Today Stephen Levin faces OTBKB's coffee cup. A major in classics at Brown Univeristy, Levin has wonky good looks and a boyish, disarming manner. His father's cousins are Michigan's Senator Carl Levin and Congressman Sander Levin and he's Vito Lopez's chief of staff. Lopez, who is often portrayed as a Darth Vader figure in Brooklyn politics taught the 29-year-old Levin about "knocking on doors, talking to as many people as possible, the
importance of having a command of the issues, and having empathy for
the people," Levin told me. A pragmatist, Levin believes that for for every problem there is a solution that is not readily apparent."
And in case you missed these from the 33rd:
Breakfast-of-Candidates: Doug Biviano. Expect the
unexpected from Biviano. A civil engineer with degrees from Cornell
University, Biviano works as a superintendent in Brooklyn Heights
apartment building and as New York State Coordinator for
presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, whose politics of peace are a
strong influence. Biviano has lived the skiers life in Colorado and
sailed the Inter-Coastal Highway with his wife installing solar panels
on a boat he barely knew how to sail.
Breakfast of Candidates: Jo Anne Simon. Her career trajectory from teacher of the deaf to disability rights attorney will make you feel like a slacker and
wonder how she had time to become such a strong voice in her community
and the female Democratic District Leader and State Committeewoman for
the 52nd Assembly District. A proponent of the art of listening, she
believes that there's a place for all viewpoints at the table and that
"someone who is elected to office can work with everyone."
Breakfast-of Candidates; Evan Thies.
A former aide to City Council Member David Yassky, Thies also worked in
Hillary Clinton's upstate senate office and for Andrew Cuomo. Raised in
New Hampshire, public service was the family business and his
grandmother, Mary Mongron, was appointed by NH governor John
Sununu to be New Hampshire's Commissioner of Health and Human
Services. Struck as a child with Fibromatosis, a chronic disease, he
was
homeschooled during the worst of his illness. When he was 11, he and
his mother wrote and passed a bill about his disease. Evan studied his
twin interests, political science and journalism, at Syracuse
University but knew that he was called to public service like his grandmother.
Breakfast-of-Candidates: Ken Diamondstone: A lover of diner food, Diamondstone runs an affordable
housing business with an emphasis on "nice spaces for low prices." He
could have made a killing in the real estate biz but instead stuck to
his principles. Affordable housing is clearly Diamondstone's passion
and through his
business he has been able to translate ideals into action. He is
also a member of three local Democratic clubs and an early opponent of
Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. For Diamondstone, who is
openly gay and lives with his longtime partner, Joe, the rights of the
LGBT commuity is high on his list of
priorities. But so is the environment. As chair of the Brooklyn Solid
Waste Council he was involved with the Zero Waste Coalition and passage
of NYPIRG's Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill.
And here are the 39ers:
Breakfast-of-Candidates: Gary Reilly. At 34 he's not quite the youngest of the candidates (John Heyer beats
him on that score) but he's plenty wet behind the ears and full of
enthusiasm about public transportation and other issues that affect voters.
Breakfast-of-Candidates: Bob Zuckerman. A long-time politico, Bob is currently
executive director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development
Corporation and Gowanus Canal Conservancy. He remembers the night
Richard Nixon was elected in 1968 (he was 7-years-old) and one of his
heroes is Harvey Milk.
Breakfast-of-Candidates: Brad Lander, The intellectual of the group, Brad has two master's degrees and
a BA from the University of Chicago. He made his mark running
community organizations like the Fifth Avenue Committee and Pratt
Center for Community Development, advocating for affordable housing and community sustainablility.
Breakfast-of-Candidates: Josh Skaller. A former computer music composer at
Harvard, it was Howard Dean's presidential campaign that jumpstarted
his interest in electoral politics. As president of the Central
Brooklyn Independent Democrats, he learned to facilitiate dialogue and
manage strong personalities. Running on a community empowerment
platform with a strong interest in the environment and smart
development, Josh is proud to be refusing donations from real estate
developers.
Breakfast of Candidates: John Heyer: An assistant to Borough President Marty Markowitz, Heyer is the only candidate for City Council born in the 39th district. A
fifth-generation Carroll Gardener, his twin passions are politics and
theology. He works as a funeral director at Scotto's Funeral home and
his knowledge of the history of the neighborhood runs deep though he is
only 27 years old.
Breakfast-of-Candidates: David Pechefsky. The Green Candidate, Pechefsky worked for 10 years in the central staff of
the New York City Council. With a master's degree in public policy and
experience advising local governments in Africa, Pechefsky knows how the
City Council works from the inside out and has ideas about how it could
better serve the people of New York City.