Suddenly, On The Outside Looking In Hakeem Jeffries, who garnered over 40 percent of the vote in a loss to Assemblymember Roger Green in 2000, is nearly certain to challenge Green again this year. "The most important endorsement in this race that I can secure is from my wife, and fortunately I have secured that endorsement. I am strongly considering the race, and I expect that when petition season begins, I will be circulating petitions in the 57th assembly district," said Jeffries. Jeffries and members of his club, the Brooklyn Freedom Democratic Association, are not only encouraged by their showing in 2000 but are miffed at what they believe was the deliberate excision of Jeffries from Green's district.

The reapportionment proposal released by the assembly showed Jeffries' Prospect Heights home drawn out of Green's district by one block, located instead in the proposed 52nd assembly district. Other portions of Prospect Heights are now included in the 52nd AD as well. "For purposes of political expedience, it seems clear to me that Roger Green has done a disservice to the community by diluting the community's political voice [between two districts]," said Jeffries.

But Green, who is also chairperson of the state black and Hispanic legislative caucus, said that the districts were drawn to comport with federal law. He said that in order to protect his district as a viable voting rights district, it made legal sense to lose portions of Prospect Heights, with its influx of non-minorities, and add blocks from the Fort Greene Houses. "The closest blocks of African-American and Latino residents that I could pick up to preserve the voting rights district were the Fort Greene houses," he said.

But Jeffries cast doubt on that assertion. "It belies the facts," he said. "This district is 70 percent African-American. I just find it curious that in 2000 I was squarely within the 57th AD, but in 2002, with these proposed lines, I'm a block outside." Green said that potential opponents played no part in reapportionment. "The legal and legislative realities are shaped by the decision of the Supreme Court. The members of the task force did not stay up at night thinking of the thousands of potential candidates that exist around the state. There was never any discussion of candidates at all," Green said.

Since this is a reapportionment year, Jeffries is not bound by any residency requirement.

Pataki To The Rescue? State Senator Carl Kruger is certainly not standing idly by while the State Senate majority disembowels his district. On March 8, Kruger organized a group of senior citizens, civic activists and elected officials to testify at the redistricting hearing at Borough Hall. Under the draft reapportionment plan, Kruger's 21st Senate District would lose neighborhoods like Marine Park and Mill Basin, and replace them with far less contiguous parcels. Further, the district would shift from about 84 percent black to 61 percent white.

All of that of course spells big problems for Kruger, who recently became the first Brooklyn Democrat to endorse Governor Pataki. Although Kruger's endorsement was agreed upon before the district lines came out, Kruger is certain to leverage his continued support for better lines. Recently, Pataki signaled that unlike past governors, he might be willing to step in and broker a deal to change the proposal to meet some of the criticisms.

And at the March 8 public hearing, the seniors that Kruger organized donned yellow hats that read "Gov. Pataki please help. Don't let them divide the 21st Senate District."

Pataki's intervention, said one insider, would allow the governor to pick up some political chips, especially in Brooklyn. "It could be 'Pataki saves Brooklyn neighborhoods,'" said the source. "I don't think we've seen the final Senate lines yet."

Locally, slicing neighborhoods from the 21st Senate District and attaching them to the 22nd Senate District has created at least some resentment that another Senate candidate may want to take note of. Because the 22nd Senate district is viewed as being created especially for Republican Councilmember Marty Golden's election bid, some local leaders have turned their venom toward him.

"The overall notion of the general good is being superceded to give one individual a perceived advantage," said Eileen O'Brien, the founding president of the Madison Marine Civic Association who now finds herself slated to shift from the 21st to 22nd district. "It may not be an advantage because people are so upset." O'Brien said she had "enormous resentment" for the tactic, and that if these lines stood, "I would make it my life's work to campaign against [Golden]." Golden did not return a call seeking comment.

Trading Places State Senator Seymour Lachman announced that he will run in the newly created 25th Senate district, which takes in most of the area in his current 22nd Senate District. "If there are no major revisions in the proposed district lines, I fully intent to run for the seat in the 25th Senatorial District so that I will be able to continue to serve the communities and neighborhoods that I have worked with over the past seven years," said Lachman.

Former Councilmember Noach Dear, who is mulling his options for a Senate run and has represented parts of the 25th Senate District in the Council, did not return a call seeking comment on whether and where he may run. State Senator Vincent Gentile is still considering his options as well. He believes he can win in either his current 23rd Senate District, which covers Brooklyn and Staten Island, or the 22nd Senate District, where Marty Golden is running.

