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March 30, 2009

A Third Candidate Enters District 35 Council Race

medhanie-campaign-033009.jpgDelia Hunley-Adossa's not the only one gunning for Tish James' City Council seat in the 35th District. The latest challenger is a man named Medhanie Estiphanos and, despite a loquacious introductory blog post on his website Change35.com, we can't tell you a whole lot about him other than that he grew up in Asmara Eritrea and made his way with his family to San Diego. (As a commenter points out, his bio was in a tab on the side of the page: He's a financial consultant with a background as a teacher and housing policy and administration in Los Angeles.) The rest of the verbiage is pulled from the early Obama playbook of sweeping generalizations and calls for change. At the very least, his entry into the race adds a little gender diversity to the all African-American race.
Medhanie's Announcement [Change35]
A New 35th District Candidate [AY Report]




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:00 AM | Comments (15)
Categories: Politics

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BUT... does he have a history of violence or blatant corruption? I've come to expect this on my ballot -- and if this guy is just a regular ol' upstanding citizen without any "spice," I want nothing to do with him!

Posted by: tybur6 at March 30, 2009 10:11 AM

The next few months should be interesting. Hopefully at least one of these two are viable, because Tish is a disaster and has got to go. In any event, I'll be voting for her opposition regardless...I think the changing demographics of the neighborhood are probably going to work against Tish anyway

Posted by: FtGreeneCorey at March 30, 2009 10:39 AM

When will District 35 get a real candidate and not some developers tool or a front for organized labor?

Not a fan of any of these people. Bring on someone who is actually able to shapared the significant issues affecting the district.

BTW- brownstoner is still a lazy researcher. The guy's full bio is on the "about" page for this candidate. Apparently he is currently a financial consultant for a "leading" consulting firm. That obfuscation probably means someone has just been indited.

http://www.change35.com/?page_id=2

More journalism please! Pick up the phone and call the guy Brownstoner. You say want "better" traffic and comments? How about you try to pick up the pace and bring something more to the table besides pictures of half finished buildings and snarky comments about recessed lighting. Maybe he is legit, but this post makes me suspicious. I'm sure he'd grant an interview - he needs the press. Call him and ask for comment.

Posted by: Knickerbocker at March 30, 2009 10:56 AM


I'd vote for absolutely anybody instead of Tish James.

Posted by: IronBalls at March 30, 2009 11:15 AM

Knick', what is that verb in the second paragraph? I thought I had a pretty good vocabulary but you stumped me. That said, like you, I am "Not a fan of any of these people."

The more people (with limited name recognition and resources) who enter the race, the more likely the incumbent will be re-elected.

And can we leave Norman Odor (sic) and Steve (Dim)Witt out of this discourse? I respect them less than the three candidates (so far).

Posted by: altervoce at March 30, 2009 12:25 PM

altervoce: I meant to write "shepard". How I ended up with the typo "shapared" is unknown to me too.

By that I meant that there are some monumental issues currently affecting district 35 (my district) and the current candidates all appear to be focused on representing a single interest group, not all the voters in the area. But my knowledge of the candidates is admittedly weak, so I am not trying to give the impression that I have done moy homework.

However, that is why I come to this website, and I don't think it's utopian to expect a little more out of Brownstoner when it comes to reporting election issues.

How about it Brownstoner? Did you call anyone in this campaign and ask for comment on the current status of AY? Flatbush/Myrle Ave development? Fulton St? LDC issues? More Edward Murrow and less Martha Stewart, please!

Posted by: Knickerbocker at March 30, 2009 1:23 PM

Other than Norman Oder, who can be expected to do in-depth, original reporting on this race? Perhaps you'll get some from the New York Times Fort Greene blog.

Posted by: SteveFtGreene at March 30, 2009 1:53 PM

I don't get the anti-Tish James sentiment. I don't live in her district but, from afar, it looks like she's been doing a great job for her constituents. From what I can see, she jumps out on the issues, shows up at community meetings, is present for votes in the council,and consistently advocates the positions she ran on as a candidate. Seems like no surprises or . . . what you see is what you get.

Honest question for all who have a problem with the councilwoman: Can you be more specific about what it is you don't like about her representation? And, btw,Ftgreenecorey what is meant by the "changing demographics of the neighborhood are probably going to work against Tish anyway"? Or am I not supposed to interpret that as race and/or class-based code? Please explain.

Posted by: Brooklynista at March 30, 2009 2:10 PM

Well, it ain't race based because I'm black, but maybe (non-code) class based if you want to go down that road. In my opinion, Tish has also been a staunch advocate for the lower income families in the hood, which is great, because the needs of the lower and working class are rarely (if ever) represented on the council level. At the same time, I think she has done a piss poor job in addressing the concerns of the middle class families (black, white, asian whatever) that now represent the majority of her district. For example, the middle class family consitutiency has been going ABSOLUTELY NUTS over the recent uptick in brazen violence in the hood (the chopped up body in Ft. Greene Park, the shooting deaths in the salon on Fulton, the early morning rape of the nurse and countless muggings) and yet barely a peep out of Tish. To be fair, she's probably smart to avoid the subject because there's a definite undercurrent (hush hush talk in the restaruants bars and shops in the hood) that there's a correlation between repopulation of Ingersoll, Whitman, etc. and the crime uptick. Nobody (including Tish) wants to touch the subject with a 10 foot pole in public (because it ain't PC to say, and there ain't no way to quantify it anyway).

