Disappointment in the 45th District
One of the disappointments from the September 13th primaries was the victory of Kendall Stewart over Samuel Taitt in the Democratic Party's primary for the 45th Council District in Brooklyn.
The general election is November 8th and there are two challengers to the seat for the general election.
The first is Salvatore Grupico, running on the Republican, Independence, and Conservative tickets. Aside from that, there is no information on him, other than what's reported in Gotham Gazette's District 45 Campaign 2005 page:
Salvatore Grupico is a beverage store owner. He is also involved in the Flatbush Business Association.
That's descriptive. No websites, no posters, nothing can be found on this candidate, who has run for the seat previously.
The other is Erlene King. (Turn off your speakers or bring it to a low volume as the music on the homepage is loud. The upper right corner has an option to turn off the music.) She was unable to make the ballot for the Democratic primary but will appear on the general election ballot in November under a party she helped to create, the Rent is Too Damn High party. (Same warning on music.)
King's website is woefully inadequate, especially given that it says she started her campaign to be the representative of the 45th Councilmanic District on March 3rd of this year. The website offers nothing more than the most broad promises without any details about what King will do to live up to those promises.
If that were not absurd enough, the site has silly typographical errors. These are not merely cases where the key next to the desired letter or number is struck by accident. For instance, the homepage links to the website of the "New York City Counsel" (though it does go to the NYC Council's homepage). The news of an entirely new legal organization or a group of people that just dispense advice employed by the city must have been sent only to Erlene King. Vote for Erlene King! She knows about the secret organizations of New York City! But for which district? In a press release inviting all to a "special press conference" (PDF), King's document does state that she is running in the 45th District but in the next paragraph, the 40th Councilmanic District is mentioned.
Lastly, the website has a short endorsement list. However, these endorsements were from her 2003 attempt for the Council seat and there is nothing reflecting the 2005 campaign.
Not yet ready to represent the 45th Councilmanic District.
This is definitely a poor impression by King's campaign. This displays not only pure sloppiness but also a lack of organization and sheer incompetence. This is clearly not what a representative of the district needs. Her community activism is admirable. However, it is clear that she is not yet ready to effectively run and hold elective office.
Given what's already happened in the primary, it is very likely that Councilman Stewart will win another four years. However, one could hope for a better alternative. Although there is a lack of background and a visible campaign, there is also nothing bad to point to yet, therefore my support will be for Salvatore Grupico (R, I, C) by default.
As for Samuel Taitt, who was defeated by Kendall Stewart in the September 13th primary, his campaign website blames the loss on a smear campaign by Stewart and his allies. Whether or not that is true, it is apparent that Taitt did not stimulate enough voters to come out and vote for him (as his site states, less than 20% of eligible voters in the 45th District voted) and certainly does not portray an image of a graceful loser who can run again in 2009. Even if such a terrible smear campaign was underway(and I'll take his word on it for the sake of this post), the best that can be done would be to point it out and let any authorities handle it, rather than place a bitter farewell letter on the homepage of the campaign website. Perhaps he can put this behind him and try again. After all, Stewart will be out due to term limits if they stay in place through 2009.
I may not be a part of the Caribbean community that forms a very large part of the 45th District and its politics. However, the needs of the people are universal. People want to see improvement in their schools and training for their children so they can build this new century we have entered. They want clean streets and safety. They want businesses to prosper and jobs to be found to support their families. And in this district, the representatives are failing them. The people of the 45th Councilmanic District deserve better. And yet, with over 150,000 people in the district, this is the best that the community could find. It isn't the best. There needs to be people willing to lead the community and the community needs to turn out to the polls to have their voices heard. Until then, people like Kendall Stewart will win time after time. And the cycle of disappointment will never break.
The general election is November 8th and there are two challengers to the seat for the general election.
The first is Salvatore Grupico, running on the Republican, Independence, and Conservative tickets. Aside from that, there is no information on him, other than what's reported in Gotham Gazette's District 45 Campaign 2005 page:
Salvatore Grupico is a beverage store owner. He is also involved in the Flatbush Business Association.
That's descriptive. No websites, no posters, nothing can be found on this candidate, who has run for the seat previously.
The other is Erlene King. (Turn off your speakers or bring it to a low volume as the music on the homepage is loud. The upper right corner has an option to turn off the music.) She was unable to make the ballot for the Democratic primary but will appear on the general election ballot in November under a party she helped to create, the Rent is Too Damn High party. (Same warning on music.)
King's website is woefully inadequate, especially given that it says she started her campaign to be the representative of the 45th Councilmanic District on March 3rd of this year. The website offers nothing more than the most broad promises without any details about what King will do to live up to those promises.
If that were not absurd enough, the site has silly typographical errors. These are not merely cases where the key next to the desired letter or number is struck by accident. For instance, the homepage links to the website of the "New York City Counsel" (though it does go to the NYC Council's homepage). The news of an entirely new legal organization or a group of people that just dispense advice employed by the city must have been sent only to Erlene King. Vote for Erlene King! She knows about the secret organizations of New York City! But for which district? In a press release inviting all to a "special press conference" (PDF), King's document does state that she is running in the 45th District but in the next paragraph, the 40th Councilmanic District is mentioned.
Lastly, the website has a short endorsement list. However, these endorsements were from her 2003 attempt for the Council seat and there is nothing reflecting the 2005 campaign.
Not yet ready to represent the 45th Councilmanic District.
This is definitely a poor impression by King's campaign. This displays not only pure sloppiness but also a lack of organization and sheer incompetence. This is clearly not what a representative of the district needs. Her community activism is admirable. However, it is clear that she is not yet ready to effectively run and hold elective office.
Given what's already happened in the primary, it is very likely that Councilman Stewart will win another four years. However, one could hope for a better alternative. Although there is a lack of background and a visible campaign, there is also nothing bad to point to yet, therefore my support will be for Salvatore Grupico (R, I, C) by default.
As for Samuel Taitt, who was defeated by Kendall Stewart in the September 13th primary, his campaign website blames the loss on a smear campaign by Stewart and his allies. Whether or not that is true, it is apparent that Taitt did not stimulate enough voters to come out and vote for him (as his site states, less than 20% of eligible voters in the 45th District voted) and certainly does not portray an image of a graceful loser who can run again in 2009. Even if such a terrible smear campaign was underway(and I'll take his word on it for the sake of this post), the best that can be done would be to point it out and let any authorities handle it, rather than place a bitter farewell letter on the homepage of the campaign website. Perhaps he can put this behind him and try again. After all, Stewart will be out due to term limits if they stay in place through 2009.
I may not be a part of the Caribbean community that forms a very large part of the 45th District and its politics. However, the needs of the people are universal. People want to see improvement in their schools and training for their children so they can build this new century we have entered. They want clean streets and safety. They want businesses to prosper and jobs to be found to support their families. And in this district, the representatives are failing them. The people of the 45th Councilmanic District deserve better. And yet, with over 150,000 people in the district, this is the best that the community could find. It isn't the best. There needs to be people willing to lead the community and the community needs to turn out to the polls to have their voices heard. Until then, people like Kendall Stewart will win time after time. And the cycle of disappointment will never break.
posted by Will at 5:40 AM
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