Now, if the actions of the voters in this past primary/special election are any indication of the sentiments of Brooklyn Republicans, the desire for genuine improvement over stagnation and failure is the first order of business.  And while the ideological gap between the increasingly younger, anti-”cradle-to-grave” electorate and the party establishment is stark, it is not insurmountable.

Brooklyn Young Republican Club President Glenn Nocera signing into vote for himself and his sister Donna Nocera for the Republican County Committee race in the 44th AD 57th ED . Sept 13, 2011

After all, on Tuesday, September 13th, voters showed, once again, that not only are they maintaining an anti-establishment posture, but they are rebuffing hostile attempts by the party establishment to purge Brooklyn of its young, independent Republican reformers.

In the most talked about upset from that day, we know that businessman Republican Bob Turner beat Democrat David Weprin by an impressive margin in the contest to decide who was going to represent the 9th Congressional District, or the so-called “Anthony Weiner” seat.

Weprin, backed by just about every Democratic establishment figure–including the Brooklyn Republican Party’s best buddy, Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Vito Lopez, was clearly recognized as an unqualified supporter of the Obama and Washington Democrats’ agenda.  The people are fed up with their awkwardly executed and catastrophically unsuccessful agenda for years now.  And so, the voters made it resoundingly clear that they were not going to send more of the same to Congress anymore.

The Brooklyn Young Republican Club, having participated in and analyzed Turner’s performance in 2010, knew from the start that he was a solid candidate.  That’s why our organization was the first in Brooklyn to host a fundraiser for Turner’s special election, donating $1,000 in support of his candidacy, and devoting tremendous time and effort in support of his election.

However, while good Young Republicans and young Republican-leaning voters of all affiliations were helping to send one more voice of reason and reform to Washington, the Brooklyn Republican Party establishment dedicated itself, yet again, to its antiquated Republican-eat-Republican agenda.  In fact, key operatives linked to the Turner campaign had been internally bemoaning the severely underwhelming support from the Brooklyn Republican Party leadership throughout the campaign.

That’s because, as usual, resources were diverted instead to intraparty warfare, just like in the 13th Congressional District primary last year.  Fortunately, whenever the current Brooklyn Republican Party establishment undertakes just about any political initiative, they are about as successful as Obama’s Hope and Change agenda.

For instance, Brooklyn Young Republican Club President Glenn P. Nocera was challenged for his county committee seat in the 44th Assembly District of Kensington, Brooklyn by Republican Chairman Craig Eaton and his hack minions. His leadership as a Young Republican activist and reformer apparently warranted that the Republican Party spend a tremendous amount of donor money on hit-piece mailings against fellow Republican Nocera in favor of candidates who didn’t even live within the same district!

As a testament to well over a decade of dedication to Republican principles and promoting its message of limited government, the Republican voters of Glenn’s district sent a clear response of “Back off and shut up!” to the establishment with an astounding vote of 23-1!

Meanwhile, in the establishment’s favorite battleground district, the 49th Assembly District, which consists largely of Bensonhurst, Borough Park and Bath Beach, the establishment yet again failed to silence the independent Republican voices that have repeatedly called out for reform and improvement within our party.  This was despite multiple, vicious, and expensive hit-piece mailings as well as cadres of county minions on the ground.  In response to the establishment’s hate-filled invective against fellow Republicans, 49th AD Republicans broadly supported Lucretia Regina-Potter and running mate Michael Bennette for the State Committee Member/District Leader positions over their establishment-backed opponents.

Establishment figures like Eaton think they wield the power to summarily replace hard-working, known Republican activist leaders with individuals whose only qualification to serve is fealty to the Chairman (and usually under the threat of removal from a patronage job).  Not only, in fact, is his imprimatur a veritable political Do-Not-Resuscitate for most campaigns–at best, but it only goes to show what the priorities are of the Brooklyn Republican Party under its current administration: cartel-style eradication of all voices of reform from within.

Since 2007, the current administration of the party has solely devoted its resources to engaging in political fratricide.  In doing so, they have completely left stranded a public desperately searching for any refuge of integrity and ingenuity.  There are genuine but completely missed opportunities for real leadership and solutions to government’s financial problems, practical solutions for alleviating the burdens on our economy that stifle growth and prosperity, and providing real reforms to the crisis of the debt-saddled young professional trying to get their start that is plaguing our generation.

