Dan Squadron

It's hard not to notice Dan Squadron these days. Voters are hearing the voice of Michael Bloomberg. They're seeing Chuck Schumer's name. And more than a few have had their hands shaken by Anthony Weiner.

The 28-year-old Democratic State Senate candidate, who has never held public office and whose experience has been largely under Schumer's tutelage, is looking to unseat 30-year incumbent Marty Connor of the Lower East Side.

Under normal circumstances, it would be an uphill battle--an insurgent candidate against a well-situated incumbent. But Squadron has built a campaign formidable enough to make it hard to identify which candidate is the underdog.  read more »

As noted earlier, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer threw his support behind Dan Squadron, becoming one of the most prominent Democrats to back him in his Democratic primary challenge to state Senator Marty Connor.

Connor has responded with this statement:

“The Manhattan Borough President and I have an excellent working relationship and I am confident it will continue once the voters send me back to Albany. I'm proud to be endorsed by the vast majority of the progressive unions, organizations and leaders in New York based on my strong record on education, affordable housing and quality health care.

“As the Democratic Senator with the most expertise on Senate Rules and practices, I look forward to adopting extensive Rules changes that promote open and honest government next year when we are in the majority.”

On Tuesday, Michael Bloomberg endorsed state Senate candidate Dan Squadron, and this morning, several City Council members came out with their endorsement of Squadron’s opponent, incumbent Marty Connor. Among them was City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has an extremely close working relationship with the mayor.

It'll be interesting to see how they (and Quinn in particular) react to the mayor's involvement in the race. Remember, Bloomberg did give money to the Republicans in Albany and, as Connor reminded me earlier, the mayor isn't exactly a Democrat any more and this is their primary.

Earlier, Connor supporters had some unfriendly words for another Squadron supporter, Chuck Schumer, who was getting involved in the race.

 

UPDATE: A Connor spokesman emailed me after today's press conference: "No one asked about the Bloomberg endorsement."

Marty Connor no longer has Chad Marlow as a spokesman.

Marlow’s company “terminated its consulting relationship with the Connor For Senate 08 campaign,” he said in an email to reporters just now.

But he added, “The Public Advocacy Group wishes to express it continuing belief that State Senator Martin Connor remains the only qualified candidate running to represent the 25th State Senatorial District in this Fall’s primary and general elections.”

Marlow has been an outspoken critic of Connor’s Democratic opponent, Dan Squadron. He’s also been outspoken about the cozy relationship between the Democrats and the Working Families Party.

This kind of abrupt change usually doesn't happen when everything is going well, but it's too early to say how it actually affects the campaign of an incumbent who, often, is his own spokesman.  read more »

Although it sometimes seems like 30-year incumbent State Senator Marty Connor is playing the underdog role in his race against young, Schumer-backed challenger Dan Squadron, Connor certainly has his share of establishment backing.

And here's more! On Monday, a number of members of Congress will endorse Connor at City Hall.

A release promises Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velázquez at a press conference, as well as the possibility of Yvette Clarke, and the endorsement of Ed Towns, although he won't be able to make it. (He has to fend off Kevin Powell, after all.)

Marty Connor was endorsed by a number of his Democratic colleagues in the State Senate at a press conference on the City Hall steps just now.

While Connor racked up a good number of endorsements, his opponent, Dan Squadron, has the support of one very notable elected official: Chuck Schumer.

I asked two of these State Senators how they felt about Schumer’s involvement in the campaign.

Jeff Klein of the Bronx said, “Well, with all due respect to Senator Schumer, he represents us in the United States Senate. I think it’s clear that the senators that matter endorse Marty Connor.”

Bill Perkins chimed in, “Chuck has a history of endorsing those that work for him.  read more »

The spokesman for Marty Connor's re-election campaign, Chad Marlow, supports term limits, even though his boss, a state senator, has been in office since 1978.

In 2005, when the City Council was reportedly looking to alter the city's term-limit laws, Marlow authored a blog post on the Drum Major Institute’s web site called "Confessions of a Term Limits Convert." He wrote:

“If you believe our elected officials are largely comprised of highly talented, innovative thinkers who represent the very best our society has to offer the public sector, you would naturally oppose term limits. I do not.”

Connor’s opponent, Dan Squadron, talks frequently about the need to shake things up in Albany.  read more »

On the surface, the story is a familiar one.

A young insurgent, Dan Squadron, decides to challenge an entrenched incumbent, Marty Connor, in a State Senate race, in a year when public antipathy towards the ossified ways of Albany is greater than it has been in recent memory. The line between underdog liberal reformer and entrenched proponent of the status quo should be clear.

But a couple of unusual things have happened. Squadron, 28, has acquired the trappings, at least, of the establishment guy. He has raced out to a lead in high-increment fund-raising -- he has spent heavily but still has nearly $300,000 on hand, whereas Connor has barely spent $2500 and has only $83,000 -- and has gained support from some powerful labor entities like UNITE HERE, the Communication Workers of America and the union-backed Working Families Party.  read more »

Since Dean Skelos, the new State Senate majority leader, has said he will make addressing property taxes a major priority, and it's likely that taxes will be an issue in the upcoming election, I recently asked both candidates in the 25th Senate District about their positions on the issue.

