Vito J. Lopez, the Democratic Party leader in Brooklyn, faced a setback Tuesday when a candidate he backed lost her race.
JONATHAN P. HICKS, September 20, 2007,New York Times
Since he became the Brooklyn Democratic Party leader two years ago, Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez has sought to develop a sense of unity among its disparate and competitive political players.
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Go to City Room » And while there have been some notable successes, there have been setbacks. The most high-profile stumble came on Tuesday, when the candidate Mr. Lopez supported for a Surrogate’s Court judgeship in Brooklyn was handily defeated by one endorsed by reform-oriented groups and a wide array of politicians.
Normally, a surrogate race in a sleepy September primary is seen as a sure thing for a Democratic county leader. But ShawnDya L. Simpson, a Civil Court judge whom Mr. Lopez supported for the surrogate seat, lost decisively with about 40 percent of the vote.
Diana A. Johnson, a State Supreme Court justice, won the nomination with 60 percent of the vote. And in doing so, she proved that the coalition behind her could be a more effective force than the party organization. Although both candidates are black, the race had strong racial overtones. Most black elected officials had urged Mr. Lopez to support Justice Johnson, who had their overwhelming support, and felt slighted when he did not.
The surrogate position is vacant because Judge Frank R. Seddio resigned in May.
In an interview yesterday, Mr. Lopez said the defeat should be seen in a larger context. The party organization’s record of successes in races for judgeships has been unmatched by his predecessors, he said.
“Since 2005, when I got this position, there have been 10 contested races for judges,” Mr. Lopez said. “And, altogether, we’ve won 9 of the 10. That’s unheard of prior to my being the county leader. And I’m proud of that record and of the work we’ve been doing.”
He also said that the Democratic Party in Brooklyn, the largest Democratic organization in the state, had been more inclusive in its endorsements than in the past — supporting an ethnically diverse field and an openly gay candidate — and that it was on far more solid financial footing than it used to be. Under his stewardship, he said, the party has gone from being in debt to having money to expand its staff.
Mr. Lopez said that the surrogate candidates were well qualified and that he would do everything he could to support Justice Johnson. She faces Theodore Alatsas, a lawyer running on the Republican and Conservative Party tickets, in November.
“It was a race, it’s over; I congratulate Diana Johnson and her campaign,” he said. “The important thing is now for us to move forward and to determine how we can become a solidly unified Democratic borough.”
Still, many politicians suggest that the loss of a surrogate race is a blemish that exposes weaknesses in the party’s leadership. Tuesday’s race was unlike other judicial races in the borough in the last two years. It was a high-profile contest that brought together a number of political clubs and labor unions — most notably the Transport Workers Union — and many politicians, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, to work against the organization.
“When I was growing up in Brooklyn, a surrogate race was considered a sure win for the organization,” Mr. Sharpton, the best-known supporter of Justice Johnson, said yesterday. “But clearly the election results show that the organization can be taken on and defeated. It showed that when the playing field is level, the organization can come up short.”
Gary Tilzer, Justice Johnson’s campaign manager, put it more bluntly, saying of Mr. Lopez: “He’s a county leader who can’t deliver votes. And if you can’t win a surrogate race in an off-year election, what muscle do you have with candidates running for mayor or other offices?”
Political analysts suggest that while Mr. Lopez’s candidate lost, some defeats are expected for a leader of a party as large as Brooklyn’s. Also, the party is still reeling from a scandal that culminated in February with the conviction of Clarence Norman Jr., the former Brooklyn Democratic leader, for extorting money from judicial candidates.
Mr. Lopez might well be encouraged because the forces opposing the party organization are not particularly unified. In fact, those coalitions tend to form on a contest-by-contest basis, with the characters changing from one race to the other.
“With everything that’s happened in the judiciary in Brooklyn, Vito’s loss shows that being the county leader in Brooklyn is a work in progress,” said Evan Stavisky, a political consultant who works primarily with Democratic candidates.
“Let’s face it,” Mr. Stavisky said. “The Brooklyn Democratic Party, though it’s the largest, hasn’t been a strong unified machine since the days of Meade Esposito,” who led the Brooklyn Democratic Party for a quarter century until he retired in 1983.
He added: “Being the county leader of any borough has headaches; being county leader of Brooklyn is an Excedrin headache.”
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Brooklyn Dem's Judicial Convention is a Much More Serious Sham
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Brooklyn Optimist
Last week, The Optimist went inside the Kings County Democratic County Committee meeting and exposed it as bad theater. Unfortunately, he didn't know in time about the one-night-only comedy extravaganza that County staged the following evening.
I'm talking, of course, about the Brooklyn Democratic Party's judicial convention, the backroom bonanza where Vito Lopez doles out seats on the bench to his kowtowing cronies. One Optimist reader with intimate knowledge of the event wrote us to say that if only they had had a video camera to record last Tuesday's spectacle then many a Brooklyn jurist would have had to forfeit their seats in shame the next morning when the tape surfaced to the public.
The Daily News wasn't there live, but they did write a damning editorial on Friday, denouncing the event as "a glimpse into the odious nature of how the political bosses make judges in New York". For even more on this sham, check out Oneshirt's post on Room Eight here.
Seriously, people, when is Brooklyn going to get its act together? We have far too many talented artists to keep churning out such drek. Long time Brooklyn reformers had hoped that the U.S. Supreme Court would finally bring an end to this fiasco, but unfortunately the Roberts Court (surprise, surprise) shamelessly sided with corruption as usual. Super scumbag Justice Scalia was brazen in his majority opinion: "Party conventions, with their attendant 'smoke-filled rooms' and domination by party leaders, have long been an accepted manner of selecting party candidates."
Justice Stevens, in a concurring opinion, stated his reasons for upholding Brooklyn's codified cronyism in a slightly less infuriating manner: "I recall my esteemed former colleague, Thurgood Marshall, remarking on numerous occasions: 'The Constitution does not prohibit legislatures from enacting stupid laws.'"
So, that's where we are. I can't fault Vito. The ball is in the court of our State's legislators. As long as they refuse to act on behalf of the people and change our "stupid laws", Brooklynites will continue to suffer injustice.
The Brooklyn Optimist
Last week, The Optimist went inside the Kings County Democratic County Committee meeting and exposed it as bad theater. Unfortunately, he didn't know in time about the one-night-only comedy extravaganza that County staged the following evening.
I'm talking, of course, about the Brooklyn Democratic Party's judicial convention, the backroom bonanza where Vito Lopez doles out seats on the bench to his kowtowing cronies. One Optimist reader with intimate knowledge of the event wrote us to say that if only they had had a video camera to record last Tuesday's spectacle then many a Brooklyn jurist would have had to forfeit their seats in shame the next morning when the tape surfaced to the public.
The Daily News wasn't there live, but they did write a damning editorial on Friday, denouncing the event as "a glimpse into the odious nature of how the political bosses make judges in New York". For even more on this sham, check out Oneshirt's post on Room Eight here.
