Council Endorsements for Election Day

City Council Endorsements

District Two
Daniel Peterson (Conservative) of course, but if I'm not on the ballot (which is likely), Claudia Flannagan (Libertarian). It would be great to see John Carlino (R, I) beat Rosie Mendez (D, WF), but I have not heard much from him since early June when petitioning began when I told him I planned on forcing a Republican Primary. After failing to gather enough Republican petitions, I was unable to force a Primary. And when I learned I won't be on as the Conservative candidate, I reached out to John to help on his campaign. I have not heard from him. John has been MIA and not fundraising, so I don't know if I can vote for him. He sounded like a serious candidate, but unless he intends on doing a last minute push, I don't see him winning. I've met Ms. Flannagan at the Grand Street News sponsered debate. She seems very bright and the only Democrats praising the work of Mayor Bloomberg. If this election will be a cake-walk for Ms. Mendez, I plan to vote for one of the candidates she undemocratically challenged and forced out of the Democratic Primary.

District Four
Jak Jacob Karako (Libertarian) is my pick for District Four. I don't live in the district, so not voting there can work in Patrick Murphy's (R, I) favor. Mr. Karako is the only candidate talking about fiscal responsibility and repealing the 18.5% Real Estate Tax increasae of two year's ago. For a Democrat (he lost in the primary), his campaign is to the right of Patrick Murphy's. I have met and talked to five of the six Republican candidates running for city council in Manhattan. Murphy is the one who I haven't met. I do expect to run into him before election day, but at the moment, I am not comfortable endorsing him. Hopefully he can wow me. Until then, Mr. Karako is my choice.

District Five
Joel Zinberg (Republican, Independence) is someone I can support, because I've heard him speak and I've heard him address the issues for his district and for all of Manhattan. His opponent is Jessica Lappin (D, WF) and from what I've heard, Ms. Lappin has no conscience about whose money she takes for little government pet projects. I read in the Our Town weekly how she believes money grows on trees up in Albany. Someone needs to explain to her that the money used in government is from tax payers and I hope that someone is Dr. Joel Zinberg. A debate between the two of them would be entertaining, but I've heard she isn't much of a debater. She'll likely avoid any debate in the hopes that she can cake-walk into City Hall.

District Six
Josh Yablon (Republican) is the most conservative Republican candidate of the six in Manhattan and it is unfortunate he did not seek the Conservative Party line in time for this year's election. Perhaps it's a strategic thing, since the Upper West Side is known for being very Liberal. His opponent is councilwoman Gale Brewer (D, WF) and it's going to be a touch race, since he faces an incumbent. Mr. Yablon would be the perfect voice from the right in City Hall and if Patrick Murphy and Joel Zinberg win their races along with Josh, he would definitely form a strong voting block on fiscal responsibility. Josh is also someone who knows how to argue the housing issue and how the same old, same old hasn't been working, so why keep doing it. I honestly think having Mayor Bloomberg and conservative challenger, Tom Ognibene will help draw many conservatives and republicans out to the polls, which will be great for Josh. But will it be enough?

District Seven
Michael Petelka (Republican) unfortunately does not have a website where you can go and get a good feel for his campaign, but he was quoted in The Crimson on one of his democratic opponents, Victor Bernace (D), hoping Bernace would win making the race easier for him, since Robert Jackson (D, WF) is an incumbent. Mr. Petelka has been active in his community for many years and he's well traveled. I met him at a fundraiser and learned he would use his experience from his travels on how to represent here. I'm not sure how his campaign has been going over the last few weeks since I've seen him, but here's hoping he receives respectable poll numbers.

District Nine
Will Brown, Jr. has run for Council in the past and is running again this year and would make for a great city councilor representing Harlem and Morningside Heights. His opponent is Inez Dickens (D, WF) who has the support of David Dinkins and Charles Rangel, but in debates and public appearances, Will Brown has held his own in stressing the importance of Republican values. If his campaign does anything, it will help build and grow the Harlem Republican Club. Will Brown has worked tirelessly to build the Republican Party in northern Manhattan and has done so with great success.