"They've drawn two districts in which I can win," said Gentile, who said that he would wait to see the final lines before making any decision. And, he said with a chuckle, keeping Golden guessing was a tangential benefit. "Hey, you know, he wants to enter the arena, so he's got to take what comes with it. Let him sweat a little bit," said Gentile. "His backyard is my backyard, and I can beat him in our back yard."

Gentile added that there are machinations in the Senate majority to keep Golden from having to run against him, but if the Senate Republicans are forced to trim one district from their proposal, then the contest is inevitable. "They're doing everything they can to keep us apart, so that I can have my seat and he can have his seat, and we all can go home happy. But if it's a 61 district plan instead of a 62 district plan, that may not be possible," Gentile said.

Read His Lips Councilmember Lew Fidler, the chairman of the Brooklyn Council delegation, has little sympathy for barflies. But it's not because he's a teetotaler. Instead, Fidler views so-called sin taxes on cigarettes and alcohol as perhaps the best way to deal with the current economic crisis. The mayor's budget proposal calls for a $1.8 billion in service cuts, and the administration is looking at another $500 million in cuts, which could affect libraries, schools and myriad other city services.

In Fidler's view, there a plan of certain tax increases could raise more than $1 billion in the aggregate without imposing undue hardship. The tax hikes on cigarettes and alcohol, he said, would reflect the need to "cover their cost to society," in things like medical treatment. He also supports a temporary reinstatement of the commuter tax and a half-cent stock transfer tax. Lastly, he said, he would consider a one percent increase in the income tax for those who make more than $250,000 per year.

Apart from the taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, the other taxes impose very modest charges on those who can afford them, he said. But Fidler also said there is not total agreement on which taxes to support among the Brooklyn Council delegation. "There are members of the delegation who are somewhat hawkish on tax increases, and there are other folks," he said.

Some councilmembers have proposed tax hikes that he simply will not abide. "There are people in the delegation who would support a property tax increase. I don't want to hear that," Fidler said. He also ruled out increases in the city real estate transfer tax and income tax for those in lower brackets. "Anyone who wants to talk about raising income taxes on New Yorkers of more modest means would have to cut my throat to get me to vote for that," he said.

Right now, Mayor Bloomberg has not considered any new taxes apart from the cigarette tax hike, and that is viewed as a health measure. The lengths to which Speaker Gifford Miller, along with Fidler, are willing to go to avoid service cuts by imposing a limited set of new taxes is unclear. "If we [the Council] need to pass our own budget and roll around in the mud, we will. But I don't think that's the way we want to go," said Fidler.

Riding The Bench Three countywide civil court judgeships are up for reelection this year, and it appears as if one of the judges may be on the brink of losing her political patron. Additionally, the races will pose a fresh test for the county organization, which last year lost two countywide judgeships. In years past, designation as the county nominee was tantamount to victory, but that is not the case any longer, especially after the recent victories of Peter Sweeney and Eileen Nadelson over two county candidates, including one sitting judge.

Since the county's grip on judgeships has loosened, the possibilities for political bedlam have increased, as clubs are now less likely to defer to the county choice.

Civil Court Judge Margarita Lopez Torres has recently come under criticism from Assemblymember Vito Lopez, who was instrumental in placing her on the bench when there was a vacancy 10 years ago, as reported by Juan Gonzalez of the Daily News.

Lopez said that Lopez Torres is no longer a sure shot because she has failed to be active in local civics; the judge said that she may be punished for being independent. Lopez said that this year there may be eight or nine candidates for the three judgeships, and that clubs will likely endorse different slates, with county endorsing its own slate. Lopez himself, who has been instrumental in electing several judges, said that the only sitting civil court judge he's definitely backing is Maggie Kammer. He is undecided on Lopez Torres and the third judge, Karen Yellen.

"There will be a heated race and we're two months away from people coming up with alignments," said Lopez, foreshadowing the possible wide-open contest. One source said that it would be difficult for Lopez Torres to win if she were contested. "It's hard to see a Latina win a countywide seat if she is contested, 'said the source.

But given the political controversy surrounding the Brooklyn judiciary, the county organization may just consider supporting her to avoid the appearance of overt politicking. "In the current climate, she'll probably be a cause-celebre if they oppose her," said the source.

Borough Politics Archive

2002
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2001
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2000
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1999
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