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Marty Connor 
Mon Sep 08, 2008 at 12:18:12 PM EDT
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The Hasidic communities of South Williamsburg in Brooklyn are once again making their presence known in key primary races. The race between SD-25 challenger Dan Squadron and incumbent Marty Connor could very well be decided by who those communities choose to support and early indications are that they are divided in their loyalties. The factions have been warring since 1999 when the sect split in a succession dispute and that split has also influenced their political participation. Liz has a story about the electoral dimensions of the dispute in this morning's Daily News.
Hasidic battle brews over state Senate primary
A warring Brooklyn Hasidic sect is divided in a key Democratic state Senate primary that involves some of the city's most powerful political figures - and could affect the '09 mayoral race.
The Satmar faction led by Williamsburg-based Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum rebuffed an eleventh-hour plea by Mayor Bloomberg to support his candidate, political newcomer Daniel Squadron, in the 25th Senatorial District.
Zalman loyalists are backing Squadron's target, incumbent Sen. Martin Connor, who is championed by Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
The Zalman camp received a visit last week from Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey. He pleaded Squadron's case, but left without a deal, said a source close to Zalman's political adviser, Rabbi David Niederman. Mayoral spokesman Stu Loeser declined to comment.
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Meanwhile, followers of Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum - who is based in Kiryas Joel in Orange County but has a presence in Williamsburg - are supporting Squadron.
In these low turnout NYC primaries, the Hasidim are often able to exert great influence and, in a race as close as the SD-25 race is expected to be, their votes could be the difference. The UJCARE folks claim they turned out 10,000 people last night at a rally for Squadron and the UJO folks are sticking with Connor at the request of Brooklyn Dem Boss Vito Lopez.
Another race where the Hasidim could prove the difference is the primary race between challenger Kevin Powell and incumbent Ed Towns. The northwest part of the district holds a large part of the South Williamsburg Hasidim. Powell has been aggressively, if not rather clumsily courting them and it seems he's made at least some progress. That said, though there is some anger at Towns in the Satmar community, he's a known quantity to to many.
Both of these races could swing on Satmar votes. Which factions will show up and who they support could very well be decisive.
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Fri Aug 22, 2008 at 08:01:28 AM EDT
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This morning's New York Times contains endorsements for challengers in both the AD-64 and SD-25 primaries. The Times likes Paul Newell and Dan Squadron in their bids to upset long time incumbents Shelly Silver and Marty Connor. It's written in the "throw the bums out, all of 'em" style that has characterized so much of the paper's editorial stance towards Albany in recent years.
Endorsements for a Better Albany
Most New Yorkers want a better, fairer, more open State Legislature instead of the embarrassment they now endure. For the primary on Sept. 9, there are two Democratic races in New York City that offer a chance to make a change in Albany or, at least make a strong statement about how badly change is needed.
The most important of these races is in Lower Manhattan, where Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, one of the most powerful people in the state, is facing his first real challenge in decades. It is still an uphill fight for any opponent, but the race has already made one difference. It has brought the ever-secretive Mr. Silver out to meet voters and campaign for his job.
Of the two challengers, Paul Newell, a community activist with deep roots in the Lower East Side, has the stronger credentials. Luke Henry, an attorney who moved into the district more recently, is working hard. Mr. Newell has done a better job of identifying Mr. Silver's weaknesses: mainly, his devotion to closed-door politics, including his refusal to disclose details about his outside income. Mr. Newell is also pledging to support congestion pricing and to press for a nonpartisan redistricting commission, which is essential for real change. In the 64th Assembly District, we endorse Paul Newell.
In the 25th State Senate District in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, another challenger deserves support. He is Daniel Squadron, an energetic former aide to United States Senator Charles Schumer who is running against Senator Martin Connor. Mr. Connor has been in this seat for three decades and accomplished far too little. He has also made a good living as an attorney bumping potential candidates off of New York ballots. Mr. Squadron says he is committed to cleaning up Albany and that serving in the Senate would be his only job. If Mr. Squadron wants to prove his commitment to reform then he still needs to be more forthcoming about his financial holdings. That said, we endorse Mr. Squadron as an enthusiastic new outsider.
