Runoff Election Tuesday

By on September 27, 2013 11:10 am in Election 13

For registered Democrats, there will be a runoff election on Tuesday, October 1 for the nomination for Public Advocate. The candidates vying for the nomination are City Council Member Letitia “Tish” James and State Senator Daniel Squadron. Polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. You can find the location of your polling place here.

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  • marshasrimler

    The real question here is how can we hold Mr. Squadron responsible for his dishonestly. He moved into this community and ran for public office promising no additional housing in BBP. Many of his supporters believed him. He then turned around and negotiated with the mayor for more housing while his wife was Chief of Operations in the Blooomberg administration,
    When asked about this over one year ago he got angry. I believe this should have been disclosed and he should have asked the State or City ethics board to determine if he had a conflict of interest .. He did not and was not transparent about his wife’s position or salary in the Bloomberg administration

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    I’ll be voting for Dan but he really disappointed me during the debate on NY1. His distancing himself from
    the Bloomberg administration and BBP housing really ticked me off. He knows that housing was crucial with the development of the park but allowed Tish to get the upper hand when she disavowed the necessity of any housing component with respect to financing maintenance of the park. Also, when he keep on emphasizing the correlation between Bloomberg and her voting record It made me ill, like that was bad policy. Everyone knows that Tish was a thorn in Bloomberg’s side. She fought much of the redevelopment of downtown Brooklyn with respect to luxury housing. If up to Tish. Toren, Oro, Avalon Bay etc. would not exists unless major concessions were made for her constitutes.

    I’m a loyal democrat but their demonizing the wealthy is very sad. I’ll miss Bloomberg big time.

  • marshasrimler

    It sounds like you are saying he may not be trustworthy

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Not quite, Dan is just playing the political game of appealing to the left in the primary until the general election when he will move more toward the center. We all know how the game is played and just hold our nose during the process. By the way Marsha, you dog is a wonderful kisser. hehehe

  • TMS

    WOW I didn’t know this. He just lost my vote. I was teetering between the two.

  • Reggie

    TMS, the history of Senator Squadron’s negotiations with regard to housing on the periphery of Brooklyn Bridge Park are considerably more complex than Ms. Rimler makes them out to be, and much more complex than I can summarize here, although I will take a stab at it.

    Squadron reached an agreement with the Bloomberg administration that was essentially a poison pill. The senator could block housing, but doing so would cripple further park development. Surprise, surprise, he did not want to go down in history as the guy who killed the park, so he negotiated a memorandum of understanding that would reduce the amount of housing under certain conditions that will not be met by the end of the year, when the MOU ceases to be valid since Bloomberg will no longer be mayor. The second agreement also got more of the park funded, especially for active recreation, something many people felt was missing.

    Litmus test issues are always a tricky thing. Clearly, Ms. Rimler thinks the senator’s handling of this issue makes him unsuitable for higher office or even the one he holds now. But can we choose any candidate for any office based on a single issue? I think not.

    But the issue may still inform the public’s decision about whom to vote for on Tuesday. However flawed the outcome, Squadron negotiated not one but two agreements. He also explored numerous other alternatives that ultimately were not pursued.

    His opponent, on the other hand, is more fond of black-and-white positions and glib statements like Ms. Rimler’s. They don’t accomplish much, but the other candidate looks tough on the evening news. Is that who we want as our next public advocate? –an actor? –or someone who can get legislation passed and changes made?

    I will be voting for Daniel Squadron on Tuesday. And, responding to the predictable responses, no, I am not affiliated with Squadron’s campaign, nor did anyone put up to writing this. I wrote it because I feel strongly about the race.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Exactly what “additional” housing are you referring to?

  • marshasrimler

    Should he have been negotiating with the Mayors office when his wife was Director of Operations in the administration? Why was he not transparent about this

  • marshasrimler

    The private housing on Pier 1-It was supposed to be a hotel.
    The housing that will eventually be built near pier 6 and the housing that will be built on the con ed site

  • marshasrimler

    Secondly do you REALLY think that the Mayor would have not built the park of Daniel keep his world to his earliest supporters.
    This is a fable.