District Thirteen
Phil Foglia (Republican, Independence, Conservative) will make a great City Councilor for the Bronx. While there are other Republicans running in the Bronx, district thirteen has a large conservative democrat & republican community. Mr. Foglia's opponent is James Vacca (D). Mr. Foglia has picked up endorsements from Mayor Bloomberg, former Mayor Giuliani, former Bronx Borough President Herman Badillo and current councilwoman Madeline Provenzano (D,C), it is looking good for the first Republican to win a seat in the Bronx in nearly a century.

District Twenty-Five
Masud Rahman (Republican) looks to be a great candidate for Queens and I'm under the impression he's getting County support. He faces the incumbent, Helen Sears (D, WF) and Rodolfo Flores (I), who has a hilarious website. Mr. Rahman may benefit from having many expected Ognibene protest votes as well as registered Republicans intending on re-electing Mayor Bloomberg.

District Thirty-Five
Anthony Herbert (Republican, Conservative) won't win district thirty-five, but he has become a true reformer republican in politics. He is sticking to his guns and running an urban republican campaign against incumbent, Letitia James (D, WF). Mr. Herbert has not changed his website from his Senate campaign from last year, but his political platform is the same and he would make a great addition in the city council as a Brooklyn representitive.

District Thirty-Eight
Vivian Vazquez-Hernandez (Republican, Conservative, Independence) is someone I had the priveledge to meet after a Republican Club meeting and she is definitely a strong minded Republican candidate. I endorse her for district thirty-eight and I hope she puts up a good fight and wins.

District Thirty-Nine
Yvette Velázquez Bennett (Republican, Conservative) is running in a very difficult district, since the area has had many young liberal minded twenty-somethings move in. Fortunately, there is still a decent number of long time Brownstone residents and many republicans who are members of the Brownstone Republican Club. I'm not sure if her chances are the same as Vazquez-Hernandez, but here's hoping they are.

District Forty-Two
John Whitehead (Republican, Conservative) is running against Charles Barron (D, WF). I don't think there really is any reason for me to explain why I endorse John Whitehead other than he is running against Charles Barron and he's running as a Republican and Conservative.

District Forty-Three
Pat Russo (Republican, Conservative, Independence) will win the seat for the forty-third district. He will win and I fully support him. If a republican can win 46% of the total vote in 2003, when there is no city-wide ticket candidate like the mayor, then he can certainly win when he has the mayor as a running-mate. The incumbent, Vincent Gentile, is facing criticism for sexual harrassment (charges were dropped) and his credibility has declined severely in the area. If Republicans are to add only a fourth seat to the three we hold now, this is the seat. But it can only happen if district forty-three republicans and conservatives go to the polls.

District Forty-Seven
Russell Gallo (Republican, Conservative, Independence) I met on the same night I met Vivian Vazquez-Hernandez. Mr. Gallo is a good man, a good American, a soldier and a man of integrity. If you live on Coney Island, Seagate or Brighton Beach, vote for Mr. Gallo.

I endorse our three Republican Incumbents: Dennis Gallagher, James Oddo and Andrew Lanza.

My Endorsements will be posted soon.

As you are aware, I made my "selections" for the Democratic Primary and clearly, the Democrats don't think the way I do. I will be making my endorsements for the upcoming election, but I'm going to hold off for a little bit. If any candidate wishes to seek my endorsement, they are more than welcome to email me or drop me a line. That sounds funny. Who the heck am I?

Seriously, though, these pages can be found if you do a blogsearch.google.com. I want to throw my endorsements out early enough, but right now, if I went through every seat, I'd be at my computer for hours. If I have the time later, I'll do it. Otherwise, don't expect to see it in the next couple days.

CMJ Festival

This weekend was the annual CMJ Music Festival where indie bands and unsigned bands are showcased in venues throughout the Metropolitan area.

On Saturday, I went to see the Dressy Bessy show at Mercury Lounge.

I showed up at around 7:30, just in time for Apollo Sunshine.
They kind of reminded me of a Pavement meets Ween meets Brian Jonestown Massacre. They were all musically talented and very good at their craft. Check them out.

At 8:30, Dressy Bessy went on and they were their typical poppy self.
I think the best way to describe them is they are the lighter-poppy side of the Breeders. So if you're a Breeders fan and want to go girl power angst, you listen to Sleater-Kinney. If you like the Breeders and want girl power pop, you go Dressy Bessy.
The three men in the band, lead guitar, bass & drums, all wore collared red polos. The three guitar players, lead, rhythm, bass, all played dark sunburst jaguars. The uniformness of their appearance had an added appreciation to their sound.

