judicial races
Marty Markowitz Loses Gay and Lesbian Vote
Awhile back I wrote about Marty Markowitz decline from popular Brooklyn Clown to a vindictive, rampaging creep. Markowitz was shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU, at the vehement opposition to his becoming Bruce Ratner's Rat. He blamed extremists who don't understand him for the opposition (myself probably included).
Now he has another group of "extremists" who just "don't understand" the clown. Brooklyn's Gay and Lesbian community is outraged at Marty Markowitz's endorsement of the unqualified, homophobic Noach "Call Me Noah" Dear for judge.

From The Brooklyn Papers:
A Civil Court race pitting firebrand former Councilman Noach Dear against a lesser-known judge has been thrust into the spotlight by gay and lesbian activists because of Borough President Markowitz’s endorsement of Dear, who was rated as unqualified for the bench by the City Bar Association...
election 2007 | GLBT / Gay, Lesbian, BiSexual, Transgender | judicial races | Marty Markowitz | Noach Dear
Noach Dear on CBS
Did anyone else happen to catch Noach Dear's performance on CBS 2 News this evening?
I would rate it higher than most professional comedy acts.
They even call out the Brooklyn machine for the real reason they're pushing Dear. To keep him out of the State Senate.
Watch for yourself here
Transcripts, Podcasts and Videoclips | Civil Court | judicial races | Noach Dear
Brooklyn Politics: This is what is so wrong about Brooklyn. Who can save us?
[NOTE: Believe it or not, I was asked to clean up the language in the title...Yeah...on Daily Gotham we are cleaning up our language!]
So, there are some out there who get tired of my railing against "Vito Lopez and his Band of Ill Repute." But the truth is, what is deadly wrong with Brooklyn politics is what is business as usual within the Democratic Party. This year seemed to be a possible exception, but in the end I think it really will CONTINUE to be business as usual in the worst possible way.
One thing that the local political machine, currently headed by Vito Lopez, previously led by Clarence Norman, now in jail, was infamous for was putting comlpetely unqualified candidates up for judicial elections as part of a network of cronyism that would make Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff jealous. Judicial candidates who were rated as outright unqualified would be guided through with ease by Clarence and/or Vito simply to fulfill a favor or generate a favor. Favors were all that mattered, not qualifications, not quality, not actually quality governance.
Corruption | cronyism | judicial races | Eric Adams | Yvette Clarke
Vito Lopez: Crony Judges
Just as dispiriting, party regulars chose as the convicted Norman's successor Assemblyman Vito Lopez, an old-time ward heeler from Bushwick who has never shown a zeal for reform until, gee whiz, now. He vows the party will consult a panel of learned men and women, such as Brooklyn Law School's dean, about picking quality judges.
We've seen this movie before, and the ending stinks. Two years ago, Norman and party district leaders, Lopez included, pledged they would never support a candidate for a judgeship who had not been approved by an independent screening commission. This year, for the first time, the panel reviewed Civil Court candidates.
And guess what? The party shoehorned two lawyers onto the bench without any screening. Kenny Sherman, son of district leader Roberta Sherman, will get a 10-year Civil Court term without so much as a primary. And Canarsie Assemblyman Frank Seddio was awarded an uncontested ballot line for Surrogate's Court. So much for quality control. So much for keeping your word.
Corruption | judicial corruption | judicial elections | judicial races | Brooklyn | Vito Lopez
Brooklyn Surrogate Race: Where to Look for Evidence of Corruption
As this year's judicial races get going, the hints of corruption have already surfaced. My most recent article on the subject announced the Corruption candidate, Vito Lopez's personal choice, Simpson. In it I also analyze one theory about Vito's choice, that Simpson was being run only to split the black vote with the current frontrunner, Diana Johnson, leaving Beitner, Vito's real choice, to clean up with the white and Orthodox Jewish vote.
Corruption | judicial races | machine politics | Brooklyn





