I got these auto-emails from two candidates for City Council in the 39th district: Democrat Brad Lander and Green David Pechefsky.

FROM BRAD:

Thanks,

Brad

FROM DAVID:

You can read up on some of the candidates in the upcoming election on November 3rd. I conducted these interviews prior to the Democratic primary on September 15th. 

For Mayor: Thompson was the only candidate I was able to interview. I wanted to interview Rev. Billy but wasn't able to make that happen. And no go with Mayor Bloomberg.

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Bill Thompson I asked Thompson how big a deal he's going to make out of the fact that Bloomberg overturned term limits: "New
Yorkers are upset and frustrated by what he did. He said he would never
go against what the voters wanted. And then he did. He lied to the
people. And that resonates with them." And those are fightin' words. Thompson, who has been called the stealth candidate by the New York Times, has plenty to run on. He just needs to get his juices flowing and find
some passion about other  issues that matter to New Yorkers.

For City Council in the 39th:
Breakfast-of-Candidates: Brad Lander, Lander 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: 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.

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Joe Nardiello  He doesn't look like a Republican. I was expecting
someone clean cut, non-ethnic and very middle America. But Nardiello, born and bred in Brooklyn, has dark eyes, dark hair and strong Italian good looks. He
had the Brooklyn childhood of legend and is a very intriguing guy:  "All we needed was a ball. My
life was constantly filled with sports, resourcefulness, spending time
with friends."

For City Council in the 33rd:

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Stephen Levin.  A classics major at Brown University,  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 currently works as 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."

Have you decided who you're voting for for City Council in the 39th District? The race for Bill DiBlasio's seat has been a long, strange trip and the general election is on Tuesday, November 3rd. That's exactly one week from today.

A lot of people thought that the Democratic primary was the deciding election in a largely Democratic district. But the Green party has proven that this is a real democracy and voters really do have a choice in the 39th.

So here are your choices for City Council in the 39th: Brad Lander (Democrat), David Pechefsky (Green) and Joe Nardiello (Republican).

According to a press release from David Pechefsky today, Campaign Finance Board (CFB) records show the Pechefsky campaign with more cash on hand for the last week of the campaign than his Democratic rival: $35,599 to Lander's $26,648.

"Obviously, overall Brad will significantly outspend us, but by putting on a full court press this final week we think we can capture a lot of the votes of people who really want change in the City Council, those who didn't pay much attention to the Democratic primary, and those, including the 15,000 voters not registered with any party, who are glad to finally have a real choice come election day, " states Pechefsky.

It has to be said that Pechefsky has mounted a strong and innovative campaign with the help of CFB matching funds. 

His team of canvassers has been out knocking on doors and providing voters with his entertaining and informative "activity book" and this week the campaign will be launching an internet advertising campaign.  "Even Brad acknowledges that I have the best t-shirts" quips Pechefsky, "but I think people will vote for me based on my experience and independence."

Brooklyn Beat of the blog Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn was at the mayoral debate last night. Here's an excerpt. Go to his blog for more text and pix:

I listened to the first half hour of Tuesday night's debate between NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg and mayoral candidate City Comptroller William Thompson on WNYC. 

"What
are you doing here, Mike? We voted for term limits!" On the radio it sounded like it was quite a ruckus.

Turns out it was Green Party Candidate for Mayor Rev. Billy Talen.

Talen was not speaking from the stage, but from the fifth row in the
audience. Though Talen will appear on the ballot in November along with
six other candidates for Mayor he was not invited to participate in the debate. Only Mike Bloomberg and Democratic nominee Bill Thompson were allowed to participate in the one hour debate.

According to Talen: "the missing voice tonight
was the voice of New York City's neighborhoods, which Bloomberg and the
Democrats have victimized in their lust for the bubble-based economies
of tourism, chain stores and Wall Street. We will not forget about
Bloomberg's dismissal of term limits. He cannot spend enough to erase
Democracy."

Yeah, I was curious to meet the Republican running for Bill deBlasio's City Council seat in the 39th district. I mean it's audacious being a Republican in the People's Republic of Park Slope.

And I was sort of missing my breakfasts with the candidates. It had been months since I'd met with any of the 39ers or the 33s.

So I told Joe Nardiello to meet me at one of my usual BOC haunts: Donuts on Seventh Avenue near 9th Street.

Of course Nardiello knew all about Donuts because he's a Brooklyn guy from way back.

I have to say he doesn't look like a Republican. I was expecting someone clean cut, non-ethnic and very middle America (sort of like 39er Gary Reilly, who happens to be ultra progressive. So much for cliches).

Wrong. Nardiello, born and bred in Brooklyn, has dark eyes, dark hair and strong Italian good looks.

He had the Brooklyn childhood of legend.  "All we needed was a ball. My life was constantly filled with sports, resourcefulness, spending time with friends."

