Disappointed? Yes! Regretful? No! The Day After The Primaries

Last night, with the Skaller Campaign

A very tired, but ever gracious, Josh Skaller

Josh Skaller with his campaign manager, Chris Owens

Josh Skaller addressing his volunteers

Kelly Skaller with baby Selah

The Day After The 39th District Primaries

First, let me say that I am of course disappointed that Josh Skaller did not win in the democratic primaries last night, as you no doubt already know. But in no way am I regretful for supporting his candidacy. And after spending last evening with him, after listening to the speech he gave to his very tired (and sunburned) campaign volunteers, I am more convinced than ever that he was the right man to represent us in the City Council.
It has been my incredible pleasure to get to know Josh. He ran his campaign with honesty, grace and clarity. He motivated his volunteers with his clear, unwavering message that our neighborhoods belong to us and that the City Council has to represent its citizens, not special interests.
I hope that Josh will continue to be a strong voice for change. We need him, be it in the fight against Atlantic Yards, in the fight for the Gowanus Canal Superfund designation or in the fight to preserve our brownstone neighborhoods.

To all of you friends and readers, some of whom I got to meet personally yesterday, thank you for taking the time to listen to my impassioned speeches about Josh. And most importantly,
thank you for supporting and voting Josh.

And to Josh, his lovely wife and children, I hope you get some rest, spend some time together as a family and then...plan the next campaign.

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Today Is The Day: Please Vote In The Primaries...And For Josh!

On the left, Josh Skaller, 39th District Council Candidate.
On the right, my husband and Josh supporter, Glenn Kelly.

Local residents and just a few of the hard working Josh Skaller supporters

From Left to Right:
Triada Samaras, Laura Edidin, Glenn Kelly, Marlene Donnelly, June Negrycz, Rita Miller

Dear Reader,

Today, I will not be posting, but I promise, I will be back to covering our neighborhood tomorrow.
You see, I will be leaving my house by 6 AM to hand out literature at the various polling places around Carroll Gardens.

As I mentioned on this blog before, I have the tremendous pleasure of belonging to a group of very active community members from Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and the Columbia Waterfront. For weeks now, we have volunteered our time to get Josh Skaller elected as our next NYC Council member. We have worked tirelessly to bring Josh's message to our friends and neighbors. It has been a truly exhilarating experience, one which has taught all of us so much about fighting for better representation, for our brownstone neighborhoods and for our kids.We have been inspired by Josh and by his clear vision that communities like ours are worth protecting and that we, as residents, should have a say about shaping this community's future.
After working alongside the candidate over these many months, we are more convinced than ever that Josh Skaller is the best person to represent us and our neighborhoods.

We hope you think so, too!

Today is Primary Day.
Please Vote!

Related Reading:

Why We Support Josh Skaller And Why You Should, Too!

Josh Skaller Is The One!



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Why We Support Josh Skaller And Why You Should, Too!

Dear Neighbors,

As you know, the Gowanus Canal right here in our backyard has been polluted for longer than anyone can remember.

As members of the Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development (CG CORD) and the Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus (FROGG), we have worked hard to clean up the Canal that flows through our neighborhood.

For decades, the city has sat on its hands while Brooklynites who live along the Canal’s banks dealt with the horrible health hazards caused by a toxic waterway.

To clean the Canal at long last, we will need action. Only one leader has shown guts, knowledge and courage to take this action.

That leader is Josh Skaller. And that is why we are asking you to vote for Josh Skaller for City Council on September 15.

Josh Skaller was the first candidate in this race to support an EPA Superfund designation of the Gowanus Canal.

An EPA Superfund is the best way to get the Canal cleaned up at long last. It would give the federal government the authority to make a cleanup happen. It would hold the area to real standards, so that developers aren’t allowed to build condos on dangerously toxic land. In short, it’s a real plan for a real cleanup.

The EPA Superfund puts health and the envirnoment as it primary goals, while the alternative plans make the developer's bottom line the primary goal.