More on this later.
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Thu Aug 21, 2008 at 00:15:20 AM EDT
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Here's an interesting something dropped in my inbox late tonight. Congressman Anthony Weiner (NY-9) is not only endorsing SD-25 primary challenger Dan Squadron, but will be campaigning with him tomorrow morning in Brooklyn. This might not be all that surprising for some as both Weiner and Squadron worked for Chuck Shumer at one point, but it is certainly significant. From an emailed release:
Congressman Anthony Weiner endorses and campaigns with Daniel Squadron, candidate for State Senate in the 25th District.
WHERE:
Outside of the Borough Hall Subway Station, intersection of Court Street and Joralemon Street, Brooklyn Heights.
WHEN:
8:30am- 9:30am, Thursday August 21st
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Tue Aug 12, 2008 at 13:24:27 PM EDT
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This is pretty big. Mayor Mike has endorsed Dan Squadron in the SD-25 Democratic primary. From an emailed release:
MAYOR BLOOMBERG ENDORSES
DANIEL SQUADRON FOR STATE SENATE
Mayor Michel R. Bloomberg today endorsed Daniel Squadron in the Democratic Primary for the 25th Senate District in Manhattan and Brooklyn, citing Daniel's record in public service and his plans to bring overdue change to Albany.
"We'll never get reform in Albany if we don't send reformers there, and Daniel Squadron's independent voice is exactly what New York City needs in our State Capitol," Mayor Bloomberg said. "As Mayor, I have made turning around the City's schools and investing in our infrastructure among my top priorities because it's hopeless to build for our future without either. By helping move hundreds of millions of dollars out of our school bureaucracies and into City classrooms, and by helping us raise nearly three billion dollars for transit infrastructure, Daniel Squadron's record getting things done for New Yorkers is already more impressive than many lifelong legislators. Daniel Squadron is independent, hard-working, and smart -- three things I always look for when I go into the voting booth. I am proud to endorse Daniel Squadron for State Senate, and strongly encourage Democrats in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn to vote for him in September."
"Mayor Bloomberg and I share a belief in taking on big challenges and fighting for what we believe is right -- and we both know that there is no bigger challenge than reforming Albany nor any fight that could be more right," said Squadron. "I am honored that the mayor is supporting this race for reform and results. I continue to believe that with hard work, independence, and a progressive vision, our state legislature has incredible potential to deliver real results for our neighborhoods, our city and our state."
This is definitely going to be a race to watch. I honestly have no idea who is going to win this thing.
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Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 14:59:15 PM EDT
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I'm hearing that SD-25 challenger Dan Squadron has collected over 8 thousand signatures on his petitions. Campaigns always want to get as many signatures as possible as disputing the validity of such signatures is one of the most potent and common means by which incumbents keep challengers off the ballot. This is especially true in this case, as Squadron's opponent, incumbent Dem Marty Connor, also happens to be pretty much the best election lawyer in the state of New York.
8K signatures shows some real organizational strength and competence as well as tangible support from the residents of the district. It says to me that Squadron has a real shot at this.
UPDATE: Just got an email from the campaign confirming this:
.jpg) Today, Daniel Squadron, Democratic candidate for the 25th State Senate District, filed petitions to appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary. Standing in front of the Board of Elections, he announced that his campaign collected over 8,000 signatures on individual nominating petitions - more than eight times the number (1,000) required to be placed on the ballot for the September 9th primary.
"It's wonderful to see the incredible excitement for the type of energetic representation I hope to bring this district," Squadron said. "In every neighborhood, in Brooklyn and Manhattan, people are saying the same thing: it is time to demand more."
Squadron's opponent, Martin Connor, who works part-time as an election lawyer, has knocked countless candidates off the ballot, and has pursued legal challenges against every serious opponent he has faced since 1980-from a lengthy court battle that he ultimately lost against Luis Osorio in 1992 to a residency challenge against Ken Diamondstone that was decided in Diamondstone's favor by the State's highest court.
