With Republican-Conservatives Grimm and Golden cruising to re-election, interest swings down to the only NYS Assembly race in Brooklyn where there was significant fund raising and resources expended
Whither the Lilikakis Campaign after the $$$ was spent and there were endorsements by Golden, Storobin and the LaGuardia Club leadership ?
The Problems with the “Steve for New York” Lilikakis Campaign
Some observers have criticized the campaign of Stamatis (Steve for NY) Lilikakis, because so much of its budgeted expenditures went directly into the pockets of people like Ryan Girdusky, Peter Cipriano and Karen Fischer. Actually there seemed to be much more in the way robo-calls and ground-game for the 2014 GOP primary than in the last days before Election Day 2014.
One long-time Brooklyn GOP operative noted that the most recent mailer for Lilikakis didn’t say anything meaningful about what the candidate stood for, or what he specifically intended to do for the 46th Assembly District. Also most of the photographs that appear all over the Lilikakis controlled media make him look overweight, out-of-control and often leaning over or against things — few of them were visually appealing in any way.
One Picture and Caption was worth A Thousand Words
The real problem with the Lilikakis campaign is that it seems to have been created and functions to benefit others, and not the candidate, Stamatis Lilikakis — most especially, it seems to benefit Marty Golden (maybe that was its purpose all along).
One needs to go no further than looking at the “symbiotic relationship” the Lilikakis Campaign has with the campaign to re-elect State Senator Marty Golden. With only one day to go, the ratio of Golden robo-calls, live calls and mailings, compared to those for Lilikakis, is somewhere between four- and eight-to-one (4- & 8-1). Looking at lawn signs and posters in store windows, the ratio of Golden to Lalikakis stuff is worse than that, it is immeasurably off the charts. And of course, there is the “shared” campaign headquarters for Golden and Lilkakis.... It’s tucked into a far corner of Bay Ridge, but since it mostly does phone work, it could be located almost anywhere.
And what about the picture and caption that’s supposed to be worth a thousand words ? — One of first pictures posted on the official Lilikakis Campaign page showed the candidate and three other politicos — the caption was entitled: “The winning ticket for Brooklyn and the State of New York” it mentions only ONE NAME - “Marty Golden” — Who were the others not-named in the picture, Rob Astorino, Nicole Malliotakis and Stamatis Lilikakis (kind of an odd editorial choice for the Lilikakis Campaign).
Temporary realignments won’t deliver permanent results
The ongoing fight for control of the GOP leadership in the 46th A.D. created an intractable problem for any “non-aligned candidate” running there; the candidate’s aligning with anyone involved in the 46th fight for control causes the others involved in the 46th fight to split off from his effort. The endorsement of Assembly Candidate by the LaGuardia Club was discussed on this blog a month ago, shortly after it happened (See my 10/514 post “‘All Republicans for Stamatis Lilikakis’ Comes to Life ... aims right at somebody, as yet unknown ... not Democrat Alec Brook-Krasny” below on this blog). Lilikakis started off aligned with the Golden faction and ran against the LaGuardia Club’s candidate, Lucretia Regina-Potter; so how does anybody think that the brokered deal for the LG Club’s endorsement will work out — regardless of any consideration from Lilikakis or on his behalf to the LaGuardia leadership.
Ultimately, the endorsement by the LaGuardia Club leadership now falls into more or less the same category as Steve Lilikakis’ other alliances. However, it is perhaps a little less egregious than the rest, because so little should be expected to come from it. Everybody knows that going forward, the interests of the LaGuardia Club will necessarily conflict with the plans and prerogatives of Golden’s “Republicans for Change” crowd, both vis a vis the GOP leadership countywide and within the borders of the 46th A.D. In any case, the boost to the LaGuardia Club of its alliance will not sit well with the Seergy Club and its prime mover Clorinda Annarrumo. So it remains to be seen if the LG Club endorsement turns out to be a net benefit or detriment.
This is from “The official Facebook page for Stamatis Lilikakis. Candidate for the 46th Assembly Seat in New York”:
“Thank You to former Republican Assemblyman and Founder/Chairman of the Fiorello LaGuardia Republican Org. Dr. Ferraro and 46th AD Republican District Leader Lucrecia Regina-Potter for their endorsement tonight. It is the first time in 30 yrs we have a United Republican Party in our district behind one Assembly Candidate. Its an honor to be that candidate and i look forward to working with a united Republican Party.”[The accompanying photo of Lilikakis, Ferraro and Regina-Potter was demonstrative of the lack of a warm embrace of the candidate by this faction of the GOP].
