Brooklyn Democrats Regain Some Clout After Scandals

By JONATHAN P. HICKS

When Christine C. Quinn secured enough support last week to become the next City Council speaker, a subtle shift in the political landscape of the city became evident: The Brooklyn Democratic Party was back, playing a role, albeit a minor one, in her victory.

The party provided support that helped clinch Ms. Quinn's victory, potentially giving the organization a greater voice in Council affairs after a year in which it was troubled by the scandals that culminated in criminal convictions of its onetime leader, former Assemblyman Clarence Norman Jr.

The change in fortunes may be in part due to the efforts of the organization's new leader, Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez. The other day, Mr. Lopez sat in the office of his political club in Bushwick, assessing his nearly three months as chairman of the party.

"I think that things have been going pretty well," Mr. Lopez said, seated at a desk littered with papers bearing council members' names and contact information. "We've done many of the things that I said we would do when I first became the chairman. And I think we're going to continue to do well."

Mr. Lopez has won the praise of many elected officials in Brooklyn, including some who forcefully opposed his election last October by the Brooklyn party's 41-member executive committee. In addition to being more open regarding the party's finances, many officials say, he has also been willing to meet with any and all of Brooklyn's politicians, no matter where they are aligned in the borough's fractured politics.

But Mr. Lopez's role behind the scenes in the selection of Ms. Quinn has turned out to be controversial. Some Brooklyn Democrats have sharply criticized him for declining to champion the candidacy of Bill de Blasio, a Brooklyn Democrat who was a contender until the final days before the Council's vote.

Some Brooklyn Democrats contend that Mr. de Blasio had 15 solid votes and that Mr. Lopez might have secured others had he stood forcefully behind the candidacy of the borough's native son. Instead, they say, he forged an alliance with other boroughs simply to say that he was part of the winning group.

"It's unfortunate that people put their own personal interest above the interests of the borough," said Councilwoman Letitia James, in a not-too-veiled reference to Mr. Lopez. "And it's unfortunate because our constituents suffer at a time when poverty in the borough is rising. We have the largest delegation in the city, and we walked away with crumbs."

Others felt the same way.

"He blew a golden opportunity to provide great leadership for our delegation," Councilman Charles Barron said. "Had he worked together with a coalition of progressive people supporting de Blasio, Vito would have sent a signal to the city that business will not go on as usual. He blew that for next to nothing."

Not surprisingly, Mr. Lopez portrays the situation differently. He said Mr. de Blasio had not been able to get commitments for anything close to a majority of votes on the 51-member Council.

"One of my goals in taking on this job was that I wanted Brooklyn to be a player in the selection of the next speaker," Mr. Lopez said. "I was able to get half of the council members in Brooklyn to pledge their support to me, even though they had their respective choices. And that allowed me to meet with the other county organizations and for Brooklyn to be a player in the selection."

Although he has his critics among the Brooklyn delegation in the Council regarding the selection of speaker, Mr. Lopez has won tentative praise from some of his most passionate critics for his overall handling of the county organization.

"I think he's doing well, as measured by financial transparency, which we've never had in the past," said Alan Fleishman, a member of the Brooklyn Democratic Party's executive committee who worked against Mr. Lopez's selection. "Even though I was a dissident who didn't support him, he has been open. He has sat down with me and others, asking for input, and he has been very open."

But the real test, Mr. Fleishman said, will be whether reform will come to the process of selecting candidates for judgeships.

"The Brooklyn judiciary is filled with people who are there more for their political connections than their qualifications," Mr. Fleishman said. "If he can solve that problem, then I will honestly say I was totally wrong about him."

Mr. Lopez said he had formed a committee, led by Frank J. Macchiarola, who is the president of St. Francis College in Brooklyn and a former schools chancellor, to make suggestions on reforming the process for nominating candidates for judgeships in the borough.

"That's moving a little slower than I thought it might, but it's in progress," Mr. Lopez said.

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