after the distribution of an anti-Eric Adams handout at the endorsement meeting for that race, this letter is just one more indication of a club whose integrity really is not what I had been led to believe. Will the Executive Board act to expel these members? I doubt it! Rather I suspect they will defend the action as protecting their favored candidate from then invasion of outsiders into the club. Once again I am horrified by the true nature of IND.
