Editorial: Thanks, but no thanks, in Brooklyn

Editorial

Issue of March 19, 2010/ 4 Nissan 5770

There are two choices for city council in the 44th council district in Brooklyn: Dov Hikind or Vito Lopez. Both are distinctly unsatisfying. It would be nice to pretend that the two people whose names are actually on the ballot, Joe Lazar and David Greenfield, are independent operators who could be counted on, if elected, to make their own decisions as to what would best serve the electorate. Unfortunately, it would be just that: pretending.

Given those facts, our endorsement, rightfully, should go to the candidate we dislike less.

Joe Lazar would bring more experience to the office. His track record as a man who knows how to navigate the bureaucracy of government is remarkable. But he’s just too tight with Hikind, who is one of a kind and, in our view, should stay that way. Electing a Hikind proxy (puppet is just mean, but probably more accurate) is not a good thing in the long run. Moreover, the Lazar campaign refused to make the candidate available for an interview. That’s not a good sign. A candidate who is unwilling to talk to the press is a candidate who may have less than a perfect grasp of the nature of democracy, and our system of checks and balances, and of the need for transparency on the part of elected officials. No, thanks.

Greenfield has promise. Despite his youth he has an already impressive record of accomplishment and he seems like a decent guy. That said we were very disappointed to observe that, as a candidate, he seems to have become a proxy (or puppet) of Lopez, the Brooklyn Democratic boss who is gathering a reputation for the same sorts of shenanigans that landed his predecessor in prison.

One of the most appealing aspects of Greenfield’s candidacy, in our view, was his apparent independence — of Dov Hikind, of the establishment in general. It seems we were mistaken.

Further, we were decidedly unimpressed that Greenfield, in an interview with the Star, chose to pretend that child abuse is a “state” issue. To his credit, Hikind has been a leader in that regard; the fact that he holds a state title doesn’t make it a “state” issue.

So dear reader, if you’ve turned to this page for guidance, we wish we could help. Both men are capable, neither is a bad person, but neither is someone we care to support this time around. May the best, or the least bad, candidate, whomever that may be, win. Maybe next time Boro Park, Midwood, Bensonhurst and Kensington will find someone who is truly his own man or her own woman.

To conclude, we paraphrase fictional voters from Queens who once famously sang: “Mister, we could use a man like Simcha Felder, again.” Or something like that.