It was an early night for me. I didn't stay for the next band, which I heard lots of things about. I did buy a few of the Dressy Bessy discs I don't have, because they're hard to find in the local shops.

If you are looking for a more eclectic sound, try Dynasty. If Siouxsie were to join Nine Inch Nails, you'd have Dynasty.

Good News compilation from Middle East

Blogger, Arthur Chrenkoff has retired from blogging after getting a new job that will prevent him from reporting international events with his own flare and also his impartial compilation of Good News from Iraq & Afghanistan. For 18 months, he has enjoyed over 3 million hits to his site and provided a great service to everyone wishing to escape the traditional "Bad News is News, Good News is No News" media reporting.

If your only source of news on the Middle East has been the New York Times or local media outlets, you should check out The Good News page for a different perspective. An impartial compilation of good news reported by AP, Reuters, BBC and various international news engines should help you understand that reform in the middle east is happening and that the rhetoric of politicians saying it's a quagmire doesn't hold weight.

Democratic Primary Recommendations

It may seem weird that I'm posting recommendations on democrats for office, but since this is a democratic town, I feel the need to express my opinion on which democrats I favor if they were to win this year's election.

How did I come to my choices? Am I choosing the most liberal candidate to go against the Republican candidate so there's a chance the Republican can win? Or am I picking a moderate-to-progressive candidate in the hopes that they represent all New Yorkers? The latter is how I am going to approach this. Elections need to be good fights and if the Republican challenger isn't cut out to be an elected official, it'll be better to have a Democrat who does.

***UPDATE: How I did with my picks***

City Council Races
District Two. Mike Beys - 7% of the vote total
There are a lot of candidates to choose from in this district and I certainly know who I don't want to see win the Primary. My choice is Mike Beys. His chance of beating out frontrunners in Brian Kavanagh, Rosie Mendez, Gur Tsabar and even beating out Darren Bloch may not look good, but Mr. Beys can definitely be an effective councilor for the community. He's out on the street reaching out to the people and if a Democrat is to win, Mr. Beys is my choice.

District Four. Jak Jakob Karako - 9% of the vote total
The democrat that is easiest for me to throw my support behind is the one for District Four. Mr. Karako is fighting for fiscal responsibility. He's the only democrat talking about fiscal discipline when all the spend-thrift candidates are saying New York isn't getting its fair-share of money. Our budget is over $50 billion, don't tell me we need more money. All this money comes from our wallets and Mr. Karako seems to be the only candidate who knows this. The man has a degree in economics, so if you want someone who can honestly do more with less, then Jak Jakob Karako is the man for the job. He's also seeking the Libertarian line, so even if he loses the Primary (which is likely), he will appear on the November ballot.

District Five. Dan Quart - 27% of the vote total
The Upper East Side is a race where a Republican candidate could conceivably win and here's hoping one does, but if it comes to having a Democrat, I have to choose Dan Quart. The other front runner is Jessica Lappin and she is not cut out to be a City Councilor. Mr. Quart comes off as someone who knows the role of councilor and knows its limitations. Ms Lappin thinks everything wrong in New York is Republicans fault. As if the 3 Republican councilors have dominance over the 48 Democrats. As if a longtime Democrat who switched parties so he can be mayor is a real Republican. As if our State officials that represent New York City isn't dominated by Democrats 85 to 6. Ms. Lappin says she'll fight for money due us from Albany as if money grows on trees up there. Fall folliage is about to turn, Jessica, get your bucket to collect those leaves, because downtown is not where you should be.

District Nine. William A. Allen - 5% of the vote total
For the Harlem-Morningside Heights district, William Allen seems to be a candidate I can throw my support behind. He seems honest and sincere with his desire to improve the community in an effective way. Many of the Democrats in district nine appear to be activists and will probably serve the communities best remaining as activists. It's one thing to get face time in front of a camera to complain about issues, but it is another thing to actually work towards improving your neighborhood in City Hall. I believe Mr. Allen can be a leader in City Hall rather than simply using his seat as a bully pulpit on the steps.