Josh Skaller stuck his neck out in support of the Superfund, while his opponents stayed silent. That should come as no surprise – Josh has always been willing to take risks for what he believes in.

Other candidates have accepted money from developers – the people who would like to make money by building on the banks of the Canal, with little concern over the grave health concerns. Josh has not accepted a dollar from developers – and he never will. Josh is committed to the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens and Gowanus, not the people who want to make a buck at our expense.

Our neighborhood has been plagued by the infamous Gowanus Canal for too long. We need a leader who will clean it up – and who will get it done right. We need Josh Skaller on the City Council.

Regards,

MARLENE DONNELLY, Carroll Gardens
GLENN KELLY, Carroll Gardens
GERRY MILLER, Carroll Gardens
RITA MILLER, Carroll Gardens
TRIADA SAMARAS, Carroll Gardens

As Well As:

VINCE JOSEPH, Carroll Gardens
MARY HEDGE, Carroll Gardens
ELISABETH LIND, Columbia Waterfront
LUCIE DeCARLO, Carroll Gardens
STEVEN MILLER, Carroll Gardens
KATIA KELLY, Carroll Gardens
MARYANN YOUNG, Carroll Gardens
JUNE NEGRYCZ, Cobble Hill
KEVIN DUFFY-ACEVEDO, Carroll Gardens
JACQUELINE RAQUE, Carroll Gardens
CHRIS MUTH, Carroll Gardens

For More Info On Josh, Go To: www.skaller09.com

And Don't Forget To Vote In TOMORROW's Primary

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A Message From C.O.R.D.: "Why We Need Josh Skaller Now"

My friends at the Carroll Gardens Coalition For Respectful Development just published this well reasoned post below on their blog. With their permission,I am reprinting, because I could not agree more with their assessment. I hope, dear Reader, that you will take a moment to read it and most importantly, that you vote in Tuesday's primary.

From The C.O.R.D. Blog

WHY WE NEED JOSH SKALLER NOW!

As you know, after holding a forum which included all of the Democratic candidates for City Council in our District (the 39th), interviewing each of the candidates individually, attending other political forums, CORD chose to endorse JOSH SKALLER, for City Council.

We feel that JOSH SKALLER, is the right man, in the right place, at the right time. There are many reasons why we like him but we are going to concentrate on one of them today.

We know that JOSH SKALLER understands the relationship between development and its impact on every aspect of quality of life issues for a community.

Development drives it all---from your child's class size to the size of the crowd on the train platform during the daily rush...from how much traffic will flow through your street to how much water pressure will flow from your faucets.

JOSH SKALLER has refused to accept donations from developers. He understands that a City Councilman needs to be able to listen to the concerns of his constituents and to speak UNWAVERINGLY ON THEIR BEHALF when it comes to the thing that has the largest impact on their daily lives.

JOSH SKALLER is not anti development, he is anti-OVER development. JOSH SKALLER is anti ignoring the stress upon, or limitations of the infrastructure, development----JOSH SKALLER is anti-the 'let's build first and worry about all of the rest later', development...

Pro large scale development concerns along the Gowanus Canal, the old gas company/Public Place site and in the overall Gowanus area, are driving an aggressive ANTI SUPERFUND campaign.

JOSH SKALLER understands that it is the PUBLIC'S HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION that is of primary importance. That is why he was the first candidate to come out strongly IN FAVOR OF NOMINATING THE GOWANUS CANAL AS A SUPERFUND SITE. He understands the absolute necessity of a comprehensive cleanup and the careful monitoring of the remediation's success PRIOR to any type of development being sanctioned.

In short, he gets that....the high risers can wait....the health,the well being and the future of an entire community, simply cannot.

CORD really admires and appreciates JOSH SKALLER'S position on these development/land use issues. He has demonstrated throughout his campaign the ability to be a candid, consistent, concerned, tough, passionate, no nonsense, plain spoken man.

