The Southern Brooklyn Democrats have endorsed Green Party candidate James Lane over Brooklyn Democratic Councilman Vincent Gentile in the race for Congress, citing Gentile’s unwillingness to meet with them and Lane being a political outsider.
Posting a statement on Facebook, the club wrote: “Southern Brooklyn Democrats is proud to endorse James Lane in the CD 11 race. Mr. Lane isn’t a career politician; he’s a member of our community who deeply cares about the interests of the people and representing us. It’s long overdue that this district was represented by someone who is ‘by the people, for the people,’ and not some sleazy criminal or party hack. On Tuesday, May 5th, vote James Lane!”
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Asked why they chose Lane over Gentile, club President Jennifer Thorpe-Moscon said, “We don’t blindly endorse whatever candidate the Democratic Party puts forth; we support the best candidate for the position regardless of party.”
She said the club campaigned for Gentile during his last re-election campaign to the City Council but for the congressional campaign, he did not respond to their requests to meet and didn’t return a candidates’ questionnaire.
“James Lane, by contrast, eagerly joined us at a meeting and talked with us for over an hour about issues in our neighborhoods,” she said. “We believe that Mr. Lane is a candidate who cares deeply about his community, and is running to better that community, not to further his own political career.
Good for them. I have a lot of respect and appreciation for any party organization that is willing to consider alternatives. There is nothing in my mind worse than always blindly supporting the party. It reeks of authoritarianism of whichever stripe one happens to find most repugnant.