Queens Democratic Party Chair Joe Crowley announces his endorsements.

When the Queens Democratic Party rolled out its endorsements this morning in Forest Hills, one notable demographic, African Americans, was left without a major candidate. Indeed, Queens' black political establishment looked on with disappointment as their favored candidates for mayor, borough president and public advocate were passed over for rivals.

Congressman Joe Crowley, the party chair, endorsed Council Speaker Christine Quinn for mayor and former Councilwoman Melinda Katz for borough president. While a vast majority of district leaders voiced their approval, Elmer Blackburne and several other black district leaders dissented, indicating that instead they would support Bill Thompson, the former comptroller, who is also black. Ms. Quinn and Ms. Katz are white.

"Our community tells us that they're gonna vote for him [Thompson] again," Mr. Blackburne, a district leader from a predominately black southeast Queens, told reporters after the endorsement meeting. "We feel strongly and we'll be working very strongly with Mr. Thompson. [Ms. Quinn] can't win in our district. She can't win the Bronx, from the numbers I'm getting. She can't win in her own district, I'm told--her own part of Manhattan--and she can't win in Brooklyn."

Mr. Blackburne said he understood the county organization had an appreciation for diversity but also made decisions that were not always popular with the local black political establishment. Archie Spigner, a former southeast Queens councilman and close ally of sitting Councilman Leroy Comrie, the black candidate Mr. Crowley was considering endorsing instead of Ms. Katz for borough president, expressed disappointment at the seemingly last-minute decision the county organization made to not support Mr. Comrie.

"I'm disappointed but I understand their logic," Mr. Spigner told Politicker. "We'll have to see whether Leroy continues in the race. If he continues in the race, I'll be with him. The reasons they gave me were that he was a very unsuccessful, unspectacular fund-raiser."

Sources indicated that Mr. Spigner and other Comrie allies were only informed of Mr. Crowley's decision to support Ms. Katz late Saturday and Sunday. Initially, Politicker reported that the county organization was expected to back Mr. Comrie, despite his poor fund-raising. However, according to several plugged-in Democratic sources, Mr. Comrie's candidacy was met coolly in the pivotal organized labor community, some of whom favored Ms. Katz. When other candidates, sources said, made it clear they were not going to step aside if Mr. Crowley backed Mr. Comrie, the county organization reevaluated their plans and chose Ms. Katz, a strong fund-raiser and former county-backed candidate for Congress.

Mr. Comrie currently has about $40,000 in his campaign account, compared with Ms. Katz's $337,000. Ms. Katz also secured the endorsement of a southeast Queens power broker, Rev. Floyd Flake.

In addition to Ms. Quinn and Ms. Katz, the county organization chose to back Reshma Saujani, a well-funded candidate who has never held elected office before, for public advocate. Mr. Crowley repeatedly stressed that Ms. Saujani is of South Asian descent and would be able to provide representation to Queens' burgeoning South Asian community. Ms. Saujani's victory would be historic as there are no South Asian elected officials in New York City.

However, Ms. Saujani's endorsement came at the expense of Brooklyn Councilwoman Tish James, a black elected official also favored by the southeast Queens establishment. Ms. James, like Mr. Comrie, has struggled to fund-raise.

"They didn't go with Tish, they didn't go with Leroy, they didn't go with Billy [Thompson]," lamented one Queens Democratic insider. "Billy would've made a lot of people happy. They did it purely because they have close ties to Quinn."

Indeed, Mr. Crowley's predecessor, Congressman Thomas Manton, worked diligently behind the scenes in 2005 to help elect Ms. Quinn speaker. In a short speech, Ms. Quinn paid tribute to Mr. Crowley and Mr. Manton, who died in 2006.

"I can't help but think of Tom Manton and I can't help but think of a conversation and a similar endorsement, a little different meeting, that I had with Tom Manton, where he said he was supporting me in the race for speaker of the City Council," Ms.  Quinn said. "And in doing so it was an enormous step forward in my efforts to become speaker."

Leroy Comrie. (Photo: Facebook)

The Queens County Democratic Party is expected to endorse Councilman Leroy Comrie for borough president next week, according to four sources plugged into various sides of the race.

The sources--some of whom were disappointed in the decision--told Politicker that Congressman Joe Crowley, the head of the borough's Democratic organization, will probably endorse Mr. Comrie to balance his leadership position in one of the most demographically diverse counties in the country.

