Even as one potential gay challenger to Lower Manhattan-Brownstone Brooklyn State Senator Martin Connor has apparently bowed out of a potential race against the 30-year Democratic incumbent, another has emerged - in the Republican Party.
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WFP is impressed with the passion and energy Squadron - a field operations leader in Brooklyn-Queens Congressman Anthony Wiener's unexpectedly strong 2005 mayoral run - would bring to the race. Squadron recently left his job with the political lobbying firm of Knickerbocker SKD, established by Josh Isay, who like Weiner has long ties to Schumer, in order to mount his challenge to Connor.
One nagging concern for Squadron and Working Families, however, has been the possibility that WFP's 2006 candidate, Ken Diamondstone, an out gay housing developer from Brooklyn, might once again enter the contest. Defeating an incumbent is difficult enough without having to split the opposition vote in two, Connor's opponents reason. In 2006, Connor beat back Diamondstone's challenge by more than ten percent.
According to Dan Cantor, who heads up WFP, Diamondstone, who did not respond to Gay City News' request for comment, was prepared as of April 9 to formally announce he would not make the race. Though his reasons are not known, Schumer's decision to back Squadron may not have been the only factor.
As he considered a run, Diamondstone sought indications of support from the Lambda Independent Democrats, a Brooklyn gay political club on whose board he sits. His efforts were opposed, however, by Daniel Tietz, a former LID president. Late last week, in an email that ran to nearly 1,900 words, Tietz laid out his rationale for why the club should support Squadron and not Diamondstone. Noting that Squadron is a serious candidate who is mounting a strong challenge - having already raised in excess of $200,000 from more than 350 donors - Tietz alluded to the fact that Diamondstone has run unsuccessfully in three past races. He also presented data from other primary contests demonstrating that even incumbents who lose typically don't fall below 40 percent of the total vote.
Whomever wins the Democratic pimary in the 25th, they'll have a Republican challenger. Manhattan resident John Chromczak is throwing his hat in the ring:
This is obviously good news for Squadron and not so great news for Connor as he had to be hoping that two primary challengers would split the anti-status quo vote. It now looks as if that isn't going to happen.
