ODDBALL EYES TOWNS When you're strange, no one remembers your name. So sang The Doors, anyway. If they're right, Sam Sloan will have a hard time connecting with voters in the race against Rep. Ed Towns, an entrenched Democrat. But chances are, Sloan won't even make the ballot because he blew his cover-that is, the appearance of normalcy-when making his pitch to Republican district leaders.

Initially, Sloan might have seemed like an intriguing candidate to the G.O.P. because he claims to speak 15 languages including Spanish "virtually fluently," to be an expert chess player, and to be the last non-lawyer to have represented himself before the Supreme Court and won (in 1978, when as a bond trader he was sued by the SEC, represented by Harvey Pitt).

Sloan, a sometime cab driver and author, had even run before-as a Libertarian in the special election to succeed Assemblyman Al Vann in February 2002. Not that he did very well. Of the 2,610 people who went to the polls, exactly 11 voted for Sloan. On his candidate's statement, the 59-year-old Sloan expressed views in keeping with Republican ideology. "I support small government, low taxes, low spending…I oppose rent control," he wrote, for example. Sloan wrote that as "a man of high ethical and moral principles," he would only accept campaign contributions up to $2,000 from individuals and nothing from corporations. He didn't mention that that's the law for all congressional candidates.

That, along with Sloan's failure to comb his hair for his campaign photo, were the first signs that something was amiss. Brooklyn Republican leaders met with Sloan after he expressed interest in challenging Towns, but postponed an endorsement vote because "some of our leaders got bad vibes about him," one leader said.

Sloan later called a district leader to lobby for the nomination and said, "Don't you know I'm famous? I'm on the Internet." Big mistake. The leader quickly went on-line and discovered Sloan's personal Web page, which explores such questions as "Are women genetically programmed to spread their legs when a man approaches?" Sloan also writes on the site, "Women feel a genetic need to strip naked, spread their legs and pose on the Internet. That is my opinion."

Brooklyn Republicans no doubt concluded it might be difficult for Sloan to attack Towns on the character issue. Elsewhere on his Web site, Sloan describes the "female rapists" of the Trobrian Islands, off the coast of Papua New Guinea. He posts a photo of an attractive, topless "typical Trobrian Islander girl" and comments, "I am sure that you will agree that it would be a horrible experience to be raped by such a girl."

Sloan also writes in detail about orgies he organized at Cal-Berkeley and his sexual conquests, potency, and refusal to use condoms. For example: "I was tested to have an exceptionally high sperm count of 144 million sperm per cc, whereas most American men have less than 20 million sperm per cc…My potency is demonstrated by the fact that I have eight children …plus historically all of my girlfriends have become pregnant right away." This might not be what Republicans have in mind when they talk about family values.

Embarrassingly, before researching Sloan, Republican leaders voted to give him an exemption so he could run as a Republican despite not being a registered party member. They were relieved to discover their action was technically invalid. The party later chose Isabelle Jefferson to run against Towns, meaning Sloan would have to collect signatures on his own from the few registered Republicans in the V-shaped congressional district, which runs from Sloan's neighborhood of East New York to Midwood and to Boerum Hill.

It would be a daunting task, but Sloan strikes us as the kind of guy who might try it. He's already spent countless thousands of hours on such projects as tracing his family tree back to the 1500s to prove his relation to King Erik XIV of Sweden, and that he and Queen Elizabeth II are 12th cousins two times removed. Somehow, we believe that. After all, there is a history of madness in the British royal family.

WEINER VEERS RIGHT Continuing to edge toward the political right and away from the more liberal House Democrats who represent only Brooklyn, Rep. Anthony Weiner (whose district is 70 percent Queens) voted with conservative Vito Fossella and the Republican leadership on an unfunded tax giveaway. The bill would make permanent a $1,000 child tax credit and expand it to include more families.

Very few politicians have the guts to oppose this kind of bill, lest they be labeled anti-family. But it begs the question: why should childless taxpayers (such as Weiner) subsidize the procreation of others? We asked Weiner's press secretary exactly that. His reply: "Of course the Congressman preferred the Democratic alternative, but he represents an inordinate amount of large families who deserve a tax break."

That's the answer we'd expect from a press secretary, or, for that matter, from a politician, who sometimes seem like press secretaries themselves. Most of Washington would answer the question that way. The problem is, it doesn't actually answer the question. Which, in case you've forgotten, is why should Americans with children get tax breaks that others don't?

You might be thinking: That's obvious-raising children costs money. A tax break for parents helps pay those extra bills. Well, sure it does. But for people who can't pay bills, there's welfare. Targeted tax breaks have a different purpose: to encourage beneficial actions that wouldn't otherwise happen, such as charitable giving or buying an electric car. Nobody has children to get tax breaks. One irony here is that Republicans who once accused welfare mothers of having children to increase their benefits are now giving tax breaks for breeding.

We don't mean to single out Republicans. Weiner was one of 58 Democrats to vote for their bill, which 135 Democrats opposed, including Reps. Jerry Nadler, Ed Towns, and Nydia Velazquez. (Rep. Major Owens missed the vote.) Only three of 227 Republicans voted no. Nor are we implying Weiner has become a closet Republican. He was one of only 34 members of the House to vote against the recent $447 billion military package that included another $25 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan. Five of the nay votes came from Brooklyn's Democrats: Weiner and Reps. Jerry Nadler, Major Owens, Ed Towns, and Nydia Velazquez.

PEOPLE IN GLASS HOUSES . . . Underdog candidate Peter Hort's eyes lit up when he saw an Associated Press story linking a shipping executive to the Mafia and to the congressman whom Hort is challenging, Rep. Jerry Nadler. The AP reported that Sal Catucci, who runs American Stevedoring on Piers 6-11 in Red Hook, and his brother Ronald were called "Gambino associates who do business primarily out of Brooklyn" by a federal prosecutor during the May 10 sentencing of a Catucci business associate for tax fraud.

