VOTE TODAY: Tuesday Sept. 18th, PRIMARY DAY
Too many people don't vote in primary elections. Then they complain if the Democrats aren't representing them. The time to focus on which Democrats represent you is during a primary, for goodness sake. Particularly in a place where there are few seriously contested general elections. And some elections go almost completely under the radar despite their importance. People complain about the judicial system, then they don't bother to vote in judicial elections.
Well, WE choose our judges and WE choose our Democratic candidates. If we vote. Today, TUESDAY SEPT. 18th is a PRIMARY ELECTION in NYC. I want to highlight some endorsements for the judicial elections today since. The expected voter turnout is abyssmal. Realize this: in such a low voter turnout election, every single vote counts. If you live in Brooklyn and are a Democrat, vote Tuesday or shut up about not liking the judicial system.
There are three seriously contested judicial elections in NYC that I know about...might be more I haven't heard of, but these are important. You can read my own breakdown about them here. To summarize my personal endorsements:
BROOKLYN CIVIL COURT 5th DISTRICT: (Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Sunset Park, a sliver of Park Slope, and Parkville): Karen Yellen (she has 10 years judicial experience and is widely respected for her help in fighting corruption in Brooklyn. Her opponent, Noach Dear, has never practiced law and was rated as "unqualified" by the NYC Bar Association and has been accused of campaign fraud).
BROOKLYN SURROGATE JUDGE: (All of Brooklyn): In this rather controversial race I suggest Diana Johnson. (Both candidates are qualified, both candidates have some unsavory allies. But Diana Johnson has more judicial experience than her opponent, Shawndya Simpson. Additionally, there are suspicions that Simpson doesn't actually live in Brooklyn since her husband and small children live in New Jersey.)
BROOKLYN CIVIL COURT 6th DISTRICT: (Flatbush, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts, Midwood and parts of Crown Heights): Kathy Levine (Levine is more experienced than her opponent, Hudson).
You can see a rundown on these races and others at the Gotham Gazette.
Now on to other endorsements.
LAMBDA INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATS:
Brooklyn Surrogate Judge: Diana Johnson
6th Civil Court: Kathy Levine
Lambda didn't endorse in the 5th Civil Court race because the candidates announced after Lambda had their endorsement meeting. But they have issued a statement on the race:
No candidate sought LID's endorsement for Civil Court in the 5th District (Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Sunset Park, and Parkville); hence, LID cannot recommend a candidate.
But we strongly urge voters to avoid former City Councilmember Noach Dear. Dear is a notorious anti-choice, homophobic bigot who led the fight against New York City's gay rights bill. Moreover, Dear has been deemed "unqualified" by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, failed the bar exam twice and is not known to have practiced law. As the New York Times noted in an editorial on September 10, Dear's "volatile personality and indifference to conflicts-of-interest make[s] him utterly unsuited for the bench." His opponent is Karen Yellen, a former Civil Court judge now serving as a referee in Family Court. We trust you will make the right choice.
If you are interested in the Noach Dear clips you can access the film Rights and Reactions at the following web address:
http://www.pzfoundation.org/philzwickler/film/rights.html
CENTRAL BROOKLYN INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATS:
Brooklyn Surrogate Judge: Diana Johnson
6th Civil Court: Kathy Levine
5th Civil Court: Karen Yellen
INDEPENDENT NEIGHBORHOOD DEMOCRATS:
Brooklyn Surrogate Judge: Diana Johnson
6th Civil Court: Kathy Levine
NEW YORK TIMES:
Brooklyn Surrogate Judge: Shawndya Simpson
6th Civil Court: Kathy Levine
5th Civil Court: Karen Yellen
More information:
Citizen's Union endorsement of Diana Johnson
Brooklyn Papers on the 5th Civil Court Race: (here's an excerpt about Dear)
Dear’s tenure in the Council — which includes angering blacks by traveling to South Africa on an Apartheid fact-finding tour sponsored by the whites-only Johannesburg City Council, and being sued by a group Sri Lankan Tamils who claimed he stole $170,000 from them — is drawing fire.
The Village Voice reported last month that when Dear ran for Congress, his campaign staff forged 47 sequentially numbered money orders in other people’s names to hide a donation of $40,000, which was then 20 times the legal limit.
No criminal charges were filed in that case, but Dear’s treasurer had to pay $45,000 in fines, the Voice reported.
Brooklyn Papers on the Surrogate Race
NY Times on the 5th Civil Court Race
I hope this helps you make an informed decision.
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election 2007 | primary election | Voting
I Went To Vote Tonight
Got to my polling location at about 6:20 and saw it was empty with most of the workers sitting around doing nothing. Went to my ED and gave my name and found out I was the 11th person in my ED to vote today. I asked the 2 workers if they were sure and they said yes, that until about an hour before there had only been 2 people voting!
I proceeded into the booth and Johnson and Simpson were the only candidates on my ballot so I quickly checked on Johnson's name and left. Could not believe it, only 11 total voters in my ED and I don't think there was a surge of them arriving after I left.
Of course, neither this morning or tonight were there any volunteers standing outside reminding people to vote so this may have lead to the terrible turnout.