January 17, 2005  

            CONNOR CONKS CLARENCE: Two years later, does State Senator Marty Connor still blame the loss of his minority leadership post on Assemblyman Clarence Norman, the Brooklyn Democratic leader?

            You bet he does.

            Connor had expected Norman to keep Brooklyn’s Democratic State Senators in Connor’s camp, but seven out of eight defected to State Senator David Paterson.

            “He was totally ineffective or he made a different deal behind my back,” Connor recently testified at a trial unrelated to the election. “All I know [is] at the end of the day I lost the leadership by two votes. I lost the Brooklyn vote seven to one. If you count all the other counties, I won.”

            After the coup, Connor went about a year without speaking to Norman.

            Connor also testified on the difference between Brooklyn politics in the 1970s and today, eventually working his way back to more Norman-bashing.

“In those days [there] was far more political patronage,” Connor said. “You don’t see a lot of patronage any more unless you are hankering after a $17,000 job on the Board of Elections. There is not a lot of patronage out there. Generally political clubs [years ago] were more powerful. They had more members. The district leaders had a lot bigger say [in] who would be the Assembly members and State Senators. Today they play almost no role in the process.”

            He went on to discuss the decline in Brooklyn’s political power.

            “In ’75, I would say that [out of] 26 Assembly districts in Brooklyn, 19 had strong political clubs, lots of members, they had captains in every election district, they had a lot of patronage.

            “In 1975, Abe Beame from the Brooklyn organization was the mayor. Arthur Levitt from the Brooklyn organization was the state comptroller. Hugh Carey from the Brooklyn organization was the governor of the state of New York…The majority leader (now called “speaker”) of the City Council in those days was a Brooklyn organization candidate, Tom Cuite. Five of the seven officers were Brooklyn Democrats from the Meade Esposito organization. They generated dozens of jobs and patronage that got to these clubs and it is said [that] money and jobs is the mother’s milk of politics.”

            In addition, Brooklyn Democrat Stanley Steingut was speaker of the Assembly, Connor noted.

            “Of the top six Democrats in the State of New York, five of them were Brooklyn Democrats. Today I will regret to say under Mr. Norman’s—I am being sarcastic—expert leadership, Brooklyn has no leadership jobs. The last one was mine, when I was minority leader.”

***

            HAKEEM HOT AT MAJOR: Buried near the end of a mostly laudatory New York Times article about Shirley Chisholm, who became the first black congresswoman after being elected out of Bedford-Stuyvesant in 1968, and who died January 1, was this quote from Rep. Major Owens:

            “What she started, she had not bothered to remain a part of…One of the biggest complaints was she ignored the district and brought home fewer resources and in general got caught up in national speaking tours.”

            That prompted an angry letter to the editor from former Assembly candidate Hakeem Jeffries, who wrote, “As someone inspired during my Crown Heights childhood by the leadership of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, I read with disbelief the comments of her successor, Rep. Major Owens [who] essentially branded her an aloof clubhouse politician.”

            Jeffries continued, “While Mr. Owens and his political cronies may have successfully run Congresswoman Chisholm out of office in 1982, they will never succeed in chasing her accomplishments out of the history books. Congresswoman Chisholm’s bold legacy as a political maverick include defeating the Democratic establishment candidate in 1968, fearlessly battling the Congressional leadership to secure committee appointments favorable to her district, and running an inspirational campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. These are not the acts of a clubhouse politician.”

            Jeffries wasn’t done.

            “It was inappropriate to publicly speak ill of a legendary community figure shortly after her death. If Mr. Owens, largely a silent congressional voice over the past 22 years, lacked the grace or decency to say something constructive while people in the community are mourning, he should have stuck to his normal script and said nothing at all.”

            Owens fired back at Jeffries, telling us, “Drawing blood on me is a way to get him publicity.” And a “cheap” one at that, Owens said.

