Two years ago primaries in six districts kept campaign operatives busy for control of the Democratic Town Committee in what turned out to be a good night for Mayor Joe Ganim and Town Chair Mario Testa.
Come March 3, only one potential primary is on the horizon in the West Side 132nd District.
Election workers in the Registrar’s Office are reviewing petition sheets to verify signatures of slates seeking ballot qualification.
Town committee members make up the infrastructure of the party. Members endorse candidates for public office and select party officers.
Why so quiet?
A number of factors. Sometimes it takes a coalition of forces to organize districts. This time around no passion existed to take on Testa for control of the party. Others, who’d normally engineer slates, are eyeing state office this year. They want to put that work into their own elections rather than the labor-intensive process to win town committee seats this winter. In addition, some districts carved out deals for seats to keep the peace.
One of the big surprises is Black Rock, the only area Ganim lost in the general election to claim another four-year term after surviving a primary scare from State Senator Marilyn Moore. The neighborhood is loaded with activists anathema to Ganim. Two years ago Black Rock District Leader Danny Roach, a close Ganim ally, held off insurgents aligned with Moore. The Roach slate won eight of nine seats. This cycle Roach is getting a breather from competition.
In the West Side former City Councilman Kyle Langan is part of an anti-establishment slate against long-time political veterans. Langan is running with Jason Chacon, Cynthia Torres, Linda Robak, Dasha Spell, James Bradshaw, Steve Farrell, Lillian Alves and Antoinette Giles.
In the Upper East Side a challenge slate led by Tony Barr and Ty Bird, who won seats two years ago, did not qualify for the ballot against former City Council members Anthony Paoletto and Nessah Smith, Kevin Monks, Kelly Perez, Sarah Lewis, Claudia Phillips, Milton Johnson, Martha Santiago and Samia Suliman.
Two years ago Suliman ran on a slate led by Maria Pereira that failed to win any seats. Suliman and Pereira won City Council seats in November. Once aligned, Suliman and Pereira have parted ways politically. Suliman is now part of the Paoletto-Smith slate.
Pereira is not running a slate this year.
Hey Lennie,
Can you give us all the names of the candidates in both districts???
Really, really disappointed. There’s no fire in the belly.
Very telling. “Once aligned, Suleimani and Pereira have parted ways politically.”
Once again, Maria is a lone wolf.
WOW!!! It didn’t Maria long to get her running partner for the City Council, Samia Sulemani, to separate herself from Maria. Coalition building is gone but there’s still Ernie Newton are piss in the cup partner plus they looked happy in that picture they took together.
RON
My Partner is Councilwoman Eneida Martinez. I have tried to treat councilwoman Pereira as a colleague on our city council nothing more nothing less. I sure we will bump heads from time to time. Maria will learn beating up on her colleagues will not earn her any friends on the city council. Its going to be a hard 2 years for her.
Just messing with you.
Hey Ron,
Did you see the story in the CT Post about Guideposts examination of the city’s procurement practices???
What was supposed to be “not to exceed” $75,000 is now over $150,000 and growing.
And just like the study of the Police Department not a page of public disclosure.
What is the mayor hiding and how duplicit is theCity Council???
Bob, I’m sure it’s a firm that has Democrat connection and the City Council won’t say anything until Mitch McConnell tells them what to do…. I mean Mario Testa.
This is bad
Joe spends $150,000 trying to “fix” the bid issue and the scrap metal fiasco, but yet we can’t fund our schools. On top of that, no one on the CC knew a thing about it, and when questioned about it are “curious” and want some “answers”. Guaranteed Joe tells them all not to bring it up, it was for “the good of the city”. The whole thing will get buried.And on a related note, does anyone know what Ed Adams does these days to warrant his $96,000 salary?, or is that topic off limits too?
When is Maria coming back Lennie?
I still find holes in your explanation. Something doesn’t add up.
