Worst news possible for State Senator Golden — anti-corruption Democrat activist ready to go at Golden’s Achilles’ Heal — “pay to play” donations from special interests and other corrupt practices
According to the local Brooklyn blogger-reporter Ned Berke, “Political activist and executive director of the Bay Ridge Democrats, Jamie Kemmerer, will formally announce his bid to represent the 22nd District in the State Senate on Monday, challenging 12-year Republican incumbent Marty Golden for his seat.... ( See “Confirmed: Democrat Jamie Kemmerer To Challenge State Senator Marty Golden” by Ned Berke, 5/9/14, Sheepshead Bites [http://www.sheepsheadbites.com/2014/05/confirmed-democrat-jamie-kemmerer-challenge-state-senator-marty-golden/]; the same post by Ned Berke also appeared in the Bensonhurst Bean [http://www.bensonhurstbean.com/2014/05/confirmed-democrat-jamie-kemmerer-challenge-state-senator-marty-golden/]).
Mr. Berke’s report was a specific confirmation of what had been earlier reported by Nick Powell on a city-wide blog, City & State (See “SEN. GOLDEN MAY HAVE A CHALLENGER, by Nick Powell, 5/8/14, City & State [http://www.cityandstateny.com/2/75/new-york-state-senate/sen.-golden-may-have-a-challenger.html#.U3PwBIFdU8q]). Nick Powell clearly thinks that once it heats up, this will be a very hot race; here’s what Powell thinks some of it going to be about: “Kemmerer made some waves in February after accusing Golden of “money laundering” by spending large amounts of campaign contributions at his brother’s catering hall in Bay Ridge. It is safe to say there could be more barbs thrown on both sides should Kemmerer make his candidacy official.”
CAMPAIGN WON’T ONLY BE ABOUT THE BAY RIDGE MANOR — BAY RIDGE DEMS' CANDIDATE IS READY TO TIE STATE SENATOR GOLDEN TO SOME OF THE FINDINGS OF THE MORELAND COMMISSION
In December 2013, Mr. Kemmerer did a post about the Moreland Commission’s preliminary report on corrupt practices among our state representatives ( See “Statement on Moreland Commission Preliminary Report ....” by Jamie Kemmerer, 12/3/13, JamieKemmerer.com [jamiekemmerer.com/moreland-report]). In that post, Kemmerer noted that: “Yesterday the Moreland Commission released it's preliminary report on public corruption in New York. The commission has indicated that it has "discovered criminality", but that the real crime is that much of the corruption they have discovered is completely legal. The commission notes in the preliminary report: ‘What we can describe, though, is deplorable conduct, some of it perfectly legal yet profoundly wrong; some of it potentially illegal — and, indeed, this Commission will make appropriate criminal referrals at such time as it deems appropriate....’ *** “.... We are pleased to hear that an overwhelming majority of the Moreland commissioners has reached the same conclusion that the majority of New Yorkers have already reached, that a Fair Elections system that gets big money out of our political process is the only way to end the systemic corruption."
An earlier post by Jamie Kammerer specifically tied the kind of “legal corruption” described by the Moreland Commissioners to State Senator Golden ( See “The Golden Egg Is Not For You – How Money In Politics Drives Politicians To Do Strange Things In Far Away Places” by Jamie Kemmerer, 10/8/13, JamieKemmerer.com [http://jamiekemmerer.com/golden-egg]). That blog posting by Kemmerer started out like this: “If you haven’t heard or seen the coverage, State Senator Marty Golden is involved in another corruption scandal. The current scandal goes like this [lists several bullet points about how real estate developers turned hundreds of thousands in donations to NYS Senator Golden into multi-millions in Golden-supported tax breaks]” A Bay Ridge Democrat leader has specifically said that more of the same can be expected during – and even as an essential part of – Kemmerer’s campaign for the state senate seat now held by Golden.