Posted by: FtGreeneCorey at March 30, 2009 3:02 PM

I agree with Brooklynista. Tish represents only a couple of blocks of Crown Heights, yet she consistantly shows up at our events, meetings, rallies, etc. She is at the forefront of the fight against the Armory becoming the intake center for all of the city's homeless, and is out there for her constituents, of all classes and races. We see her much more than we see Al Vann, who is our city council person. He sends his people, she shows up herself.

She can only do so much. There are other politicians representing Clinton Hill, where are they regarding crime, and other issues? I think Tish has done a great job, in a thankless job.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at March 30, 2009 4:33 PM

Thanks, Corey for backing up your pov with some real particulars. That's really all I was asking for and I appreciate your response! Look,I hear what you're saying about the uptick in crime. (Although, when you mentioned that hush hush talk going on about the projects,I immediately got this throw-back image of the colonialists whispering and wondering about the meaning of them injun campfires.) :) But I'm just not so sure what Tish is supposed to do about the crime uptick other than to go on some type of "law and order" type of publicity campaign. And, since traditional wisdom says that crime increases as the economy weakens, and since there seems to be reported increase in crime in areas considered to be even more "prime' than FG/CH, one would think there would be a rise in vigilante politics all over the City. I'm not seeing that and, FWIW, I sure hope I don't! I guess that's because I'm one of those PC type people who thinks that crime and criminals are the symptom, not the root, of what ails us all.

Posted by: Brooklynista at March 30, 2009 4:41 PM

Okay, Brooklynista, I'll bite. Here's an illustration, using a recent statement, of why I am not a fan of Councilwoman James.

Quote from the councilwoman's March 18 press release regarding funds paid by the federally-rescued AIG to Barclays Bank, which has (a contract to) purchase(d) the naming rights to the arena planned by Forest City Ratner (FCR):

"Here we have a private bank trying to use taxpayer money to put their name all over a privately-held sports arena. That is clearly not what President Obama intended the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to accomplish. TARP is supposed to get banks lending to small businesses and homeowners, not to bail out a billionaire and his stalled mega-development,” said Council Member James."

Well, no. Here we have a bank that, due to financial dealings with AIG, was eligible to receive compensation from the American company, which had received federal bail-out money. Neither company was required to cease all advertising/marketing as a condition of receiving the money and that is all naming rights are--marketing. And Barclays isn't 'bailing out a billionaire,' as if Barcalys bought the naming rights because FCR was looking a little light in the pocket. Not to mention the fact that Barclays did the deal long before it received any TARP money, so the naming rights fee isn't taxpayer money.

I absolutely defend Tish's right to oppose the arena and the Atlantic Yards project in general, but this whole rhetorical gambit is bulls#it, and she knows it is bull#it. I hate having my intelligence insulted this way. There are only 51 city councilmembers; everyone of them has to count.

Posted by: altervoce at March 30, 2009 7:07 PM

Hey Altervoce, thanks to you as well for giving me something specific to chew on. Unfortunately, when it comes to economics though, I gotta tell you that we won't have a very long discussion. That's just not an area I know a whole lot about and I won't waste both our time trying to go there. So, for sake of argument, let's say you nailed it. On the Barclay's Bank-AIG-AY thing, councilwoman got caught talking some bs!

Even so, it seems to me that the essence of your gripe is that Tish James is a rhetorician who insults your intelligence. Well, gee. Isn't ability to spout rhetoric one of the key criteria for being a good politician? Shoot, I've never known of a politician, at least not a successful one, who didn't spend a great deal of time spouting rhetoric. I've also never known a single politician, btw (even the ones I've wholeheartedly supported-- like our new president)who at some point didn't insult my intelligence.

No, from what I can see, the real problem with Tish James that has been identified by her detractors so far is that she's just not spouting the right kind of rhetoric. So, for Ftgreenecorey, the councilwoman is not putting out enough rhetoric about street crime. And for you, altervoce, she's putting out way too much rhetoric about white collar crime. Hmmmmm! What a dilemma for the self-professed people's politician of FG/CH!:)

Posted by: Brooklynista at March 30, 2009 8:58 PM

Well, there's spouting rhetoric and then their is falsely manipulating facts to pander to poorly informed populists. Its not about volume; it's about truth. If you're saying that all politicians lie, then you'll get along great with my mom. I for one don't find it inevitable and don't make excuses for it when it does occur.

Posted by: altervoce at March 31, 2009 9:14 AM

Dear Brownstoner:

I would be happy to talk with you and provide the details of my positions. Please feel free to contact me directly. Below is the link to the contact page of our website.

http://www.change35.com/?page_id=17

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,
Medhanie

Posted by: medhanie2009 at April 2, 2009 9:42 AM

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