Kellner Gets More Backing in Non-Race
Council member Jessica Lappin today endorsed Micah Kellner, providing another indication that the race for Assembly seat being vacated by Pete Grannis on the East Side may not turn out to be much of a contest at all.
Kellner also has the backing of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, and a prospective Democratic opponent, Barry Klein, has already dropped out.
The biggest obstacle for Kellner right now seems to be that, officially, there is no race yet.
Grannis has not yet been confirmed as the Spitzer administration's Environmental Commissioner, thanks to the Republican-controlled Senate.
-- Azi Paybarah
Micah Kellner and his remaining Democratic opponent are fine people, and actually pretty decent candidates despite all the complaining that the field seemed to narrow down to staffers for elected officials very quickly. But he clearly knows the district better, particularly Roosevelt Island, and he demonstrated a sound grasp of policy issues ranging from reforming the legislature to the possibly devastating effect on the East Side that will result from the massive cuts to graduate medical education being proposed by the federal government and, to a lesser extent, the State government.
That is great news for Micah. He will make a great assemblyman. If his performance at the 14th CD Caucus last Sunday is any indication he has both the smarts and the polish necessary to ensure that this seat stays in Democratic hands.
I just hope that this does not end up being some kind of three-way race in which a Republican could pick up the seat. The GOP has represented the area in the fairly recent past, when Bill Green, Roy Goodman and Charles Millard were all in office at the same time. If it becomes apparent at a certain point that Kellner the overwhelming, solid support from local Democrats, then they should unite behind him before we create a new member of Republican farm team, ready to move up to higher office, like State Senate, which would really be hurtful at this point, when it looks like we can take the Senate back.
First Carolyn, now Jessica -- it's clear that both of them recognize and respect Micah's talents and hard work on behalf of the East Side. The fact that Micah is also a nice guy is just an added plus!
... and before someone starts accusing him again, I'm not Brice.
Kellner is getting more and more momentum more big endorsements coming
Jessica Lappin
With Micah Kellner the frontrunner, it's encouraging to note that perhaps the largest disabled community in the nation is likely to get it's own represenatative.
With Micah Kellner the frontrunner, it's encouraging to note that perhaps the largest disabled community in the nation is likely to get it's own represenatative.
I like Jessica Lappin, and I think a lot of other people do too. This is great news for Micah. If only the governor hadn't declared war on the legislature, there might officially be a vacancy by now.
Micah will be able to fill the void left by David Paterson and be a strong voice for the disabled community.
Nick Viest may be the sleeper candidate. Active in the community board and the community council. he's run before. I'd watch out for him.
So, let me get this straight...all you bloggers think it is good for democracy for there to be just one choice to replace Pete Grannis...a guy who is endorsed by a handful of people at two clubs who couldn't even find anyone to fill county committee vacancies? There's no chance a Republican takes that seat in 2007 and put it sure would be nice if the voters have some say in picking their next assembly person.
Sure would have been nice if Democrats living in the district, like, say, Pete Grannis, Liz Krueger, or Liz's candidate... had ever bothered to try to get on the County Committee! Seems a little hypocritical for backers of the candidate with what seems like no County Committee support to complain that there aren't enough members on it, when they never bothered to do any work to join it, or, in the case of Liz, to try to change special election law during the five years she's had the ability to try to do so. Maybe it's because Liz herself owed her nomination to the County Committee when she won office the first time?
Pot Calling the Kettle Black is absolutely right. Susan Chamlin has never been involved in the two district clubs and is not a member of the County Committee in the district. Liz Krueger lives in the district and is not on the County Committee either. One can be sure if the Senator wanted to be on it the district leaders would have happily put her on.
All of this handwringing about the County Committee is completely hypocritical. Has Krueger ever advocated eliminating the County Committee from picking nominees in situations like this?
Only now, when her candidate is clearly at a disadvantage, has she decided that the County Committee in her own Senate district is insufficient. It looks like she is trying to play spoiler, and if she gets really, really lucky, she'll succeed in forcing the Democratic Party to leave its line vacant in the special election. She also seems to feel that the process will be more democratic if County Committee members NOT living in the 65th A.D. get to weigh in, too, which doesn't make much sense to me. If she had fought to change the law, maybe we could be talking about a primary election. But it's too late for that now!
You know, I completely fogot that Liz was picked as the Democratic nominee for the special election when she first won election to the state senate. Nothing wrong with that, however, nor was there anything wrong when Linda won the westside. The County Committee is the represenative body of the democratic party -- same as the Democratic State Committee and the Democratic National Committee.