Seriously, people, when is Brooklyn going to get its act together? We have far too many talented artists to keep churning out such drek. Long time Brooklyn reformers had hoped that the U.S. Supreme Court would finally bring an end to this fiasco, but unfortunately the Roberts Court (surprise, surprise) shamelessly sided with corruption as usual. Super scumbag Justice Scalia was brazen in his majority opinion: "Party conventions, with their attendant 'smoke-filled rooms' and domination by party leaders, have long been an accepted manner of selecting party candidates."
Justice Stevens, in a concurring opinion, stated his reasons for upholding Brooklyn's codified cronyism in a slightly less infuriating manner: "I recall my esteemed former colleague, Thurgood Marshall, remarking on numerous occasions: 'The Constitution does not prohibit legislatures from enacting stupid laws.'"
So, that's where we are. I can't fault Vito. The ball is in the court of our State's legislators. As long as they refuse to act on behalf of the people and change our "stupid laws", Brooklynites will continue to suffer injustice.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Judicial Sausage Factory Continues, Almost Nobody Noticed
Judicial Sausage Factory Continues, Almost Nobody Noticed
view edit
posted by Oneshirt
Fri, 09/19/2008 - 11:10am
After the former county leader goes to jail for corruption connected with judicial elections, a U.S. Federal Judge Gleeson calling them unconstitutional - fixed - and extensive condemnation by the city’s newspaper editorial pages, the charade called the Brooklyn Judicial Convention continued like nothing ever happened. In fact like a wounded animal or king the situation has grown grave and depraved.
Nothing has been learned by the experiences of the past 5 years a delegate whispered into my ear when boss Vito was not looking. Something very bad is happening to our way of life and culture. Our system of democracy, separation of powers, built in political party conflict has failed and nobody cares. The business as usually continuation of the convention is proof that our culture has changed so much that exposure and shame which used to be enough to cause reform has been replaced by a get over society, where morality or doing what is right does not matter. What is even more frightening, if it was up to the press there would be no record. Only the Manhattan gadfly a modern day Thomas Paine made sure there was a public record.
Today's Daily News Editorial
“For a glimpse into the odious nature of how the political bosses make judges in New York, we direct your attention to a letter in Friday's Voice of the People by veteran court watcher Alan Flacks. On Tuesday, Flacks dropped in on the Brooklyn Democratic Party's ceremony for elevating faithful lawyers to the bench. The party calls it a convention. It's not. It's a charade, currently directed by boss Vito Lopez.” – September 19, 2008.
U.S. Judge John Gleeson Rules Judicial Conventions Unconstitutional
"The highly unusual processes (judicial convention - the lone state in the nation to elect judges this way) by which that extremely important office (Supreme Court Judge) is filled perpetuate local political party leaders control and deprive the voters of any meaningful role," the judge wrote in the decision. "The result is an opaque, and undemocratic selection procedure that violates the rights of the voters and the rights of candidates who lack the backing of local party leaders."
The Flacks letter to the Daily News Which Resulted in Today’s Editorial:
Sausage Factory Floor
Manhattan: I attended the Kings County Democratic judicial nominating convention Tuesday. It was orchestrated "Soviet-style." Short, sweet, lady- and gentleman-like, the script called for the eight candidates to be designated or redesignated without opposition, even for supposed "open" seats. Before adjournment, each judge candidate got up and gave a short thank-you speech. Every one of them expressed gratitude to the party district leaders for their support, and they also expressed effusive thanks to and praise of County Leader Vito Lopez (photo). One "re-up," John Leventhal of the Appellate Division, Second Department (after inquiring if the press was present) thanked now-imprisoned county leader Clarence Norman as well, and another called Lopez "the greatest county leader ever." After adjournment, I spoke with a number of delegates who voted "automatically" and didn't seem to know for whom they were voting. They didn't know, and were just told for whom to vote.
Alan Flacks
Brooklyn District Attorney says the Supreme Court election system corrupts
Charles Hynes: Amicus Curiae Brief in Judge Lopez Torres vs. NYS Board of Elections:
“New York’s uniquely constructed and statutorily- mandated nominating process for the state Supreme Court, which in effect places ultimate control over who becomes a state Supreme Court justice in the hands of powerful county political party leaders, creates and sustains a breeding ground for corruption and malfeasance and undermines the public’s confidence in the judiciary."
Feldman and his Friends Play the System
“Similarly unseemly was the role played at the convention by Jeff Feldman, a one-time party honcho who was indicted with Norman but won dismissal of charges. No longer exiled from the convention, Feldman helped run Tuesday's show.” -– NY Daily News Editorial, September 19, 2008.
Judge Gleeson, U.S. District Court Cited Jeff Feldman’s action in the decision
“Beginning in March of 2003, then candidate for Supreme Court Lopez Torres wrote repeatedly to the Kings County Democratic Committee to learn three basic things; (1) the date, time and place of the convention; (2) the names of the delegates, so she could lobby them; and (3) whether she could address the delegates at the convention. She did not hear from its Executive Director, Jeffrey C. Feldman until September 4, 2003, after she once again requested the information. Feldman response is difficult to reconcile with the defendants' gauzy characterizations of a democratic process open to all party members who seek the office of Supreme Court Justice. He began by mocking the request for a list delegates to lobby: "AI erroneously believed that a learned jurist, such as yourself, would be well aware that Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the Democratic Judicial Convention stand for independent elections in the Primary Election, yet to be held. Thus no such list existed "anywhere in the world," Feldman helpfully added. As for Lopez Torres's inquiry about addressing the convention, Feldman wrote as follows: "I suffer from the innocent belief that the floor of the Convention is open, only, to elected Delegates and their successors.” - Judge Gleeson, U.S. District Court
Besides the press also missing, from this year Judicial Convention, were most of the reformers who in the past protested actions at the convention. Only Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats president Chris Owens and past president Josh Skaller stood alone in opposing this year’s convention, handing out a newspaper to every delegate outlining needed changes to the way New York “elects” Supreme Court Judges.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Judicial Conventions are bad, declaring that :
“The Constitution Does Not Prohibit Legislatures From Enacting Stupid Laws.”
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the courts did not have the constitutional right to change the way New York chooses it Supreme Court Judges not one elected official has spoken out about changing the STUPID LAW. In fact the good groups which conspired with the elected officials before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to allow Judicial Conventions to continue at the same time allowing candidates to petition there way onto the ballot are like the press missing action on this issue. In fact like the elected officials the good government groups have not commented on the STUPID LAWS.
For more information on the proposed changes proposed by Owens:
www.voteowens.com
For more information about the Judicial Convention, efforts to change it and a record of judicial corruption over the past 5 years:
http://jefffeldmanisback2008.blogspot.com/
view edit
posted by Oneshirt
Fri, 09/19/2008 - 11:10am
After the former county leader goes to jail for corruption connected with judicial elections, a U.S. Federal Judge Gleeson calling them unconstitutional - fixed - and extensive condemnation by the city’s newspaper editorial pages, the charade called the Brooklyn Judicial Convention continued like nothing ever happened. In fact like a wounded animal or king the situation has grown grave and depraved.