There was football and wiffleball on the Brooklyn streets. "Punch the ball, off the point, off the wall, corks, skellies," Nardiello recited a litany of the games he played as a kid.

In elementary school,  Nardiello was plucked out of St. Agnes in Carroll Gardens for a progressive study junior high. "When I found out it was for underprivileged kids I didn't know what that meant. I had to look it up." 

Clearly, Nardiello did not view himself as having an underprivileged background. It was a good life with a good family on the good streets of Brooklyn. "But I didn't know anyone who went to college in my youth. People went into trades and became union carpenters, longshoreman at the docks like their fathers."

Later he was placed in a special "Higher Achievement Program" at Xavier High School in Manhattan. He went to college at NYU. While there, he also worked part time at Citibank as a bank teller. "I'm from a blue collar background. If you're not working there's something wrong with you."

Ever the busy—and social guy, Nardiello started the NYU Social and Athletic Club, a club for students who didn't like fraternities and sororities. "I don't like exclusion. Something for the few and not for the most." There were 500 members and it was a place to give commuter students a sense of belonging," he told me.

At NYU, Nardiello majored in journalism he says "because I was a child of the 1960's up to Watergate. I wanted to be Woodward and Bernstein."

After graduation, Nardiello decided to go into advertising, where he found that he enjoyed the creative side. "I was making money. In my neighborhood if you made your age in salary you were a success. I had superstar status in the neighborhood. A wunderkind."

But he was restless and wanted to do something else after a while. "Nothing is ever about money for me. It drives my wife crazy. It's the challenge," he told me.

So he worked for advertising agencies developing business for companies like American Airlines, the island of Curacao, fashion accounts and even a Donald Trump board game.

And then he tried something else. During the Dinkins administration Nardiello became a member of an economic "think tank" led by Dinkins' Deputy Mayor Barry Sullivan. The mission of the NYC Economic Policy & Marketing Group, was to brand New York City was to support and develop the NYC economy during the recession of the early 1990s and to aggressively increase  tourism to "hundreds of cultural institutions."

In this capacity, Nardiello worked with the Economic Development Corp and Small Business Services from 1992 until 1995, where it was his job to review the budget of the NYC Convention & Visitors Bureau for Deputy Mayors.
"The idea was to apply a private-sector approach to efforts to promote NYC worldwide," Nardiello told me. He also managed the “Mayor’s Tourism Office” and recruited & directed seven of NY’s largest marketing agencies to highlight attractions in 10 designated “development zones."

Nardiello is proud of his work at NYC Economic Policy and Marketing Group: "We brought East and West Harlem together. They weren't communicating," he says. The group also helped Brighton Beach and introduced Big Apple Greeters and "New York City: Yours to Discover" program. "The idea was to focus on the city (and tourism) outside of Times Square."

After 9/11 it was this experience that inspired Nardiello to approach individual companies in Lower Manhattan to help them comeback from the devastation of the attacks.

Then I popped the million dollar question. Why is Nardiello, a Republican in a predominantly Democratic district, running for City Council? 

"I am giving people a choice. People  should understand that a man can be a strong candidate and look past the branding.

Looking at his website, I gather that Nardiello sees himself as a Theodore Roosevelt Republican, a Mike Bloomberg Republican, a Park Slope Food Coop Republican. He writes on the site:

From the sounds of it, Nardiello backs a more holistic approach to development. He believes that there must be a process of communication that includes the city and the councilperson and "not the developer, to share a comprehensive vision and address issues like the traffic on Atlantic Avenue," he wrote in an email.

At the end of 90-minutes I told Nardiello that it was time for me to go. My sister had dropped into Donuts and the three of us walked down to Third Street (it can be hard to shake a politician once they start talking).

It was fun to get to know this Food Coop Republican and the guy running against Democrat Brad Lander and Green party candidate David Pechefsky in the general election on November 3rd. 

As Nardiello told me in an email: "I'm running for our areas — which I will always live in. People have a
new, honest voice and the hardest working representative they'd ever
meet — if they want it. They have to vote the person, not the party to
wash-away partisanship in thelr lifetime, here and now! …I may have
just appeared on the political radar, but I've been here and doing my
best, day to day for quite some time."

photo of Joe Nardiello in Donuts on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope by Louise Crawford

That's right, Joe Nardiello, the Republican running for City Council in the 39th district faced OTBKB's coffee cup at Donuts on Seventh Avenue last week. Stay tuned for the interview with this Republican who is a member of the Park Slope Food Coop.

So often I post events on this blog but can't make it to them. But last night I made a point of getting over to the Brooklyn Lyceum's Benefit for a Garden Grown from Katrina with mayoral candidate Rev Billy to find  out for myself what this Rev Billy thing is all about.

I know he's running for mayor on the Green Party ticket. And I've heard that he's an activist and performance artist with a powerful political message against war and consumerism.