That is why Squadron's campaign put an emphasis on collecting so many more signatures than are required. It is also why the total includes only signatures gathered on petition sheets exclusively for Squadron's State Senate candidacy, and does not include hundreds of signatures gathered on his behalf by the Downtown Independent Democrats, which were collected on omnibus petition sheets that listed the clubs other endorsed candidates. While this is a standard practice, the Squadron campaign's legal counsel expressed concern that those signatures could in theory be challenged by Connor under an esoteric and unexplored provision of the election law.
UPDATE II: Per Liz, Connor says he doesn't "plan on" challenging Squadron's petitions:
Asked whether he planned to challenge Squadron's petitions, Connor replied: "No, I don't plan on it." He pointed out that he didn't challenge Diamondstone's petitions last time, although, as Squadron noted, he did bring a suit regarding his opponent's residency that year.
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Fri Jun 20, 2008 at 11:15:39 AM EDT
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SD-25 challenger Dan Squadron is calling out incumbent Senator Marty Connor over his vote for S.8446, the Senate version of the much discussed A.11432, which passed with only one "nay" vote this week. From an emailed press release:
SQUADRON CALLS ON STATE SENATE TO PROTECT
PUBLIC DISCLOSURE LAWS
Opposes Special Interest Exemption to State Freedom of Information Law
Contrast with Opponent Who Voted to Weaken FOIL Provisions
Today, Daniel Squadron, Democratic candidate for the 25th State Senate District denounced the State Senate's approval of a bill - supported by Squadron's opponent, Senator Martin Connor, and others - that would protect insurance companies and the State Insurance Superintendent from many public disclosure requirements.
"This bill will block sunlight and limit transparency - exactly the opposite of what we need," said Squadron. "It's designed to protect companies suspected of violating the law, another classic example of Albany representing the special interests over our interests."
The bill, S.8446, creates a special exemption to the Freedom of Information Law for companies that are under investigation. This would require the Superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department to make a special ruling to have material regarding an investigation published. Currently, under public disclosure laws, information related to such investigations is accessible to the public.
The Senate passed the legislation although there were no sponsors or co-sponsors on the bill. This tactic is commonly used to deflect responsibility and shield accountability for unpopular legislation.
"I'm disappointed that my opponent chose to vote with the special interests to undercut transparency," Squadron said. "In the State Senate, I will fight to expand government disclosure and transparency, not limit it."
I'll leave it to folks smarter than myself to parse the ins and outs of this, but color me suspicious of any bill that passes with 60 votes and zero sponsors.
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Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 09:26:35 AM EDT
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It looks like the impending endorsement of Dan Squadron by Senator Chuck Schumer (not to mention Squadron's impressive fundraising so far) may have yielded its first tangible result. Senator Marty Connor's previous primary challenger, Ken Diamondstone, may be poised to bow out of the race.
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:
As the Democratic contest was coming into sharper focus this week, a claimant to the 25th Senate District seat emerged on the Republican side. In press conferences at Brooklyn's Borough Hall and at City Hall on April 9, John G. Chromczak, a 38-year-old medical technologist, announced he will run as a Republican. The press release announcing his candidacy focused on lowering taxes, improving public schools, easing traffic congestion, protecting the environment, and bringing jobs back to the city.
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.
On the web: Dan Squadron for New York State Senate.
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Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 13:57:17 PM EST
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Liz is reporting that the Working Families Party may be about to throw their support to Dan Squadron, who is running a primary campaign against my state Senator, Marty Connor.
A source who was on hand last night at the Working Families Party Coordinating Council said the organization voted to endorse Dan Squadron, a political neophyte and former aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is mounting a primary challenge to veteran Democratic Sen. Marty Connor.
The next step is a meeting of the party's executive council, which is scheduled to get together on March 14 at the Crowne Plaza in Albany.
According to my source, several unions represented by the labor-backed party stuck up for Connor last night, but the local South Brooklyn club and ACORN had the majority of votes in the room and wanted Squadron.
