Ass. Philpotts?

Your Next Representative in Albany?

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. While our asses weren't looking some crazy-ass shenanigans put a dumb-ass on the line for Assemblyman from the 43rd District. Yeah, OUR 43rd district. The position that Karim Camara left just weeks after winning another reelection. The Q'd been talking to buddy Diana Richardson about the scene (she plans on running on a third party line of her own making) about the process and I couldn't believe my ears. The party machine, or lack thereof, was planning on putting up the elderly (but sweet) Shirley Patterson, longtime female district leader (a job that doesn't matter until it does - like now) on the line, since she's a loyalist, and when you're building a new power hub in Central Brooklyn you need to know how your colleagues are going to vote, and that they'll support you through thick and thin. Best to put up a pal!

Does all that make any sense? Stick with me, it get way way better.

So Governor Andrew "Ugly But Fit" Cuomo calls a special election, and that set the scene for the above stuff. May 5 - put it in your calendar! No time for a primary of course! And in Brooklyn, the Democrat usually gets like 108% of the vote. So this is one of those lovely moments for democracy when a bunch of numbnuts sit in a room and choose a candidate who's a near shoo-in. Who's in that room? Well, sometimes dozens of people who have shown their loyalty to the party by, you know, being loyal to the party, and ingratiating themselves to elected officials and District Leaders (that job you were wondering what it was, but that's sort of what it is - your Assembly District's dude or dudette making decisions about poll workers and what judges appear on the line and what-not. And by showing they can win an election, even for an unpaid seat like District Leader, they can shore up backing to run in a REAL race.)

But here's the deal. While the 43rd's Democratic committee people weren't looking or adding pals to the committee, this one goofball, Guillermo Philpotts, is busy appointing people who are his friends. So once this weird scenario happens, he's actually in the remarkable position of being able to put himself on the Democratic line. Follow? The Q moderated a debate with Mr. Philpotts last fall, and I can assure you he is NOT the man for the job. Or maybe any job.

Craziest part of all to me was hearing how Clarence Norman - one of the big shots around here and former Assemblyman himself - is now out of prison and showing up at meetings and trying to reinsert his ex-con self into the proceedings. He apparently tried to convince Philpotts not to run, and to put Shirley Patterson on the bill. So instead of the insider machine-candidate, we get the outsider machine-candidate. Making everybody who has anything to do with this stuff look like a complete jackass.

Meanwhile, seriously formidable candidates like Diana Richardson don't get a chance to win your vote for the Democratic line...they have to go out and start their own dang party. Geoffrey Davis is doing it too. His party? The Love Yourself Party.

You can't, nay you SHOULDN'T, make this shit up.