| (Full disclosure: Dan Squadron and I have a good friend in common and I attended a fundraiser for him in December)
I have heard that Ken Diamondstone has addressed the Lambda Independent Democrats tonight and is considering tossing his hat into the ring for a SSD-25 rematch.
Ordinarily, this would be a good idea, because the incumbent, Martin Connor, has taken many positions over the years that are unbecoming to a Democrat in such a blue district.
However, there is already a progressive alternative in this race, who has already raised tons of money with a wide donor base, and even more importantly, has already captured the Working Families Party endorsement. That candidate is Dan Squadron.
This diary is not a hit job on Ken Diamandstone- rather, I have a lot of respect for the guy- he is a lifelong community activist, who is on the right side of just about every issue. However, he ran against Connor last time, spent a ton of his own money, and wasn't able to pull off the victory.
If he were to enter the race this time, he would greatly impede the chances of unseating Connor by obviously splitting the anti-Connor vote, and thus create a legacy that would harm his lifelong commitment to progressive values.
If Ralph Nader has illustrated anything, it is that decades of fighting the good fight can all be undone by one decision to enter the wrong race. Squadron is already the progressive alternative in this race.
Diamondstone has every right to run, but I think he would do the right thing to sit this one out. He is a good progressive, and I hope he will realize that the good progressive move here would be to not split the progressive vote, and instead lend his support to Squadron in order to move our state forward and reform the Democratic Party. |
