Between the Lines. While the big-ticket ballot item was Charter revision, two smaller races for municipal judgeships revealed much more about Brooklyn politics and the county party.

In the 2nd Municipal District, Democrat Bernadette Bayne defeated Liberal Wavny Toussaint. Bayne won an upset victory over Toussaint in the primary to win the Democratic line, but county leaders, who were backing Toussaint, were wont to support Bayne in the general election. Toussaint, a law secretary to a State Supreme Court judge, had received the approvals of the Association of the Bar of New York and the Brooklyn Bar Association, whereas Bayne had received unfavorable ratings.

Additionally, the county has often called Toussaint a ìdecent person, while showing no such confidence in Bayneís character. Sources say that despite Bayneís primary victory, the county did its best to covertly support Toussaint. Nonetheless, Bayne, a former criminal judge who was appointed by David Dinkins but not re-appointed by Mayor Giuliani, won the Democratic line and went on to trounce Toussaint by a ratio of more than 3 to 1.

Some sources have said that Bayne's victory is the byproduct of flaws in the county partyís structure and organization. Jeff Feldman, chairman of the party, viewed it differently. "From a company perspective, everyone who was supposed to win, won," he said.

In the 3rd Municipal District, Democrat Wayne Saitta held off a challenge by Gerald Dunbar, who was running on the conservative and independent lines.

Anytime a conservative/independent can actually garner enough votes to challenge a Democrat, it ís taken as a sign that the apocalypse is upon Brooklyn. But in this case, it may simply signal the strength of the Hasidic vote in the 3rd District and the ability of some politicians to rally that vote on short notice.

Saitta, who was backed by Assemblymember Vito Lopez, has represented area tenants through South Brooklyn Legal Services. Saittaís tenant advocacy apparently disgruntled many of the Hasidic landlords in the Williamsburg area. With that feeling as leverage, Councilmember Ken Fisher and Rep. Edolphus Towns fielded Dunbar with just a few weeks to go before the election. Dunbar's legal experience mirrored Saittaís. He had done a lot of tenant advocacy work, much of it pro bono, for lower income Hasidic families.The idea behind his candidacy was to carry the Hasidic vote and then hope to win snippets of black and Latino through Towns.

So while Towns was trying to mobilize his constituency, Dunbar was campaigning almost exclusively in the Hasidic community, said sources. As it turned out, Dunbar lost by the relatively close ratio of about 3-2, but the 4,313 votes he pulled in, including 1,284 on the Conservative line and the rest on the obscure independent line, have caused some to remark about the mobilization and awakening of the Hasidic vote in that district.

"That's a sign of future political changes in that section of Brooklyn,"said one source. "Clearly, (Dunbar) lost, but it shows that they were able to educate the vote."

"If it weren't for the Charter revision vote on the ballot, Dunbar would have won it," said another source. The local unions had mobilized their members to vote against the charter changes, and since they were in the booths, they naturally pulled the Democratic lever, said the source.

What this signals is that in an election where thereís heavy rain, where the Hasidim could care less about the Charter change, theyíre going to make their voices known in the upcoming elections,î said the source. And as the Hasidic community expands into the traditionally Hispanic areas around Williamsburg, they could become the swing votes in those districts.

Hizzoner Gets Thumped. In the wake of the votersí clear rejection of the Charter revision proposals, Brooklyn politicians must be incredibly pleased. Mayor Giuliani, on the other hand, is busy massaging his bruises.

The ballot question was defeated by a ratio of about 3-1, with roughly 280,000 voters against and 90,000 for. Virtually every elected official in Brooklyn, with the exception of Republican Councilmember Marty Golden, spoke out against the proposed changes.

After the special elections proposal was moved back to 2002, many voters lost interest in the charter battle, and its two most prominent players, Public Advocate Mark Green and Mayor Giuliani, receded into the background. Many had viewed the special elections proposal, which sought to prevent the public advocate from automatically assuming the office of mayor should it become vacant, as an expression of Giuliani's dislike for Green.

The two important remaining proposals, which would have required a two-thirds majority of the City Council to raise certain taxes and imposed a cap on city spending relative to the rate of inflation, were boring enough to put you sleep before the lever was halfway down.

Recently, Giuliani and the Charter Revision Commission went on a media blitz to convince voters of the merit of the proposals. The initiative included spots on television and radio, taped phone messages from Giuliani and a flurry of literature.

"I was so fearful that the media blitz by the supporters would make it impossible to defeat," said Councilmember Herb Berman, chair of the finance committee. "But despite that, the people just came out and understood it." Because the revision commission was convened by Giuliani, and because he later supported the proposals as an extension of his own policy, does this sound defeat serve as a referendum on him? "It may chip at the mystique of Giuliani's power, but I still think he overwhelmingly has the support of most people in the city," said Berman.

Incumbents Victorious. In the 48th Councilmanic District, incumbent Democrat Mike Nelson trounced challenger Sonya Ostrom, a Green Party candidate. Nelson took 80 percent of the vote, while Ostrom, a 71-year old former teacher and representative to the United Nations, garnered 14 percent. "I feel, of course, very good about it," said Nelson. Ostrom, who was also endorsed by the Working Families Party, had cast Nelson as anti-tenant based on his vote for the lead paint bill. But Nelson defended his record on that issue, calling the Green Party's characterization of him a distortion and pointing to the fact that he sought to lower the four percent rent stabilization rate.

Glenn Rubenstein, the co-manager of Ostrom's campaign, looked at the silver lining of the results. "Part of this is voters learning they have new options, and one out of every seven voters chose to exercise that option. It ís the beginning of something in Southern Brooklyn," he said. "It ís hard to put a positive spin on 14 percent," said Nelson. "But it is good that voters have all kinds of choices."

In the 50th Councilmanic District, Republican James Oddo again defeated Democrat John Sollazzo in a relatively close race. Oddo took 55 percent of the vote, while Sollazzo took 42 percent. The district mainly covers Staten Island, but also includes Bensonhurst.

Oddo had defeated Sollazzo, a Democratic district leader, in the special election last February. "I beat him handily in Brooklyn," said Sollazzo, who also won Brooklyn in February. Sollazzo was endorsed by many Brooklyn Democrats, including Councilmember Stephen DiBrienza."The turnout was better than the special election, but it wasn't as good as we anticipated. I'm disappointed, naturally. The voters have spoken and I have to accept it," he said.

Oddo was unavailable for comment at press time.