The Southern Brooklyn Democrats, a new reform Democratic club aiming to reinvigorate progressive politics in Southern Brooklyn, will meet at 7:00 p.m., May 21 at 1706 Sheepshead Bay Road between Voorhies Avenue and Shore Parkway. The meeting is on the second floor, above Arbuz.
Among the items on their agenda will be constitution ratification, interim executive board elections for the duration of 2012, and a discussion of ongoing initiatives, including transportation, with particular focus on local transit issues.
Additionally, a AAA traffic expert will be on hand to discuss speeding issues in Manhattan Beach, and there will be an update regarding security cameras for Manhattan Beach.
Colin Beavan, Green Party candidate (Source: ColinBeavan.com)
If you live in our coverage area, chances are you didn’t have reason to know much about Congressman Edolphus Towns until recently. After all, for the last 29 years the Democrat has represented Bed-Stuy, Canarsie and Brownsville – neighborhoods that have little in common with our own.
But, thanks to this year’s Congressional redistricting, Towns’ district sprouts southwest, pulling the communities of Marine Park, Plumb Beach, Manhattan Beach and Brighton Beach into a 71 percent black and Hispanic district.
Now Towns is stepping down, and the race to replace him is heating up. Vying for the Democratic ticket are City Councilman Charles Barron, a controversial figure citywide with a strong following in his East New York, Brownsville, East Flatbush, and Canarsie base, and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, who has won the endorsement of many of our local elected.
But no Congressional race would be complete without a couple of long-shot candidates. Enter Alan Bellone and Colin Beavan.
The current count, according to a statement released by Councilman Lew Fidler’s campaign, Storobin’s Democratic opponent, is as follows:
Storobin: 11,082
Fidler: 11,055
That leaves a 0.12 percent difference between the two candidates, triggering a provision in BOE procedures that states that any race in which the margin between the two candidates is less than one-half percent of the total votes cast (in this race, 110 votes), a full hand recount of each and every vote cast must be done.
Regardless of who wins the seat, their influence has already been stunted in Albany. The legislative session ends in June, and, due to redistricting, the seat is slated to be eliminated come January. It’s possible that the winner will never cast a single vote.
However, at the very least, the race is a learning opportunity for the Board of Elections. The new electronic scanner machines implemented citywide in 2010 have never been saddled with a full hand recount. The BOE told Sheepshead Bites they’re not even sure how long the process will take.
“We have to open everything; every paper ballot [including paper returns from the electronic scanners]. It’s over 22,000 ballots,” said BOE spokesperson Valerie Vazquez. “We just have to make sure that there’s confidence in the election and that every vote that was cast was in fact counted.”
The Supreme Court judge overseeing the ballot disputes in the State Senate District 27 campaign threw out Councilman Lew Fidler’s allegations that a member of David Storobin’s campaign committed voter fraud, ordering the Board of Elections to count 119 disputed ballots likely to fall in favor of the GOP.
The Fidler campaign contended Storobin’s team committed voter fraud when a paid Storobin consultant intentionally gathered 119 absentee ballots for Russian voters who were capable of reaching the polls. In New York, voters can only cast absentee ballots if they are physically unable to get to the polls. However, at least 16 of those “permanently disabled” voters cast a vote in person on election day. After failing to appear in court on April 26, the consultant – Alla Pometko – was subpoenaed by the judge last week, when she declared her innocence.
The judge determined that Fidler’s evidence came up short, and that Pometko’s testimony appeared credible.
“The court finds that petitioner has failed to meet his burden of establishing, by clear and convincing evidence, that Ms. Pometko or Storobin are chargeable with knowledge of any fraud with respect to the procurement of absentee ballots,” Judge Larry Martin wrote. “In fact, the evidence adduced at trial falls far short of the allegations contained in the petition and bill of particulars.”
Following the decision, the campaigns issued the following statements (published in order that they were issued):
Campaign spokesman David Simpson said, “We were right all along. Everything the Storobin campaign did to encourage voter participation in this election, especially our outreach efforts into the Russian community, was done in accordance with the law and 100% above board. Today the court affirmed that. The Fidler campaign has wasted time and taxpayer money trying to steal this election and disenfranchise Russian voters. But all they succeeded in doing was to delay the outcome of the election for another month. Once these ballots are counted, we are confident that David Storobin will regain his lead and will be declared the winner.”
