The Judiciary Committee Report: lots of evidence, no recommendation sent to the NYS Assembly for consideration

 

The New York State Assembly’s Standing Committee on the Judiciary is not making any recommendation concerning the residency status of potential incoming Republican Assembly member Lester Chang; and the Committee's report offers the Assembly as a whole no guidance as to what it should or might do next

Some Assembly Democrats have threatened to block Chang from ever serving as an Assemblyman, because he did not live in Brooklyn as required by the NYS Constitution

According to an up-to-date report from NY1  ---  ",,,,  Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie asked the Assembly Judiciary Committee to investigate the residency issue [of Lester Chang], and prepare a report before the end of the year. The 150-page report offers details about Chang’s residency status that raise questions about whether Chang can legally serve, but stops short of saying he can’t....  The report will be forwarded to the new Assembly which will convene next week for the first time, and members will make a decision about whether Chang will be seated...." (See "Assembly makes no ruling on whether Lester Chang can serve" by Zach Fink, 12/31/2022,  Spectrum News/ NY1/ Politics      [https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2022/12/31/assembly-makes-no-ruling-on-whether-incoming-member-lester-chang-can-serve]).ack Fink New York City

PUBLISHED 1:43 PM ET Dec. 31, 2022

As 2022 merges into 2023, Ted Ghorra has a new crew of "can't miss" folks to push in the 2023 Council races

 

The new faces in & of the Brooklyn GOP for 2023.....

Lester Chang (above left); Ari Kagan (middle right) 

& Avery Pereira (lower left)

Not a Brian Fox, Vito LaBella, or "Mad Mike" Ragusa in the bunch.....  

Mouthy It-lows and garrulous crypto-Greek late Twentieth Century suburban mongrel-types need not apply; and ambitious Latinos, with a cat-that-swallowed-the-canary look, must step up and defend us all against against a new breed of very leftist Latinas

The Ghorra brain trust has been working overtime reaching into his bag of snarling pussycats to come up with the Brooklyn GOP dream team for the City Council run in 2023. Here's who Mr. G. the Brooklyn GOP "Chairman" wants to run   ---  Ari Kagan against incumbent Justin Brannan in the newly crafted 47th Council District;  Lester Chang against an, as yet unsettled-upon but probable, Asian in the new 43rd district, and Avery Pereira against Alexa Aviles in the 38th.

These are the latest and most beloved of Ted Ghorra's Brooklyn GOP children  ---  all other former favored Brookln GOP kids are invited to suck hind-tit for everything in 2023 (and probably going forward).....  

To all those latter-day stalwarts   ---  So long, suck-uhs (and for some, that's pronounced "suck ass")!!!!!

How about Ted Ghorra and his closest collaborators inside the Brooklyn GOP --- that petite passel of pathetic parabaloid Pringles that's too puny, phony and pea-brained to even be compared to a pocket-sized packet of Wise potato chip chips --- make a 2023 resolution to vet our upcoming Brooklyn GOP candidates -- - so they don't absolutely embarras themselves and the rest of the Brooklyn GOP the way that the 2022 candidates did

 
So far  ---  Avery Pereira & Mike Ragusa are "declared" candidates against Democrat incumbent Justin Brannan in the newly redrawn 47th Council District  ---  and the comments by Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli strongly suggest that recent Democrat defector and still currently NYC Council Memeber Ari Kagan will want to be able to run on the Brooklyn GOP line in the  47th CD as well

We here at this independent GOP blog for Brooklyn and Staten Island have serious questions that need to be put to all the guys running for City Council.....  

---  However, we certainly have our doubts that Ted Ghorra, and his band of sisterly brothers and/or brotherly sisters at or near the top of the Brooklyn GOP is capable of asking any coherent questions, much less questions that are pertinent and probing  ---

The Brooklyn GOP presented the rest of us with this gaggle of silly geese as our local Republican-Conservative candidates in 2022:  Brian Fox, Vito LaBella, Lester Chang   ---  along with them, the party leadership went along with some Democrat retreads.  As if that weren't bad enough, two of the GOP candidates elected in the metro area during 2022, Lester Chang and  George Santos are now embroiled in scandals caused by multiple lies on their biographies and resumes.

Ted Ghorra's biggest shortcoming as a GOP leader is that he lacks stern moral fiber, and he is neither intellectually nor morally rigorous enough when carrying out any of his duties.  Thus far, his selection of candidates for several election cycles indicates that he simply has no concern whether any of them have suitable Republican credentials, or any legitimate credentials whatsoever.

