Harrison discusses rebuilding as new manager Greg Collett looks on
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — At a fundraiser this past Saturday, progressive Democrat Steve Harrison relaunched his campaign to take the seat vacated by disgraced congressman Vito Fossella (NY-13) who has opted not to seek re-election. Harrison announced the replacement of his campaign manager and his field coordinator after controversy at the Democratic County Committee Convention split the Democratic Party on Staten Island. At the fundraiser Harrison introduced Greg Collett and David Hernandez, his new campaign manager and field coordinator, to a group of loyal supporters. Harrison also discussed the “turbulence” in his campaign that led to the replacement of some key personnel.
Harrison’s “turbulence” was directly related to the controversy surrounding the Democratic Committee of Richmond County’s nominating convention held May 28, 2008 on Staten Island. The convention endorsed conservative, pro-war Mike McMahon as the party’s standard bearer in the 2008 congressional race. The convention, however, was most notable, not for its outcome but for its controversial process, or lack thereof. Harrison left the convention vowing to fight on. He will face McMahon in a Democratic primary on September 9, 2008.
At the center of all the controversy is Richmond County Democratic Committee chairman John Gulino.
AT THE CENTER OF THE CONTROVERSY: JOHN GULINO
This isn’t the first time Gulino has been at the center of a controversy. In 1986 the New York Times reported that: “A member of the City Planning Commission, John P. Gulino, represented two developers in acquiring property for multimillion-dollar projects on Staten Island that are subject to approval by the commission or other city agencies, court and city records show.” {1}
Gulino resigned while being investigated by Bruce Fogarty of the NYC Department of Investigation and the United States attorney for the Eastern District. The Koch administration announced the resignation on July 3, 1986.
Recent complaints about Gulino and the convention he chaired include allegations that independent minded committee members, many of whom are members of the Staten Island African-American Political Association, were removed from the County Committee without explanation, or due process, just prior to the convention; in a closed door meeting held prior to the convention McMahon was selected by Gulino making the election a formality; on the convention floor Chairman Gulino refused to allow Harrison to speak despite prior assurances that all candidates would be allowed to address the committee before the vote; there was no secret ballot at the convention which resulted in Harrison supporters feeling pressured to vote for McMahon lest they incur the wrath of Gulino; individuals wearing guest passes voted in the convention, and; chairman Gulino refused to allow a roll call vote to proceed when some committee members called for it.
On May 30, Ahmed Kokon of the Harrison Campaign said, “Before the convention, Steve Harrison spoke personally to Chairman John Gulino and he assured him that he would have a chance to address the committee before the voting began. When Harrison arrived at the convention, Chairman Gulino broke his word and told him that he would not be permitted to do so.”
Kokon also raised the issue of Gulino purging committee members: “When supporters of the campaign informed the committee that they would be voting for Harrison’s nomination, Chairman Gulino removed them from the committee.” {2}
PURGING THE COMMITTEE OF DISSENT?
Democratic County Committee member Sally Jones confirmed the summary removal of committee members.
“There were at least 6 members of the Staten Island African American Political Association who were removed from the County Committee. They were not informed that they were removed until the May Convention, nor were they given any reason for why they were removed. All of these individuals were active in Democratic politics and active in the 2001 campaign of Debi Rose for City Council and the 2004 and 2007 campaign of Kelvin Alexander for Assembly. In my opinion, they were removed because they are independent,” said Jones.
Jones feels that “The most likely scenario is that these individuals were removed by a District Leader who is supporting Tony Baker and who wanted to decrease the support for Debi Rose for the 2009 City Council race. Each committee member is supposed to submit a minimum number of petitions for the County Committee’s slate of candidates and that can be used as a reason to remove an individual from the Committee.”
In addition to the removal of independent committee members, new members, loyal to Gulino were apparently added to the committee before the May convention.
Jones told NLN that, “The Committee gave the County Leader permission to fill vacancies. The new people added to the committee were appointees of the County Leader John Gulino and his supporters. They were expected to vote according to the direction of the County Leader and they did.”
ALLEGATIONS OF VOTING IRREGULARITIES
Harrison campaign volunteer Richard Marini wrote a letter to the editor of the Staten Island Advance complaining that he observed people wearing guest passes voting in the convention:
“I saw non-committee members, wearing guest badges, vote for McMahon. One gentlemen requested a roll-call vote and was denied.” {3}
This was confirmed by Sally Jones said, “The Committee voted by hand and I did see some individuals raise their hands who were wearing guest passes.”
Committee member George Rosquist told NLN that the guests voting was only part of the problem. The lack of a secret ballot meant that some committee members may have felt pressured into voting for McMahon.
“Anyone could vote by just a show of hands either with a guest pass or by taking the pass off just for the purpose to vote undetected. There is no paper trail to recount on a challenge and more important everyone can see how you voted which adds the pressure of repercussions to influence how you vote,” said Rosquist.
