Monday, February 6, 2017

Justin Brannan is the most likely candidate to be the successor to City Councilman Vinny Gentile --- some say

Brannan is the mainstream Democrat in a district that has gotten more and more Democratic (with a big “D”) over the years


Brannan also is a solidly local product who has seen a lot and done a lot


Brannan promises to continue his efforts in the City Council with all the passion and effort that marked his whole life.....

Early fundraising totals show that, unlike ALL the other campaigns, the Brannan Campaign is for real and ready to go 


BRANNAN IN HIS OWN WORDS

Justin Brannan describes himself as   “…  an artist, small business owner and community activist. He was born and raised in Bay Ridge, the son of a salesman and a Catholic school educator who shared their enthusiasm for the arts with Justin.

After studying journalism at Fordham University and the College of Staten Island, Mr. Brannan pursued a career as a professional touring musician,  performing in over fifty countries across five continents;  and his band's album sales reached into the hundreds of thousands. Through its very raw sound,  the music delivered a positive message that focused on social justice, human rights, the environment.  In addition, during that time, Brannan individuality espoused his views warning young people about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and promiscuous sex. 

During a brief pit-stop as a radio announcer at the world famous WNEW, as a member of AFTRA, Justin Brannan served as a de facto shop steward.  It was in that capacity that he represented and defended the interests of his fellow employees and advocated to get all union employees retroactively paid for decades of overtime work on weekends and overnights. 

When the music stopped, Brannan moved on to the world of venture capital where he successfully raised millions for a number of renewable energy startups based out of Silicon Valley. After that, Justin then followed his passion into the world of charitable giving as a fundraising consultant where he helped raise funds for several vibrant non-profit humanitarian organizations. 

Closer to home  ---  Justin Brannan was the co-founder of Bay Ridge Cares, a not-for-profit humanitarian organization born in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. He is also a former member of Community Board 10 and a former member of the board of directors of BRAVO, the Bay Ridge volunteer ambulance corps. Also, Justin and his wife, Leigh, operate The Art Room, a fine arts school for children; it’s located on Third Avenue near 87th Street in Bay Ridge. That business is co-owned by Justin’s wife and his mother, Mary Brannan. 


ISSUES ADVOCACY &  DEMOCRATIC PARTY POLITICS

Justin got his start in politics as an animal welfare advocate in the early 1990's, a much longer and consistent record than someone like, let’s say  Will/Liam McCabe .    He also has tackled many issues vital to the diverse residents of his Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights community. For example, he has organized rallies protesting the city's closing of crucial firehouses and headed protests giving voice to those in favor of same-sex marriage. He has coordinated the energies of small business owners in support of more favorable legislation and practices by the city and stood with unions against corporate greed. 


EXPERIENCE IN GOVERNMENTAL POSITIONS

As for government positions, Mr. Brannan served as the Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs for Councilman Vincent Gentile. In this role, Justin has helped draft and pass several pieces of important legislation including laws to increase access to NYC benefits, programs and services for veterans (another instance of Brannan’s clearly beating Wll/Liam McCabe to the punch) and laws protecting the unemployed from job discrimination. In addition, Justin helped oversee the creation of a citywide animal abuse registry and is considered one of a handful of people who helped make animal rights a hot-button topic in the 2013 race for New York City Mayor. 

In each of these pursuits, Justin's identity remained crystal clear: His "do-it-yourself" attitude, tireless work ethic and passion for the values he holds most dear—engaging with his community, helping as many people and touching as many lives as he can—has been always evident.

In each of these pursuits, Justin's identity remained crystal clear: His "do-it-yourself" attitude, tireless work ethic and passion for the values he holds most dear—engaging with his community, helping as many people and touching as many lives as he can—has been always evident.

And not so long ago, Justin Brannan made a general promise to everybody who followed his career that he would continue to follow his passion to connect with and raise up those around him, no matter what shape his journey might take in the future.  And, obviously, that now includes running for the public office of New York City Councilman.

THE BRANNAN CAMPAIGN FOR CITY COUNCIL

Recently, Brannan released his early fundraising results in anticipation of his making a filing with the New York City Financial Control Board of the city Board of Elections.  Based on those filings, it looks like Brannan raised $57,000;  and almost all of that  came from over four hundred (400) individual donors.