Blue Blue Christmas for most Brooklyn GOPers --- as Ghorra's main act for Christmases past, present and future always seems to involve sullying the family fido in front of whatever kids wake up early only wanting to see some nice presents under the tree

 
There's lots of coal in lots of stockings in the old GOP strongholds of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Bath Beach as Ted Ghorra's team OK'd names like Brian Fox, Vito LaBella, and Lester Chang to represent the GOP locally in that corner of Brooklyn during the 2022 elections

All three have been less than stellar performers throughout  2022  ---  and Lester Chang's likely up-ending of an up-ending, and getting turned-around after doing a turn-around might be the biggest pooch-screwing in front of the family at Christmas in the history of the Brooklyn GOP [[[even outdoing the Marty Golden topsey-turvey of 2018]]]


Since the man in the money shots in this now-annual pooch-screwing ritual has been Ted Ghorra  ---  there should be little doubt whether we might be in for the same vision of sugar plums at Christmas time next year for Ghorra's expected antics with Ari Kagan and the rest in the upcoming decade-special City Council ritual for 2023

Since 2018, it's been one brutal embarassment after another for Ted and his team of unsuitable inexcusables  ---  or more accurately, inexcusable unsuitables.....   In the past, the only rays of hope for Brooklyn Republicans have come from various far flung corners away from Ghorra's personal bailiwicks  ---  places under the control or sway of the S.I. GOP, or the GOP-colonizing efforts of a few converted Dem office-seekers from out in Graves End, Coney Island, and Sheepshead Bay way.

There's much more to say ---  but we really can't stay

And we really must go  ---  But whoooh, baby, it's cold outside

So, try to stay warm and have a nice Christmas Day, 'cause, baby it's cold outside.

Brian Fox is doing what he does best --- making stuff up and pretending to be the hero --- this time it is in order to pull his own fat out of the fire

Here's the latest bit of fake personal history and political pantomime from Brian Fox on his campaign Facebook page:  

"Brian Fox for NYS Senate... Monday, December 19, 2022 at 7:35  PM ...  *OFFICIAL STATEMENT*... 'This was a monumental task to take on running in a district that was very clearly, outlined to benefit my opponent. I was asked to run for this specific seat by my party leaders after the original candidate withdrew from the race.... Rather then [sic] letting Senator Andrew Gounardes run unopposed, I decided to fill the void and continue to pushback against progessive leadership that has all made us less safe.... I do not regret running, as my platform and message is [sic]* something that has been recognized by many and supported heavily by the wonderful people in my community. I will not yield despite the odds, my intent is to continue to be a community advocate, continue my responsibilities as the Chairman of the Verrazano Republicans Club, Co-Founder of the South Brooklyn Coalition to Save Small Businesses and fulfill my newly elected position as a County Committee member for the Brooklyn GOP.... I will wait to see how things play out before making a definitive decision as to whether I'll run for public office in the near future. What I do know is that my community deserves better leadership and if an opportunity presents itself, I plan on delivering that to South Brooklyn. '... Brian Fox" 

_____

* This post by Brian Fox is just full of [sic] stuff  ---  we stopped after  noting just two of them

WOW !!!   AN  "*OFFICIAL STATEMENT*"   

[[[ Can anybody out there tell the rest of us by what measure of officiating in officialdom this Brian Fox Facebook posting constitutes an "*Official Statement*" ???  Of course, if Brian had made a simple mistake and wrote "official" instead of "officious"  ---  then we would have to admit that he would have gotten it 100% right, if he hadn't gotten it 100% wrong the way that he did post it.]]]

 

To fully disambiguate what this Brian Fox "*OFFICIAL STATEMENT*" really means, and have a fuller insight into the man, one has to read and fully grasp the following: 

Narcissistic Personality Disorder...  DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria...    

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by 5 (or more) of the following:

- Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g. - exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

1. - Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
2. - Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
3. - Requires excessive admiration
4. - Has a sense of entitlement (i.e. - unreasonable expectations of especially favourable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations)
5. - Is interpersonally exploitative (i.e. - takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends)
6. - Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
7. - Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
8. - Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.
9. 
   

10. Now you can read Brian Fox's "*Official Statement*" one more time with some real insight into the man, what he says, and why he says it.....

The Lester Chang situation is a mess for everybody --- and Ted Ghorra decided that he needed to get in on it --- personally

 

The New York Post is reporting that Brooklyn Republican County Leader Ted Ghorra submitted an affidavit on behalf of Lester Chang  ---  affirming Lester Chang's residence in Brooklyn  ---  Now, isn't that SPECIAL !!!

According to Chang's own testimony during intense cross-examination at the hearing  ---   it all came down to this  >>>  "....  I was registered to vote in Manhattan.… But my physical intent was in Brooklyn..... [and my failure to immediately file a change of address was] just a matter of convenience. It’s as simple as that...."