Friends have told me that he's an amazing performer. And recently a friend said that they'd heard him on the Brian Lehrer Show and that he was incredible. Still, I didn't really know if it was schtick or the real thing.

The evening began with a screening of "Mama Sue's Garden," a very promising work-in-progress by documentary filmmaker Susan Hamovitch about a feisty and watchable woman in St. Bernard's Parish in New Orleans who is coming back from the devastation and loss of Hurricane Katrina by creating a community garden.

Then it was time for Rev Billy and the Life After Shopping Gospel Choir and they rocked the house. The energy, the music, the humor of this group can not be understated.

And their message about democracy, consumerism and peace. A flyer that I got at the door states Rev Billy's reasons for running for mayor:

The Stop Shopping Gospel Choir was really at the heart of Rev Billy's Lyceum appearance. They are an all-ages choir comprised of a very appealing, talented and energetic group of people who make soaring gospel music. They make you want to clap along, sing, and stomp your feet. The music moves you to move as it moves you. And they're really fun to watch. As they say on the about page of rev Billy's website:

Rev Billy then resumed his story about a group of approximately 700 peace activists ("and some 30-40 kids who wanted to get arrested," he said), who were surrounded by what he called DarthRoboCopVaders, in special riot gear, who created a menacing wall around them.

These "inscrutable" walls (cops at a demonstration, big box stores in a smal town), says Rev Billy,  are creating a new theory of social control called emptiness. " Reflected in those LA sunglasses there is the power of emptiness."

He came away from the demonstration thinking that consumerism and militarism—and even activism—are the same thing as he felt the activists imitate the Robocops "because we felt their tension and we forgot that we were arguing for peace."

While in Pittsburg, Rev Billy said he saw something he wasn't supposed to see: behind a a van he saw a group of Robocops getting into their bullet proof vests. "Toto pulled away the curtain and there were the cops looking like local young people, not too beefy, getting into their armour. They were stepping into that attitude, that ektoskelatal thing. And I realized if they can put it on, it can be reversed."

He went on to say: "We can return to softness," he said. "That is possible. We can stay soft, complex, articulate, sensual and interesting. Not like that wall."

This is complex, thoughtful stuff and I was very impressed by his way of speaking and the things he had to say. He's interesting and surprising and nuanced and smart. He is a very appealing guy who is, at heart, a performer and an artist who has devised an incredible way to get his message across.

After the show, I ran into a fellow blogger on Fifth Avenue. He told me that he'd never seen Rev Billy.

"So is it schtick or is it real?" he asked.

"It's schtick and it's for real. It's very sincere schtick," I told him. But I know that's only part of the story. That's why I will be doing a Breakfast-of-Candidates interview with Rev Billy so we can really go behind the scenes and find out what makes him tick. Stay Tuned.

Tonight there's a Benefit for a Garden Grown from Katrina with mayoral candidate Rev. Billy, his choir and More!

Saturday, October 3rd. Doors at 7:00pm. $10
One for the Crop, One for the Crow: A Benefit Event
The Brooklyn Lyceum | 227 4th Avenue | Brooklyn, NY 11215 | R Train To
Union Street

Join activist and Green Party Candidate for Mayor of NYC Reverend Billy Talen and the Life After Shopping Gospel Choir as we remember Katrina witha way forward.

The Rev and Choir will perform at 7:45pm, and the whole
evening is filled with music and films celebrating how communities have
survived and reinvented themselves in New Orleans after Katrina. We will
celebrate Mama Sue's Garden, created by Sue Boutwell LaGrange in one New
Orleans' most devastated parishes. Mama Sue-a-lujah!

The schedule of events:
7:30    Five minute short film on Hurricane Katrina
7:45    Reverend Billy and the Life After Shopping Gospel Choir
8:45    Anthony DeGregorio and his Jazz band
9:15    Susan Hamovitch introduces and shows 30 mins of new documentary
Mama Sue's Garden
10:00   The Amazing Mentalist Dr. Zenitram
10:30   Gary Fisher and his Jazz band

As
reported by New York 1 News, the uncertified results of today's Primary
Run-off Election for Public Advocate and Comptroller positions are:

Click here to find your local polling place, or use the following link:
http://gis.nyc.gov/vote/ps/index.htm

There's even a Young Republican Club and they're having a get together at the Montauk Club to discuss all the Republicans running for local office. Here are the deets (if you are so inclined):

Who: Alex Zablocki, Republican Candidate for NYC Public Advocate, Joe Mendola, Republican Candidate for NYC Comptroller , Joe Nardiello, Republican Candidate for City Council, 39th District, Gene Berardelli, Republican Candidate for City Council, 46th District, Kellen Giuda, NYC Tea Party Founder & Parcbench.com

What: The Brooklyn Young Republican Club will be
hosting its September regular meeting at its new location, the
beautiful and historic Montauk Club, located at 25 8th Avenue in Park
Slope/Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn.  The location is quite fitting since
the Montauk Club throughout its history has been host to numerous
prominent American politicians of both parties.  We will be hosting
local candidates as well as Kellen Giuda, founder of Parcbench.com and
the NYC Tea Party movement, which just co-sponsored the massive
Taxpayer Tea Party on September 12th in Washington, D.C.  

