Which is appropriate Memorial Day weekend candidate behavior?

Honoring those lost in the fight to keep our country free:

#MemorialDay looks a bit different this year without the traditional parades, but #ForestHills knows the importance of honoring our fallen heroes no matter the circumstances.

Honored to join today’s ceremony and pay tribute to those neighborhood residents who sacrificed for us. pic.twitter.com/QncAVgMMvJ

— Queens Borough President Donovan Richards (@QnsBPRichards) May 30, 2021

Memorial Day is a solemn reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that many of our service members in the United States Armed Forces made defending our country.

With these heavy hearts, we offer our thoughts and gratitude to the families of those who lost loved ones in battle. pic.twitter.com/SAUMkP5ie8

— Elizabeth Crowley (@ElizCrowleyNYC) May 31, 2021

I was proud to participate in this year's Memorial Day wreath laying ceremony with the United Veterans and Fraternal Organizations of Maspeth and @MaspethFederal. The rain could not dampen our grateful spirit.
#MemorialDay2021 #maspeth pic.twitter.com/aSfNawGKmd

— Robert Holden (@BobHoldenNYC) May 30, 2021

I was honored to attend @MelindaKatz’s #MemorialDay observance ceremony yesterday. Remembering our fallen soldiers is what this weekend is about. Enjoy, but also remember. pic.twitter.com/znqLtPv7tW

— David Weprin (@DavidWeprin) May 28, 2021

Shamelessly barnstorming apartment buildings and quiet neighborhoods for votes:

All this rain has produced at least one good thing - higher than average contact rates on the doors! pic.twitter.com/tyFuZ1gtn6

— Jimmy Van Bramer (@JimmyVanBramer) May 30, 2021

Lots of people home on this rainy Sunday full of enthusiasm for electing @tiffany_caban! pic.twitter.com/TOQbNANRMu

— Brad Lander (@bradlander) May 30, 2021

Rain or shine we’re talking to all our neighbors in my hometown #maspeth pic.twitter.com/drDhLKz3XZ

— Juan Ardila (@JuanArdilaNYC) May 29, 2021

(FYI: The "V for Victory" hand gesture was introduced in January 1941 as part of a campaign by the Allies of World War II.)

Holden's opponent campaigns in the wrong district

This article was published in QNS and I couldn't help but chuckle at it. For example, here is a passage about the pictured business owner who was visited:

Lagos made some time, and spoke about the hardships of maintaining his business for what is nearly a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lagos, who noted Tasty’s has been in Ridgewood for 40 years, said not having indoor dining and getting “a bunch” of violations from the Department of Transportation for his outdoor setup are some of his biggest issues.

The response from the candidate during the listening tour?

When asked for his response to [incumbent Robert] Holden’s calls to open indoor dining to 50 percent capacity, Ardila said it’s “irresponsible.” Holden wants the governor to allow for the city’s restaurants to open indoor dining at the same capacity of Long Island, where there is a higher positivity rate of COVID-19 compared to the city, before more go out of business.

Sorry, Mr. Lagos, but Juan thinks you should just suck it up, because COVID spreads more in Queens restaurants than it does in Nassau County ones, or something like that.

Also interesting is the fact that the Tasty Diner is not in Council District 30. In reality, only about 3 blocks of the Ridgewood section of Myrtle Avenue are, and only on one side of the street. This diner is in Antonio Reynoso's district but he's too busy running for Brooklyn Borough President to care.

But do you know whose State Senate district this actually is? Not Jessica Ramos' but Michael Gianaris' who also endorsed this guy. Unfortunately, Mike sadly can't find anyplace outside of Astoria even if he uses Google Maps.

Keep voting for people who don't give a flying fig about you, because that's worked out well so far.

The Queen of Queens?

 

  

  NY Daily News

 Former Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley is stepping up efforts in her Queens borough president run with a poll finding one in five voters would pick her over her leading rivals.

While Crowley has been quiet since losing a tough re-election fight in 2017, she touted the poll as proof she’s still a contender.

