One of the most venomously anti-gay members of the New York State Senate is not some Teabagger Republican, but is pseudo-Democrat, friend of Hiram "Slasher Monserrate" Ruben Diaz, Sr. This guy is one of the prime examples of what is wrong with Albany. Diaz is also one of the traitorous "Gang of Three" who deliberately derailed reform in Albany by joining Slasher Monserrate and Pedro Espada in switching to the Republican party in a cynical power play that made New York state the laughing stock of the country. Diaz is also anti-choice and opposed to life-saving stem cell research.

Meet Charlie Ramos, former Bronx liaison for the Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. and challenger to Rubin Diaz. Ramos, in sharp contrast to Diaz, believes (from his website):

Civil Rights: Every individual’s civil rights must be protected; discrimination and harassment based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or physical and developmental ability should be banned.  read more »

Tucked in the middle of two predominantly liberal districts in Brooklyn (the 33rd and 39th City Council districts) there are pockets of conservativism. Mostly when people think of these districts they think of the battle between the reformers and the machine candidates. In the 33rd the frontrunners are reformer Jo Anne Simon vs. Vito Lopez machine hack Steve Levin. In the 39th the frontrunners are reformer Josh Skaller vs. Working Families Party machine hack (to the extent of being caught up in the big WFP scandal this year) Brad Lander. But in each of these districts the machine candidates are also locked in another struggle: the attempt to take conservative votes from the sole conservative candidate in the district.  read more »