As we here on this independent Republican blog for Brooklyn and Staten Island have reported several times already  ---  the NY Assembly Judiciary Committee had assembled a raft of documentary evidence that established Lester Chang's principal and permanent address was at 19 Cleveland Place on Manhattan, and not really at his mother's house in Brooklyn  ---  some of that evidence was proof Chang lived in Manhattan into the year 2022, some of it that he lived there up to the recent 2022 election in November, and some of it that he maintains his residence there up to the present day and continuing into the future.....  Based on several reports in the city-wide press, and local and/or specialized media  ---  most if not all of that evidentiary material was put into the record at yesterday's Chang eligibility-residency hearing conducted pursuant to the Assembly's Standing Rules by the NYS Assembly's Standing Judiciary Committee

Both the Judiciary Committee's special counsel and Chang's attorney will be allowed until the end of this month to submit their proposed "reports" on the matters presented before the Judiciary Committee yesterday  ---  and all of it will be submitted to the Assembly as a whole to consider in January 2023

What could Ted Ghorra possibly contribute that might be useful in proving Lester Chang lived in Brooklyn during 2021 and 2022 ???  One wonders to what the man who might have caused this whole mess by failing to vet Chang in the first place might have to say to make any of it better.....

Both the NYS and NYC BOE had  official rccords indicating that Lester Chang lived at 19 Cleveland Place, Manhattan, NY  ---  at the NYC BOE, as a registered voter until 2/18/2022, and at the NYS BOE through November 2021 on list of contributions by individual contributors, wrt a 11/16/2021 donation to the campaign of Lee Zeldin [and several prior donations to other candidates since 2016].  At the NYC BOE, the first indication that Lester Chang was registered to vote at 1015 East 29th Street, Brooklyn NY 11210  was on 2/18/2022; and at the NYS BOE, the first indication that Lester Chang was using 1015 East 29th Street, Brooklyn NY 11210 as a residence was on 9/13/2022. 

If tomorrow the presentation of the legal issues and the evidence at a hearing of the Assembly Judiciary Committee tracks with what was published in the Gothamist today --- then Lester Chang absolutely SHOULD NOT BE SEATED as a Member of the NYS Assembly in January

The new evidence that was reported in the Gothamist article today was the admission by Lester Chang that  >>> "....  He still has a Manhattan apartment that he once shared with his late wife. But he says that even when he live[s] there, he always maintain[s] a separate residence in the Midwood home that still belongs to his mother, just a couple blocks from Brooklyn College...."  ---  Which Chang expressed in his own words as follows: "Until my wife passed in 2019, I lived with her in a Manhattan apartment.... Even then, I still ha[d a] residence here in Brooklyn. It was my childhood home. I never left.”  [[[ In other words, Chang admits that he has his own apartment in Manhattan where he has lived for years;  however, he also now says that his residence was always in his mother's house in Brooklyn ]]]

The Gothamist article also noted that Lester Chang had previously admitted that he never changed his voter registration until earlier during this year 2022; that he voted in Manhattan during the 2021 election, because he was present in Manhattan at the time; and also that he ran for public offices in Manhattan during 2020 and 2016

The arguments on the "Law" by Lester Chang's team are as bad as the cumulative evidence against his having a genuine residence in Brooklyn for the one year before the 2022 election  ---  In essence they argue  >>>  just ignore the law.....  in this instance, the relevant provisions of the NYS Constitution

Read the whole Gothamist article.....  (See "A Republican won a Brooklyn Assembly election. Democrats may not let him take his seat"  by Jon Campbell, 12/20/2022. The Gothamist/ News    [https://gothamist.com/news/a-republican-won-a-brooklyn-assembly-election-democrats-may-not-let-him-take-his-seat]).  

Now, what would you pay for Lester Chang's chances as a certified NYS Assemblyman-elect to become a sitting NYS Assemblyman ???

The latest update on Lester Chang's residence during the relevant period of time between Election Day 2021 and Election Day 2022

 
Lester Chang was apparently lawfully enrolled to vote in the Borough of Manhattan until February 18, 2022, with his residence officially noted on NYC BOE records as  >>>  19 Cleveland Place, New York, NY 10012. ---   Based on that registration and address, Lester Chang presumably lawfully voted in the 2021 election held on November 2, 2021.  ---  Apparently, on February 16, 2022, Lester Chang prepared what appears to have been a lawful NYC BOE voter registration card, and he attested to and signed it on February 16, 2022.  ---  In due course,  that voter registration card was presented for filing at the Brooklyn Office of the NYC BOE, where it was duly filed by the NYC BOE on February 18, 2022.  ---  That voter registration card listed Lester Chang's prior address in the box "Voting information that has changed..." as "19 Cleveland Place NY  NY  00012 (sic)";  and in the box "The address where you live..."  was handwritten: "... 1015 East 29th Street...  11210...  Brooklyn...  NY..."  ---  the voter registration card presented for filing on or about February 18, 2022 indicated that Lester Chang had previously voted, but the date of that voting had been left blank.....

