8 Candidates Vying for Democratic Line in Brooklyn Primary

Getting the Democratic Party endorsement for civil court judge has never been easy in Brooklyn, a borough where the courthouse and the political clubhouse were perceived to be one and the same.But in the wake of charges that Kings County Democratic Committee leaders strong-armed the judicial election process, a weakened party has refrained from endorsing anyone for five civil court slots, leaving the door open to a slew of candidates who would have perhaps been marginalized in the past.With the September 14 primary looming, there are eight candidates vying for the nomination to three countywide slots and six hopefuls running for two district seats.The number of candidates, many of whom are pounding the pavement with leaflets boasting endorsements from prominent Brooklyn Democrats, has amounted to what some political observers call a free-for-all atmosphere the borough hasn’t seen in years.Where judicial candidates once focused their attention on wooing Democratic Party bosses, they now actively court the electorate at subway stops, neighborhood markets, music concerts in Prospect Park, and the ever-popular senior centers.“There is a lot of grassroots, retail campaigning going on in these races, I think considerably more so than in the past,” said City Council Member David Yassky, who has stumped for Legal Aid Society lawyer April Newbauer. “To me, these seem like very competitive races, where civil court seats are wide open.”Official party endorsements were expected, but a judicial screening panel created by the party in response to the corruption scandal involving its chairman, Assemblyman Clarence Norman Jr., failed to offer up any suggestions on which candidates to support.Robert Liff, a spokesman for the Kings County Democratic Committee, said party leaders understood the panel could not agree on how to best select candidates. Consequently, he said, the party decided not to endorse anyone.That does not mean party bosses are not stumping for candidates on their own.Mr. Norman is backing Housing Court Judge Johnny Lee Baynes, former New York City Housing Authority lawyer Harley Diamond, and Brooklyn prosecutor Evelyn LaPorte. He is also said to be supporting Maxine Archer for judge in the Sixth District, which includes Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and Crown Heights.While an endorsement from the party has, for the most part, been tantamount to election in the heavily Democratic borough, there have been instances in the past where candidates have bucked tradition.Judge Margarita Lopez Torres, who won her Civil Court seat in 1992 as Democratic Party candidate, became something of a cause celebre in 2002 when she won re-election without the party’s blessing.She has said her relationship with party bosses became strained after she refused to hire a law clerk referred by a Democratic leader, although party bosses have disputed that claim.Other examples of civil court judges who won elections without the party’s backing in recent years include Loren Baily-Schiffman, Sylvia Hinds-Radix, and Sally Krauss.Their stories, as well as the party’s troubles, have energized candidates and changed the judicial landscape in Brooklyn.“There has been the perception that when the county supports a particular candidate it signals that support has been given by individual Democrats,” said Council Member Albert Vann, a Democratic district leader in Brooklyn.“The fact that there are no party endorsements this time is not a negative,” he continued, “it means the candidates have been reaching out more to individual leaders and clubs and getting in contact more with the people.”Bernard Graham, a lawyer running for civil court in the Sixth District supported by the borough president, Marty Markowitz, said he has been stumping at subways in the morning and ringing doorbells at night.“I’ve really been going full tilt,” Mr. Graham said. “Nobody has a real lock on anything. It’s a question of running a good campaign.”Some argue Mr. Graham’s assessment of the election is the way it has always been for civil court races in Brooklyn.Unlike the electoral process for state Supreme Court justices, where party leaders essentially pick their candidate through delegates at a judicial convention, the party line for civil court slots is always up for grabs, they say.“It’s always been something of a free-for-all,” Mr. Liff said. “Is there a new element in the fact that people don’t have the county endorsement and candidates have some additional breathing room? I would agree with that, but I’d be reluctant to give it too much weight.”Gerald Dunbar, who is running for one of the countywide slots, said he disagrees with the notion that the party ever had an iron grip on the civil court electoral process.Mr. Dunbar, an attorney from Flatbush, pointed out that he worked on successful civil court campaigns in the past where the candidate did not enjoy the party’s support, including those of Justices Baily Schiffman, Hinds-Radix, and Krauss.“A good candidate has always been able to win,” Mr. Dunbar said. “There are a lot of variables, but a candidate has to drum up support in the community. Party leaders are only one way to get support.”

8 Candidates Vying for Democratic Line in Brooklyn Primary

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