Nothing has been learned by the experiences of the past 5 years a delegate whispered into my ear when boss Vito was not looking. Something very bad is happening to our way of life and culture. Our system of democracy, separation of powers, built in political party conflict has failed and nobody cares. The business as usually continuation of the convention is proof that our culture has changed so much that exposure and shame which used to be enough to cause reform has been replaced by a get over society, where morality or doing what is right does not matter. What is even more frightening, if it was up to the press there would be no record. Only the Manhattan gadfly a modern day Thomas Paine made sure there was a public record.
Today's Daily News Editorial
“For a glimpse into the odious nature of how the political bosses make judges in New York, we direct your attention to a letter in Friday's Voice of the People by veteran court watcher Alan Flacks. On Tuesday, Flacks dropped in on the Brooklyn Democratic Party's ceremony for elevating faithful lawyers to the bench. The party calls it a convention. It's not. It's a charade, currently directed by boss Vito Lopez.” – September 19, 2008.
U.S. Judge John Gleeson Rules Judicial Conventions Unconstitutional
"The highly unusual processes (judicial convention - the lone state in the nation to elect judges this way) by which that extremely important office (Supreme Court Judge) is filled perpetuate local political party leaders control and deprive the voters of any meaningful role," the judge wrote in the decision. "The result is an opaque, and undemocratic selection procedure that violates the rights of the voters and the rights of candidates who lack the backing of local party leaders."
The Flacks letter to the Daily News Which Resulted in Today’s Editorial:
Sausage Factory Floor
Manhattan: I attended the Kings County Democratic judicial nominating convention Tuesday. It was orchestrated "Soviet-style." Short, sweet, lady- and gentleman-like, the script called for the eight candidates to be designated or redesignated without opposition, even for supposed "open" seats. Before adjournment, each judge candidate got up and gave a short thank-you speech. Every one of them expressed gratitude to the party district leaders for their support, and they also expressed effusive thanks to and praise of County Leader Vito Lopez (photo). One "re-up," John Leventhal of the Appellate Division, Second Department (after inquiring if the press was present) thanked now-imprisoned county leader Clarence Norman as well, and another called Lopez "the greatest county leader ever." After adjournment, I spoke with a number of delegates who voted "automatically" and didn't seem to know for whom they were voting. They didn't know, and were just told for whom to vote.
Alan Flacks
Brooklyn District Attorney says the Supreme Court election system corrupts
Charles Hynes: Amicus Curiae Brief in Judge Lopez Torres vs. NYS Board of Elections:
“New York’s uniquely constructed and statutorily- mandated nominating process for the state Supreme Court, which in effect places ultimate control over who becomes a state Supreme Court justice in the hands of powerful county political party leaders, creates and sustains a breeding ground for corruption and malfeasance and undermines the public’s confidence in the judiciary."
Feldman and his Friends Play the System
“Similarly unseemly was the role played at the convention by Jeff Feldman, a one-time party honcho who was indicted with Norman but won dismissal of charges. No longer exiled from the convention, Feldman helped run Tuesday's show.” -– NY Daily News Editorial, September 19, 2008.
Judge Gleeson, U.S. District Court Cited Jeff Feldman’s action in the decision
“Beginning in March of 2003, then candidate for Supreme Court Lopez Torres wrote repeatedly to the Kings County Democratic Committee to learn three basic things; (1) the date, time and place of the convention; (2) the names of the delegates, so she could lobby them; and (3) whether she could address the delegates at the convention. She did not hear from its Executive Director, Jeffrey C. Feldman until September 4, 2003, after she once again requested the information. Feldman response is difficult to reconcile with the defendants' gauzy characterizations of a democratic process open to all party members who seek the office of Supreme Court Justice. He began by mocking the request for a list delegates to lobby: "AI erroneously believed that a learned jurist, such as yourself, would be well aware that Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the Democratic Judicial Convention stand for independent elections in the Primary Election, yet to be held. Thus no such list existed "anywhere in the world," Feldman helpfully added. As for Lopez Torres's inquiry about addressing the convention, Feldman wrote as follows: "I suffer from the innocent belief that the floor of the Convention is open, only, to elected Delegates and their successors.” - Judge Gleeson, U.S. District Court
Besides the press also missing, from this year Judicial Convention, were most of the reformers who in the past protested actions at the convention. Only Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats president Chris Owens and past president Josh Skaller stood alone in opposing this year’s convention, handing out a newspaper to every delegate outlining needed changes to the way New York “elects” Supreme Court Judges.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Judicial Conventions are bad, declaring that :
“The Constitution Does Not Prohibit Legislatures From Enacting Stupid Laws.”
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the courts did not have the constitutional right to change the way New York chooses it Supreme Court Judges not one elected official has spoken out about changing the STUPID LAW. In fact the good groups which conspired with the elected officials before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to allow Judicial Conventions to continue at the same time allowing candidates to petition there way onto the ballot are like the press missing action on this issue. In fact like the elected officials the good government groups have not commented on the STUPID LAWS.
For more information on the proposed changes proposed by Owens:
www.voteowens.com
For more information about the Judicial Convention, efforts to change it and a record of judicial corruption over the past 5 years:
http://jefffeldmanisback2008.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
"Farce": A Review of Last Night's Brooklyn Democratic County Committee Meeting
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Brooklyn Optimist
Last night, 181 Members of the Kings County Democratic County Committee huddled in an auditorium at St. Francis College in downtown Brooklyn to participate in the theatre of the absurd.
Move over Samuel Beckett, Vito Lopez in the hizzy.
Despite my unflappable optimism, I can't say I was surprised at how the night went. Though this was the first time I had attended the notorious affair, I had been warned in advance as to how these performances go. Basically, a bunch of elected officials and party loyalists take turns literally reading from a script to dutifully enact whatever agenda Vito Lopez has decided upon, and then call the meeting to a close as quickly as possible, so that its members don't get a headache from too much democracy all in one night.
Except for a few hiccups, that's precisely how last night played out. Taking every opportunity to eschew debate and neutralize dissent, the officials cast by Vito to read the script handed out to them earlier in the day did so as quickly as possible and then exited stage left.
The only people in the chorus who seemed to have missed the director's notes were Councilman Charles Barron, political blogger David Michaelson (a.k.a. mole333) and his wife Joy Romanski (corresponding secretary of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats), and the 50+ newly elected members of the County Committee from the New Kings Democrats political club.
Charles Barron, who incidentally is a far better actor than any of the extras sent by Central Casting to play Vito's goons, began his sparkling performance by challenging the largely ceremonial adoption of the Committee's rules on the grounds that he had not been given a chance to review them in advance. The fact that someone dared to disrupt the show early on palpably unnerved the crowd, which suddenly had to confront the possibility that the airy musical they had come to see had been surreptitiously replaced by the complete works of Ibsen.
Councilman Lewis Fidler, playing a toned-down version of Councilman Lewis Fidler, took it upon himself to calm the crowd, arguing that were the County Committee not to adopt the rules that the meeting would not be officially convened (bad), the Kings County Democratic Party would not be a legally sanctioned body and thus incapable of appointing judges (very bad), and that the globe would go flying off its axis and plunge into the sun (maybe not so bad if McCain gets elected).
A few eventful scenes later, Charles Barron again took the stage and delivered the evening's only noteworthy monologue. Unfortunately, I couldn't scribble it down fast enough in my program, but it began: "This is ridiculous! I've never been to a more scripted meeting in my whole life! This is insulting!" His eloquent soliloquy was saluted with scattered enthusiastic applause and then promptly dismissed as a rant.
