By Colin Campbell 3/15 12:36pm

Endorsements

Ken Thompson (Photo: Facebook)

Rival Roasts Joe Hynes for ‘Apalling’ Conservative Party Endorsement

Last night, the Kings County Conservative Party backed their borough’s district attorney, Joe Hynes, for re-election and, citing his safety record, they formally offered him their ballot line come November. Although Mr. Hynes has been endorsed by the Conservatives for years, at least one of his Democratic primary rivals, Ken Thompson, was outraged by the bipartisan embrace and released a statement detailing his disgust.

“It is appalling that DA Hynes would accept the endorsement of a fringe right-wing group which opposes a woman’s right to choose, gun control and a minimum wage increase, supports the racial profiling of suspects, and sought to remove President Obama from office,” Mr. Thompson said this morning. Read More

By Colin Campbell 3/11 12:51pm

Cats Out of The Bag

(Photo: Getty)

Brooklyn GOP Now ‘Leaning Heavily’ Towards Endorsing John Catsimatidis

Early on in the mayoral race, the head of the Brooklyn Republican Party, Craig Eaton, was solidly in the corner of former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, whom he declared to be a potential “gamechanger” for the party as it seeks to retain its hold on City Hall. Mr. Carrión, however, is a registered independent and would need the support of three of the five county chairs to run in the Republican primary. As Mr. Carrión has only been able to secure the backing of two, Mr. Eaton told Politicker that he’s now “leaning heavily” towards endorsing another candidate, billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis. Read More

By Colin Campbell 2/07 5:28pm

Law & Order

Councilman Lew Fidler at the podium.

Joe Hynes Kicks off Reelection Campaign With a Big ‘Love-Fest’

Kings County District Attorney Hynes has been battered by negative headlines in recent months, but a large host of elected officials and a packed crowd still stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him today for the formal announcement of his re-election campaign on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall.

“Joe, this is more than a political rally, this is a love-fest. It’s really a love-fest between the residents of Brooklyn and you!” Borough President Marty Markowitz declared. “I hereby endorse this year of course, 2013, and 2017! And 2021!” Read More

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

frank's friends

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

By Colin Campbell 5/16/12 12:01am

restlermania

Lincoln Restler at his campaign launch.

The Battle of Billyburg: Fresh-Faced Lincoln Restler Challenges The ‘Corrupt’ Political Machine

“Look, this election is a whole lot bigger than just one person, especially a little guy like me who needs to stand on this chair,” 28-year-old Lincoln Restler declared as he artificially towered over a packed room at the Brooklyn Winery in Williamsburg a couple of weeks ago. “The machine has their candidate, they’re going to pour all of the resources they’ve got into this district leader race. But, for every hack elected official that they’ve got on payroll, we’re going to have to reach out to 10 of our neighbors.”

The “machine” in this case is the Kings County Democratic Party and its chair, Assemblyman Vito Lopez. Mr. Restler sees his re-election campaign as a critical aspect of the effort to topple what he describes as the corrupt status quo in Mr. Lopez’s organization.

Mr. Restler, who has the honor of holding the obscure position of district leader, is very aware of the fact that despite the lofty rhetoric of his campaign, he’s talking about an unpaid office with few official responsibilities.

“Any elected office, even an elected position you’ve probably never heard of, is a platform to advocate for one’s community,” Mr. Restler said in his speech, still standing on the chair. The crowd rightfully laughed after “you’ve probably never heard of.” Read More