Next week Tuesday is my birthday (09-18), and it coincides with a primary election in Brooklyn. I am really not vested in the many judicial races, so I don’t expect to be breaking out the bubbly at midnight, in celebration of some victory or the other. If I break out the bubbly at all, it will be to celebrate another year of life and that’s it. I am thankful; I am humbled; I truly am. Still, I will make two endorsements in the upcoming judicial races for whatever they are worth, and then I will fill you guys in on some of the conversations making the rounds in the grapevines, pumpkin vines, cocoa, banana and coconut vines. By the way, do you know what Beethoven’s favorite fruit was?
The answer: ba-na-na-na. Okay, so my secret is out: I am a wannabee comedian.
In the upcoming primary, the county-wide race for the second surrogate–judge spot will be the big event. Also on the front burner will be former city-councilmember Noach “Noah” Dear’s run for a civil-court judgeship. I expect a low turnout countywide; especially in the minority areas. I also expect Dear to win. Many people will disagree with this prediction since Noach has many detractors, but if truth be told, Noach has lots of votes in the 44, 47, 48 and 49 ADs. You could look all this up if you want, but these votes should put him over the top. I will be shocked if he loses. There are those who will be happy if he wins, and then there are those who will be sad; Noach remains as controversial this year as he was in yesteryears.
My first endorsement goes to Sharen Hudson running for a civil-court judgeship in the 6th district. Ms. Hudson is a black former court officer who went on to graduate from law school, and now hopes to end up on the bench. Word on the street is that her opponent (Catherine Levine) has run a dirty campaign, putting out nasty literature that fudged the truth and cast negative aspersions on a fine hardworking mother.
Ms. Hudson faces a white opponent in a district where the registration is about 75% minority. The last time there was a race for a judgeship in this district, Judge Graham-the lone white candidate- won against two black females. Levine is being supported by the Brooklyn Democrats county leader Vito Lopez. I hope that voters show up and vote for Ms. Hudson, by so doing they will reject this smear campaign that I am being told her opponent is running.
Yesterday the New York Daily News endorsed Judge Diana Johnson for Brooklyn’s second surrogate spot. This will supposedly offset the endorsement her opponent (Judge Shawndya Simpson) got from the New York Times. Strangely enough both newspapers made mention of Ms. Simpson’s residence controversy. The Daily News went as far as lifting stuff from my previous columns which dealt with this race. As I have said before, it’s funny the way insurgents lose residency challenges, when county-backed candidates facing similar issues: survive. It appears that both newspapers are hinting that they do believe Ms. Simpson’s true residence is in New Jersey-contrary to the findings of the courts. There is no need to rehash all that stuff here, but you have to admit that when I did my first column on this issue, I warned everyone that this was going to get “funky”. You have to listen to Cousin Rocky folks; most times my fingers are on the political pulse of Brooklyn. Don’t let my detractors and some player-haters fool you; most of them have no clue as to how far my network stretches. Have you ever seen that Verizon commercial? Well, I rest my case.
In this race I am endorsing Judge Diana Johnson because I find her to be the more experienced of the two candidates; both on the bench and as a lawyer. Relative to the controversial people who support her, I think that issue is moot, since there are some controversial people supporting Ms. Simpson also. What I found puzzling was the fact that the screening panel initially found Ms. Johnson to be unqualified, before she successfully appealed and had that decision reversed. The reason I found this troubling was the fact that this same panel had found her qualified four times before when she ran for judgeships. In fact just two years ago when she ran for this same office they rated her as qualified; that time she was backed by the Dems county organization (of course). This time around she doesn’t have county’s backing and all this happens; why do you think this occurred? Tell Cousin Rocky, please.
I really can’t predict a winner in this race; word on the street is that Simpson is the favorite. They say that Simpson has been running ads on local cable TV stations, while Johnson is out there pawning all the silverware in her home. They say Simpson has done about four mailings, while Johnson has done but two. They say that both Noach Dear and Dov Hikind have endorsed Simpson, and that these endorsements are huge in this race, relative to the expected low turnout. It is said that these two endorsements alone (especially with Noach running at the same time) are worth more than all of Johnson’s combined endorsements of Al Sharpton, Major and Chris Owens, Charles Barron, John Sampson, Diane Gordon and other electeds, combined. We shall see real soon.