The rest of the evening's sound and fury was left to the members of the New Kings Democrats, who tried their best in the role of "Reformers", but were overshadowed by Vito Lopez and the 670 Proxies. Every time the night's Chairman State Senator Marty Connor would call a vote on any proposal not in the script, if the yeas and the nays sounded even (NKD's members made up a vocal third of the audience), Connor would dispense with the pageantry and remind the crowd that there was a superstar with 670 votes to his name waiting in the wings ready to make a surprise cameo at any time. Since this one man was worth over three times the value of those in attendance (despite all the electeds there), Connor's forthright observation always settled the issue conclusively.
Speaking of Connor, this reviewer would be remiss in not acknowledging that he was genuinely moved by the veteran's performance as "Broken Man in Twilight". Now I can't claim to have seen Connor in his heyday, but as last night's Richard III, he brought an unexpected candor to the proceedings. He appeared not as a grand Senator, but as a mere man in need of a horse, beset with the anguish that comes when the realization that he will never again be king.
As for the rest of the ensemble, Vito Lopez was captivating, but unbelievable, in the role of "The Gentle Giant" (seriously, that guy is towering).
Assemblywoman Annette Robinson and District Leader Olanike Alabi were disappointing as "The Early Adjourners". For those critics who will allege that the New Kings Democrats didn't accomplish anything last night, I would point to the bit parts read by this duo as the reason NKD didn't get more of a chance to shine. By ushering the show to a close before any new business could be proposed, Robinson and Alabi cheated a good portion of the audience out of the cost of admission. I was particularly dispirited by Alabi's role. Usually, one of the only truly progressive District Leaders, she could have made something of her part, but instead preferred to mail it in. I know she could have done better.
Equally disappointing were "The Electeds". And I mean all of them, except for Charles Barron. Not a single one of them in attendance last night (District Leaders included!), has any chance of being cast in 2009's much-anticipated blockbuster release "Brooklyn's Real Reformers". Of course, their agents and acting coaches will try to convince you otherwise next September, but don't believe the hype.
Last, but not least, The Optimist found himself unexpectedly the central figure in one of the night's only moments of true levity. I attended the meeting not yet knowing of the outcome of the primary race I ran last week to represent my tiny swath of Greenpoint as its Democratic County Committee Member. The good people at NKD took it upon themselves to nominate me for appointment to the committee on their slate of candidates for the 50th Assembly District. When Chairman Connor read the competing slate of candidates, it turned out that in the 93rd Election District Morgan Pehme's opponent on the competing slate was none other than "Morgan Pehme".
I stood up in the meeting, announced that I happened to be "Morgan Pehme", and said that the reason NKD had nominated me was because I did not yet know the outcome of the primary. Chairman Connor smiled and said, "Apparently, you won. Congratulations. Everyone seems to like you." My victory was greeted with perhaps the warmest and only non-controversial round of applause of the night.
I wonder if I'm still going to be as universally well-liked after you read my review of last night's show?
As always, I will remain optimistic.
The Brooklyn Optimist
Last night, 181 Members of the Kings County Democratic County Committee huddled in an auditorium at St. Francis College in downtown Brooklyn to participate in the theatre of the absurd.
Move over Samuel Beckett, Vito Lopez in the hizzy.
Despite my unflappable optimism, I can't say I was surprised at how the night went. Though this was the first time I had attended the notorious affair, I had been warned in advance as to how these performances go. Basically, a bunch of elected officials and party loyalists take turns literally reading from a script to dutifully enact whatever agenda Vito Lopez has decided upon, and then call the meeting to a close as quickly as possible, so that its members don't get a headache from too much democracy all in one night.
Except for a few hiccups, that's precisely how last night played out. Taking every opportunity to eschew debate and neutralize dissent, the officials cast by Vito to read the script handed out to them earlier in the day did so as quickly as possible and then exited stage left.
The only people in the chorus who seemed to have missed the director's notes were Councilman Charles Barron, political blogger David Michaelson (a.k.a. mole333) and his wife Joy Romanski (corresponding secretary of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats), and the 50+ newly elected members of the County Committee from the New Kings Democrats political club.
Charles Barron, who incidentally is a far better actor than any of the extras sent by Central Casting to play Vito's goons, began his sparkling performance by challenging the largely ceremonial adoption of the Committee's rules on the grounds that he had not been given a chance to review them in advance. The fact that someone dared to disrupt the show early on palpably unnerved the crowd, which suddenly had to confront the possibility that the airy musical they had come to see had been surreptitiously replaced by the complete works of Ibsen.
Councilman Lewis Fidler, playing a toned-down version of Councilman Lewis Fidler, took it upon himself to calm the crowd, arguing that were the County Committee not to adopt the rules that the meeting would not be officially convened (bad), the Kings County Democratic Party would not be a legally sanctioned body and thus incapable of appointing judges (very bad), and that the globe would go flying off its axis and plunge into the sun (maybe not so bad if McCain gets elected).
A few eventful scenes later, Charles Barron again took the stage and delivered the evening's only noteworthy monologue. Unfortunately, I couldn't scribble it down fast enough in my program, but it began: "This is ridiculous! I've never been to a more scripted meeting in my whole life! This is insulting!" His eloquent soliloquy was saluted with scattered enthusiastic applause and then promptly dismissed as a rant.
The rest of the evening's sound and fury was left to the members of the New Kings Democrats, who tried their best in the role of "Reformers", but were overshadowed by Vito Lopez and the 670 Proxies. Every time the night's Chairman State Senator Marty Connor would call a vote on any proposal not in the script, if the yeas and the nays sounded even (NKD's members made up a vocal third of the audience), Connor would dispense with the pageantry and remind the crowd that there was a superstar with 670 votes to his name waiting in the wings ready to make a surprise cameo at any time. Since this one man was worth over three times the value of those in attendance (despite all the electeds there), Connor's forthright observation always settled the issue conclusively.
Speaking of Connor, this reviewer would be remiss in not acknowledging that he was genuinely moved by the veteran's performance as "Broken Man in Twilight". Now I can't claim to have seen Connor in his heyday, but as last night's Richard III, he brought an unexpected candor to the proceedings. He appeared not as a grand Senator, but as a mere man in need of a horse, beset with the anguish that comes when the realization that he will never again be king.
As for the rest of the ensemble, Vito Lopez was captivating, but unbelievable, in the role of "The Gentle Giant" (seriously, that guy is towering).
Assemblywoman Annette Robinson and District Leader Olanike Alabi were disappointing as "The Early Adjourners". For those critics who will allege that the New Kings Democrats didn't accomplish anything last night, I would point to the bit parts read by this duo as the reason NKD didn't get more of a chance to shine. By ushering the show to a close before any new business could be proposed, Robinson and Alabi cheated a good portion of the audience out of the cost of admission. I was particularly dispirited by Alabi's role. Usually, one of the only truly progressive District Leaders, she could have made something of her part, but instead preferred to mail it in. I know she could have done better.