It remains to be seen what work will be done and how many votes will be delivered from/by this Republican “organization.”
What to look for on Election Day and thereafter
Here is one of Steve Lilikakis’ last comments before the election “I want to take a minute to thank everyone who has volunteered during this election. Thank you so much for all your support, i am truly humbled by the love you have all shown me. As a first time Candidate we weren't suppose to win the Primary... We Won. We're not suppose to win tomorrow but all the indicators say We Will Win!!! Now we have less than 36 hrs to work hard and find out what the result will be. If your available today or tomorrow please come down to the office at 9712 3rd Ave and help us finish the campaign strong. Thank You again for all your support” (See Facebook– https://www.facebook.com/SteveforNY).
Don't focus on this or that erroneous detail, just think about what Stamatis Lilikakis is thinking right now, after all that was said and done along the way by and for the "Steve for New York" campaign.
Whether he knows it or not, Lilikakis will not win, but it will be interesting to see how good or badly he does, ED by ED from one end of the district to the other. Those results will make a good road map for the 2015 fight in the 46th AD, but it will also help Mr. Lilikakis understand what happened to him in 2014 --- especially when compared to Golden and Grimm. Maybe, Lilikakis already gets it. But, whether he gets it now or not, eventually he will --- just like so many GOP candidates before him got it after their elections.
The 46th AD. Few things exemplify the sexism, misogyny and Republican male elitism more than how the local GOP treated Lucretia Regina Potter. What is it about Republican men and their sheer terror of strong women in leadership roles? Observing what was done to Potter, one can only say that the Brooklyn local GOP is head and shoulders above their national party when it comes to anti-woman behavior.
ReplyDeleteFLASH UPDATE: THE "NOT FAR FROM THE 46TH AD" EDITION
ReplyDeleteDAVID GREENFIELD SEEN PERSONALLY URGING VOTERS TO VOTE FOR RECCHIA AGAINST GRIMM AT POLLING SITE IN GRAVES END
One of the Democrats most favored by Marty Golden. and Jerry Kassar and his Brooklyn Conservative Party was showing the world that he is a Democrat first, last and always on this Election Day by shilling for Domenic Recchia.
FLASH UPDATE II: THE "HEARD IN THE 46th AD" EDITION
ReplyDeleteAT LEAST ONE 46th AD VOTER SAYS THAY HAVE WRITTEN-IN "RUSSELL GALLO" FOR CONGRESS INSTEAD OF GRIMM OR RECCHIA
There seems to have been some kind of Pop Up Campaign to "Write in Russell Gallo for Congress" going on in parts of the 11th CD.
In every NYC mayoral election the Reverend Al Sharpton also gets at least one write-in vote. Mickey Mouse is a common write-in candidate in NYC local elections also. Oddly, Joey Buttafuoco is too. The 46th AD seems to be in keeping with the buffoon tradition.
ReplyDeleteGail,
ReplyDeleteYou had two chances to put Dorothy or 'Dorthy' in her place again. This time it could have been two for one, Dorothy about her Lu-creature BS and Lu-creature herself.
You blew it two times, no make that two times two times.
AnonymousNovember 4, 2014 at 7:54 AM
ReplyDeleteFunny, this sounds like whining from a bitter Joseph Hayon, who in typical hypocrite fashion received write-in votes in the past.
I think Gallo lost his mind...
ReplyDeletehttps://mobile.twitter.com/RussGallo/status/529640029686349824
anon at 5:55: Is that you again Dorothy?
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous 8:35 AM:
ReplyDeleteYour use of the language "put her in her place" is sexist and typifies the Republican attitude toward women and the misguided view that women are children. Recall the last time the National Republican Committee caled for some clueless General in Afghanistan to put Nancy Pelosi in her place they then had to backtrack in embarrassment after it was revealed that Nancy Pelosi knew more about military issues then the General himself.
If Gail [sic] is going to put anyone in their place it should be you. But he won't as he is too busy playing the Court Jester around here instead of being a blog moderator.
Anonymous 1 - you must have drank the Arnaldo cool-aid. After the 2013 convention when I went to the meetings it appeared that Lucretia and Eaton buried the hatchet and were quite friendly. I dont know who you are speaking to. Arnaldo and Eaton were also good, except when Arnaldo found out that his "title" could not be changed due to the litigation. Them are the facts.
