Spot the Liberal Reformer!
Young Dan Squadron Challenges Connor With the Weapons of an Incumbent
On the surface, the story is a familiar one.
A young insurgent, Dan Squadron, decides to challenge an entrenched incumbent, Marty Connor, in a State Senate race, in a year when public antipathy towards the ossified ways of Albany is greater than it has been in recent memory. The line between underdog liberal reformer and entrenched proponent of the status quo should be clear.
But a couple of unusual things have happened. Squadron, 28, has acquired the trappings, at least, of the establishment guy. He has raced out to a lead in high-increment fund-raising -- he has spent heavily but still has nearly $300,000 on hand, whereas Connor has barely spent $2500 and has only $83,000 -- and has gained support from some powerful labor entities like UNITE HERE, the Communication Workers of America and the union-backed Working Families Party. And, perhaps most crucially, he has the backing of his mentor and former boss, Chuck Schumer.
And Connor, who is 63 and was first elected to the Senate in 1978, has been to cast himself, credibly if improbably, as a scrappy underdog.
Meanwhile, some liberal party stalwarts – the Independent Neighborhood Democrats in Brooklyn, and Manhattan's Village Reform Democatic Club and Stonewall Democrats, for example -- have only made the picture murkier, passing on Squadron, the self-described candidate of reform, to stay with the old guy.
The division has been illustrated neatly on Daily Gotham, a group blog written mainly by Kos-style progressives. Activist Michael Bouldin, in a blog post, wrote that Squadron is "the first ripple of a wave of new fresh faces who are suddenly considering public service.”
Another contributor, Dan Jacoby, disagreed, writing that Squadron “smacked of the kind of phony politics that we despise.”
Interestingly, given the strong feelings on both sides, the candidates’ differences when it comes to ideology and actual policy positions seems to be very slight. In effort to position himself as the more progressive of the candidates in a liberal district that includes Lower Manhattan and Brownstone Brooklyn, Squadron has attacked Connor for the timing of his vote on “luxury decontrol” laws. Connor, also seeking to be the progressive candidate, has attacked Squadron for the timing of his support for Michael Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan. There are no big issues in this race, in other words -- the disagreements have been about style, process and personality.
Consultant Joe Mercurio says the distinction in this race is easy to miss. “Guys like that running against each other is like in the old days when people were arguing whether an [election district] was conservative or liberal" based on whether or not George McGovern carried it in the 1972 Democratic presidential primary.
And as Jerry Skurnik, a consultant not working with either campaign, notes, either one of them would be considered solidly in the liberal category “in the construct of the whole country and the whole state.”
In an interview, Squadron, who was a special assistant to Schumer and co-wrote the Senator’s recent book “Positively American,” made the comparative case as follows: “In this race, in this district, at this moment in New York State, being progressive is not about checking boxes. It’s about being willing to go to Albany and being willing to fight aggressively, the way the Working Families Party fights aggressively, the way that Chuck Schumer fights on his issues aggressively.” He went on to say, “[Connor has] had thirty years to do it and I don’t think he’s stepped up.”
Connor and his supporters, meanwhile, cast Squadron as an unproven, phony liberal, based on everything from his proud association with Schumer to his choice of extracurricular activities at college.
”I said to him the other day, ‘How dare you come in here and say you’re progressive?,’” said gay rights activist Allen Roskoff, recalling an outburst he recently directed at Squadron when the candidate appeared at the Stonewall Democrats club meeting. Roskoff, who has worked for Connor and the Senate Democrats, questions Squadron's liberal credentials partly because of Squadron's close association with Schumer, who occasionally rubs liberal activists the wrong way doing things like, for example, voting for the Defense of Marriage Act, and recruiting a pro-life Democrat to run for Senate in Pennsylvania.
Chad Marlow, Connor‘s campaign spokesman, attacked Squadron (and Squadron's spokesman, who Marlow referred to as a campaign manager) more directly. “He went to Yale. He wasn’t particularly active. Him, and the guy who is his campaign manager, they didn’t start ‘New Democrats for Yale,’ they started the Yale Outdoor Drama Association.”
Squadron, when told of Marlow's critique, laughed. Typical Connor campaign tactics, he said.