"Crowley has a lot pressure, he's got to deal with African-American district leaders who want him," said one Queens Democrat familiar with the decision-making process. "It is what it is."

"It's about 80 percent they're going with Leroy," another Democratic source said. "The black district leaders are strongly behind Leroy. And Joe needs to protect his leadership."

Mr. Comrie, who represents a predominately black southeastern Queens district, was not endorsed by an influential power broker in the area, Rev. Floyd Flake, but sources said Mr. Crowley is still fond of Mr. Comrie, a veteran member of the City Council.

The decision of the relatively powerful county organization comes even as Ms. Comrie's fund-raising continues to lag behind his competitors. According to the latest finance reports released yesterday, he has about $40,000 left in his account, compared with Councilman Peter Vallone's $800,000, former Councilwoman Melinda Katz's $337,000, State Sen. José Peralta's $138,000 and former Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik' $72,000.

Mr. Comrie and Mr. Crowley did not immediately return requests for comment.

James Sanders last night.

It is a question few in the New York political establishment dare to ask publicly: is the seemingly endless string of indictments and arrests of elected officials a conspiracy against minorities in power?

But there was Queens State Sen. James Sanders Jr., bellowing in a theater with a preacher's rhythm, more than implying last night that the recent arrests of black elected officials like Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, State Sen. Malcolm Smith and State Sen. John Sampson were not coincidental. Even State Sen. Shirley Huntley, who admitted to stealing funds earmarked for her district's underprivileged children and was sentenced Thursday for her crimes, could have been linked to a conspiracy, Mr. Sanders said.

Ironically, Mr. Sanders defeated Ms. Huntley last year--after she was indicted--and took her seat in the State Senate.

"Why aren't we hearing about other people wired and looking at different communities? Why is it seemingly a focus on this community?" the freshman state senator asked. "Why are we allowing folk who've been in power longer--who are perhaps smarter and slicker, who are are more dangerous under those conditions and perhaps robbing far more--we leave them alone and we target these over here?"

The mellifluous Mr. Sanders was speaking at last night's "Attack on Black Leaders: Corruption or Conspiracy?" forum in the Black Spectrum Theater in the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens. After a showing of the R-rated 1993 political film Let's Get Bizee, a debate was held between two three-person panels: one side argued that the recent arrests of minority elected officials was a conspiracy against minorities in power and the other argued that prosecutors were correctly ferreting out corruption. Sitting on the "conspiracy" side was Paul Nichols, Mr. Sanders' chief of staff.

"The attack on minority leader is nothing more than a conspiracy, a conspiracy to thwart and to try to block the growing influence of minority power," Mr. Nichols declared. In a disclaimer, he said his views did not represent those of his boss.

On the other side, panelists like former Assemblyman Michael Benjamin argued that historically, white elected officials like former Queens Borough President Donald Manes and Bronx Democratic boss Stanley Friedman have been charged with crimes too. Mr. Nichols countered by saying blacks have been marginalized for generations and little has changed.

A hand count at the end showed that only three more attendees sided with the "corruption" position than the "conspiracy" one. Mr. Sanders himself, speaking before the audience, concluded that it "was a little bit of both" before elaborating with reporters after the debate. When Politicker asked him about the number of white elected officials that have gone to prison in recent years, including former State Sen. Carl Kruger, Comptroller Alan Hevesi and Assemblyman Brian Mclaughlin, Mr. Sanders insisted minority politicians were still disproportionately targeted.

"The so-called minority population of this state is very small. If it is proportionate, then the vast majority [of arrests] would be whites," he said. "It is close to 55 percent so-called minority and 45 percent white ... your math doesn't hold. The proportion around the state is 30 percent, yet they are making up 55 percent of the targets."

Councilman Leroy Comrie, a black southeastern Queens representative , arrived late to watch the debate. As Mr. Comrie was leaving, we asked the chairman of the Queens Council delegation if he believed there was an actual conspiracy against minority elected officials. He equivocated.

"I'm not rejecting any notion," Mr. Comrie explained. "All I'm saying is, it's not my job to be concerned about corruption or conspiracy. All I'm trying to do as an elected official is do right thing and encourage other people to be involved in government. Make people unafraid of government and make sure the government is responsive to people."

Though Mr. Caughman managed Mr. Comrie's 2009 City Council campaign, Mr. Comrie--who is running for Queens Borough President--actually asked Mr. Miller to enter the fray. Nevertheless, Mr. Caughman said he wasn't bothered by the move.