While this is certainly good news for Squadron, it's truly terrible news for the man who WFP backed in the 2006 primary against Connor, Ken Diamondstone, who has also been making noise about taking another run at Connor this year. In fact, if WFP backs Squadron, it may keep Diamondstone out of the race altogether.
Diamondstone said he is "seriously considering" getting into the race and that the WFP's support "is and has been very important" to him. He said he has been assured the party has not made a final decision on an endorsement, adding:
" I would welcome their support this time around. Failing that, I would certainly need to evaluate what the loss of support by WFP would mean for our campaign. But I'll determine that should that occur."
I don't know Diamonstone personally, but I have met Squadron a few times and have had the chance to speak with him at length a few times. I'll just say that I can easily see why a healthy portion of the WFP membership would be interested in backing him. Dan is very bright and has an excellent grasp of reform issues and of how state government actually works here. He's exactly the kind of smart, young progressive that are now coming out to run for state Senate knowing that they'll be able to go to Albany and actually, ya know, do stuff and make an impact. I say all of this because I truly believe it and not because Dan once said that the Albany Project was The greatest blog (I've done an interview with, so far).
Interesting developments in my SD...
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Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 14:49:03 PM EST
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Take a look at these cash on hand numbers:
Dan Squadron: $188,882.00
Marty Connor (I): -$40,079.69
Insert all the usual caveats about New York, incumbency and all the rest here. Blah, blah, blah. The fact remains that Connor is $40K in the hole and Squadron has got almost $200K on hand.
There's a real race here.
(h/t to the Maven)
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Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 12:32:56 PM EST
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My state Senator, Marty Connor, may have quite a primary fight on his hands. Former Schumer staffer Dan Squadron has raised a over $200K according to his latest campaign filing. What's even more impressive to me than dollar figure, however, is the number of donors. His filing lists 358 entries and almost all of them appear to be individual, small dollar donors. There's some big money in there, but take a look for yourself. There's plenty of $50 donors there as well. Plus, his campaign looks to be running pretty lean. He's got almost $190K cash on hand.
As for Connor, his filing isn't up yet, but Azi is hearing that he's raised less than $5K. But, don't forget he's a 30 year incumbent (and one time Minority Leader) and this is still New York. Incumbency counts for a hell of a lot. Beating Connor won't be even a little bit easy.
That said, Squadron's filing shows that he's definitely for real and the primary in the 25th isn't going to be the cakewalk that Marty Connor grown accustomed to all these years.
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Mon Oct 22, 2007 at 16:47:50 PM EDT
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Liz says maybe.
A reader who is a Brooklyn Heights resident who lives in Democratic Sen. Marty Connor's district (25th SD) called to report receiving a curious survey phone call yesterday asking his opinion of three Democrats: Connor; housing developer Ken Diamondstone, who ran an unsuccessful primary challenge to Connor last fall; and Dan Squadron, a former aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer who is perhaps best known for co-authoring Schumer's recent book, "Positively American, Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Class At A Time."
The reader said it quickly became clear that the focus of the call was Squadron, who now works for KnickerbockerSKD. (He was hired in May after firm co-founder Micha Lasher departed to work for Rep. Jerry Nadler and contemplate his own potential run for office - probably for the seat of Council member Gale Brewer, who is term-limited out in 2009).
Squadron has never held elected office, but he has worked for both Schumer and another Schumerite, Rep. Anthony Weiner (he ran the field operation for Weiner's 2005 mayoral campaign) - points that were made during the call, according to my source, who said he was asked whether he would be more or less likely to support Squadron if he knew these details.
Neither the Senate Democrats nor the state Democratic Party paid for the call, sources said.
Interesting...
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Thu May 17, 2007 at 16:20:04 PM EDT
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A few weeks ago, I asked my State Senator, Marty Connor, if he supported closing the LLC loophole. Today I finally got a response. Short, sweet and to the point.
In response to your email concerning whether I support the Governor's
desire to close the subsidiary loophole, I have a simple answer: Yes.
Very truly yours,
Martin Connor
State Senator
Like I said, better late than never.
Where does your State Senator stand?
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