Three's Company. In the 43rd Councilmanic District, three Democratic candidates have emerged as possible challengers to Councilmember Marty Golden. Not surprisingly, all three are lawyers, which could make for either a very dull or very contentious primary. Two of the three, John Orlando and Carlo Scissura, were staffers for State Senator Vincent Gentile. The third, Joanne Seminara Lehu, helped Gentile in his successful 1996 and 1998 re-election bids.

I'm considering all my options and this is a definite possibility," said Scissura, who will make his decision after the November 2000 races. Seminara Lehu, a member of Community Board 10, has already filed with the Board of Elections and held a fundraiser, but said that she has not made a formal decision. Attempts to reach Orlando were unsuccessful.

The candidates will most likely seek to portray themselves as friends of small business and defenders of Bay Ridgeís small town, neighborhood feel. Conversely, they will portray Golden as the promoter of a big business agenda that impinges on a small-scale community. To that end, the political black eye that Golden suffered in his failed attempt to make Third and Fifth Avenues one-way will come into play. But Gentile wondered whether the issue would still be potent at the tail end of 2001.

"It remains to be seen whether the issues of today are important issues at the time of Golden's re-election. That's the advantage of a four-year term," he said. Gentile, whose endorsement will be crucial, declined to say whether he was leaning toward one particular candidate, citing the need to focus on his own re-election bid, which may have him matched against Republican Robert DeCarlo. However, word has it that Orlando and Gentile are not on good terms, leaving Scissura and Seminara Lehu as possibilities. Seminara Lehu was the county's candidate when she lost to Golden in 1997 by about 2,500 votes. That year, she said, Mayor Giuliani's strong showing in the district helped to carry Golden, a phenomenon that could be reversed in 2001 if the city rallies around a Democratic mayoral candidate.

Whatever the outcome, most of the race will focus on Bay Ridge, but Scissura, a member of Community Board 11 as well as School Board 20, noted that the candidates must not forget the other parts of the district. "People need to remember that this council district is not just Bay Ridge. It's part Bay Ridge, part Bensonhurst, part Dyker Heights, and part Bath Beach. It's much broader," he said.

He Shoots, He Scores The Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats endorsed Bill Bradley for president after a debate in which Bradley was represented by Councilmember Herbert Berman, and Vice President Al Gore was represented by Assemblymember Clarence Norman. "The positions that Bradley's taking in the campaign are a tad more progressive than the ones Mr. Gore is taking," said Jack Carroll, president of CBID and a candidate for Stephen DiBrienzaís soon-to-be open City Council seat.

The subtext of the debate is the bad blood between Berman and Norman, which was made worse when Norman endorsed William Thompson, Jr., the president of the Board of Education, over Berman in the race for comptroller. But Carroll said that everything went smoothly, with Berman pointing to Bradley's progressive stances on health care and his promise to peruse the defense budget and cut wherever possible. Meanwhile, Norman drew out Gore's role in helping President Clinton stymie a Republican Congress. Norman also made a pitch for Gore in terms of party unity, which is a bit ironic considering all the disparate factions that the county leader is having trouble containing, as well as his refusal to endorse Berman, who is a member of the county party's executive committee.

But despite the national issues upon which the debate was founded, one member of Bradleyís New York campaign pointed to a much more familiar, and some would say decisive factor, in the candidate's recent success: "The guy's got a great jump shot. He should be president."

A Pitch for Pollard Hillary Clinton's recent stumbles with the Jewish electorate are beginning to force her hand on other issues, such as supporting clemency for convicted spy Jonathan Pollard. Pollard was convicted of spying for Israel in 1985 and is serving a life sentence. President Clinton has not moved on the matter, and thus far, Hillary's camp has said the First Lady/Senate candidate is undecided on the issue of clemency.

Mayor Giuliani favors clemency for Pollard, a position that is overwhelmingly popular with many Jewish voters, who believe that Pollard is serving a sentence disproportionate to his crime. On Sunday, December 5, Assemblymember Dov Hikind led a well-attended protest outside Clintonís Manhattan campaign headquarters in an attempt to coerce her into seeing the light.

Speaking of Clinton's slow and less-than-stirring response to Suha Arafatís recent anti-Israel remarks, Hikind said: "Imagine if she had done something. She would have cut right into the Giuliani support in many communities. Boy, did she throw away an opportunity. She can do something positive now in terms of Pollard.

"Giuliani has supported our position for years -- and she's still thinking about it," continued Hikind. "This is the problem. We're trying to help her and encourage her to do the right thing."

Borough Politics Archive
December 2 column.
November 25 column.
November 18 column.
November 11 column.
November 4 column.