It has been a while since I did a “Vines” column: so here goes. As I always caution, this type of column is a bit different to my regular columns, and as such, it should not be held up to the same rigorous scrutiny (and standards) as the others. Here I do a bit more speculating than I normally do: so keep that in mind as you search for ways to jump my blog-bones (lol).
Just when you thought it was safe to wade into the waters of Brooklyn's politics -in a supposedly dead election year cycle- a whole lot of stuff has started to unfold over the last few weeks. For example: assembly-member Darryl Towns will be resigning from his seat to take up a big post with the Cuomo administration; this resignation has put the 54th Assembly seat in play. Then last week, assembly-member William Boyland jnr. (55thAD) was indicted, for amongst other things, supposedly taking a no-show job in exchange for favors and influence-peddling. If he is convicted (and please note folks, that everyone is innocent until proven guilty) this will leave a hole in the district's donut; well, two holes really -since he is also the male district leader of the Dems in that district. Then Senator Carl Kruger (27th Senatorial) was indicted for corruption: and once again Brooklyn is on the front burner, as is often the case when you compare the five boroughs of NYC.
So where do I start? Let's deal with this rumor from the 42nd city council district. Word is that former assembly woman Diane Gordon wants to run for the city council seat in 2013. Many believe that this convicted felon has a serious chance of replacing Charles Barron in the council. I am trying hard not to believe this. I am told that she still has decent support in the district and that there are many who saw her take-down as a set up, and also fallout from Clarence Norman's demise.
Then there is a rumor that angry blacks in Brooklyn (Afros and Caribs), are tired of watching the party leaders and minority-electeds, do nothing about seats with significant black and Hispanic populations, in the hands of white electeds. The word is that this time around (2012) there will be war over the issues of inclusion and empowerment.
Personally speaking, I think it's all talk: and talk is cheap; it's the lawyers (the whiskey and the rum too) that is expensive. I have heard about all this anger before; especially as it related to various assembly districts (42, 43, 53 and 54). In that same vein, Hispanics are making no bones about the fact that the 54th AD should be in Hispanic hands. If the Towns clan holds on to this seat I will be a bit surprised: but please please don't count them out. Ed is a shrewd politician folks: and he knows how to make a deal. By the way: Hispanics need to stop talking about taking out Vito Lopez (53rd AD), if they are serious about this empowerment thing. That talk has been out there for eons. They have left him there for decades: that's another seat where the majority of the residents are Hispanic. My point is this: it is somewhat disingenuous to criticize the Towns clan when the same scenario exists just yards away.
You see why I say too many electeds (and some political activists) are full of shit? They seem to not know when they are speaking out of both sides of their mouth. They can't seem to smell a contradiction even if it is burning in the oven of their brains.
Moving on: if state senator Kruger goes down I would expect that Lew Fidler will be the biggest player in naming Kruger's replacement. Back in the day I was told that one of Lew's staffers (Mariya Yudkevitch) was being groomed to replace Kruger eventually. That's fine; but I have wine in my cellar older than Mariya: she is not even twenty-five years old. But then, maybe we will be all better served by putting in a bunch of youngsters now, since this old crop we've got, surely haven't done much lately. They all know it; near every last one of them.
If the member from the 55th AD (assembly man Junior Boyland) goes down, I expect my old boss -NYC council woman Darlene Mealy- to replace him in Albany. And that would put an end to the discussion that she is over-rated in Brooklyn's political circles. I have told you guys before that Darlene is very much underrated as an instinctive politician. She didn't just up and run for female district leader with no long term plan in mind: trust me on that one. She has won all three races she entered, when most people thought she was going to lose them. In her last race for the leadership, most of Brooklyn's elected officials lined up against her; she beat them back.
