D.I.D. elections Sean Sweeney and his allies swept the Downtown Independent Democrats’ election a month after rumblings of newer club members threatened to unseat him.
Sweeney, a longtime club member and the incumbent president, won reelection over Ian Dutton, former vice president, 35 to 21.
Sweeney told UnderCover he wasn’t surprised by his win because of his history of improving the club and its finances. He did promise, though, to make several changes requested by his opponents in the weeks leading up to the election: The club will now have regularly scheduled meetings with advance notice, and Sweeney will involve club members more in the day-to-day workings.
Jim Stratton, one of D.I.D.’s founders, won re-election to the top vice president spot with 44 votes. Marc Ameruso and Pat Moore, two Community Board 1 members, fought for the remaining veep seat, and Ameruso won 33 to 29. Moore tried to challenge Sweeney for the presidency at an aborted D.I.D. election last month, but she later decided to run for vice president instead.
Moore’s loss may be bad news for her ally, Community Board 1 chairperson Julie Menin, who hopes to get D.I.D.’s endorsement in an expected run for City Council next year. Ameruso and another winner, Julie Nadel, are widely seen as “anti-Meninites.”
In the final contest, Nadel bested incumbent Shea Hovey for treasurer, 30 to 26. Hovey is Dutton’s wife.
Hillary love Speaking of Downtown Democrats, three diehard Hillary fans got an up-close view of her nationally televised non-concession speech June 3.
Jean Grillo, Catherine McVay Hughes and Linda Belfer joined hundreds of Clinton supporters in Baruch College gym on the night when Barack Obama clinched the nomination. Clinton, coming off a win that day in South Dakota, was not about to concede.
“The feeling in the room was just this total outpouring of love and affection,” Grillo told UnderCover. “There was a great deal of happiness in the room. People just felt, ‘Wow, look what we accomplished.’”
For Hughes, the choice to support Clinton was easy since she had worked closely with Clinton on 9/11 health issues.
Hughes hopes Obama will take the time to visit the Downtown community and learn about the continuing effects of 9/11.
“We’ll give him a tour if he comes to Lower Manhattan,” she promised, laughing.
Connor surprise State Sen. Martin Connor won a surprising club endorsement last week after his surprising loss at Downtown Independent Democrats the week before. Connor beat out Daniel Squadron for the nod from Lamda Independent Democrats, Brooklyn’s L.G.B.T. club.
Squadron had appeared to be a shoe-in after Dan Tietz, a former LID president, launched a successful campaign to get the only gay potential Democratic candidate, Ken Diamondstone, out of the race. Tietz went public with his thoughts that Diamondstone could only be a Squadron spoiler ensuring Connor’s reelection in the district, which includes Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. Diamonstone announced he would not run soon after Tietz went public.
The stage seemed to be set for Squadron, but as it turned out Tietz couldn’t keep the lid on LID. Tietz declined to comment.
Board Feathers Community Board 1’s Tribeca Committee has a new co-chairperson in Peter Braus, a partner at Sierra Realty Corp. who is raising eyebrows.
Julie Menin, chairperson of the board, last month appointed Braus, a father of two young children, to make sure young families are represented on the committee.
But Braus’s appointment ruffled a few feathers, to the point where several committee members dug up Braus’s attendance records and circulated them, claiming he has too poor a record to deserve a leadership position.
Menin explained that Braus was mistakenly listed as being on extra committees. For the record, look for Braus at Tribeca and W.T.C. meetings, not Youth and Ed or Planning.
“I asked him if he had time, and he said he absolutely does,” Menin told UnderCover. “I take him at his word.”
Menin called the complaints against Braus “a case of sour grapes.”
Julie Nadel, a Tribeca Committee member and one of the few members willing to make her criticisms public, thought Braus was rushing the agenda at last month’s meeting, even though chairperson Carole DeSaram already moves through items quickly.
“I don’t know how much faster you can run a meeting,” Nadel said. “Democracy takes time.”
Braus didn’t interrupt at this month’s committee meeting, but he left after 45 minutes — before the board had made a dent in the hefty agenda.