 "During my years in City Council, I fought for Queens values and against the status quo — I fought to protect public safety, to expand transportation, and to bring reform to the city's budgeting process,” she said in a Sunday statement. “Based on our polling, voters are aware of what I’ve accomplished and that my record is resonating with voters.”

A survey of 1,282 likely voters put Crowley against leading candidates Jimmy Van Bramer, Costa 
 

 Constantinides and Donovan Richards, all Queens Council members. A plurality of respondents — 44% — said they didn’t know who’d they vote for if the election were held now, but 21% supported Crowley; 16%, Van Bramer; 10%, Richards; and 8%, Constantinides.

Honan Strategy Group conducted the survey in October, but its CEO Bradley Honan said the results are still valid because not much has changed in the race since then; debates and TV ad campaigns won’t start until the coming weeks.

Crowley lost her Council seat to Bob Holden, who ran campaign on opposition to homeless shelters in the district, which includes Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodhaven and Woodside.

  

Civic punishes anti-Machine candidate

From the Times Ledger:

Oster Bryan, the former candidate who ran for an Assembly seat in southeast Queens against incumbent Clyde Vanel (D-Queens Village) in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary was asked to resign from his post as the president of the St. Albans Improvement Association.

Bryan believes that an $8,000 grant sent to the civic association before the Sept. 13 primary by Vanel was at the heart of the decision of him getting booted from organization.

“They are trying to remove as president, and they are saying it’s because I ran for public office, but that makes no sense to me,” said Bryan. “There is no such rule on our books that says I can’t.”

The eight-page bylaws from the civic association did not indicate a member or leader of the organization could not run for office; however, a letter sent to the former candidate said that he knew of the funds that were sent to the civic association before he decided to run and put the needs of the nonprofit at risk.

“It appears that you had no interest nor respect for the welfare of this organization and its members. Instead you choose to join the race for the Assembly seat after already knowing Assemblyman Clyde Vanel gave the Civic a grant,” said the letter that was sent out by the organization’s Vice President Martha Oliver.

Vanel implied he had nothing to do with Bryan being asked to resign and that funds were sent to the civic association long before the primary race; however, he did not have records on hand as to when exactly he offered the grant as of Wednesday night.

"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." - 1 Timothy 6:10

Vallone a bit testy over non-appearances

From the Queens Tribune:

City Council candidate Paul Graziano, a well-known activist and city planner, bashed Vallone for not attending the event or several other candidates nights in the district, including one with the Bayside Historical Society and another with the Douglaston Civic Association. Vallone attended a candidates night at the Bay Club on Oct. 25, but Graziano argued that the event was not open to the public.

“That should speak volumes to the audience, that Paul Vallone is afraid to actually respond and face his own constituents,” he said.

A spokesman from Vallone’s campaign said he did not attend the We Love Whitestone event due to a medical emergency in his family, and issued a testy response to Graziano’s claims.

“Councilmember Vallone does not attend all candidates nights because he does not feel compelled to debate a career loser running on the Reform party line who he has defeated twice already in elections,” he said.

Candidates nights are a means of letting constituents hear your positions so they can make an informed decision when they go to vote. Depriving them of that opportunity and blaming your opponent for actually showing up isn't really all that smart.

Queens County dynasty freakout, Vallone edition

Ladies & Gentlemen,

Saturday I showed up with a group of volunteers working for Paul Graziano’s city council candidacy. In the recent Democratic primary he lost to the Vallone machine by a small margin. He’s got a real shot to win the General Election Nov 7th. But the tactics of Paul Vallone are thuggish as exemplified Saturday. Vallone and his campaign crew posted up outside of a Stop and Shop supermarket in the Bay Terrace Plaza which is in Bayside. They were first there so when we arrived we respectfully worked the back of the exit line from the supermarket.

Everything was going fine until Paul Vallone himself noticed that many of the shoppers were calling me over and having long conversations with me. He decided that he had had enough of freedom of speech and fair competition. He called the mall police on us who then instructed us that we were standing on private property and were without a permit which Paul Vallone had. I requested to see the permit but I was denied.

Rather than create a big scene since I was well aware that management was a Vallone crony we did the next best thing and marched outside onto the entering street and started to stop cars, talk with passengers and give out Paul Graziano literature. Thankfully the NYPD did not hassle us. Paul Graziano’s crew was working hard and rolled with the many changes that I had to make from our original plan.

