Over At Last?

So it’s over at last—or is it?

Yesterday, amidst high drama, Alec Brook-Krasny appeared to narrowly defeat Ari Kagan for the Democratic nomination for the 46th Assembly district by less than 100 votes out of 5500 cast. The unofficial total announced by the Board of Elections was 2863 for Brook-Krasny and 2769 for Kagan with 100 percent of the vote reporting.

But Kagan’s lawyer immediately challenged the total, asserting that there had been violations at certain polling stations, and demanding a recount. A spokeswoman for the Board of Elections confirmed that the body will recount the totals from voting machines on September 19 and then count paper and absentee ballots the following day before certifying an official winner. Paper ballots can be requested by people who come to their polling station and find their names are not on the voter list. Spokespeople for Kagan claimed that a considerable number of registered voters backing their candidate were not on the rolls and suggested that there may have been foul play involved on the part of the Democratic machine, which avidly backed Krasny and which, most Russians believe, had played election day dirty tricks in the past to thwart Russian candidates against the likes of the Russian community’s longtime bete noire, retiring Assemblywoman Adele Cohen.

Certainly there was something less than appetizing about Dilia Schack, Cohen’s longtime hatchetwoman, who came aboard Krasny’s campaign after Cohen dropped out and was elected State Committeewoman alongside him, exulting before the television cameras at Krasny’s victory party; “They wanted to mess with the organization, but you don’t mess with the organization!...Anyone who comes near our organization is going to feel the sting.”

Brook-Krasny was introduced to an exultant crowd of supporters, an impressive mix of Russian and American-born Jews, African-Americans and members of other ethnic constituencies, by the man he called “my best friend”, City Councilman Domenic Recchia, who defeated him in a bitter primary battle back in 2001, but who came aboard to support the Russian candidate early this year together with practically every major Democratic figure in Brooklyn, including Cong Jerry Nadler, State Senators Carl Krueger and Diane Savino, City Councilmen Michael Nelson and Steve Cymbrowitz and Brooklyn Boro President Marty Markowitz. Taking a far more conciliatory and inclusive line than Schack, Brook-Krasny said, “I am going to show New York State that a person born on the other side of the globe will be an effective representative for all Americans.” Asked if he can heal the bitter wounds of the no-holds-barred campaign, during which he accused his opponent of having been a member of the Soviet Communist Party and having attended a military school with ties to the KGB, Brook-Krasny responded, “I want to congratulate Ari Kagan for putting up a very effective campaign.” Pledging to “work with the people who were on the side of the opposition,” Brook-Krasny said, “I am kind of used to doing that already in my role as director of COJECO.”

In remarks to his own supporters after a tense wait of about two and a half hours after the polls closed before hearing the unofficial results from the Board of Elections, Kagan stressed that he would not concede the election until the official results were in and expressed pride that he had essentially tied Brook-Krasny “even though we were working against a huge machine. We had the people behind us, but they had a lot more resources. We proved tonight that in American democracy, you can’t ignore the will of the people.”

But which people? After conducting scores of interviews on the street during the long election day near polling stations at the Shorefront Y in Brighton Beach, Trump Village, a sprawling co-op on West Five and Neptune that has a mix of elderly Russians and American Jews, and on West 24th Street in Coney Island, with a mix of blacks and retired Russians; I was left with the distinct impression that Kagan may have won the Russian-speaking vote by a fairly substantial margin—perhaps 55-45, but almost certainly lost the non-Russian vote by a considerably higher percentage than that. The elderly Russian vote—which may have constituted a majority of Russian voters--seemed rock-solid for Kagan, whom many extolled as 'our candidate against the establishment’ but younger Russians were far more inclined to vote for Krasny, who they characterized as more experienced and better at reaching out to the American community.

Several American-born Jewish voters leaving the polls said they had voted for candidates like Elliot Spitzer for governor and Hillary Clinton for senator, but had not bothered to vote at all for Assembly because they resented the fact that there were only Russian-speaking candidates on the ballot. Yet others said they were ready to back a Russian candidate and expressed good will toward both candidates. According to Bill Essig, a retired schoolteacher; “It is about time the Russians will be represented by one of their own. After all, they are the largest voting bloc in the district.” Essig said he planned to vote for Kagan, but added, “I believe both candidates are qualified and whichever one wins will do his best to uphold the interests of all the people in the district.”

Nevertheless, Essig seemed to be in a minority in his support for Kagan; most other American born Jews I spoke to who voted in the Assembly race said they supported Brook-Krasny who they said seemed more seasoned in American political culture than Kagan and gave them a greater sense of confidence that he would represent the entire community rather than only the Russians. I found similar results among the black population of Coney Island, whom both candidates courted, but with whom Brook-Krasny has stronger ties going back to coalition-building efforts he undertook as a member of the Community Board going back to the late 1990’s.

Whoever won the primary election is virtually assured of election in November against token Republican opposition and it would be startling in the extreme if the Board of Elections eventually overturns its unofficial returns in favor of Brook-Krasny. But even many of his political strategists acknowledged to me in background comments last night that Kagan had run a superb race and made the race much closer than they had imagined it could get; coming within a hair-breath of executing a political revolution.

The question is whether the two sides can now make peace and reach a political modus vivendi that both may need. It certainly aint gonna be easy. Brook-Krasny and his command are furious at Kagan for staying in the race despite hints to him from influential Krasny backers that he would be the next Russian candidate to be endorsed by the establishment if he stood aside and allowed Brook-Krasny to assume what his supporters in the Russian community felt to be his rightful place in 2006. They are angry that Kagan forced them to spend large amounts of money and political capital on a race they initially expected to win easily.

The Krasnyites are also livid at charges from Kagan’s camp that Krasny was part of a “fifth column” of wealthy and influential members of the community in support of the Russian regime of Vladimir Putin. Given all of the above, the Krasny team is not likely to quickly forgive the Russian community's prodigal son. Kagan’s decision to challenge the results will also not help in this regard.

Still, when all the strum and drang eventually dies down, it seems likely that efforts at reconciliation will take place. A deeply divided Russian community—of which Kagan probably captured the majority in the election--will not make a steady power base for Brook-Krasny or allow him and his supporters to effectively project ‘Russian power’ on the larger city, state and national scenes. It also seems likely that if Kagan wants to capitalize on his strong showing and grab the next elective position that opens in the area—he will have to find a way to bring at least a portion of Krasny’s ‘establishment supporters to his side. It should be said that one of Brook-Krasny’s more appealing qualities is his disinclination to hold grudges, but instead to woo former opponents to his side. Who would have imagined a few years ago that he could win over the likes of Recchia, then a bitter political adversary. In that respect he reminds me of a triangulating Bill Cinton forming tactical partnerships even with the likes of George H.W. Bush. But if Krasny could make shalom bayit with Recchia and the Establishment, including the likes of Schack, it would seem reasonable for him to make a similar outreach effort to Kagan and his supporters.

In the meantime, despite the bitterness of the moment, the Russian community got an important lesson in the workings of the Democratic system and can bask in the realization that it has finally elected one of its own—a long seven years after a then younger and more naïve Brook-Krasny first took on Adele Cohen and was knocked off the ballot on the flimsy pretext of mistakes on his nominating petitions, but three or four years before many political experts expected a Russian candidate to finally break through. The Russian community is now solidly on the New York political map. That is a common victory and joint accomplishment of the badly split Russian political class—of Brook-Krasny and Kagan both. Whatever happens from here on, the Russians of New York will never go back to political powerlessness.