Berman Wins CBID Councilmember Herb Berman's campaign for city comptroller recently got a boost from a reform club in brownstone Brooklyn-turf that many assumed would have belonged to his rival, former Board of Education President William Thompson, Jr. Last week, the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats voted narrowly to endorse Berman over Thompson.

Some insiders were surprised at the vote because Berman represents the areas of Canarsie, Mill Basin and Gerritsen Beach-more conservative communities than Park Slope, where CBID is based. Additionally, some had assumed that the club would lean toward Thompson because of his role at the Board of Ed and because he will most likely find his base in Brooklyn's brownstone communities, such as Park Slope.

But Berman said he was not surprised to get the endorsement. "I never had that expectation [of losing]. As a matter of fact, I had a record in the Council that I thought was complimentary of the ideology of CBID," he said. District Leader Bernie Catcher, who is also working for Berman's campaign, put his spin on the endorsement by saying that it showed Berman to be a "candidate for all parts of the electorate. That from Staten Island to the progressive yuppie community of Park Slope, Herbie has had victory after victory."

But the Thompson campaign declared Berman's endorsement "hollow." "I think it was a sort of hollow, technical victory for the Berman campaign, and a significant grassroots victory for Thompson," said Eduardo Castell, Thompson's campaign manager. Castell said that Thompson won the first ballot by a vote of 56 to 52, but was not declared the winner because he did not reach 51 percent. There were four votes for no endorsement, he said. On the second ballot, taken later in the night, Berman prevailed 31 to 23, said Castell. The club also made an endorsement in the public advocate's race, choosing to back Councilmember Steve DiBrienza.

Also, somewhat embarrassingly, the club voted to endorse "no choice" over Howard Ruditsky, a sitting civil court judge. Judicial candidate Mark Partnow, who was unopposed, did in fact pick up the club's support.

Yassky Prevails At Club Council candidate David Yassky was also endorsed by CBID, narrowly defeating Ken Diamondstone in a runoff vote. Yassky, who began his campaign as a relative unknown, has now picked up the endorsements of both brownstone clubs in the district, including that of the Independent Neighborhood Democrats. Yassky is running in the 33rd Councilmanic District against Diamondstone, District Leaders Liz Daly and Steve Cohn, and Green Party candidate Craig Seeman.

He said that the CBID endorsement now positions him as the strongest challenger to Cohn, who is believed to be the front-runner. "This sets up the race as a head to head contest, me against Steve Cohn," said Yassky, who last week formally kicked off his campaign at his Joralemon Street apartment.

Diamondstone, however, said that Yassky's pronouncement was premature. "[Yassky] had been working to bring quote-new members into the club for months, and with all of his efforts he still only beat me by one vote. It was an incredibly exciting contest, with most of the leadership of the club supporting me, including a new endorsement by Assemblyman Roger Green and Congressman Major Owens. That, on top of my endorsement by Lambda by a 7-1 majority over Yassky, puts into serious question his assertion."

Yassky, Daly and Diamondstone have had preliminary discussions about choosing one candidate between them to run against Cohn, although thus far no candidate appears willing to bow out. The fear is that if they all remain in the race, they will chip away at one another's base of support -- to Cohn's benefit.

Daly, who recently picked up the support of State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, also disputed Yassky's claim, saying that club endorsements have limited effect. "Voters don't behave the way that clubs do, and they look for different things," she said.

Gadson Eyes Dinkins, Lopez NodsBorough presidential candidate Jeannette Gadson will soon pick up the support of former Mayor David Dinkins as well as Assemblymember Vito Lopez, according to sources. "That will be happening," said Ernie Lendler, Gadson's spokesperson, regarding the Dinkins endorsement. "I'm not sure what the timing is. That's an easy one." Lendler would not comment on the Lopez endorsement, although he did say that the message being sent by the Gadson campaign was one of inclusion. "What we're doing is making our campaign as broad as possible, and this helps do it," said Lendler.

The Dinkins endorsement would help Gadson with blacks and white liberals-two blocs that she and State Senator Marty Markowitz will be battling over. The Lopez endorsement would help her with the Hispanic vote, a block that Councilmember Ken Fisher, who has been endorsed by Rep. Nydia Velazquez, also has his sights on.

Lopez runs a formidable political machine in his 53rd Assembly District, which includes Bushwick and portions of Williamsburg.

Hikind Party Draws CrowdAssemblymember Dov Hikind's club dinner last week drew a big crowd to La Perville on 65th Street. Attendees included former parks commissioner Betsy Gotbaum and Councilmenber Steve DiBrienza, both candidates for public advocate. Three of the four mayoral candidates showed up, with the exception of the current public advocate, Mark Green. Green and Hikind have a long-running feud.

All three borough presidential candidates turned up, despite the fact that it is assumed that Hikind will eventually back Jeannette Gadson. Three City Council candidates from the 39th district made an appearance, including Paul Bader, Steve Banks, Bill de Blasio and Anthony Pugliese. Bob Miller, who is running against Hikind's chief of staff in the 44th Councilmanic District, also showed up, feuling rumors that he is seeking a judgeship. District Leader Steve Cohn was also spotted.

One relatively new face about town that is making the rounds belongs to Buffalo Comptroller Anthony Nanula. Nanula, a likely candidate for state comptroller, also attended the Thomas Jefferson Democrats' club dinner, where he appeared to curry favor with District Leader Bernie Catcher. "Normally, a guy from Buffalo-you wouldn't remember him or pay attention. But I keep meeting him. He's been around long enough that he's making an impression on the Brooklyn political scene," said Catcher.

Borough Politics Archive
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