The meeting is free and open to the public; however, non-members are asked to RSVP on our website at http://www.brooklynyr.com/events_details.php?eventID=65.

The New York Times reports:

Despite pleasant weather and
the efforts of candidates who crisscrossed the city for weeks, just 11
percent of enrolled Democrats went to the polls.

The primary was
also marked by a political anomaly: more people cast their ballots for
public advocate and comptroller than for mayor.

More than
347,000 Democrats voted in Tuesday’s five-way primary for public
advocate and more than 352,000 in the four-way race for comptroller,
but some 312,000 voted in the mayoral contest.

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:

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?

• City Council Races in the 33rd and the 39th

Read: the Breakfast-of-Candidates Interviews

Read: Final Thoughts from John Heyer, Brad Lander, Bob Zuckerman, Josh Skaller and Gary Reilly

Read: OTBKB Endorsement in the 39th: Brad Lander

Read: OTBKB Endorsement in the 33rd: Doug Biviano

The Brooklyn Book Festival is a huge, free public event presenting an array of literary stars and
emerging authors. The
festival, which is this Sunday in and around Brooklyn Borough Hall, is organized around themed readings and devoted to timely and
lively panel discussions. The inclusion of top national and
international authors and new partners has expanded the festival’s
reach while continuing to celebrate and enhance Brooklyn’s contemporary
and historic literary reputation.

There's much to do at the fest: panels, speakers, readings, tables full of books. And this, which I thought sounded interesting:

I just got this email with a link about the 2001 race.It was sent to me by a life-long Brooklyn resident who says that he tries to  to stay engaged with
local issues and politics. He writes: "Admittedly, it is a little geeky to know
that the New York City Board of Elections publishes vote tallies on its
website…"

Some people are estimating that 200 votes will decide the election for Bill diBlasio's city council seat in the 39th district.

200 votes?  Wow. That's not a lot of votes.

In 2001, I heard that Bill diBlasio won by 2,000 votes. But that was 2001. It wasn't nearly as tight a race as this one.

So, 200 votes will make or break a candidate. That's why a voting block like Borough Park is so important. The Satmar community votes according to recommendations from its chief rabbi. Whatever the rabbi says…

That said, the candidates are running hard in Borough Park—and all over the rest of the district.

So who are the front runners?

Brad Lander and Josh Skaller are running neck in neck no doubt. At the moment, Lander is trying to distance himself from his Yiddish newspaper brouhaha. I'm not sure if voters in brownstone Brooklyn are aware of it or even care about it.

Bob Zuckerman is at their tail. He just came out with a very funny animated spot that shows cartoon versions of Lander and Skaller attacking each other.

John Heyer is running close to Zuckerman as he has a strong following among conservative democrats in Carroll Gardens and possibly Borough Park.

Gary Reilly, arguably the most honest and forthright is in last place.

In a local election like this every vote really does count. It is important that every Democrat in Park Slope take a long, hard look at all the candidates and get out there on Tuesday September 15th and vote.

THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED: Many grains of salt. That's what you need in these last days of the City Council race in Brooklyn's 39th district. People are flinging all kinds of crazy accusations about and you have to be careful what you believe.

Politics: it's wild and crazy and nasty and strange. Strange.
Strange. Strange. And there's a whole lot of curious stuff going on.

Much of it has to do with Borough Park, which is part of the 39th district. The candidates are vying for important votes in that community, which is largely made up of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews.

That said, who is fulminating this politics of attack? Is this sort of thing just par for the course during any race? I am assuming that the fake ad in a Yiddish newspaper and the following weird emails about the Dov Hikind Radio Show has nothing to do with the candidates and their campaigns.

Yesterday I got a very strange email from someone calling themselves Media Watch about Brad Lander. It was obviuosly ridiculous (the mispellings alone invalidate it in my opinion).

Clearly someone is sending weird emails to bloggers. Gatemouth of Room 8 received the following email on Labor Day. NOTE: Gatemouth has since concluded that the email was absolutely ridiculous. I could have told him that. Again, the mispellings… Who wrote it?  See Gatemouth's column at Room 8.

To: Gatemouthnyc(at)hotmail(dot)com

Brad Lander pledged to support getting public tax dollars for the
private schools.

Brad Lander was on the Dov Hikind Radio Show Saturday night (9-5-09).

