MAJOR MESS AT LOCAL CLUB Councilwomen Tracy Boyland and Yvette Clarke, who are opposing Rep. Major Owens in the Democratic primary, had no chance to be endorsed by the Independent Neighborhood Democrats. So their supporters tried for the next best thing: for IND to endorse no one. They would have succeeded if not for Owens's daughter-in-law Sandra, wife of the congressman's son and campaign manager, Chris Owens. She cast one of the 21 votes for Major, as did Wendy Rost, chief of staff to State Senator Carl Andrews, Owens's ally. The congressman needed every last one of those 21 votes to get a majority of the 41 cast.

When club members on the other side-notably Karen Johnson (chief of staff for Rep. Ed Towns) and Boyland consultant Peter Weiss-realized Owens had won by one vote, they argued that Rost and Owens's daughter-in-law weren't eligible to vote. Indeed, the daughter-in-law and Rost reportedly didn't pay their membership dues more than 60 days in advance, which is required for voting privileges. But the protest came too late to undo the vote, at least according to Assemblywoman Joan Millman and State Senator Marty Connor. Devin Cohen, the club president, agreed, and Owens escaped with the endorsement.

The value of the IND endorsement is minimal; it mostly means the club will collect signatures to help Owens make the ballot, which he doesn't need. But for the incumbent to receive such lukewarm support at IND insulted him. One of the dissenting club members summarized their reasons:

(1) "Bad constituent service" (Owens maintains it's been good for years and is now excellent, but he's struggled to shed the reputation).

(2) "The prospect of two years of an even lamer than usual duck" (Owens, considered by some less influential than a two-decade incumbent should be, plans to retire after next term).

(3) "Race-baiting" by Owens, who last year accused Brooklyn District Attorney Joe Hynes of a "credit card lynching" for indicting Assemblyman Clarence Norman on allegedly flimsy charges (Owens stood by his statement, noting that Ed Koch and others used similar language and that Hynes was abusing his power).

(4) "Major's dumb proposal for an arena at the Navy Yard" (many IND members dislike Bruce Ratner's arena plan, but can't fathom moving it to the mass transit-deprived Navy Yard; other members, presumably including Borough President Marty Markowitz's chief of staff Greg Atkins, support Ratner's project).

(5) "Major inserting himself into a zoning dispute near the Gowanus Canal" (a long story we won't bore you with, except to say some Community Board 6 members considered Owens's position uninformed, and problematic for politically connected Carroll Gardens leader Buddy Scotto).

But we can't just pick on Owens, given how his competition did. Clarke got two piddling votes at IND. Boyland got one. Their results at Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats endorsement meeting were similar. Potential fourth candidate Gabriel Toks Pearse wasn't even invited to either meeting. Neither challenger impressed club members. At CBID, Boyland referred to index cards while making her stump speech. An hour or so later at IND she needed the index cards again to make the same speech. Someone get Boyland some ginkgo supplements.

When Boyland was asked at CBID by John Keefe (whose boss, Assemblyman Jim Brennan, supports Owens) for her position on flag-burning, she jumped on Keefe's land mine with all her weight, saying she supports our troops and opposes flag-burning. "She didn't realize she was in the bastion of liberalism, where that was not the right answer," one observer remarked. As if to let her in on the joke, someone shouted out, "What about freedom of expression?" But that wasn't scribbled on Boyland's index cards.

Clarke, for her part, spoke in a dialect used only by political candidates, in which catchphrases composed by consultants are trotted out repeatedly to impress the simple-minded, which reform club members are not. "I'm a person who believes in real issues in real time," she reportedly said. Huh? And when asked whether she supports the Ratner plan, she tried to get away with this response: "Yes. Yes, I support it." And? Your reasons? Hello!

We'll stop now. The primary's not until September 9, and we don't want to blow all our good material in May. But we have a feeling the candidates will keep us well stocked.

Postscript: Boyland was very friendly when we last spoke. So was Owens. Clarke probably has her good qualities, too. We're not trying to be mean. It only seems that way.

