FLAG-HAPPY POLS City Councilman Simcha Felder surveyed 17 schools in his Borough Park-Midwood district and found 70 percent in "dire need" of American flags. In a subsequent press release issued jointly with Assemblyman Bill Colton, Felder repeatedly capitalized the "f" in American Flags. That small detail was indicative of what happens to politicians when any issue involving patriotism and young children arises: their eyes get very wide and they begin salivating. In fact, Pavlov could have staged his experiment with elected officials and American flags just as effectively as he did with dogs and food.

But it's easy to see why. Constituents tend to be impressed when their representatives purport to nurture children's love for country, and newspapers tend to reward them with puff pieces, as the Daily News did Felder and Colton. "We are doing this for our children," Felder said in his release. "Every child deserves a flag in their [sic] classroom." Colton told the News, "Patriotism and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance are things that unify us."

The curmudgeon's view: For most children, reciting the pledge is a monotonous ritual from which they derive little or no meaning. An occasional classroom discussion about how our Constitution tries to provide "liberty and justice for all" (and whether our government achieves it) would be more unifying than a daily pledge. Also, more useful than asking schools if they need new flags in every classroom would be asking if they need textbooks.

BAD RAP FOR MAJOR Rep. Major Owens found himself on the front page of the New York Post for his unusual "rap play" titled "The Viagra Monologues." The paper's editors seized on the lyric, "Monogamy is for chumps" which led to the front-page headline "B'klyn pol takes rap at monogamy" and, in the paper's West Coast edition, "Major Chump." But it's obvious the lyric refers to an attitude some men have, not Owens's own attitude. "It's unfortunate that the Post has chopped this up and misrepresented the whole substance of the play," said Chris Owens, the congressman's son.

He noted that his father had sent the rap play to a Post reporter who wrote a cute story which, after the editors got through with it, bore no resemblance to the one that appeared in the paper. That should come as no surprise to people familiar with the conservative, sensationalist editors who run Rupert Murdoch's paper. The question is, why didn't the congressman see it coming?

Major told us he didn't see it coming because he considered the reporter who requested the 3-year-old play to be a friend. "Very politically motivated editors did a smear job," he said. "It's a misrepresentation, plus it's blown up out of proportion. It must have been a very slow news day." He said the Post's implication that he was criticizing monogamy was absurd, saying the play "is all about attitudes of a whole range of people," not just his own. Lady Macbeth having blood on her hands doesn't make Shakespeare a murderer, he added.

The lead writer of the story sounded surprised that Owens made the front page. "I certainly agree about the speed of that particular news day," said Gersh Kuntzman, "but I of course deny a political smear job. I don't write the headlines, but I would like to remind the readers that the article was intended to celebrate Major Owens's artistic gift and vision. If it failed to do that-and I'm not sure it did-I certainly apologize." Kuntzman, of Park Slope, is the Post's Brooklyn bureau chief.

The Owens camp isn't sure whether Major's opponents in this year's Democratic primary, Councilwoman Yvette Clarke and Tracy Boyland, would try to use the Post article to discredit him.

MARTY SUED OVER BCAT "Rent Wars" producer Ronin Amato, a tenant activist, filed suit in mid March to stop "the Marty Markowitz channel grab" at Brooklyn Community Access Television. "I've been watching as services for [BCAT] producers have been closed to make room for special Markowitz staff quarters. For a while I've been watching the reports in your paper about the Marty Markowitz takeover of BCAT. This is a disturbing thing," Amato e-mailed us.

He added, "I really love Marty. He's the politician who helped me years back against my slumlord when others ignored me (except for [Rep.] Ed Towns)…But the defense of free speech forces my hand here." Amato tried to work out his differences with the borough president before suing, "But despite promises to the contrary, Marty has gone for even more airtime," he wrote.

"What a dangerous precedent if all the borough presidents set up a political propaganda channel…it seems as if over 60 percent of the programming at BCAT is now under Marty's control." Markowitz issued a statement that it would be inappropriate to comment on a pending legal matter. In the past, he's insisted that he's not micromanaging BCAT but would like to see the station do more to promote Brooklyn.

