The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Our City Council Election Draws Nigh

Did you see it? Twice in two days pay-to-play (some-do-say) vanity rag Kings County Politics runs pieces on the two front-running challengers in our 40th District City Council race. And what do they focus on? Matching funds. Pia Raymond got them in the last round; Brian Cunningham didn't. Look for Brian to get his 6-1 matching funds at the next round, having some of his gifts kicked back not for anything truly improper - since the City takes its matching payments seriously even a small error in donor addresses or credit card authorizations can make it hard to pass on first submission. It's highly unlikely that Cunningham will miss the next batch and qualify for more than $100,000 in public funds. Will it be too late to help? Probably not, but Raymond's filing is no death blow.
What is KCP? Ask your favourite political insider or elected official - you take out ads on the site, you get puff-ball treatment and vanity interviews. The Q's heard it time and again, though even if it weren't true, the "Brooklyn Lawmakers On the Move" feature is embarrassing, as if your politicians were super-heroes for doing their job. Still, there are very few competitors. But that actually makes KCP outsize in its influence. Which is, to quote our commander in chief, sad.

First the KCP puff-blog writes this basically calling Pia the front-runner on $$ alone; then publishes this knocking Brian's first-round miss on the matching funds, which frankly come in much too late to help ANYbody in the do-or-die primary fight. Generally speaking KCP has published p.r. friendly pieces about each of the candidates, and I encourage you to check out their interviews with Raymond, Cunningham, Berkley and Eugene. But given the scant coverage of these sorts of crucial local elections, a single story can convince voters that only one candidate has a chance to beat the incumbent Eugene. Nothing could be further from the facts. BC is running a great door-to-door campaign, and doesn't need the matching funds to continue fighting hard for the all-important votes, though he'll get them soon enough. And now, some pictures:

Brian Cunningham - the Q salutes you

Mathieu "51st State" Eugene (wtf up w/that picture?)
Cool lady Pia Raymond. Might not make it in September though.
BUT (and this but is bigger than MY butt) the most interesting aspect of the race has been glossed over. What's that you ask?

Brian will be on the ballot in November. On the Reform line. Meaning even if the decade-long-serving dud Mathieu Eugene wins the primary seeking to extend his do-nothing brand of leadership (he's a "doctor" - perhaps his thing is to "do no harm?") we have a chance to vote him out in a one-on-one against him with a solid candidate with a record of policy experience and grass roots connections and political savvy.

Is Brian Cunningham a better candidate than the affable, smart but maybe too reserved Pia Raymond? I feel I have a good sense of who they are and what they stand for. And honestly I would be happy to vote for either over our current absentee-councilperson. In the end, the Q must go with his considerable gut - Brian strikes me as in it to win it, ready for the Big Leagues, honest and capable. I think he'll grow with the job, he's been a political operator for years, and I think it's meaningful that he had the good sense to find a spot on a third party line as a hedge against the big field of candidates vying for the primary nod.

Jen Berkley is also on the ballot, and while I think she does great work on housing within the community, I can't in good conscience, with where we are as a city and country, vote for the relative newcomer to the nabe who has few deep ties to the African-American and Caribbean-American community that Lefferts has long been. Okay, okay, why bullshit. You count on the Q for nothing if not bluntness. She's a white lady (sic). The time is not right for white ladies (even less so for white dudes) especially short-timers to run for positions representing a largely black quickly gentrifying district. She has a lot to offer and we look forward to her work on behalf of renters everywhere. (FYI she pretty much just unloaded on my Facebook. Another reason to question her candidacy - not because it was me, but because unloading on people is reminiscent of a certain White Dude running the country.

As we head into the final laps of the Primary Race, I hope y'all will read up on the candidates, sent their campaigns an email, check out their websites, find out where they'll be so you can talk in the flesh. It's time to bone up!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eugene should be thanking his lucky stars that - between Raymond and Cunningham - he's facing two qualified opponents who will likely split the opposition vote.