District Thirteen. Stephen Kaufman - 26% of the vote total
Stephen Kaufman is a former Assemblymen and Councilor for Pelham-Throgs Neck part of Bronx. He has the support of the current councilor Madeline Provenzano and the endorsement by the Conservative Party. Though I will eventually throw my support behind the Republican candidate for this district, if the Democrats reclaim this seat, Mr. Kaufman is certainly the best alternative.

District Twenty-Four. Dilip Nath - 10% of the vote total
If I see an incumbent supported by the Working Families Party, I will not throw my support behind him or her. Whether or not Mr. Nath would eventually seek the WFP endorsement four years from now if he wins is another issue. Looking at Mr. Nath's website and reading up on his positions on issues, he appears to be a candidate that will reach out to the people in his district and work towards making it a better place for those who live there.

District Twenty-Eight. Clifton Stanley Diaz - Not on the ballot
"Clifton Stanley Diaz is employed with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority/New York City Transit. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he is also a security consultant and was a former U.S. Police Officer. Diaz formerly served as the president of the Rochdale Village Board of Directors and is the president and founder of the Rochdale Village Civic Association. He has served as a page boy in the New York City Council and as a intern in the office of City Council President Paul O'Dwyer. Diaz was also a member, treasurer and president of community school board 28 and was a member of community board 12."
As quoted from Gotham Gazette, Mr. Diaz gets my vote. With a resume like this, who better to knock off Allan Jennings in the Democratic Primary?

District Forty-Two. John Whitehead - 15% of the vote total
John Whitehead is challenging Mr.. Charles Barron for the seat in the Democratic Primary. Fortunately, if he loses, he'll still be on the ballot in November challenging Mr. Barron as the Republican-Conservative candidate. For the Primary and the General, I fully support Mr. Whitehead and hope he wins the votes of the Brownville-East New York district for one of the elections.

Manhattan Borough President Race - 9% of the vote total
Adriano Espaillat would be a nice candidate for MBP. There is a large field to choose from on the Democratic side, but I have too many concerns with most of the candidates. Mr. Espaillat's record in the Assembly gives me the opinion that he can do a respectable job as Borough President. The MBP race will probably be the most interesting, since the candidates are regionalized and will likely win the majority in their own districts that they represent, whether it's as a current city councilor or assembly person. It'll be most interesting to see who gets the largest percent on primary day.

Public Advocate - 5% of the vote total
The office of Public Advocate is a pointless office, regardless of who feels it isn't. There is no responsibility designated for the Public Advocate that cannot be issued to the Borough President. During a debate on NY1, candidate Norman Siegel said he'd open offices in all five boroughs. Well, guess what? There is an advocate in each of the five boroughs and they are called Presidents. The office is really a waist of tax-payers money. But to pick a candidate, I will throw my support behind Jay Golub. With a liberal town such as New York with 48 of 51 Democrats in the coucil and a mayor who positions himself as a very liberal independent with a Republican label, Mr. Golub (who will be on the November ballot as the Conservative Party candidate) is certainly the candidate to keep our city government on a moderate and centrist position so that all New Yorkers, even the very conservative ones, can be represented.

Mayor of New York City - 29% of the vote total
I honestly do not foresee Mayor Bloomberg losing his re-election this year, but if one of the leading Democrats is to win the Primary and possibly win election, my choice would be Anthony Weiner. I'm sure moderate Republicans or conservative Democrats would agree that, along with Jay Golub, Mr. Weiner is a Democrat that can best represent all New Yorkers in a fair and balanced way. Mr Ferrer simply doesn't understand the economics of taxes and thinks the more he taxes, the better he can unite the city. Ms. Fields' campaign has not had any momentum and given New Yorkers a reason to support her and Mr. Miller is too much of a wheeling-and-dealing politician. He also needs to study more on what works. Class size? Small classes doesn't necessarily improve learning. This myth was disspelled a few years ago. Apparently Mr. Miller didn't get the memo. And if he's so concerned about class size, he should support vouchers so that poor kids have the educational opportunity that his kids will have. Mr. Weiner has well thought out ideas and even though i don't agree with every position he takes, I certainly feel he can be a very effective leader for New Yorkers.

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None of my picks won their seat. I am not surprised.