Postscript number two: Congressman Owens was so appalled by Karen Johnson's lobbying for no-endorsement votes that he whipped out his cell phone and called her boss, Ed Towns, immediately after the meeting. Johnson subsequently apologized to Owens (who accepted). Johnson maintains she was apologizing on her own and not on orders from Towns. We do know, however, that Towns asked Johnson to spread the word that her actions were not on Towns's behalf. And she did.

Yet some contend Towns is secretly supporting Clarke. "Lots of Towns operatives are all over the borough helping Yvette, and these people don't breathe without asking Ed Towns's permission," one insider claimed. (We couldn't confirm that.) Johnson somehow didn't realize her "no endorsement" lobbying would reflect badly on Towns, but as one observer noted, "If you work for an elected [official], your actions are automatically [viewed] through that prism." Johnson likes to say her participation at IND is separate from her job for Towns. Yet at the IND endorsement meeting, she gave the presentation for Towns.

One rumor mongerer asserted that Towns nearly fired Johnson for her actions at IND. Didn't happen, and probably never will. "Karen Johnson knows where too many bodies are buried," one source said. Was Johnson out of line at IND? Chris Owens termed Johnson's recruitment of "no endorsement" votes "embarrassing and outrageous." But recruiting votes is politics. Why should politics be kept out of a political race?

THE MAKING OF A JUDGE Bob Dorf has quit the countywide race for Civil Court judge, but (despite rumors to the contrary) sources said his decision did not stem from his failure to promptly pay Democratic district leader Bernie Catcher, an accountant, for doing Dorf's taxes a decade ago. With Dorf out of the race, Saul Needle only needs to get Charles Finklestein off the ballot to have a free ride in the Democratic primary. Finklestein is backed by consultant Alan Rocoff and Assemblyman Dov Hikind. Hikind's primary goal is to get Civil Court Judge Eric Prus elevated to Supreme Court, so perhaps a deal will be cut to make Finklestein go away. In exchange, Needle's backers would support Prus.

Sounds convoluted, but judges do get made this way. Catcher, whose Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club is behind Needle, told us he likes Prus regardless of what happens with Needle and Finklestein.

G.O.P. PONDERS CANDY BAN Former School Board 15 member Gary Popkin chairs the Libertarian Party's Brooklyn chapter and serves on the Republican county committee at the same time, which is allowed because the Libertarian Party is not recognized by New York state. Where do his allegiances lie? "I am a philosophical libertarian and I try to push the Republicans in a libertarian direction," he said. "I am appalled at many of George Bush's anti-libertarian stances," particularly "his wanton spending."

Libertarians favor minimal government, so we can assume Popkin was being facetious when he introduced a resolution calling for Brooklyn Republicans to support a ban on candy. Yes, candy.

Popkin's resolution read: "WHEREAS candy is bad for people, contributing to tooth decay, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and WHEREAS candy is more deleterious to the health of the residents of Kings County overall even than marijuana and cocaine, because of candy's vastly more widespread use, and WHEREAS everything that is bad for people should be outlawed, RESOLVED that the Kings County Republican Party supports a ban on the manufacture, importation, sale, possession, transfer, and ingestion of candy in Kings County." The resolution garnered 12 percent of the vote.

FELDER, MAYOR BATTLE Mayor Mike Bloomberg might like Councilman Simcha Felder enough to have hosted a fundraiser for him at his Manhattan townhouse, but not so much that he'd let Felder's latest bill become law without a veto. The bill, approved 49-0 by the Council and then 50-0 to override Bloomberg's veto, creates a two-hour daily window in which residences can be summonsed for dirty sidewalks. Currently summonses can be issued around the clock. Felder says no homeowner can be expected to monitor his sidewalk 24 hours a day.

The good news for Felder is that Council Speaker Gifford Miller sees the issue as a political winner for him, and had the votes to override the veto. Bloomberg pledged to fight it in court. The feeling here is all parties should put politics aside (yes, we're dreaming) and write legislation that makes sense. A homeowner on vacation obviously can't ensure a litter-free sidewalk, so whether the window is two hours or 24 is irrelevant.