"Leroy's in a precarious situation by running for borough president," Mr. Caughman said in a weekend interview. "He wants support from all corners and I respect that. He knows who the better candidate is, though, and that’s me."

Mr. Caughman, a long-time environmentalist, placed the "silent crisis" of  southeastern Queens' rising water table as a motivator for his campaign. Known for its frequent flooding, the area's water table has risen 30 to 35 feet, Mr. Caughman estimated, since 1996 when wells were shut down in favor of drawing water exclusively from upstate reservoirs. He wants the wells reopened.

"It's a silent crisis we have to address," he said. "There are many homes here that have groundwater intrusion. We need to work with the City Council, state and federal government to bring in more funds to address the issue. It's an accident waiting to happen."

As is often the case with open seats, Mr. Caughman and Mr. Miller are likely to face a bevy of additional opponents. Accordingly, attorney Joan Flowers, Community Board 13 Chair Bryan Block, political consultant Sondra Peeden and former Congressional candidate Joseph Marthone have all filed to run for the seat.

(Photo: Local 1056, ATU)

Though the field for term-limited Queens Councilman Leroy Comrie's seat is far from set, it may soon have a frontrunner: labor leader Daneek Miller.

Indeed, Mr. Miller, the president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1056, told Politicker that Mr. Comrie asked him to run for the City Council this year. Although he stressed he had not formally decided whether to launch his bid, Mr. Miller said he was seriously considering the opportunity.

"It's really an opportunity to bring a new voice, a voice that kind of understands the needs of the district," he said in an interview yesterday. "It's not a knock on anyone, but you look at those who have declared to run, you ask, 'Are they the voice of the people?' I've lived in the district for 30 years, since I was a kid. ... I speak for the working people of the district."

Should he run, Mr. Miller would instantly be a candidate to be reckoned with in the Democratic primary for the southeastern Queens district. One Democratic source said other labor unions were already working behind the scenes to "clear the field" for Mr. Miller.

For his part, Mr. Miller said he would bring new leadership to an area that has struggled with high unemployment and a foreclosure crisis.

"There are a number of young people in the district that are underemployed or unemployed, five or six schools are on the list to be closed. That's just not a good situation," he explained. "Considering the amount of resources that come out of this city, we should be demanding more. Not just from City Hall, but of our selves. Listen, when I became president, I said that I was going to be better. Not that I was going to be better than the other guy, but I was going to be better and the best that I can be, raising the bar."

Of course, other candidates have indicated interest in Mr. Comrie's job too. As of now, Community Board 13 Chair Bryan Block, political consultant Sondra Peeden and former Congressional candidate Joseph Marthone have all filed to run for the seat.

Malcolm Smith (Photo: Getty)

Hell hath no fury like a county organization scorned.

Multiple Democratic insiders confirmed to Politicker that Queens State Senator Malcolm Smith, the fifth member of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference, could face a primary challenger in 2014. Mr. Smith, it should be noted, has flirted with running for mayor as a Republican and is not going out of his way to strengthen his Democratic bonafides.

“It’s clear that Malcolm Smith is on his last term in the Senate,” said one source. “Caucusing with Republicans is not a viable tactic."

One strong challenger for Mr. Smith, the Democrat explained, would be Councilman Leroy Comrie, a loyal party stalwart who's been exploring a bid for Queens Borough President but has yet to post a formidable fundraising haul to indicate he's fully in the race. Both Mr. Smith and Mr. Comrie hail from overwhelmingly Democratic neighborhoods in southeastern Queens where the electorate is unlikely to be sympathetic to the Republican cause. Adding fuel to the partisan fire for Mr. Smith, the Senate Democrats have much of their campaign operations based in the borough and targeting him is sure to be high on their minds come 2014.

Another Queens Democrat confirmed a Comrie challenge has been talked about, though he was unsure if the Democratic Party would want to inject Mr. Comrie into a potentially nasty primary. Spokespeople for the hypothetical rivals did not immediately return requests for comment.

“[Comrie challenging Smith] is certainly an option,” the second insider said. “I don’t know if county will want to subject Comrie to that sort of race. For all of Comrie’s options, it’s going to be the question: can he put the money together?”