In discussing his current campaign for City Council, Justin Brannan observed that   ---  "The incredible grass-roots support we've received shows that the hardworking families from Colonial Road to Cropsey Avenue intend to have a voice in this election....   As a longtime advocate and activist, it's exciting for me to see hundreds of my fellow residents contribute to this campaign and take an interest in the future of our community….   I grew up in this community. My wife and I own a small business here. I love my neighborhood and the chance to make a difference as our next council member is the reason I'm in this race."


DINNER WITH A PAIR OF OLD WAGS

I recently had a sit down at Skinflint's with a pair of long-time Bay Ridge politicos. 

When the conversation turned to Justin Brannan, everybody agreed that right now Brannan looks like he's ahead of the pack.

Both warned that there are others who might come on strong at the finish  ---  one thought that Abbate might drop into the race late with a lot of institutional support;  the other said that he thought McCabe was a "new face" with a different kind of pitch.

Again  ---  right now, they think that Brannan is the front-runner overall..

30 comments:

  1. I agree. Its looking like Brannen against McCabe. If Abbate gets in he'll lose.

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  2. GM, respectfully, methinks and hopes you are parodying Brannan in your description. Brannan is one of the laziest do nothing political hacks these neighborhoods have ever seen. He was a messenger or courier before working for Gentile. Nothing else, let's just get that straight. His music was anti Catholic for sure and your typical basic metal fare and vulgar. Bay Ridge Cares is a front for steering public money his way.They hardly do anything to help people unless a full video camera crew is in tow. He recently got ousted from his Department of Education job because he literally could not stop tweeting all day. Gentile gladly took him back because he's his hatchet man. Don't fall for his sweet talking gentle neighbor act, the guy is to the left of DeBlasio and would be a disaster if he ever took office. Say whatever you want about Liam and the rest of the pack, Liam has actually held real jobs in his life, not glamorous or powerful jobs but at least he doesn't make stuff up about what he did, he is a real Bay Ridge son not someone like Brannan who wishes Bay Ridge could become a hipster paradise like his beloved Park Slope. I only hope Brannan is the nominee because then the Republicans will finally win back the seat.

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  3. Well what do we have here?

    Two sets of facts. Both cant be true. Gale says Brannen says hes a Globe trotting private equity guy building fortunes in silicon valley, but, Justin decided to return to Bay Ridge to help the common folk.

    Comment above says Brannen is anti catholic hack.

    Lots of food for thought.

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  4. Yes but which of these candidates was arrested for aggravated assault, menacing, and endangering the welfare of a child?

    Give up?

    The answer is: William McCabe.

    Speaking of which, when did old Willy decide to change his name to Liam ? Because it sorta reminds me of Warren Wilhelm a.k.a. Bill De Blasio.

    Bob Capano is our great white hope! He's the only guy who can beat a Democrat. Don't kid yourselves.

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  5. UPDATE: THE "DRIP-DRIP-DRIP" EDITION

    LATER #S ABOUT $$$$$

    A little birdie told me than a few more bucks came in for JB since his filing. No big deal, just a little more accurate than the numbers in my prior report.

    The number of donors is much closer to 500 than 400, zeroing in around 480 or so....

    JB's total is almost at $60,000 -- just a hair under.....

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  6. Hi, my name is Liam and I have been sober - wait a second - exactly how many days has it been ?

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  7. Liam is the only candidate who generates excitement and enthusiasm across party lines. John Q smears are vile but so predictable. Bob you have run over and over time to find another borough. Yea Liam violently grabbed his teenage son's arm after he was called to the school because they found him with pot. Be honest and admit most parents would have done far worse. Brannan is such a phony but he is spreading rumors that Abbate is out that is why people are donating to him. GM ask him what really happened with his messenger job (while he was daydreaming about being a Silicon Valley tycoon philanthropist) and what kind of inquiry he was subjected to at the Department of Education. Just a suggestion.

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  8. I'll bet Liam McCabe doesn't have almost 500 donors. Does Liam even have 100?

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  9. Brannan will need every penny he can get. He might even lose to Nancy Tong in the Primary. He challenged Harris & Treyger last summer and got his fat ass handed to him.

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  10. above point is true about brannen looking weak in harris/treyger race

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  11. If Nancy Tong stays in the race for the City Council, Ass. Peter Abbate is done for as a City Council candidate.

