“Damaged Goods”
Local City Council Candidate Eugene Goes AWOL

Sander Hicks,
New York Megaphone

Vox Pop stands for confronting the fake, the dangerously plastic political illusions. There’s plenty of those in the New York Democratic Party, from the state level, down to the local. Vox Pop (the local coffeehouse community center/headquarters of this newspaper) sponsored a 2nd City Council debate, April 11. Unfortunately, just like the debate in January, the anointed Democratic front-runner Mathieu Eugene did not show up. Unlike the race earlier this winter, Eugene now faces a single opponent, Harry Schiffman, in the Special Election on April 24, in Flatbush’s 40th City Council District.

On Feb. 20, Eugene won a Special Election, with endorsements from the powerful health care union 1199SEIU, and the influential former City Council members Una and Yvette Clarke. But opponents claimed Eugene lived in Canarsie. Residing in the district is a legal requirement of taking office. Eugene claimed during his campaign that he had rented an apartment on Argyle Road, and that he was living there, but when it came time to swear in, Eugene feared being convicted of perjury. Mayor Bloomberg nixed the election, and set a new one, for April 24.

On March 15, this reporter arrived at Eugene’s campaign headquarters to interview Eugene for The New York Megaphone. When Eugene didn’t show up, the interview was rescheduled for two hours later, but then later cancelled. One week later, the Eugene campaign’s Mark Callender asked for a list of questions, in order to approve an interview. But as a matter of policy, The Megaphone would rather not stick to any script. No interview was ever granted.

Meanwhile, the March 23 deadline loomed for year 2008 budget requests to the New York City Council. City Council reps normally handle budget requests for non-profits in their districts, but the 40th had no representation. Candidate Harry Schiffman, who works at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, decided to make sure other community non-profit groups were aware of this deadline, as he worked on his hospital’s budget submission. (A move either altruistic, or good for campaign public relations, or both.) He contacted Flatbush Development Corporation, Caribbean Women’s Health, Erasmus Neighborhood Federation, Greater Southern Brooklyn Health Coalition, and the local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) in Beverley Square West.

“None of these people knew that [March 23] was the deadline. They had no clue, because without a City Council member, no one reached out to them.” Schiffman told The Megaphone. Glenn Wolin of CERT later added, “Harry is looking out for us, while nobody else seems to be.”
Harry Schiffman is technically the race’s underdog—he came in 4th in the Feb. 20 race. But Mathieu Eugene won with only 2,076 votes, total. And that was only 33.67 percent of the vote of that day, a meager 6,166 votes in total. Only 9.39 percent of eligible voters showed up at the polls on Feb. 20. This “Special Election” wasn’t known or cared about, by over 90 percent of the voters.

After the Vox Pop debate on April 11, the Executive Director of the Kings County Democratic Party, Derek Davis, told The Megaphone many in the Party are worried that Eugene is “damaged goods.”

Let us count the ways:
Eugene lied about where he lived. His campaign lied to Vox Pop and claimed they had never confirmed the April 11 debate. (Our email records show otherwise.) Campaign officials lied on April 11 when they claimed that Eugene couldn’t attend the debate because he was campaigning elsewhere. But campaign spokesman Scott Levenson then told The New York Observer that instead of debating that night, Eugene met “with his lawyer to develop and make final decisions for our ongoing petition challenges.” Earlier, Mathieu Eugene claimed he was a doctor, but WNYC and The New York Observer reported that Eugene is not licensed to practice medicine in the U.S.

Online, at Room8, The Politicker, and elsewhere, bloggers and commentary are sharply critical: most voters claim that Flatbush’s mighty Democratic Party machine is foisting “damaged goods” upon the 40th City Council District. Harry Schiffman won the poll taken on April 11 at Vox Pop, post-debate, suggesting that this is suddenly very much an open race.

 

WEB ONLY Bonus Material:

New York Megaphone’s Interview with Harry Schiffman, from our Special City Council Election Edition:

What’s your life story? Give us three or four sentences about your background, and how it pertains to what kind of City Council Rep. you would be.

I was born and raised and have lived in Brooklyn my entire life. Thirty years ago I received a masters degree in social work with a specialization in community organization and planning. With this degree I have worked to bring people together from all backgrounds, nationalities and religions in neighborhoods all over Brooklyn—from Coney Island to Williamsburg—to improve neighborhoods. For the past four years, I have been director of government and community relations for Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center where I have brought into the East Flatbush and Crown Heights Communities hundreds of screenings and educational forums concerning the important and critical health issues facing the 40th District—obesity, diabetes, asthma, and AIDS.

What’s the top issue for you in this race?

Neighborhood preservation in neighborhoods throughout the 40th District. We must ensure that there is adequate and safe housing and that our housing stock is protected. This can be accomplished through changes in zoning, landmarking, and stopping illegal conversions. I will work hard to address other issues of neighborhood preservation, including commercial revitalization, education, quality of life issues, and protecting the rights of all the residents—no matter whether they are youngsters in school, or seniors trying to deal with the important issues of health care, or housing or newly arrived immigrants.

What’s your ultimate life goal?

To continue to bring people together to improve neighborhoods. On the City Council I will use my skills to work with the Brooklyn Delegation and the rest of the Council to bring additional resources into the 40th  District.

What’s your greatest mistake in life?

Not getting a law degree after obtaining my masters in social work.

What’s NYC’s biggest challenge coming up in the next couple of years?

Housing. The population in New York City is growing at a tremendous rate. The City needs to have an on-going planning process to see that there is affordable, safe, and decent housing for all.

 

--Interview by Sander Hicks