For those of you steeped in Grand Street politics, this will come as no surprise. For everyone else, here are two minutes from NY1 that might open your eyes:
There are important local issues to fight for in this campaign: traffic mitigation, more reliable public transportation, and improved public schools. And local Democrats are looking for ways to engage directly local elected officials, so that we can impact decisions made in City Hall, Albany, and Washington.
But part of this campaign is also about wiping the neighborhood clean of disgraced former assemblyman Sheldon Silver and his allies. As Lee Berman says in this report, “What we are trying to do is fight against the Truman Democratic Club, which is a machine that has been in power for 40-plus years. It is ostensibly controlled by Judy Rapfogel, Shelly’s former chief of staff.”
Reporter Zack Fink rightly calls Rapfogel “Silver’s enforcer and gatekeeper in Albany” and reminds viewers that “her husband, Willie Rapfogel, was convicted of stealing millions of dollars from a Jewish charity, and served nearly three years in prison.”
We’ll say it again: Grand Street needs new Democratic leadership.
