I love to hear about the trajectory of people's  lives and how they
came to do what they are doing. That's why it's been so interesting to
talk one-on-one with the democratic candidates for City
Council in the 39th district for OTBKB's Breakfast-of-Candidates
series. I also wanted to learn more about these people who are
asking for our votes. What are they all about? What are they like to
have breakfast with (for that matter what do they eat for breakfast)?
Most importantly, should they get my vote for the City Council?

 Bob Zuckerman, the only gay democratic candidate for the City Council in the 39th District, was 11-years-old, when he went door to door for democratic presidential candidate Senator George McGovern in East Orange, New Jersey. When he tried to slip some leaflets under the door of a spooky looking house, a fierce dog went ballistic.  "I hid underneath a parked car as this German Shepherd came after me; at that moment I wondered if this is worth it," he laughs.

Well, it certainly didn't keep him out of politics for long.

Born in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey, Bob was raised by a dad who was a small businessman and a mom who was a homemaker and later an insurance broker. Bob is quick to point on that his mother was born and raised in Brooklyn.

 As a kid, Bob worked the cash register in his father's sportswear shop and unloaded merchandise at the warehouse. He attended Newark's Weequahic High School, as did his dad, whose fellow classmates included Philip Roth and Allen Klein, first manager of the Beatles. 

But the big influence in Bob's life was his grandfather, who was active in democratic politics. "I was indoctrinated at a young age,"  he says. Bob remembers election night 1968 when Nixon beat Hubert Humphrey. "It was a bad day and I stayed up late."

In college he studied business administration and minored in political science. He went to law school straight after graduation  because an adviser told him "it's a good degree to have whether you practice or not."

Engaged to be married to his college sweetheart, he clerked for a Superior Court judge and a Civil Court judge. Later he worked for a firm that specialized in securities law and realized that it wasn't his cup of tea.

This created a crisis in Bob's life. He was 28-years-old and for the first time he wasn't sure what he wanted to do or "who I was as a person." That's when he realized that he was gay.  It wasn't that he was in closet, he explains, "just didn't know."

After that everything changed. And in his professional life he knew he wanted to "sink his teeth into the things that have an impact on community, the state, the nation and the world," he said. He also remembered "how much I loved being involved in public issues that affect people's lives."

Cut to Bob almost 20 years later sitting in Sweet Melissa's in Park Slope talking enthusiastically about his hopes for Bill deBlasio's City Council seat. He orders quiche and salad and tells me about his current role as executive director of the Gowanus Canal Community
Development Corporation and the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, with their focus on smart development, affordable
housing, strategies for cleaning the Gowanus,
and creating new parks along the waterfront. Until recently he served as President of the Independent Neighborhood
Democrats, a progressive Democratic club. .

Prior to that, Bob was  Executive Director of the Greenwich
Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce. He has also been Executive Director of the New York
Nightlife Association, a trade association representing the hospitality
industry, and served as Assistant Director of Development for the LGBT
Community Center in New York. He also spent years working as a campaign manager for various political campaigns in New York and New Jersey.

Clearly Bob has leadership qualities and is a menchy guy. But politics is in Bob's bones and he has some "big ideas" he wants to present to the citizens of the 39th district.

Bob believes that small business is the life blood of Brooklyn's economy. During these tough economic times, he wants to see the city invest in non-profits that will funnel cash flow loans  to keep small businesses afloat.

Another idea: There should be tax incentives for landlords to sell their retail space to shopkeepers as condos. Reason: it's much easier to survive as a local business if you own your own place of business.

The environment is another priority for Bob and he wants to use stimulus money to bring green industry to Brooklyn, specifically the Gowanus Corridor.

He's also a proponent of residential parking permits. His idea: car owners would have to pony up $10-$20 a month to have a car. "Cars are a luxury," he tells me. And the money from the permits would go to fund a community jitney, to make it easier for citizens to get around without cars.

As for education, Bob has an unusual idea. He'd like to see a charter school modeled on the operating methods of t he Park Slope Food Coop. "Encouraging parents to work 3 hours a month – in the office, in after school programs, coaching."

I told Bob to be careful about that idea. "People are touchy about the Food Coop," I think I told him. 

Bob also believes that the City Council should be a full time position. "A salary of $112,000 is a full-time salary. It's enough money not to need a second job." Currently, the City Council is considered a part-time job. 

Bob didn't skip a beat when I asked him about his heroes: "Harvey Milk because he was encouraging and courageous before it was popular to be out. He had tenacity, he was inspirational, Jewish and from the New York area." Then he mentioned Barbara Boxer, "who speaks truth to power and is a Brooklynite." And then his partner of 11 years, Grant Neumann, a playwright and publishing executive. "He's kind, supportive and I couldn't do this without him."

I thought that was sweet. And in general, I appreciated Bob's enthusiastic and unguarded personality. By the end of brunch, I felt a bond with Bob and was excited about  his candidacy. He's been in politics all his life and he strikes me as a creative leader with interesting ideas, who is eager to serve the people of the 39th District.