Gatemouth had this to say In the Huffington Post and on the blog Room 8 

lf this were indeed true it would qualify as pretty amazing stuff,
since among other things, Mr. Lander's campaign has consistently
maintained that Israel is not a legitimate issue in this race, but if
this email is correct, the Mr. Lander has managed to evolve from the
lunatic left to the rabid right in a matter of a few short months. The
schools position would be news to his supporters at the UFT and the
other stuff would imply Mr. Lander sees no difference between marriage
and civil union.

Frankly, it is so mind-boggling as to make me dubious.

Therefore,
I am laying down both an appeal for help, and a challenge. The appeal
is to everyone out there. Can someone provide me with either a
transcript or a recording of this interview?

The challenge is to Mr. Lander and Assemblyman Hikind.

I
am asking that you provide me with either a recording or a transcript.
I am forwarding a copy of this column to Liz Benjamin, Azi Paybarah and
all the other candidates in this race. I believe at least some of these
candidates will join me in this request.

If by Wednesday at
6:00 PM a transcript or recording is not provided to the public, I will
assume that everything in this email is true and post an analysis. I
trust others will be making similar inquiries shortly after I've posted.

And who was responsible for placing an unauthorized Brad Lander ad in the Yiddish language
newspaper Der Blatt? The ad said it was "Paid for by Brad Lander for City
Council,” and it falsely claimed that Lander is against gay marriage; the article used homophobic and extremely offensive language.  

Lander sent out this message almost immediately:

We did not authorize, place, see, or pay for the ad.  As soon as the
campaign became aware of the ad last week, we publicly made clear we
did not have anything to do with it, denounced its gross and outrageous
content, and wrote letters to the NYC Campaign Finance Board calling
for an investigation of how it was placed (available here)
and to Der Blatt calling for a comparably-placed retraction.  I am
extremely angry that these homophobic statements were, in any way,
associated with me or my campaign. 

My consistent and strong support of marriage equality and LGBT rights
are widely known, including in Borough Park.  It has been a public
issue in the campaign, on our campaign website, and in multiple pieces
in the Orthodox Jewish press and blogosphere. 

And Today City Council
Speaker Christine Quinn and Empire State Pride Agenda Executive
Director Alan Van Capelle, sent out this press release to make it clear that Brad Lander had nothing to do with the ad in Der Blatt. Here's their
press release:

For Immediate Release: Monday, September 7, 2009

Statement of Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle

New York — Today New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and
Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle released
the following statement regarding the campaign for the NYC Council 39th
District seat. Both Quinn and Van Capelle have made no endorsement in
the 39th District and are supporting no candidate.

“Homophobia has no place in our city and no place in any campaign for elective
office. The content of the ad placed in Der Blatt is offensive to all
New Yorkers. I know Brad Lander and am confident that he had absolutely
nothing to do with the ad. I was pleased that he took immediate action
to denounce it. Any attempt to use this ad against Brad is just plain
wrong. I urge all candidates to stop using homophobia for any personal
gain, and to engage in a discussion of the issues that are important to
the daily lives of voters in the District,” said New York City Council
Speaker Christine C. Quinn, New York City’s first openly gay City
Council Speaker.

“The contents of the ad in Der Blatt are
hateful and demeaning to our community, New York and especially our
families. I have reviewed this matter closely and I have personally
spoken with Brad. I believe his assertion that he and his campaign had
no knowledge or participation in placing this ad. Political attacks
against Brad, an ardent supporter of marriage equality, are unfair,
unwarranted and have no place in this campaign. When we lob charges of
homophobia that are without merit, we fundamentally undermine the
meaning of term when it is actually warranted," said Alan Van Capelle,
Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. ESPA and Alan Van
Capelle have not endorsed in this race.

What a long, strange trip the campaign for City Council in the 39th district has been. As has been said by me and others, it is quite stellar group of candidates that decided to run for Bill diBlasio's seat for a district that spans Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, and Borough Park. 

Look at them: Brad Lander, Josh Skaller, Bob Zuckerman, John Heyer, and Gary Reilly. Any one of them would be a fine City Councilman. But only one can have the 39th seat.

Things were very civilized back in April and May. The forums/debates were good humored and convivial. It was clear that this smart and likable group of candidates agreed on most issues.

Indeed, it was clear that they all had interesting backgrounds and experiences that qualified them for the City Council, a position that is perfect step into politics for non-politicians.

Of course, there were plenty of sharp elbows and moments of contention. Plenty. 

—John Heyer was attacked for being against abortion and gay marriage. He managed to get the endorsement of a key Carroll Gardens Democratic club
and there was much sniping about the influence of Buddy Scotto, his
mentor and employer at the Funeral Home (he is also assistant to Borough President Marty Markowtiz).

–Attacks between Lander and Skaller,  in my opinion, were gratuitous—and desperate—jabs (by each campaign) at two men who's views are more alike than different.

