The Brooklyn Young Republican Club mixes politics and good cheer at its annual Christmas and Chanukah Party

Mayoral and City Council Candidates addressed an assembled crowd of youngish GOP revelers at the Ceol Pub on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens last Sunday afternoon  —  perhaps the biggest news of the afternoon is that Jonathan Judge was in attendance, but did not speak in his official capacity 

Brooklyn YRC President Glenn Nocera wished over two dozen members and guests “Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah!” Among  seasonal greetings and felicitations the head of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club told those gathered for celebrations and good cheer that there would be a brief formal program to allow a couple of outside speakers, who were prospective GOP candidates in the upcoming elections in 2013 to say a few words.

The relatively newly minted Republican Tom Allon showed up at the holiday gathering accompanied by his Chief of Staff Even Burr. Allon went on to tell the club that he was running for the Office of Mayor of the City of New York, and that he was so interested in getting their formal and actual support for his run for mayor, that he intended to come back to the Brooklyn and address the Young Republican Club at least one more time to urge their support for his campaign. He then said he would be at the club’s regularly scheduled meeting in February 2013.

Allon’s brief presentation hit the following talking points  —  both NYC and NYS are terribly overtaxed and the residents of the City of New York bear the brunt of those taxes; something needs to be done to relieve that burden and still provide necessary city services. He then told the Young Republicans that his proposals for governing the City of New York would stress “innovative thinking,” such as dealing air-rights, one of the areas of his own prior experience.  Tom Allon specifically proposed using the air-rights over public school property to fund education at those and other off-site locations.  Another of his  “innovative thinking” proposals involved a methodology to fund NYCTA operations by selling corporate sponsorships of things like bus shelters and subway stations to fund those and other nearby stations and shelters.

The second speaker was the very controversial Bay Ridge Republican candidate for City Council against Councilman Vincent Gentile, Andy Sullivan.  He was introduced as a longtime friend of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club, best known for his outspoken opposition to the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque.” It was also noted that Mr. Sullivan recently appeared on Hannity’s Fox News program as a “unique voice speaking out against union leadership” who nonetheless didn’t believe that anti-unionist Stephen Crowder was wantonly assaulted by a pro-union thug. According to his remarks to the Young Republicans, another thing that bothers Andy Sullivan is the kind of political corruption that allows the likes of a sexual predator like Vito Lopez to continue to hold public office after being caught red-handed.

In spite of all the above, the biggest news event of the 2012  Brooklyn Young Republican Club Christmas and Chanukah Party is a report, if it is true, that Jonathan Judge was present at the event, but he did not speak as the Club's Chairman of the Board of Directors.