Friday, August 16, 2013

Ben Franklin Dem. Club Votes Not to Endorse Again


  Wednesday August 14th the members of the Ben Franklin Democratic Club voted again not to endorse any Democratic candidate in this years primary.  There was a little scuffle however when one member who is supporting Christine Quinn questioned a letter from Councilman G. Oliver Koppell that was some what negative about the speaker. The Councilman's wife stood up to blast several members without naming them for sending out an e-mail about Councilman Koppell's negative letter to the members of the club about Speaker Quinn. Councilman Koppell then said candidates go after each other all the time. The letter said that he had been in the City Council for almost 8 years now with Christine Quinn as speaker, and that she was doing things mainly for political gain. 
  A little more mayhem was thrown into the mix when Male District Leader Bruce Feld warned that some members might vote not for their candidate seeing that tonight that candidate does not have enough support to win. One member then stated that he was supporting De Blasio, but would vote differently because it looked like De Blasio would not win the club endorsement that night. Another member said that an endorsement should unite, and not divide the club. Assemblyman Dinowitz said that Councilman Koppell had the right to send his letter out, as harsh as it was to candidate Quinn. He also said "The club needs to focus on the candidates that have already been endorsed", mentioning Public Advocate, City Comptroller, Bronx Borough President, and 11th city council. Dinowitz suggested as many other members of the club had said that there be no endorsement tonight. After State Senator Gustavo Rivera thanked the club for helping him win ion 2010, he stated that he was supporting Speaker Quinn. A voice vote was then called for, which by a 10 - 1 margin was in favor of not endorsing for mayor at this time. 















Left - Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz addresses the club as to why he thinks "No Endorsement" should be taken at this time.
Right - Councilman Koppell states his case.

 













Left - Lorraine Coyle Koppell blasts club members for attacking her husband Councilman Koppell in a secret e-mail sent to certain members.
Right - BFDC member and De Blasio supporter David Kornblau speaks of how he will vote seeing that his candidate may not have enough support to win the endorsement.















Left - 11th City Council candidate Andrew Cohen (endorsed by the BFDC) thanks the club for their volunteer work in helping him get on the ballot, and asks for more volunteers for the rest of the campaign.
Right - State Senator Gustavo Rivera mentions that he is supporting Christine Quinn for Mayor.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What? No weinerrrrrrrrrrr?

Anonymous said...

I read the Koppell letter and the "secret" email which was not a secret. The Koppell letter was a nasty attack on Quinn, deBlasio, Liu and Weiner. The email said the club should remain positive and not attack the candidates. I don't even think that email mentioned Koppell. Somebody has a very thin skin.

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