I haven't spoken to Ms. Mealy in months, but the rumor is that she has “cleaned house” (or is it “office”?) again. If it is true, and she has brought in new staffers while getting rid of the old ones, then it surely isn't the first time. I left her employ because the NYC city council had come up with some guidelines for bloggers like me, and I knew we were heading for a collision. My time in her employ was relatively non-controversial (all things considered). She has always been pleasant towards me -even after I resigned- so I can't complain.
However, I have been informed that the NYC council has now revamped their guidelines for blogger-employees. It appears that it is now almost impossible to be employed by the council while openly blogging. The restrictions are fierce, and I suspect that they are violating the first amendment rights of council employees who may choose to publish a column on some web site.
Moving on: if state senator Kevin Parker (21st senatorial district) is taken down, the word is that Nick Perry -who I am told controls the county committee in the 58th AD- will be a key player relative to naming a replacement. The question is this: will Nick switch from the assembly to the senate?
The wait is on for the official census numbers to be released; likewise, the attendant redistricting that follows. Speculation is that Brooklyn gets at least one assembly seat. There is also speculation of a possible senate seat for Brooklyn. I am not going to give my personal views on all this: I am just telling you what I have heard. I know that Hispanics in both Nassau and Suffolk counties are itching for some favorable lines to be drawn; same also for some blacks out there on Long Island. The popular black female attorney Casilda Roper-Simpson has not hidden the fact that she is intent on running for the senate next year. She intends to file a committee soon. She is someone that is worthy of strong support, having paid real dues in the politics of both Brooklyn and Hampstead (Long Island).
As I said in another column recently, there is a clamor in Queens for drawing lines favorable to getting an East Indian /Asian elected to the assembly. This ethnic group believes that they have paid their political dues and tolls, by showing loyalty over the years, to the Dems county machine. They also claim to have helped raised a lot of funds for Dems who now seem ungrateful. The more I look back at the last quarter century in NYC politics (all 5 boroughs), the more I see Dems taking key voting blocs for granted. No wonder there are folk in the Freedom Party (and the Green Party also) thoroughly disenchanted with Democrat officials. I know many blacks who pray for the day that republicans become viable alternatives in the inner-city. Alas; they will have to keep praying: and praying real hard too; since that day is a long long way off.
Republicans who now control the state senate are in big trouble next time around, since the upstate population decreased in comparison to the downstate population. My sources are saying that the drop off is more than a million strong. If governor Andrew Cuomo gets his way, a non-partisan commission will draw the new lines, with probably no more than a one or two percent deviation from seat to seat. If this happens then I suspect expect that Dems will have a very good shot at regaining the senate. The question then becomes this: what does Dems regaining the senate mean to ordinary folks in the Brooklyn trenches? Will it mean more respect for core democrat voters: black folks? Will someone take a crack at answering this?
Lately I have been reading the relatively new blog named The Brooklyn Politics. I like it. I have always read the blog out in Queens called Queens Crap -plus the local newspapers in Queens which do a great job covering the local politics- and I hope the Bronx and Staten Island come up with political blogs of their own, to better consistently cover their local politics. There are a few local mediums around the outer-boroughs but more are sorely needed. Voters in all five boroughs need more guidance. That is so obvious given the many electeds over the last decade who have been felled by corruption, unethical actions, personal scandal, bad-behavior and the like. We must vet our candidates better. This is where blogs can be very very helpful.
A prominent Caribbean-American political activist and scholar passed away last week. Dr. Marco Mason was his name. He was one of the founders of the Caribbean Women Health Association, and once served as its executive director. He was a sociologist, a health/medical expert, and an advocate for better immigration laws. He was once a member of Community Board 9 (Crown Heights) also. He will be missed by many.
Moving on: if assembly member Hakeem Jeffries goes thorough with his impending challenge to congressman Ed Towns (10th Congressional District) next year, then I expect that there will be a big fight to replace him in the state assembly. I will throw three names at you: Ms. Renee Collymore, Mr. Walter Moseley and Ms. Olanike “Ola” Alabi. This would be a very competitive race folks: all three here will come to the table with solid community roots and support. Moseley and Alabi are district leaders in the 57th AD.
