Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Candidates to succeed Yassky yawn it out in Brooklyn Heights
The seven candidates to succeed David Yassky and represent Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights and part of Park Slope in the City Council have got to do better than this.
Monday night’s candidate forum held by the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats and the Independent Neighborhood Democrats was the latest in a seemingly endless series of mirth-free events that are doing more to drive people away from the political process than towards it.
The main problem is that the candidates differ little on substance, leaving an audience member to ponder the not-so-subtle, and not-so-appealing, differences in each candidate’s style.
Isaac Abraham, a Hasidic leader from Williamsburg, spent much of the night describing himself as an omnipresent activist who doesn’t care how many people he has pissed off and would seek to piss off if elected. Gays will probably want to get first in line; Abraham is the only candidate who opposes gay marriage.
But Abraham is ultimately a crowd pleaser, a political tummler, if you will. You want anger, Ken Baer is your man. The former Sierra Club chairman spent most of the St. Francis College forum getting so worked up about the current state of land-use planning in this city that at times he was practically spitting.
Doug Biviano, the newest candidate in the now-seven-person race, emphasized how much “fun” democracy can be when everyone participates. It was sometimes hard to tell if he was running for City Council or the social committee.
Jo Anne Simon spent much of the night projecting an air of calm, intelligent professionalism, even to the point of sensibly saying that she wanted more time to study whether the Gowanus Canal should be made a federal Superfund site while her opponents rushed to support federal intervention (despite its mixed record).
Evan Thies, who has not earned Yassky’s endorsement, despite working as his primary aide for five years, came off as the wonkiest of the bunch, pitching proposals for mandatory affordable housing and ticking off his credentials.
Steve Levin, who is chief of staff to Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman Vito Lopez, was his usual self: He didn’t bother to show up.
And Ken Diamondstone, who called out two candidates (though not by name, alas) as being too close to Lopez, came off as a man without an issue — except his hatred for the party chair and his “gross machine.”
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/16/32_16_33rd_debate.html
Monday night’s candidate forum held by the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats and the Independent Neighborhood Democrats was the latest in a seemingly endless series of mirth-free events that are doing more to drive people away from the political process than towards it.
The main problem is that the candidates differ little on substance, leaving an audience member to ponder the not-so-subtle, and not-so-appealing, differences in each candidate’s style.
Isaac Abraham, a Hasidic leader from Williamsburg, spent much of the night describing himself as an omnipresent activist who doesn’t care how many people he has pissed off and would seek to piss off if elected. Gays will probably want to get first in line; Abraham is the only candidate who opposes gay marriage.
But Abraham is ultimately a crowd pleaser, a political tummler, if you will. You want anger, Ken Baer is your man. The former Sierra Club chairman spent most of the St. Francis College forum getting so worked up about the current state of land-use planning in this city that at times he was practically spitting.
Doug Biviano, the newest candidate in the now-seven-person race, emphasized how much “fun” democracy can be when everyone participates. It was sometimes hard to tell if he was running for City Council or the social committee.
Jo Anne Simon spent much of the night projecting an air of calm, intelligent professionalism, even to the point of sensibly saying that she wanted more time to study whether the Gowanus Canal should be made a federal Superfund site while her opponents rushed to support federal intervention (despite its mixed record).
Evan Thies, who has not earned Yassky’s endorsement, despite working as his primary aide for five years, came off as the wonkiest of the bunch, pitching proposals for mandatory affordable housing and ticking off his credentials.
Steve Levin, who is chief of staff to Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman Vito Lopez, was his usual self: He didn’t bother to show up.
And Ken Diamondstone, who called out two candidates (though not by name, alas) as being too close to Lopez, came off as a man without an issue — except his hatred for the party chair and his “gross machine.”
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/16/32_16_33rd_debate.html
Comments:
Watch out for little people.
I still remember having to exercise karate-like moves to avoid outstretched hands and Good Morning greetings from scrawny Anthony Weiner and his aide at the King's Highway and Avenue J subway stops about 10 years ago.
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I still remember having to exercise karate-like moves to avoid outstretched hands and Good Morning greetings from scrawny Anthony Weiner and his aide at the King's Highway and Avenue J subway stops about 10 years ago.
Comment Credit ---This article posted by 
: April 21, 2009 2:19 PM
: April 21, 2009 2:19 PM