—Skaller proved himself to be an aggressive—and at times—a sharp elbowed candidate willing to play the politics of attack for points with the voters.

–Former presidential candidate and Chairman of the National Democratic Committee Dr. Howard Dean came to Park Slope to endorse Josh Skaller but ended up endorsing both Skaller and Lander.

–The Superfund for the Gowanus issue was briefly a contentious litmus test for the candiates who all (except Heyer) ultimately agreed it was the right way to go.

—Zuckerman and Reilly managed to stay out of the negative frey for the most part. They conducted themselves with grace and enthusiasm for much of the campaign and focused on the issues that mattered to them. That said, Zuckerman did lead the charge against Heyer's anti-gay marriage views and that, in my opinion, was worth noting in a district that is largely progressive and pro-gay marriage.

So here we are just a week and a half away from the election. We've seen these guys under pressure; we've seen what they're willing to do to win the race. We've seen them speak their hearts and minds, we've seen them on good days and bad. And now it's up to the voters in the 39th to decide.

The 39ers

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Gary Reilly. At 34 he's not quite the youngest of the 39th candidates (John Heyer beats
him on that score) but this intelligent and likable man is 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, Zuckerman is currently
executive director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development
Corporation and the 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, Lander 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.

This morning the New York TImes' endorsed David Yassky, currently City Councilman in the 33rd district, for City Comptroller. 

We are
particularly impressed with Mr. Yassky’s ability to think creatively
and then implement his ideas. Mr. Yassky, who taught at Brooklyn Law
School earlier in his career, has a somewhat professorial manner. But
in his years at City Hall, he has successfully fought to control guns
in the city, to lessen pollution from taxis and to ban illegal dumping
in the waters around the city.

He has pushed for help for small businesses and for more affordable housing. His campaign has set up an inventive Web site — ItsYourMoneyNYC.com — that opens the city budget to more scrutiny, a preview of his promise for more transparency for city finances.

The
other main Democratic contenders are Council members from Queens, and
all have sound records. David Weprin, who runs the Finance Committee,
has been an able Council member but is less creative in his thinking
about how to do this job effectively. John Liu has represented his
constituents intelligently and with great eloquence, but too much of
his strength is at the microphone. Melinda Katz has been a smart,
dynamic leader of the Land Use Committee, but we are less enthusiastic
about her connections to the real estate community.

Of the four,
Mr. Yassky makes the best case for making better use of the powerful
tools handed a city comptroller. He promises to use the audit powers —
including new ones overseeing the city’s education contracts — to
increase productivity and efficiency.

We have seen in New York
State the temptations and corruption that come with managing a
multibillion-dollar pension fund — with huge fees handed out to
political cronies and contributors. Mr. Yassky has promised to stand up
to special interests and has embraced new S.E.C. rules that would block
campaign contributors from doing business with the fund. For all of
these reasons, we endorse David Yassky for comptroller.

BCAT is the place to watch the candidates for City Council Districts 33, 39, and 45, Comptroller and Public Advocate got at it. Organized by Ed Weintrob (publisher emeritus of the Brooklyn Paper) these debates are a collaboration between 
Community Newspaper Group and  Brooklyn
Independent Television on the BCAT TV Network.

All the major races will be cablecast on BCAT, which is channel 56
on Time Warner customers and channel 69 for Cablevision subscribers:

• City Council District 39 (currently held by Bill DeBlasio): Tuesday, Aug. 18.

• City Council District 45 (currently held by Kendall Stewart): Wednesday, Aug. 19.

• Comptroller (featuring Yassky, John Liu, Melinda Katz and David Weprin): Thursday, Aug. 20.

• Public Advocate (featuring DeBlasio, Mark Green, Norman Siegel and
Eric Gioia): Friday, Aug. 21 (repeated on Tuesday, Aug. 25).

All broadcasts will be at 9 pm. And all shows will be available online roughly 24 hours after its initial airing at www.bricartsmedia.org/BITspecials and the Community Newspaper Group’s new political Web site BoroPolitics.com.

 39th district City Council candidates Josh Skaller and Brad Lander are playing am agressive game of tit for tat. In the last few days there's been a lot of nasty sniping between the two campaigns. A representative from Josh Skaller's campaign for City Council in the 39th district wrote in response to Lander's allegations that Skaller mislead the Campaign Finance Board about his campaign headquarters. 

In that email there was also a statement from Skaller's campaign manager, Chris Owens:

At 11 am on the nose just as I crossed the street from the Borough Hall subway station at the  corner of Montague and Court Street to Borough Hall Plaza, I could hear Senator Chuck Schumer's voice in the distance.

So much for my mantra: the politician is always late.

