[NOTE: Believe it or not, I was asked to clean up the language in the title...Yeah...on Daily Gotham we are cleaning up our language!]
So, there are some out there who get tired of my railing against "Vito Lopez and his Band of Ill Repute." But the truth is, what is deadly wrong with Brooklyn politics is what is business as usual within the Democratic Party. This year seemed to be a possible exception, but in the end I think it really will CONTINUE to be business as usual in the worst possible way.
One thing that the local political machine, currently headed by Vito Lopez, previously led by Clarence Norman, now in jail, was infamous for was putting comlpetely unqualified candidates up for judicial elections as part of a network of cronyism that would make Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff jealous. Judicial candidates who were rated as outright unqualified would be guided through with ease by Clarence and/or Vito simply to fulfill a favor or generate a favor. Favors were all that mattered, not qualifications, not quality, not actually quality governance.
This year it seemed things might change. The machine, though still playing games of almost Byzantine complexity, at least seemed to pick crony candidates who were QUALIFIED for the judicial positions they were running for. That is progress! Take the Surrogate race. We have two candidates, Diana Johnson and Shawndya Simpson, who are qualified. Diana may be more qualified, with 16 years prior judicial experience, but Shawndya is at least qualified. Far better than machine candidates sometimes are. So some of us thought we might have a machine that, though corrupt in the past, may be trying to clean up a bit, at least for show if not for real.
Well, the race for Civil Court, 5th District, shows that the machine is no better than it once was. Vito Lopez (as well as Brooklyn Clown Marty Markowitz) have chosen as their candidate the man who seems to have run for every position in the city and lost...so now is running for judge. This also-ran is Noach Dear, a man who recently started calling himself "Noah Dear" to sound somehow less Jewish or something. This man, who hasn't won a race since being term limited out of the City Council, is the candidate backed by Vito Lopez and Marty Markowitz for Civil Court Judge in the 5th District.
Problem is, our dear Nocah Dear is not considered qualified. The machine is up to its old tricks of picking unqualified candidates for political expeidency. Vito Lopez thinks by throwing Noach "call me Noah" Dear a bone, they can keep him out of a future State Senate race. Do they care if he is qualified? No! They are currently in the process of shoving him down our throats as if he is a sure win.
But, according to the New York City Bar Association, Noach Dear is NOT QUALIFIED TO BE A CIVIL COURT JUDGE. Let me say that again. Noach Dear was deemed unqualified by the New York City Bar Association to be a Civil Court judge.
Un-fucking-qualified. At least in the huge battle that is the Surrogate Judge race between Diana Johnson and Shawndya Simpson, BOTH candidates have been deemed qualified by the NY Bar Assn.
But Noach Dear has not been deemed qualified. What about his opponent? Have met Karen Yellen once and found her earnest and eager to serve her community. But is she qualified? According to the New York City Bar Association, YES, Karen Yellen is indeed qualified to be judge.
This is what I am talking about all this time! The Vito Lopez machine is all about cronyism and political chess games, not about who is best for the job. So when I see Vito Lopez's endorsement, I automatically wonder WHY this person is running. What favors are being called in. Is this person even minimally qualified for the job.
Noach Dear is NOT qualified for the job. So why is Vito Lopez and Marty "Rampage" Markowitz backing him? It has to be about favors!
This is why Brooklyn Politics is so disgusting. Some think I go overboard calling it corrupt. But what do you call cronyism that puts favors above qualifications? If it is done by a Republican, I call it corruption. So when I see it done by a Democrat, how can I avoid the term "corruption." If it quacks like a duck and backs unqualified cronies, I call it a corrupt duck.
What can change this?
By and large I am finding the reform and progressive movements in Brooklyn pathetic to say the least. I see so-called reformers playing footsie in the bathroom stall with Vito and his buddies. I see reform slipping away as Vito dangles enticing promises of future endorsements that I know will never materialize. Vito feels he can pick unqualified people simply because he doesn't give a shit about what is right and wrong and there is NO ONE to block him. Most reformers and progressives either secretly still want his endorsement or they are so ineffective Vito barely notices them, at least for now.
What can change this?
My answer might have been different 6 months ago. But for now, I see two forces that are just getting their bearings that are strong enough and independent enough to make a difference. I will name two names, because if these two people wanted to take down Vito Lopez, and they planned it carefully, they could do it.
Yvette Clarke and Eric Adams. In the last election cycle I opposed Yvette Clarke and I strongly supported Eric Adams. But I will say right now, these are the two people best positioned to clean up Brooklyn Politics if they play their cards right. They may not even know their power yet, but they have the power to say "no" to the unqualified candidates being given judicial positions to judge Brooklyn citizens simply because SOMEONE owes SOMEONE a favor.
Yvette and Eric: do you approve of this crap? Can you hold your head high among the cesspool of Republican corruption when you KNOW what Vito Lopez is doing? If not, I am here to tell you that you are two people who might be MOST in a position to change things. Change them a little or change them a lot. But CHANGE them. Otherwise how can you look the corrupt Republicans in the eye and know that you are better than they are?
