TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK --- the final moments of the biggest GOP primary campaign in years are passing with four very relevant candidates making their last minute pitches to Republican prime voters and others among those candidates' identified bases of GOP voters

John Quaglione, Lucretia Potter, Robert Capano and Liam McCabe are all reaching out to touch somebody  ---  and hopefully motivate and maximize their Primary Day turnouts

The mail is falling into my mailbox fast and furious  ---  separated only by my mail carrier's ability to pick it up and bring it to me.  My phone's been ringing with real live people calling me and asking over and over whether I will  "...  talk about..."  "...consider voting for..." and/or "...be counted on to vote for..."  one particular candidate  (BTW, that was three (3) separate calls from yesterday alone).  I also received two different survey calls about this City Council race in the 43rd District.

All of the GOP candidates for City Council in the 43rd Council District in 2017 had their individual reasons to come into the race when each of them did.  Even before active campaigning, either at the beginnings of their organizing or shortly thereafter, they all identified  their personal goals, targets and objectives for their 2017 races.  Some assembled inner circles of seasoned and established pros, others relied, for good or ill, on what was already there in place.  In any case, all four candidates put together campaigns that were best for them and attaining success  as they defined "success."

My observations (including the buzz I'm getting from my BSIs in the 43rd Council District, and conversations with most of the Republican candidates and a couple of the Democrats too) show me that all four Republican candidates clearly seem to be firmly on their personally selected paths to success in 2017.

What they will achieve by and after Primary Day is yet to be seen.  There can only be one "elected" Republican candidate for City Council to contest for the seat now held by Democrat Vinny Gentile. However,  all four GOP candidates are to be commended for putting forth their candidacies in credible and creditable ways.  There have been sort of  "big campaigns" and sort of "modest campaigns" and one might even have been described as a "solitary campaign";  nonetheless,  all of them were "credible and creditable"  (I know, I'm quoting myself).

JOHN QUAGLIONE

I want to specially commend the efforts of John Quaglione and his supporters from top to bottom. The 2017 Quaglione campaign for City Council looks and sounds like it is light years ahead of that candidate's 2013 efforts  ---  and I do mean from A to Z,  and from soup to nuts.....  John has been able to present himself as a mature and very well experienced public servant, who is well equipped to become a member of the City Council.  Unfortunately, from my point of view,  JQ is unambiguously Republican State Senator Golden's candidate in the race  ---  that is the biggest weakness of the Quaglione candidacy;  it is also its greatest strength.   It remains to be seen if it's all enough for John to win.

LUCRETIA POTTER

Another year, another Republican primary for GOP State Committee Member (GOP 46th AD District Leader) Lucretia Potter.  This time, Lucretia went "all in"; and she didn't just let the >>> powers that be in the Republican and Conservative parties <<< only  take their potshots at her on her home turf.  She flexed her considerable organizing muscle and got herself on the GOP primary ballot in two slots  ---  one of them for the City Council in the 43rd District.....  Hers is the most "solitary" of the 2017 GOP council campaigns.   It's modest, being largely personally and club-based;  but it IS there, and it IS organized, and it IS targeted.  One wag specifically told me that Lucretia won't win the City Council primary, but she will get her vote out and she will have her impact on that race  ---  more important, that wag said Lucretia Potter would probably hold on to her party post as a member of the GOP State Committee and keep her slate of Kings County Committee members in tact and in office. (BTW, that wag should know  ---  she has been a direct Arnaldo-Lucretia antagonist for years.....)

ROBERT CAPANO

Bob is now the "Wild Card" in this race.  His hope was to have been a big part of a big city-wide effort for John Catsimatidis for Mayor.   John C. himself explained quite succinctly why that did not eventuate during his brief speech at Bob's most recent fund raiser.....  But, Bob has used his contacts and significant abilities to reach out and cobbled together a solid and pretty well-funded campaign.  In addition, he is the real UN-COLA in this race,  being the "organization candidate" of the GOP organization in exile.....  Or as they might refer to themselves  ---  "Not Marty Golden, not now -- not ever."  In a four person race, that might be enough for Bob to win  ---  unless Lucretia sops up too many of the anti-Golden voters.....