"…together we saved affordable housing…"

I wanted to know who the we was. Was he talking about young Stephen Levin, who is running for City Council in the 33rd district and is chief of staff for Assemblyman Vito Lopez or Vito Lopez? Schumer continued…

"…creating new housing not letting developers run rough shod through our communities. You have to thread the needle. Some people say "yes." Some people say "no." I say neither is correct. You have to have a balanced and careful approach."

Senator Schumer, who was wearing a blue shirt and a green polka dotted tie, went on to to list some of Stephen Levin's endorsements. Levin, whose major endorsement far outnumber his opponents, has been endorsed by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), the League of Conservation
Voters, the United Federation of Teachers and DC37, and the Working
Families Party.

Schumer also added that Levin is the cousin of "my good friend and colleague Senator Carl Levin. So if you put it all together I am proud to endorse him."

At the podium, Candidate Stephen Levin looked starstruck as his parents looked on.

Levin: I am deeply humbled, honored…

Schumer: "Let's not go overboard now…"

Levin: "I'd like to thank Senator Schumer for his endorsement and Vito Lopez for his support…"

Levin went on to talk about Schumer's support of Justice Sonia Sotomayer, the first Hispanic and third woman Supreme Court Justice.

Levin: "Schumer was her greatest champion in the Senate and he safely delivered her to the other side and that was the greatest gift to millions of children of NYC who can now look in the mirror and say: one day I can be a Supreme Court justice."

Levin talked about his familiarity with Senator Schumer's style of working. I gather he's worked with him as Lopez's chief of staff. "He identifies a problem, goes over it with his staff, comes up with a solution and then works like the Dickens. We are facing serious problems in this city and we will need that kind of creative problem solving," Levin said.

Finally, Levin thanked Schumer for taking time out of his busy schedule to come out. And then it was time for questions.

A man who seemed drunk asked Schumer about "the road over there." He pointed toward Atlantic Avenue.

"Fifith Avenue? Schumer said. "It's terrible. The road needs to be fixed. I just rode my bike on it today. It's awful."

"No the stadium," said the drunken fellow.

"What stadium?" Schumer said.

"The Nets Stadium," drunkman said.

"The Knicks stadium.." Schumer said.

"No, the Nets stadium," the drunkman said.

"The Brooklyn Nets stadium is moving forward. There are just some hearings about it. But it's going to happen and that's good," Schumer said.

A reporter from the Park Slope Courier asked whether Schumer's relationship with Senator Carl Levin inspired his endorsement of candidate Stephen Levin. Schumer waxed poetic about Carl Levin's work in the Senate.

"Carl Levin is the chair of the Armed Services Committee and he knocked out the F22s. Obama wanted that to happen but he couldn't have done it without Carl Levin in the Senate. Carl Levin created the Democrat's policy that will enable us to get out of Iraq with strength and fortitue and that was all because of the policy that Levin and Reid crafted. Stephen Levin is also first cousin once removed from Congressman Sandy Levin whom I also know and have worked with. If Steve can be 1/10th the public servant that Carl Levin is that'll be fine."

There were some questions about healthcare and then the press conference was over and there were photo ops for Stephen and his family with Senator Schumer

Surprisingly there were no television cameras on hand. Not even NY 1 or Channel 12—and Senator Schumer is a bit of a superstar. Oh well. Maybe Stephen Levin's people didn't get the work out early enough. Check out Homer Fink's video at the Brooklyn Heights Blog when he puts it up.

I just spoke to  Gary Reilly, one of the candidates for City Council in the 39th district about Bloomberg's support of an F train express in Brooklyn.

Reilly is a transportation wonk; he is passionate on the topic, which he knows inside and out. In 2007 he circulated a petition and got thousands of signatures to add express service to that crowded and busy line. Now two years later, Mayor Bloomberg has gotten on board. Reilly is happy to see that.

"That's our proposal," Gary told me. "He didn't mention that of course. But two years later he's on board.  The more support the better even though the mayor doesn't have control over that sort of thing," Reilly told me.

"Bloomberg is a bit of a headline grabber when it comes to transit improvement," Reilly said. "He could have put up the money when the MTA had a surplus a few years back. Instead he gave out a discretionary tax rebate when he could have put the money into much needed transportation improvements."

"Still I appreciate when city leaders put an emphasis on transportation. It should help. City officials drive the discussion about  what transportation improvements are needed.

According to Reilly, the V-line already runs express from Queens to Second Avenue. He hopes that it will be extended all the way to Church Avenue in Brooklyn. There is, he says, "More than enough capacity on that line to do this."

Here is an excerpt from Reilly's blog First and Court. about this issue:

“Closer
to Downtown, you’re talking about a couple of minutes. As you get
farther out towards Coney Island you’re talking about potentially
saving 20 minutes — that’s huge. But it’s also about the possible
alleviation of crowding everywhere,” said Gary Reilly, a Democratic
candidate for City Council in Carroll Gardens, who has advocated for
years on behalf of the F line. “We need this and we deserve it. It’s a
low–hanging piece of fruit.”