This was New York State Reform Party teamwork at its best. We rolled with the adversity and turned it into a great campaign day. Now it’s onward to victory November 7th. (You can see in one of the pictures that Paul Vallone himself is leading the effort to remove us from us in front of the Stop and Shop).

- Curtis Sliwa, Chair of the NYS Reform Party

Queens County dynasty freakout, Crowley edition

"This weekend I was canvassing in #Woodhaven with my volunteers, Milly and Sally, when Council Member Crowley and her son Owen showed up. (They’ve been following us lately.) Elizabeth proceeded to shove Sally for no reason. If she wants to be paranoid and stalk me, that’s politics, but going after my volunteers is simply unacceptable."

"After being caught on video shoving my volunteer, instead of apologizing, Council Member Crowley for some reason pulled out her camera to film us. Is this the type of person that the district wants representing them for 4 more years?" - Robert Holden

Video Voter Guide - City Council District 32

Costa has an opponent

From DNA Info:

A local real estate agent who's been pushing the city to restore the long-shuttered diving pool in Astoria Park has jumped into the race for the neighborhood's City Council seat.

Kathleen Springer is running as an independent candidate for Council District 22 in the Nov. 7 election, challenging incumbent Councilman Costa Constantinides, who's held the post since 2014.

"I am basically running against the machine," said Springer, who grew up in the Marine Terrace apartments near Astoria Park. She also worked for decades in local real estate before selling her Steinway Street firm, Your Neighborhood Realty, in 2009.

"I sold or rented a house, or even commercial properties, on almost every block in Astoria," she said. "I know the neighborhood well, and I know a lot of people."

Video Voter Guide - City Council District 28

Video Voter Guide - City Council District 26

Video Voter Guide - City Council District 23

District 19 mystery candidate surfaces

Does anyone know who this is? Is he still planning to run? He apparently attended a GOP breakfast and said he is running but there is scant info about him.

If he's still in, does it hurt Vallone or Graziano more?

Good luck district 19!

Video Voter Guide: City Council District 32

Flushing candidates speak at BFHA

Above is footage of the Broadway-Flushing Homeowner's Night. Paul Vallone, Paul Graziano and Alison Tan speak on these videos.

In related news, I received this...

A personal message from Paul Graziano:

As a candidate for City Council, I take the election process very seriously. This is why I began my court action against my opponent, Paul Vallone, as I discovered during the petitioning process that his campaign had conducted a program of massive fraud and forgery.

While I have found clear and disturbing evidence over the past few weeks that supports my claims, it is with great reluctance that I ended my court challenge today, due to lack of campaign funds; although I have received the maximum amount of public matching funds - $100,000 - this funding cannot be spent on legal action, particularly related to challenging the validity of an opponent's petitions.

Therefore, I have decided to release all of my detailed findings to the public, as I believe the residents and voters of the 19th Council District deserve to know how Paul Vallone and his campaign have obtained access to the Democratic Party ballot.

Please join my attorney, Martin E. Connor and me for a press conference to be held at 146-24 32nd Avenue on Monday, August 14th at 1pm where we will present our findings and discuss our next steps.

Who:
Paul Graziano, Democratic candidate for 19th Council District
Martin Connor, Esq., election law attorney

What:
Presentation of our findings and discussion of our next steps re: allegations against Vallone campaign

Where:
146-24 32nd Avenue, Flushing

When:
Monday, August 14, 1pm

Stay tuned! Sounds like it's just about to get really interesting.

Rory has an opponent

From the Times Ledger:

Bangladesh-born City Council candidate Mohammed T. Rahman is hoping to make history as the first South Asian Muslim official in the City Council.

Rahman, who worked as a supervisor in the city Department Of Social Services for 21 years before retiring in March, said he was inspired to run amid growing concerns about how the Trump administration’s policies toward Muslims will affect New Yorkers.

Rahman, of Jamaica, is running against Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) in the Sept. 12 Democratic Primary to represent Council District 24, which covers Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, Jamaica Estates, Briarwood and Jamaica.