LIAM MC CABE

And there was Balto....   As the one-word line in "The Quiet Man" would have it   ---   "HEROIC !!!" Liam has put himself out there as the man who has turned his life around.   I believe him;  but is it enough for Liam McCabe to win it all in 2017 ???   He sells a message of rugged individualism AND salvation by a power greater than himself.  That's both a description of his personal journey and his political journey.  Liam has put together a heck of a GOP primary campaign (it might be the best of these campaigns in the GOP primary)  ---  but he did it with the help of some very significant friends.....  Like I said,  Liam is on both a political and personal journey  ---  BUT  ---  for 2017 Liam's journey might include "A Bridge Too Far".....   Where that bridge actually intersects Liam's path forward is yet to be seen  ---  I'm far from sure that Liam's "...  Bridge Too Far" is in the September primary.....

In the final stages of his GOP Primary Campaign --- Here’s another chance for Bob Capano to bash Linda Sarsour like a drum…. and also make it clear why “Khader the Hater” is an unfit candidate for the New York City Council

AS A LEADER IN A NYC DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE NFL AND IN SUPPORTOF COLIN KAEPERNICK:   LINDA SARSOUR GROUPS TOGETHER  >>> “WHITE SUPREMACISTS” <<<  WITH  "BLUE LIVES MATTER" SUPPORTERS  AND  "...  ZIONISTS"

“OH,  BANG THE DRUM,  BANG THE DRUM,  BANG THE DRUM  [LOUDLY]….”  

For a solid  PRO-TRUMP REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE like City Council Candidate Robert Capano  >>>  LINDA SARSOUR IS THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING      According to a report in the “Daily Caller” earlier today  ---  “Women’s March organizer Linda Sarsour joined fellow supporters of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick at a rally on Wednesday, vowing that law enforcement activists and “right wing Zionists” will not keep them quiet….   ‘We will not be silenced by blue lives matter—by white supremacists—by neo Nazis—by right wing Zionists. Expect us anytime there is a fight for justice or a fight against injustice,’  Sarsour said in her remarks to the crowd, who stood in front of the Park Avenue building that houses the offices of the National Football League….”  (See  “Linda Sarsour Rails Against ‘Right Wing Zionists’ At Kaepernick NYC Rally”  by Kerry Pickett, 8/24/17,  The Daily Caller   [http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/24/linda-sarsour-rails-against-kaepernick-at-nyc-rally/]).

DON'T FORGET THAT....                                                                                                   

Democrat primary contender "The Reverend" Khader El-Yateem,  known in these parts as "Khader the Hater" and "Khader the Operator,"  has been and continues to be a staunch supporter of the left-wing, pro-Arabist, anti-Israeli and racist Linda Sarsour.  And he has also lashed out at anybody who says that he is not representative of the beliefs, sentiments and political associations of the residents in the 43rd Council Districts as  >>>  racists and bigots.    ...  And that Bobby C. needs to bang the "Khader the Hater" drum loudly,  as well !!!

Bob Capano again cashes in with >>> EARNED MEDIA [See also my correction in the comments below at August 23, 2017 at 2:05 PM]

BOB CAPANO HAS THE STAGE ALL TO HIMSELF  ---   at least briefly  ---  in Julianne Cuba's detailed report in the Brooklyn Courier of her interview of the GOP's apparently most media-savvy candidate running for the City Council in 2017

Maybe, this is only the first of a series by the very lovely Ms. Cuba.....   However,  for at least one sun-shiny day in late August 2017, Bob Capano has his leg up on all his Republican opponents in the 2017 Primary for City Council in the 43rd Council District

You can see it all in "Coutier Life's -- Brooklyn Daily" for August 21, 2017  ( See  "Our sit-down with Bay Ridge Council candidate Bob Capano" by Julianne Cuba,  8/21/17,   Courier Life's -- Brooklyn Daily   [http://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2017/33/br-bob-capano-interview-2017-08-18-bk.html]).

MY FAVORITE PART OF THE INTERVIEW

Here was my personal favorite item in Julianne Cuba's  article from the horse's mouth about many of candidate Bobby C's positions and beliefs:

"....   On connecting with the district’s growing Muslim and Arab community:

Capano has been a very vocal supporter of President Trump and opponent of local Arab-American activist Linda Sarsour, but he said does not feel that has alienated him from that community.

'At National Night Out, I had a number of Arab Americans come up to me and say, "Bob, keep doing what you’re doing, Linda Sarsour doesn’t represent the views of our community."  I will reach out to all Arab Americans in that community, and if they disagree with me about Linda, then you know what, don’t vote for me. If you want to count going door-to-door, speaking to members of the Arab-American community, I absolutely do....”

BTW, BOB CAPANO DID QUALIFY FOR MATCHING FUNDS FROM THE NYCCFB 

The good news is he qualified  ---  the bad news is Bobby C. didn't max-out.....

