I declare a caption contest.

Interested in assisting the defeat of Vito Fossella, NYC’s only GOP member of Congress, I’ve been watching developments in NY’s 13th CD (Staten Island & parts of Brooklyn) from a distance. Ten days ago, or so, I attended an event on Staten Island where I met Steve Harrison and many of his SI supporters. To keep up on events in this race try NY13 Blog Retaking NY-13 From Vito Fossella or you could try Richard Reichard's Rm 8 Blog (not kept quite so up to date).

I liked Harrison. He seemed articulate, focused; ready for prime time. The gossip of the gathering, however, was the rumor that some progressive Democrats – for example State Senator Diane Savino -- were supporting the possible candidacy of NYC Council Member Domenic Recchia.

I asked Savino, a progressive trade unionist and formerly Working Families Party activist why she would consider supporting Recchia in 2008 when she’d supported Harrison vigorously in 2006. The rumor specifically was that Senator Savino was introducing Council Member Recchia to her SI friends and supporters.

She said:

For me, the question is which of them can win. On their worst day, either Steve or Domenic would be better much than Vito Fossella. Electing either Harrison or Recchia would be a great victory. I campaigned hard for Steve in 2006 and, if he’s the candidate in 2008, will do so again.

Domenic’s Council district overlaps a lot of my Senate district so I know him well. My sense is that he would be a more formidable candidate than Steve.

The way I judge that is by the candidates’ fund raising abilities. In January, I met with Steve and more recently with Domenic. I told them the same thing. You need to show that you can raise enough money for the race. I believe that a truly formidable candidate will have raised in the neighborhood of $500,000 by the end of the Quarter [Jan. 15, I think]. I think Domenic can do that. The reason the race will be so expensive is the need to reach out to SI voters by mail and TV ads.

Imagine, if you will, the following scenario. You are in the Jim Crow South. You are in a courtroom as a party to a lawsuit. You are black. Your judge has actively campaigned for segregation.

How certain are you that you will get justice from the bench?

Fast forward to the very near future, in January 2008, when this exact scenario will play out in Brooklyn, one of the constituent parts of the shining global metropolis that is New York City. Except that, in keeping with the most current prejudices, you need to be gay or lesbian to face this disquieting perspective, should you wind up in the courtroom of one Noach Dear, who recently prevailed in a primary battle for a civil court seat.

Dear, of course, led the opposition to New York City's gay rights bill; was the only member of the Brooklyn City Council delegation to vote against the 1998 domestic partnership bill; and, in an abortive Congressional run as a republican against Anthony Weiner, had the latter's speeches in favor of LGBT equality taped and then replayed to Orthodox audiences. As bigots go, he is nothing if not consistent; so perhaps it's not a surprise that he's also done business with Apartheid-era South Africa. In that context, it's particularly ironic that, while running in a black-majority district for state Senate, he called himself Noah and pretended to be black.

Noach, or Noah depending on which voters he courts, is currently a commissioner with the Taxi and Limousine Commission, a post to which he was appointed by none other than Rudy Giuliani; which may perhaps explain why half the funds he raised for his state office run came from taxi and limousine companies, which of course rely on his regulatory functions to shape their business environment. This time around, however, there's no indication that he received forty seven sequentially numbered money orders that turned out to not have been made out by the people listed on them as donors, as happened in the above-mentioned Congressional race.

Alan Fleischman, an out district leader in Brooklyn, sums up the problem neatly:

"It is outrageous that Noach Dear claims to have honesty and integrity. He is a notorious anti-choice, homophobic bigot who led the fight against the 1986 NY City Council Gay Rights bill and doesn't have the basic fairness and judicial temperament to serve on the Civil Court bench.

It is questionable why anyone in their right mind would support him for judge."

This is the man who was endorsed by the following elected officials, all Democrats:

There's an overlooked news story in the Staten Island Advance that I'd suggest is a harbinger of things to come:

A scathing report from state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo this week said top Spitzer aides plotted to smear GOP Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno by leaking information to the press about Bruno's alleged improper use of state aircraft.

In the wake of the report, Spitzer suspended Darren Dopp, his longtime communications director, for 30 days without pay. William Howard, deputy secretary for security, was reassigned within state government, while Richard Baum, Spitzer's chief of staff, was not punished.

While satisfied with Spitzer's initial response, Ms. Savino said that subsequent developments, including the revelation that Dopp and Baum refused to testify under oath for Cuomo's investigation, have caused her to change her mind.

Failing to fire Baum, Dopp and Howard, she said, "will cripple (Spitzer's) governorship going forward."

Brooklyn Attorney Steve Harrison and Staten Island educator Mark Zink will announce the forming of the non-partisan SIBRO Civic Association in a 7 PM July 18 press conference at the Staten Island South Beach Boardwalk Gazebo overlooking Southwest Brooklyn. For disclosure purposes, I'm SIBRO's acting corresponding sec.

SIBRO (Staten Island/Brooklyn) Civic Association is dedicated to narrowing the Narrows and bridging the gap between people who live on opposite sides of the bridge, focusing issues that impact Staten Island and Southwest Brooklyn residents together.

They brainstormed the idea in January 2006, before Steve ran for congress, in popular Staten Island hangout Schaffer's. Schaffer's is one of my favorite Staten Island bars because of their extensive beer selection (I'm a beer geek) although I'm always puzzled how they can close before midnight on Saturdays.

The City Board of Elections denied Independence Party candidate to replace the late John Lavelle representing Staten Island’s North Shore in the March 27 Special Election Kelvin Alexander’s bid to place his made up Family First line (Not to be confused with Working Families which supports Democratic opponent Matt Titone ) as an additional line on the ballot. The board ruled that 611 of the petition’s 1616 signatures were invalid, leaving him short of the 1100 he needed for that additional line.

Alexander, a Staten Island Democratic County Committee member, is running on the Independence line and potentially turning a potential easy Democratic win into an opportunity for Republican Rose Margarella because the party chose Titone over him. He is undecided if he’ll fight the ruling with the state Supreme Court.

Alexander has accused any challenge of his fabricated party petition as marginalizing minority voters. I find that a stretch since he’s already on the ballot as a better known party’s candidate.

I also need to clarify that I am supporting Titone in this race. I have donated money to Titone, campaigned with Matt and have a Titone sign on my front lawn. There are some comments on the Link TextStaten Island Advance’s SIlive political forum that take out of context my initial backing of Alexander in the Daily Gotham. Although I would have voted for Alexander in the first round of voting at the County Convention had I been allowed to participate, I would have switched to Titone in subsequent rounds. Also for the SIlivers who read my blog, I was not one of the January Committee additions thought loyal to Olivari. I was told I was added in June 2006 and still haven’t been named to the Committee and thus still can not vote in County matters.

State Senator Diane Savino and Downtown Staten Island Council Vice Chair Kevin Barry host a March 7, 2007 6-8 PM fundraiser fundraiser for Democratic Assembly candidate Matt Titone @ Vida
381 Van Duzer Street Staten Island, NY 10305.

Suggested Donations are $500, $1000 and $2500, but Matt won't turn away those who can't afford to give at those levels.

For More information contact Nick Vagelatos (212)239-7323.