Strange days, indeed!

From NY1:

More negative campaign mail, this one’s out of Queens. Here’s a picture of Dan Halloran getting hauled off. He’s part, of course, of a corruption inquiry. He’s been arrested. “Our community has suffered enough.” You flip it on the other side – “Paul Graziano would be another embarrassment to our community.” Now let’s be clear, folks: Paul Graziano has absolutely nothing to do with Dan Halloran, with the corruption inquiry, or anything involving legal wrongdoing. So this is a pure slam. It’s put out, by the way, by Jobs For New York, Inc. and I should note that it says absolutely nothing about jobs or anything else positive. I thought you should see that.
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The following was sent to Congressmember Meng, Senator Stavisky, Assemblymember Braunstein, Assemblymember Kim and Councilmember Weprin and cc'd to the five District 19 Council candidates:

During the course of the City Council Race in District 19, Jobs for New York has sent a series of "hit pieces" against three of the candidates for the benefit of Paul Vallone. The mailers are paid for by Jobs for New York and upon information and belief, were designed, printed and distributed by Parkside. All legally done and done in the name of politics for the good of the county machine and to promote and theoretically ensure the election of a candidate who will serve the interests of his benefactors, the Real Estate Board of New York.

That legally a candidate can have no connection to the sponsor of such correspondence is a convenient legal fiction enacted into law by the very people it serves to protect. Such politics benefits no one but the County machine and candidates who are willing to sell their offices to the highest bidder at the expense of their communities.

Jobs for New York has thrown down the gauntlet of negative campaigning with a level of vengeance that is beyond comprehension in a local race. The lies, innuendo, out of context quotes and literally inflammatory graphics should be as deplorable to any sitting politician or candidate as they are to me and members of the 19th Council District. They should especially be deplorable to a candidate who continually touts integrity, family values and his Christian church as his hallmarks.

That you all endorsed and continue to support the Vallone candidacy without reservation speaks volumes about your desire to remain in the good graces of the county machine and uncontrolled future benefactors and very little about your actual support of this or any other endorsed candidate. However, there comes a time in human events, including political campaigns, when courage, integrity, decency and standing up against what is wrong separates the public servants from the hacks.

This campaign tactic is one of those watershed events. All of you are current office holders who have either the power to introduce legislation to take back total control of your campaigns and to disallow such spending and return the political process to the constituents you claim to serve or to influence colleagues who have such power. The" poor little candidate" who cannot stop a big bad entity from spewing unwanted campaign literature throughout your districts doesn't play well. It is time to take responsibility for your campaigns and to be accountable to your constituents for what is put out in your names.

This may turn out to be one of those issues which empowers voters to say "NO" at the polls to candidates who support negative independent expenditures, who refuse to take accountability for their campaigns and who are willing by extension to sell their offices. The beginning of such a movement in District 19 may have been the joining of five civic associations in common voice against the practice though the civics themselves support different candidates.

It is unfortunate for the political process, the integrity of your offices and your standing in the community that none of you have publicly repudiated this practice.

Rhea O'Gorman
Station Road Civic Association
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And finally, residents of the 19th Council District received this call last night: