The voters—albeit a paltry number of them—have spoken and they've made an excellent choice for City Council in the 39th district by picking Brad Lander. As I said in my endorsement of Lander on Monday:
enthusiasm, his ability to speak articulately about community
development, affordable housing, education, transportation, quality of
life and other issues of concern to the voters.
I think Lander has a statesmen-like quality and great leadership skills that inspire
respect and optimism. I think he's a team player and a consensus
builder. I know that he loves this district and has devoted practically
his entire life to issues of urban planning and affordable housing.
While
I admired Skaller's willingness to be forthright and intuitive about
issues like Atlantic Yards and Superfund combined with his background
in community activism, I think this is Lander's moment to lead. That is
why I am endorsing Brad Lander in the 39th.
I wish Lander luck,
learning, integrity and a willingness to speak truth to power as he
embarks on what will almost certainly be a stellar career in the City
Council.
Still, I was shocked that the race between Lander and Skaller wasn't closer. Lander got 5129 votes to Skaller's 3180. The Skaller camp was predicting that the race would be won by 200 votes. But in the end, it was more like 1,914 that gave Lander the edge.
In this way, the race was like 2001 when Bill di Blasio won by 2,000 votes against Steven diBrienza.
I think everyone expected Lander and Skaller's numbers to be a lot closer. But it was Skaller and Heyer who were really close in this race. Heyer got 2753 votes to Skaller's 3180. 427 votes made all the difference.
I imagine that Lander and Skaller were neck and neck in Park Slope. And in Boro Park Lander and Heyer may well have been very close. But what about Carroll Gardens, Windsor Terrace and Kensington?
Who took those votes?
Here’s the issue with John Heyer in Carroll Gardens: Many, many of those who would have been his natural supporters in this neighborhood couldn’t vote for him on primary day—they are Republicans! Judging from the folks at my son’s school who were pulling for Heyer, and from the locations and businesses that seemed to be more overtly supporting Heyer than your average sign-in-a-window type boosterism, Heyer’s supporters here are the most conservative in the area. If anything, the big presence the Heyer had in Carroll Gardens siphoned off a considerable number of votes Skaller was hoping to get here. (I’m sure a number of relatively uninformed but conscientious progressives in Carroll Gardens voted for Heyer because of his strong identification with the neighborhood.)
Brad Lander will be a terrific councilmember and, fingers crossed, a wonderful citywide official down the road.
John Heyer certainly did well in Carroll Gardens, but that’s because he put in huge effort there, mobilizing friends, family and neighbors. It’s not necessarily that he is the favorite of the community, per se, but rather that he had a lot of troops on the ground and had a lot of signs.
Actually, Heyer came in third in Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill. Heyer did extremely well in Borough Park and came in first there. Heyer had the endorsement of a lot of rabbis who liked his conservative views and support of tax credits for private school tuition.
I’m a lifelong progressive, one who has worked for multiple not-for-profits and community-based organizations in New York generally, and Park Slope in particular. I’m thrilled that Brad won, and that the misinformed boosters of Josh Skaller and others didn’t have the effect they hoped. In particular, Mole333 has been egregiously off the mark from the start. He speaks authoritatively, loudly and often about that about which he knows nothing.
The progressive voters of Park Slope – the ones who’ve lived in Park Slope for decades, who’ve sent their kids to the schools, who’ve watched the neighborhood gentrify, to their benefit and their detriment, who’ve worked and lived in the community, know that he hasn’t written a true word about Brad Lander since the campaign began.
I’m sure Josh Skaller is a nice guy, and I’m sure his positions are progressive. But what has he ever done? Brad has developed hundreds of units of affordable housing, helped build the Fifth Avenue Committee from a tiny organization to a widely respected and vitally important community institution.
Brad is progressive and has integrity, contrary to everything you’ve ever written. Brad has never, never in his life, flirted with (or even for a moment tolerated) homophobia, personally, professionally, or politically. No one other than his opponents has alleged that he authorized the ad in Der Blatt. Mole333 called him a “sleazy developer.” He’s the only sleazy developer I know never to have worked for a for-profit organization, never to have developed housing that didn’t have a substantial low-income component. And as for the WFP, there is no solid progressive in the City who hasn’t worked with the WFP. If they have made mistakes – and they may have – they also have been a powerful force for progressivism over the last decade, pushing mainstream liberal candidates to the left.
I, along with most other engaged, committed Park Slope progressives, are thrilled that Brad won, and won without resorting to nastiness.
I’ll never say anything negative about Josh Skaller. I don’t know him. After a lifetime of living in Park Slope, of working in Park Slope, of commitment to community organizations that do things and serve people, I’ve never met him. Or at least, never until he asked for my vote, telling me that he’s the best candidate to advance issues on which he has admirable positions, but never has done any work that I’ve encountered. And I note that evidently didn’t ask Mole333 to stop spreading misinformation and lies, which, to my knowledge, is the sleaziest thing I’ve seen in this campaign.
The reformers didn’t split their vote – they united behind Brad. The folks who split their vote were the ill-informed, mushy-headed progressives who define their progressivism by the beliefs they have, rather than by the actions they take and the work they do.
Don’t coronate Brad yet. There is still an election November 3 and my campaign is alive and well. Hopefully we can have a real democratic process with significant discussion and debate.
David Pechefsky
Green Party Candidate for City Council
http://www.pechefskyforcitycouncil.com
Judging by the number of Heyer placards in the windows around Carroll Gardens, and the fact he was born and raised in the neighborhood, he would have to be the favorite there.