Jefferson Dems Boycott Weiner Fete While Rep. Anthony Weiner scored a big primary victory over Councilmember Noach Dear, he got the cold shoulder from the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club. The Jefferson Democrats decided to boycott Weiner's victory party at Lundy's in Sheepshead Bay in protest over the perceived arrogance of Weiner's staff, according to inside sources. The boycott was all the more surprising because the Jefferson Democrats delivered a huge margin of victory for Weiner in the 39th Assembly District.

Overall, Weiner took 73 percent of the vote, but in the 39th A.D. he garnered 82 percent, including margins as large as 106 to 6 in election districts with many conservative voters, like Marine Park. Prominent members of the Jefferson Democrats denied the existence of the boycott, despite the fact that none of them even stopped by the victory party. "I had my own fundraiser (that) night and we were involved in several other races," said Councilmember Herb Berman. "It is rare that we go to anyone else's victory party. We stayed in our own club because we were interested in other races around the city."

"We're more interested in doing the work and the final product than we are in the celebration," said State Senator Carl Kruger. "There was no boycott. It was not a conscious effort on our part." Lisa Falcone, chief of staff for State Senator John Sampson, said she was unaware of any such boycott. Assemblymember Frank Seddio could not be reached for comment by press time.

Nonetheless, inside sources said that Weiner's staff displayed a disdain for the ideas emanating from local, grassroots strategists. The disdain sufficiently angered some of the leadership at the club that a boycott was called for and adhered to, with only a few exceptions of unaware rank-and-file members. Weiner was surprised when asked about it. "I had strong support in the 39th throughout this campaign. If there is some kind of boycott, I'm not aware of it," he said.

Davis Wins Leadership Assemblymember Clarence Norman may have defeated James E. Davis by a handy margin, but the thorn in his side remains intact, as Davis defeated a Norman-backed candidate and established himself as the male leader in Norman's district. Davis defeated William Boone, a deacon in Norman's father's church, taking 4,170 votes to Boone's 3,388, according to unofficial numbers from the Board of Elections. Davis pulled 41 more votes for district leader than he did for assembly, meaning that some Norman voters split their ticket.

The race between the two has been bitter, as Davis has charged that Norman favors the Orthodox Jewish community over the black community, and Norman has called Davis a demagogue. Two years ago, Norman, the county leader, beat Davis by only 700 votes, but this year he devoted more energy to the race and won by more than 2,000 votes. Neither could be reached for comment at press time.

Voters Reverse The Court According to unofficial Board of Elections numbers, District Leader Diane Gordon narrowly defeated Assemblymember Edward Griffith, a longtime incumbent for whom she used to work. The two split when Griffith fired Gordon for taking an anti-police position at a public protest. Gordon said she was acting in her capacity as district leader and sued Griffith for violating of her First Amendment rights, but the court ruled against her in a case of first impression regarding the rights of political aides.

The first vote tally had Gordon winning by 70 votes, with 3,169 votes for her and 3,099 votes for Davis. However, paper ballots have not yet been counted, and in a race that close, the machine tally will be added up again, said a Board of Elections spokesperson.

Chalk One Up For The Machine Incumbent Civil Court Justice Maxine Archer lost to challenger Betty Williams, a candidate fielded by political consultant Mitch Alter, who has ties to Rep. Ed Towns. The ousting of Archer, who had gone public with accusations that Alter, using Towns' name, had tried to shake her down for $140,000, shows that in the case of judgeships, machine politics trumps incumbency. Archer lost by almost 1,000 votes, despite the fact that Williams has scant experience, and was rated unfavorable by various judicial associations.

Fisher Wins In Loss Some might be inclined to think that Councilmember Una Clarke's loss to Rep. Major Owens bodes poorly for Councilmember Ken Fisher, who heartily backed Clarke. But through his support of Clarke's campaign, Fisher gained entrée into a minority community that he otherwise would not have been able to even sniff in his upcoming pursuit of the borough presidency.

At Clarke's campaign headquarters after the election, Fisher was greeted warmly by a many Caribbean-Americans in East Flatbush, a piece of turf that would have belonged to Deputy Borough President Jeannette Gadson or State Senator Marty Markowitz. Additionally, Fisher had nothing to lose by supporting Clarke, as Owens will most likely support Gadson, and Clarke froze out Markowitz from the beginning, never even asking for his support.

Borough Politics Archive
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