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August 20, 2006
Ken Diamondstone is Endorsed by the New York Times
The New York Times - The City- August 20, 2006
Ken Diamondstone, a small developer in Brooklyn, deserves a lot of credit. He’s running against State Senator Marty Conner, a long-term incumbent who also happens to be a lawyer specializing in election law. Mr. Conner has long been the go-to man for politicians who want to get pesky challengers off the ballot. Naturally, Mr. Diamondstone faced weeks of challenges at the Board of Elections and in court.
The party establishment dislikes real elections, and prefers to bump competitors out of the race—either through their control over local boards of elections or with judges handpicked by those same party leaders. This year, one candidate was told the board mysteriously “lost” her petitions from voters. Another, Terence Park in Queens, had to go outside the county to find judges who agreed that a tiny mistake should not disqualify him.
With that dismal history in mind, these are our endorsements in some of the upcoming primary elections for state legislature:
State Senate District 25 (Williamsburg and Sunset Park in Brooklyn): Miraculously, a Brooklyn judge ruled that Mr. Diamondstone should be on the ballot, giving the district an actual race. He does not have a strong record of accomplishments, and Senator Connor is something of an Albany institution. But Albany needs change, not institutions. We recommend voting for Mr. Diamondstone to send a message that business as usual must stop.
Posted by klowy at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)