His Own Drummer. State Senator Carl Kruger stunned the local political world by crossing party lines and endorsing Mayor Rudolph Giuliani over First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Immediately, sources began theorizing about whether Kruger had made the endorsement to get back at Brooklyn Democratic boss Clarence Norman, who recently endorsed William Thompson, Jr. over Councilmember Herbert Berman, a close Kruger friend and ally.Another source saw Krugerís move as an attempt to solidify an Orthodox Jewish voting bloc in anticipation of a run for borough president.

But Kruger put the kibosh on both those ideas. "We've gone from payback to galvanizing?" he asked, calling the ideas "ludicrous."

"You can't buy a Yankees cap and a million-dollar house in Westchester and decide to infuse yourself in the New York scene and become a New Yorker," said Kruger."(Clinton) was not in my judgment what we need or want."

Kruger also pointed to her health care fiasco and the fact that she has no record of service. He also said that Giuliani had a ìvisionî for the city. Scott Gerschwer, Kruger's spokesman, said that Kruger was also disappointed in the way the Democratic Party "rolled over for Hillary." Kruger has criticized Clinton for her handling of the FALN situation, as well as for the public relations disaster she suffered last week at the hands of Suha Arafat.

"The Arafat thing really pushed it over the top," said Gerschwer, a sentiment echoed by Kruger, who stated that Clinton never should have been on the dais with Arafat in the first place. Yet, Brooklyn Democratic leaders were horrified when Kruger crossed party lines to endorse a man who is, well, hated in many parts of the borough. "Absolute shock and dismay" is how Norman characterized his reaction. "I don't quite fathom why he would endorse the Republican, unannounced candidate, because even if he had some concerns about Hillary Clinton you would think that as a Democrat he would take a pass or just sit on the sideline, but to cross party lines -- it really hurt."

Norman stated that he and Kruger had a one-hour conversation on Friday, November 19 -- just a few days before the endorsement -- and Kruger never mentioned the subject.

"My feelings on Friday were pretty much no different than the day before. The preponderance of facts was becoming clearer and clearer, and as the days went on, I decided that I wanted to do this before Thanksgiving," said Kruger.

Interestingly enough, Kruger said that he had discussed the decision with Berman, who did not support it. However, he said that other Democrats are leaning away from Clinton and may follow his lead in the next few months. Of course, they will probably not get the massive amount of media coverage that Kruger did. In one day, he did five talk shows, including "Crossfire," New York 1's "Inside City Hall," and "The O'Reilly Factor." He was also covered in most of the city's major daily newspapers.

"The amount of attention it got is really disproportionate to what it is," said Gerschwer. "I think the media is very hungry over this race and there hasnít been a whole lot of stuff happening in it. They were hyped up to a near frenzy and then bottled up, and anything that releases that is going to get big play."

In fact, Kruger was in such demand that he had to turn down several requests, including two from CNN. And in a shocker that trumps his endorsement, Kruger, speaking on Wednesday, said, "I just cancelled out on 'Meet the Press.'"

Not So Fast. Responding to an item in last week's column, Pat Singer, executive director of the Brighton Neighborhood Association, said that her chances of winning Howard Lasher's Council seat are as good as anyone's, including Marsha Rapaport, who one source said was the favorite. In fact, said Singer, her campaign is making her opponents nervous enough to sink to the petty depths of sabotageówhich is almost unheard of in Brooklyn politics.

An anonymous male caller, she said, has been dialing up the State Division for Youth and the State Division for Housing -- two of BNAís funding sources -- and claiming that Singer is using her BNA office as her campaign headquarters. Additionally, she said, this person also stated that David Pearlmutter, BNA's youth director, was moonlighting as Singer's campaign manager.

Singer said that the allegations were ridiculous. "I would not be so stupid,î she said. ìHeís a real sick coward, whoever he is. I think that person should give their nameógive it to me, baby." Singer, who has authored two landlord/tenant laws, stated that she is supported by the Kings Highway Democratic Club and has enough community experience to position herself as the peoplesí candidate. "I've got a hell of a chance," she said. And of Rapaport, who is currently the district leader in the 46th A.D. and has worked for a variety of politicians, Singer said, "I didn't work for anybody. I wrote laws. I wasn't following instructions. I was giving them. I have the greatest respect for her, but it's my turn."

Of course, for the perpetrator of these clandestine phone calls, Singer had much harsher words. "The person who would do something like this is the lowest scum in the world," she said. "And if the race is such a lock, what are they afraid of? Maybe I have the key?"

Mazel tov. Congrats to State Senator Marty Markowitz, who was married on November 21 to Jamie Snow, a graphic artist and native of Manhattan Beach.

I'm 54 and it's my first and hopefully only trip around the bases," said Markowitz. Markowitz met Snow at the Kingsborough Community College beach in July. "It was her first time on that beach. She always went to Manhattan Beach, and I was there for the first time that season," said Markowitz. "And boom -- that's how it is."

Snow was residing in Manhattan, but now Markowitz, a candidate for borough president, will bring her back to Brooklyn. "I'm reprogramming her so that when she says "the city," she'll mean Brooklyn," he said.

Borough Politics Archive
November 18 column.
November 11 column.
November 4 column.