And yet, tonight, when the members of that truly august body of career poll workers, Board of Elections employees, and superannuated intraparty warlords convene, I regrettably can only expect the status quo to continue for another two years.

In that case, over the next two years, however, I also expect the gap will further deepen and widen between the handful of Republican oligarchs and the growing young electorate that–Republican or not–is siding more and more with policies that favor limited government, greater personal and economic freedom, and intelligent, pragmatic policies and reforms to get us back on track–just about everything the Republican Party in Brooklyn right now is not.

But just like the cases of Turner, Nocera, Regina-Potter and Bennette, the only ones with the power to bridge this gap are you, the young (and preferably Republican) voters of Brooklyn.

As we move forward, we must fight to put the right people in the leadership of the Republican Party and public office, and, more importantly, cultivate leaders amongst ourselves on the right social, economic and political principles.  Through these efforts, we, together, can build the bridges we need to close the gap that separates the public’s will from effective action in order to accomplish finally what those “leaders” who have fallen abysmally short in conviction and integrity cannot.

Jonathan J. Judge is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club.

“I thank Congressman Price for the honor of chairing the Republican Policy Committee’s Task Force on Foreign Policy,” said Rep. Grimm. “I represent a diverse district and my constituents hail from a variety of countries around the world. I am proud to represent their interests as well as the interests of the United States in a legislative capacity in Congress.”

“Congressman Grimm will be an invaluable part of our team and a knowledgeable voice on foreign policy,” said Chairman Price.  “As we are often reminded, the interests and security of the United States can be aided or threatened by the actions and activities of other countries. It is vital we remain vigilant and informed on those issues, and I appreciate Congressman Grimm serving the Policy Committee in that capacity.”

Congressman Grimm is a freshman member of Congress who has also recently been named a co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus. He has spent a significant amount of time in the Middle East while serving in combat as a United States Marine during Operation Desert Storm.

Congressman-elect Michael Grimm, New York City’s sole contribution to the GOP revolution that swept the House last week, said his election sends a message to the White House: The people want smaller government and less spending.

“The power is still with the people — and if you do not listen, we will fire you,” said Grimm, whose upset victory knocked out popular, longtime Democratic legislator Michael McMahon, who represents Staten Island and part of Brooklyn.

“People have been saying stop spending, and the administration hasn’t been listening.”

While he called his triumph a “referendum on this entire liberal administration,” he said it’s also important for the GOP to take note.

“The Republicans have to learn from this to listen and do what they say they are going to do,” he said.

Read the rest here.

Congressman Michael Grimm and BYR Treasurer Glenn Nocera

Michael Grimm’s election in the 13th Congressional District on November 2, 2010 was a showcase of fine Republicanism and grassroots activism. This was the target race in all of New York City, if not New York State. What made Grimm’s campaign important was that he was part of the Republican insurgency of the House of Representatives to defeat Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi and introduce a different breed of conservatism in Congress. The seat, formerly held by Michael McMahon, is strategic to conservatives in New York. Why? Because it covers vital Republican strongholds located in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. The location was the decisive factor in helping Michael Grimm get elected, which included Brooklyn Young Republicans who, by pounding pavement, helped spread the word.

Michael Grimm’s election, however, was one of the very few Republican victories in Brooklyn. While he and Nicole Malliotakis claimed victory Tuesday night in large part due to many Republican votes from the larger Staten Island portions of their districts, other Brooklyn Republicans went back to their homes to no avail. Phyllis Carbo lost with only 34% of the vote in the 47th Assembly District.  Brian Doherty lost with 38% in the 48th AD.  Peter Cipriano also lost with 38% in the 49th AD.

The 58th and 59th Assembly Districts had no Republican candidates running.

And, my favorite: the 46th Assembly District attempted to run a Republican Candidate against Alec Brook-Krasny, but was swiftly knocked off the ballot and Brook-Krasny ran essentially unopposed. Needless to say, those District Leaders in the 46th have some explaining to do.

