Next Tuesday is primary day and “orange cards” have already begun arriving in members mailboxes. There is only one endorsement, John Greene for Kent Town Board in Putnam Co. He is a R&P member and President of the local Pheasants Forever chapter. The rest are all recommendations to vote against incumbents or candidates. They are as follows:
New York City:
- Richard Aborn is in a 3-way primary for Manhattan District Attorney. He’s the former head of Handgun Control (now the Brady Campaign).
- David Yassky is in a 4-way citywide primary for Comptroller. He wrote the Brady Bill when he was an aide to then Congressman Chuck Schumer.
Bloomberg’s Mayors:
- Middletown Mayor Marlinda Duncanson lost party backing and made a big deal out of joining MAIG.
- Binghamton Mayor Matthew Ryan is being challenged by Joe Merrill. Merrill is making a decent effort to unseat Ryan.
City of Albany:
- Mayor Gerald Jennings and Councilmen Dominick Calsolaro and James Scalzo. Jennings abandoned his constituents and joined MAIG while Calsolaro and Scalazo have been sponsoring antigun bills in the Common Council.
Suffolk County:
- County Legislator Kate Browning and Brookhaven Town Boardmember Jane Bonner. They are responsible for attempts to close the trap & skeet range.
Turnout is always low for primaries which is why incumbents hate them. Even if they survive the challenge they have to spend a lot of money doing it. It is important to get as many gunnies to show up and vote as possible, especially in NYC. We have members and clubs in NYC and they can vote too.