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

More Hopefuls Crowd DeBlasio's Council Seat

The Brooklyn Paper reports today that two more candidates have jumped into the 2009 race to replace term-limited Councilman Bill DeBlasio. Lawyer and local blogger Gary Reilly, 33, and Bob Zuckerman, 47, executive director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation, join Brad Lander, Josh Skaller, and Craig Hammerman, the three candidates who had previously announced their intentions to run for the Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens seat.

Neither Reilly, nor Zuckerman have previously run for office, though both are involved in local activism to some degree. Zuckerman is a member of Community Board 6 (CB6) and was recently nominated to become president of the Independent Neighborhood Democrats (IND) political club. Reilly, the youngest candidate in the (currently) five-man field, is a member of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association. Zuckerman has not yet filed the official paperwork necessary to become a candidate and be eligible for City matching funds. Reilly reports on his blog Brooklyn Streets, Carroll Gardens that he has filed, but not yet begun raising money.

According to the Paper, of the three candidates already in the race, Brad Lander, the director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, has raised the most money to date with $63,015. Josh Skaller, president of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID), is second with $30,234. CB6 district manager Craig Hammerman has not yet filed with the Board of Elections.

Josh Skaller Raising Dough to Replace DeBlasio

Renowned progressive blogger mole333 has been plugging hard to raise funds for his friend Josh Skaller's 2009 City Council campaign to replace Bill DeBlasio in the 39th District. Having already hosted a fundraiser at his apartment, mole333 (a.k.a. David Michaelson) is now pushing the next Skaller event, which will be held on January 27th.

Skaller is President of Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID), one of the borough's most potent political clubs, as well as a board member and field director for Democracy for New York City, the local chapter of the national PAC that grew out of Howard Dean's failed 2004 presidential run. Based on these connections, Skaller should be in the thick of the race for DeBlasio's seat, which covers much of Park Slope, Cobble Hill, and Carroll Gardens, but the field is shaping up to be a dense one.

Already there are two other declared candidates: longtime Community Board 6 district manager and New York City Hall of Famer (not for sports!) Craig Hammerman and Brad Lander, director of the Pratt Center for Community Development and former executive director of the Fifth Avenue Committee.

Lander, like Skaller, is new to running for office, but Hammerman ran against DeBlasio in 2001. He'll have to hope to fare better than last time when he finished 6th out of 6 (ouch!) in the Democratic primary. For the record, I think the election results that year went DeBlasio in 1st, then Steven Banks, then you, then your dog, then your dog's brother's third cousin, twice removed, and then Craig Hammerman.

The Optimist doesn't have any word yet on any Hammerman or Lander fundraisers, but if you want to go to Skaller's, here's the nitty-gritty, compliments of mole333:

Host: Wayne Brooks
Location: Wayne's apartment
262 Court Street #2/Butler Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 US
When: Sunday, January 27, 3:00PM
Phone: 347-645-0581