This morning I was late to work. As I rushed to the Union St. R-train stop, what should I see but Roger Adler campaigning at this stop.
Now, remember my standard disclaimer: Roger Adler is running against my friend Devin Cohen [1] for the 1st Civil Court seat in Brooklyn. So I come to the table admittedly biased.
Today I took a flyer from Adler's hired hand while I watched him cheerfully wish commuters a good weekend. Adler was quite personable, quite different from the more arrogant and cranky guy I met at the Independent Neighborhood Democrats endorsement meeting [2]. I was happy to see him in a better mood and seeing him finally campaigning personally in the district.
Looking at the handout I was given supporting Adler, two things struck me. First off, one thing he doesn't mention is anyone endorsing him. This is important to me because I have been reporting the long list of Democratic clubs, City Council members, Assembly members and State Senators who have endorsed Devin Cohen, but I have been unable to track down a single endorsement of Roger Adler to date. SOMEONE out there must have endorsed him, but I can't find it online. So as soon as I got ahold of his handout, I looked to see if it listed any endorsements I may have missed. No...no endorsements mentioned.
Devin Cohen has been endorsed by five Democratic organizations, three city council members, two Assembly members, two State Senators, four District Leaders and one Congresswoman. So far I have been unable to find any endorsements for Roger Adler. Who within the community supports him?
The second thing I noticed about Adler's handout was the list of accomplishments. Adler is running for Civil Court judge and he lists a long list of very impressive accomplishments. I am happy to recognize that the guy is quite accomplished. The problem is the entire resume he lists deals with criminal and appellate law, not civil court law. Both Adler and Cohen are intelligent, experienced lawyers. I have no doubt both would be capable judges. But Adler's own handout illustrates his lack of civil court experience. Civil Court litigation is Devin Cohen's forte. If even Adler's own literature mentions little civil court experience, why is he running for Civil Court Judge? Wouldn't he be better off in criminal or appellate court, where his experience would be valuable?
I enjoy a race between two basically qualified candidates. Devin Cohen clearly has more ties to the community, extensive endorsements, is a solid progressive, and has extensive civil court experience. Roger Adler has been practicing law longer, seems to have far fewer ties to the community and no obvious endorsements, is considerably more conservative (if that's what you prefer), and has specialized in criminal and appellate law rather than civil court law. The choice is yours on September 9th.
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