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UPDATE & BACKFILL: THE “MORELAND — ‘FLAGGED FOR FURTHER REVIEW’" EDITION
“....To date, there has been considerable speculation about what exactly the Moreland Commission’s investigations team probed over the months it was in operation, but few specifics have been disclosed to the public. Several legislators and critics have openly dismissed the Commission’s work as a “witch hunt.” Conversely, Moreland Commissioner Makau Mutua said earlier this month that the Commission had unearthed potential criminality by 10 to 12 state lawmakers. *** U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was interested enough in finding out what the Commission had discovered that he has launched an inquiry, in part, to get to the bottom of whether “investigations potentially significant to the public interest have been bargained away as part of the negotiated arrangement between legislative and executive leaders,” as he wrote in a letter to the Commission’s members on April 3—a reference to the ethics deal struck between the governor and the Legislature as part of their budget agreement at the end of March, which coincided with Cuomo’s announcement that he was shutting down the Commission....” (See “INSIDE MORELAND: DOCUMENTS REVEAL DETAILS OF LAWMAKERS' CAMPAIGN SPENDING – Internal documents reveal the Moreland Commission targeted questionable campaign spending by state lawmakers.” by Jon Lentz, Matthew Hamilton and Morgan Pehme, 5/11/14, City & State [http://cityandstateny.com/2/75/inside-moreland-documents.html#.U3SfvYFdU8o]).
Although State Senator Martin Golden was NOT mentioned by name in this article, it should be noted that the number of legislators who were named in the article does not add up to the “...10 to 12 state lawmakers....” mentioned in the article.
Someone close to the Kemmerer for State Senate effort has been in contact with those who familiar with some of the research that went into the City & State article quoted above. That person said there are more shoes to drop from what was done in the recent Moreland investigations.
Buckle up boys. Me suspects this is gonna be a wild ride. Glad I can do some free yoga (paid for by my taxes) before it all begins...
This is what Dyker Heights has been waiting for - a qualified candidate to run against Marty Golden and take this seat over. I am sick of seeing our Senator parking in front of fire hydrants and pedestrian crosswalks with his parking plaque, to get a cup of coffee or go to dinner. This is a small example of his abuse of power, and it does not end there. The pay to play schemes must to come to an end and I am confident they will this election. Best of luck, Mr. Jamie Kemmerer!! I will be supporting you!
Republicans for Kemmerer!!!!!!!!I hear that this group is growing very fast.........
UPDATE: THE "GOLDEN REPUBLICAN MAILER" EDITION
State Senator Golden and his "Friends" were hyper-reactive to the Kemmerer news.
Golden's "...REPUBLICAN VOICE..." mailer, coming at this time, was a signal of a double-header of weaknesses this early in the election cycle.
First, State Senator Golden acknowledged that this opponent is someone who is a credible threat to defeat Golden in November. Second, Golden and his team know that his 2013 attacks on the Brooklyn Republican Party leadership have left him with minimal party backing --- so much so that it requires this early direct appeal to rank-and-file Republicans.
Marty Golden is not "Our Republican State Senator." That is because he is not a real conservative and he is not a real Republican.
Golden is whatever you want him to be - If you are willing to contribute $10k to his campaign and you are a Demmy, he is a Demmy. If you are willing to throw a party at the Bay Ridge Manor and you are Liberal, he is a Liberal. We cannot have a transforming Senator who acts just to make people happy and get his way - hopefully, the new guy will do what is best for the community and stop putting himself first. I have been a Republican for 20 years and I am a resident of Fort Hamilton, and I will most definitely have all of my friends and family voting for Kemmerer.
I hear Golden is having some trouble - I am sure his feud with Eaton lost him a lot of support, as the communities he serves are starting to see his true colors. I am sure, like someone said above, that he will use all of his funds from his current Senate position to buy his way back into the seat...it is not right. I hope Kemmerer has enough support to pull though. Republicans for Kemmerer!
It is truly a shame how Golden crossed the line and made personal attackes against his former supporter, ally and true friend. Shame on him. He did it for greed, money, ego and power. He chose himself and sacrificed his friend's reputation and integrity for his own personal gain...but it was really a loss.
I heard that at the GOP Exec Comm meeting last night, the Brooklyn GOP did not make much mention of Golden's reelection bid...and I hear that Golden is sending lots of mail out...even this early....maybe he regrets his stupid moves now. He should, afterall he lost every battle against Eaton in the last year. Sorry Marty...
I heard someone might be on tape offering the republican line to ben akselrod in exchange for support from the "king" of Russian media.
Neophyte Marcus Nussbaum and his dingbat comrade LRP might be in some trouble.
Stay tuned.
Spoke to a DL that confirmed the abovementioned deal took place but denied recording it.
What are State Senator Golden and his team of supporters going to do about Golden's Michael Grimm problem? Things are going from bad to worse for Grimm.
The latest news shows that investigators and prosecutors have been looking at Grimm's "Mikey Suits Garibaldi" cellphone records, because for some reason Grimm had kept his "undercover" persona alive into 2012. What possible legitimate reason could Grimm have for keeping that aspect of his life going after he was elected as a congressman?
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