Dragging Out Voters In Town Committee Wars, Flexing ABs In The Rock

Voters have been identified. Now it’s time to place last-minute calls, door knocks, lit drops and social media blasts. And oh, remind voters to send in their absentee ballot. Those could be pivotal. On Tuesday registered Democrats in 6 of 10 districts will decide the makeup of the 90-member Democratic Town Committee the next two years. Looks like a decent day for voting.

Most political operatives observe that the best chance for insurgents to make gains is the Black Rock/West End 130th District and Upper East Side 138th District, given the energy, messaging and absentee ballot work. But slates in both those districts are working hard. The larger unknown centers on the choosiness of electors. Each slate posts nine candidates, but voters can oval in any nine of 18 campaigners, so districts could end up with an eclectic stew. Some candidates have spent years building relationships in neighborhoods and that matters.

It’s gotten personal in some districts including the 130th, with charges and counter charges of lies and dirty tricks. They’re noisy in Black Rock. The AB war rages.

Mario Testa wants another two years as party leader. If Tuesday’s vote does not go his way, insurgents will poise a challenger. If the vote leans towards Testa supporters, he may have a challenger but as a protest only. Testa will likely call a DTC meeting to select officers next week.

DTC primaries can be a gauge for voter sentiment. If they’re agitated about the state of the city, changes in the makeup of the party regulars could occur. But sometimes, irrespective of anger, the establishment slates could prevail in these low-turnout primaries through organization and absentee ballot work. The Town Clerk’s Office has mailed out more than 1,000 requests for absentee ballots in the combined districts. Candidates who win on the machines could be croaked by absentee votes. Judging by the latest absentee ballot report, a high percentage, roughly 75 percent, will be returned to the Town Clerk’s Office by Tuesday.

Tuesday’s vote is crucial to the political fortunes of Mayor Joe Ganim. Testa has enormous influence over the makeup of the city’s Democratic delegation to the state party convention in May where Ganim wants to secure 15 percent support to nail down a ballot spot for the August primary for governor. In lieu of that he can petition onto the ballot via signatures from Democratic electors. If Ganim’s bid for governor fails, then there’s his reelection for mayor next year.

With more than 100 candidates, could be a long night for results.

District candidates follow listed by Slate B and C. No Slate A because no party endorsements in this process. Democratic electors in the respective districts are eligible to vote.

130th District, Black Rock/West End:
Slate B: Eric M. Amado Jr., Scott Burns, Joy A. Cline, Anne H. Larcheveque, JoAnn Manzo, Michael S. Meehan, Thomas A. Mulligan Jr., Daniel S. Roach, Shaquana Shaw.

Slate C: Shaurice Bacon, Gregory Blake, Lynda Bluestein, Donna M. Curran, Dione T. Dwyer, JoAnn R. Kennedy, Michael R. Raleigh, Jenny Valencia, Diane M. Vulcano.

131st District, South End/Downtown/West End:
Slate B: Jack O. Banta, Paul R. Boucher, Tommika Leak, Genoveva Miranda-Torres, Jose A. Negron Sr., Glenn Pettway, Mitchell Robles, Eric M. Simmons, Denese Taylor-Moye.

Slate C: Mdsufian Ahmed, Mary L. Bruce, Jorge Cruz Sr., Shavonne Davis, Frances Demery, Travis M. Harden, Scott Hughes, Omari O. McPherson, Melody Thergood.

132nd District, West Side:
Slate B: Carolyn D. Askew, M. Evette Brantley, Julian T. Brown, Michael D. Freddino Jr., Anthony J. Lancia Sr., John W. Olson, Elaine Pivirotto, Rolanda Smith, Reginald F. Walker.

Slate C: Lillian M. Alves, Marcus A. Brown, Rosie A. Clarke-Jones, Robert F. Distasi, Braxton T. Gardner, Antoinette Giles, Robert Halstead, Eva J. McLeod, Lisa Parziale.

133rd District, North End:
Slate B: Albertina Baptista, Michael A. DeFilippo, Patrick Gorrell, Jeanette Herron, Hernan F. Illingworth, Sabrine Kuczo, Thomas C. McCarthy, Samantha R. Nelson, Wayne Rodriguez.

Slate C: Jessica R. Allen, Sandra J. Carolina, Vincent DiPalma, Joseph Goldberg, Gail Janensch, Robert T. Keeley, Claire Mastromonaco, Anne Pappas-Phillips, Leighton O. Reynolds.

135th District: Whiskey Hill/North End:
Slate B: Robert A. Anderson Sr., Harry A. Bell, Darrett Evans Moss, Linda G. Jones, Wilfred E. Murphy, Doris R. Nelson, Stephen M. Nelson, Carmen D. Roman-Hatton, Arnold L. Whitaker Sr.

Slate C: Lisa Anderson, Audrey M. Barr, Keisha Burks, Tomeekha Gee, Warren Godbolt, Mary McBride-Lee, Waith K. Mitchell, Charlie L. Stallworth, Ruth M. Vines.

138th District, Upper East Side:
Slate B: Jacqueline Abrams, Timothy L. Bassey, Daniel C. Faber, Charles E. Hare, Sarah Lewis (not this Sarah Lewis), Helen Olga Losak, Maria H. Pereira, Michele L. Small, Samia G. Suliman.

Slate C: Tony Barr, Tyreke Bird, Abraham Duque, Dolores Fonseca, Rafael Fonseca Jr., Kevin Monks, Anthony Robert Paoletto, Martha Santiago, Nessah Smith.