As recently as November 16, 2022, NYS DMV records for Lester Chang indicated that Lester Chang lived at "19 Cleveland Place #4C  New York  NY 10012

It would appear that anybody wanting to challenge Lester Chang's residence in Brooklyn for the year prior to the 2022 election would be able to make out their prima facie threshold easily based on these documents alone  ---  however, we here at this independent GOP blog for Brooklyn and Staten Island have been assured that there is much more direct and circumstantial evidence on the issue of Lester Chang's 2021-2022 residency before the Assembly Judiciary Committee already  ---  and thus far none of it from Lester Chang or Chang's apparent legal representative Ciampoli

According to the  latest article about the Lester Chang residency issue  ---  "....  [Lester Chang's election victory in Brooklyn's 49th AD] raised questions about when Mr. Chang moved to Brooklyn. Concerns were amplified with the disclosure of public records indicating that he had voted in Manhattan as recently as 2021. Mr. Chang insists that he has for decades maintained homes in both Brooklyn and Manhattan, and began using the Brooklyn address as his primary residence years ago. This defense hinges on ambiguous technical issues as to what constitutes a genuine legal residence, versus an address of convenience...."  (See "Address for Success?  --- Onetime Lower Manhattan Candidate Who Won Brooklyn Elective Race Faces Questions About When He Left" by Matthew Fenton, 12/14/2022, The Broadsheet    [https://www.ebroadsheet.com/address-for-success/]).

[[[Later add-on to article posted above   ---  later material posted on 12/17/2022 at @3:45 PM]]]

For several days now, there has been an official NYS Assembly "Notice of Public Hearing"   ---  here's what it says:

[NYS Seal]

ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY 

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 

SUBJECT: Review of qualifications of Lester Chang to serve as a member of the New York State Assembly.

PURPOSE: To examine documents and take testimony demonstrating the residency of Lester Chang. 

Wednesday, December 21, 2022 

Time 9:30 a.m. 

Hearing Room B, Legislative Office Building 

Albany, New York 12248 

https://www.nyassembly.gov/av/live/ 

ORAL TESTIMONY WILL BE BY INVITATION ONLY

In accordance with Article 3, Section 9 of the New York State Constitution, “each house shall…be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members” (emphasis added). The Speaker of the Assembly has directed this Judiciary Committee to begin a review of Lester Chang’s qualifications to constitutionally serve in office pursuant to the aforesaid mandate. The purpose of this hearing is to examine documents and take testimony demonstrating Mr. Chang’s residency. 

Persons invited to present pertinent testimony to the Committee at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation. 

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committee would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements. 

Attendees and participants at any legislative public hearing should be aware that these proceedings are video recorded. Their likenesses may be included in any video coverage shown on television or the internet. 

 In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee’s interest in receiving testimony from all sources. In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities. 

Charles D. Lavine 

Member of Assembly 

Chair 

Committee on Judiciary 

___________________________

PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM 

Persons invited to present testimony at the public hearing in the matter of the review into the qualifications of Lester Chang to serve as a member of the New York State Assembly are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail, email or fax it to: 

Darci Lindgren, Committee Clerk 

Assembly Committee on Judiciary 

Room 832 – Legislative Office Building 

Albany, New York 12248 

Email: lindgrend@nyassembly.gov 

Phone: (518) 455-5456 

Fax: (518) 455-5467

 

I plan to attend the following public hearing to be conducted by the Assembly Committee on Judiciary on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.... I have been invited to submit a public statement at the hearing.... [ etc..... ]

[[[For remainder of actual "Form" (See: https://assembly.state.ny.us/write/upload/publichearing/20221213.pdf)]]]

What is worse for a Brooklyn Republican ? Takin' what Ted Ghorra, Fran Vella-Marrone and Jerry Kassar are peddling or some popular street drugs laced with fentanyl ???

This answer is eimple  ---  and if your answer didn't have the names "Ted." "Fran," and "Jerry" in there  ---  you got it wrong

The 2022 election is the proof  >>>  this year should have been a massive series of wins for the GOP  ---  and it should have led to at least two statewide victories, and at least one more state senate victory in Brooklyn

Of course, none of that happened  ---  and furthermore, the GOP and Conservative Party are more likely than not going to lose half of the assembly seats in Brooklyn where they got more votes on Election Day 2022 than the Democrat incumbents and seemed to have two newly-elected members

Let's see just how bad it actually turns out before it's over.....

As late as Wednesday, May 25, 2022 --- Lester Chang had activley posted on his Face Book page that he was --- "A native of New York's Chinatown..." --- However, just a few days ago, we heard Lester Chang tell a crowd in Brooklyn a completely different story.....

  

In addition to his late May, 2022 posting about being a native of Chinatown on Manhattan  ---   not very long before that at all, Lester Chang had said this about himself:

"... 

..."  (Posted on Face Book 10/14/2020 [https://www.facebook.com/LesterCforNY])

That is a very far cry from what Lester Chang has been saying lately to the press and on social media about being a lifelong Brooklynite:  

Chang "...  spoke out over the weekend for the first time since the Assembly launched a probe to determine whether Chang truly lived in the borough [of Brooklyn] for at least a year prior to Election Day, as, required by law....  'It was my childhood home, I never left,” Chang said during a Saturday rally in Sunset Park, Brooklyn....  Questions were raised about whether he is eligible to represent the area [the 49AD in Brooklyn] because he voted in Manhattan in 2021. Chang conceded that he lived with his wife in Manhattan until her 2019 death, but maintains he remained a Brooklyn resident

...."   (See eg :  "Brooklyn Republican Lester Chang pushes back on Assembly residency probe" by Denis Slattery, 12/12/2022, NY Daily News/ New York Politics  (https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-assembly-brooklyn-lester-chang-probe-residency-20221212-qsm2nnr235elrkps2cebmasbre-story.html]).

