life in the sonic age

David Yassky said he would not rule out voting for a 16 year term four years from now. I asked the question, and he knew why I was asking.

This poster is right outside Yassky’s office on Court Street. There’s an old saying (which you’d think Mr. Yassky would know): Sh*t or get off the pot.

David, WAKE UP!

How does power corrupt? No need to answer that (because you already know the answer).

Yes, the billionaire Mayor, who has run the city like a billionaire, wants to be Mayor for Life. I never agreed with term limits until I saw how effective they could be. I know many people feel that Bloomberg has a done a great job, but I don’t agree. He’s done a better job than Giuliani, but that’s not saying much.

#1: The Olympics. I’m an athlete. I still swim in open water swim races, I used to compete in running races and triathlons. I love watching the olympics. But bringing them to New York City was a laughable idea. The congestion, the overcrowding and that terrorism thing. We are the number one target! Stupid, bad, misguided, waste of money and time.

#2: The West Side Stadium. Congestion! The wrong location - a waste of time, money, blah, blah, blah.

#3: Bloomberg likes the Atlantic Yards proposal. Did I mention he’s a billionaire? It doesn’t provide a lot of jobs (not jobs that pay well), unless you’re in construction. Then it’s great, until it’s done, then you need to find another job. No low income housing! Very little (very little) middle income housing. Lot’s of housing for people who make a lot of money (less of those people now than a month ago).

#4: Eight years is enough. If you can’t get something done in eight years, you don’t deserve a day more. The same goes for everyone in the city council. If you did a good job, you deserve to be elected to another position. If not, get a real job.

Tonight’s Semi-Annual Brooklyn County Committee Meeting was a slight departure from previous meetings. It was still mostly scripted (as you can see from the pictures). Yes, that’s really a script their holding in their hands. And the script readers are chosen in advance (not for their reading abilities). Tonight was the beginning of the end of normalcy. The meeting featured new committee members objecting (to almost everything) and motions flying back and forth. It went “off script” a lot and seemed to catch many district leaders by surprise. Wait another two years, and then we’re really going to have some fun!

I’m not sure if this falls into the “upset” column or not. But it is big news when a young upstart (I’m not calling him that, others have) handily defeats a 30 year incumbent.

It’s tough when someone you supported and know loses, but that’s the game of politics. Say what you want about Marty Connor, he really did accomplish a lot in his 30 years and Squadron has some big shoes to fill. I hope and expect him to rise to the occasion.

Congratulations Dan! My advise: hit the ground running.

It was a hard fought dirty race, but the good guy actually won! Devin Cohen defeated Roger Adler for a seat on the Civil Court. Adler waged a filthy and ugly campaign that cost him well over $200,000 of his own money. As the Beatles sang “money can’t buy you love” or respect.

Congratulations Judge Cohen!

First the disclaimer: Devin Cohen is a friend of mine. However, everything I am writing is factual. Thankfully, I don’t have to embelish anything.

Several months ago I had lunch with Roger Adler and two other people. Roger wanted to have lunch with us because of our roles in IND (Independent Neighborhood Democrats). I am the Chairman of the Executive Board of IND, however, what I am writing here is my personal opinion. Roger told us he wanted to run for a judgeship. His plan was to run against an incumbent. That’s an uphill battle in any election, but against a sitting democratic judge, it’s almost unheard of and almost impossible to win. His pitch was simple, support me or I’ll run against Devin Cohen for Civil Court (he actually said it that way). He also said he was prepared to put several hundred thousand dollars of his savings into this race and he would outspend Cohen. We explained to Roger that the way IND works is that everyone gets to vote. We don’t tell people who to vote for. It’s a democratic process.

Several weeks later Roger announced that he was running for the same seat as Devin. He has no experience with Civil Court so it’s a poor fit. But it’s also what Roger has done in the past as a lawyer that makes me uncomfortable. For example:

Adler worked pro bono for the Conservative Party on its legal brief against same sex marriage in New York. He also made financial contributions to the Conservative Party (remember, he’s is a member of the Democratic Party).

Adler represented (jailed) former Democratic Party boss Clarence Norman during his various corruption trials, something he neglects to mention on his flyers.

He has put over $200,000 of his own money into this race! To be blunt, he is trying to buy a judgeship!

Here’s my last point:

You walk into a court room. You are suing the city because you were walking across the street one night and there was a large pothole in the way. You didn’t see it because the street light was out. You fell and broke your ankle. You are suing the city asking them to pay your medical bills. Sitting behind the bench is either Roger Adler (top left) or Devin Cohen (pictured below). You know Adler’s record (see above), and you’ve been told that Devin Cohen is a volunteer EMT, who has been working in the

community for years and is a past chair of the Environmental Protection Committee of Community Board 6.

