Philpotts Gets Dem Nod in 43rd Assembly District Race
In a victory for underdogs everywhere, Panamanian security guard Guillermo Philpotts grabbed the Democratic Party line yesterday for the May 5 special election to replace Crown Heights Assemblyman Karim Camara who resigned to join the Cuomo Administration.
Philpotts, 73, a political gadfly who has run in local races since 1976 came into the Democratic Party meeting with enough proxy votes of committee members to grab the nomination – something that the political professionals living in the district failed to have on their recent petitions to get on the ballot. Upon arrival at the meeting, Borough President Eric Adams executive assistant Ingrid Lewis-Martin and former Kings County Democratic Party Boss Clarence Norman immediately cornered him in a back room. The two then tried to convince Philpotts to back Democratic female District leader Shirley Patterson.
“They literally tried to do a back room deal,” said Democratic male District Leader Geoffrey Davis, who is running for the seat on his own Love Yourself Party line. “We were supposed to start the meeting at two and they were back there for 20 minutes until I finally knocked on the door and said, ‘enough is enough’ and that it was up to him (Philpotts) to do what he wanted to do. He literally thanked me for getting him out of the room.”
Several sources say, Norman became resigned to the fact that Philpotts was going to grab the line while Martin was very upset.
“They took a lot of my time. They wanted to give my proxies to Shirley and she didn’t even come to the meeting until it was almost over,” said Philpotts.
Regardless, Philpotts taking the Democratic Party nomination is a significant advantage to Davis, who like his later brother, City Councilman James E. Davis, is a fierce independent. Davis is well-known as a neighborhood activist with deep roots in the community, a solid ground game and enough petition signatures to get on the ballot.
The election promises something lacking in many borough elections – a real choice between multiple candidates. Besides Philpotts and Davis, Patterson may still run on the Independent Party line. Community activist Diana Richardson is also reportedly running and may be the wild card, especially if she grabs the Working Families Party line, and gets the support of the de Blasio progressives.
Golden Celebrates Chinese New Year At New Utrecht HS
A heavy snowstorm didn’t stop State Sen. Marty Golden and several hundred Chinese-Americans families from coming to New Utrect High School yesterday for a performance filled celebration of the Lunar New Year (4713), the Year of the Ram.
The Chinese American Partnership put on the celebration which included presentations of the Lion Dance, Kung Fu and Tai Chi Martial Arts, Chinese opera, singing and dancing, and civic and community information booths. Professional entertainers, seniors, youth and children all put on performances.
Believe it or not, 68,000 Chinese Americans are in my district.and that community has grown from 19,000 just ten years ago, but the numbers are growing in leaps and bounds in Brooklyn and the city of New York. It’s important we take care of all of our cultural and religious groups. and this is a growing cultural group in our community,” said Golden, adding that he spent the weekend at Irish and Italian gatherings as well.
“That’s what makes up this community, all those ethnic and cultural groups, and we have to make sure we’re in tune and listening to their issues and dealing with their issues,” he said.
Golden’s District covers a wide swath of Southern Brooklyn from Bar Ridge to Marine Park.
Hikind And Lander Hold Summit on Community Issues
Borough Park Assemblyman Dov Hikind and City Councilman Brad Lander met at Hikind’s home on Friday to discuss a variety of community issues, including transportation matters, such as overnight layovers for yeshiva school buses, and delays due to simultaneous school bus runs and sanitation pick-ups.
The two elected officials also went over matters revolving around the city budget and how proposed items will impact the community.
“It’s all about getting things done,” said Hikind, who also recently met with City Councilman Carlos Menchaca regarding similar issues of concern to the community. “Working together is the key to accomplishing our community’s needs. Councilman Lander is a leader on the New York City Council and is respected by everyone. I look forward to working with him, as I have in the past, to accomplish great things for our community.”