 

It sure looks like the Brooklyn GOP is now throwing its Christmas Party more for profit than for fun.....

Here's the "invitation" as seen on social media: 

 [OTHER FUND RAISING DETAILS REMOVED]

WOW !!!     BOTH 

A "HOLIDAY PARTY" &  A "VICTORY CELEBRATION"

AT GOLDEN'S BAY RIDGE MANOR

FOR ONLY SEVENTY-FIVE BUCKS/DOLLARS ($75.00) 

That should be the "Full Buff" deal for the ages by the silver-haired impresario of Bay Ridge and the Grand Old Man of the Brooklyn GOP.

Latest articles about Lester Chang's Brooklyn residency problems show nothing new to prove that he lived in Brooklyn for a year prior to the 2022 election

Latest claims by Lester Chang's lawyer John Ciampoli strongly imply that  ---  1) Chang and his representatives  still have not presented any evidence to the committee investigating the issue of Chang's Brooklyn residency, because "... they are going through documents to prove their case before presenting them during a hearing set for Dec. 19 in Albany....";  2) Chang is suddenly now claiming that "...  he previously shared a Manhattan apartment with his wife — but [also that he has been] a lifelong Brooklyn resident who kept a dual residence at his childhood home in Midwood...."; and  3) apparently upon advice of legal counsel,  Lester Chang is willing to admit under oath that he voted in Manhattan in 2021, only because he was there on "official business" connected to his U.S. Navy service.....

Then there is this rather whimsical piece of what the NY Post calls "reporting" on the matter  >>>  "....  Sources familiar with the case...   showed The Post some of Chang’s financial records that appear to confirm he met the requirement of living in Brooklyn 12 months before Election Day of this year...."   [[[There can be little doubt that these are anything but what Mr. Ciampoli called the "...  documents to prove their case...".]]]

If this is the best that the Brooklyn GOP and the rest of the Chang team can come up with at this late date  ---  more than five months after Lester Chang was "substituted" as the 2022 GOP-Conservative candidate in the 49th AD in Brooklyn  ---  then there should be very little confidence that he will ever be seated as the Assemlyman of the 49th AD

We have been assured that there is a whole raft of evidentiary quality documentaru evidence that showed Lester Chang's principal and permanent address for election and othe professional matters was in Manhattan prior to any attempt to "set up" a fesidence in Brooklyn.

We have also been informed that some members of the Brooklyn GOP Executive Committee warned Ghorra and others that Lester Chang was not an eligible candidate prior to their substituting Chang as the Brooklyn GOP candidate for the Assembly in the 49th AD.

; 

 

Not only did Dem Councilman Ari Kagan's party swtch make big news in all the papers --- he rated a formal "non-partisan" response from the City Council Speaker putting him on the partisan chopping block

 

Here's the beef directly from the top Democrat butcher of the Council:  

"Statement from Speaker Adrienne Adams on Council Member Ari Kagan Changing to Republican Party Affiliation to Join Minority Conference

December 5, 2022
“Voters sent Council Member Kagan to the Council as a member of the majority conference and this drastic about-face seriously calls into question his commitment to the policy priorities of our conference that will impact his committee roles, particularly his chairmanship given the fact that he is joining a party that denies climate change. New Yorkers have expectations for their representatives to carry the values that they were elected to prioritize over politics. Our Democratic Conference will continue to consistently place the public interest of our city over politics without Council Member Kagan....”

Ari Kagan's switch obviously made Council Speaker Adams so upset that she lost all sense of logic and syntax, as well as her proper official decorum as Council Speaker.....

Here's where she turned what should have been a sharply cut slab of prime meat about the Kagan switcheroo into a mess of very flabby ground chuck  (does anybody know what shredded beef suet is anymore ?) ---  suitable only for woke Democrat "Whimpies"  ---  especially all the slippery sliders like herself   >>>  "....  New Yorkers have expectations for their representatives to carry the values that they were elected to prioritize over politics. Our Democratic Conference will continue to consistently place the public interest of our city over politics without Council Member Kagan....”

WTF !!!

Although she tried to make her statement appear to be high-minded and formally made as the "Speaker" of the NYC Council, Council Speaker Adam's then stole the hat of Democrat Leader Keith Powers and his partisan meat cleaver too.....   As a result, what she came out with was some Kamala Harris kind of verbal shambala-ism that Democrats like "Hey ! Adrienne..." Adams think passes for wit, wisdom, and woke sensibility.  