As for one choice? There were three people running for the Democratic nomination, one has already dropped out. The race has two candidates still running and the county committee will choose the nomination from those two, or someone else. Further, no one endorsed Micah while Gifford Miller was thinking about running. Finally, Susan, Micah and Barry were rounding up support at the County Annual Dinner, which wsa the first day that the appointment of the Pete Grannis to the commissionership took place. The race is on, but like all races, sides have to be taken and Micah has to date done the best job of gathering support. Nothing undemocratic about that and it is simply a sore loser mentality to cry at the process just because a candidate one supports is not winning.
Make that the first day it was announced that Grannis' appointment was going to occur. I know the Senate has yet to confirm him.
what do the candidates think about the governance system at roosevelt island?
What has Micah Kellner done beside suck up to powerful people? I am disappointed in Maloney and Lappin's endorsement--the Assembly needs more women not another power hungry boy.
I hate it when folks like 2:52 pm attack decent people and upstanding Democrats with ugly name-calling. I wish that Susan would rein her supporters in, because their sore-loser attacks are really starting to turn people off. It makes it sound like they have nothing better to say than that the process is unfair and denigrate the leading candidate in the race. And as for another woman in the legislature, I don't think that there are *any* legislators with physical disabilities. Don't they deserve to have at least ONE place at the table?
What a sexist comment. Remember, it was 7 men on the Supreme Court which made abortion a constitutional right. It was an all male Congress which passed the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. Men can fairly represent women's interests just like women can fairly represent men's interests.
Maloney and Lappin made a decision as to who would represent the district best, male and female residents alike. In any case, the East Side has had no compunction about electing women to office in equal numbers to men. The gender of its representation is equal with its Congressmember, State Senator and one of its councilmembers being women and with both assemblymembers and one of its councilmembers being men.
"Dems need balls" writes:
"What has Micah Kellner done besides suck up to powerful people?"
I know Micah pretty well, although I'm not a political junkie or even a Democrat. Micah's been sincere and energetic about getting to know the area he's running to represent. Yes he has worked for a bunch of pols, but a guy's gotta eat ... he is a community activist by inclination and experience. I never heard him talk about his own career ambitions until this elective opportunity arose.
So, he has a solid grounding in the district's concerns and has worn out mucho shoe leather there, and his opponent can't match these credentials.
If I were not a friend of Micah, Ms. Chamlin would still have lost me when I read her campaign bio, which is cleverly written to mislead the reader into thinking she's some sort of hero of the Mississippi civil rights movement and held the dying Goodman (an old college carpool buddy!) in her arms. This level of chutzpah in resume inflation really makes me gag.
how about some free prostrate screenings all over the district?
Micah Kellner has strong support in the community from the endorsements of Congresswoman Maloney and Councilwoman Lappin to the residents of the 65 AD who came to the forum on Sunday.
Kellner shows an impressive knowledge of issues and he is able to relate them back to the lives of the people living in the district. After all, it is not just knowing about policy it is understanding how it impacts your constituents. Kellner clearly excels in this area.
Fascinating that Grannis, Krueger and Chamlin are not on the County Committee. How can that be?
I know that Susan stated in her speech "I was there...." and directly referenced the acts that were turned into the movie Mississippi Burning. I assume this means she was one of the people on the street marching in a small town or the like, is this not true? She also mentioned her friend dying.
"anonymous": how about some free prostrate screenings all over the district?
hey i'm all for "prostrate" screenings, but if you mean "prostate" screenings, you are standing up when the doc sticks his hand up your bum
It is ashame that the public does not have a right to an election. What about respect for the voters
Smoke filled rooms pick candidates in Manhattan
What about a primary?
I agree. I can't believe Liz Krueger and her high level senior policy aide now running for Assembly never did anything to try to change the outdated, arcane way parties select nominees in special elections. They have a lot of explaining to do. I guess at least we can learn from their history that Liz' protegee will continue to do nothing to change this once she gets elected
4:00 and 4:04 (one apparently supports Susan and the other Micah), there is an election, it is call the general election or the special election in which all voters get to cast a ballot.
What we are dealing with right now is a party nomination. There is no right to a primary. It is still democratic even if the candidate is selected by representatives. In the same way it is still democratic that voters do not get to directly vote on laws, but representatives do. May not like it, but people like George W., Ben F., Thomas J. and others considered the issues and came to a resolution on that matter. One of the those resolutions were to let states select the manner (and timing) of election or selection of state office holders. This is a method for replacing these office holders. It could have decided to allow the Governor (or just like the Comptroller) the legislature to pick. Indeed, in Puerto Rico, when a member of the legislature leaves office, it is members of the legislature from the party that the member came from that picks the new legislature. All of which was ruled as being constitutional, and hence democratic. The moral of the story is that democracy can take many forms, not simple a direct vote.
amend to "picks the new legislative member"