Kagan: I Will Never Concede The Election To Brook-Krasny

Nearly a month after apparently narrowly losing the State Assembly race to Alec Brook-Krasny, Ari Kagan is still spitting defiance and vowing to fight on.

In comments to rubyjewsday, Kagan said that he is still considering filing a lawsuit in order to invalidate the results of the September 12 primary with a goal of “preventing Brook-Krasny’s name from appearing on the November 7 ballot.” According to Kagan, “I have decided that I will never concede this election because I believe I won it and have an obligation to attain justice for people who were denied the right to vote.” Claiming that he expects to submit evidence soon in court to prove that many of his supporters were illegally denied the right to vote and that Brook-Krasny personally interfered with the balloting, Kagan said he decided not to file his legal action in State Court out of concern the Brooklyn Democratic machine might influence the verdict, but is likely to file his prospective lawsuit in another court. While he would not confirm this, it seems likely Kagan is considering filing his prospective lawsuit in a federal court.

Kagan said his decision not to concede the election and instead to threaten legal action has been influenced by Brook-Krasny and his supporters whom, Kagan said, have continued to denounce him in personal terms instead of reaching out to him in the wake of the election. “Brook-Krasny is still calling me a Communist and talking about my attending the Lvov Political—Military School. His supporters continue to smear me.” Kagan said that if he determines he has a strong enough case, he may file the lawsuit at any time between now and November 7; asking the court to invalidate the results of the Democratic primary in the 46th Assembly District and order a new election.

But should anyone take such a threat seriously given that he has not filed suit until now and that less than a month remains before the November 7 general election? "A lot of people did not believe I would stay in the election after Brook-Krasny came in, and a lot of people expected he would win easily," Kagan responded. "I proved that I was serious by running a very strong race. I am very serious about what I am doing now.”

For his part, Brook-Krasny dismissed as baseless Kagan’s charges that he had interfered with the voting and said that one of Kagan’s own supporters was physically removed by police from the Shorefront Y for allegedly improperly interfering with voters there. Krasny said Kagan had not yet filed a lawsuit because his lawyer “understands there are no grounds for legal action.”

Asked whether it will be hard to project himself as the voice of the Russian community in Albany when he apparently lost the Russian vote to Kagan in the primary and when Kagan and his supporters remain bitter and unreconciled, Krasny responded, “Look, Brighton Beach is not the whole Russian community. If I lost in Shorefront, I won the Russian vote in Coney Island. Even if the majority of people in Brighton Beach voted for a different person, I have two years to convince them to vote for me (in 2008). They will see I will be able to connect them with the people (in government) who can provide them with services.”

Might it not be possible for him as the apparent winner of the primary to make a conciliatory gesture to Kagan and his avid supporters? “I am supposed to make a gesture after all his campaign said about me and my family? Its not gonna happen,” Brook-Krasny said emphatically. My mother couldn’t sleep for a few nights after all the things they said about me being pro-Kremlin.”

I then got into an extended discussion with Brook-Krasny about the entire issue—which so roiled his contest with Kagan --- of whether and how the Russian Jewish community here should engage with the Russian government. I will publish the results of that discussion on rubyjewsday in the next day or two.