The long saga of IND emulating the political machine they claim to oppose reached something of a conclusion last night.

The evening began with an excellent discussion of healthcare reform by Congressman Anthony Weiner. That part of the evening was fairly sparsely attended, but did involve some great discussion. Weiner, though I have disagreed with him at times in the past, is an amazing champion of healthcare reform and I wish we had Congress full of Anthony Weiners right about now because then we'd have real healthcare reform.  read more »

In past years I have highlighted the endorsements of three "reform" clubs in Brooklyn. Those clubs are: Independent Neighborhood Democrats (IND), Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID), and Lambda Independent Democrats (IND). This year I have extensively outlined why IND is not very reform anymore (actually largely full of shit, to be blunt), but I will include them in this post just for old times sake...sort of. But I will add the endorsements of Democracy for America (DFNYC), a citywide group that is solidly reform and progressive, to balance it out.

I have found that people pay attention to endorsements and appreciate it when I highlight endorsements. And in Brooklyn, where a corrupt machine dominates politics, people do appreciate the reform club endorsements. So here we go.

NYC Comptroller Race:

CBID: John Liu
DFNYC: no endorsement yet
LID: John Liu
IND: David Yassky  read more »

This is a statement from IND President Kenn Lowy regarding the recent endorsement of John Heyer by the club and the issues it has raised:

Last week the Independent Neighborhood Democrats (IND) endorsed John Heyer for the 39th City Council District and this act has set many things in motion. I have known John for many years and I respect his right to have his views. However, in two crucial areas our views are diametrically opposed.

My mother, the author Bonnie Bluh, spent her entire adult life fighting for women's rights. From an early age I saw first hand how important and vital this struggle was. Her first published book followed the beginning of the women’s rights movement in Europe during the 1970s. That book "Woman to Woman" charts the remarkable struggles women had to go through to obtain basic rights in some of the most advanced countries in the world. One of those rights, a woman's right to choose, is not negotiable for me. John does not believe in a woman’s right to choose.  read more »

This is lamentable. IND - the so-called Independent Neighborhood Democrats, profiled in the seminal Daily Gotham piece IND: No You Can't - has crossed the Rubicon from silly over to downright harmful.

Via Azi:

The usually ultra-liberal Brooklyn political club, Independent Neighborhood Democrats, endorsed a 27-year-old candidate who doesn't support same-sex marriage and who opposes abortion rights.

The club voted last night to endorse John Heyer over one of its own members, Bob Zuckerman, who is gay and fairly progressive. They’re both running for the seat being vacated by Bill de Blasio, who is running for public advocate.

As former IND President Bob Zuckerman put it:

"[T]he actions of some have continued to tarnish the progressive reputation of this club and it saddens me to think, as last night’s vote demonstrated, it’s no longer independent or reform.”

Per Mr. Heyer's web site - sorry, I'm not going to provide a link, just to underline utter, sheer contempt - his concerns are neighborhood and family. My family, apparently, since that whole marriage thing is a no-no for we homos. Mr. Hoyer would also like to be able to take an interest in your uterus: choice is a no-no. And though it's gilding the lily to note this, that though Mr. Hoyer currently works for borough president Markowitz, and previously for Assemblywoman Joan Millman, neither of them has seen fit to endorse him. Of course, it could also be that he's just been too busy agitating against your civil rights and mine to update his site. Needless to say, Mr. Heyer is married and expecting a child. What he has, you can't have, homos.

So how did this happen?

Simple answer: what is known as club-packing. Get a bunch of your supporters, fellow ass-nuts, to sign up to a club, hang out for a bit, cast an endorsement vote, and vanish into the ass-nut ether. Happens all the time, though some of these clubs have taken measures to prevent it. And most clubs would at least think about it before endorsing some no-name over their former club president - Bob Zuckerman - who has worked his little butt off for them for years, and who is solid on any issue you might choose to name.

So now what? Is this the moment when Brooklyn's clubs finally face up to the cold truth, that they need to change or risk becoming irrelevant?

Update: It appears that Millman did indeed endorse Heyer over her club's former President, Zuckerman; so report Mole and Gate.  read more »

Recently I posted about the impending rumble at the Independent Neighborhood Democrats (IND) this Thursday. Well, the first skirmishes have begun.

[UPDATES INCLUDED]

The background is this:

Old-time member of IND, one Salvatore "Buddy" Scotto, has been blatantly packing the club with people who have not previously been active in the club. I should note that Scotto has previously expressed outrage at others packing the club. There is a touch of hypocrisy here.

Scotto used this packing to push through the endorsements of Yassky and de Blasio at the last endorsement meeting. This caused some anger in the club, but to me was not outside the normal workings of the club, though I will have more to say on that later.

Many believe that Scotto's packing is also aimed at endorsing anti-choice, anti-marriage equality, pro-developer candidate John Heyer (who works for Marty Markowitz) for city council in the 39th district.

Many believe that this would sacrifice the basic priciples of the club (pro-choice, supportive of LGBT, etc.) for one man's obsession with the Gowanus canal development.  read more »