By Ross Barkan 4/17 5:29pm

Saying No to Vito

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Vito Lopez Says He’s Unfazed by Planned Protest Against Him

His opponents have announced a protest outside of his first City Council fund-raiser tomorrow, but Assemblyman Vito Lopez told Politicker he’s not rattled by their efforts.

“It seems like they’re putting a lot of time and energy into preventing me from running, even though I haven’t yet decided to run,” Mr. Lopez, the ex-Brooklyn Democratic Party boss facing allegations that he repeatedly sexually harassed staffers, explained earlier today. “You wonder–they’re a reform group–why would they want to spend energy to prevent somebody from running in an election? That doesn’t seem like reform.” Read More

By Ross Barkan 4/04 4:51pm

Vetoing Vito

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‘Molester Free Zone’ Launched After Vito Lopez Files for City Council

The New Kings Democrats went there, and fast.

Only a couple hours after news broke that Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who is battling sexual harassment allegations, registered a campaign account for a City Council run, the Democratic club launched  a “molester free zone” campaign, complete with a fairly direct flier, illustrating exactly how negative the marquee race will get should Mr. Lopez officially enter it. Read More

By Colin Campbell and Hunter Walker 12/06/12 3:44pm

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(Photo: George Arzt Communications, Inc.)

Brooklyn Democratic Party Boss Planning $300,000 Christmas Extravaganza

Move over Governor Cuomo. As we explained when Frank Seddio emerged on top of the Kings County Democratic Party, nobody does Christmas like Mr. Seddio. He loves the holiday. A lot.

Mr. Seddio, who has a personal Facebook page named “Canarsie Christmas,” hosts a massive annual holiday display at his home in Canarsie that has included balletic animatronic smurfs, countless lights and earned legions of local fans make an annual pilgrimage to E. 93rd Street to view his Christmas decorations.

Though Mr. Seddio’s new position as Brooklyn Democratic Chairman means he has far more political duties than he did this time last year, there’s no stopping his Christmas cheer and he is ready to come back in full force. To wit, public relations guru George Arzt sent out a 11-paragraph press release detailing the upcoming unveiling of Mr. Seddio’s holiday exhibition, which notes the mammoth $300,000 display will have “500,000 lights, almost 100 animated dolls, and a talking Christmas tree.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 9/19/12 2:32pm

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Your next county leader. (Photo: Facebook)

Karim Camara Backs Frank Seddio to Lead Brooklyn Democrats

Assemblyman Karim Camara, who was for a time the one hope reformers had to block Frank Seddio from succeeding Vito Lopez as the head of the Kings County Democratic Party, officially backed Mr. Seddio this afternoon in a move to unify the party right before the vote to replace Mr. Lopez. Barring a large meteor striking the planet or a something of that magnitude, Mr. Seddio now seems all but certain to be the new leader of the Kings County Democratic establishment. Read More