The AP added that Catucci is a regular campaign contributor to Nadler, who supports Catucci's request for a long-term lease extension from the Port Authority for the piers. The PA wants to give Catucci just two more years, after which the city would modify the piers and lease them to cruise ships. Catucci suspects the city leaked news of the prosecutor's statement and his Nadler donations to sabotage his lease negotiations.

But the Republican Hort used it to attack Nadler, a Democrat against whom Hort seems to be mounting a serious campaign. His press release summarized the AP story, then added this quote: "I am not surprised to learn that Congressman Jerrold Nadler has received thousands upon thousands of dollars in donations from questionable business figures…You don't spend a career in politics without making some interesting bedfellows."

Hort wasn't done. "We can't afford to let our city be taken over by the well-connected," the Republican opined. Four different Catuccis have given Nadler a combined $10,000 over the last seven years. But Hort forgot to check his own accommodations before throwing stones.

A quick Internet search would have revealed Catucci contributions of $6,000 to Republican George W. Bush, $500 to the New York Republican Federal Campaign Committee, $1,000 to Steve Forbes, $1,000 to Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, and $250 to Staten Island Republican Robert Straniere. Catucci has also reportedly donated $5,000 to Republican George Pataki and $30,000 to the Conservative Party. Given all that, we wonder if Hort feels the nation, the Republican Party, the New York governor's mansion, and Staten Island are also being "taken over by the well-connected."

Hort might also be unfairly dragging Catucci's name through the mud. Catucci says his Italian name and Brooklyn waterfront business don't make him a mobster. The Waterfront Commission vetted Catucci and gave him a license. The PA gave him a lease and wants to extend it. The only allegation of mob ties came from a federal prosecutor trying to get a defendant a longer sentence. Prosecutors have certainly lied for less. If there's any evidence against Catucci, the feds haven't released it, nor have they charged him with anything.

A Nadler aide released this statement: "For 25 years, Jerry has advocated for a working waterfront in Brooklyn and is now fighting to make sure there is a continuous container operation there without any temporary inactivity. No one serious would ever question Jerry Nadler's integrity on this or any other issue."

HERBERT FOR SENATE Republican Tony Herbert announced his candidacy for State Senate with an invitation to a kickoff event. Oddly, his invitation failed to identify the district in which he plans to run. A subsequent press release revealed his target as Democratic State Senator Carl Andrews. Can a Republican win in any of the heavily Democratic districts in which Herbert resides? No. But if nothing else, Herbert provides an interesting foil to local Democrats.

He also contributes some major run-on sentences. Here's a typical one from his latest press release (take a deep breath): "Herbert a former Democrat and now a registered Republican and currently the director of Gov't Affairs for a minority owned advertising firm on Park Ave. who has done several stints in government working for Congressman [Ed] Towns, former City Councilwoman Priscilla Wooten, and former State Senate Minority Leader-Senator Martin Connor, stakes the claim, that 'Senator Andrews doesn't want the job' citing that Andrews just got the seat last year and has already organized and filed a committee to run for another seat this year, with his hopes to challenge incumbent Congressman Major Owens in the 11th Congressional district."

Now, exhale.

TIDBITS Conspiracy theorists have been circulating a rumor that Rep. Major Owens will quit in the middle of his next term, resulting in a special election in which Democratic insiders would name State Senator Carl Andrews the party nominee, assuring him of victory in the heavily Democratic district. Party insiders would then choose Owens's son Chris Owens to be the Democratic nominee in the special election to succeed Andrews. Asked about it at a recent club meeting, the congressman said, "Contrary to that rumor, I'm in better health than I was in 1991 and I plan on serving the full two years. I am a person of integrity."

Some people believe Rep. Ed Towns persuaded Bob Dorf, whom Towns had been supporting for Civil Court judge, to withdraw from the countywide race at the request of the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club, which is backing Saul Needle and didn't want a split of the white male vote. In exchange, according to the rumor, the T.J. Club will support Towns's son, Assemblyman Darryl Towns, for his father's seat whenever the elder Towns retires. We didn't bother calling Towns for the obligatory denial…

Responding to criticism from potential congressional primary opponent Gabriel Toks Pearse, the press secretary for Yvette Clarke said written requests are required to meet with the councilwoman because her previous open-door policy resulted in meetings with constituents all day on issues her staff could handle. The press secretary, Rance Huff, added that Clarke hasn't yet decided whether to run against Rep. Major Owens this year. But she will have raised over $100,000 by the next filing date, Huff said…

Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein made a rare appearance in the press when she introduced a bill to forbid Con Edison from sealing settlements of negligence lawsuits. She was quoted in The New York Times saying the legislation would enable the media and government to learn "promptly" about public hazards. But it seems to us that Con Ed would eliminate hazards alleged in lawsuits before settling those cases…

Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez finally took a position on the controversial proposal for an Ikea in Red Hook, coming out in favor of it. She cited its potential economic benefits…

Another who would consider running for Councilman David Yassky's seat (should Yassky quit to run for district attorney in 2005) is Bob Zuckerman, a past president of the Stonewall Democratic Club, a citywide gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender organization. Zuckerman recently moved from Cobble Hill to Sackett Street in Park Slope, which is in Yassky's district…

Ballpoint pens being given away by Noach Dear's campaign don't say "DEAR for State Senate" but rather "DEAR State Senator." To attain that title, he'll have to beat incumbent Kevin Parker and perhaps Wellington Sharpe.

Contact Brooklyn Politics at (718) 399-3693.

Borough Politics Archive

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2002
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2001
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2000
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1999
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