You must admit that there are generally exciting contests on the black sides of Brooklyn's train tracks; right? Why aren't there more primaries in predominantly white districts of Brooklyn?
In a surprising move on the East-Flatbush side of Brooklyn, council member Jumaane Williams has informed community activist and businessman Wellington Sharpe, that his services on Community Board 17 are no longer welcomed. Williams is intent on replacing Sharpe with one of his own of his hand-picked cronies. Sharpe has been the industrious chairperson of the Parks Committee for many years. He was appointed by Dr. Kendall Stewart -the former council member of District 45. The feeling from many is that Williams is doing the bidding of Senator Kevin Parker, who sees Sharpe as an adversary. Sharpe has claimed that Parker physically attacked him at least twice. He has also run against Parker twice in the last 7 years, and we all know how much electeds hate to be challenged: they take it as a personal affront. They behave as though they have a God-given right to the seats they find themselves in. Sometimes they replace themselves with family members and replicate this process for decades.
I don't know the real motive behind Jumaane's move here, but I do know that many years ago, when Williams was a youngster (still in college) looking for work at Flatbush-East Community Development Corporation, Mr. Wellington Sharpe was one of the board members who voted to hire him. This was when many of the old female board members opposed hiring Williams. You see, Williams suffers from a rare medical condition that concerned some of the board members. Sharpe had to use his medical expertise (having served on many hospital boards) to explain that the condition in itself, would in no way hinder Jumaane's job-performance.
All I can say to council member Williams is this: how quickly do we forget! You see, over the years, Williams has parlayed that job at Flatbush-East into a lucrative post in the New York City Council. One should always remember from whence one came Jumannee: remember that while you sip on your next Latte (or whatever).
Furthermore: I am yet to hear Mr. Williams publicly condemn the deplorable behavior of state senator Parker over the last decade. Even after Parker's recent conviction, Mr. Williams has been rather silent for a guy who has been trying his vocal best to be as rabble-rousing as Charles Barron.
How convenient!!! Will electeds of this area ever find the courage to say the right thing? And what's up with Parker's sentencing? I have been told it was postponed.
Why is there a double standard in sentencing in NYC when it comes to elected officials? Yesterday Andrew Stein -the former NYC council president- got a slap on the wrist. He was sentenced to three years community service for tax evasion. He had admitted to not paying taxes on millions he earned. If it were some young black male kid, who had snatched a purse to get some money to feed himself, and was caught, he would probable be doing three years in the slammer right now. Think about that folks.
Just like Diane Savino in the state senate, Jumannee Williams appears to be on his way to becoming another piece of “elected-crap”. As a friend, I could only hope that he sees his way back to the straight and narrow road. I am still rooting for him to be an effective elected representative one day; it's just that I am now less optimistic.
There are too many pieces of “elected-crap” trolling the corridors of legislative power: too many. It's time for electeds to show their gonads when hard decisions are needed. You can't conveniently dispose of the moral high ground one day and then try to re-claim it the next day: issues co-relate. To say that you fight hard to fund programs aimed at youth-development is one thing; but to ignore the bad-behavior of their electeds (and role-models) is another. Think about it.
A shout-out to Kevin McCall of East New York: best wishes on your upcoming wedding. I hope you and your bride find happiness, while you continue your good work as a community-activist. I have watched you grow, and I am hopeful that you will continue to inspire youngsters to be more politically active. Take care bro.
Note to Farouk Samaroo: sometimes, those who fight and run away, do live to fight another day. You are a talented individual who is still young and has time on your hands. Think of that while you ponder your political decisions for the immediate future; either way: good luck.
I know that some folks have been beating up on state senator John Sampson lately, especially after democrats failed to hold their majority in the senate; but I am one person who is still hopeful that John will turn things around come 2012. He needs to show strong leadership on the issue of redistricting though; and he also needs to know that he is under a microscope: be careful.
Stay tuned-in folks.