When asked why Gulino and the local Democratic Party would engage in this sort of behavior, Jones said, “The leadership of the Staten Island Democratic Party was determined to have a Staten Island elected official be their candidate in this race. In the past, they have not been able to attract an elected official to run for Congress and were satisfied with having low-profile candidates or Brooklynites run. This year they are confident that they will win and they believe in the ‘conventional wisdom’ that their best choice is a Staten Island elected official. Voting for Steve Harrison would have also put them at odds with the Brooklyn County Leader, Vito Lopez, who is not supporting Steve Harrison.”
BACKROOM POLITICS?
Prior to the general committee vote the executive committee formally endorsed Mike McMahon. According to Jones this endorsement was the result of some pre-convention lobbying:
“The decision to select McMahon was not made by the Executive Committee. The decision was reached earlier behind closed doors or in phone calls. I do not know who was privy to these discussions, but it definitely included Michael McMahon and John Gulino. There might have been some tough negotiations in those discussions because McMahon represents a different faction with the County Committee from Gulino’s. When the executive committee finally met they were told who to support by the County Leader. It is understood that in cases like this, if you do not follow the County Leader, you could well lose your position on the Executive Committee.”
Members of the Harrison campaign have complained that McMahon was not vetted – consequently no one knows what his positions are. Jones said that, “The County Leader and others involved in the decision are not particularly concerned about the policy positions of Michael McMahon with regard to the Iraq War, single payer health care [or] energy independence. They know he is a conservative Democrat and are mostly interested in getting the Democratic establishment behind one candidate that they are confident can win in the general election.”
Defenders of Gulino and the convention have argued that there was no need for a roll call vote as the vote was so overwhelming. Harrison supporters have countered by saying that many of those who voted were coerced.
According to Sally Jones, “Several people on the County Committee have jobs in the Board of Elections, at City Hall or in other areas under control of the Democratic Party. These individuals are always concerned about job security when it comes to voting at the County Committee and generally vote according to the direction given by the County Leader.”
Jones said that she did not observe any overt coercion.
George Rosquist said that “There are just over 600 members of the RCDC and nowhere near that many were at that meeting” which is unusual as “the main purpose of that committee [is] to nominate and endorse. There were people of color there but not as many as there are as members and only about 140 votes were cast to endorse Mr. McMahon out of 600 or so members. At the very least were they all properly notified in enough time about the meeting taking place? Why were so many absent?”
“The chair does have authority to name people for consideration to fill vacant seats but that has always, as I understand it, been subject to ratification by a majority vote of the entire membership. That was not done at this last meeting at all,” said Rosquist. “When a 140 people can hijack an entire political party for a Congressional nomination you bet it was rigged. Only the brain dead could say otherwise and expect to be taken seriously. I only hope the voters on Election Day will not let themselves be disenfranchised like this. It’s even worse than Florida in 2000,” he added.
ENTER STEVE HARRISON
In the eye of the storm, holding the progressive line in the middle of the “turbulence”, is Brooklyn attorney and community organizer Steve Harrison — and his supporters. Harrison is not discouraged that the Richmond County Democratic Committee endorsed his rival, noting that in 2006 pundits gave him no chance against a formidable Vito Fossella. Yet he garnered 43 percent of the vote.
“We did it with shoe leather,” said Harrison.
He plans to do it again. With shoe leather and his famous sense of humor.
“Anybody remember a guy by the name of Dominic Recchia?” Harrison asked his supporters at the fundraiser. Jeers and cheers were the response.
Brooklyn Democrat Recchia had wavered for some time – as he considered running against Harrison in a Democratic primary. In the end, he bowed out. Harrison predicts a similar outcome for McMahon whom he will face in a primary on September 9th.
Why?
“He’s running a stealth campaign on the issues,” said Harrison. “But he has been pro-war since 2003.”
In a war weary America, being pro-war is not an asset — even in conservative Staten Island. Harrison also believes that he has an advantage in being very consistent on the issues over the course of several years. He argues that McMahon is known for flip flopping – for being “mealy mouthed”.
“I am absolutely tired of having mealy mouthed Democrats in the U.S. Congress and this year I am tired of having mealy mouthed Democrats in this area,” Harrison said.
Introducing Greg Collett, his new campaign manager, Harrison noted that the turbulence in the county committee had produced turbulence in his campaign. “Laura had to leave because of the arm twisting that took place on Staten Island,” Harrison said of former campaign manager Sword.
Sustained applause greeted Greg Collett – and new field coordinator David Hernandez who replaced outgoing Kevin Caneco.
Collett spoke briefly telling the faithful, “I’m super excited to help Steve manage his campaign. I look forward to working with you all – let’s do this thing!”
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NOTES:
{1} New York Times, February 21, 1986, CITY PANEL MEMBER’S ROLE IN S.I. PROJECTS QUESTIONED By SELWYN RAAB and New York Times, July 4, 1986, S.I. MEMBER OF PLANNING UNIT QUITS AMID INQUIRIES By MICHAEL ORESTES
{2} NY-13 Blog, May 30, 2008, Wednesday Night (Guest post by Ahmed Kokon)
{3} Staten Island Advance, June 9, 2008, Letter To The Editor by Richard Marini
