Yep. There were lots of people. Maybe 200 at the peak? And while all 200, mostly working people, many with families and duties, managed to come on time and prepare for the 7pm start, your Councilman Mathieu Eugene came more than half an hour into the program. Did he know this was a crucial close-up-to-constituents opportunity? Who knows. The guy has his head so far up his arse I'm surprised he knew this wasn't just another ribbon-cutting.
I liked the candidates...a lot. I was particularly impressed by Brian, Rose and Pia. Jennifer seemed shaky, and maybe not quite ready for the big time. I say that with love, because I know she's a dedicated servant to the tenants she works with and for, keeping people in their homes and fighting unscrupulous landlords. But I gotta say, and I hope this doesn't sound too crass...the seat belongs to a person of color. While we may be trending towards the Caucasioid these days, it's really important that longtime residents of the neighborhood feel they have a voice at City Hall. Were the race just Eugene and Berkely, I might feel otherwise. But there it is; the Q don't mince words. Let's keep the seat in the hands of a qualified black candidate. And we have three solid ones to choose from, each with their own assets and potential liabilities. Mostly assets though.
If you want the skinny, I highly recommend this thorough rundown from, of all places, Kings County Politics and journalist Phoebe Taylor Vuolo, who also took the below pic. KCP is often seen as an insider rag that seems more press release than hard news source. Perhaps that's changing? We could all use more information about those who serve us. We need strong leaders at every level if we're to turn back the tide of racist nationalism that has beset our noble republic.
Keep an eye on this race. Gonna be good, and while 5 is too many candidates, I hope that one emerges as the consensus to knock the good Doctor back to Canarsie where his actual home resides. Perhaps then he'll actually have to get a full-time job? I hear he has a medical degree from Mexico so he'll be just fine, between that and his black belt in something or other (true stories all - and he know Jean Claude Van Damme and once met an actual astronaut!).
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| According to Eugene, people in "HIS" district are very, very happy with him |
3 comments:
I thought the candidates did well, particularly Pia and Brian, although I didn't feel like anyone knocked it out of the park in the "what they'd do differently" portion. For starters, how about effective community engagement? Have a community forum in which even ONE takeaway is actually pursued by our local councilmember's office and brought to fruition. How about working to improve zoning in the district to avoid anymore of these development monstrosities that are pricing people out of their homes? What about all this money (literally millions) he spends on hospitals which already receive state and federal funding? What would they do with that money instead?
I also didn't feel that the criticism of Eugene's immigration work was founded. Say what you want, but the guy does a lot of work in the ENTIRE immigrant community and gives $$$ to great immigration organizations, despite the circulating misinformation. He could have done a better job expressing this. He did not do well defending himself. I really want to like the guy, I do. But good lord he talks in circles. Met with him along with a few staffers on occasion. Lovely people and they seem very dedicated and hardworking, but so incredibly disorganized. He seems unfocused and scatter brained. Could visibly see his staffers' frustration with him.
Anyhow, enough babbling from me. Thanks for the write-up. Looking forward to the next forum!
My answer to that question would simply have been, "I'd show up." Eugene has one of the poorest attendance records in the Council and was previously all-but-invisible at community events. Now that he's running scared, however, I've seen more of him in the past six months than the past six years. He needs to go. My money (literally) and my work is on Brian Cunningham.
Say what you want, but the guy does a lot of work in the ENTIRE immigrant community and gives $$$ to great immigration organizations...
In other words, opening the door to illegal immigrants, converting the illegal to legal, thereby guaranteeing himself their votes for life. Face it. He's got that city council job locked up forever.
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