The race to replace Alan Fleishman as male district leader for the 52nd Assembly District is starting to shape up. Chris Owens can now be considered the front runner as a second major reform club has endorsed him. From Chris Owens' campaign:

On Thursday, June 3, community activist Chris Owens was endorsed for the position of Democratic State Committee member from Brooklyn’s 52nd Assembly District by Brooklyn's lesbian and gay political voice, the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn ("LID"). LID is considered one of New York City's most progressive political organizations.

Incumbent State Committeeman Alan Fleishman, an LID member, a vocal critic of Democratic County Leader Vito Lopez and himself the object of past political attacks, is retiring from the position. Himself a strong critic of the Kings County Democratic machine and its leader, Owens highlighted his past success at garnering votes from Democrats within the 52nd Assembly District as a Congressional candidate and Community School Board member from District 13. Owens then received 58% of the LID members' votes cast for the position.

Owens' victory means that two of the three Democratic Clubs with political clout within the 52nd Assembly District are standing behind his campaign to defeat the Democratic County Leader's handpicked and little-known candidate, Steven Williamson. Owens has emerged as the consensus anti-Lopez candidate in this race. “I am thankful that the Lambda Independent Democrats see me as a champion of politics with integrity and as a natural successor to retiring State Committeeman and LGBT leader Alan Fleishman," said Owens. "Combined with my endorsement by the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, the Lambda endorsement sends a powerful message to the Democratic voters within the 52nd Assembly District that the battle to bring democracy back to Brooklyn Democrats will continue."

Democratic State Committee members from Brooklyn represent Assembly Districts at the State Party Convention and double as “District Leaders” when working at the County level. There is one male and one female State Committee member from each Assembly District. As District Leaders, State Committee members organize Democratic Party activities within their districts, select and elect County Committee members and judges, and, as members of the Executive Committee, select the County Leader. State Committee members are elected in the Democratic Primary election scheduled for Tuesday, September 14.

Critics have highlighted a host of problems with the administration of the Kings County Democratic Party, which has been dogged by ethics and integrity questions and various scandals over the years. The latest controversy was the County Leader's creation of five "at-large" seats on the Executive Committee -- an act that effectively diluted each State Committee member's actual voting power and is likely to face a legal challenge.

Chris adds Lambda Independent Democrats to his previous endorsement by the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats. Chris also claims support from City Councilwoman Tish James, civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel, Eric McClure of Park Slope Neighbors, Dan Goldstein of DDDB, and Beverly Corbin of FUREE. This is a broad coalition of support that should be able to get Chris Owens elected over Vito Lopez's machine candidate, Stephen Williamson. Unfortunately there is a second reform candidate, a newcomer, who is also in the race. Jesse Strauss seems to have IND, Joan Millman and Jo Anne Simon (the last two according only to his own statements to CBID, but probably true). Not really enough to win the district. Look at how little effect IND and Joan Millman had in supporting John Heyer for City Council.

Earlier I said that between Chris and Jesse, both reasonable reform candidates, whoever won Lambda should, given that IND and CBID split, be the reform candidate and the other should step aside in the name of ensuring a win over Vito Lopez's machine. Chris was willing to agree to this, but Jesse has not been so far. This led one IND member to call Jesse Strauss the "personification of a spoiled narcissistic bastard willing to pursue his insatiable ambition, even at the cost of handing Vito [Lopez] a victory." In and of itself, I am not so sure the Lambda endorsement should be so decisive, but when Chris also has support from Tish James, Norman Siegel, and Beverly Corbin, all strong progressive voices respected in the community, it seems to me Chris clearly is the stronger candidate. Let's hope Jesse in the end does the right thing. However, for now, he is running third out of three and serves only to enable a Vito Lopez win in the traditional "divided and conquered" way reformers tend to defeat themselves.

On the other hand, Chris now has solid gay and lesbian support, can build, with the help of Beverly Corbin, support in the projects, and can maintain his own progressive base from his run for Congress. Jesse basically pulls in a similar base to David Yassky in his Congressional run but without the name recognition, making such support much weaker. Williamson will have the machine vote and may well, given the recent Levin win in the area, compete with Jesse for the Yassky vote.