- Poll
- Obama (D)
- McCain(R)
- Spread
- RCP Average
- 46.8
- 44.0
- Obama +2.8
- Candidate
- Favorable
- Unfavorable
- Spread
- Obama
- 55.8
- 35.8
- +20.0
- McCain
- 54.8
- 36.6
- +18.2
How can there be any question at all? Squadron has Chuck Schumer and Working Families Party ... both in the forefront of destroying communities and supporting real-estate bought candidates. WFP has a terrible record supporting people like Peter Vallone, Virginia Fields, Scotty Stringer and Christine Quinn. Unite and CWA, like many unions, get bought off.
Connor isn't perfect and sure he's part of Albany. But he's a Democrat, not a phony.
Schumer and WFP ... all the more reason to support Connor.
And I'm not part of Connor's campaign.
Marty Conner is not perfect; but this Squadron kid is a phoney, just like his old boss Chuckie. Smartest thing Conner ever did: hiring Chad Marlow.
Putting my remark in context:
The full comment is that "Squadron's attacks on Connor [during a debate] smacked of the kind of phony politics that we despise."
Since that debate, I have not paid a lot of attention to that particular race. I haven't had any contact with either candidate since. I just want to make it clear that I barely know Dan Squadron (or Marty Connor), and my remark was limited to one incident.
Squadron's point about vacancy decontrol is exactly the reason cited by Jacoby for why so many progressives hate him.
Joe Bruno had let the rent stabilization extension bill linger until practically minutes before the law was to expire, then put the bill containing "luxury decontrol" onto the floor as the only option. Democrats lead by Connor had tried to force a vote on a clean bill, but the Republicans had the majority and could do what they wanted.
Given the choice between a watered down law and no law at all, potentially leaving thousands homeless, every Democrat swallowed hard and voted for the watered down bill. They had no choice.
For Squadron to use this against Connor would be like charging MASH doctors with murder for engaging in triage.
What a nasty piece of work this kid is.
I think the guys backing Connor are Dan Millstone and Mole333.
I think the porogressive bloggers who've unequivovally backed Connor are Dan Millstone and Mole333.
I think the guys backing Connor are Dan Millstone and Mole333.
These guys agree on almost everything but the one issue I care about. Schools.
Squadron is a proud and unapologetic supporter of mayoral control of the schools; Squadron's record working on educational issues for the Bloomberg administration is something he spotlights every chance he gets.
Connor, by contrast, sees mayoral control as a false panecea. He recites a seemingly endless list of problems in his district's schools. He believes that the bill extending mayoral control should not be passed until safeguards for accountability to parents and the public are built into the system.
Both men are sincere and articlulate advocates of very different positions. However, this is one case where experience counts, and it is neither Connor's experience in the Senate, or Squadron's experience in the school system that I am talking about.
The experience that counts on this issue is Connor's experience as a public school parent. He's right and Squadron's dead wrong. Mayoral control was supposed to bring us accountablity and its brought us the opposite. It needs to be changed for the better.
"But a couple of unusual things have happened. Squadron, 28, has acquired the trappings, at least, of the establishment guy. He has raced out to a lead in high-increment fund-raising -- he has spent heavily but still has nearly $300,000 on hand, whereas Connor has barely spent $2500 and has only $83,000 -- and has gained support from some powerful labor entities like UNITE HERE, the Communication Workers of America and the union-backed Working Families Party among them. And, perhaps most crucially, his mentor and former boss, Chuck Schumer. And Connor, who is 63 and was first elected to the Senate in 1978, has been to cast himself, credibly if improbably, as a scrappy underdog."
Azi, this paragraph is just atrocious. It's hard to even tell what it is trying to convey.
Marty Connor was ousted from his leadership responsibilities in Albany by his own party. And all too often, he's passed the buck on important responsibilitesIts about time for new generation of leaders to step up to the plate, and give the people of the 25th district the type of voice it deserves. Dan Squadron is that voice, as he has an intimate understanding of his constituents' needs. Unlike Connor, Squadron won't lose touch with the people he serves.
BK Heights: Where did Mr Squadron acquire an intimate understanding of his constituent's needs?
He's lived here in the neighborhood for about an hour, and and has never had to worry where his next rent check was coming from. Since he's moved out of his dorm, he's probably never lived in a place he didn't own.
He may have an intimate understanding of those who own mansions on Columbia Heights and summer in the Hamptons, but while there are more than a few of those in Brooklyn Heights, the rest of us live far different lives.