From Lew Fidler:
We respect, but respectfully disagree with, the Court’s decision. Over 100 otherwise healthy people spontaneously declared themselves to be disabled in the presence of no one other than David Storobin’s staffer. This is a proven fact. The Storobin campaign knows exactly what it did here and purposefully set out to do it.
This election – and this count – are far from over. While we await the actual opening of these ballots, a hand recount of more than 22,000 ballots will undoubtedly follow. At the very least, as this will be a first manual recount since the use of the new scanners, we will find out if the new machines are in fact giving us all an accurate count. When all the ballots are double-checked for accuracy, we will know who will be entitled to take the oath of office.
In the interim, I will continue to work as hard as ever representing the people of my district in the City Council.
With the dust settling in Albany over redistricting, our neck of the woods is going to see a lot of new faces.
Manhattan Beach, for example, has already seen State Senator Marty Golden at recent civic meetings. The Republican politician representing Marine Park, parts of Sheepshead Bay, a huge swath of Bensonhurst and just about all of Bay Ridge has opened his office’s doors to the neighborhood, telling them he can handle constituent complaints. Of course, he doesn’t quite represent them yet – the new lines take effect in January. But with no political representation (it’s currently in Carl Kruger’s old district), he’s offering to pick up the slack.
And, of course, it also gets his name out there before elections in November, when he’ll be facing off against Democratic upstart Andrew Gounardes.
Last night, Gounardes appeared before the Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association to introduce himself and make his case again. In the video above, he talks about funding for public schools, Occupy Wall Street and mass transit.
Akselrod took to a podium in front of Baku Palace (2001 Emmons Avenue), flanked by two dozen or so supporters on Sunday, touting his Russian immigrant roots and commitment to conservative Jewish values. Among those who stood with Akselrod were Russian leaders including radio host Gregory Davidzon and Ari Kagan, as well as local rabbis and Akselrod’s former boss, ex-State Senator Seymour Lachman.
(Akselrod begins speaking in the above video at the 20:00 mark.)
The campaign appears poised to seize upon the growing political clout of Southern Brooklyn’s Russian and Jewish voting blocks, which recently helped deliver wins to Republicans Bob Turner in Congress and David Storobin in the State Senate (Storobin’s win, notably, is still in court as the campaigns squabble over a handful of votes in the neck-and-neck race; regardless, the strong showing for a political neophyte in what was once believed to be a Democratic bastion can be considered a victory nonetheless).
To find a prelude to those successes one must only look back two years, to the last time Cymbrowitz faced a challenger: Republican opponent Joseph Hayon in 2010.
Spending only $615, Hayon reaped 43 percent of the vote – a narrow victory for an incumbent with a sizable warchest.
Akselrod appears to be cribbing from the GOP campaigns of his upstart predecessors – especially Hayon.
For example, Akselrod spoke of curriculum requirements in New York schools that challenge conservative Jewish customs.
“[Students are] being taught alternative lifestyles,” Akselrod stated. “I strongly object to the subjects being taught in school. We deserve to raise our children with the values that we cherish. We should be able to do what is right for us.”
That echoes the crux of Hayon’s campaign, in which he railed against a bill Cymbrowitz voted for that supposedly requires schools to “teach Kindergarten children to ‘tolerate’ or sanctify same-gender relationships.”
In reality, the bill Hayon and, presumably, Akselrod refer to is the “Dignity For All Students Act,” passed in 2010, to protect students from harassment and discrimination. The bill establishes mechanisms for schools to report and address discrimination and harassment based on race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, disability, gender and – the one that Hayon and now Akselrod have focused on – sexual orientation. The legislation also issued a broad mandate to school regents to develop instruction in “civility, citizenship and character education.”
Private and religious schools are exempted in the bi-partisan bill, which passed the Assembly 138-to-four, and has not yet been implemented.
Though Cymbrowitz’s name was never uttered during the announcement, other elements of Akselrod’s platform were thinly-veiled attacks on the sitting assemblymember.
“Nobody should be defending illegal construction in your backyard because of political correctness,” Akselrod declared, as he rattled off his stances on issues as varied as education (above), small business regulations and integrity.