“New York has one of the largest Muslim communities in the nation, yet there are no elected Muslim officials in the City Council,” Rahman said. “As a result, we see not only a growing distrust of ordinary Muslim citizens, but also a huge disparity in how Council discretionary funds are distributed.”

Rahman said his campaign is part of a growing trend of South Asian-American candidates running for city office, a reflection of the community’s increasing population and influence. The city’s Bengali population has doubled to 100,000 since the 2010 census, Rahman said, and it’s time for new voices to be heard.

“Muslims are slowly being squeezed out of the mainstream by discriminatory practices and attitudes,” he said. “The best way to combat this is to normalize relationships between all of our communities, and integrate Muslims into our system of representative democracy.”

Rahman said he has spent most of his life helping the community as a social worker and he believes he will provide better representation for the community if elected. He said he will be able to better distribute city funding and services and will make certain every community in District 24 gets its fair share.

Hey, Eric, it's time to sh*t or get off the pot

From the Observer:

Only one of the four contenders to appear at the Columbia University College Republicans’ mayoral primary forum have yet to announce his candidacy—Queens Councilman Eric Ulrich, who promised reporters afterward he was “very close to making a decision.”

In his opening statement, Ulrich claimed that he was weighing a run because Mayor Bill de Blasio, a liberal Democrat, does not appear to be interested in the job. The councilman, who is eligible for another four-year term representing Howard Beach and parts of the Rockaways, has raised just short of $52,000 in a committee for undeclared office—some of it with the help of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, whom Ulrich backed in New York’s primary last April.

“It’s the million dollar question, right?” Ulrich admitted to the press. “I haven’t made a decision yet. I’m very close to making a decision and I should have an announcement soon, but I’m still considering a run for mayor because I’m concerned about the future of the city and because I do believe that Bill de Blasio can be beaten.”

The forum also included real estate executive Paul Massey, former Jets defensive lineman-turned-minister Rev. Michel Faulkner and actor and disability rights advocate Darren Aquino.

Meet Toby's Republican opponent

From Carlos Giron:

Carlos G. Giron, the former Director of Hispanic Communications with Major League Soccer, is an experienced, versatile and fully bilingual communications and marketing executive.

Carlos has worked in a variety of roles and in variety of industries. From MLS to Verizon Wireless, he helps some of our country's top companies and nonprofit organizations to effectively disseminate their messaging and meaningfully connect with target audiences.

He currently runs VIDA Communications, his own PR and marketing practice. In this capacity, he serves current and former clients that include Time Warner Cable, Allstate, St. Jude Childrens' Research Hospital, Caesars Entertainment, the UFC, HBO, Showtime and PR Newswire. His work for the NephCure Foundation received nationwide recognition and was featured on PRWeek, the public relations industry’s premier trade publication. His outstanding work helped the NephCure foundation raise awareness about kidney disease and how victims of this illness can secure invaluable treatment and assistance.

On the public affairs front, Carlos worked as a staff member of the successful 2009 reelection campaign of former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the 2013 mayoral run of Adolfo Carrion.

Barry Grodenchik: By the numbers

Barry Grodenchik CFB-07292015

Other information on donors of note:

Grodenchik, a multi-decade employee at Borough Hall with a single term in the New York State Assembly more than a decade ago as his only electoral experience, has raised more funds from other elected and former elected official campaign chests ($8,500) than all of his in-district contributions from the 23rd Council District ($8,297) combined.

Grodenchik's contributors are an example of how the Queens County Democratic Machine tries to bulldoze their way to a victory in what should be a competitive race for elected office. More than 40% of his significant contributions come from direct political connections, including elected officials, former elected officials, judges, political staffers, community board chairs and district managers (including some from Boards 8, 11 and 13 which is partially in the 23rd Council District), and, also importantly, those people whose organizations have benefitted from the purse strings of Borough Hall, where he has been a staffer for decades. And this doesn't even include developers or other businesses looking to get favors and approvals from Borough Hall.