I wish I could be at this forum. The race for public advocate is an interesting one. If anyone wants to report on this please do.

CITY COUNCIL

The Biv, that is, Doug Biviano, one of the 33s, accuses candidate Stephen Levin of backroom dealing in an email press release sent out today from his press office.

At the same time, political
opponent Steve Levin, with support from Albany politicians, has challenged two
other potential candidates. Rather than encourage an open, democratic debate
and election, Levin instead is playing politics as usual.

“I’m disappointed that Levin is
resorting to the strong-arm tactics and backroom dealing that has defined the
broken politics in our City Council and up in Albany,” said Biviano. “These
challenges show that he is more concerned with serving the narrow political
agenda of his bankrollers than the communities of the 33rd
District.  We don’t need another puppet in office.”  

Jo Anne Simon, one of the 33s, wrote her supporters a big thank you note for the $100,000 in contributions she received and the 3,000 (approx.) petition sigs. She says she didn't take any developer money.

Because of you, we were able to surpass our goal and submitted nearly four times the amount of signatures required.

Because of you,
we have raised over $100,000 dollars. We are the first in our race to
cross that milestone and we did it without taking money from developers.

Mole 33, who seems to really have it in for Brad Lander has a piece in the Daily Gazette witht he terribly misleading headline "Ratner Puts a Downpayment on Brad Lander" He the

PUBLIC ADVOCATE

There's a Public Advocates' candidate's forum on July 27th at 7:30 sponsored by Brown Memorial Baptist and Brooklyn for Barack.

MAYORAL:

City Comptroller Bill C. Thompson was mentioned by President Obama during his speech at the NAACP centennial in NYC yesterday: 

“"We know that even as our economic crisis batters Americans of all
races, African Americans are out of work more than just about anyone
else – a gap that’s widening here in New York City, as detailed in a
report this week by Comptroller Bill Thompson."

Rev. Billy Talen,  the Green Party candidate for mayor, is outraged that the Working Families Party didn't include him in their mayoral forum along with candidates Mike Bloomberg, Tony Avella and Bill C. Thompson on July 2nd. Tallen had this to say:

There is one mother of all issues. Democracy is it. Bloomberg
arranged with his money to flout public votes for term limits and is
now running against Democracy itself. His corruption of our right to
free elections will be judged harshly in history, as a modern Tammany
Hall. We must oppose his $90 million campaign not just to oppose his
leadership as a person, but to show future generations that we had the
guts and energy to rise up against big money’s imitation of democracy.

CITY COUNCIL:

The Democratic petitioning period is now over and the candidates are kvelling about  the number of signatures they were able to gather.

I heard from a pal on Seventh Avenue that Josh Skaller, one of the 39ers has 10,000 signatures on his ballot petition. Here from Mole 333 in Gotham Gazette, a Skaller supporter: Skaller running for City Council in the 39th district in Brooklyn, claims more
than 10,000 signatures (he needed a minimum of about 1000 with about
3-5000 to play it safe) and more than $161,000 fundraising (more than
enough to qualify for public matching funds).

Gary Reilly, also one of the 39ers wrote to say that "with the aid of a volunteers and staff I collected the last of
our petitions and bound them for delivery to the Board of Elections.
 The final tally was 1,389 signatures, or 50% more than the required
900.

He also said that he's thrilled because "my
plea for help was met with such an amazing response that I actually
felt like George Bailey at the end of my favorite film, It's A
Wonderful Life.  Thanks to your generous support we raised the
necessary contributions to qualify for city matching funds of $39,000.
 Amazing!  I was beaming when I turned in my paperwork to the Campaign
Finance Board yesterday."

You gotta love Gary!

Also according to Mole 333 in the Gotham Gazette, Ken Diamondstone, one of the 33s, has 5,000 sigs. "We collected more than 5,000 signatures without institutional support
or backing from the big political clubs or party insiders," said
Diamondstone, a Democrat from Boerum Hill…"

Brad Lander turns 40! Well, he turned 40 on July 8th and his parents wrote a sweet note on Lander's website:

Forty years ago this month, as the nation prepared for the launch of
Apollo 11, there was excitement in the Lander household as well, as our
son Brad was born on July 8th, 1969.

We worked hard to raise our kids with some basic values: Treat
everyone fairly.  Read a lot, study hard, and ask a lot of questions. 
Be a good listener.  Try to bring a bit more kindness and opportunity
into the world.  

We hoped these values were embodied in our own lives as well.  At
the time, David was the director of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri,
helping tenants facing gas shutoffs and family farmers facing
foreclosure.  Carole was a public school teacher (she later went on to
a career as an elementary school guidance counselor).  

Check out:  "A Liberal Operator Runs Against the Brooklyn Machine", an informative profile of Evan Thies, one of the 33s, in the Politicker