Mark this one down as a case of what comes around goes around.
Ernest Skinner, a self-professed progressive, who has been one of the biggest thorns in the side of Kings County Democratic Boss Frank Seddio over the issue of controlling proxy votes of committee members that can’t make meetings, is himself embroiled in a proxy controversy regarding his namesake club, the Ernest Skinner Political Association (ESPA).
According to several sources that would not go on record to use their names the brouhaha went down at the recent ESPA candidates forum held at the Clarendon Road Church, 3304 Clarendon Road in East Flatbush to fill Public Advocate Jumaane Williams 45th District City council seat. Club members largely reside in the district, which includes East Flatbush, Flatbush, Flatlands, Marine Park, and Midwood.
While there are multiple candidates, three of them – Monique Chandler-Waterman, Xamayla Rose Rose and Anthony Beckford – were club members at the time of the meeting. Skinner told KCP prior to the meeting that rather than invite all the candidates, the club would have a forum with their three members and decide which of the three they would endorse.
Skinner appeared to be partial to Chandler-Waterman in a previous KCP story, but emphasized that the endorsement would be a club decision and not his.
About 40 people showed up for the meeting and after it was over a vote was taken and the consensus candidate was Rose. Multiple sources say that Skinner refused to acknowledge the vote and said the proxy votes of people not attending the meeting also needed to be counted.
This caused several members to resign from the club. Sources alleged that Skinner tried to weight the vote in Chandler-Waterman’s favor
When confronted with the allegations, Skinner refused comment other than to say these were not the factually correct and that the club will issue a statement in the near future.
At post time, it is not known who the club is endorsing. The special election for the City Council Seat is May 14.