            The congressman noted that he was also quoted in the Times article and others praising Chisholm. His criticism was an answer to the reporter’s question about why he and Chisholm were on opposite sides in the 1982 election. (Chisholm endorsed Vander Beatty, who was later convicted twice for election fraud and was ultimately murdered allegedly by a man upset that Beatty reneged on a promise to fix his divorce case).

            Owens called it absurd for Jeffries to suggest that “Owens and his cronies” ran Chisholm out of office. “Nobody could run Shirley Chisholm out of town,” Owens said. She chose not to run for reelection because she had tired of the job, according to Owens and various obituaries of Chisholm.

            As does all political bickering, this has a context. Jeffries ran twice against Assemblyman Roger Green, an ally of Owens, losing in 2000 and 2002.

***

            KRUGER MAKES WAVES: Leave it to master media manipulator State Senator Carl Kruger to leverage the Indian Ocean tsunami into press for himself here in Brooklyn.

            Kruger issued a press release calling for homeland security funds to be spent on tsunami sensors for the Atlantic Ocean following “news that a shifting volcano in the Canary Islands could send a 75-foot-high tidal wave crashing into the East Coast, including New York City.”

            Wrote Kruger, “Scientists believe that a rapidly weakening volcano called Cumbre Vieja in the Canary Islands could one day crash into the Atlantic Ocean, triggering a tidal wave with the capacity to bury all East Coast locations at or close to sea level—including all of New York Harbor.”

            To believe the “unthinkable will never happen here” is “unrealistic,” Kruger noted.

            Never is a long time, but it is very realistic to believe it will be thousands of years before a wave from this volcano wets a single grain of Coney Island sand—if it ever does.

            The volcano’s last major landslide occurred 500,000 years ago and even that may not have produced a tsunami strong enough to “bury” the entire East Coast.

            Kruger’s warning did stem from a real study by geophysicist Steven Ward of the University of California, but Ward’s report was promptly and roundly criticized by tsunami experts.

            One wave modeling expert, the editor of the Science of Tsunami Hazards journal, told Reuters that a massive landslide on the island Kruger mentioned would produce a wave just 3 feet high by the time it reached North America. If so, Kruger was only off by 72 feet.

            The experts of the Tsunami Society said waves caused by landslides dissipate more quickly than those caused by earthquakes.

            Furthermore, while earthquakes are easy to detect, tsunamis are not. A reliable early detection system for tsunamis does not exist, according to NASA. Tsunamis are not obvious to the eye until they reach land.

            Kruger was also a little sloppy in his syntax, three times using the term “tidal wave” when he meant tsunami. Colloquially the terms are used interchangeably, but tsunamis have nothing to do with the tides.

***

            RIDGE DIVIDES REPUBLICANS: Two years ago, Republican Bob Capano quit the City Council race against Vinny Gentile to give Republican Rosemarie O’Keefe, a favorite of Brooklyn’s Conservative Party Chairman Jerry Kassar, a better chance to win.

            O’Keefe lost the special election by 31 votes, though Gentile split the Democratic vote with three other Democrats. Later that year, in a one-on-one race with Republican Pat Russo, Gentile won with 54 percent of the vote.

            Still, given the sexual harassment complaint filed against Gentile by his former chief of staff, the Republicans think they can defeat him this year. Problem is, they’ve yet to unite behind a candidate. Kassar said he’d endorse Russo if Russo runs, but Capano seems unlikely to step aside for a second time, particularly for someone who ran before without success.

            The district includes Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Dyker Heights. To beat Gentile, the Republican nominee would likely need the Conservative and Independence ballot lines in November.

***

            SUN CASTS SHADOW ON WEINER: The New York Sun editorial board tripped over itself in criticizing Rep. Anthony Weiner for signing a letter expressing concern over presidential “election irregularities” that disenfranchised a significant number of voters, particularly in Ohio.

            First, the Sun mentioned that another signer, Rep. Major Owens, represents Queens. Owens has represented Brooklyn for 22 years (30 if you include his years in the State Senate).

            But the crux of the editorial was that Weiner, as a centrist representing a centrist district, should not have attached his name to a letter signed largely by liberals.