But it might not just be Queens where the Democratic Party is pondering campaigns against the breakaway IDC's members. For example, newly-minted Kings County Democratic Chairman Frank Seddio has harshly criticized Democratic Senator-elect Simcha Felder's decision to directly caucus with the GOP and even explored ways to expel him from the party. Staten Island Senator Diane Savino is an IDC member who also represents parts of Brooklyn and we reached out to Mr. Seddio's spokesman, George Arzt, and asked if the Brooklyn organization might be mulling a primary challenge against Ms. Savino as well.

Mr. Arzt replied to Politicker's email with a simple "YES."

Of course, some things are easier said than done, and Ms. Savino enjoys the support of Staten Island's Democratic Party and would not appear anywhere near as vulnerable as Mr. Smith. Not campaigning for mayor as a Republican could also work in  her favor.

Update (11:30 a.m.): Mr. Smith's spokesman, Hank Sheinkopf, responded by pointing to the still-devastated parts of the district in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. 

"Senator Smith is busy helping victims of Sandy recover, spending time making homes habitable and putting food on the table," Mr. Sheinkopf explained. "This is a moment of concern for victims of a serious disaster. It's not a time for politics."

Update (1:20 p.m.): Scott Levenson, a consultant for Ms. Savino, added, "Senator Savino is confident that the voters care more about issues like campaign finance reform and minimum wage then party bosses and their labels."

Additional reporting by Colin Campbell

Peter Vallone Jr.

Queens Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. will announce his bid for Queens Borough President tomorrow, a Democratic source with knowledge of Mr. Vallone’s plans confirmed. Mr. Vallone will make his announcement at his father’s holiday party in Astoria. Peter Vallone Sr., the former City Council Speaker, is hosting the bash at the restaurant Don Coqui. The invitation noted the event will include “an announcement as to Council Member Vallone’s future political plans at the party, because he wants those closest to know first!”

Mr. Vallone, the chair of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, was long rumored to be seeking the open seat and is an immediate front runner in a crowded field. In October, he told Politicker he was "seriously considering" running for the Queens borough presidency. Though the outspoken and somewhat conservative Democrat is unlikely to receive the backing of the Queens Democratic Party, he has already raised more than $1 million for a run.

Former Councilwoman and Assemblywoman Melinda Katz, former Deputy Borough President Barry Grodenchik, State Sen. Jose Peralta and State Sen. Tony Avella have all already publicly launched campaigns for the Queens borough presidency. Councilman Leroy Comrie, a favorite of the County Democratic party, is likely to run as well, though, the most recent campaign finance reports show he has raised just $61,151.

Houses of the holy. (Skyscraper Page)

Is the media to blame for NYCHA’s problems? Or, more specifically, the Daily News? That was certainly the impression given by a handful of pols on the steps of City Hall this afternoon.

Led by Rosie Mendez, chair of the City Council’s housing committee, the group applauded the New York City Housing Authority’s recent improvements over the past months and years. While it was widely acknowledged that the state of public housing in the city was far from perfect, the situation was indeed improving in the view of those huddled under the portico of City Hall as it drizzled on the steps just beyond.

"NYCHA's problems are profound," Queens Councilman LeRoy Comrie said. "They cannot be explained away in a newspaper article that simply says they are not doing their job."

The reps told stories of strategic plans embraced, security cameras installed, roofs repaired and rapid response teams deployed, and took great pains to explain the difference between maintenance and capital funds. The former fixes a leaky pipe or a broken stove gasket, the latter replaces an entire complex’s plumbing or appliances.

After screaming headlines about $1 billion of mismanaged funds (for capital projects), the News then ran stories for days decrying moldy apartments and rat infestations—travesties, but travesties none of that money could be spent on. "They cannot mix their capital and their expense, they cannot take their capital money that is meant for roofs and go and fix leaky faucets, because then the federal government would go and completely defund them," Councilwoman Mendez said. "They have a way to do it, and they have to use the money in the way the federal government and HUD oversees them to do it."

There was also criticism of the fact that the media had suggested NYCHA was sitting on the $1 billion, ignoring the fact that it was held up in the bureaucratic process of seeking approvals from numerous agencies both in New York and Washington. "More of this money has been spent than they are letting on," Councilwoman Letitia James said, with the oft-cited amount being around 60 to 70 percent of the funds targeted by the News as having been allocated if not yet spent.