  • Heights Observer

    What about Tish James and the Walentas donation of $10,000 AFTER she got involved in the approval of the building that is being built near the Brooklyn Bridge, which is not even in her district. Even David McCulloch, the author of “The Great Bridge” came out against it as did many others in our area. Why was Tish James so interested in a building in a district other than her own were it not for the campaign contributions she anticipated? She deftly avoided the question on the issue in the TV debates, but she can’t hide from the truth. Check out the story.

    She will be a great public advocate for the real estate interests, but not for the people.

  • marshasrimler

    should Daniel have been negotiating with the Mayor about BBP when his wife was Director of Operations in the administration@ why was he not transparent about this– is the question. . His wife was the main breadwinner in the house earning almost 3 times his salary. If this is not a conflict of interest I don’t know what is.. Is he trustworthy?

  • marshasrimler

    if you think 10,000 buys Tish you do not know her at all.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Heights Observer, I think you should do a little more homework. I’m not a Tish James fan but to say she is an advocate of real estate interest is just totally incorrect. Quite the contrary. She approved the Dock Street development primarily because it included a middle school. I believe it also has an affordable housing component which would also appeal to Miss James. FWIW, Squadron, also received a large donation from the Walentas family but I assume you know this.

  • Reggie

    The mayor’s office is quite large. The office of operations would have had no role in this type of negotiation.

  • marshasrimler

    Why was he not forthcoming about his wife’s job for the mayor
    with a salary 3 times his
    with the public. why was this kept a secret…??
    Why not ask for an ethics decisionon if he should have been negotiating with his wife’s boss??

  • Phony Manheim

    The reason you did not know this is because it is blatantly false. Squadron did not “add” any housing to the Park. There was always housing AND a hotel at pier 1. And despite the fact that his wife works in City Hall, I can assure you that he pushed very hard to get rid of the housing. In the end, he was able to remove 4 stories of one of the buildings. Karl’s analysis is pretty spot on. He did not approach the issue at black and white, but negotiated heavily with a bloomberg administration that was never going to get rid of the housing (nor should they imho).

  • marshasrimler

    Should he have been negotiating on behalf of the community with his wife’s boss.? Should he have been more transparent? Should he have asked city and/or state ethics is he had a conflict.? why was this hidden?
    His wife the major breadwinner in his household worked and works for a man he negotiated with. I have serious questins about this.

  • Phony Manheim

    Marsha – I wasn’t talking to you. You’ve made your opinions clear the other 15 times you posted the same exact thing during this thread. I was responding to TMS. Apparently he believed your lie that squadron added housing to the park and was taking that seriously. There are plenty of reason to not like squadron (just like there are plenty of reasons to not like any politician, including tish) but you should at least decide that based on the truth and not things that you just made up. Sorry you didn’t know that Squadron’s wife worked for City Hall. Many of us knew did in fact know that. We also know that he was endorsed by Bloomberg when he originally ran and that one of his best friends worked for City Hall at the time. I don’t recall Squadron ever attempting to deny this or hide it. I’m sorry he didn’t knock on your door and tell you personally. But I’ve spoken to enough City Hall folks over the last year to know that Squadron was genuinely a pain in the neck for them regarding housing in the park, despite his wife’s job. So i don’t really think your suspicion is warranted. But you’ve already made your point clear. So please please please don’t respond by just posting the same again for a 16th time.

  • marshasrimler

    I think the central issue still is why he did not disclose hie wife’s job city hall making a very nice salary . The fact that he was negotiating with her boss and was not transparent about it is an issue of ethical behavior.
    Read yesterday dailykos
    Whats wrong with Daniel Squadron anyway to learn more

  • marshasrimler

    Why do you keep trying to change the subject from Daniels deception