            Since when are election irregularities exclusively a liberal concern?

            And even if they were, why should Weiner not sign something he agrees with just because he’s supposed to be a moderate?

            A representative’s positions should not stem from the media’s political label of him. That’s backwards.

***

            PREDICTIONS: When GothamGazette.com asked some politicians for predictions for 2005, City Councilman Jimmy Oddo offered, “Medicaid will continue to be a black hole that sucks up millions of tax dollars.”

            Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, not surprisingly, picked a rosier subject, predicting the new Target and Lowe’s stores in Brooklyn would be the top performers of all their locations nationwide.

            But then the beep got a little carried away, as is his custom, when he forecast a World Series title for the Mets because they’re now managed by Willie Randolph, who hails from Brooklyn and played at the Parade Ground as a youngster.

            Lest Markowitz forget, New York’s other major league team is also managed by a Brooklynite, Joe Torre, who grew up in Marine Park.

            Brooklyn Democratic leader Clarence Norman was asked to offer predictions as well, but all he could come up with was “Expect the unexpected.” Don’t quit your day job, assemblyman. At least, not to become a soothsayer.

***

            TIDBITS: Rumors persist that Frank Boyland Sr., the former Assemblyman, will run for his daughter Tracy Boyland’s City Council seat this year. Term limits prevent her from running for reelection…

            …Brooklyn District Attorney Joe Hynes considered suing Harper’s Magazine for its story about him and illegal voter John O’Hara. But for now Hynes appears satisfied that the magazine will print his 1,200-word response to the article…

            …A December 30 meet-and-greet for Brooklyn district attorney candidates hosted by Assemblyman Dov Hikind’s club attracted Mark Peters, Paul Wooten, Arnie Kriss, and (belatedly) David Yassky and State Senator John Sampson. The incumbent, Joe Hynes, was out of town at a family wedding.

            Hikind said he and his club haven’t decided whom to support, but it surely won’t be Sandra Roper, who announced her candidacy January 19. Roper had a strong showing as the only Democrat against Hynes in 2001, but this time she might only succeed in splitting the black vote, which would help Hynes…

            …Good news for the mayoral bid of Rep. Anthony Weiner: Wal-Mart wants to open a store in Queens, and local businesses, unions, and community leaders are upset. Fighting Wal-Mart is a perfect vehicle to raise Weiner’s profile with the Democratic mayoral primary just nine months away…

            …Councilman David Yassky’s potential run for Brooklyn district attorney got a boost when his gun-control bill passed the City Council on January 5 and the mayor said he’d sign it into law. The legislation would allow civil suits against gun manufacturers and dealers who don’t agree to a code of conduct that mandates background checks at gun shows and limits sales of handguns to one per person every 30 days, among other restrictions…

            …At the induction ceremony for Civil Court Judge Bernie Graham, State Senator Carl Andrews was telling people he’s backing City Council Speaker Gifford Miller for mayor. Insiders weren’t surprised, noting the rift between Andrews’s buddy Clarence Norman and Miller rival Freddy Ferrer…

            …Brooklyn politico Kalman Yeger has left his job as director of external affairs for the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty to become executive director of Freddy Ferrer’s mayoral campaign committee. Yeger worked for then-City Councilman Lloyd Henry from 1994-6 before spending five years as Ferrer’s assistant. His father, Eli Yeger, was thrice elected to School Board 22, with Kalman running his campaigns…

            …State Senator Diane Savino said two of the things she’ll advocate for are a high school in Sunset Park and more security for yeshivas in Borough Park. She’ll have to do something for Borough Park to justify Assemblyman Dov Hikind’s endorsement of her…

            …Chris Owens writes on the Web site for his 2006 congressional campaign, “I have also been inspired by leaders we all know…as well as countless unsung heroes and sheroes.” Sheroes? Talk about taking English to a new low in the interests of gender-neutrality. We’d like to see Owens approach a New York deli counter and order a shero.