Notably, at least two members of Bay People were at the announcement to support Akselrod.
Also notably, the mosque is not in Cymbrowitz’s district.
As the campaign gears up, it will be an interesting battle for political observers. If, as in the Fidler-Storobin campaign, the 11-year incumbent seeks to snap up the Jewish and Russian voting blocs by trying to appear more aligned with their interests, he’ll likely lose the battle of public perception to the candidate who is actually Russian and a devout Jew – despite the fact that Cymbrowitz has directed a bevy of funds to Jewish causes over the years and supported the community’s social agenda (such as his vote against legalizing same sex marriage).
However, an Akselrod win would blunt the campaign of David Storobin, who many believe may attempt a general election challenge for the seat as well. Party labels aside, Akselrod and Storobin appear to have almost identical stances on most issues.
However, if Cymbrowitz takes a different tack – a rather unlikely one – and mobilizes new voters from other portions of the community to pull a win, he could redefine the evolving political narrative of the area and create a new power base. But once he gets past those primaries, if Storobin jumps in the race, he’ll be pressed to make the same case twice.
The Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association will meet this evening, May 7, 8:00 p.m. at Public School 195, 131 Irwin Street between Shore Boulevard and Oriental Avenue.
Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz will face off against Ben Akselrod, a Russian-speaking Orthodox Jew, in a Democratic primary that may unseat the 12-year veteran of the Assembly.
Rumors first surfaced of a potential Akselrod campaign in mid-April on Politicker, and last Friday he registered a campaign committee. He will officially announce his campaign this weekend at Baku Palace, just a stone’s throw from the assemblymember’s district office.
According to Politicker, an Akselrod candidacy in the general election could possibly stymie growing Southern Brooklyn support for Republicans, particularly among Russian and Orthodox voters who turned out to deliver wins to Bob Turner and David Storobin in what was believed to be heavily Democratic areas (True, Storobin’s win is not yet official; however, regardless of whether he obtains the seat or not, the upset from a political unknown is widely regarded as a GOP victory).
In 2010, Cymbrowitz obtained only 57 percent of the vote when he was challenged in the general election by Joseph Hayon, a relatively unknown Orthodox Jew who campaigned on a platform of ultra-conservative social issues - a prequel to the increasing political muscle of the conservative Orthodox community, which more recently revealed itself as a devastating obstacle to Democratic incumbency.
Similarly, whoever wins the Democratic primary for the 45th District will likely have a Republican opponent in the general election, as the GOP sets its eyes on future gains across Southern Brooklyn. And with Kruger’s seat vanishing and a new “Super Jewish” district being created (for which Simcha Felder has announced intentions), some observers suggest David Storobin may make a go for the seat.
Correction (5/7/2012): The original version of this article mistakenly stated that Cymbrowitz faces Joseph Hayon in 2008. It was actually 2010, and the post has been updated to reflect that.
Our last update detailed allegations coming from the Fidler campaign that Storobin’s team committed voter fraud when a paid Storobin consultant intentionally gathered 119 absentee ballots for Russian voters who were capable of reaching the polls.
After failing to appear in court on April 26, the consultant – Alla Pometko – was subpoenaed by the judge to appear or face contempt of court. On Tuesday, she finally faced the judge.
“I did nothing wrong,” Pometko told City & State. “I’m here to fight for my name.”
The site reported:
Pometko, who spoke through an interpreter on the stand, was briefly questioned by ex-State Sen. Marty Connor, an election lawyer who is serving as an attorney for Fidler. But after a couple minutes, before Connor made much headway, court was adjourned until 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Pometko, who showed up in court only after being subpoenaed, did not come alone: She was accompanied by an attorney, Arthur Gershfeld, there to tend to Pometko’s own legal situation.
In New York, voters can only cast absentee ballots if they are physically unable to get to the polls. However, at least 16 of those “permanently disabled” voters cast a vote in person on election day.
The Fidler camp also says every one of the absentee ballots appeared to be written in the same handwriting, and the voter signed the envelope with a mark instead of a signature – with Pometko again named as the witness to the mark.
Pometko, herself not a registered voter, was paid at least $1,470 for her work as a consultant to the Storobin campaign, financial disclosure reports indicate.