BOYLAND'S BATTLE One of Councilwoman Tracy Boyland's problems in her race against Rep. Major Owens is that her Council district includes just an edge of the congressional district she seeks. By contract, another challenger, Councilwoman Yvette Clarke, represents a district smack in the middle of Owens's. "Sometimes those obstacles are very tough to get over," Boyland told us. "I'm confident that once I get into the entire congressional district, they'll be responsive to me." If not, she'll be out of city office in January 2006, thanks to term limits.

Owens, who was once Boyland's boss and a friend of the Boyland family (the Owenses and Boylands both hail from Memphis), concurred that Boyland's political base being on the periphery of the congressional district doesn't bode well for her chances. "Everyone sees that but her," Owens said. But when we asked if he thought Boyland had a hidden agenda for running, Owens answered, "I think she really thinks she can win." Obviously, he doesn't agree.

The congressman added that he'd file a formal complaint with the Federal Elections Commission over contributions from businesses and other non-individuals to Boyland's campaign fund. Boyland told us that she'd have to return about $20,000 to donors, but Owens said more than $60,000 given to Boyland was illegal under the new campaign finance law. "I don't know what kind of math she could have used" to come up with $20,000, he said. Owens added that Boyland's filing doesn't show what she paid two restaurants to host fundraisers. All expenses and even in-kind contributions must be disclosed to the FEC.

BLACKLISTED JUDGE SUES Civil Court Judge Margarita Lopez Torres, blocked for years from running as a Democrat for Supreme Court by Assemblymen Clarence Norman and Vito Lopez and other political insiders, is suing to change the system. Currently, Democratic power brokers control the process because they control the machinery that "elects" their cronies to the judicial nominating convention. "Elects" is in quotes because these cronies are unopposed nearly 100 percent of the time, so you never see their names on the ballot.

At the annual convention, which is held during lunch hour so no one has to miss work, the cronies robotically approve judicial candidates as instructed by their masters. Why don't shut-out judges like Lopez Torres try to get their own cronies elected as judicial convention delegates? Because it takes a massive political operation to collect 500 valid signatures in each of the 24 Assembly districts that make up the Second Judicial District (Brooklyn and Staten Island). That's 12,000 signatures. It only takes 7,500 to run for mayor.

District Attorney Joe Hynes released a statement commending the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, which is representing Lopez Torres and other plaintiffs, "for challenging a process where party leadership determines who becomes a Supreme Court justice through an 'election' system that is a sham," Hynes said.

Another Democrat put it this way: "Both election and appointment have their problems, but our unique system of nomination by convention manages to combine the worst aspects of each system with the benefits of neither. One can defend elections, or one can defend appointments, but the current system is indefensible."

PROF PONDERS OWENS RACE A little-known Mercy College English professor named Gabriel Adetokunbo "Toks" Pearse is eying the Democratic primary for Congress this year in the 11th District, currently the domain of Rep. Major Owens. Pearse, a native of Nigeria, has launched a rather elaborate campaign Web site that tells much more than you'd ever want to know about him-but neglects to mention where he lives. We checked state Board of Elections records and the statement of candidacy he filed with the Federal Election Commission and learned he resides on Woodruff Avenue off Ocean Avenue, a block from Prospect Park.

Pearse takes some conservative positions on his Web site, calling for more government grants for faith-based organizations and more funding for private schools, though he avoids the term "vouchers" (the right wing now tries to avoid that word). He also gave $1,970 to the 2002 reelection campaign of Governor George Pataki, who's more disliked in the liberal 11th Congressional District than just about anywhere.

Pearse's prose is not exactly blessed with the elegance you'd expect from an English professor with four degrees in English literature, English, and education. "Government schools, such as public schools, alone cannot accommodate the educational needs of the community. Imagine if there were no private colleges, and the only colleges we had were the city and the state colleges. The shortage in higher education will be devastating," he writes. Note to Dr. Pearse: imagined scenarios call for "would" rather than "will"-as in, "If Pearse wins the election, I would sell my children and donate the proceeds to his campaign fund."