JOSH SKALLER is exactly what we need now.....

September 15th is Primary Day. There are five good men vying to win. It is time to make an informed decision.

Please be sure to get out and vote....and please consider casting that vote for, JOSH SKALLER.

THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY IS SEPTEMBER 15TH....WE NEED JOSH SKALLER NOW!

C.O.R.D.

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Josh Skaller Is The One!

Skaller Campaign literature

Josh Skaller supporters talking to neighbors in Carroll Gardens

Josh Skaller

As many of you know, my husband Glenn and I helped organize the 39th Council District Dazzle Me Forum back in April with members of CORD and others. It was a great opportunity to get to know the candidates who are running in our district to replace outgoing Councilmember Bill DeBlasio.

After the event, we, as a group of involved Carroll Gardeners, decided that we would support one of the candidates if, and only if, we could all agree on the same person. So, after meeting with each democratic candidate individually to hear about their positions on many issues regarding our neighborhood, we all came to the same conclusion. We unanimously decided to back the one candidate who impressed us with his clear vision for our neighborhood and the changes needed in the City Council to make it accountable to the people it represents.

This candidate is Josh Skaller.

We felt that Josh best shared our concerns for our neighborhood, was incredibly forthcoming about his agenda, was willing to take on the hard issues in the City Council as well as provide this district with more communicative and transparent representation.

If you have not made up your mind, take a look at Josh Skaller's web site and watch the video below. Josh is the best man for the job.

Video Credit: NBC New York

Don't Forget To Vote In The Primaries on September, 15th 2009

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City Council Candidate Josh Skaller Collects 10,000 Signatures And Collects Maximum Contributions

Congratulations to Council Candidate Josh Skaller! His campaign just submitted 10,000 nomination petition signatures, days before the deadline. That is an impressive number. The signatures were collected with the help of a group of dedicated volunteers all over the district, who showed their commitment to Josh's campaign by spending hours talking to friends and neighbors about the candidate.

From the Skaller campaign:

Skaller Collects 10,000 Signatures And The Maximum Contribution Dollars:
"I am the candidate to deliver real reform"

Not a lot of things come in groups of 10,000.
Lakes in Minnesota. Game show winnings. Josh Skaller petition signatures.
Skaller, the reform Democratic candidate for City Council, led the field in the 39th District by collecting over 10,000 nominating petition signatures - a powerful display of grassroots might.
"We have the largest grassroots campaign in Brooklyn, and we are mobilizing," Skaller said. "People signed my petitions because they believe in my message. They've had it with the slush fund culture and the developers-first, community-second mentality of a billionaire-driven city government.
"They support my campaign because they believe in reform, and they know I am the candidate to deliver real reform."
A whopping 155 New Yorkers served as witnesses for Skaller's signatures. As an organizer of Brooklyn for Barack, Skaller's grassroots ethos has defined his campaign. The Skaller campaign has over 200 volunteers and more individual donors than any Brooklyn-based City Council campaign.
"People are getting involved in my campaign who have never been involved in a local political campaign before," Skaller said. "They see what's happening in City Hall and they want to make a difference in their own neighborhoods."
The Skaller campaign collected over 11,000 signatures, but chose not to claim over 1,000 signatures from voters who live outside the 39th District.
"Our momentum grows with each passing day," Skaller said. "Each day, community members come on board our campaign. I have personally knocked on over 5,000 doors. I have put myself in position to win this election by going one voter at a time."
Skaller was the first candidate in the race to reject money from developers, who often spend big dollars on New York City's political campaigns. Skaller's donations have come largely in small amounts from neighborhood residents.
"We need a government that invests in what makes our City the greatest city in the world - New Yorkers," Skaller said. "That means funding schools instead of boondoggles like Atlantic Yards. It means funding transit so fares don't keep going up, and helping small businesses so that our neighborhoods keep the charm that makes them so unique."
In Carroll Gardens, community members rallied around Josh Skaller due to his early and strong support for a Superfund designation of the Gowanus Canal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"I'm looking forward to working with Josh to clean up the Gowanus and pursue sensible development in Brownstone Brooklyn," said Carroll Gardens resident Glenn Kelly, a member of the Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development who carried petitions for Skaller. "He is the most qualified and experienced candidate who is in sync with us on all of the issues."
Skaller, a community activist, is running in the 39th District, which includes all or parts of Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Borough Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Cobble Hill.
"We need development that respects the needs of the community, and a City Council more concerned with the community than the wallets of developers or their own political fortunes," Skaller said.