Was there or wasn’t there a debate last night ??? --- Well, maybe THAT depends on whom you ask !!!

When is a "City Council Debate” not a debate  ???  ---  Maybe, when the "debate" participants neither address each other or the relevant issues; and instead,  they are asked to talk about themselves, and then asked to give answers "en masse" to a few random questions !!!

There is no question that the current GOP primary for City Council in the 43^rd District is part and parcel of the ongoing fight inside the Kings County Republican Party to keep embattled State Senator Marty Golden from taking over the whole GOP show in Brooklyn  ---  Why didn’t any of the Republican candidates mention that ???  ---  The answer,  of course,  is that they were never asked.....

THE PRESENTATION AND REPRESENTATION OF THE HOME REPORTER EVENT SUCKED

The Home Reporter's  "DISTRICT 43 - CITY COUNCIL DEBATE"  at Xaverian High School started out with a flap about its being scheduled on the Feast of The Assumption; and it ended up with a flop caused by a changed, ersatz format that left almost everybody involved unfulfilled and extremely disappointed…..

Enough has been said on this blog about the scheduling flap and the hurt religious sensibilities resulting from that; but this latest flop by the Courier Life/ Home Reporter folks on the night of the so-called "debate" needs a fresh set of invective remarks  ---  And here they are:   

The original format was supposed to be general introductions by all the candidates assembled,  followed by Q& A for the Democrats for an hour,  then Q&A by Republicans for an hour,  and then then final remarks by each of the candidates in attendance.   That’s not what happened at all.  The Republicans and Democrats were trotted out in a bunch,  all nine of them [ well, eight at first, and then nine] and that's how they stayed throughout the entire tedious presentation.

First and foremost,  the candidates and political operators that I’ve spoken to say that this wasn’t in any way or kind a debate at all  ---  “It was more like a ‘cattle call audition’ than anything else,”   said one old Republican sage;  and  another participant described it as like “… a cavalry charge by a bunch of people heading in lots of different directions….”

THE REPUBLICAN  CANDIDATES

John Quaglione kicked things off by not being there at the start,  and losing his assigned place in giving introductory remarks  [however, it should be noted that one of his opponents offered that JQ’s tardiness might have been due to the changed format;  whereas  a spokesperson for another opposing campaign said he would have been late under the earlier proposed format,  as well,  saying,  “It was typical Quaglione,  a day late and a pound short….”].   When he did speak,  Johnny Q made it clear that he worked closely with and for Marty Golden…..  [and he was clearly going to ride on his coat-tails].

According to one observer,  Liam  McCabe came off looking and acting more like a “Rock Star” than a candidate,  and he seemed to be all over the lot when it came to what he would do and what he thought was important;  however,  his own corner was happy with his performance, and he also left at least one Democrat observer impressed that he’d be the toughest Republican opponent in the fall;  and it can even be said that somebody linked to a candidate opposed to Liam in this primary contest acknowledged that Liam is starting to look and sound very much like a credible candidate. 

A few thought that Bob Capano was sort of lost in the shuffle,  until late in the program when he started slamming the Democrats hard enough that one of his GOP rivals thought that he sounded like somebody from the “Alt-Right” end of the spectrum  [hey, if that "Alt-Right" branding does take hold, Bob still might win this GOP primary].  On the other hand, one of Bob's close supporters definitely asserted that Bob did very well throughout the evening,  start to finish,  and even when he got partisan it wasn't strident or extreme.....   Hmmmmm !!!

Lucretia Regina-Potter seemed most comfortable in the stew-like tenor of the evening.  She made the most of her introductory time explaining her position in the Republican field; and then, later on,  she pivoted on most of the questions asked with answers raising issues that SHE wanted to discuss.

One longtime GOP observer said that:   “No knockout blows were scored…”;   “… Quaglione was noticeably late…”;  and that Bob Capano seemed a little harsh when he went after the Democrats.

CRAIG EATON,  TED GHORRA & MARTY G.

I’d be very interested to know what Craig Eaton, Ted Ghorra and SSMG thought about the GOP candidates’ performances…..  They were all reported to have been in the house.

More important than that, right now,  I’d like to know whether there might have been any side conversations going on between CE, TG and/or MG while the various candidates were talking up on-stage.   One wag reported to me that they saw CE and TG talking;  but that has been vehemently denied by one of the alleged participants in that tight band of brothers moment  ---  and certainly,  TG must have chatted-up MG at some point in the evening.

