Gadson Reviewing Ruling Insiders agree that Deputy Borough President Jeannette Gadson will lose more than a job if she is forced to abandon her post to run for borough president, apropos of a ruling by the city's Conflicts of Interests Board.

Two weeks ago, the board ruled that appointed officials, such as Gadson, could not raise money for political campaigns while working on the city payroll. The decision also affects Board of Education President William Thompson, Jr., a candidate for comptroller. Thompson has said that he will resign by April 1, the date set by the board. Gadson said that her lawyers are still reviewing the decision. "I have my attorneys taking a look at it so that they might advise me as to my options. When I get those findings, I'll be in a better position to make a determination," said Gadson. "However, should I have to leave my current position to effectively run, then I'll be doing that, because I'm running for borough president."

One source said that if Gadson if forced to step down, she will be taking an exposure hit. "(The decision) certainly does hurt her in the single most obvious way, which is that she was being invited to attend many things as a representative of the borough president," said one insider. "I saw (Senator) Hillary Clinton on TV last night, and she was at (First Baptist Church) in Brooklyn, and who was walking her around? Jeannette Gadson. That kind of stuff just won't happen anymore. It was almost as if (Gadson) didn't need to maintain a campaign schedule because her job was a campaign schedule."

But Gadson said that she will continue to be visible throughout the campaign. "I will still be everywhere that I need to be," she said. The loss of her job could also pose a financial hardship for Gadson. "If you don't have a paycheck, that's always a hardship," said Gadson. "But the greater picture is the borough of Brooklyn, and if that means I have to make some sacrifices, then I have to make some sacrifices."

State Senator Marty Markowitz, also a candidate for borough president, condemned the ruling. "I think it's outrageous and it's a horrible decision," he said. "I have the right to run and keep my position, and she should have the right to run and keep her position."

Through a spokesperson, Councilmember Ken Fisher declined to comment. Local insiders have voiced an opinion similar to Markowitz's, saying that appointed and elected officials should be held to the same standard. "I think most people are kind of rolling their eyeballs," said one politico. Gadson herself called the ruling unfair. "The other candidates can run and maintain their current positions and I can't. It just somehow doesn't seem fair," she said. Mark Davies, executive director of the board, defended the distinction between elected and appointed officials. "The idea is that your elected officials are inherently partisan. We all know that they're partisan, they're part of the political system. Our view is that if you're not an elected official, you should really have nothing to do with party politics. Party politics should not be a part of your city job," said Davies.

Davies said that the board originally looked into the issue after a request for advice from an appointed official who was running for office. He declined to name the official. One source wondered whether the ruling would bar community board district managers from raising money, but Davies said it would not. "What our board said is that district managers and community board chairs do not have substantive policy discretion," said Davies. "You want to tell that to some of the bloated egomaniacs who are DM's?" quipped one wag.

A Nice Gesture Speaking of Gadson, apparently her battle against Markowitz hasn't kept her from feeling sympathy for the injured state senator, who broke his ankle in three places last week.

The day after Markowitz had surgery, Gadson came by his room at Lutheran Medical Center with an armful of flowers. "She sure did," said Markowitz. "It was very kind of her. I asked her to do me a favor: As she goes around Brooklyn, to give everyone my regards. She laughed at that, but that's not about to happen. She didn't have to do that. She took the time to come by and that's very sweet of her."

Fisher also called Markowitz to wish him well. "Whatever their intentions are, they did it. That's what I would expect from professionals," said Markowitz. You read between the lines.

Doctor Eyes Council The office of Oleg Gutnik, a Sheepshead Bay doctor, is decorated with the pictures of hundreds of babies he has delivered over his 15-year career. Now Gutnik, a candidate for the City Council seat currently held by Howard Lasher, is hoping that the parents of those children will vote for the man who brought their child into the world. Gutnik, 45, who left the former Soviet Union and arrived in the U.S. on April 16, 1980, has an American-dream type of personal narrative. He drove a cab and worked as a waiter while studying for his board exams, then worked his way up the ladder, interning at Brooklyn Hospital, before eventually establishing his own practice in obstetrics and gynecological surgery.

Gutnik has also been active in professional and civic associations, as a delegate to the New York State Medical Society, and a member of the board of directors of the Brooklyn Public Library, where Mayor Giuliani appointed him in 1994. He was also a member of Community Board 15. Gutnik says that he will stress health care during his campaign-an issue he clearly is qualified to claim as his own.

"If the City Council sits down to decide what kind of equipment to have in an ambulance, well, I don't know how much those guys know or how much they have to spend on task forces to find out," he said. But there is one problem he may find insurmountable: Gutnik is a Republican. It is far too late for him to change his voter registration and run as a Democrat. In any case, Gutnik does not view his party affiliation as the kiss of death. "This is not about the parties," he said. "I don't think having the streets safe and clean is a Republican or Democratic approach," he said. District Leader Michael Geller, whose club, the Kings High-Way Democrats recently honored Gutnik with their humanitarian award, said he likes the man but not his chances.

"I don't think that a Republican can win that seat," said Geller. "Unless he is able to get a very large crossover vote from the people from the former Soviet Union. I think that if anyone can do it, Oleg can. But it's extraordinarily difficult. "I begged him a year ago to change his registration, but he refused," Geller said. "He has a tremendous loyalty to the government of this country (such as the Reagan Administration) that brought him and people like him over here. Even though I tried to talk him into changing, he feels it would be disloyal to people who helped him, and I can respect that."

The other candidates in the race are Brian Gotlieb, deputy chief of staff to Rep. Anthony Weiner, Domenic Recchia, a member of School Board 21, Pat Singer executive director of the Brighton Neighborhood Association, and Inna Stavitsky, an employee of JASA.

Off And Running Several City Council candidates have recently kicked off their campaign with official events or otherwise begun to make themselves known.

Ricky Perez, a community affairs officer in the 75th Precinct, began his campaign on February 9 with the backing of Rep. Ed Towns and Assemblymember Daryl Towns. Perez is running in the 37th Councilmanic District, where Martin Malave-Dilan currently holds the seat.

Malave-Dilan's son, Erik, is also a candidate. The Towns and Dilan families have been feuding ever since Malave-Dilan unsuccessfully challenged Daryl Towns in 1998, and again last year.

School Board 19 President Heriberto Mateo is another candidate for the seat. Louis Hernandez, an assistant chief of staff to the mayor, is also seriously considering running, and sounds as if he will ultimately take the plunge "If not now, when?" he asked.

Bob Miller, an attorney who nearly beat Councilmember Noach Dear in 1991, kicked off his current campaign in the 44th Councilmanic district on February 15. Miller's supporters at the event included Assemblymember William Colton, and District Leaders Joan Ribaudo, Charles Ragusa and Lori Citron-Knipel.

Two activist lawyers are beginning to campaign in the 33rd Councilmanic district. David Reiss, with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Stephen Somerstein, a solo practitioner, are both residents of Park Slope. Reiss has a fundraiser scheduled for February 22. On March 7, New York 1 will air a debate between the candidates, said Somerstein.

Borough Politics Archive
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