Incumbent Marty Connor favors raising taxes on the wealthy (a "relatively small" hike, he wrote), while his challenger, Dan Squadron, wants to look to the federal government to guarantee school funds in exchange for tax cuts for the middle class. Squadron, if he wins, would likely have access to Washington because of his former boss, Chuck Schumer.  read more »

Superintern Bharat Ayyar has a report from a protest against reopening the Brooklyn House of Detention, where a hearty collection of elected officials pointed out that "people live here now."

He also sent in this dispatch on a delicate situation that unfolded there:

There was an unexpected guest at this afternoon’s rally to stop the Brooklyn House of Detention’s reopening and expansion: Dan Squadron, who is challenging State Senator Marty Connor in 25th district. His attendance was not announced prior to the event.

Connor was there, too, which could have made for an awkward situation. I asked Connor what he thought about Squadron making an appearance.  read more »

• 9 comments

Earlier this afternoon, a diverse cast of politicians gathered in front of the Brooklyn House of Detention on Atlantic Avenue to protest the Bloomberg administration's plan to reopen and expand the downtown jail. (It was the Bloomberg administration that closed it back in 2003, due to high costs).

Councilman and city comptroller candidate David Yassky, comptroller and likely mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, State Senators Marty Connor and Velmanette Montgomery, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, and Randy Mastro, a deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani, were among the rally participants. They all gave the current administration an earful for creating what they portray as a serious impediment to the goal of creating a financial hub in Brooklyn.  read more »

State Senator Marty Connor announced he got the endorsement of UFCW Local 1500, a union that backed his opponent in 2006.

The union picked Connor without conducting an interview with either the senator or his opponent, Dan Squadron.

According to an email from a Connor spokesman, union president Bruce Both explained: “You will notice that this endorsement was given without our Union requesting an interview. We do so based on your strong record of supporting workers rights, preserving our middle class and helping working families. We are confident that you will do so in the future.”

A call to a UFCW 1500 spokesperson was not immediately returned.

Democracy for New York City’s decision to endorse neither State Senator Marty Connor nor his challenger--former Chuck Schumer aide Dan Squadron--has sparked an interesting debate among some stalwarts of the progressive Democratic community.

(It should be noted how the decision came about: neither Connor nor Squadron got 60 percent of votes from DFNYC voting members.)

Michael Bouldin, who blogs regularly on Daily Gotham, says that Connor isn't all that bad, but takes a throw-the-bums-out view of the need to replace him:

“We need, as a state, to infuse fresh blood into both chambers of the legislature; Dan Squadron's campaign could be the first ripple of a wave of new fresh faces who are suddenly considering public service.  read more »

• 3 comments

Last night, Dan Squadron won the endorsement of the Downtown Independent Democrats, one of the major clubs in the district.

That’s a blow to his opponent, incumbent State Senator Marty Connor (especially since the club voted to endorse other local incumbents seeking reelection: Jerry Nadler and Sheldon Silver).

In a brief chat this morning, Squadron said he was honored by the endorsement; he added that he thinks it is “a real vote of the real membership who have had a real engagement in the community.”

Part of Squadron's campaign for the club’s endorsement was a letter he sent to each of the members. Squadron wrote:  read more »

Streetsblog quoted State Senator Marty Connor talking about congestion pricing during a debate this weekend with his challenger, former Chuck Schumer aide Dan Squadron.  read more »

 read more »

State Senate candidate Dan Squadron, trying to unseat Marty Connor, is framing the race as one between two wings of the Democratic Party, progressive and establishment--and he made his first issue the politics of Albany. In doing so, he drew attention to some of the vagueness of those terms.  read more »

State Senator Marty Connor responded to his opponent, Dan Squadron, after Squadron made an early campaign attack this morning by recalling Connor’s 2004 tax lien.

Connor said, “I think it’s really pathetic they begin a campaign in April with such a negative attack.” Squadron, Connor says, "has no record in the community, never served on a community board, and all he does is attack, attack, attack.”  read more »

Here’s Chuck Schumer endorsing Dan Squadron yesterday in lower Manhattan. Squadron, a former Schumer aide, is trying to unseat State Senator Marty Connor.
 read more »

Dan Squadron is trying to unseat fellow Democrat Marty Connor for state Senate, in the district that represents lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

But more interesting than the people on the ballot are how Demoratic power brokers are lining up in that fight. Schumer is supporting Squardon, his former aide, against Connor, who didn’t support Schumer in his 1998 primary for Senate.

But as the invitation for Connor’s May 8th fund-raiser at the Ritz Carlton shows, he's got a good chunk of the rest of the party establishment.  read more »

Charles Schumer made his endorsement of insurgent Democratic state senate candidate Dan Squadron official today, siding with his former aide over the incumbent Democrat, Marty Connor.

In statement released by his spokesman's private email account, Schumer said Squadron “is a true blue Democrat; I am proud to endorse him and look forward to working with him as he builds to victory."  read more »

The crowd at Dan Squadron's kick-off state Senate campaign fund-raiser at a bar in NoLita last night was full of young professionals, and had the feel of an insider's party.

Squadron's friends and family were heavily represented--his brother and at least two former classmates from Fieldston High School (class of '98) were there. Also, a number of the partygoers were employees of elected city officials and declined to be identified by name. (One of those I spoke to mentioned that he was there as a personal friend of Squadron's, but did not want to give the impression that his boss was supporting Squadron’s primary bid against incumbent Democratic legislator Marty Connor.)

More after the jump.  read more »