Plentiful typos, including "cahirmen" (chairman) and "hnorary," indicate Pearse's site may be unfinished. But we will nonetheless mention that commas are interjected randomly throughout Pearse's writing, causing readers to stammer like a Ferrari filled with diesel. For example: "I will assure the people that when I am in town I will meet with them, both, for reports and to receive their input." Putting aside the extra commas, we appreciate the assurance. We wouldn't want a congressman who refuses to see his constituents. Not that Pearse can even hope to win the race, which figures to pit Councilwomen Yvette Clarke and Tracy Boyland against Owens.

If Pearse is naïve, it's not because he's a political neophyte. He earned $6,704 drumming up votes for Ken Fisher's failed bid for borough president in 2001 and $1,550 for helping to get Alan Hevesi on the mayoral ballot that same year. (Pearse's online bio says he was a "consultant" to both campaigns, as well as to Assemblyman Clarence Norman's runs in 1998 and 2000, though we found no record of Norman paying Pearse in 2000. We did find a record of Pearse paying Norman, though-$50 to Norman's 2000 campaign, before Pearse moved from Crown Heights to Flatbush.)

A friend of Pearse, former City Council and State Senate candidate Omar Boucher, told us Pearse put up the Web site while looking for support for a run, but didn't find much and probably wouldn't run. Pearse didn't return our e-mails.

BIKE PATH CHEERED Republican Susan Goodstein didn't come close to defeating Councilman Lew Fidler in the 2003 general election, but we did like the straightforward answer she gave during a candidates forum in Manhattan Beach. Asked if she'd get rid of the controversial traffic and bicycle lanes on Oriental Boulevard, which were implemented by the city over the community's objections, Goodstein immediately answered, "No, I wouldn't. Many times I've nearly been run over on the sidewalk by a bicycle. I think we need more space designated for bicycles."

Most candidates reflexively blast the city government, agree with the community's objections, and demand that police confiscate bicycles on the sidewalk. Instead, Goodstein delivered an enlightened answer that made sense. While the traffic pattern on Oriental Boulevard is unusual, it hasn't been the disaster many residents and politicians predicted.

KENDALL CASHES IN A noteworthy contributor of $500 to Councilman Kendall Stewart's reelection campaign was his office manager, Cislyn Boucher, the ex-wife of one of Stewart's opponents in the Democratic primary, third-place finisher Omar Boucher. She wasn't the only familiar name we found on Stewart's donor list. Former State Senator Donny Halperin gave Stewart $250. (Halperin still lives in the Sheepshead Bay area but now practices law for a Midtown firm.) Caribbean business leader Roy Hastick Jr. handed Stewart a whopping $1,900 while Eda Hastick added $400.

Former Assembly Speaker Mel Miller (who used to represent Flatbush) donated $250. So did State Senator Kevin Parker. Stewart's Council aide Asquith Reid contributed $400 and Stewart's co-leader Gail Reed-Barnett gave $275. Wellington Sharpe, who ran against State Senator Carl Andrews in 2002, donated $500. Former Councilwoman Una Clarke gave $100, and Rep. Ed Towns gave $250, as did political operative Vaughn Toney, manager of Friends of Crown Heights. Incidentally, Stewart received $12,880 in public funds for the general election, in which Stewart received 89 percent of the vote against a nominal Republican opponent. It would be a nice gesture for Stewart to return the money, since it was totally unnecessary and the city is in financial straits.

He might be obligated to give it back anyway, unless he can show it was legitimately spent. One of his Democratic primary opponents, Erlene King, told us she saw no Stewart literature, posters, or election workers after the primary. The Campaign Finance Board audits every campaign that receives public money, though sometimes it takes more than two years.

BYRD FEED Democratic district leader Francis Byrd of Prospect Heights blasted Council Speaker Gifford Miller for allegedly pressuring a councilman to cancel a hearing on Bruce Ratner's arena project. Byrd wrote, "I, as a citizen, a community and party leader, and deeply disturbed by your actions." Byrd wears another hat as well: he works for Comptroller Billy Thompson, who might run against Miller for the Democratic mayoral nomination in 2005.

Contact Brooklyn Politics at (718) 399-3693.

Borough Politics Archive

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2001
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2000
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1999
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