It is important to dress well at political events lest one provoke the ire of the Assemblyman. Councilman Steve Levin, center, gets it. — Photo by Aaron Short

With the exception of the unpredictable and lively Attorney General’s race, few statewide offices will have competitive primaries, and many incumbents won’t even appear on the ballot this September. 

Still, there are lessons that can be gleaned from events such as the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council‘s annual senior picnic, featuring seniors, steak, and salsa dancing. On two days, more than four thousand seniors fill 20 chartered buses for the hour-long trip to the Sunken Meadows State Park campgrounds, where they are treated to a steak lunch and a chicken dinner. The camp is divided up so each senior center gets a table or a section of the grounds, and its own grill station.  

That is a lot of votes and that’s not lost on the parade of elected officials who come by to greet them while they nosh. This year, there were appearances by Governor Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Gillibrand, District Attorney candidate Kathleen Rice, State Senators Martin Dilan and Carl Kruger, Assemblyman David Weprin, Borough President Markowitz, Public Advocate Bill De Blasio, and Councilmembers Steve Levin, Brad Lander, David Greenfield, Mark Weprin, and, of course, Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who also sponsored the picnic.  

Let’s take a look at five lessons we’ve learned from this lackluster campaign season: 

If you’re campaigning to seniors at a picnic — lose the tie and don’t wear sandals.

Lopez isn’t always the best-dressed person at political events, but he knows what’s appropriate and he isn’t afraid to tell you if you’re wearing something weird. That’s what happened during a press conference on the hill at the grounds, where the assemblyman made fun of De Blasio’s Teva-like shoes and Markowitz’s retiree-themed strappy leather sandals. At least they didn’t wear socks with them. Lander and Kruger wore ties with collared shirts and looked uncomfortable.

As for the winners of the day, Vito wore a nautical-themed striped polo shirt that complemented his complexion, though he looked a bit peakish on Thursday. Mayor Bloomberg wore a bright pink collared shirt and khakis which would not look out of place in Bermuda, and Levin, who clearly needed no coaching whatsoever, matched a sharp black polo with skinny khakis and tortoise-shell Raybans. Well done. 

Speaking of Steve Levin, the councilman is going to be here a while.

At the age of 29, Levin is the second youngest sitting councilman, and has three more years in his term. Incumbents rarely lose, and with solid support in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, Levin could easily earn another seven years in office. If New Yorkers vote against a ballot measure limiting the Mayor and members of City Council to two four-year terms, Levin could potentially be in office until 2021, when he will turn 40. A number of non-term-limited state legislature positions could crop open by that point. 

Campaign debt can be quickly forgiven.

In her city council campaign last year, Maritza Davila raised over $80,000, received pubic matching funds, and spent nearly all of it in an attempt to topple incumbent Councilwoman Diana Reyna. Though Davila lost, the business of the campaign did not conclude, as the city fined her for $18,000 for not removing campaign posters in a prompt fashion (the state campaign finance board lists Davila’s account as $120,000 in debt, though sources believe this could be a bookkeeping error). It’s not an insignificant amount, but it is surmountable, since the city will likely settle with Davila as it typically does in cases like these and she will only have to pay a much smaller fine. 

Petition challenges are about draining opponents’ resources more than anything else.

District leader candidate Esteban Duran has already beaten back two court challenges for his petitions this month, but Lopez and the Kings County Democratic Party could still appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals. With the election a mere three weeks away, this strategy of endless appeals is clearly more about draining Duran’s campaign resources than excising him from the ballot. Duran’s attorney is likely costing him several thousand dollars and preventing him from spending time canvassing in the district. It goes without saying that Lopez and Duran don’t like each other, and haven’t for almost two decades, but the court challenge is less about personal enmity and more about electoral strategy.

Vito Lopez is likely thinking about his mortality more than usual.

On Sunday, the South Brooklyn political community mourned attorney and political insider Bernard Catcher, who died this week after a long bout with cancer.

Three years ago at a Kings County dinner, Lopez called Catcher a “hero” and told him to “keep doing what you’re doing,” and on Sunday, Lopez made stirring remarks to a packed audience at Catcher’s funeral, earning a few laughs.

Catcher, a district leader, was a long-time friend of Lopez’s and both commiserated over battling cancer, which Lopez himself has fought since 1993.

Lopez’s only opponent this fall is Duran, but a spate of Democratic district leader races throughout the county put forward by the New Kings Democrats has gotten his attention.

Lopez, who seems to be brimming with energy, has been known to work long hours — sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning, and vacations rarely. His work ethic takes its toll on him physically, but Lopez usually bounces back after an election season or bouts of illness with as much pugnacity as ever.

Still, Catcher’s death has to resonate.

There has been almost no talk among the Lopez camp, even privately, about what would happen to the assembly district — or the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, which survives on Lopez’s funding and connections — when he eventually steps down from his seat.

Angela Battaglia, Lopez’s girlfriend and RBSCC’s Housing Director, would be a natural choice to succeed him, but she is much better known as a behind-the-scenes negotiator for the nonprofit as opposed to public officials such as Senator Martin Dilan and Councilman Erik Dilan.

Lopez, who seems to relish his role as a campaign strategist much more than an active campaigner, has been spending much of his time this summer at his Wyckoff Avenue clubhouse to ensure that his state committee candidates come out on top.

If they lose to a large number of New Kings-backed candidates, Lopez could have more than his health to worry about.

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