Friday, March 3, 2017

New >>> BROOKLYN <<< GOP rises like the Phoenix at local golf club forum earlier this week**

Ted Ghorra, the new Brooklyn Republican Chairman, was in his glory, standing in front of a glitzy new backdrop  ---  AND ---  hosting a forum for the two announced Republican candidates for mayor


Everybody in the local GOP and Conservative Party leadership was there along with all three BayRidge - Dyker Heights area Republican candidates for the New York City Council


I guess this puts to bed any notions being pushed in some quarters that the new Kings County GOP Chairman was put into the top GOP post  >>>  TO DO NOTHING  <<<


Let me start  out by saying that this Brooklyn GOP event got lots of  >>>  EARNED MEDIA.....   And nobody can gainsay that.   

First, from the Brooklyn Eagle:   The Brooklyn Republican Party and its executive committee sponsored a well-attended forum for the two currently leading mayoral candidates, the Rev. Michel Faulkner and real estate executive Paul Massey, allowing them each an opportunity to introduce themselves and answer questions….   Brooklyn Republican Party Chairman Ted Ghorra hosted the event at the Dyker Beach Golf Course at 1030 86th St., spotlighting the two candidates from diverse backgrounds. In fact, it was truly a tale of two very different hopefuls who presented their accomplishments and goals to an audience of community leaders, concerned individuals and representatives from the media….”   (See  “Brooklyn GOP hosts mayoral forum in Dyker Heights”  by  John Alexander, 3/2/17,  The Brooklyn Eagle   [https://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2017/3/2/brooklyn-gop-hosts-mayoral-forum-dyker-heights]).

Next from the Kings County Politics blog:   “If last night’s Brooklyn GOP mayoral forum is any indication both Republican frontrunner Paul Massey and Mayor Bill de Blasio need to start looking over their shoulder because Rev. Michel Faulkner is making a hard charge for the City’s top job….   Brooklyn GOP Chair Teddy Ghorra served as the MC at the forum held at the Dyker Heights Golf Clubhouse, and although Massey spoke first, it was both Faulkner’s presentation that drew the most applause and genuinely excited the room of more than 100 Brooklyn stalwart Republicans….   And it helped that  Faulkner came with a well-organized ground game including a number of campaign workers waving placards and banners, and passing out palm cards after the event….”  (See  “Brooklyn GOP Mayoral Forum: Faulkner Comes On Strong”  by Stephen Witt, 3/2/17,  Kings County Politics/ 2017 Citywide Elections   [http://www.kingscountypolitics.com/brooklyn-gop-mayoral-forum-faulkner-comes-strong/]). 

Surprisingly,  Newsday did a feature about the event that started off like this:   “The two Republicans running for New York City mayor took aim at Democratic incumbent Bill de Blasio on Wednesday night, casting him as an absentee leader mired in scandals, during a GOP forum in Brooklyn….   Paul Massey, a real estate sales executive, and Michel Faulkner, a former New York Jets football player turned church pastor, traded compliments with one another during a forum organized by the Brooklyn GOP, directing their criticism at de Blasio….   They each described the mayor as a politically divisive figure, who had not done enough to reduce rising homeless rates in the city….”   (See  “ 2 Republican NYC mayoral candidates field questions at forum”  by  Laura Figueroa, 3/1/17,  Newsday [http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/2-republican-nyc-mayoral-candidates-field-questions-at-forum-1.13196919]).

And get this  ---  even the New York Times covered Brooklyn GOP forum; and it went like this:   Paul J. Massey Jr., a Republican candidate for New York mayor, spoke Wednesday at a candidate forum sponsored by the Brooklyn Republican Party….   The Rev. Michel J. Faulkner at Wednesday’s Republican candidate forum in Brooklyn….” (photo captions in Times article).   And this:   “With campaigns by Democratic challengers to Mayor Bill de Blasio stuck in a larval stage, Republicans in New York City have begun jostling over who will be their party’s standard-bearer in the general election — and quietly trying to avoid a primary….   Some of the same dynamics found on the Democratic side have been present for Republicans: Only two candidates have officially begun active campaigns, with other potential rivals to Mr. de Blasio waiting in the wings amid the looming uncertainty of a federal investigation of the mayor’s fund-raising activities that has now appeared to enter its final stage….”  (See  “One Way G.O.P. Hopes to Beat de Blasio: Avoid a Primary”  by J. David Goodman,  3/2/17,  NY Times/  N.Y. Region   [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/nyregion/one-way-gop-hopes-to-beat-de-blasio-avoid-a-primary.html?_r=0]).   Needless to say the NY Times didn’t focus on what all this meant to the Brooklyn GOP  ---  as news, or as history.

_________________________

** The title of this post was changed late on the morning of 3/4/17 to include ">>> BROOKLYN <<<" making the new title:  "New >>> BROOKLYN <<< GOP rises like the Phoenix at local golf club forum earlier this week**"

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

A competetive race for Mayor will have a positive impact for councilman McCabe.

Anonymous said...

It seemed like Faulkner had the real home field advantage. That is proved by Quaglione's social media postings. Never forget that he NEVER stops working for Marty Golden.

Anonymous said...

Bay Ridge is going to be a Republican battleground once this race gets going. Two of the council pretenders are going to have a big money guy running for mayor on his team, the other will have a minister. Wait until the last guy figures out what that means, I bet he'll have a very funny look on his face.

Anonymous said...