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NY City Council Candidate Josh Skaller's Statement On The End Of Public Comment Period Regarding Proposed Gowanus Superfund Designation

This just in from the Josh Skaller For City Council campaign. Josh has consistently been on the right side of this issue and has been clear about his support for the designation and for the community right from the start.

Statement from City Council Candidate Josh Skaller (D-39th District) on the Ending of the Public Comments Period Regarding the Proposed Gowanus Canal Superfund Designation

"I am proud that many Brooklynites took the time to express their support for an EPA Superfund designation of the Gowanus Canal. The most important thing is to get the Canal cleaned up. The City has had its chance, and look how things ended up. The City still does not have a plan, and it didn't even think about a plan until the EPA announced it was considering a Superfund designation.

"I support development in the neighborhoods around the Gowanus Canal, but it must be responsible development -- ensuring the safety of tenants and recognizing the concerns of the community. Before we build on the banks of the Canal, we must make sure that it is clean. If not, we risk another Love Canal. People will get sick. That can't happen on our watch.

"I am confident that Brooklynites will reject the propaganda put out by both the developer, Toll Brothers, and the Bloomberg administration. The people will choose a thorough federal cleanup. This will benefit the property values around the Canal, which have long been depressed by the Canal's infamous toxicity, and it will bring green jobs to Brooklyn.

"I hope we can use this conversation as a chance to move forward from the Canal's murky past to a vibrant future with a clean canal, responsible development on its banks, and a new economic engine to empowering our community."

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Josh Skaller Holds Press Conference On Gowanus Superfund Designation With Members Of CORD And FROGG

City Council Candidate Josh Skaller with Carroll Gardens/ Gowanus supporters

Kevin Duffy-Acevedo reads a statement from CORD

Marlene Donnelly, a founding member of FROGG

A young Gowanus area resident on the Carroll Street Bridge

When it comes to the clean-up of the Gowanus Canal, members of the Carroll Gardens Coalition For Respectful Development (CORD) and Friends And Residents Of Greater Gowanus (FROGG) have lots in common with Josh Skaller, City Council Candidate in District 39.
The two Carroll Gardens/ Gowanus organizations, together with local residents, joined Josh Skaller on The Carroll Street Bridge this morning to express their support of his candidacy and for the nomination of the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site. Skaller has been for the Superfund designation for the heavily polluted canal from the start. His campaign does not accept money from developers. He has vowed to listen to the wished of the community instead of special interests and to fight for "the integrity of our neighborhoods. The health of our future generations. The soul of our community."
He favors: "responsible development of the Gowanus Canal. That means development when the Canal is clean. That means development that gives back to the community. Development that sustains itself and paves the way for a New York City that does, too."
He further stated that: "We know what happens when we put public health aside for a short-term gain." "Love Canal happens. People get sick. The community suffers. That can't happen on our watch."

Marlene Donnelly, a Gowanus area resident and one of the founding members of FROGG, said: "We're a neighborhood group of people who live and work around the Gowanus Canal. We want the Canal to be cleaned because it's our backyard."
She and the members of her organization are highly sceptical of the city's motives and of the city's alternative to the Superfund program.

She expressed her support of the EPA, because only the EPA has the necessary tools to undertake the thorough clean-up needed to get the job done right.

