Just confirmed two rumors I had heard: my friend Devin Cohen, running for the 1st Civil Court seat in Brooklyn, has been endorsed by Stonewall Democrats and by City Councilman Bill deBlasio.

I still have not been able to find any confirmation of any endorsements for Roger Adler.

The endorsements for Devin Cohen are beginning to become pretty impressive. Both Independent Neighborhood Democrats and Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats endorsed him...and they don't always agree (see, for example, their split on Towns vs. Powell this year in the NY-10 Congressional race). Add to that William Saunders' 57th A.D. Regular Democratic Organization, which I have no direct connection to. Then there are the two main Gay and Lesbian organizations, Lambda Independent Democrats and Stonewall Democrats. I'd call that a formidable combination of organizations each of which will be reaching out to its membership to get out the vote. How many organizations have endorsed Adler? I haven't found any yet.

Three City Council Members in the district have endorsed Devin Cohen: David Yassky, Letitia James and Bill deBlasio. These three City Councilmembers often do not see eye to eye...but they all have endorsed Devin Cohen. How many City Councilmembers have endorsed Adler? So far none.

David Yassky's endorsement is also interesting in that he joins Chris Owens' club (Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats) and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke in endorsing Devin. In the past Yassky, Owens and Clarke were pretty bitter rivals for the NY-11 Congressional district. They are pretty much united in supporting Devin.

Four more heavy hitters endorsing Devin are Assemblywoman Joan Millman, Assemblyman Jim Brennan, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, and State Senator Marty Connor. How many Assemblymembers or State Senators have endorsed Adler? None that I know of.

Devin Cohen has a broad Brooklyn coalition endorsing him. Adler has hired hands and money working for him. Why the disconnect between the money and the endorsements? That isn't really typical in Brooklyn politics where money interests tend to bring endorsements. Why the sharp difference this time?

My personal opinion (certainly biased, but also based on conversations with others who know both candidates) is that Devin Cohen is known for his Civil Court experience, his honesty and his integrity while Roger Adler is known primarily for writing the amicus brief for the Conservative Party opposing marriage equality as well as having something of an impatience when challenged. Some tell me Adler actually has a nasty temper, but I merely witnessed a kind of arrogant impatience with challenges. So it comes down to people believe Devin would make a good judge but no amount of money has yet convinced anyone that Roger Adler would be as good as Devin.

There will be low voter turnout on primary day, September 9th, so anything can happen. But endorsements mean people helping on primary day...so it looks good for Devin so far.

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