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  12. Abbate cant lick Tong

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  13. Three generations of McCabes, that's what all the negative campaigning against McCabe needs to be about. Wow, then ad to that stuff all McCabe's own talk about his dark places, his dreams and fantasies, and most of all some rum soaked, completely made up 'promise' to his dad on the railroad tracks.
    This is supposed to be a real live candidate? GIVE ME A BREAK!

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  14. Liam is obviously not a perfect person or candidate but at least he's not lying about his background and has held real jobs before. Brannan is a joke, he was a rich kid touring with a loud band singing disgusting songs about Catholics then reality set in and he had to get a job as a messenger, after that he got a job with Gentile and he has been perfecting his bureaucrat cronyism ever since. Capano ran a couple of times and got trounced, moved out to Staten Island and got bored Bob figured he'd take another crack at Bay Ridge. John Q has never held a real job, he must be infuriated that the Conservatives are embracing Liam since he considered himself part of their crew and not the Republican party. Q also ran for City Council and set a record for most humiliatingly bad loss for a Republican in Bay Ridge. I don't care what people say about Liam's past, the important thing is it doesn't include election losses of over 30 points.

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  15. I just noticed Quag also had Ind line in 2013 and he still only got 34%.

    This guy has loser written all over him.

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  16. Justin was in a rock band? Was he doing Meatloaf imitations?

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  17. Next I'll be reading that Justin was an aerobics instructor

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  18. John Quaglione received over 46% of the total vote after absentee ballots were counted.

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  19. Not only is the comment above 'fake news'; it is hilariously funny. If Quagalopagus got 46% of any 'total vote' in Bay Ridge & Dyker Heights and Bath Beach, he'd walk into his pretend boss, grab him by the lapels and say, "You are sitting in my seat." Quagasaurus would be able to call any tune he wanted and then tell the piper to pay him.
    Of course he won't, because he can't, because he never got 46% of anything, except maybe on some math final.

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  20. I spoke to Quag last month and he said it came down to a recount it was so close.

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  21. Sounds like Johnny Q won that race but didn't want to tie up the courts with a lawsuit.

    Makes sense.

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  22. Above comments are hilarious but people might take them seriously. After all was said and done John Q got 34% of the vote, leaving reporters laughing hysterically after his campaign was confident of victory.

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  23. Liam's completely made up 'promise' to his dad on the railroad tracks was the best part of the speech for me and the 14 other people who were there for the free rail drinks and cold motzerella sticks. I never said I'd vote for the guy. John Q will emerge as the Republican and Conservative choice once again. He is the only chance we've got to win this seat

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  24. Trust me, Jerry Kassar and Marty Golden will not be putting their reputations on the line for McCabe

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  25. RESPONSE: THE "SNARKY OR SARDONIC" EDITION

    TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN

    IT SEEMS TO ME THAT MOST OF THE COMMENTS ABOVE WERE BEING MADE TONGUE IN CHEEK (IT TOOK ALL MY SELF CONTROL NOT TO WRITE "TONG IN CHEEK")

    TO: "ANONYMOUS SAID... AT 1:32 PM"

    The hilarious comments are the ones that contain the deeper and more significant truths. Those are the ones that people need to take seriously. All the other comments, make of/with them whatever you will.....

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  26. Is Liam going to force everyone who rides in his Uber to sign his pink petition sheet ? Asking for a friend with a garden hose.

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  27. As usual the same delirious delusional Quaglione supporters/hangers on are seeing only fourteen Liam supporters in a packed room of over 100 people. The boisterous crowd cheered Liam on avidly. Maybe the mozzarella sticks were good and that helped, who knows? Now I understand the 20 usual suspects/slumlords that Quaglione gathers at his fundraisers/massive rallies tend to be much more subdued but it might be because they are trying to avoid indictment ahem I mean undue attention. Quaglione will raise a boatload of money from people trying to kiss up to Team Golden and he will still come in third place in the primary. Oh and yea his campaign staff will still be sending out emails and texts to reporters proclaiming a "massive" victory a few hours before the polls close.

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  28. Quaglione will raise more $ in his first fundraiser for march report than mccabe and capano combined.

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  29. Yes perhaps that's true and while the Bay Ridge Slumlords can empty their wallets to Quaglione's hearts content, they can only vote once just like everyone else and that's why Q will wind up in last place.

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