Who do you want deciding your case?

It’s that simple!

Turnout will be very light - so you’re vote really counts. And you’re vote will make a difference in the lives of a lot of people. So what are you going to do?

Citizens Union is sponsoring a debate between Marty Connor and Dan Squadron, Wednesday, September 3 at Francis College
180 Remsen Street (between Court and Clinton Streets)
Brooklyn Heights
7:00 -9:00 PM

get there early, stay late!

I have to admit, I don’t mind when an incumbent is challenged. To me, a strong democracy means that office holders, every now and then, get challenged. However, I also believe the races should be clean, honest and that one candidate should not try and “buy” the office.

That brings me to one local race: State Senate, Connor and Squadron. But first let’s travel back two years. In 2006 Connor faced Ken Diamondstone. I’ve known Ken for years. What I didn’t know and didn’t expect was a nasty race from Ken from day one. When I ran for office many years ago, against an incumbent, I ran a positive race about ideas. I talked about what I was going to do. Ken veered off that road to a great extent. And that brings me to Dan Squadron. His campaign, thankfully, isn’t too nasty - yet. But the truth has taken a back seat. Squadron has said “For years, Senator Connor has failed to muster the funds and political will to get Brooklyn Bridge Park built. He has had ample opportunity to display leadership that delivers results and has not done so”

That is simply not true. You can disagree with where Marty Connor stands on an issue, but to say something that is just false is not cool (or words to that effect).

In 2002 when the park was announced (again) Marty Connor said this “Today is the real beginning of the realization of a dream pursued by Brooklyn’s waterfront neighborhoods. This dream coalesced from the cooperative work of community residents and their elected officials. The result will be a magnificent world-class park that will be enjoyed by generations.”

In 2000 the Port Authority wrote this “BBPDC’s 15-member Board of Directors is comprised of representatives from various neighborhood organizations in communities along the waterfront, as well as the area’s elected officials - Borough President Howard Golden, Representatives Ed Towns and Nydia Velazquez, State Senator Martin Connor, State Assemblywoman Joan Millman, and City Councilman Ken Fisher.” Marty wasn’t a no show, he worked for the park and I happen to know (because he told me and a lot of the people) that it’s important to him. He once told me that he really looked forward to going down to the park after he retired and fishing there. I know that sounds corny, but he meant it. He also told me that at a meeting several years ago one of his sons showed up. He wasn’t expecting to see him there and asked him why he had come. His son said that they were removing something in the park that he and his friends wanted and he was there (with his friends) to fight for getting it back.

Squardon has come out and stated clearly that he is against apartments in Brooklyn Bridge Park. That’s good news. But it makes me wonder why people like Anthony Weiner and Mike Bloomberg have endorsed him. They are on the record as having no problem with apartments in the park. And then there’s the Atlantic Yards project. I don’t know where Dan Squadron stands on the Atlantic Yards Project (I’ve heard through the grapevine that he is against the project). But when I searched I couldn’t find anything on his web site. We know where his supporters stand. Weiner, Bloomberg and Schumer are for it. So what are we to think? Do they know something we don’t know? And then there’s the NY Times Endorsement for Squadron. They’re also pro Atlantic Yards and also don’t seem to have a problem with apartments in a public park. Then again, they endorsed Ken Diamondstone two years ago. So maybe they aren’t so much for Squadron as they are against Connor.

For the record, Marty Connor has managed to get $87 million allocated for Brooklyn Bridge Park. You can argue that it’s not enough, but you can’t say he didn’t do it.

Sqaudron’s latest mailing is another cheap shot. It’s a recycled mailing from Ken Diamondstone about cigarette money. The last time Connor took money from tobacco was 7 years ago. Squadron says Connor took $11,375. It was actually one check for $600. Connor says he asked that it be returned and it wasn’t. I don’t know if that part is true or not, but it doesn’t matter at this point. What does matter is that Squadron knows that (and if he doesn’t he should), but obviously he doesn’t care if he misleads the voters. He also goes on to say (write actually) that Connor voted on the side of big tobacco. But Connor said on the Senate floor that the reason he was voting against the tobacco bill was because he wanted a total ban on tobacco sales in New York.

A few weeks ago I ran into Dan Squardon outside my apartment. He was out campaigning. We chatted for a few minutes and the last thing he said to me was “Thankfully it hasn’t gotten ugly yet”. Little did I know that he would be the one to make it ugly in his next few mailings. Those mailings are dishonest and misleading. Others can disagree, but that’s not the guy I want representing me in Albany. If you can’t run a clean and honest campaign, find something else to do for a living.