Honesty, community dedication and postive campaigning won tonight over sleazy, lying, negative campaigning in Brooklyn's 1st Civil Court Race. Progresses won over conservatives.

I wish this could be simply a good celebration over a race well fought on both sides. But I cannot ignore the fact that Roger Adler ran one of the nastiest and worst campaigns I have ever seen and his choice to cynically smear a truely good gentleman is unforgivable. And many will not forget what he and his backers did when they chose to use Karl Rove's strategy to win. Fortunately, their attempt to win by lying lost. May McCain's similar approach also lose.

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 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. I was happy to see him in a better mood and seeing him finally campaigning personally in the district.

Just confirmed two rumors I had heard: my friend Devin Cohen, running for the 1st Civil Court seat in Brooklyn, has been endorsed by Stonewall Democrats and by City Councilman Bill deBlasio.

I still have not been able to find any confirmation of any endorsements for Roger Adler.

The endorsements for Devin Cohen are beginning to become pretty impressive. Both Independent Neighborhood Democrats and Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats endorsed him...and they don't always agree (see, for example, their split on Towns vs. Powell this year in the NY-10 Congressional race). Add to that William Saunders' 57th A.D. Regular Democratic Organization, which I have no direct connection to. Then there are the two main Gay and Lesbian organizations, Lambda Independent Democrats and Stonewall Democrats. I'd call that a formidable combination of organizations each of which will be reaching out to its membership to get out the vote. How many organizations have endorsed Adler? I haven't found any yet.

This comes from another friend of Devin Cohen's:

Friends and Neighbors:

Please join me on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 to meet and support Devin P. Cohen, candidate for Civil Court Judge in Brooklyn. Devin was a law school classmate of mine and is a good friend. He is smart and hard-working and has been actively involved in a number of progressive political causes in Brooklyn. He will make an excellent judge.

Civil Court judges play a critical role in the life of New York City. Many of the litigants who appear in Civil Court can't afford lawyers and must represent themselves. Many are recent immigrants. It is imperative that the judges who hear their cases be patient, intelligent and dedicated. Devin is the right person for the job.

Judicial campaigns are expensive undertakings. Those of us who want well-qualified, independent judges must do our part by supporting good candidates.

There is a primary election this Tuesday, Sept 18th. Voter turnout is expected to be low. You know what that means? It means YOUR VOTE COUNTS. Far more than usual. And many of the races that actually are competitive are ones for judgeships...which can be among the most important positions we vote for. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

There are contested primary races in every borough except (I think) Staten Island. You can find a brief rundown on what is at stake on Tuesday at the DFNYC website. But I only know about my local Brooklyn races. Here are the races I know of that are at least somewhat competitive, and so are really quite critical that people vote. YES...YOUR VOTE COUNTS! If people know of others, please mention them in the comments.