There was an Yvette Clarke sighting on Labor Day; good. Let me take this time and column to wish her all the best health wise. I remember implying in one column early last year, that I am more concerned about her health, happiness and mental well being than her political career; lots of you folks didn’t understand that then and still won’t understand that now; but I am. Time unravels many mysteries; remember that when you sip your chardonnay while toasting to my health next Tuesday. Remember also, something else that your Cousin Rocky always say: we are after all, babies in the womb of time.
Word on the street is that Chris Owens will be the biggest political fool in Brooklyn if he doesn’t challenge Yvette Clarke for his dad’s old seat, next year. Many people believe that she is quite vulnerable and can be upset in a hard fought race. They say that she has lost a lot of support in her disappointing freshman year; they cite many reasons for this assessment. Two elected officials told me that Chris can beat her next year. They both supported Yvette last time around. Some political operatives who supported her last year, also said that they believe Chris has a strong chance of unseating her this time. The reasoning goes like this; taking the results from the last race with four candidates, Chris has enough votes to start off the race. They all believe that he will get an overwhelming number (at least most) of David Yassky’s votes, which brings him close to her total, if not slightly ahead. They believe the fight is for the Carl Andrews voters. They think he is competitive amongst them. I totally concur with this analysis. They also say that Chris cannot win the Borough Presidency from not holding a political office. They say that if he believes that he can, then he is being delusional. They even say that he could still make the congressional race as late as early next spring.
Talking about congressional races; it is being said that Kevin Powell will challenge Ed Towns next year. Last time around Powell dropped out of the race when some of his “closet” issues surfaced; since these issues haven’t disappeared, what makes him think that it’s different this time around? If he reads this maybe he can comment in the thread.
Another entrant to a congressional race in Brooklyn (and Staten Island) is councilmember Dominick Recchio. It is said that he will challenge for Vito Fossella’s seat. This means that he will not be running for Boro Prez. It appears that Bill diBlasio will be the only white candidate in the Boro Prez race. They didn’t listen to Cousin Rocky when I privately told them that the white power players will do everything in their playbook, to make it extremely hard for Charles Barron to become Boro Prez. I predicted that the field will be cleared down to one or maybe two white candidates only. This isn’t rocket-science folks.
Talking about next year again; Kendall Stewart is running against Kevin Parker for the 21st Senatorial district seat. This race is going to get bloody, folks. Word is that Stewart is raising money like an adulterer being blackmailed; they say he is already in campaign mode. Some are saying that before this race is over “Doc” Stewart (as he is amiably called), will raise more money than a crackhead planning a weekend binge. Word is that Mike Roberts, Wellington Sharpe, Asquith Reid, Gale Reed-Barnett (former district leader/58Ad), Cisslyn and Omar Boucher, James Archibald and many other operatives, activists and technicians, are already aboard the campaign team. Stewart has been busy raising his profile in the district, while Kevin has been making more enemies and alienating more people than Don Rickles. By the way: shouldn’t Lori Knipel (district leader/44thAD) jump into this race? It sure presents an opportunity for her, no? I am just thinking out loud; that’s all /lol.
Over the years Stewart has brought in the mayor, council speaker and many city commissioners, to answer questions and address concerns of residents; Parker has been handing out appointments to residents with two and three month delays. When told that he will be in a hard race, Parker stormed off saying: “I don’t have time to discuss politics with fools.” He is quickly becoming the most arrogant black elected official in New York. He also has a terrible temper and lacks self-control. One of these days you will read about him again; I am sure. This time it would be worse than his alleged assault on a traffic agent. Kevin needs to grow up real fast; otherwise he will be footnote in Brooklyn’s political history. That will be unfortunate since he does have loads of potential.
Of the two candidates, Kendall is much more accessible, more agreeable, friendlier, more likeable, and much more regular as an everyday person. These features are all going to aid him in his quest to unseat Parker. And yet it is still an uphill battle when one tries to unseat an incumbent-no matter how pompous and obnoxious that incumbent is.
At an Obama event recently, Parker was heatedly putting down Kendall’s challenge as a minor irritation. Well, he needs to know that this isn’t some minor sexually transmitted itch or rash; this is political gonorrhea. He will need lots of penicillin to survive this one. But then, who could talk to Kevin; after all he is “Mr. Know It All”; ask Stevie Wonder.