Another major factor was the money had been frozen for administrative reasons. Part of this is that NYCHA was engaged in a strategic revaluation after Chairman John Rhea took over in 2009. "NYCHA is 2,602 buildings," Ms. Mendez said. "This is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and that's why when they froze the money I wasn't happy, but it's because they realized this isn't a one-size-fits all solution. You have buildings, you have developments that are one building, you have developments that are 40 buildings, you have developments that have six stories, and you have developments that are 25 stories. You have to analyze it; you have to figure out, if you're gonna do it, how you're gonna do it."

The council was also partly to blame, in that many of its members had offered up their own funds to fix issues at various developments in their district. When the slush fund scandal hit in 2009, just as Chairman Rhea was coming on board, that held up many projects throughout all city programs, including those in the works at NYCHA. "That slowed down the pipeline," Ms. Mendez said.

The politicians’ greatest frustration was not simply the misrepresentation of NYCHA. Their biggest concern was the impact it would have in Washington, where the agency draws more than 90 percent of its funding any given year. "The problem is in Washington, when they see we are one of the few places that did not get rid of our public housing like so many have, they do not see the political will to keep that intact into the future," Upper West Side Councilwoman Gale Brewer said. "We know that the repairs are taking too long, that the kitchen will not be fixed until 2015, but when that is all they read about in Washington, they are not going to give us any more money."

Indeed, a day after the News reported on an unreleased $10 million study of the agency, Republican Senator Charles Grassley attacked NYCHA in a letter to HUD (which was then reported in the News). The names Romney and Ryan were invoked repeatedly during the press conference, a portent of an even darker future.

"At a time when the housing prices are at a point where they are, our affordable housing stock is so important to maintain," Queens State Senator Jose Peralta said. "It is at this time, this is the exact wrong conversation to have, to cut funding from the federal government."

What seemed to bother the electeds more than anything was the indignity of it all—whatever their opinion of NYCHA, the conversation seemed to hurt the residents the most. "Like Councilwoman Mendez, I am the product of NYCHA, I came out of the South Jamaica Houses, and now I have the pleasure of representing them," Queens Councilman Ruben Wills said.

"We don't care about the free family days at NYCHA, we don't care about the scholarships it gives out, these are the things we aren't hearing about," he continued. "A lot of the negative-type attacks without any corrective measures is nothing but counter-productive. You can't just keep advertising, advertising, advertising the negative. People live in these houses. These aren't just buildings. People live and work in these communities."

Leroy Comrie speaking at the rally against the school closures. (Photo: Councilman Leroy Comrie)

"The common dominator to the eight schools slated to be closed is that they all service high rates of English Language Learners and Special Needs children," Councilwoman Diana Reyna said at the rally. "By turning his back to students with the highest need, Mayor Bloomberg is abandoning the principle of equal opportunity for all children regardless of race or disability. This Mayor claims to be known as the “Education Mayor,” but I think a more accurate title is the 'Highest School Dropout Mayor.'"

The final decision on these eight schools will be made within a month. In his remarks at the rally against the closures, Councilman Leroy Comrie, said the schools in question have all shown recent improvement.

"Even under the Department of Education’s standards, the schools that are slated to be closed have shown improvement since being put into the Restart/Transformation models," Mr. Comrie said, "Closing these schools would hinder our children’s access to the quality of education that they deserve. The Mayor should step in and allow these schools to continue to educate our children."

The members of the Council's Queens delegation were joined at the protest by Queens borough president Helen Marshall.

"This controversial closure plan involves schools that have already improved and now need stability and a stable future," Ms. Marshall said.

School closures have proved to be a hotbutton issue of late for Mayor Bloomberg. Closures in Harlem led Assemblyman Keith Wright to call for legislation ending mayoral control of schools in January.

Senator Peralta (Photo: Facebook)

This morning, a new campaign committee, "Peralta 2013," appeared on the Board of Elections website, suggesting State Senator José Peralta is taking yet another step towards his increasingly likely campaign for Queens Borough President next year.

The committee will allow Mr. Peralta to raise money and more forcefully campaign for the race, especially when one potential candidate, Councilman Peter Vallone, already has $1 million in his own campaign war chest.

Other likely candidates include Assemblywoman Grace Meng and Councilman Leroy Comrie.

If all four candidates enter the race, there will be a diverse slate of candidates each hailing from different sections of an incredibly diverse borough. Queens is 28% Latino, 28% White, 19% African American, and 23% Asian.

An email placed to Mr. Peralta's campaign was not immediately returned.