The Speaker properly observed that  New Yorkers' have expectations for their City Council representatives  carrying out the values that they were elected to prioritize rather than partisan political maneuvering.  However, the emphasis of Speaker Adam's remarks were to take issue with Ari Kagan's lack of commitment to the policy priorities of the Democrat majority conference in the City Council, and how that lack of committment would  impact Kagan's committee assignments going forward from now into 2023.

That's what happens when some folks get all twisted in their extreme Democrat partisanship and try to pretend that they are being non-partisan. The result in this instance is that we can't tell on whose behalf "The Speaker" was really speaking  ---  and equally perplexing, to whom were her words directed,  and to what end ?????   Speaker Adams talked about the continuity of the Democrat conference in the City Council, and simultaneously stripping Kagan of his Council Committee assignments.  

Does Speaker Adams think that Democrat conference business and City Council business are one and the same thing ???????

Always remember  ---  the syntax of syntax is logic  ---  and this statement by "Hey ! Adrienne..." Adams ain't particularly meaningful 'cause it ain't particularly logical.

Then again, that's the effect of what Ari Kagan does and says seems to have on everybody.....

And thus be it ever.....

The first shoe formally drops on the growing Lester Chang scandal --- will this become something bigger than a question of eligibility and residency ???

 

The NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has referred the matter to the Assembly's Judicicary Committee to investigate and report;  and formally warned the Republican Minority Leader William Barclay that a potential member of the Republican minority caucus, Asssemblyman-Elect Lester Chang from Brooklyn's 49th AD, may not be allowed to sit as a member of the NYS Assembly

Thus far, the relative silence from Lester Chang  ---  as well as those functionaries of the Brooklyn GOP and Conservative Party responsible for filing the petitions containing Lester Chang's name with his purported Brooklyn address at 1015 East 29th Street, Brooklyn 11210 listed upon them  ---  seems quite ominous.....

Thus far there has been no indication that the Brooklyn or Albany DA might be investigating these matters for what clearly appears to have possibly involved several criminal acts by several people

Here's Assembly Speaker Hastie's formal statement:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:...  December 2, 2022...  Statement from Speaker Carl Heastie....  Credible and serious questions have been raised regarding the status of Assemblymember-elect Lester Chang’s eligibility to assume office given the residency requirements for service in the New York State Assembly as established in Article III, §7 of the New York State Constitution. The New York State Constitution is very clear:...  § 7. No person shall serve as a member of the legislature unless he or she is a citizen of the United States and has been a resident of the state of New York for five years, and, except as hereinafter otherwise prescribed, of the assembly or senate district for the twelve months immediately preceding his or her election; if elected a senator or member of assembly at the first election next ensuing after a readjustment or alteration of the senate or assembly districts becomes effective, a person to be eligible to serve as such, must have been a resident of the county in which the senate or assembly district is contained for the twelve months immediately preceding his or her election....  We have an obligation to ensure that all members adhere to these constitutional residency requirements. I have spoken to Minority Leader Barclay and have notified him that I am directing the Assembly Judiciary Committee, under the leadership of Chair Charles D. Lavine, to begin a review and to complete its work by the end of the month. The completed review will be forwarded to the new Assembly for consideration when it convenes in January...."   [https://nyassembly.gov/Press/?sec=story&story=104067]

 

If nothing else, the Brooklyn GOP's recent major screwup with the Lester Chang candidacy is keeping things interesting in southwest Brooklyn

 
News  >>> Abbate keeps fund raising  ---  BUT  ---  he says that he's not running anymore !!!  ???

Lester Chang seems to be done as a candidate in Brooklyn  ---  but is he ?????

A couple of recent articles show what a mess Brooklyn GOP Chairman Ted Ghorra has made of things  ---  probably costing the GOP an assembly seat that it had apparently won in the 2022 election  ---  and helping Democrats to win even more offices in 2023

Here's the beef,  read 'em 'n' weep, or lol  ---  smoke 'em if yuh got 'em:  

"In an extremely rare move, the Democratic-led state Assembly is preparing to vote against seating the Republican winner of an Assembly race in Brooklyn, Lester Chang, because he may not have moved into the borough one year prior to the election as required by law....  Earlier this month,...  Chang defeated longtime Democratic incumbent Peter Abbate in Southern Brooklyn’s 49th District 52% to 47%...."  (See "Assembly prepared to vote against seating Brooklyn Republican over residency issue" by  Zach Fink, 11/30/2022,  Spectrum News-NY1/ Politics/ Brooklyn [https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2022/11/30/brooklyn-republican-lester-chang-assembly-vote-unseat-special-election]). 