Only truly filthy sidewalks should be subject to fines. That's how most sanitation inspectors enforce the law, but apparently there are some prolific summons-writers out there. Felder told The New York Times he's received 60 complaints, including one from a homeowner who got four summonses in one day.

TIDBITS The Lambda Independent Democrats candidates forum and endorsement meeting is Thursday, June 3 from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at Old First Reformed Church, 7th Avenue and Carroll Street. Candidates for Congress, the state legislature, and Civil Court will speak. More importantly, pizza will be served…

Short of a public condemnation of Assemblyman Clarence Norman, nothing State Senator Carl Andrews does will be enough to win the support of the reform club Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats. Andrews spoke at the May 20 CBID endorsement meeting, is supporting club favorite Bernie Graham for Civil Court judge, and has no opponent yet in the Democratic primary. But CBID still didn't endorse him because he's close to Norman, who is despised by the club…

Democratic district leader Alan Fleishman on the possibility of running for David Yassky's Council seat if Yassky quits to run for district attorney in 2005: "It's something I've thought about. It's not something I'm currently focused on. At this moment it is more important for me to remove George Bush from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and to elect a majority Democratic Congress."

We hear that Geoffrey Davis won't run for his late brother James Davis's former position as male Democratic district leader in the 57th Assembly District, and instead will support incumbent Francis Byrd. Davis could be trying to forge a relationship with Rep. Major Owens, a Byrd supporter, whom Davis publicly thanked at the dedication of the James E. Davis Post Office on May 21…

Assemblyman Vito Lopez isn't known as an ally of Lambda Independent Democrats. So why is Lopez backing Lambda's Harley Diamond for Civil Court judge? One theory is that Lopez is building up chips that he can cash in to elevate Civil Court Judge Wayne Saitta to Supreme Court…

After having his effectiveness questioned and being called "a poster child for what's wrong with Washington" by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Rep. Anthony Weiner told the Daily News, "I've already forgotten more than Mike Bloomberg has ever known about how to deliver for New York. This is what happens when we hire a rookie to run the city." Weiner, who in 1991 became the youngest ever elected to the City Council, is now 39 years old. Hard to believe…

The Staten Island Advance reported that former Assemblyman Frank Barbaro could be in line for help from the Democratic National Committee in his race against Rep. Vito Fossella this fall. Barbaro expects to have raised $500,000 by June 30, several times more than Fossella's previous Democratic opponents have mustered…

The lawsuit of Republican district leaders Jim Sutliff and Jessica Greenwald against their party and State Senator Marty Golden was dismissed. Sutliff, who had alleged that the party was improperly supporting Golden's reelection campaign, is still expected to run in the primary…

Conspiracy theorists must be salivating over the unsealing of court records in the case of former Judge John Philips, whose life was turned upside-down after he began a campaign against Brooklyn District Attorney Joe Hynes in 2001. Hynes reportedly had a guardian appointed to seize Phillips's properties, purportedly to protect Phillips from being scammed out of them by con artists. The Daily News is investigating whether the guardian then sold three of the judge's properties at below market value…

A political junkie who's been following our coverage of Councilwoman Tracy Boyland's race against Rep. Major Owens is intrigued by the stark contrast between them. "The Boylands are, in their district, akin to rock stars (I have seen people waive out the project windows to Tracy and kids run up to her yelling "Tracy! Tracy!"-she was a teacher once). Owens is so low-key, many of his neighbors in 135 Eastern Parkway are unaware he lives there. Even his car is low key (except for the Congress plates you'd think he was in a cop car). Talk about a clash of styles."

Assemblyman Jim Brennan introduced a bill to reduce the mayor's control over city schools, require more oversight of large no-bid contracts, and increase parents' input. But Bronx activist Diane Lowman said, "I question whether the state legislators want a voice and role for parents and community or simply want back into the loop." Brennan might be thinking, "No good deed goes unpunished."

Contact Brooklyn Politics at (718) 399-3693.

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