Some examples:

The campaign chests of Liz Crowley and Mark Weprin each gave him $2,750, while Dan Garodnick, a Councilmember from Manhattan gave him $2,000 from his war chest. District Leader Martha Taylor, the co-leader with David Weprin for that area, gave him $250 from her abortive run for City Council in 2013, while Andrew Hevesi gave him $500 and former Assemblymember Jonathan Bing gave him $250 from his old campaign chest (still active) and $175, the maximum public match for an individual donation; Liz Crowley also gave him another $175.

The NYC Property Tax Fairness PAC gave Grodenchik $500. This Political Action Committee, which operates out of Albany, is run by David Weinraub, a partner of Brown & Weinraub, PLLC, listed as the 7th in a list of New York State's Top 10 Lobbyists in 2014 on the City and State NY website. In 2013, they also hired the former top aide and chief legal counsel to Sheldon Silver, Michael Boxley, who was convicted of sexually abusing a legislative staffer, as a principal in the firm.

Rosemary Vietor, VP of the Bowne House Historical Society, donated $1,000; the Bowne House received significant funding from the Borough President's office for its recent restoration.

Daniel Zausner, COO of the United States Tennis Association, donated $250; the USTA was given public parkland to expand their footprint in 2013, bullishly supported by the Borough President's office during the ULURP land use process.

The owner, Simon Pelman, family members and some employees, of the Union Plaza Nursing Home in Flushing - where Community Board 7 holds its meetings - gave Grodenchik $3,575 more than *all* of the developers and real estate contributions combined. Pelman owns and operates multiple nursing homes throughout Queens. He wrote a letter of support to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman during the trial of William Rapfogel, the former President of the Metropolitan New York Council on Jewish Poverty who embezzled $9 million and used much of the money to make campaign contributions, through straw donors, to win the favor of political candidates.

The largest real estate contributions were $1,000 from Christian Lee, the Principal of F+T Group, developers of the under-construction Flushing Commons on the site of the former Municipal Parking Lot, who received their approvals from Borough Hall; and Thomas D. Wong, a "retired" real estate broker from Maspeth, who contributed $1,175. Carl Mattone, President of the Mattone Group, made sure to drop him a small $250 contribution to remind him that they are still in the local development game.

The President, Wu-Hsing Liao, his family/employees, and the C.E.O. of Asia Bank, N.A., based in downtown Flushing, contributed $1,200 to Grodenchik.

Finally, the owners and family of Plaza College in Forest Hills, the Callahans of Douglas Manor and Whitestone, gave four contributions of $175 each totaling $700. Plaza College is interesting for several reasons: not only is it a small private college celebrating a century in operation next year, it has been run by the same family since its founding. More interesting are some of the people sitting on its Board of Directors:

• Leo Fakler, Tommy Huang's architect in the 1980s and a favorite of Borough Hall
• Marilyn McAndrews, a staffer for Community Board 7
• Helen Sears, the former Councilmember for Jackson Heights and Elmhurst and now Deputy City Clerk, working in the basement of Borough Hall handing out marriage licenses
• Al Pennisi - The President of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

Draw your own conclusions, folks!

Markey to have challenger

From the Queens Courier:

Brian Barnwell is looking to be the voice of a district he has called home all his life and one he says needs a big change and new leadership.

The 29-year-old Woodside resident and lawyer has announced that he will run next year for the seat in the state Assembly representing District 30, which covers the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Woodside, Middle Village and parts of Astoria, Sunnyside and Long Island City.

The seat is currently held by Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, who was first elected in 1998.

“I just feel like it’s time for a change. I feel like we need some new energy where people are going to go out and engage the community and bring the community voices into the conversation,” Barnwell said. “Everyone is getting pushed out. The teachers are being thrown under the bus. The students are being thrown under the bus. The middle class is just being destroyed and we can’t take it for granted anymore. So I want to be the voice of the middle class, because I am in the middle class.”

Barnwell’s desire to run for office was fueled recently when he began working as the director of special events for Councilman Costa Constantinides, and experienced many residents coming into the district office complaining about various issues – including affordable housing.

This made him realize that there needed to be a change and he would be that change.

Republican or Democrat? Don't know. They didn't bother to ask and it doesn't matter anyway.