Equally disappointing were "The Electeds". And I mean all of them, except for Charles Barron. Not a single one of them in attendance last night (District Leaders included!), has any chance of being cast in 2009's much-anticipated blockbuster release "Brooklyn's Real Reformers". Of course, their agents and acting coaches will try to convince you otherwise next September, but don't believe the hype.
Last, but not least, The Optimist found himself unexpectedly the central figure in one of the night's only moments of true levity. I attended the meeting not yet knowing of the outcome of the primary race I ran last week to represent my tiny swath of Greenpoint as its Democratic County Committee Member. The good people at NKD took it upon themselves to nominate me for appointment to the committee on their slate of candidates for the 50th Assembly District. When Chairman Connor read the competing slate of candidates, it turned out that in the 93rd Election District Morgan Pehme's opponent on the competing slate was none other than "Morgan Pehme".
I stood up in the meeting, announced that I happened to be "Morgan Pehme", and said that the reason NKD had nominated me was because I did not yet know the outcome of the primary. Chairman Connor smiled and said, "Apparently, you won. Congratulations. Everyone seems to like you." My victory was greeted with perhaps the warmest and only non-controversial round of applause of the night.
I wonder if I'm still going to be as universally well-liked after you read my review of last night's show?
As always, I will remain optimistic.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Vito’s Bad Days Go Unreported
Room 8 Mon, 09/15/2008
By reading the political blogs and newspapers you would never know that Brooklyn Democratic County Leader Vito Lopez lost most of the important contested contests over the past few years.
This year Lopez backed Senator Martin Connors and lost. More importantly his power block of voters in Williamsburg is clearly split, with the new Satmar faction headed by Rabbi Glanz/UJCARE, followers of Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum winning over a third of the vote for Squadron. Connor received 90.86 percent of the Chassidic vote when he ran against Diamondstone two years ago, but only 64.83 percent to Squadron's 35.17 percent on Tuesday. Vito and his Williamsburg faction of Rabbi Niederman/UJO, followers of Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, no longer have the field all to themselves. A bigger problem for Lopez with Connor’s defeat was that Squadron is a Schumer backed candidate. Our senator has a long memory; part of that remembrance is Lopez heading up Democrats for D'Amato. Will the emerging Schumer machine defeat Vito’s smoke and mirrors operation?
The county leader also lost the only contested judicial race in Brooklyn. Devin Cohen besides having a tax problem beat Vito’s candidate Roger Adler. Lopez also lost in the 40AD where Inez Barron beat his candidate Earl Williams easy.
In the boroughs other contested races, Lopez were busy playing all the candidates in their private discussions that- I am really with you game. Vito endorsed State Senator Parker the winner, but also was involved in both of his opponent’s campaigns. Councilman Stewart told election lawyer Mitch Alter that he would have problems with Vito if he hired him or consultant Gary Tilzer. If you look at the over half million dollars his other opponent Felder spent you would see that most of them consisted of a lot of Vito supporters and contributors. Since Vito supported Republicans in the past (D’Amato, Pataki and Giuliani) many in Brooklyn felt he was involved with the effort against Malcolm Smith to split the black vote in the 21st Senate District to elect Felder and to keep Republican control of the State Senate.
Even with the re-election of Parker and Silver there are signs in the few competitive judicial races that occurred, that voters are much more willing to vote against the machine. Despite the public growing signs of disgust with their dysfunctional government, the growing crime wave among their elected offices and most importantly the dismal won/loss record of county leaders, 2009 citywide candidates seem more and more willing to listen to the dictates of the county leaders in efforts to get their support. Perhaps that says more about their governing abilities and intelligence then they think.
The 2007 victory of now Surrogate Court Judge Johnson against Vito’s machine, he only beat her by less than 100 votes in his home district (53AD) is all but forgotten. So was Surrogate Court Judge Lopez Torres victory against the Brooklyn machine in 2005 in what can only be described as a collective mental block by the 2009 mayoral, controller, public advocate candidates and even the media. There has never been an analysis by any of the press of how independent coalitions were put together to block the machine for the first time in 100 years from the Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court. It is time for the media to understand that independent candidates and consultants give the voters a real voice against the thugs in this town who control campaigns, elective and party office.
And it does not help that the line between the reform clubs in Brooklyn and Vito judicial picks becomes increasingly more blearily, as the clubs endorsed more and more of his judicial candidates, ignoring the fact that while they might be good candidates it is the political system of control which causes the corruption and lack of reform.
Perhaps Lopez should learn a lesson in control from the Queens Democratic leaders, who buy off their endorsed candidates opponents before the voters have a chance to go to the polls. Both Senator Sabini and Assemblymen Lafayette got new jobs to make way for this year’s parties endorsed candidates. After petitioning and getting on the ballot, Baldeo who decided not to campaign in this year primaries for a Senate seat, for which he received 49% of the vote two years ago, had been in talks all summer with the leaders of the Queens machine.
Vito is not the only county leader who had a bad day on Tuesday. In the opening battle of the racial charged Bronx Civil War the Rainbow Revels defend the party organization and Chairman Jose Rivera attacked on Assemblymen Heastie, Ruben Diaz Jr. and Michael Benjamin by party-supported candidates. In addition, the Civil Court candidate the revels backed, Liz Taylor, had a big win (54 percent) against her challengers, Maria Matos (the party candidate) and Verena Powell. In Manhattan the county organization lost all three of their contested judicial races.
By reading the political blogs and newspapers you would never know that Brooklyn Democratic County Leader Vito Lopez lost most of the important contested contests over the past few years.
This year Lopez backed Senator Martin Connors and lost. More importantly his power block of voters in Williamsburg is clearly split, with the new Satmar faction headed by Rabbi Glanz/UJCARE, followers of Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum winning over a third of the vote for Squadron. Connor received 90.86 percent of the Chassidic vote when he ran against Diamondstone two years ago, but only 64.83 percent to Squadron's 35.17 percent on Tuesday. Vito and his Williamsburg faction of Rabbi Niederman/UJO, followers of Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, no longer have the field all to themselves. A bigger problem for Lopez with Connor’s defeat was that Squadron is a Schumer backed candidate. Our senator has a long memory; part of that remembrance is Lopez heading up Democrats for D'Amato. Will the emerging Schumer machine defeat Vito’s smoke and mirrors operation?
The county leader also lost the only contested judicial race in Brooklyn. Devin Cohen besides having a tax problem beat Vito’s candidate Roger Adler. Lopez also lost in the 40AD where Inez Barron beat his candidate Earl Williams easy.
In the boroughs other contested races, Lopez were busy playing all the candidates in their private discussions that- I am really with you game. Vito endorsed State Senator Parker the winner, but also was involved in both of his opponent’s campaigns. Councilman Stewart told election lawyer Mitch Alter that he would have problems with Vito if he hired him or consultant Gary Tilzer. If you look at the over half million dollars his other opponent Felder spent you would see that most of them consisted of a lot of Vito supporters and contributors. Since Vito supported Republicans in the past (D’Amato, Pataki and Giuliani) many in Brooklyn felt he was involved with the effort against Malcolm Smith to split the black vote in the 21st Senate District to elect Felder and to keep Republican control of the State Senate.
Even with the re-election of Parker and Silver there are signs in the few competitive judicial races that occurred, that voters are much more willing to vote against the machine. Despite the public growing signs of disgust with their dysfunctional government, the growing crime wave among their elected offices and most importantly the dismal won/loss record of county leaders, 2009 citywide candidates seem more and more willing to listen to the dictates of the county leaders in efforts to get their support. Perhaps that says more about their governing abilities and intelligence then they think.
The 2007 victory of now Surrogate Court Judge Johnson against Vito’s machine, he only beat her by less than 100 votes in his home district (53AD) is all but forgotten. So was Surrogate Court Judge Lopez Torres victory against the Brooklyn machine in 2005 in what can only be described as a collective mental block by the 2009 mayoral, controller, public advocate candidates and even the media. There has never been an analysis by any of the press of how independent coalitions were put together to block the machine for the first time in 100 years from the Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court. It is time for the media to understand that independent candidates and consultants give the voters a real voice against the thugs in this town who control campaigns, elective and party office.
And it does not help that the line between the reform clubs in Brooklyn and Vito judicial picks becomes increasingly more blearily, as the clubs endorsed more and more of his judicial candidates, ignoring the fact that while they might be good candidates it is the political system of control which causes the corruption and lack of reform.
Perhaps Lopez should learn a lesson in control from the Queens Democratic leaders, who buy off their endorsed candidates opponents before the voters have a chance to go to the polls. Both Senator Sabini and Assemblymen Lafayette got new jobs to make way for this year’s parties endorsed candidates. After petitioning and getting on the ballot, Baldeo who decided not to campaign in this year primaries for a Senate seat, for which he received 49% of the vote two years ago, had been in talks all summer with the leaders of the Queens machine.
Vito is not the only county leader who had a bad day on Tuesday. In the opening battle of the racial charged Bronx Civil War the Rainbow Revels defend the party organization and Chairman Jose Rivera attacked on Assemblymen Heastie, Ruben Diaz Jr. and Michael Benjamin by party-supported candidates. In addition, the Civil Court candidate the revels backed, Liz Taylor, had a big win (54 percent) against her challengers, Maria Matos (the party candidate) and Verena Powell. In Manhattan the county organization lost all three of their contested judicial races.
Vito’s Bad Days Go Unreported
By reading the political blogs and newspapers you would never know that Brooklyn Democratic County Leader Vito Lopez lost most of the important contested contests over the past few years.
This year Lopez backed Senator Martin Connors and lost. More importantly his power block of voters in Williamsburg is clearly split, with the new Satmar faction headed by Rabbi Glanz/UJCARE, followers of Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum winning over a third of the vote for Squadron. Connor received 90.86 percent of the Chassidic vote when he ran against Diamondstone two years ago, but only 64.83 percent to Squadron's 35.17 percent on Tuesday. Vito and his Williamsburg faction of Rabbi Niederman/UJO, followers of Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, no longer have the field all to themselves. A bigger problem for Lopez with Connor’s defeat was that Squadron is a Schumer backed candidate. Our senator has a long memory; part of that remembrance is Lopez heading up Democrats for D'Amato. Will the emerging Schumer machine defeat Vito’s smoke and mirrors operation?
The county leader also lost the only contested judicial race in Brooklyn. Devin Cohen besides having a tax problem beat Vito’s candidate Roger Adler. Lopez also lost in the 40AD where Inez Barron beat his candidate Earl Williams easy.
In the boroughs other contested races, Lopez were busy playing all the candidates in their private discussions that- I am really with you game. Vito endorsed State Senator Parker the winner, but also was involved in both of his opponent’s campaigns. Councilman Stewart told election lawyer Mitch Alter that he would have problems with Vito if he hired him or consultant Gary Tilzer. If you look at the over half million dollars his other opponent Felder spent you would see that most of them consisted of a lot of Vito supporters and contributors. Since Vito supported Republicans in the past (D’Amato, Pataki and Giuliani) many in Brooklyn felt he was involved with the effort against Malcolm Smith to split the black vote in the 21st Senate District to elect Felder and to keep Republican control of the State Senate.
Even with the re-election of Parker and Silver there are signs in the few competitive judicial races that occurred, that voters are much more willing to vote against the machine. Despite the public growing signs of disgust with their dysfunctional government, the growing crime wave among their elected offices and most importantly the dismal won/loss record of county leaders, 2009 citywide candidates seem more and more willing to listen to the dictates of the county leaders in efforts to get their support. Perhaps that says more about their governing abilities and intelligence then they think.
The 2007 victory of now Surrogate Court Judge Johnson against Vito’s machine, he only beat her by less than 100 votes in his home district (53AD) is all but forgotten. So was Surrogate Court Judge Lopez Torres victory against the Brooklyn machine in 2005 in what can only be described as a collective mental block by the 2009 mayoral, controller, public advocate candidates and even the media. There has never been an analysis by any of the press of how independent coalitions were put together to block the machine for the first time in 100 years from the Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court. It is time for the media to understand that independent candidates and consultants give the voters a real voice against the thugs in this town who control campaigns, elective and party office.
And it does not help that the line between the reform clubs in Brooklyn and Vito judicial picks becomes increasingly more blearily, as the clubs endorsed more and more of his judicial candidates, ignoring the fact that while they might be good candidates it is the political system of control which causes the corruption and lack of reform.
Perhaps Lopez should learn a lesson in control from the Queens Democratic leaders, who buy off their endorsed candidates opponents before the voters have a chance to go to the polls. Both Senator Sabini and Assemblymen Lafayette got new jobs to make way for this year’s parties endorsed candidates. After petitioning and getting on the ballot, Baldeo who decided not to campaign in this year primaries for a Senate seat, for which he received 49% of the vote two years ago, had been in talks all summer with the leaders of the Queens machine.
Vito is not the only county leader who had a bad day on Tuesday. In the opening battle of the racial charged Bronx Civil War the Rainbow Revels defend the party organization and Chairman Jose Rivera attacked on Assemblymen Heastie, Ruben Diaz Jr. and Michael Benjamin by party-supported candidates. In addition, the Civil Court candidate the revels backed, Liz Taylor, had a big win (54 percent) against her challengers, Maria Matos (the party candidate) and Verena Powell. In Manhattan the county organization lost all three of their contested judicial races.
This year Lopez backed Senator Martin Connors and lost. More importantly his power block of voters in Williamsburg is clearly split, with the new Satmar faction headed by Rabbi Glanz/UJCARE, followers of Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum winning over a third of the vote for Squadron. Connor received 90.86 percent of the Chassidic vote when he ran against Diamondstone two years ago, but only 64.83 percent to Squadron's 35.17 percent on Tuesday. Vito and his Williamsburg faction of Rabbi Niederman/UJO, followers of Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, no longer have the field all to themselves. A bigger problem for Lopez with Connor’s defeat was that Squadron is a Schumer backed candidate. Our senator has a long memory; part of that remembrance is Lopez heading up Democrats for D'Amato. Will the emerging Schumer machine defeat Vito’s smoke and mirrors operation?
The county leader also lost the only contested judicial race in Brooklyn. Devin Cohen besides having a tax problem beat Vito’s candidate Roger Adler. Lopez also lost in the 40AD where Inez Barron beat his candidate Earl Williams easy.