And this: 

"Outgoing Assembly Member Peter Abbate doesn’t think he’d run again for office, even if the Republican who beat him, Lester Chang, were barred from taking office because he might not have lived in Brooklyn for long enough. The Assembly is preparing to vote against seating Chang, NY1 reported Wednesday, which could lead to a special election.But that isn’t stopping Abbate from holding a fundraiser at the New York State Public Employee Conference convention in Puerto Rico this weekend – even though he already has nearly $1 million in his campaign account. Abbate, who chairs the Committee on Governmental Employees, explained to City & State he holds a fundraiser at the conference every year, and this was scheduled before he lost reelection. So he doesn’t expect much of a party this year. “I’ll sit around with two or three people and probably return the checks or give them to other candidates,” he said...." (See "Peter Abbate is fundraising – but doesn’t think he’ll run again" by Jeff Coltin, 12/1/2022, City & State  [https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2022/12/peter-abbate-fundraising-doesnt-think-hell-run-again/380340/].

The Brooklyn GOP has something in common with the national GOP --- neither has an elected power couple like these two guys who are from adjoining neighborhoods in Brooklyn

 

Democrat leaders of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives are two Brooklynites who live very close by each other in central Brooklyn

Senator Schumer lives in Park Slope near Grand Army Plaza and House Minority Leader Jeffries lives in nearby Prospect Heights/ Crown Heights  

Both are also products of local Brooklyn high schools  ---  Schumer went to Madison and Jeffries went to Midwood.

When a moronic liar thinks that he is and can be no better than his predecessor moronic liar --- this is what you get

 

Here's what GOP candidate Mike Ragusa's first shot out of his pop-gun 2023 campaign to unseat Democrat City Councilman Justin Brannan looks like  ---  unfortunately Old Mike has taken a page out of the playbook of the "Master of the Big Lie" Brian Fox  --- who Mr. Ragusa wants to unseat as the current GOP candidate for City Council against Brannan

This might be our LAST CHANCE to save Brooklyn from crime and lawlessness!

<<First Name>>, Did you know City Council wants to sign a bill banning background checks for tenants?! Just imagine living next to a murderer, child molester, or rapist without knowing.....your current councilman Justin Brannan supports and signed off on this bill. ITS TIME TO END THESE INSANE IDEAS IN THIS ONE PARTY CITY COUNCIL!  As you may have heard and seen, crime in Brooklyn is out of control. Almost daily there is a stabbing, shooting, robbery, rape and so many more unthinkable crimes taking place.  I love Brooklyn, I've spent the entirety of my life here and my family lives here as do you and yours. I can no longer sit around and watch as the place where so many beautiful memories are being overwritten and replaced with death, tragedy and heartbreak.  THE CRIME AND LAWLESSNESS MUST END NOW! Can you chip in $5, $10 or even $15 to help me qualify for matching funds so I can have the ammunition I need to take on my Democrat opponent and his terrible policies?  I'm out in the community every day speaking with business owners, families and working people and I HEAR YOUR VOICES - Now let's WIN THIS RACE and let ALL OF NYC HEAR OUR VOICE so we can put an end to Justin Brannan's crime wave! I'm ready to fight the fight and not back down but I need your financial support so we can get out message out. Your contribution will be matched 8x as a NYC resident so any amount will help us hit our end of November goal immensely!   We're $447 short of our November goal, Can you help me hit it by chipping in a few bucks? Yes!, I'll help save Brooklyn from the Democrat crime wave >> Respectfully, Michael Ragusa Candidate for NYC City Council Well, if Mike Ragusa is "our Last Chance"  ---  then we don't have any chance at all, because he is no better at this stuff than Brian Fox had been  (and obviously wants to be again)..... As you can see  >>>  Mike Ragusa has lifted whole the "all crime - all the time" theme made so popular by Brian Fox in both his 2021 and 2022 campaigns Here's Ragusa's "Big Lie" part [and admittedly, he has beaten Brian Fox to the punch at Brannan on this one]  >>>  "[Y]our current councilman Justin Brannan supports and signed off on...   a bill banning background checks for tenants?!"  ---  except that Brannan has done no such thing  ---  either Ragusa is shooting off his big mouth without doing his research and due dligence  ---  OR  ---  he is trying to show everybody that he can be as good a "Big Liar" as Brian Fox We here on this independent Republican blog for Brooklyn and Staten Island have repeatedly mentioned Brian Fox in this post about Mike Ragusa  because  >>>  if this is the best that Ragusa can do, then the Brooklyn GOP is better off stickin' with the original and best "Big Liar" that they have, Brian Fox.  At least Fox can honestly say that he almost beat Justin Brannan the last time that he ran against him for the City Council in 2021.....

Brian Fox saves his biggest lies for his Thanksgiving message..... Using a holiday message to reboot his political future, which crashed and burned this past Election Day --- Fox is again seeking to paint a false narrative about himself and his obviously politically crafted "family"

 
Brian Fox depends on the old political adage that  ---  "... you can fool some of the people all of the time..."