========================== 

NOTE:   AT THIS TIME,  I HAVE GOTTEN NO  REAL FEEDBACK CONCERNING ANY OF THE DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES OR WHAT PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THEIR JOINT AND SEVERAL PERFORMANCE(S) 

Bob Capano does it again --- Gets a boost of "Earned Media" as other aspects of his campaign falter

Prominent national conservative news outlet quotes Bob Capano's prediction that drug dealers would be setting up shop close to Bay Ridge's 86th Street stop on the "R" line if one of Mayor de Blasio's drug injection facilities were to be located nearby

Capano's dire predictions about what it would look like if it were to be tried in his Council District was given prominent placement in a news item about actual data concerning the negative consequences of the first so-called "sanitary drug injection facility" located in a Canadian city

Brooklyn City Council Candidate chides Mayor de Blasio and the New York City Council for sitting on the results of their own study about similar facilities in New York City

According to a report in the Daily Caller  ---  "....  During his final news conference of the Parliamentay session, [Canadian] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that the federal government’s promotion of  “safe consumption sites” would be a means of combating the opioid crisis in Canada....  Vancouver was the first city in North America with a drug injection site, where addicts can go and legally inject heroin. These facilities are sometimes described as “safe” because the addicts are supervised by medical orderlies while they shoot-up. [Vancouver recently opened up a second site and the Trudeau government is actively encouraging other Canadian cities to open similar facilities]...."   (See "Drug Deaths Skyrocket In Vancouver Despite Legal Injection Sites" by David Krayden, 8/5/17,  Daily Caller   [http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/05/drug-deaths-skyrocket-in-vancouver-despite-legal-injection-sites/]). 

However, the article also specifically noted that statistics show "...  people continue to die of drug overdoses at record rates in Vancouver, British Columbia [the place of the first supervised drug injection facility in North america]. During the first half of 2017, 780 people have died from using illegal drugs — 88 percent more than the same period in 2016...."

WHAT CAPANO HAD TO SAY ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE IT HAPPENING HERE IN SOUTHWEST BROOKLYN.....

Here's how the "Daily Caller" quoted our own Bob Capano in its feature about the thus far negative Canadian results with publicly funded injection sites:

"....  All of this worries Bob Capano, Republican candidate for New York City council. The city is considering being the home of the first drug injection site in the U.S. and initiated a feasibility study in September 2016. Capano wonders what happened to the study and if it the results are being held back for the benefit of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s reelection bid.

'New York City voters deserve to know the status of this study; where is it and when will it be released? It’s been almost a year since the City Council allocated the funding for the study. One has to wonder if the delay in its release is merely a stall tactic so that the voters don’t catch wind of this crazy plan before the election,' Capano said in a news release.

'Drug dealers are true entrepreneurs; they’ll relocate close to a Supervised Injection Facility to better serve their customer; the addict. If one were to open close to 86th Street in Bay Ridge common sense tells you that there will be dealers setting up shop between the subway entrance and the facility,' Capano said."

CAPANO'S MEDIA BLITZ APPEARS TO BE FAR AHEAD OF THE OTHER ASPECTS  OF HIS CAMPAIGN  ---  POSSIBLY EVEN KEEPING MR. C AND HIS CAMPAIGN RELEVANT AND COMPETITIVE

Even though his fund raising, petitioning and physical coverage throughout the district appear to have lagged behind those components of some of his fellow GOP candidates for the council in the 43rd District, Bob Capano still seems to have the knack of being ahead of the pack and getting real mileage out of his press releases.  

That particular ability might go a long way toward keeping his continued campaigning more than relevant, it might even result in its all being quite competitive.

Did Liam McCabe, John Quaglione and the NYCCFB just turn the 43rd Council District Republican Primary into a BINARY CONTEST AMONG THE TWO FRONT RUNNERS ???

Did the Campaign Finance Board finding that candidates Liam McCabe and John Quaglione were entitled to >>>  an initial maximum payout from the City coffers <<<  turn the Republican Primary for City Council in the 43rd District into a "Two Man Race"  ---  AND  ---  IF NOT,  WHY NOT ???

Somebody very early on in this 2017 election cycle (almost two years ago) told me that the principal show of support for City Council candidates in 2017 in the 43rd District would be  ---  FINANCING ! ! !     That person was Bob Capano, and it was after a Holiday Party in 2015.....  He then presented a very convincing argument as to why he would be in a far better position to out-fund- raise people like  ---  let's just say,  "John Quaglione," for starters.

Quite apart from obvious questions like,  "What happened ???"  ---  let's address something like this:  "Why isn't that initial proposition still true ???"