BORO PARK, Brooklyn – Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind is political power broker within New York City’s famous Orthodox and Conservative Jewish communities, a role he clearly relishes. On visit to his district office in Boro Park, a redoubt Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewry, the Assemblyman was eager to talk up his role in this race and the impact his efforts on Jewish GOTV may have on the results.
Democrat Hikind is no stranger to crossing party lines to endorse Republicans when he thinks it critical to his constituency, and in today’s NY09 special congressional election, Hikind has joined former NYC Mayor Ed Koch, another Democrat known for cross-party endorsements, in backing Republican nominee Bob Turner here.
Hikind reports a huge effort to reach out to voters in the Orthodox and Conservative communities in his district, and he is hearing excitement from voters who want to send a message to President Obama on Israel especially, and, to a lesser degree, the economy and gay marriage, a position that is abhorred by many religious Jews in this district. Hikind has been a vocal opponent of gay marriage.
Hikind was out early for Turner, but it wasn’t until a poll released last month that put Republican Turner a mere six points down in this historically Democratic district that this race started to grab the attention of voters in his district and community. Now, Hikind boasts of “an almost perfect momentum” for Republican Turner.
An already socially conservative district full of mass-attending Catholics and observant Jews has only grown more so, Hikind claims. Kew Gardens, in the Queens portion of NY09, once home to Reform and non-religious Jews has “become almost an extension” of Boro Park, with Orthodox Jews now more prominent. Union and Democratic machine canvassers, he thinks, do not live in the district, and are definitely not known to folks in his community, Hikind insists. NY09 has seen the largest drop in Democratic vote for president from 2000-2008: from 67% eight years ago, to 55% for Obama last time around.
Hikind’s endorsement carries some weight. The Boro Park precinct that his district office falls in rejected Obama for Hikind-endorsed John McCain in 2008 by an astounding 90-10% margin. Overall, Hikind reports his Assembly district went for McCain with 61% of the vote, and notes that the stronger performing GOP polling places fall within NY09. At the same time, the district delivered similarly large margins to Hikind endorsed Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
Antipathy for Obama is visceral in district. To exploit that, Hikind’s GOTV selling point: this special election is an “historic opportunity.” He reminds that voters rarely “get a chance like” this anywhere. The Democratic nominee, Assemblyman David Weprin of Queens, needs to be rejected because he’s a rubber stamp for Obama and national Democrats. Turner is independent, like Hikind’s community, he notes, has demonstrated before and needs to demonstrate that to Obama, he’s convinced, again today.
“You have a chance to make Obama notice you.” If you turn out, and upset the Dems, on Wednesday morning, Obama and everyone else in the White House “will know who you are.”