That said, I'm glad Cunningham will be on the Reform line. Looks like WFP hasn't endorsed for this district yet - I wonder if they'd endorse him as well?

Anonymous said...

Can you vote in the primary if you are an independent?
I also agree that Eugene is going to win because the vote will be split between Cunningham and Raymond.This is from the small sampling of talking to Caribbean neighbors on my block; the vote is split almost evenly between Raymond and Cunningham.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

No anon. You can't vote unless you're a registered Democrat. Kinda sucks don't it? Especially since the November election goes to the Dem nearly all the time, meaning folks like you don't get a say in your representation.

Anonymous said...

FWIW I volunteered with Berkley in a community org a few years ago and her tantrums were so legendary that we're still talking about them. I wondered whether running for office meant she'd matured, but it doesn't sound like it.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you. In fact, Jennifer Berkeley just reported my comment to this article on a public forum and had my comment taken down. I can speak firsthand to the fact that she made my rental situation worse a few years ago, that she talked me out of getting a much needed lawyer, and that she is one of the most self deprecating people I have ever come in contact with. I would not trust her to wash my car, so I'm not trusting her to control my district. Thick skin is something she does not have. She's simply unqualified. It's not poking the whole emotional woman thing- there are other women running who can handle themselves professionally. I'm not positive who I'm voting for, but I'm hoping to talk with some candidates soon. Brian Cunningham responded to me directly by email, and I'd really like to hear what he stands for. I think this district needs some serious guidance. I've lived here for 5 and a half years and plan to stay longer, so it matters to me what kind of leadership we elect here.

Anonymous said...

That sucks! I live here and I want to vote. We need open elections. I do not want to be represented by someone I didn't get a chance at choosing. I'm so over Eugene!

Anonymous said...

Exactly! She's having a tantrum right now because I called her out on Facebook.

Bob Marvin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bob Marvin said...

FWIW I had a similar reaction to what Anon. 1:58 AM reports a couple of weeks ago from JB over a Facebook comment I made. I thought it odd, but didn't realize it was [apparently] part of a larger pattern. Fortunately she has little chance of winning.

kimplicated said...

I just met Brian Cunningham at the subway this morning, and I was really impressed with his grasp of the details and the mechanics. He had a real plan to keep affordable housing, and seemed like he wouldn't need a learning curve. I was impressed.

babs said...

It's amazing to me how many people still don't know that NYS has closed primaries (meaning you must be a member of that party to vote in the primary), especially after all the publicity surrounding this in 2016. New residents moving from other states that have open primaries should be told of this at the time of their initial registration, but I guess it's convenient for the status quo to not mention it.

And whatever your party affiliation, you are NOT obligated to vote for that party's candidate in the general election if you prefer another. I've been a registered Democrat since I turned 18, and I don't think I've ever voted for a Republican for anything (not that I wouldn't if I thought that person was the best-qualified for the job, but that's never happened), but I sure have voted Green, Socialist, SWP, Reform, etc., so I'd really like to know which portion of your cherished "Independence" you're giving up by selecting one of the two major parties to join?

I heard a proud registered Independent the other night say he maintained that affiliation because candidates had to work for his vote. What a load of hoo-ha - candidates can't work for your vote if you can't vote for them, and they have to work for my vote too but at least I have a say in which one will present at the general election.

diak said...

Another note re "independent" voters—a friend of mine is the town clerk in a town upstate. He told me that several times people have come to his office to register to vote saying they want to register "independent." He has to ask if they mean "unaffiliated" because if they don't read the forms carefully they might well wind up registering for the New York Independence Party, a right-leaning third party, with a sometimes less-than-stellar reputation.
He told me that some listen and some don't and that he's certain that the Independence Party membership is swelled by people who think they've registered with no particular party...

Anonymous said...

...but I sure have voted Green, Socialist, SWP, Reform, etc...

I wonder if the candidates of these off-brand parties know how to exploit their vote-splitting impact?

Anonymous said...

Hey, who is the Q endorsing? I know it's not Eugene...