It is now official. Lincoln Restler is the new District Leader/State Committee member from the 50th Assembly District, beating Vito Lopez's candidate by 120 votes. The reform movement wins another one and the Vito Lopez machine loses a tad more control.

Lincoln Restler with Councilwoman Diana Reyna (from the New Kings Democrats Website)

(Yes, I like the photo because it shows two people who stood up to Vito and won)

Vito Lopez has had a REALLY bad September.

Lincoln Restler is one of the founders of the New Kings Democrats, which was specifically founded to chip away at the Vito Lopez machine in exactly the way they just did. From the Village Voice:

Williamsburg's young political upstart, Lincoln Restler, walked into the offices of (currently embattled) Brooklyn Democrat party boss Vito Lopez's office a while back, wanting to get involved with politics on a local level and help institute changes he believed in. Lopez tossed him out and told him to kiss the ring of his establishment. Well, Restler just told Lopez to kiss his ass, by winning an election, and possibly putting him out of business for good...

fter the counting of absentee ballots, Lincoln Restler has defeated he pro-Lopez Warren Cohn -- son of legacy state committeeman Steve Cohn -- by a count of 3639 to 3519: 120 votes. The results will take a week to be certified, but the significance of this election is that Restler may end up, incidentally, being the tipping point for the end of Vito Lopez's iron reign on Brooklyn's democrats.

For those who are interested, the next meeting of the New Kings Democrats is:

Wed, October 6, 7pm – 9pm
St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 334 S. 5th St. (btwn Keap & Rodney St.), Brooklyn, NY

And if you REALLY want to help keep the reform coming, give New Kings Democrats a small donation."