Inspired in part by the efforts of The New Kings Democrats - the young, ambitious political club of which I am proud to call myself a member - many of you have reached out to The Optimist in recent weeks, asking how you can learn more about Brooklyn politics.
Thanks for asking. The reason that the Brooklyn Democratic party and so many of our elected officials are able to act unscrupulously or flat-out unethically is because of the general public's lack of knowledge about local politics.
Matt Cowherd and Rachel Lauter, a pair of truly civic-minded citizens, founded The New Kings Democrats with the laudable intent of educating their fellow voters and bringing transparency to a deplorable system of governance that thrives, like Dick Cheney, by lurking in the shadows.
In an article yesterday in the Gotham Gazette, Assemblymember Vito Lopez, the Brooklyn Democratic Party leader, dismissed The New Kings' efforts, saying “I don’t have time to deal with people who are in constant conflict.”
Ha!
I not quite sure how to address such rubbish, except to tell you that from the very first meeting of NKD that both the group's members and leadership were adamant that they didn't want to be the "anti-Vito club". These concerned citizens - young and old, Black, white and Latino - had come to participate in local government for the first time in their lives because they believed that their leaders would embrace their enthusiasm to make government better and more representative of the people. Most of them had never even heard of Vito Lopez in their lives!
But now we know who Vito is. He is a person who maintains that citizens who want to take an active role in their government are insurgents bent upon "constant conflict". This rhetoric is all too familiar. It reminds New Yorkers of how we were told after 9/11 that to question President Bush's rush to launch illegal wars was "unpatriotic".
America is a country that was founded upon the strength of dissenting voices. Our nation charges us to take the wildly broad diversity of our opinions and to compromise upon a concensus for the common good.
In America we don't call this "constant conflict", we call this "debate".
And the best way to have an intelligent debate is to know all the facts. So, without further introduction, let me give some food for thought to those of you hungry to chew on Brooklyn politics.
If you want to know what's going on, I suggest that you start every day by reading Liz Benjamin's column in The Daily News , as well as Azi Paybarah and Katharine Jose over at The New York Observer's Politicker. The advantage of these blogs is that they are written by journalists, not pundits, which means that the information they provide is generally not clouded by an agenda. I believe strongly in reading all of the posts, not just the ones that pertain to Brooklyn, because borough to borough, city politicians play the same game, and you can catch trends that will help you see the larger picture of New York City politics.
If you still haven't had your fill after these two columns, move on over to blogs like The Daily Gotham and Room Eight. Often you'll find a wealth of information here that is either more controversial or not adequately substantiated to qualify for the daily papers. But, beware, don't believe everything you read! These bloggers may be providing prejudiced, speculative, or just plainly inaccurate information.
How can you tell the difference between fact and fiction?
The more you know, the better you'll learn to question.
That last nugget of advice is for you, Vito.
Showing posts with label Rachel Lauter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rachel Lauter. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
I'm Running For Office (And So Should You!)
Today I am announcing my candidacy for county committeeman for the Kings County Democratic Party.
Not impressed? Never heard of the county committee? You're not alone. This obscure position is the lowest level of elected office in our great nation. Roughly two county committee members (one man and one woman) represent every 700 or so Brooklynites, meaning that there are literally thousands of county committee seats for both the Democratic and Republican parties in our borough.
Why would I run for an unpaid job to represent a territory about the size of 3 city blocks? I owe my enthusiasm to Matt Cowherd and Rachel Lauter, the co-founders of the fledgling New Kings Democrats, a political club that grew out of Brooklyn's Obama campaign. These young Democrats were not content merely to shift the course of national politics, they decided to make an impact locally as well.
That's why they've set about recruiting hundreds of political neophytes like you and me to run for county committee. Our aspiration is to have our say in deciding how the Kings County Democratic Party will operate: which candidates the party will endorse or nominate to serve as our public officials, which judges it will select to rule our courts, and many other issues of great significance to all Brooklynites. Right now, under the iron fist of Brooklyn's Democratic boss Vito Lopez the county committee is a joke; a rubber stamp for his tyrannical rule.
We've set out to change the way politics works in Brooklyn. It is our hope that with strength in numbers, we can build a critical mass that will ensure that the people finally have their voice heard in government.
How will we succeed? We need YOU! Email me immediately at brooklynoptimist@gmail.com to find how how you can join us and run to be a county committee member. I'll tell you everything you need to know. It's a lot easier than you think to run and get elected and the time commitment once in office is little. The New Kings Democrats will train you for FREE on how to run your campaign and provide you resources to help you succeed. The only requirements are that you are a Democrat registered in Brooklyn and that you vote.
So, what are you waiting for? As radio host Thom Hartmann says: "Democracy begins with you. Tag - you're it!"
Not impressed? Never heard of the county committee? You're not alone. This obscure position is the lowest level of elected office in our great nation. Roughly two county committee members (one man and one woman) represent every 700 or so Brooklynites, meaning that there are literally thousands of county committee seats for both the Democratic and Republican parties in our borough.
