IND Brooklyn’s endorsement meeting date-change has created a messy situation over at the club, leaving many new members feeling like they’ve been barred from casting a ballot in the May vote because incumbent Senator Marty Connor could lose the endorsement of his own club to rival Ken Diamondstone.
The On NY Turf blog has written about the move as well, quoting an Erik Enquist article from Crain’s on an issue the club had last year when Mark Peters was running for Brooklyn DA.
“There was even debate over whether it’s uncouth to pack a club. When some IND members stood up at the meeting and complained, Peters supporter and former club president Greg Atkins (now chief of staff for Borough President Marty Markowitz) declared, I’m shocked that people are saying that. This is a political club you pack it. That’s what you do.”
On the flipside, others are in favor of the date change because it gives the club the reformer reputation that it seems to desire, not that of a cog in the Democratic machine. However, it was made clear prior to the membership deadline that new members could sign up and vote at the endorsement meeting.
—Nicole Brydson