Wake Up! It's Election Day!
Turnout will be low. It's not a presidential year. It's not a Mayoral and Council year. But it's worth noting that it DOES matter whom you pick in the Democratic primary, since the Dems typically roll in November.
You're probably not looking to me for advice, BUT the Q is never when to shy from a fight.
(just remember - two Dianas and a Tim)
Vote for Diana Szochet as Civil Court judge.
Vote for Diana Richardson as Female District Leader, 43rd
Vote for Timothy Wu, the outsider, for Lt. Governor
I'm probably gonna vote protest in the governor race. Oh, and don't bother voting for Geoffrey Davis as male district leaders. I have it on good authority that he squeezes his fraternal bond to the great slain councilman James E. Davis for all its worth, but has nothing of substance to offer. Tough words? Hey, I'm just the messenger!
As for the big local contest to replace Eric Adams, I'm at a bit at a loss. I would have expected it to be a cakewalk for Eric's appointed successor Jesse Hamilton. But I'm also impressed with his challenger, Rubain Dorancy. I moderated a debate w/Milford Prewitt between the two at a Yeshiva in Crown Heights and I found them both knowledgeable, intelligent and engaged. Jesse has the edge as far as familiarity goes; he knows everyone in the neighborhood(s) and has been poking around for a job like this for years. Rubain on the other hand grew up here but moved to Mill Basin, and Jesse likes to remind folks of that. BUT, he's passionate and progressive and I like the way he articulates an issue close to my heart - the ways we treat and prepare young black boys and men for a harsh world. He knows his way around education issues. And I liked his specific answers to tough questions. Jesse's personable, at ease with every kind of constituency. I can't imagine their votes at in Albany would be too terribly different.
In other words...you'll be well represented in the 20th Senatorial district, whichever candidate you choose. Cop out? Maybe. But I made the above suggestions with a clear sense of who was best qualified. I just don't feel prepared to say that with certainty in the Senate.
3 comments:
Thanks, Tim. I used to rely on Gotham Gazette for this kind of handicapping, but they seem to have gone all ecumenical.
Thanks, Tim. I really don't know which way to go for the Senate, either - Jesse is a known, if mediocre, quantity, and he has been very involved in the community for years. His opponent seems to have come from out of the blue, and I know nothing about him (sorry I missed the debate), but people from outside the neighborhood says he's very smart, with a strong background in HIV education, though from the amount of campaigning he's done it's hard to say anything. Also, the endorsements by De Blasio and (especially) Yvette Clarke do nothing to inspire confidence (much the opposite, in the case of Yvette - is this another of Una's hand-picked minions à la Mathieu Eugene?). And then there's that letter signed by Eric Adams and many of our neighbors. Certainly it would be helpful for the BP and the Senator to get along. Really don't know what to do.
And as a long-term neighbor said about Davis, "He's nothing like his brother; he just trades on his name." That, and his appearance at MTOPP gatherings, nixes him for me.
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