Why would I run for an unpaid job to represent a territory about the size of 3 city blocks? I owe my enthusiasm to Matt Cowherd and Rachel Lauter, the co-founders of the fledgling New Kings Democrats, a political club that grew out of Brooklyn's Obama campaign. These young Democrats were not content merely to shift the course of national politics, they decided to make an impact locally as well.
That's why they've set about recruiting hundreds of political neophytes like you and me to run for county committee. Our aspiration is to have our say in deciding how the Kings County Democratic Party will operate: which candidates the party will endorse or nominate to serve as our public officials, which judges it will select to rule our courts, and many other issues of great significance to all Brooklynites. Right now, under the iron fist of Brooklyn's Democratic boss Vito Lopez the county committee is a joke; a rubber stamp for his tyrannical rule.
We've set out to change the way politics works in Brooklyn. It is our hope that with strength in numbers, we can build a critical mass that will ensure that the people finally have their voice heard in government.
How will we succeed? We need YOU! Email me immediately at brooklynoptimist@gmail.com to find how how you can join us and run to be a county committee member. I'll tell you everything you need to know. It's a lot easier than you think to run and get elected and the time commitment once in office is little. The New Kings Democrats will train you for FREE on how to run your campaign and provide you resources to help you succeed. The only requirements are that you are a Democrat registered in Brooklyn and that you vote.
So, what are you waiting for? As radio host Thom Hartmann says: "Democracy begins with you. Tag - you're it!"
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
GO VOTE!
After many months of talk, it's finally time for action! Regardless of your choice for either the Democratic or Republican nominee, The Optimist urges you to take a few moments today to exercise your most important right as an American.
Democracy starts with you. If you don't vote, you forfeit your voice.
The Optimist already cast his vote today, heading down to P.S. 110 on Monitor Street in Greenpoint to do so. The election inspector who signed me in described turnout so far today as "fabulous", which did not surprise me, but heartened me nonetheless since I've gone to the polls many times in recent years and found myself the sole voter in a large, desolate room.
Since the Democratic field has been winnowed to two candidates, some Brooklyn voters may have found themselves surprised by the wealth of options they faced in the booth this morning. Along with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, and Dennis Kucinich were all still on the ballet.
In addition, Brooklynites who favored Obama or Clinton were asked to approve a slate of five delegates to stand for their candidate of choice at the Democratic Convention. On my ballot, Obama's five delegates were Paul Newell, a community activist who has taken on the mammoth challenge of trying to unseat the Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver in this September's primary; 23-year-old Rachel Lauter, who has been a very active member of Brooklyn for Barack; prominent local gay issues and AIDS activist Daniel Tietz; Matthew Cowherd, an attorney with mega-firm Skadden Arps; and Allison Davis.
As for Hillary, her delegates of choice were State Senator Martin Dilan; Councilmember Rosie Mendez; Luis Garden Acosta, a community activist and founder of Williamsburg's El Puente; Chung Seto, a former Executive Director of the New York Democratic Party; and Charles Obe.
In the last few weeks, the polls have shown a narrowing of Hillary Clinton's once insurmountable lead over Barack Obama in New York State. Who will win depends solely upon you.
Remember the words of former U.S. Treasury Secretary William Simon: "Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote." Simon was one to know. He served under Nixon.
Democracy starts with you. If you don't vote, you forfeit your voice.
The Optimist already cast his vote today, heading down to P.S. 110 on Monitor Street in Greenpoint to do so. The election inspector who signed me in described turnout so far today as "fabulous", which did not surprise me, but heartened me nonetheless since I've gone to the polls many times in recent years and found myself the sole voter in a large, desolate room.
Since the Democratic field has been winnowed to two candidates, some Brooklyn voters may have found themselves surprised by the wealth of options they faced in the booth this morning. Along with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, and Dennis Kucinich were all still on the ballet.
In addition, Brooklynites who favored Obama or Clinton were asked to approve a slate of five delegates to stand for their candidate of choice at the Democratic Convention. On my ballot, Obama's five delegates were Paul Newell, a community activist who has taken on the mammoth challenge of trying to unseat the Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver in this September's primary; 23-year-old Rachel Lauter, who has been a very active member of Brooklyn for Barack; prominent local gay issues and AIDS activist Daniel Tietz; Matthew Cowherd, an attorney with mega-firm Skadden Arps; and Allison Davis.
As for Hillary, her delegates of choice were State Senator Martin Dilan; Councilmember Rosie Mendez; Luis Garden Acosta, a community activist and founder of Williamsburg's El Puente; Chung Seto, a former Executive Director of the New York Democratic Party; and Charles Obe.
In the last few weeks, the polls have shown a narrowing of Hillary Clinton's once insurmountable lead over Barack Obama in New York State. Who will win depends solely upon you.
Remember the words of former U.S. Treasury Secretary William Simon: "Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote." Simon was one to know. He served under Nixon.
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