Diana Richardson's Cooking With Gas

I'm actually surprised that folks are buying the story that Guillermo Philpotts "failed" to file his paperwork to get on the Democratic party line for the 43rd Assembly District. Y'all, Philpotts is a bit of boob, but he ain't THAT booby. Clearly somebody got to him, maybe even made certain promises of _____. As in, who knows what was worth enough to him to drop out of the race. With Clarence Norman in the picture, you gotta believe that there was no outbreak of Scruples on the scene.

Meanwhile, I'd spoken to Diana Richardson just last week and she was
feeling demoralized about the whole race, seeing that the "machine" was going to try to put loyalist Shirley Patterson on the line, despite a very low profile after years of hanging around the party as district leader.

But don't count Diana out til the svelte lady sings. She managed to pick up the Working Families Line (that Tish James famously rode to the Council in the 35th) AND the Green Party. With no Democrat on the ticket, I think it's fair to say that Ms. Richardson went from outcast to front-runner in a matter of days.

Article on Diana's Juggernaut

Don't let that sweet smile fool you. She'll go toe-to-toe with any Dude.

I'll be sure to print an interview with her in the coming weeks to help you decide for yourself whether she's the best candidate to represent the neighborhood. Geoffrey Davis, brother of beloved slain former Councilman James Davis, after which the building I work out of was named, has started his own "Love Yourself" party. And while that name is pretty great considering how many politicians love themselves enough to run and then steal our hearts and money, I don't see him being able to rack up supporters like Una and Yvette Clarke and Kevin Parker and others who've jumped on the Diana Train. I would expect that Eric Adams and Jesse Hamilton, who previously would have supported Patterson and probably were actively or tacitly involved in getting her name on the ticket, will have to eat a bit of humble pie and come around to DR. And you know what? Every man on a power roll needs to cool their jets every now and then, and remember where they came from - us. That a strong-willed woman is making her mark should hopefully keep their ambitions in line with the people's will. And that's said with the knowledge that Eric and Jesse could do a lot of good for Brooklyn. I'm just saying...keep it real gentlemen. We're counting on you.

And congratulations Diana. You've been promoted to prime time.

(God I can't believe I'm one of those guys talking about local politics...ugh)