ReplyDeleteRESPONSE: THE "COURT JESTER" EDITION
ReplyDeleteTO: WHOMEVER IT MIGHT CONCERN THAT OBVIOUSLY HAS HAD TO RIDE TO SCHOOL ON THE SHORT BUS
AT SOME TIME OR ANOTHER EVERY BUS HAS TO DO ITS DUTY AS A "CLOWN CAR"
Sometimes one has to play a particular role and follow a script. On occasion, just like David Daniel Kaminsky, that role is as a "Court Jester."
GRIMM UPDATES: THE “REMEMBER, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST” EDITION
ReplyDeleteNEW YORK MAGAZINE HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD ABOUT THE TWO GRIMM ENDORSEMENTS — BUT WE HIT IT HERE FIRST, TWO SEPARATE TIMES
OTHER OUTLETS ARE TELLING MUCH THE SAME TALE TODAY
According to Joe Coscarelli at New York Magazine, “How terrible a candidate do you have to be to lose to a cheesy walking suit best known for threatening to break a reporter in half, who also happens to have a federal indictment hanging over him? (There was also that time in a bar bathroom.) Domenic Recchia, who lives in Brooklyn but is running for Michael Grimm’s seat in Staten Island, is just that bad. (Neither of them does much reading.) Recchia’s campaign has been so awful that not one but two local papers begrudgingly backed Grimm, damning him with some of the faintest praise of all time....” (See “Indicted Staten Island Congressman Lands Worst Endorsements Ever” by Joe Coscarelli, 11/4/14, New York Magazine/ Daily Intelligencer [http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/11/staten-island-michael-grimm-worst-endorsements-ever.html]).
Gee, I wish I said something like that; wait a minute I think I did (See my 10/30/14 post, “Staten Island Advance has some sort of meltdown after editorial endorsement of Grimm over Recchia” below on this blog; see also my 11/1/14 post, Domenic Recchia, the Recchia Campaign and the DCCC woke up this morning — Today’s NY Daily News made them all want to go back to bed — DN reports Grimm up by almost 20% in poll, then endorses Congressman Grimm for re-election” also below on this blog).
Not to be outdone or left out in the cold, Colin Campbell, with whom I once did a bit of a “pub crawl” down Third Avenue in Bay Ridge, chimed in with this: “By most conventional measures, Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) should have no chance winning his bid for re-election when the votes come in Tuesday night. *** The two-term lawmaker is facing a 20-count federal indictment. His swing district was previously held by a Democrat and was won by President Barack Obama in 2012. Grimm also has more debt in his campaign war chest than cash on hand.
... *** Yet Siena College released a poll last Friday showing Grimm crushing his opponent, former City Councilman Domenic Recchia (D), by a whopping 19 points. *** Democratic operatives told Business Insider they were amazed the race wasn't in the bag for their party. ***
‘How a voter could stand by a guy facing 300 years in prison is beyond me,’ one said. ***
‘The DCCC needs a wakeup call on this,’ said another, referring to the national campaign arm of the House Democrats. ‘The New York consulting class, everyone. We should not be in this position. It's really outrageous ... [this w]hole thing is a hot mess.’..." ( See “A Bizarre New York Congressional Race Has Become A 'Hot Mess' For Democrats” by Colin Campbell, 11/4/14, Business Insider [http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-grimms-race-has-become-a-hot-mess-for-democrats-2014-11]). Colin’s own conclusion is not expressed in his article, and he does try to bail-out [or is that bale-out?] Recchia’s campaign a bit, but I suspect CC’s insight is that the whole Recchia thing was a “hot mess” or a pile of hot something.
Most of the same ground was covered in today's Wall Street Journal’s Article by Mara Gay ( See “Staten Island’s Rep. Michael Grimm Is Optimistic, Despite Indictment” by Mara Gay, 11/4/14, Wall Street Journal/ online.wsj.com [http://online.wsj.com/articles/staten-islands-rep-grimm-is-optimistic-despite-indictment-1415111971]).
Bwaaaa court jester!!!!!! rotfl seriously, Gale, who is this?
ReplyDeleteImagine what might have happened if Cippy cup and his partners had run a campaign, instead of using the campaign as their personal ATM.
ReplyDeleteHad the Brooklyn GOP done the right thing and actively campaigned for Lucretia Regina Potter during the primary the results would have been different. Today you would have an excellent Republican women representing the district. Therefore, you reap what you sow and have only yourselves to blame.Hopefully, the people of Brooklyn will have the opportunity in the future to have Lucretia Regina Potter's leadership.
ReplyDeleteAnd to the "Bwaaa" commenter above. Yes, that was clever wasn't it? Many a true word said in jest.