Staying on Parker for a bit; I was told that when he found out that Stewart was going to challenge him, he initially thought that Nick Perry was behind the move. I confirmed that he threatened Perry that he gets a challenge too, and that he (Parker) would personally put up a challenger to Nick Perry’s assembly seat: talk about audacity. After all, wasn’t it Nick Perry who hired him in his early days of politics? I am predicting that this race will be one of the nastiest fought in the cocoa. At the end of the night there are lots of Caribbean-Americans in Kevin’s district and he isn’t one. One of these days I will tell the rather interesting story of how Kevin got to office right here on this blog; it might just be embarrassing to him, but truth is truth. Kevin Parker holds no principles. He is unscrupulous and ruthless despite his intellectual promise.
Some of Charles Barron’s supporters are mad at me again; last time it was because of my “non-revolutionary” article, in answer to Marty Markowitz; this time it is because I have predicted that Charles is going to run for Diane Gordon’s assembly seat and not Boro Prez. Look, I call it as I see it; I told him a year ago that the assembly is where he ends up in the near future. While on this topic; Ken Evans called to say that even if Barron runs, he (Evans) is still in the race. He also informed that Winchester Keys is also interested, and so too Tony Foreman (formerly a staffer of Congressman Ed Towns). Evans doesn’t think that Barron is a shoo-in, but I do.
In the 43rd AD, expect Rev. Camara to get a race. Word is that attorney Gerry Hopkins is eyeing a challenge. I am not sure if Saquan Jones is running in this race, but I know he isn’t finished with politics. Jesse Hamilton is looking at a judgeship I am being told. Former district leader Joan Gill continues to battle her rare illness but is still in great spirits. Joan is a political gem folks; truly. Do channel some good vibes her way please. Do Cousin Rocky a solid. I will owe you one for this.
In the 55th AD expect Junior Boyland to be challenged by both Rev. Hatter and Mr. Gourdine. Has anyone seen “Uncle Roy” Antoine lately? And while you are looking for him, do check in on Danny King, Reginald “Reggie” Bowman and his wife Jenny; please. They all live in this district and all seem to be missing in action. There is some speculation that activist/educator Stan Kinnard will run for the leadership spot, since this assembly race is too crowded already.
In the 42nd AD, word is that Michele Adolphe is still intent on running against Rhoda Jacobs. They say that the Haitian-Americans are buoyed by Matthew Eugene’s historic victory in the 40th Council district, and that they feel Rhoda is ripe for the taking; I wish them lots of luck since they are really really going to need it. It would do them well to study Rhoda’s results fro EDs 1 thru 18. A very good candidate in that district would be Leolin Schliffer, but she too has been missing in action lately. Some people want me to run for district leader down there one more time; “me thinks” that I will keep running my fingers on this keyboard for a while; what do you think/lol? I may also run my mouth a bit longer also. I am not quite ready to move back to Brooklyn as yet folks.
In the 45th council district race to replace Kendall Stewart, expect another bloodbath folks. Word is that Wellington Sharpe may make one last try for public office, here in 2009; it is also said that the young attorney Terry Hinds is a runner. Hinds is currently supporting Barack Obama in the presidential primary; so too is former district leader Moses “Musa” Moore, who was sighted at Obama’s Brooklyn fundraiser last month. Back to the 45th; Sam Tate is returning, and so too is Erlene King. Some people are wondering whether Chris Hylton will show up, as well as Michael Russell from Community Board 17. Other names being called are Leithland Tulloch, Gale Reed-Barnett, Kevin Parker (if he loses to Dr. Kendall Stewart), Vaughn Toney, James Connolly, Sam Nicolas, Karlene Gordon, Ernest Emmanuel, Jumaane Williams, Zacary LaReche and Colin Moore (which I seriously doubt). I have been told by a key political operative that he has been approached by a couple mystery candidates looking to assemble teams in order to run; I am not surprised. In 2001 there were nine candidates here.
In the 46th district, some people expect this seat to fall into black (Caribbean-American) hands in 2009. They say that Lew fiddler cannot hand-pick his replacement. What do you say? Is Lew on the way out to political obscurity? The district’s demographics tilted black over the years. Some people are saying that it wouldn’t matter much because the 35th district will be in white hands by 2013; talk about zero sum gain for black folks.
In the 42nd council district, word is that “Jocko” Jackson is the favorite to replace Barron in 2009. Carlos Bristol held a fundraiser last month and Paul Washington is putting a team in place, both are said to be running already. Trinidad-born Gloria Waldron of ACORN is supporting Washington. Carlos Bristol expects to get the endorsement of Rev. Johnny Ray Youngblood and many other grassroots activists in the district.
