Common Sense: Unintended consequences

It was a sad coincidence for the Democratic Party in New York City that the perceived rise in violent crime as well as the politically motivated attempt to turn the Eric Garner tragedy into a racial incident occurred at about the same time the DNC was evaluating Brooklyn as the location for its 2016 national convention.

Although it is safe to assume that the decision process takes into account an enormous number of variables, the timing of the visit by the 18 Democratic national committee members during the week that Al Sharpton was threatening the city and the mayor with the closing of a major bridge and interstate highway was very unfortunate.

It would be ironic if Sharpton indirectly cost Brooklyn the convention. Such a convention would have been another perfect opportunity for him to bring his hateful rhetoric to a national audience. And it certainly would have been a boon for the state Democratic Party.

I assume, in having Police Commissioner Bratton as well as other top NYPD officials meet with the Democratic site committee team, the mayor recognized the potential problem.

I cannot say I am all for having the Democrats in Brooklyn in 2016, but I do hope that their decision is not affected by recent events. A convention in Brooklyn would be great for the economy and provide many of the borough’s many start-ups, particularly in the food and hospitality industry, with a great opportunity.

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The Brooklyn Conservative Party is going into full swing supporting its slate of candidates for state and local office. Voters throughout Brooklyn will find candidates filling almost every position on the Conservative Party line, “Column C.”

In the Bay Ridge/ Dyker Heights area, that would be Congressmember Michael Grimm, State Senator Marty Golden, Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis and Assembly candidates Stamatis Lilikakis in the 46^th A.D. and Henry Lallave in the 49^th A.D.

Individuals interested in obtaining literature, posters, lawn signs or volunteering for these candidates or any of our statewide candidates led by Rob Astorino can contact the Brooklyn Conservative party at 718-921-2158 or by email at BrooklynConservativeparty@gmail.com.

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Although I doubt it will make much of a difference in the outcome of the Democratic primary for governor, I found the Public Employees Federation’s (PEF) endorsement of Zephyr Teachout interesting, not that I ever expected them to endorse Cuomo who has had a testy relationship with the union – the second largest public employee union in the state.

I simply assumed they would do what was done by another large public employee union – New York State United Teachers – and endorse no one. The PEF endorsement really sticks it to Cuomo with no mixed message involved.

Teachout’s campaign seems likely to become the magnet for many prime Democratic voters in September who are looking for a vehicle to send a message to Cuomo. The governor’s camp must have been concerned about this potential, as it has mounted an exceptionally expensive campaign court action to knock her off the ballot based on a residency issue.

A Supreme Court judge ruled against Cuomo, but by then the damage was done and an apparent Achilles heel shown to the public. It will be interesting to see how well Teachout does in September.