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It ain’t easy being Green — if you want to get on the ballot

By Gersh Kuntzman
The Brooklyn Paper
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The Brooklyn Paper / Bess Adler
Green Party City Council candidate David Pechefsky set up a table at the Ninth Street subway station in Park Slope on Tuesday, the first day that third-party candidates could collect signatures to get on the November ballot.

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Thirty-four down, 2,636 left to go.

David Pechefsky, the Green Party’s candidate for the Council seat being vacated by Bill DeBlasio, wasted little time on Tuesday, beginning his longshot effort to represent Park Slope and Windsor Terrace by setting up a table at the Seventh Avenue F train station.

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He has one month — starting from yesterday morning — to collect 2,700 signatures, and got his first 34 in about two hours. (Democratic candidates need only collect 900 names.)

Of course, there’s a catch: To be considered valid, the signature cannot appear on anyone else’s petitions — and the five Democrats in the race have already spent a month seeking every last John Hancock.

“Some people said they’d already signed for someone else, but it wasn’t as bad as we’d expected,” Pechefsky, a former Council staffer, said after his first two hours.

Pechefsky said he realizes that collecting clean signatures on the street is an uphill battle. So soon, volunteers will be knocking on the doors of independents — who actually outnumber registered Republicans nearly two-to-one in the overwhelmingly Democratic 39th district.

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“If you registered as ‘no party,’ you’ll probably be hearing from us,” he said.

At this point, it’s unclear if Pechefsky can get the signatures he needs. But he said he’ll be back at his table all weekend, fighting to get on the ballot as a Green candidate in one of the most liberal neighborhoods in the city.

©2009 Community Newspaper Group

←Fort Greene: Three burgs, two buildings, one block
→Smash or Trash: A freaky three-way for the Smash or Trash team!

Reader Feedback

Jonathan from Park Slope says:
Such a fabulous article that clearly explains some of the drawbacks of working outside the two-party system. Thank you.

But at the same time, on the very same page of print edition, you exclude David from expressing his views on the very important issue of sending one's own kids to public schools (he has)!

Additionally, in the print introduction to the public school question, you promulgate MISinformation (or at least contradictory information) when you state: "The five-man race to succeed Councilman Bill DeBlasio..." Come on now, Gersh, isn't it a 'five man race for the DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION to succeed Councilman Bill DeBlasio'? Isn't Pechefsky also in the race, making it 'a six man race' at this point in time?

Playing loose with the facts is just confusing for your readers who depend on you for accuracy.
July 10, 2009, 4:27 pm
Joe Nardiello from Carroll Gardens says:
"The journey of a mile begins with just one step." Right? It's odd to complain about the toughness of the process BEFORE beginning it -- in fact, I'd personally met many more Green & Independent registered voters walking throughout the District across June and July. His task ahead simply requires "work", dedicated people and a pure work ethic. Because our campaign has gone the 'toughest route' -- in trying to gain ballot entry as a Republican APART of the system & have our voters gain another strong voice, of a lifelong resident (independent Republican) -- I can speak to the process & working earnestly within it. We had no assistnace from any Party operatives or District leaders, and simply rolled-up our sleeves and got at it (and unlike many of our candidates, I work full-time through the work week). Our very dedicated volunteers & myself just went door-to-door for nearly a month, meeting & ringing 1,000s doorbells and can state that the Board of Elections' lists for 39th District GOP regisrants is antequated and may be updated ONLY by passive 1-time per year postcard mailings (not the way to purge/update vital listings that enable & limit potential candidates that can affect City Policy.. as many registered voters have moved away or been deceased for years and decades, on these lists). I wish ANYONE well, through this process, as now I know it thoroughly.
July 20, 2009, 1:06 pm

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