DID Endorsements

Voters Guide – 2012 Democratic Primary
Candidates endorsed by Downtown Independent Democrats

RITA MELLA              Manhattan Surrogate's Court Judge
BRAD HOYLMAN        NY State Senate
BRIAN KAVANAGH     NY State Assembly

Greetings,

2012 is an off-year and there are only a few election contests in the Democratic Primary on Thursday, September 13.

One important race is for Manhattan Surrogate Judge.

The Surrogate’s Court oversees the estates of people who died, with or without wills. It also presides over adoptions, guardianship proceedings for developmentally delayed individuals, and oversees infant guardianship accounts. It is a court that touches thousands of lives every year, regardless of wealth, social status, or other background -- and often when people are at their most vulnerable.

There are two candidates running for the seat: Civil Court Judges Rita Mella and  Barbara Jaffe.

Jaffe is a serious contender and would make a fine Surrogate judge. However, having interviewed both of these candidates, the membership of Downtown Independent Democrats decided that Rita Mella is preferred.

Judge Rita Mella is an extremely knowledgeable, experienced, and compassionate jurist, traits we look for in a Surrogate judge.  Importantly, we need a judge there who will keep the Surrogate's Court operation transparent and independent.

For these reasons, D.I.D. endorses RITA MELLA for Surrogate Judge.

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Three candidates are running to replace long-serving state senator Tom Duane who announced this spring that he would not run again in the 27th Senate District. 
Under the new redistricting, the district will now cover the neighborhoods of Clinton/Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, West SoHo, and parts of the Upper West Side, Midtown/East Midtown, the East Village and Lower East Side

Two candidates, bar owner Tom Greco and educator Tanika Inlaw, have not shown the breadth of community involvement nor the extensive knowledge on issues that are needed for the position of state senator.

On the other hand, the third candidate, Brad Hoylman, is a long-serving, committed and experienced community and political leader.  A graduate of Harvard Law School and a Rhodes Scholar, Brad has twice served as CB2 chair and is the male Democratic district leader for the Greenwich Village and West SoHo area. 

Hoylman has helped get two public schools for the district, fought hard for the community against NYU, worked to obtain affordable housing and will advocate effectively for the LGBT and HIV/AIDS community.

For these reasons and more, D.I.D. endorses BRAD HOYLMAN for State Senate in the 27th S.D.


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If you live in or near Village View in the East Village, you have recently been redistricted into Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh’s state assembly district, the 74th.

Senator Kavanaugh has an opponent, one of those perennial candidates for office, Juan Pagan.  Mr. Pagan has not run a serious campaign and lacks the will, experience and knowledge that Senator Kavanagh possesses.

For example, Kavanagh has fought to reform state government and make it more responsive to the needs of ordinary New Yorkers.  His focus on a fairer and more open political process, affordable housing, protection of the environment, gun control, and greater accountability in the ways government delivers services and spends our tax dollars garners D.I.D. endorsement of BRIAN KAVANAGH for Assembly in the 74th A.D.

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Democratic Primary Election
Thursday September 13
The elections are not being held on the traditional second Tuesday of September, because 9/11 falls on that day.
To find your poll site (some have changed) go to: http://gis.nyc.gov/vote/ps/index.htm

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2010

DID Endorsements - click here

D-notes-Click Here