Monday Links

I'm hoping apathy, name recognition, and some people's unwillingness to vote anything but a straight ticket don't automatically give Al Vann(ished) the vote. It's time for him to retire with some dignity. He's been phoning it in for years, and is no longer a fighter for his constituents. People in Bed Stuy don't see him doing much lately, and people in Crown Heights are extremely disappointed that he has never thrown his office or himself into the fight to prevent the intake center from coming to the Bed Atlantic armory. He was a very conspicuous no-show at the largest rally held last year, at which every other politician in the affected area, and some from other parts of Bklyn managed to appear at, and speak. Aside from the armory, Al seems to have forgotten that he represents half of Crown Heights, much more than Tish James does, and she is at every rally, every event, and lobbies at the City Council for our concerns.

I think he was once a prominant fighter for our areas. But he's been in gov't too long, got too rich and comfortable and used to power, and should have passed the torch, as he had planned to do, when termed out this year. While he hasn't been around to vote for a lot of things in the City Council, he did vote to overturn term limits. I hope the voters of Bed Stuy and Crown Heights North elect Mark Giffiths tomorrow.

Gotta say, I've seen more of him in the past month than I've seen in the past 10 years.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at November 2, 2009 11:23 AM