“Man, you gotta write a "NYC Legislative Vacancy for Dummies" handbook for all of us!” —Colin Campbell, The Brooklyn Politics Blog
I do not think I’ve ever seen any races so poorly reported as the contests to secede Darryl Towns as Assemblyman and District Leader from Brooklyn’s 54th AD. Since the race began, it has been misreported by Politicker NY, Daily Politics, State of Politics, and even Room 8 (Hi
Rock). This is my second compilation of such hit and run “journalistic” malpractice.
One would think that any local news organization worth its salt would compile some guide to local political processes for use by its reporters so they would not have to reinvent the wheel each time staff turned over.
But one would be wrong.
As Colin said to me: “I know it's a confusing process, but when I don't understand something, I don't just call a Dilan/Towns loyalist source and assume whatever I'm being told is fact like these folks are doing.”
Meanwhile, the reporters are getting downright snitty:
“You can always ask for a correction Gate instead. Guess thats not
your style.”
Comparing notes of the complaints we’ve received for our corrections, Campbell and I find an awful lot of dissembling to excuse inexcusable bungling.
For instance, one of the many reporter called out writing articles calling treating the designation by the Democratic County Committee as the election, rather than tantamount to it, excused their error by saying:
“Definitely am aware other candidates can run w out dem
line. But chances of that mattering in this part of brooklyn are very
remote considering strength of party there and dilans.”
Pardon me, but as I noted this morning, candidates have won special elections without the Democratic line, even in Minority areas. The fact that such victories are against the odds is no excuse for misreporting how the process works because one is too lazy to get it right.
And now, the latest offenders. First, my post from this morning‘s piece:
At last, someone writes an article about the 54th AD special election that answers the crucial question of who controls the district's Democratic County Committee.
And as usual, Gatemouth is right: The Dilan Family does (the Dilans are not a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lopez Empire, but Vito is the majority shareholder).
Sadly, the article has a MAJOR FLAW: the County Committee does not fill the vacancy; it merely determines who gets the Democratic nomination, one is still allowed to run on another party's line or petition. And though winning on another line is difficult, one can do so: just ask Melinda Katz, Oliver Koppell or Eliot Engel, all of whom began their careers by doing just that.
It can even happen in minority neighborhood. Robert Garcia won a special election for Congress on the Republican and Liberal lines, promising to serve as a Democrat.
Also, the County Committee is called the County Committee. There is no such thing as "The Assembly Vacancy Committee," while a "Committee on Vacancies" is something else entirely, and not relevant to this situation.
Further, contrary to the article, Michael Miller was not appointed to the Assembly in 2009 by a "vacancy committee;" he was victorious against a Republican in a contested election. Brooklyn Assembly Race Narrows To Dilan Inner Circle www.cityhallnews.com
[REALLY EMBARASSING CORRECTION: an almost irrelevant reference to a race for Assembly by Farouk Samaroo in 2010 has been deleted; Samaroo made an aborted race in 2009–serves me right for gloating so much]
Duly chastened, the author of the piece eviscerated above then attempted to correct the errors I had pointed out, with limited success.
1) While the revised piece now notes that the County Committee (now correctly called that in at least one place) will only chose the Democratic nominee, and that candidates may also petition to get on the ballot, it fails to note that candidates, including enrolled Democrats, may also forgo petitioning by seeking other party lines like the GOP and WFP.
2) The author still uses the terms "Assembly Vacancy Committee" and "vacancy committee" repeatedly. This seems to be a confusion of apples and oranges.
Candidates who circulate petitions (and party committees which have nominated a candidate) can designate vacancy committees to allow a substitution of a candidate for a limited period before an election. Once that period passes, the Committee on Vacancies no longer exists. A County Committee, a body which (ostensibly) has other legal purposes than nominating candidates, is an entirely different beast. One who knows what they are talking about does not call one by another's name.
That all being said, the article I am complaining about is the best thing written on the race by an author other than myself or Colin Campbell.
The next article, like almost all reporting on this race, also perpetuates misinformation:
Celeste Katz: "A source close to City Councilman Erik Martin Dilan tells our Glenn Blain that Dilan will run for district leader in the 54th Assembly District in Brooklyn. That move would indicate that Dilan won't be seeking the seat vacated by Assemblyman Darryl Towns"
But, Why would it indicate that?
Seven Brooklyn Assemblymembers, including Towns, also serve as District Leaders.
Katz later told Colin Campbell ““We talk about it being a possible deal for the Towns and Lopez outfits to split power…” and there is no doubt that this is a lively possibility, but Dilan’s move to run for leader is not conclusive proof of that fact, and may actually be proof of the opposite, since in a full out war, the Dilan faction will seek to take every position. Source: City Councilman Erik Dilan Going For District Leader Job In 54th AD www.nydailynews.com
Finally, we have this piece from the hipster community:
I won't subject this article to stringent criticism, since the author pretty much indicates he doesn't know what he's talking about, something he proves when he indicates with his implicit view about Ed Towns being the favorite in a race for Leader in a seat which is mostly Hispanic, mostly outside his Congressional District and being run simultaneously with an almost certain primary for Towns’ Congressional seat.
Far more interesting is “reform” District Leader Lincoln Restler's take.
Last summer, Lincoln was incredulous about my observation that
Ed Towns was key to any effort to challenge Vito Lopez's County Leadership, a fact which led to my observation that who won the Leadership race Restler was in, against Towns staffer Warren Cohn, would have little impact on any potential challenge to Lopez, and that it could even be argued that Cohn might prove more useful to such an effort.
Now, Restler seems to understand the importance of Towns, which he had earlier minimized. He also, with some savvy, understands the distinct probability that Towns may have several different agendas than “reform” of the status quo.
While there is little doubt that "reformers" would find Towns a more congenial leader than Lopez, it is far less certain that they would find him a better one substantively. Nonetheless, I would be a liar if I didn't admit that the irony of getting to watch Lincoln Restler and Warren Cohn working side by side in the same crusade seems quite irresistible, Why is a Longtime Brooklyn Congressman Making a Mysterious Run for District Leader? | The Measure www.thelmagazine.com