Did any of you bother to look at the turnout? There were 35 people in the room and that's if you count the Press and employees of Marty Golden. Pathetic turnout. Really sad to see that this is what has become of the Brooklyn GOP.

Galewyn Massey said...

RESPONSE: THE "IF WHAT YOU SAID IS TRUE..." EDITION

TO: "ANONYMOUS SAID... AT 1:53 PM"

If there were only 35 people in the house, then that would be a bit of a wet blanket on my whole "Phoenix" meme for Ghorra and company.

About ten people were identified by name in the Brooklyn Eagle article about the GOP mayoral forum. In addition, Stephen Witt's Kings County Politics' dish on the evening included this tidbit: "... And it helped that Faulkner came with a well-organized ground game including a number of campaign workers waving placards and banners, and passing out palm cards after the event...."

If your "35" number is for real, how many plain old GOP folks were there; and more important, how many new non-aligned independents or merely nominal Dems ? ? ?

Anonymous said...

Good questions GM. My source is the picture in the New York Times article. Stephen Witt is a talented journalist but will sing dance draw and state that the earth is flat if you take out an ad or give him some attention. Just look at the picture in the Times which shows a nearly empty room. In Queens one can claim that there is new energy as their forum had a couple hundred people in a basement. The Dyker Club affair was a joke. Conservatives got what they wanted, they destroyed the Brooklyn GOP and can have an easier time convincing people that they matter.

Anonymous said...

35 or 135 people turning out is irrelevant. A half dozen MSM newspapers covered it. In 2013 no groundswell of support existed for a GOP Mayor or Lhota. 2017 election will be different. Bay Ridge wants deBlasio out. Thats why this year makes sense for Liam.

Anonymous said...

The times article was pathetic. Lhota was "hobbled" in 2013 because he won the primary. Really !! The Lhota campaign had rigormortis from day one. An easy win against Jabba the Hut was not his problem.

Anonymous said...

A half dozen newspapers came and saw a pitiful crowd, of 35 people, that is highly relevant. Link this as a positive or negative for Liam, John, Bob, and all your neighbors for all I care, but that event was another fiasco. There are a lot less people involved in the Brooklyn GOP than there were four years ago and that's exactly how many local politicos like it.

Anonymous said...

Look at this one little thing. All of the Republican City Council candidates running in the 43rd Council District were at the Republican Mayoral Forum at the Dyker Beach Golf Course Clubhouse. Only one of them mentioned the forum on his social media, John Quaglione.

Does he see some upside doing that, which the other two just missed? Or is it McCabe and Capano, and not Quaglione, who saw a downside to this whole thing?

Anonymous said...

Golf Course? its Brooklyn not Westchester. out of touch baby

Anonymous said...

Whatcha talkin' 'bout? There's a bus stop for the B-1 line that's right there and it connects to all kinds of other nearby bus and subway lines. If there was any cause for the weak turnout, that wasn't it.

Anonymous said...

Yeah right a bus. Then you walk through a dark golf course on a cold winter night. you could even carry a flashlight.

Galewyn Massey said...

RESPONSE: THE "JOHN ZACHERLE" EDITION

TO: "ANONYMOUS SAID... AT 10:16 PM; ... 11:29 PM & ... 12:03 AM"

".... Scary stuff, kids ! ! !"

Anonymous said...

There is no excuse for this kind of poor turnout. There are still well over a hundred thousand registered Republicans in Brooklyn. Nothing compared to the Democrats but they should still be able to half way fill a room at a Mayoral forum. Hate to say it but this was the plan all along so the Conservatives could claim supremacy.

Anonymous said...

Hey 8:22

Wake the fuck up. The conservative party is supreme to the GOP. Always has been. Always will be. The Gentile staffer who is suing him could figure that out. Has any republican ever gotten elected to any statewide office without the conservative line? Ever? No.

Anonymous said...

The Conservative Party sold out a long time ago. Stop being so angry you must be one the Hynes staffers who had to go out and get a real job.

Anonymous said...

10:16 love the sarcasm. Well done!

Anonymous said...

Hey 9:35 ... Republicans won dozens and dozens of statewide races for over a century without the Conservative line -- until 1973.

After that year, only 5 Republicans have ever won statewide with it: Ned Regan, Ronald Reagan, Al D'Amato, George Pataki, and Dennis Vacco.

Galewyn Massey said...

COMMENT: THE "JUST A LITTLE SARCASM" EDITION

SARCASM IS LIKE MOST COOKING SPICES --- JUST A TOUCH IS A WONDERFUL ADDITION --- TOO MUCH AND YOU RUIN THE DISH COMPLETELY

In addition to my main thought here, let me just observe and compliment everybody on being so reserved and sticking to the facts. Like I always say, "Just keep it factual and polite....."

(What GM was really thinking when he wrote this comment --- 'What a bunch of scumbags ! ! !')

Anonymous said...

Ted Ghorra reminds me of Alex Conti
The lights are on but nobody's home

Anonymous said...

If the Republican GOP rises like a phoenix and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound ?

Anonymous said...

Ted Ghorra is a bigger joke than hot dog Cochrane.....

I hear that things are not toooo cool these days..Ghorra has a very big ego and Marty cannot fit into the same room when that ego runs wild.
Maybe Golden will have to bring Cochrane back in 2017....remember the County reorganizes again this year my friends....

Or maybe disfuntional Nocera will take a shot. Where has he been lately?

Anonymous said...

I must admit, it was a surprise to hear that Teddy G was at Liam's fund raiser and was thankful to be introduced by the candidate.