Rich, what doesn’t add up is her refusal to recognize I will not allow her to eviscerate people to settle scores. I made a reasonable request about toning down inflammatory remarks. She refused to respect my wishes, outraged that the host and founder of this site would feel compelled to reel in her remarks. She feels she’s more important than anything else on OIB. She’s not. No one in the comments section is more important or has greater status that anyone else. She has conveniently left out in her Facebook lies that the genesis of this dispute was her injection of race that I felt inappropriate. I give readers a lot of latitude to criticize elected/public officials, but there are limits. Maria Pereira is not the reason that OIB has thousands of regular readers. In fact, I’ve received a lot of blowback from readers who assert she pushes them away. Maria’s always crowing oh my the readership I send you. Baloney. Her self-aggrandizement is no longer a fit here. Rich, you can read Maria’s comments, evisceration, threats and plenty more on her Facebook page. You’ll not read them here.
Rich, your move.
Well first of all I’d like to know how Ernie “heard” that Maria was banned 18 hours BEFORE Lennie posted it????????????
And Lennie maybe you Should post what she said to show us how she was tried and convicted by you to those of us who don’t do social media. I haven’t read anyone else’s comments that would indicate that they read the Facebook stuff and concurred that her comments were so bad that she should be banned.
Rich, it’s Maria’s position that she left OIB on her own accord. She has her position on what happened, I have mine.
Rich
IT’s none of your business how i found out. The fact of the matter is she’s GONE!
OIB oust The Daughter of Frankenstein???
Where’s the other Superstar of OIB, Little Stevie A, that’s right Mario put the ban on his ass because he was posting during work hours or maybe not but he was the real star, just ask him.
It would appear that the mayor keeps on increasing the dollar value without going to the council OR the council keeps on improving it without going to the public.
Either way that should be recommendation #1.
Or worse yet Guideposts sees nothing wrong with this.
CURFEW UPDATE :
The recent shooting on Seaview Avenue occurred at 7:37 PM. The other recent assault in the news was a stabbing. The street thug‘s have already adjusted to the new curfew. They got the shots in before 8 PM and probably figure using a knife was quieter therefore the police would not respond as fast. Very innovative!!!!
Rich, really, if someone is going to do something illegal a curfew won’t stop them. I’ve noticed you are nothing person who refuse to talk about where these guns are coming from, gangs and drug turf wars, I guess all of that doesn’t happen here.
Obviously You don’t get my sarcasm.
DITTO
C’mon Rich, you know very well how Maria is with her inflated ego and self righteous attitude. Let me try this again Rich for your edification, Lennie have emailed me saying my post is out of line and to cut it out. I had the opportunity to cut it out or continue until I forced him to ban me. I stopped the behavior that caused Lennie consternation. Now we know that Lennie told her to curb her enthusiasm and she chose not to, unlike me who said alright. Maria was given a choice and chose in typical Maria fashion, to be Maria, my way or the highway! Bye!
That’s not the issue I’m making. I’m looking for motive which has NOT really been explained. As I have stated before “with all the shit that’s posted here by all including myself…..” etc etc.
What about the 18 hours difference? How DID Ernie know?
Now it’s only down to “she has her own position and I have mine” Lennie says.
There may be more to come. Unless I’m banned as well. And if I am then people will say hmmmmm.
Think about how many people feel about the DTC, Mario, JG, and all the other……….cohorts . Maria is in a very different position now on the CC. You could say a powerful position if you believe that the actions of the cohorts on the CC could be made public. Like her or not, agree with her or not, she is a zealot when it comes to this stuff. You know the only way they dealt with zealots in history don’t you? They were eliminated. Maria’s voice here, has been eliminated. Hmmmmm.
Rich, you have gotten drunk on Maria’s Kool Aid. What said about Lennie is the same thing that he has told, he’s has post something that I really didn’t like and I told him by email, no hard feeling it’s strictly business. Rich, you can contact Maria on Facebook and asked her about Ernie. Rich, how is Maria in a more powerful position, she has no supporters in her DTC 138th district or on the City Council. Rich you decided to keep your head in the sand and reject what Lennie said and what Don said.
Lol. Ok. My comments are over your head.
Cheers!!
BINGO, because you didn’t say anything.
So Ernie says it’s no of my business how he found out Maria was banned 18 hours before Lennie announced it. Ok. That’s a good answer Ern.