Welcome To The Club Diane Gordon got a decidedly unfriendly welcome to the Assembly by Speaker Sheldon Silver, who, according to some insiders, should be trying to cultivate the goodwill of as many members as he can in the wake of a failed coup attempt by Assemblymember Michael Bragman. In the primary for East New York's 40th Assembly District, Gordon won a surprise victory over incumbent Assemblymember Edward Griffith by a mere 70 votes, according to unofficial figures from the Board of Elections. During the recount, Silver sent a crew of staffers over to the Board of Elections to mount an aggressive challenge and tip the scales in favor of Griffith, one of Silver's close friends.

"Even after they were behind on the recount, they were still challenging paper (ballots)," said the source. "They alienated a new member and this is a speaker who's got problems. It was really stupid. Diane Gordon probably had not committed to either side, and this is the first thing Shelly does to greet her. I'm sure he owed Grif what he owed Grif, but there's a point where you see the handwriting on the wall."

Gordon could not be reached for comment, but Charles Carrier, a spokesperson for Silver, said that Silver and Gordon enjoy a "very good" relationship. "He's spoken to her on several occasions. I think Mrs. Gordon would understand that Mr. Griffith is an old friend that has served in the Assembly for 24 years, as long as the speaker's been there," said Carrier. "It was out of respect and a sense of loyalty that (Silver) provided those people."

Blame It On Brooklyn Believe it or not, Rep. Rick Lazio has a Brooklyn angle. "My family roots trace back to this borough," he said at a recent campaign stop. He noted that both of his parents were born and raised in the borough of churches, that his mother fondly recalls roller-skating down Nostrand Avenue, and that his folks' first date was at Ebbets Field. "If it weren't for Brooklyn, I might not be here now," he said. And we thought it was all because of Giuliani's prostate.

Dov To Endorse, But Who? Assemblymember Dov Hikind said that he will make an endorsement in the Senate race after the Jewish Holidays. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Rick Lazio have both been courting Hikind in the past weeks. For Clinton, his endorsement would represent a step forward in shoring up Jewish support for her candidacy. For Lazio, a Hikind nod could held him carve out a group of voters from historically Democratic turf, which could be extra valuable in a tight race. Last week, Hikind's club, the United New York Democrats, voted unanimously not to make an endorsement at this time. However, like Hikind, the club will also make an endorsement after the holidays.

Hikind praised Clinton's recent remarks criticizing anti-Semitic propaganda in Palestinian school textbooks, but he is also continuing to meet with Lazio, as recently as the day after Clinton leveled her criticisms. Hikind would not elaborate on the Lazio meeting, saying only that they discussed the case of Jonathan Pollard and the state of Israel. Hikind wouldn't tip his hand as to which way he would go in the race, but he did say that some negative feelings about Clinton have thawed. "This has really changed from three months ago when everyone just hated Hillary," he said.

Hacken To Challenge Election Alleging that fraud tainted the district leader's election in the 46th Assembly District, Gloria Hacken said that she will challenge the results. According to unofficial numbers from the Board of Elections, Hacken got 2,170 votes and incumbent District Leader Marsha Rapaport received 3,107. "There was a tremendous amount of fraud, permeated throughout the entire 46th," said Hacken. "The only area that was mostly free of it, and we got a tremendous vote there, was the Coney Island community."

Hacken wouldn't specify exactly how the fraud was committed, but she did characterize it as "criminal fraud." "I will tell say this: Many people were denied their right to vote, and that's the basis of the challenge," she said. "We're not talking about 10 people, we're talking about hundreds of people."

One source said that the problem stemmed from registered Republicans trying to vote in a Democratic primary. "They were bringing in Russian people to vote, which is their right," said the source. "Most of the Russians are registered Republicans because many of them came here in the 80's and 90's as anti-Communists. But now they're unhappy about it because they find that the Republicans are doing away with the social programs on which they depend. They don't understand the idea that you have to belong to a party to vote."

Rapaport was surprised to hear of Hacken's claim. "There was a thousand votes between us and hundreds of affidavits given out. I have absolutely no idea what she's talking about. I have heard nothing on this issue. Its news to me," she said. "I can't see where there was anybody being denied their right. A lot of people thought they could come in and wanted to vote for Lazio. We told them they were registered Republicans, and this was a Democratic primary, so come back and vote in November."

Borough Politics Archive
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