In the boroughs other contested races, Lopez were busy playing all the candidates in their private discussions that- I am really with you game. Vito endorsed State Senator Parker the winner, but also was involved in both of his opponent’s campaigns. Councilman Stewart told election lawyer Mitch Alter that he would have problems with Vito if he hired him or consultant Gary Tilzer. If you look at the over half million dollars his other opponent Felder spent you would see that most of them consisted of a lot of Vito supporters and contributors. Since Vito supported Republicans in the past (D’Amato, Pataki and Giuliani) many in Brooklyn felt he was involved with the effort against Malcolm Smith to split the black vote in the 21st Senate District to elect Felder and to keep Republican control of the State Senate.
Even with the re-election of Parker and Silver there are signs in the few competitive judicial races that occurred, that voters are much more willing to vote against the machine. Despite the public growing signs of disgust with their dysfunctional government, the growing crime wave among their elected offices and most importantly the dismal won/loss record of county leaders, 2009 citywide candidates seem more and more willing to listen to the dictates of the county leaders in efforts to get their support. Perhaps that says more about their governing abilities and intelligence then they think.
The 2007 victory of now Surrogate Court Judge Johnson against Vito’s machine, he only beat her by less than 100 votes in his home district (53AD) is all but forgotten. So was Surrogate Court Judge Lopez Torres victory against the Brooklyn machine in 2005 in what can only be described as a collective mental block by the 2009 mayoral, controller, public advocate candidates and even the media. There has never been an analysis by any of the press of how independent coalitions were put together to block the machine for the first time in 100 years from the Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court. It is time for the media to understand that independent candidates and consultants give the voters a real voice against the thugs in this town who control campaigns, elective and party office.
And it does not help that the line between the reform clubs in Brooklyn and Vito judicial picks becomes increasingly more blearily, as the clubs endorsed more and more of his judicial candidates, ignoring the fact that while they might be good candidates it is the political system of control which causes the corruption and lack of reform.
Perhaps Lopez should learn a lesson in control from the Queens Democratic leaders, who buy off their endorsed candidates opponents before the voters have a chance to go to the polls. Both Senator Sabini and Assemblymen Lafayette got new jobs to make way for this year’s parties endorsed candidates. After petitioning and getting on the ballot, Baldeo who decided not to campaign in this year primaries for a Senate seat, for which he received 49% of the vote two years ago, had been in talks all summer with the leaders of the Queens machine.
Vito is not the only county leader who had a bad day on Tuesday. In the opening battle of the racial charged Bronx Civil War the Rainbow Revels defend the party organization and Chairman Jose Rivera attacked on Assemblymen Heastie, Ruben Diaz Jr. and Michael Benjamin by party-supported candidates. In addition, the Civil Court candidate the revels backed, Liz Taylor, had a big win (54 percent) against her challengers, Maria Matos (the party candidate) and Verena Powell. In Manhattan the county organization lost all three of their contested judicial races.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Voting Lopez social programs ensure political victory
Voting
Lopez’s social programs ensure political victory
By Julie Cirelli
At 9:21 pm Tuesday evening, the first of what would be more than a dozen phone calls – early counts from the 53rd Assembly district’s polling sites – pierced the nervous clamor of Democratic candidates at their clubhouse in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
As other candidates scoured the Internet for early forecasts of wins and losses, Assemblyman Vito Lopez sat quietly, the very picture of calm and composure, as he watched the local television stations broadcast early results of the national elections.
For Lopez, it was not a matter of whether he would win. Of course he would win. The only question would be, by how much?
Angela Battaglia, a city planning commissioner and longtime companion of Lopez, intercepted the call from the first poll.
“Vito!” she shouted, cupping the phone receiver with her hand.
“You got 212. It was 212 to 2.”
She winced at the “2,” as though conceding two votes to Lopez’s Republican competitor, Ameriar Feliciano, was an insult.
Lopez heads one of Brooklyn’s strongest political operations in the recent history. In Bushwick, the ubiquity of his community programs inspires deep feelings from his constituents. Many are fiercely devoted. Others are deeply frustrated.
Over the din of ringing telephones, someone shouted jokingly, “Hey Vito, do you know who those two people are?”
“Sure,” he nodded, flashing his signature grave, grandfatherly smile. “Of course.”
In a community like Bushwick, which is largely composed of poor and immigrant families, affordable housing is a constant issue.
Under the blanket organization of his Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council (RBSCC), Lopez opened at least 50 organizations to serve the young, the old, and practically everyone in between. These are senior housing facilities and community centers, tenant advocacy and educational programs for teens and young adults.
“He has a lot of senior citizen support because of all of the services he provides to them, especially housing,” Mercedes Viera Serrano, a city health worker and volunteer poll monitor, said election afternoon at the RBSCC senior housing facility Hope Gardens.
“I voted for him,” said Julia Fernandez, a 62-year-old resident there.
“And I’m going to vote for him,” 82-year-old Hope Gardens resident Antonia Fernandez chimed in. “I’ve known him for a lot of years.”
At Hope Gardens, Lopez garnered all 141 votes. His opponent did not receive even one.
Lopez takes seniors from his centers on regular picnics, and mans the barbecue with a smock with his name on it in big letters, according to Msgr. John J. Powis, pastor of St. Barbara’s Roman Catholic Church in Bushwick.
In the entrances to many poling sites in Bushwick, large florescent yellow and orange posters remind seniors in English and Spanish that they are invited to Thanksgiving dinner with Vito Lopez later this month.
“Even if he’s not running, people will come in and look for his name,” said poll worker Mary Ann Lebron. “We’ll explain that he’s not running, but that he supports a couple of parties.”
Lebron added that Lopez recently fought for an after-school program at her son’s school.
“From the time they can vote – from all ages – as soon as they turn 18, they come out to support him, because his programs touch all ages.” Lebron said.
Nicole Marwell wrote, “He has the political clout to deliver significant financial resources to the community…In return, he demands full support from those who benefit,” in her study “Social Networks and Social Capital as Resources for Community Revitalization” for the non-profit watchdog and research group Nonprofit Sector Research Fund.
During the first election of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani – whom Lopez crossed party lines to endorse – Marwell followed the actions of the Ridgewood-Bushwick Housing Coalition’s employees on Election Day for her research.
“All the RBSCC offices were closed, and employees were ‘strongly encouraged’ – or, depending who you asked, ‘expected’ – to come out to the Assemblyman’s political club, and participate in the effort to blanket the district with Giuliani literature,” she wrote.
The RBSCC office was also closed this Tuesday.
Some of the RBSCC’s employees did volunteer their time to work on election activities, said poll worker Louise Cunningham.
“If you need help, he’ll be there. When he needs help, well, they say, ‘One hand washes the other,’” she said.
Lopez’s popular support in the community, particularly by those touched by his programs, has translated into political clout.
“Who does Vito support?” asked Powis. “Whoever it is, will win. There’s no way anybody could win without Vito’s support.”
Of the polling sites in 53rd Assembly District that are not located inside public schools, more than half were located within the RBSCC centers themselves.
