35 Brooklyn Democratic County Committee Members Say NO to Extending Term Limits

An Open Letter from 35 Members of the Brooklyn Democratic County Committee to the New York City Council Opposing the Extension of Term Limits

cc: Mayor Mike Bloomberg
Council Speaker Christine Quinn
Ronald Lauder


Dear Council Members:

What if President Bush had decided to amend the Constitution so that he could run for a third term? Surely, since 47 out of 51 of you are Democrats, this notion must be pretty frightening. Yet it is this concern that best sums up why we oppose the proposal before you to extend term limits.

Whether term limits are good for New York City is not an issue we care to argue. In the past 15 years, the voters of our City have twice decided that philosophical debate for themselves. In fact, it is as a result of their decision that most of you owe your current jobs. But now that you are on the verge of having to relinquish your power to a new generation of leaders, many of you are having second thoughts.

Surely, you can’t expect voters to interpret your motivations to extend term limits as anything but a self-serving power grab. Every dictator in world history faced with term limits has argued at the last minute of their reign that the political climate is so serious the people must keep them in power or else fear ruin. Well, New York City didn’t buckle when Mayor Giuliani tried to stay in office after 9/11. Now, we ask you to show the same courage and stand up to Mayor Bloomberg.

The people of New York need your help as City Council Members to protect our vote. The major newspapers, so many of our elected officials, and even Ron Lauder, once the foremost champion of term limits, have all abandoned us or cut backroom deals. You’re the last hope of the little guy. If you really think that New Yorkers want this change, then put Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal back on the ballot for referendum and let us decide.

We 35 members of the Brooklyn Democratic County Committee ran for office to be the voice of our neighbors and our communities. We thought you ran for office for the same reason. Here’s your chance to prove us right.

Sincerely,

Llewellyn Armstrong, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Alice Backer, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Martin J. Bernstein, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Evan Burr, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Vallie Copeland, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Craig Czarnecki, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Christopher Diamond, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Esteban Duran, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Ellen Enders, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Hal Friedman, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Sabrina Gates, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
David Greenson, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Jen Halbert, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
MacGregor Harp, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Jamila Jabulani, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Cyril Joseph, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Steven Juskowicz, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Glenn T. Kelly, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Cheryl Krauss, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Jeff S. Merritt, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
David Michaelson, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Gilford T. Monrose, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Ethan Nichtern, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Chris Owens, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Morgan Pehme, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Colin Phillips, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Mireyda Reyes, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Sam Ritchie, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Joy Romanski, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Bill Salzman, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Josh Skaller, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Eva Talmadge, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Kelly L. Thompson, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
Theodore Wright, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member
James Zika, Kings County Democratic County Committee Member

Chris Owens Radios in to Air America

Brooklyn community activist Chris Owens has started a new gig as host of "Black Politics ... with Chris Owens" on Air America, the nation's only liberal talk radio station. This morning marks only Owens' third show, which broadcasts every Saturday between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., but he has already had on some marquee guests like NY1 anchor Dominic Carter, Rep. Keith Ellison, the nation's first Muslim congressman, and jazz legend Herbie Hancock, who recently won a Grammy for Album of the Year.

Loyal readers will recognize Owens from my recent video interview with him about borough politics, but there's no official word from Chris yet whether he directly attributes his newest success to a "Brooklyn Optimist bump". Until I hear otherwise, I'll assume it was all the Optimist's doing.

Owens' show is broadcast on Air America's affiliates across the country, but it has not yet come to our local station WWRL AM 1600. New Yorkers aren't totally out of luck, though. You can listen to free podcasts of Chris' show here.

An Optimistic Interview with Chris Owens on Brooklyn Politics

After The Optimist interviewed former Congressman Major Owens this past weekend, I seized the opportunity to get his son Chris Owens on camera to discuss the current state of Brooklyn politics.

Chris is as well-informed about the subject as anyone, having spent the past several decades as a community advocate in Brooklyn and a leader in local politics. A former candidate for City Council and U.S. Congress, most recently, Chris has been nominated to become the President of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) - one of the borough's most influential political clubs.

I spoke with Chris about the future of the Kings County Democratic Party, the 2009 City Council race, his own political aspirations, and what Brooklynites can do to ensure their voice is heard in government.

An Optimistic (On Camera!) Interview with Major Owens about Barack Obama

Up until now, you’ve only experienced Brooklyn Optimism in word. But starting today, this blog is expanding to spread optimism to the eyes and ears of Brooklynites like you by featuring all-original documentary news shorts about the borough.

This first segment is An Optimistic Interview with former Brooklyn Congressman Major Owens about why he has chosen to support Barack Obama’s candidacy for President. The Optimist caught up with Congressman Owens the morning of the South Carolina Primary (before we knew the winner) at Medgar Evers College, where he has just begun teaching as an adjunct professor.

Congressman Owens has stayed vigorously involved in community activism since he retired from office in 2007 after 24 years of representing one of Brooklyn's most racially and economically diverse districts. The only professional librarian ever elected to Congress, Major Owens has also recently completed a book for which he is seeking a publisher. It's called The Peacock Elite: An Intimate Case Study of the Congressional Black Caucus and its Impact on National Politics.

Owens' former seat, now occupied by Rep. Yvette Clarke, has its own special place in the history of the Congressional Black Caucus. Before Owens, it was occupied by one of the founding members of the Caucus, Shirley Chisholm, who in 1972 became the first black woman to run for President of the United States. She garnered an impressive 152 delegates, but ultimately lost the Democratic Primary to South Dakota Senator George McGovern.

Later that day, I seized the moment to interview Rep. Owens’ son, Chris Owens, about the state of Brooklyn politics today. I’ll be debuting that interview later this week on BrooklynOptimist.com.