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.

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