Bad Day For Norman, County County Leader Clarence Norman, Jr. and his organization had an unsuccessful primary day, but there were some redeeming aspects. Norman, the assemblymember from Crown Heights, lost his most prized plum as State Senator Marty Markowitz defeated Jeannette Gadson for borough president. He also had some rock salt rubbed in his wound when his biggest antagonist, District Leader James E. Davis, romped to victory in the 35th Councilmanic District over Norman's candidate, Letitia James. "That is just unbelievable," said one source. "That is a big defeat for Clarence."

County bigwig Steve Cohn also went down in defeat to underdog David Yassky in the 33rd Councilmanic District, although insiders blame Cohn for running a listless campaign against an underestimated opponent. Ed Norman, Clarence's brother, ran third in the 34th Councilmanic District in Bushwick, although sources say that Clarence Norman was barely involved in that race, if at all. Of course, Norman's mayoral candidate, Alan Hevesi, took it on the chin, finishing last. However, that defeat was expected. Lastly, sitting Judge Howard Ruditzky appeared headed for defeat at press time.

But it was not all coal for Norman and county. District Attorney Joe Hynes won, as did Council candidates Domenic Recchia in Coney Island, Lew Fidler in Canarsie, Erik Dilan in East New York and Diana Reyna in Bushwick. Judicial candidate Mark Partnow appeared as if he held a safe lead at press time. "You look around and they won a lot of races. They didn't do badly overall," said one kindly wag. However, with the exception of Hynes' victory, Norman and county lost the races that arguably mattered most, and will suffer the corresponding diminishment in influence.

One factor working in county's favor is that few organizations fared better. Rep. Ed Towns' candidates lost, with the exception of Fidler, whom county also backed. Rep. Nydia Velazquez's candidates also went down, including her husband, Paul Bader in the 39th Councilmanic District, Fisher, and Juan Martinez, who lost to Reyna despite a big ethnic advantage with his Puerto Rican heritage.

There were two organizations that made generally good showings. Perhaps the clearest winner was State Senator Martin Connor, who rebounded from a shutout in the recent state senate elections to form the spine of Markowitz's successful run. Additionally, the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club made a broad, solid local showing. The club did lose its citywide race to Norman's candidate, as William Thompson defeated Councilmember Herb Berman for comptroller. Yet many of the club's candidates did pick up significant victories, including Partnow, who essentially ousted a sitting judge mainly on the strength of District Leader Bernie Catcher, Recchia, who had to win in a largely Jewish district, and Fidler. Sam Palmer, however, appears to have lost a close race to Kendall Stewart in the 45th Councilmanic District. The club publicly backed Fisher for borough president, but some leaders favored Markowitz. "The Berman thing is a big disappointment, but the club has proven its strength in their own base," said one source.

What's Next For Fisher, Gadson? Now that Marty Markowitz is Brooklyn's next borough president, interesting possibilities are already being floated about the futures of Jeannette Gadson and Ken Fisher. Markowitz's State Senate seat will now come open for next year and will be filled by a special election. The Democratic nominee, and likely winner, will be chosen by the county committee members of that district, with Norman holding the most sway. If Gadson wants that seat, say insiders, it is likely she could have it. But one source said that if Norman really wants to consolidate strength in the area he should acquiesce to popular sentiment favoring a Caribbean-American representative.

One source close to Markowitz raised an alternative possibility for Gadson: that Markowitz keeps her as deputy borough president. "It's been an incredibly friendly race between Marty Markowitz and Jeannette Gadson. I believe that Marty Markowitz may be very inclined to keep Jeannette as deputy," he said. "It would be such a unity move to show there is no fissure in the Brooklyn Democratic Party. It would also force [outgoing Borough President] Howie [Golden] into the tent." "It's really too soon to have that conversation," said Jill Harris, Markowitz's campaign manager. "Marty respects her and has said all along that she did a tremendous job, but it's too early." The Gadson campaign did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

As for Fisher, there is talk that he may be primed for a run at Congress. First, however, the new district lines must be drawn. Fisher has over $1 million, including matching funds, to spend in the general election, where he can run on the Working Families Party and Liberal lines. If he spends that money in a targeted fashion in the brownstone area, it may signal that he is laying the groundwork for a Congressional campaign. Fisher did not immediately return a call seeking comment. However, spokesperson Nikki Britton cautioned that it was too early to speculate on his future plans.

Speaker Battle Brewing Al Vann's victory in the 36th Councilmanic District sets up a heavyweight battle for the next City Council speaker. The three Brooklyn contenders are Vann and Councilmembers Tracy Boyland and Angel Rodriguez. For Brooklyn to have the best shot at the next Council speaker, the borough will have to unite behind one of the three. Whether and when this support will coalesce depends largely upon Norman and the county organization. Jeff Feldman, executive director of the party, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. County's ability to lock up solid support will be hampered by councilmembers-elect whom county opposed, such as Davis and Yassky.

Two November Challenges Brooklyn will see two interesting general elections this year, both in the borough's southern half. First, Joanne Seminara-Lehu will face incumbent Councilmember Marty Golden. Insiders say that Golden has the edge, but that Seminara-Lehu will pose a formidable challenge. One former ally that she was not able to bring back into the fold with her primary victory is District Leader Ralph Perfetto. Perfetto, an employee and strong supporter of Mark Green, withdrew his backing for Seminara-Lehu after she opened a joint office with Peter Vallone.

Asked whether he would consider supporting her now that she was the Democratic nominee, Perfetto did not waffle. "Absolutely not. She offended myself and my entire club," he said. On October 1 his organization, the American Heritage Political Club, will vote to expel Seminara-Lehu and her father. "They will be barred from coming in," he said. Perfetto, however, said he will not back Golden, even tacitly.

In Coney Island, it appears as if Oleg Gutnik will win a close Republican primary and go on to face Democrat Domenic Recchia. Insiders view Recchia as the favorite. However, there is always the possibility that a well-known Russian-American candidate such as Gutnik could galvanize the Russian-speaking population. The Russian vote, split between to candidates, was a limited factor in the Democratic primary. If Recchia were to win the general election, the largely Jewish Coney Island/Trump/Warbass area would be represented by an Italian councilmember-a big surprise to some. "Ethnicity ain't what it used to be," said one source.

Hasidic Influence Diluted Brooklyn's Hasidic community, typically an influential voting block, was largely ineffective this primary season. Most Hasidim unsuccessfully backed Fisher for borough president, although Markowitz was able to capitalize on some fragmentation and pick up small pockets of support. With Green and Ferrer in the mayoral runoff, the Hasidic community is not united behind any single mayoral candidate.

In the 35th Councilmanic District, the Crown Heights Hasidim positively shot themselves in the foot by relying on a sliced-up black vote and backing Avrohim Wasserman, who finished far behind the winner, instead of choosing to support a more viable black candidate. In the 33rd District, the Williamsburg Hasidim backed second-place finisher Steve Cohn. The one area where the Hasidim came out on top was the 43rd Councilmanic District, where the Borough Park Hasidim backed Simcha Felder.

Borough Politics Archive
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