On the north-side of the parkway (Eastern), word is that Pam Junior wants to challenge incumbent Darlene Mealy, as does Tracey Boyland who held this seat for a bit. Last time out this race was about ten candidates deep. In the adjoining seat, some folks are wondering if Annette Robinson is going to do the switcheroo with Al Vann again; OMG. If so: poor Ms. Raspberry. While we are in Bedford-Stuyvesant, let me say that one of the worst atrocities to take place in Brooklyn politics, happened when the court allowed their guardians to loot the estate of retired Judge Phillips. Somebody needs to face the music for this folks. Let’s see what Charlie Hynes does?
By the way: would anyone bet me that Richard Taylor will soon be running for some office again? Likewise Guillermo “Bill” Philpot. I am willing to lay ten to one odds on the money that they do (real soon). Any takers here? Cousin Rocky has been known to lose a bet or two along the way. Don’t be scared/lol.
Expect Senator John Sampson to challenge District Attorney Charles Hynes in two years folks. This time around John will do better than he did last time folks; trust Cousin Rocky on this one. I am not saying that a victory is assured, but I am saying the results would be much closer than last time around. Hynes is probably at his nadir (politically speaking, that is).
Also sighted at Obama’s Brooklyn fundraiser at the Marriott Hotel was Jennifer James. Ms. James, who surprisingly didn’t challenge Mathieu Eugene in Tuesday’s upcoming primary, is said to be now holding the position that Jeff Feldman once held with the Brooklyn Dems county machine. I believe that she is the Executive Director. Am I correct here? It is said that she replaced Mr. Davis who unfortunately had to “get outa there”, as they say on the streets. I do wish him well in his future endeavors. He appeared to be a nice person. As to Ms. James; I still think that she will make a fine candidate one day. But what do I know? Lots of people seem to dislike me just because I say things like this. But as I say all the time: I call it as I see it, then I duck.
Back to the judicial races on Tuesday; let me say that my sympathies go out to Ms. Pia Wood who was knocked off the ballot in her judicial challenge. Note to Ms. Wood: next time you attempt this, call me early please, I will try to help you.
I asked one black elected official if he was ever going to visit Clarence Norman (who is currently in an upstate prison they tell me) the official said: no way. This is a person who appeared with Norman many times during the various “support-rallies” that they held in the courts, and also on Boro Hall’s steps, in the early days of Clarence’s indictments. What does this say folks? Tell me; I am curious to hear your views on this. I was reminded of a Sam Cooke song: “Nobody Knows You When You Down and Out”.
And meanwhile our friend Carl (Andrews/ of course); did you observe that it took him nine months to finally get a title with the Spitzer administration? Poor Carl was working in some capacity or the other for big bucks, all this time; respect finally came last week. Thank God for the ability to know where the bodies are buried, no? I am starting to worry about Eliot Spitzer folks. I am getting really worried about his ability to do what he said he wanted to do to the dysfunctional state legislature: reform it. From where I sit, it looks as though from day one, some of Eliot’s aides (and maybe he was also involved too) started some “troopergate “shit, that was so unnecessary it wasn’t even funny. It’s quite possible that Eliot Spitzer has pulled defeat from the jaws of victory. Well, we may just have to eventually chalk up another one to the chalkboard of political disappointments.
Here is a question for you smart guys out there: is Betsy Gautbaum really running for mayor in 2009? Bet you can’t answer this?
A note to political junkies who dabble in minutiae: Trinidad-born attorney Ed Roberts has retired from politics. So too has another trini Abu A.Q. Abu. These two follow the footsteps of Horace Morancie, Maurice Gumbs, Anthony Agard and Ernest Skinner, who were all from the same country and dabbled in Brooklyn’s politics at some time or other. Can Anthony Alexis be far off? At a recent even hosted by Joyce Stewart (of Trinidad and Tobago Overseas Coalition), the question was raised: when would a Trinidad-born politician ever get elected in Brooklyn? Only the shadow knows; only the shadow knows. As for me (another trini), I am thisclose to retiring/lol. I hope that I am not forced to retire like Carl Thomas (deceased) was; I do think that I still have a lot to offer if given the opportunity. But then: who would support a classic provocateur? Definitely not the county machine/lol. Meanwhile Trinidad-born attorney Brian Figeroux continues his political activism in the hope that one day he will be the kingmaker for the first Trinidadian elected to higher office in NYC. I do wish him success in this endeavor. Brian is another Barack Obama supporter, so too is calypso king of the world: the Mighty Sparrow. So too: yours truly. Let’s go Barack; let’s make history.
Stay tuned-in folks; and by the way: did Kenneth really know the frequency?