I'm lucky, I own in Concord Village, which is great if you like asthma. But, my understanding is that most of the district's residents live in hosuing projects in the Lower East Side, other subsidized housing or tenements.
What could Dan Squadron have acquired his intimate understanding of people like that? Did his drama group at Yale perform plays by Clifford Odets?
Daniel Squadron has more character in his pinky than Chad Marlow has in his index fingers.
Come on WTF, you know very well that you can't do Clifford Odets outside.
Wow, what a bunch of idiotic comments...
To the first commenter, who says: "WFP has a terrible record supporting people like Peter Vallone, Virginia Fields, Scotty Stringer and Christine Quinn. Unite and CWA, like many unions, get bought off." I am pretty sure all of those people (certainly Quinn) have endorsed Connor, so I suppose you should ask what that says about him. Or does it only work one way?
And to "Renter," who said the following: "For Squadron to use this against Connor would be like charging MASH doctors with murder for engaging in triage." What's next, a Hitler comparison? Yeah, Mr. Squadron's comment in a debate is the same as accusing MASH doctors of murder. You got him.
GrammarMan: Thanks for the only intelligent comment of the bunch.
Parent: I'm a public school parent. Does that qualify me?
I have lived in the district my entire life and only recently started getting mail from Connor (and lots of it). Looks like someone's worried they aren't going to be able to simply knock their opponent off the ballot.
To 4:27 ... it's possible you hadn't seen Connor before because he was in a different district until the district lines were changed. On the other hand, between the New Haven dorm and Riverdale, Squadron is indeed an interloper.
I think the post comparing Dan Squadron to Chad Marlow is funny. Marlow's not even a candidate. The even funnier thing is that if you Google both of them, Marlow has actually accomplished far more things and has a far more progressive and reform oriented resume than Squadron. Ain't that a kicker - Connor's SPOKESMAN is more qualified to hold political office than Squadron!
to "parent" would you be referring to Connor's experience as a "public school parent" as sending his kids to St. Ann's?
Last I heard, Stuyvesant High was a public institution.
4:22: So you're right, it wasn't like comparing a doctor to a murderer, but it was still a DAMNABLE LIE, and either Squadron knew it was such, which makes him a scoundrel, or he didn't which makes him an idiot.
Take your choice.
parent: a) to think you get an idea of what the public schools are like by sending your kids to Stuyvesant is crazy; and b) given that Connor opted out of his neighborhood public schools entirely says something about his leadership on education issues, particularly since P.S. 8, which would have been his home school had struggled for so long and certainly could have used having an influential politician among its PTA. And c) at the very least, don't brag about someone being a "public school parent" when they sent their kids to private school for years and years and only took their kids to go to the best public school in the City. Give me a break.
Look, I was a Stuy parent, and it is an elite school, but one still subject to all the nightmares of the system, including inadequate supplies, stupid rules and sport teams which must practice on the other coast because facilities aren't available nearby. I happen to disagree with Connor about mayoral control, and will be voting for Squadron for that and other reasons, but anyone who's had a kid in any public school gets a few insights not otherwise available.
Is Squadron pledging to send his kids to public school?
Give me a break, Squadron cannot hold a candle to Connor on ability to get laws passed. In fact, the Senator's role in this campaign will impact my vote for Mayor...
Props to GrammarMan. Though I loved the back and forth about the public schools apparently no one but GrammarMan and myself were bothered by that absolutely horrible paragraph. Maybe our generation needed Mayoral Control of the PSs. Doesn't the Observer have GrammarCheck?
What I haven't seen in any coverage, and am curious about, is what are Connor's great accomplishments after 30 years (or even more importantly in the last 5 years)? All the blogs I've seen spend a lot of space attacking Squadron, and it's pretty clear what his potential liabilities are. But why should Connor be given a chance to keep a job that he's seemingly squandered for 30 years?
Can someone name me one of Connor's accomplishments? That's not rhetorical, I honestly don't know.
If you're writing about grammar, why would you use uppercase letters for Mayoral Control of the public schools?
truly incoherent nut graf...
better: why is WFP taken seriously supporting an insurgent against a 30-year incumbent and ALSO supporting another decades-long incumbent who happens to be Assembly Speaker??
Doesn't this mean they're just as much power-and-money whores as, oh, say the Republicans?
Where's the Republican candidate??
New York voters are idiots.