CORD was represented by founding members Rita Miller, Lucy DeCarlo and Triada Samaras. Kevin Duffy-Acevedo read the following statement for the group

"CORD is pleased that Josh Skaller came forward so quickly to support the Gowanus Canal's possible nomination to the National Priorities List as a Superfund site.
CORD does not view this issue as either a 'pro' or 'anti'-development matter.
Rather, we see a comprehensive clean-up of the Gowanus Canal and the EPA's monitoring of the remediation of the surrounding uplands to insure the cessation of further ongoing or future cross contamination, as a matter of the utmost importance to our community's present and future well being."
"We are so fortunate that Josh Skaller shares our vision and our hopes for the future for this poor, long neglected, most critically contaminated site."

Make Sure To Read The Excellent Post:
Gowanus, the Superfund and the Evil of Today's New York on Lost City



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Council Candidate Josh Skaller To Kick Off "SkallerThon" In Carroll Park

This just in from Josh Skaller's campaign:

Skaller Council Campaign Kicks Off Summer With "SkallerThon"

The Josh Skaller for City Council campaign will exercise its grassroots muscle this weekend by launching "SkallerThon." On Saturday, Josh Skaller will join supporters in a bike ride through the district, starting and ending in Carroll Park; meanwhile, over 40 volunteers will knock on more than 3,000 doors. The bike ride will start and end in Carroll Park, and will feature stops at several local events in route. Contact the campaign for a full itinerary. SkallerThon will highlight the grassroots nature of Josh Skaller's Council campaign. The Skaller campaign has over 200 volunteers and more donors than any other City Council campaign in Brooklyn. Skaller was the first candidate in the race to refuse money from lobbyists and developers. Josh Skaller, a community organizer, is past president of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, a field director of Democracy For New York City, and co-founder of Brooklyn for Barack. A Democrat, Skaller is running for the City Council in Brooklyn's 39th District, which includes all or parts of Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Boro Park and Cobble Hill. Public events such as debates and forums are only the tip of the iceberg. Press is invited to attend to get a sense of the true grassroots nature of the Skaller campaign.

HOSTED BY: Josh Skaller for City Council DATE: Saturday, May 30 TIME: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. LOCATION: Various locations in Carroll Gardens

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39th Council District Candidates React To IND Endorsement

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall at last night's Independent Neighborhood Democrats' vote to endorse John Heier as the club's candidate. Their endorsement of the most conservative contender in the race to replace Councilman Bill DeBlasio seems to be an indication that they are a bit out of touch, to say the least. Below are the statements released by candidates Josh Skaller and Bob Zuckerman after the IND vote.

Statement From City Council Candidate Josh Skaller Regarding IND Endorsement

"It is sad that a majority of IND's voting membership insulted many IND members and community residents by choosing to support a conservative Democrat for City Council who opposes Superfund relief for the Gowanus Canal and whose opinions on choice and marriage equality are confusing, at best. The residents of the Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens and Gowanus communities want progressive leadership committed to reforming City government and unafraid of marriage equality, a woman's right to choose and a real, federally-supported clean-up of the Gowanus Canal. That is why organizers of a recent candidates' forum decided to endorse my campaign for City Council. I welcome grassroots support from all over the 39th Council District, but I will always prefer the support of community residents whose perspectives are free from the developer dollars and entrenched business interests."


Statement From City Council Candidate Bob Zuckerman Regarding IND Endorsement

“I am deeply troubled that the Independent Neighborhood Democrats decided to endorse a conservative candidate who is anti-choice and anti marriage equality. This club is in danger of becoming an irrelevant voice because of its endorsement process over the last few years. IND is made up of many wonderful and smart people who are committed to the progressive values it was founded on over thirty years ago. But the actions of some have continued to tarnish the progressive reputation of this club and it saddens me to think, as last night’s vote demonstrated, it’s no longer independent or reform.”

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