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.

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Welcome To the Undemocratic Democratic Republic of Flatbush

If you're new to the area, you can be forgiven for being shocked. Elections around here aren't an exact science - more like an approximation with a pinch of strong-arm. Our leaders and judges are pretty much chosen for us by current elected officials and the Kings County party. The somewhat Honorable Yvette Clarke can be blamed for choosing Mathieu Eugene as her successor. I guess she and her mom Una felt he'd sew up the Haitian vote from thence til kingdom come. And for 10 years at least that's been true. (Who knows, maybe kingdom will come in the next couple years, proving me right?)

Voting irregularities abound today, much as they do every election. This time, Eugene is running scared, and word is he's PISSED to have to electioneer at all. Much like elections in banana republics, or Oil-istocracies or just about anywhere in the world this is kinda what democracy looks like when the incumbent doesn't want to lose. Eugene showed up at polling places to glad-hand, his "volunteers" are pushy and pushing past the 100 yard zone around precincts. Some confused voters are being misled about how the ballot works - some even told to vote the straight Democratic line. Business as usual.

If you come from somewhere small-town, university town or suburban, perhaps this all seems a bit nutso - the thug tactics, patronage, paying people to intimidate, refusing to shake the hand of your opponent. Welcome to Brooklyn! Even our elections are, um, artisinal!

Keep an eye out. Alert polling captains of any infringement of rules. Take pictures. Report to the AG and BoE. And if the election is super close, expect a legal challenge.

Check out this hilarious defense from Adam Ullian of Eugene's office, as quoted in Patch, in classic Spicer/Huckabee form:

Adam Ullian, who works on the Eugene campaign, told Patch that Eugene was at the polls because he had been told that Cunningham was at the polls earlier in the day. Ullian said Eugene wanted to make sure the poll workers and election officers knew that wasn't allowed.

"That was his intent. Not because he wanted to break the campaign rules," Ullian said. "The intent was to let them know that, hey, he's not supposed to be there."



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

And once again, Eugene coasted to an easy victory. That's what happens when you pay to play...

Anonymous said...

It's tough all over. In district 38 they just re-elected Menchaca who is under investigation and just went on an all expenses paid (by developers) vacation to Paris during a period when his constituents were pulling together and volunteering their time to help Puerto Rico.

Alex said...

What are the actual tallies? More than anything, I’m concerned that the instructions go vote party line had a significant impact on results. Poll workers at multiple locations were holding up ballots and demonstrating how to vote down the line, telling people that doing otherwise was wrong or would result in tnejr votes not being counted. The AG should investigate and send monitors to the banana republic of Flatbush on the next round.

JMB said...

Tallies: https://project.wnyc.org/2017-general-results/?race=39608

Unknown said...

No there was a problem. I have lived here since 1962 and voted in three different locations so the Clarke dynasty could stay in place. I pulled up my ballot before election day, and Eugene knows me, James Sullivan, from Holy Innocents. My older brother and I and several other people were given notes to vote at PS152. I called up Mr. Riley , the head of NYC Board of elections. We were purged from the ballot and several others who opposed him, but unlike others, who gave up, a few of us stayed, and the NYC Board of elections did not show up to the polls until 6pm. Our names were found. That polling place in 2018 has to be watched and Clarke I could care less she is a Democrat. She is gone next time she runs.