Not only does the last minute candidate, Gregory Davidzon, expect to re-write the book on write-ins, his list of big time Republican and Democrat endorsers shows that the regular party nominees have weak support within their normal, or should that be "nominal" party bases
Maverick Republican-Conservative Party candidate David Storobin has already lost a write-in race once
Reporter Ross Barkan posted the following on the Politicker Blog: “In a bizarre 11th-hour twist, Russian media mogul Gregory Davidzon has leaped into a heated City Council race in southern Brooklyn. *** Mr. Davidzon, the owner of a local Russian-language radio station and magazine, announced today that he’ll be mounting a write-in campaign for a highly competitive seat with just three weeks to go before the November election....” ( See “ Local Intrigue – Russian Media Mogul Launches Last-Minute Write-In Council Campaign” by Ross Barkan, 10/17/13, NY Observer/ Politicker
[http://politicker.com/2013/10/media-mogul-launches-last-minute-write-in-city-council-campaign/]). That article went on to say that Mr. Davidzon told Politicker he had done an internal poll and the numbers showed that Davidzon had a good chance to win the election. Others have said, “It’s nothing more than [Gregory Davidzon] doing what he can to prevent [David] Storobin from winning.”
A press release from Mr. Davidzon’s newly kicked-off campaign claims that he has already secured the support of Ari Kagan, a Russian-American who lost the Democratic primary to Mr. Deutsch, and Democratic Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny, among others. The following is the text from the release — “Davidzon has already been endorsed by Democratic Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny, 46th Assembly Democratic District Leader Mark Davidovich, the Reagan and LaGuardia Republican Clubs, 45th Assembly Republican District Leader Boris Pincus, 45th Assembly Republican District Leader Joan Braunstein, 46th Assembly Republican District Leader Marcus A. Nussbaum, 46th Assembly Republican District Leader Lucretia Regina-Potter, 45th Assembly Democratic District Leader and former City Council candidate Ari Kagan and former Republican Assemblyman Arnaldo A. Ferraro.”
The Republicans listed in the release and interviewed by me neither confirmed nor denied whether they actually had endorsed Gregory Davidzon. “There is a good history with Mr. Davidzon and a not so good history with Mr. Storobin, but perhaps Gregory misinterpreted a non-specific promise of support as an endorsement.” On a closely related point, the same GOP leaders stated that David Storobin neither asked for nor reasonably could expect any endorsement from them.
In another article posted on the Politicker blog, Ross Barkan wrote that “Mr. Storobin–clearly not a fan of Mr. Davidzon, who strongly backed his opponent in a State Senate race last year[ ] argued that Mr. Davidzon is uniquely unpopular in the district’s Russian-speaking community. *** “Davidzon has almost the highest negatives of any person in the Russian community, by far the highest negatives,” Mr. Storobin insisted. “He had to get off his own radio station for a while because people were cursing him out. He’s flat-out hated by the large majority of people....” (See “Betting Man – Storobin Bets Davidzon Will Get Less Than 100 Votes” by Ross Barkan, 10/18/13, NY Observer/ Politicker NY [http://politicker.com/2013/10/storobin-bets-davidzon-will-get-less-than-100-votes/]).
Democratic Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny and district leader Ari Kagan, who narrowly lost last month’s primary for the seat, both snubbed [their] party’s nominee, Chaim Deutsch, by endorsing Gregory Davidzon.... Mr. Davidzon does not identify with any party.... Also running for the seat ...[is] Working Families Party candidate Igor Oberman.... {Democratic County Leader Frank] Seddio expressed disappointment but said he understood why the Democratic pols would back Mr. Davidzon, a self-professed political kingmaker in the Russian community. Mr. Seddio compared the race to the Brooklyn district attorney contest, in which incumbent Joe Hynes is continuing to campaign despite losing the primary....” (See “Political Partying (ing) – Democratic Chair Baffled by Party Disunity in Southern Brooklyn” by Ross Barkan 10/18/13, NY Observer/ Politicker [http://politicker.com/2013/10/democratic-chair-baffled-by-party-disunity-in-southern-brooklyn/ ]).
Republican candidate David Storobin is no neophyte when it comes to write-in campaigns; he has been victimized by a write-in campaign in the past. In 2012, David Storobin was an incumbent state senator with his name on the Conservative Party line and the Conservative Party’s formal endorsement for re-election when, he lost an “Opportunity to Ballot” (OTB) write-in primary, which caused him to lose the Conservative Party line for the November 2012 General Election. He then lost the General Election to Simcha Felder who had won both the write-in primary and the general election to became the State Senator instead of Storobin.
A write in campaign.
ReplyDeleteSlow news day?
Write-ins are easier on the electronic optical scanners. If Davidzon is serious about spending money, he can fully instruct his potential voters how to fully complete their write-in vote for him
ReplyDeleteIf he was serious he would have filed petitions.
ReplyDeleteDavidzon is not a registered voter, and therefore cannot serve as a member of the City Council. Were he to win, a special election would immediately be called to elect someone else.
ReplyDeleteON ANOTHER FRONT, DAVID STOROBIN MAY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE ONE OF HIS GOP ALLIES AGAINST HIS DEMOCRATIC OPPONENT CHAIM DEUTSCH
ReplyDeleteIt seem that Mr. Deutsch recently endorsed a fellow Democrat, City Councilman David Greenfield. That might seem like a non-news item of the highest order, except that Chaim Deutsch is supported by a faction of Orthodox Jews who neither like nor support Mr. Greenfield.
Mr. Greenfield's Republican opponent, Joseph Hayon, believes that he is in a position to use the Deutsch-Greenfield endorsement for the benefit of his political ally David Storobin.