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Peter Vallone deserves his early retirement through term limitations. His staff, additionally, is supercilious and condescending. Having someone tell you, "Well, why don’t you just move?" when you describe how your landlord is harassing the tenants is so enormously helpful. He will make a great mayor if you are a millionaire landlord.
vallone2001.com

Mark Green likes to whine. (Why did I used to like this man?) His staff, additionally, defines the term "bureaucratic mentality". When my landlord cut off electricity, heat, elevator service, hall lights, water, and emergency lights one weekend, a member of his staff told me she couldn’t help me. If she did, the city would evict me for "imminent peril" because my situation was too dire. She offered no other options. Green will make a great mayor if you want to watch which way the wind blows. markgreen.com

Fernando Ferrer just reminds me too much of David Dinkins. His opinions and credentials look great on paper, but… ferrer2001.com

Alan Hevesi has earned the unmitigated hatred of the Post. He is my man. Additionally, he is not ashamed of associating both with tenant groups and with the Governor. A Mayor with a good working relationship with the Governor is a good thing for the city, and he is not a toady. He told Al Sharpton that one of Sharpton’s comments was racist and it was. I think he will be effective and fair managing the city and I encourage you to vote for him. mebq.org/homepage.html

Ken Fisher is my current City Council member. I will say for him that he has hired good constituent service staffers. He is notorious, though, for treating others as publicity props. One of his loyal supporters described him as "shy" as a way of explaining his lack of interest in other human beings. When I interviewed him for the Waterfront Week, he talked to the filing cabinets behind me, only occasionally looking at me. (I suspect he’s spent too much time with the Hasidim who are his core constituency.) When I tried to tell him how much I appreciated the help of one of his staffers, his eyes glazed over with a supreme lack of interest. He is good at moving money, but as more than one person has commented, where and for whom is he moving it? He’s slick without being charming. council.nyc.ny.us/council/bk_fis_b.htm

Jeannette Gadson has been Deputy Borough President for the past eight years. She is a good woman and has devoted her life to public service. When I interviewed her, she had to stop during it to do a talk radio spot. The question from the caller was about what the borough presidency had done in the last ten years, and her answer sounded defensive. If Ken Fisher seems to want the job so he can continue moving large sums of money around, Gadson seems to want to continue in Howard Golden’s tradition. The waterfront was never rezoned, in part, because Howard Golden thought manufacturing would return and never rethought the issue. His administration was not bad, just not proactive, not energetic. Status quo material. brooklynforgadson.com

Marty Markowitz is the eleven term State Senator from Flatbush. He is a fireball and hard worker. If Brooklyn wants energy, enthusiasm, and a big heart (and voice), Marty should become the next Borough President. He is a long-time tenants’ rights supporter and thinks waste and pollution should not be dumped on one area. During the Live/Work lobbying in Albany, Marty (who gets angry if you call him Senator) would literally corner Republican State Senators, drag them out to meet us and stand between them and their avenue of escape. He would make them laugh and then tell them to listen. He’ll do the same for Brooklyn. martyforbrooklyn.com

David Yassky, the youngest of the candidates, is also the least connected to Brooklyn and the working class in general. A professor at the Brooklyn Law School and former aide to then-Representative Schumer, he is smart, patient, and has very admiring contacts in New York magazine, New York Times and the Village Voice. During my interview of him, though, he stated at least twice that people could no longer afford to BUY their own apartments. Coming as he does from Manhattan, that made sense. But most people in Brooklyn rent and many can’t even afford to continue to RENT their own apartments when their leases expire. Let Yassky work with displaced seniors and immigrant families for a few years rather than putting quite so much time into parks and green spaces and he will be ready to represent Brooklyn. At the moment, though, he really is white bread. davidyassky.com

David Reiss is a housing advocate. I unfortunately did not have the time to interview him. His website, though, is the only one to be in Polish, English, and Yiddish. reiss2001.com

Ken Diamondstone has wonderful ideas and cares passionately about people. The city probably isn’t ready to use windmills as a source of power and that’s a shame. Just think of Fresh Kills and Governor’s Island covered with windmills. The tourists would eat it up. But like anyone who tilts at windmills, Diamondstone doesn’t have much of a chance getting elected. ken4council.com

Steve Cohn was born and raised in Williamsburg and now lives in the Brownstone district. Steve is an attorney who has a distinguished history doing pro bono work for environmental groups. He cares about the waterfront and offered to go to Albany with the Live/Work Coalition to fight for the expanded loft law. His major flaw is his ability to raise too much money for his campaign, some of which does come from real estate developers. He is not charismatic but he knows everyone and knows the issues of the entire district. The next City Council will have 35 new members out of 51 positions. This means that approximately 20 of these new members will be chairs of committees. Let’s hope the learning curve is Himalayan. Steve will quickly become a pivotal member of city government and our district accordingly will be very well represented. I admire the fact that Steve wants to create consensus, not pit elements of the community against one another. I will be voting for him and encourage you to support Steve for City Council. cohnforcouncil.com

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