His Thanksgiving message on his FB campaign page is a perfect example of Fox putting that into action  ---  in fact, he waited until yesterday to make the "BIG LIE" a central part of his holiday image following the bloody abortion that he committed on the Brooklyn GOP's plans to be competetive in parts of the newly created 26th NY State Senate District

Here's what Brian Fox posted on Thanksgiving Day:

  
"Brian Fox for NYS Senate...  Thursday,  November 24, 2022 at 3:32 PM...  On behalf of my family, I would like to wish everyone a happy and wonderful thanksgiving (sic). With so much going on in our community, city and our state it’s good to finally put differences aside and sit down with family and friends. I am humbled and grateful for all your love, support, and generosity throughout the past 2 years. It’s been an incredible journey that’s only beginning to grow, the future is bright and the opportunities are endless but i know that i will always promise to but my community first. I promise to never stop fighting for you. No matter how far they throw me away, I will always come back fighting.... Happy Thanksgiving, I love you all...."

Here is the "BIG LIE" part:   "On behalf of my family... it’s good to finally put differences aside and sit down with family and friends...."

First, for the record, Brian Fox doesn't have a real "family" --- at least not a family that he is willing to talk about truthfully --- so, if Brian Fox is saying anything "... on behalf of my family..." >>> you can be certain that it's part of a "BIG LIE" about himself.

Second, what could Brian Fox possibly be describing when he says: "... it's good to finally put differences aside and sit down with family and friends...." >>> Why "finally" ? What "differences" --- who, what, where, and when (maybe it's those criminal and family court matters in New Jersey so many years ago, maybe it's something else) ??? "Sit down" --- What does he mean by that ????? (Note: he didn't say that he was having "Thanksgiving dinner" with "family and friends".....)

Something Brian Fox has not learned in almost three years of political activity is that his lies are so transparent that they are almost always batted down immediately, and then they are slowly shoved up his ass with a good dose of salt.

DUH !!! "There is no there, there..." Ted Ghorra tries to defend Assemblymember-elect Lester Chang in looming residency dispute without mentioning the real legal and factual issues involving another in the long line of his badly-vetted candidates for public office.....

 

Nobody really listens to Ted Ghorra, but now we need to wonder  >>>  does he even listen to himself ???

According to today's NY Post, here's what our illustrious Kings County GOP Leader had to say ---  

".... 'Democrats, who successfully defended their Assembly supermajority despite the Abbate loss, would be 'committing political suicide' with key groups like Asian American voters if they prevented their preferred candidate from taking office, according to Brooklyn Republican leader Ted Ghorra....  'They don’t have a legal leg to stand on,'  Ghorra said about Democrats questioning the residency of Chang, who Ghorra said lives with his mother just outside the district lines....  'The Democrats are going to challenge the residency of a decorated 24-year Navy vet who is taking care of his 95-year-old mom?' Ghorra added. 'There is no there, there.'...”

Maybe, Ghorra needs to stop being his own lawyer.....  That's because Mr. "... They don’t have a legal leg to stand on..."  might well be a named party and a key witness if any case is pursued by the Democrats taking issue with the legitimacy of Lester Chang's having been the 2022 Brooklyn GOP candidate for the Assembly from the 49th AD.....

Ted, it's a residency and time is of the essence case  ---  the issues are simple and straight forward  >>>  since it is a reapportionment year,  all you need to prove is that Lester Chang was a resident of Kings County for 12 months immediately preceding the 2022 general election  ---  surely you can testify to all the things that you did to establish Lester Chang was a legitimate and qualified candidate before you put him on the line to be your candidate against Assemblyman Peter Abbate

Ted Ghorra needs to stop all these distractions and get to work on that book based on his personal experiences screwing up everything possible  ---  and some things not thought to have been possible  ---  having to do with each and every aspect of running a Republican County organization in Brooklyn. 

He can start by explaining what this part of the NYS Constitution means to him:  "....  No person shall serve as a member of the legislature unless he or she is a citizen of the United States and has been a resident of the state of New York for five years, and, except as hereinafter otherwise prescribed, of the assembly or senate district for the twelve months immediately preceding his or her election....";  and then this part which follows immediately in the text of the NYS Constitution:  "....  if elected a senator or member of assembly at the first election next ensuing after a readjustment or alteration of the senate or assembly districts becomes effective, a person, to be eligible to serve as such, must have been a resident of the county in which the senate or assembly district is contained for the twelve months immediately preceding his or her election...." (Both quoted texts from NYS Const.,  Art. 3, Sec. 7)

Surely, somebody with Ted's extensive experience as a lawyer and Republican County Leader all these years should have all the skills necessary to explain exactly what that means;  and why he thinks that those who might oppose Lester Chang's being seated as the elected member of the NYS Assembly from the 49th AD "...  don’t have a legal leg to stand on...." 

[[[ Note:  On Election Day 2021, Lester Chang was a candidate on the ballot for the NYC Council from a district in Manhattan, and he voted in the 2021 Election based upon his  enrollment as a voter in New York County.  According to reports, Mr. Chang 's residency for voting purposes was not changed from New York County to Kings County by the NYC Board of Elections until March 1, 2022 ]]]