The numbers can be upsetting.  After all, Republicans do have a lot to offer to New York City and to Albany. Free markets, low taxes, a revamped welfare system, and transparency all contribute to good government. But with election numbers this low in Brooklyn in one of the best years for Republicans in quite some time, a few things come to question.

1) How does the Chairman allow Democrats to run unopposed in districts, especially Democratic Chair Vito Lopez’s handpicked State Supreme Court judge nominees (whom Brooklyn Republicans always cross-endorse)? Republicans are some of the best and brightest in the borough. The question begs, why is there no effort being made to tap into and cultivate a Republican intelligencia?

2) The 46th AD leadership is weak. Not running a candidate is one thing, but dropping a candidate off the ballot is another. With the fervent anti-incumbency feel running rampant throughout the country, District Leaders Clorinda Annarummo and Simon Shamoun had the opportunity to surgically remove a career politician. The question begs, why didn’t they?

3) The low voter turnouts, lackluster campaigns and candidacies, and low vote percentages are unacceptable. For far too long, the Republican Party has been receiving far too few votes in virtually any election. The question begs, why is the Chairman doing nothing to change this?

And so, the question ultimately begs, what are Brooklyn Young Republicans willing to do to fix this?

On Tuesday, Michael Grimm beat his opponent Michael McMahon, 51.5% to 47.8%. With the resurgence of Republicans in the House, we’re looking forward to seeing Michael Grimm lead the charge in Washington. Congrats, Mike!

In what has become a “toss-up” race now from a 61% Democrat win for Mike McMahon in 2008, Mike Grimm and the Brooklyn Young Republicans have been working hard with Brooklyn campaign manager Joe Kovac to bring the 13th Congressional District back to the Republican column.

Brooklyn YRs will be working with the campaign all the way to Election Day to ensure victory for Republican principles in the United States House of Representatives from the 13th Congressional District!

Michael Grimm, known as "Mikey Suits" to mobsters when he was an FBI undercover agent, is seeking to reclaim Staten Island congressional seat for Republican Party.

Republican House hopeful Michael Grimm is battling Democratic Rep. Michael McMahon without the backing of the borough’s GOP leaders.

Old grudges are trumping party loyalty, even as Republicans scramble to reclaim control of the House of Representatives.

Read the rest here.

(THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IS EXCLUSIVELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR AND DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THAT OF THE BROOKLYN YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB OR ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION.)

It was the crown jewel of New York City’s Republican Party.  The 13th Congressional District, which covers Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, had been held by many notable center-right Republicans, like Guy and Susan Molinari.

In 2008, its last occupant, Vito Fossella, regrettably stepped down after a number of personal issues came to light that would have undoubtedly interfered with his ability to perform his public duties.

And so, the crown jewel was captured by a Democrat, then-City Council Member Michael McMahon, after an embarrassingly botched and superbly lackluster effort by Republicans to retain the seat.

It’s 2010, and the political world in New York from just two years ago is vastly different.  However, the makings of the upcoming September 14th primary election have proven that, regrettably, not much has changed in the bizarro world of Brooklyn and Staten Island Republican politics.

It’s time to give the bums, inside our party as well as in Washington, D.C., a pink slip, and show them that there are Republicans who can do much better.

While I personally have informed people that I had no intention of picking any particular side in this primary election, recent events have compelled me to do so for the good of the Republican Party.

That’s why I am endorsing Mike Grimm for the 13th Congressional District Primary Election on September 14, 2010.  He has clearly distinguished himself as the right person and the best person to represent the Republican platform to voters in the November 2nd General Election.

Mike has a long and renowned career in public service as a decorated war hero of the Persian Gulf Conflict, a former undercover FBI agent fighting organized crime, and, following that, as a lawyer and local entrepreneur.  He has the backing of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senator John McCain, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Iraq Veterans for Congress, Combat Veterans for Congress and a variety of grassroots Republican organizations in Staten Island and Brooklyn.