“It doesn’t mean he’s controlling the vote, but he’s certainly influencing it,” said the Rev. James Kelley, pastor at St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church in Bushwick.
When Vito Lopez came on the political scene in Bushwick in the 1970s, weeks of continuous arson fires and looting had ravaged the community. Politicians known as “poverty pimps” exploited anti-poverty programs for use as their personal piggy banks.
A left-wing social worker, Lopez formed progressive clubs and organizations, and was funded extensively as a result. His programs were successful, and as they grew, so did his political power.
“Vito Lopez has helped build one of the most impressive and substantial social and legal services operations in the city," said Andrew White, director of the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School University in Manhattan. "It's a model a lot of politicians use to build their base."
“This is standard New York City politics,” White said. “Vito Lopez is just very, very good at it.”
Others feel that Lopez has gone overboard. Despite devoting his life’s work to providing affordable housing to the poor, elderly and disabled in Brooklyn, Lopez is loathe to allow others to do the same, Powis said.
Community leaders who do not align themselves politically with Lopez say that they are more likely to hit walls, particularly when it comes to funding for public housing initiatives.
“If you play the game, you’ll be taken care of,” Powis said. “If you don’t play the game, you have to be very careful, or you’ll lose your funding.”
But Lopez supporters shrug off such criticisms.
“Where do you think all the houses going up come from?” asked Eileen O’Brien, a member of the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club and Lopez supporter who was at Lopez’ club election night. “He’s raised money for them. That’s what you hope your assemblyman does.”
Julie Cirelli can be contacted at jbc2002@columbia.edu
Lopez’s social programs ensure political victory
By Julie Cirelli
At 9:21 pm Tuesday evening, the first of what would be more than a dozen phone calls – early counts from the 53rd Assembly district’s polling sites – pierced the nervous clamor of Democratic candidates at their clubhouse in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
As other candidates scoured the Internet for early forecasts of wins and losses, Assemblyman Vito Lopez sat quietly, the very picture of calm and composure, as he watched the local television stations broadcast early results of the national elections.
For Lopez, it was not a matter of whether he would win. Of course he would win. The only question would be, by how much?
Angela Battaglia, a city planning commissioner and longtime companion of Lopez, intercepted the call from the first poll.
“Vito!” she shouted, cupping the phone receiver with her hand.
“You got 212. It was 212 to 2.”
She winced at the “2,” as though conceding two votes to Lopez’s Republican competitor, Ameriar Feliciano, was an insult.
Lopez heads one of Brooklyn’s strongest political operations in the recent history. In Bushwick, the ubiquity of his community programs inspires deep feelings from his constituents. Many are fiercely devoted. Others are deeply frustrated.
Over the din of ringing telephones, someone shouted jokingly, “Hey Vito, do you know who those two people are?”
“Sure,” he nodded, flashing his signature grave, grandfatherly smile. “Of course.”
In a community like Bushwick, which is largely composed of poor and immigrant families, affordable housing is a constant issue.
Under the blanket organization of his Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council (RBSCC), Lopez opened at least 50 organizations to serve the young, the old, and practically everyone in between. These are senior housing facilities and community centers, tenant advocacy and educational programs for teens and young adults.
“He has a lot of senior citizen support because of all of the services he provides to them, especially housing,” Mercedes Viera Serrano, a city health worker and volunteer poll monitor, said election afternoon at the RBSCC senior housing facility Hope Gardens.
“I voted for him,” said Julia Fernandez, a 62-year-old resident there.
“And I’m going to vote for him,” 82-year-old Hope Gardens resident Antonia Fernandez chimed in. “I’ve known him for a lot of years.”
At Hope Gardens, Lopez garnered all 141 votes. His opponent did not receive even one.
Lopez takes seniors from his centers on regular picnics, and mans the barbecue with a smock with his name on it in big letters, according to Msgr. John J. Powis, pastor of St. Barbara’s Roman Catholic Church in Bushwick.
In the entrances to many poling sites in Bushwick, large florescent yellow and orange posters remind seniors in English and Spanish that they are invited to Thanksgiving dinner with Vito Lopez later this month.
“Even if he’s not running, people will come in and look for his name,” said poll worker Mary Ann Lebron. “We’ll explain that he’s not running, but that he supports a couple of parties.”
Lebron added that Lopez recently fought for an after-school program at her son’s school.
“From the time they can vote – from all ages – as soon as they turn 18, they come out to support him, because his programs touch all ages.” Lebron said.
Nicole Marwell wrote, “He has the political clout to deliver significant financial resources to the community…In return, he demands full support from those who benefit,” in her study “Social Networks and Social Capital as Resources for Community Revitalization” for the non-profit watchdog and research group Nonprofit Sector Research Fund.
During the first election of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani – whom Lopez crossed party lines to endorse – Marwell followed the actions of the Ridgewood-Bushwick Housing Coalition’s employees on Election Day for her research.
“All the RBSCC offices were closed, and employees were ‘strongly encouraged’ – or, depending who you asked, ‘expected’ – to come out to the Assemblyman’s political club, and participate in the effort to blanket the district with Giuliani literature,” she wrote.
The RBSCC office was also closed this Tuesday.
Some of the RBSCC’s employees did volunteer their time to work on election activities, said poll worker Louise Cunningham.
“If you need help, he’ll be there. When he needs help, well, they say, ‘One hand washes the other,’” she said.
Lopez’s popular support in the community, particularly by those touched by his programs, has translated into political clout.
“Who does Vito support?” asked Powis. “Whoever it is, will win. There’s no way anybody could win without Vito’s support.”
Of the polling sites in 53rd Assembly District that are not located inside public schools, more than half were located within the RBSCC centers themselves.
“It doesn’t mean he’s controlling the vote, but he’s certainly influencing it,” said the Rev. James Kelley, pastor at St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church in Bushwick.
When Vito Lopez came on the political scene in Bushwick in the 1970s, weeks of continuous arson fires and looting had ravaged the community. Politicians known as “poverty pimps” exploited anti-poverty programs for use as their personal piggy banks.
A left-wing social worker, Lopez formed progressive clubs and organizations, and was funded extensively as a result. His programs were successful, and as they grew, so did his political power.
“Vito Lopez has helped build one of the most impressive and substantial social and legal services operations in the city," said Andrew White, director of the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School University in Manhattan. "It's a model a lot of politicians use to build their base."
“This is standard New York City politics,” White said. “Vito Lopez is just very, very good at it.”
Others feel that Lopez has gone overboard. Despite devoting his life’s work to providing affordable housing to the poor, elderly and disabled in Brooklyn, Lopez is loathe to allow others to do the same, Powis said.
Community leaders who do not align themselves politically with Lopez say that they are more likely to hit walls, particularly when it comes to funding for public housing initiatives.
“If you play the game, you’ll be taken care of,” Powis said. “If you don’t play the game, you have to be very careful, or you’ll lose your funding.”
But Lopez supporters shrug off such criticisms.
“Where do you think all the houses going up come from?” asked Eileen O’Brien, a member of the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club and Lopez supporter who was at Lopez’ club election night. “He’s raised money for them. That’s what you hope your assemblyman does.”
Julie Cirelli can be contacted at jbc2002@columbia.edu
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