Mike’s positions on the issues ranging from the economy to national security demonstrate a concerted and serious effort to understand what’s wrong and how to fix it.  Plus, his experience serving the public in the Federal government has given him the expertise necessary to figure out how best to strengthen our national security and law enforcement policies.  On the economy, as an entrepreneur, Grimm is a trusted vote for economic policies that will encourage growth for small businesses, job creation and opportunities for young people in this economy without saddling us with higher taxes and more expensive government programs.

Beyond all that, he has been composed, calm, and positive throughout his campaign while remaining strong on the issues.  Meanwhile, he’s been fighting against the same old political tactics from the failed Republican establishment leaders that have, for instance, in my presence, expressed how “nice of a guy” Democratic Congressman Michael McMahon is, even though his first vote in the new Congress would be to keep Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House.

In the interest of transparency, his primary opponent is Michael Allegretti.  Allegretti, whose family founded Bayside Oil in the 1930′s, is a Brooklyn-born-and-raised political operative out of the State Senator Marty Golden Republican camp, having served as a staffer for Golden before working as one of Mayor Bloomberg’s Host Committee organizers for the Republican National Convention in 2004.  After that, he attended the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where he specialized in environmental policy.  Then he started working for the Partnership for New York City, a non-profit that focused much of its energies to pass Mayor Bloomberg’s failed congestion pricing tax plan in 2007 and 2008.  He later on went to work for the Climate Group, a environmental lobbyist group, trotting the world in support of a variety of policies designed to fight climate change, like cap and trade.  Allegretti has the backing of the Brooklyn and Staten Island Republican Party establishments.

Allegretti, someone who I have considered a friend (as we have known each other for a couple of years in Republican circles), has chosen to take a very unfortunate and destructive path to win this primary.

In a recent debate on NY1, Allegretti spent more time nitpicking one of Grimm’s military photos over what medals he was properly awarded than articulating how he would work with Republicans in Congress to fight for principled reform in Washington.  When the conversation did turn briefly to policy, they disagree on almost nothing.

He has also released an ad that has shamelessly prostituted his Italian surname in a last-ditch effort to convince the district’s largely Republican Italian-American voters to blindly vote for another “paisan”.  Of course, Grimm, too, is of Italian descent (Castronova is his mother’s maiden name), but his last name does not readily reveal this.  So not only is this ad misleading about his opponent in context, but this disregard for the intellect of Italian American voters, speaking as a paisan myself, is, at best, disrespectful and unbecoming of a serious Republican candidate.

Not only do these tactics call into question his fitness for public office, but it is emblematic of the worst sort of Gerry O’Brien-esque politics of personal destruction that have come to typify the Brooklyn Republican Party under its current administration.  There’s no more room for that in our party.  Period.

Not to mention it will do nothing to help him defeat Democrat Michael McMahon in November.

That’s why voting for Mike Grimm this September 14th will help bring our great New York Republican Party back on track by putting our best foot forward in the 13th District.

Jonathan J. Judge is the President of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club.

Source: Harold Egeln / Brooklyn Daily Eagle

SOUTHWEST BROOKLYN — As the controversy over Arizona’s new law to fight illegal immigration entered a new phase on Tuesday with the U.S. Justice Department filing suit against the state, the furor over the issue erupted at a Brooklyn meeting and in a congressional campaign.

The topic reached fever pitch when a public discussion of issues involving alleged illegal immigrants — such as Mexicans supposedly getting first preference over native-born Americans in Brooklyn’s hospital emergency rooms and packing Bensonhurst tenements — took place at a recent town hall meeting held by state Sen. Marty Golden.

“Arizona! Arizona!” chanted some people in the audience of about 200 people at the meeting held at St. Finbar’s Church Center in Bath Beach. Arizona’s action is viewed by critics as unfairly targeting Hispanics, violating civil liberties and smacking of racial profiling.

While several applauded the “Arizona!” call, others sat in shocked silence. Without the senator there (he was in Albany taking part in budget negotiations) and only city agency representatives presiding, there was no response given.

Among those in the auditorium were two Republican candidates, Michael Allegretti and Michael Grimm, vying for the 13th Congressional District post now held by freshman Congressman Michael McMahon, a centrist Democrat. McMahon’s seat is targeted as vulnerable by the National Republican Party.

Read the rest here.