RandySF
RandySF's JournalSuspended Detroit judge can be on ballot, even if she can't serve, court rules
A Detroit judge suspended until 2029 is allowed to have her name on the November ballot, despite not being able to take the bench for another three years, a Michigan Court of Claims judge has ruled.
The ruling on Thursday comes after former Detroit 36th District Court Judge Kahlilia Davis, who was suspended for six years in 2023 for misconduct on the bench, filed a lawsuit asking the Court of Claims to allow her name to be on the ballot, even though she cannot take the bench until 2029.
The Michigan Secretary of State on April 30 declined to certify Davis’ candidacy.
Michigan Court of Claims Judge Robert Redford said that because the Michigan Supreme Court did not rule that Davis was barred from running for office, she should be able to run.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2026/06/12/court-suspended-detroit-judge-can-be-on-ballot-even-if-she-cant-take-bench/90511973007/
Bhuptani wins Livingston council primary by 11 votes (Updated)
Livingston Deputy Mayor Ketan Bhuptani has won the Democratic primary, defeating Laurie Kahn by 18 votes, with all vote-by-mail and provisional ballots included in the final tally.
Bhuptani won 1,768 to 1,750 for the third township council seat in a six-candidate field in last week’s primary election.
Kahn said she will not seek a recount.
“This is not a mandate, it’s a message,” Kahn told the New Jersey Globe. “The people want change.”
https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/bhuptani-wins-livingston-council-primary-by-18-votes/
Judge opens door to do-it-yourself petitions
Independent congressional candidate Vincent Matrisciano created his own nominating petition instead of using the official form provided by the Division of Elections, and an administrative law judge says that’s not enough to keep him off the ballot.
Administrative Law Judge Catherine Tuohy has recommended dismissing a challenge to Matrisciano’s candidacy, ruling that his petition substantially complied with New Jersey election law despite a series of departures from the state’s official documents.
The ruling allows Matrisciano, who is running in New Jersey’s 11th district under the slogan “Common Sense Independent,” to remain on the November general election ballot.
Matrisciano survived a challenge filed by Kean MacLelland, the campaign manager for Joe Hathaway, the Republican nominee against Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge).
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/judge-opens-door-to-do-it-yourself-petitions/
NJ-07: Labor-allied PAC launches robocalls against Kean
An independent political action committee backed by a coalition of progressive labor unions has launched robocalls into roughly 60,000 households in New Jersey’s 7th district focusing on Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) and his missed votes since March 5.
But the robocall, paid for by Battleground Alliance PAC, speaks only to the missed votes and not about the health-related issues that have caused Kean’s absence.
The PAC has promised to spend $50 million this year to help Democrats flip enough seats to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Last year, POLITICO reported that Battleground Alliance PAC is connected to “more than 30 progressive and labor organizations, including the Service Employees International Union, Working Families Party, Planned Parenthood Votes, Indivisible and MoveOn.” According to its April quarterly report filed with the Federal Election Commission, the PAC raised $767,788.
Script: “Tom Kean has been missing from Congress for over 100 days. He skipped the vote to end Trump’s war in Iran. He skipped the vote, handed ICE $70 billion. He hasn’t held a town hall or shown his face in the district since winter. A congressman who isn’t there can’t fight for you. Call Tom Kean and ask where he’s been.”
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/labor-allied-pac-launches-nj-7-robocalls-against-kean/
Venezia rejects claims of progressive takeover in Bloomfield
Assemblyman Michael Venezia (D-Bloomfield) is dismissing suggestions that the loss of a Bloomfield council seat to a progressive-backed candidate signals a broader rejection of the local Democratic establishment.
Bloomfield has been trending leftward in recent years, and the latest primary became a proxy battle between competing wings of the Democratic Party. Gov. Mikie Sherrill and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker backed the organization slate, while U.S. Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) endorsed the progressive ticket.
Mejia carried Bloomfield with 44% of the vote in the February special Democratic congressional primary in New Jersey’s 11th district. The second-place candidate received 19% of the vote in an 11-candidate field.
Venezia, a former mayor who now serves as the township Democratic chairman, has faced his own political challenges. Last year, former East Orange Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks came within 863 votes of unseating him in an Assembly primary. And last month, Frank Velez III—another former political rival—won the Belleville mayoralty with 60% of the vote, defeating an incumbent Venezia had supported.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/campaigns/venezia-rejects-claims-of-progressive-takeover-in-bloomfield/
Signorello wins Roselle Park mayoral primary by 18
Roselle Park Mayor Joseph Signorello, Jr. has won the Democratic primary by 18 votes over rival Gregory Johnson, a ward councilman, 613-595.
The final margin was three times Signorello’s election night lead of six votes.
Signorello won three of the borough’s five wards with a win that came on the strength of his vote-by-mail effort. Among VBM voters, Signorello was up by 33 votes; Johnson won in-person early voting by six votes, and Election Day votes by ten. Signorello received one more provisional ballot than Johnson.
He will face Republican Jorge Ramirez, who lost a second ward council race two years ago, in the November general election.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/signorello-wins-roselle-park-mayoral-primary-by-18/
NJ-07: N.J. Building Trades makes no endorsement, two years after backing Kean
The influential New Jersey State Building & Construction Trades Council is staying on the sidelines in New Jersey’s highly competitive 7th congressional district race, withholding its endorsement two years after backing U.S. Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) in one of the nation’s most closely watched House contests.
The loss of the building trades endorsement comes at a challenging moment for Kean, who has been sidelined for more than three months by an undisclosed illness, leaving the two-term congressman absent from the campaign trail and Capitol Hill as Democrats ramp up their efforts to flip the seat in a bid to win a majority in President Donald Trump’s midterm election.
While building trades unions have traditionally aligned with Democrats on labor, infrastructure, and prevailing wage issues, their membership has long been more politically diverse than that of many other organized labor groups. Many rank-and-file construction workers vote Republican, and Trump has enjoyed substantial support among building trades members in New Jersey.
Kean faces Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, in the general election in a district that Trump won by one percentage point in 2024 and Gov. Mikie Sherrill by two points in 2025.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/n-j-building-trades-makes-no-endorsement-in-nj-7-two-years-after-backing-kean/
Mamdani Finds a Foil Familiar to New Yorkers: James Dolan
For James Dolan, the famously irascible owner of the New York Knicks, a sudden feud with Mayor Zohran Mamdani seemed in character, and unsurprising to longtime Madison Square Garden Kremlinologists.
But its 0-to-60 escalation in bitterness — with Mr. Dolan describing Mr. Mamdani and his police commissioner, Jessica S. Tisch, as fake Knicks fans and hopelessly inexperienced city managers — struck some observers as self-defeating, especially with his team on the cusp of its first N.B.A. title in more than 50 years.
Mr. Dolan’s animus seems to stem from the city’s decision to maintain a strict security zone surrounding the Garden, at a time when jubilant Knicks fans want to celebrate their team, unfettered.
Hours before Game 4 on Wednesday night, Mr. Dolan went on WFAN, a sports radio station, ostensibly to warn ticket holders to arrive early because the Police Department was implementing a security perimeter around the Garden, much as Ms. Tisch had foreshadowed during a news conference on Monday.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/nyregion/mamdani-dolan-knicks-feud.html
NY-06: Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens' immigrant communities?
More than 30 people folded samosas in the private room upstairs at Kabab King, a Pakistani neighborhood institution in Jackson Heights, Queens.
The ticketed event ($30) marked the fourth Dumplings and Dialogue programming for Chuck Park’s electoral campaign for the 6th Congressional District that includes Flushing, Forest Hills, Elmhurst, Woodside and Jackson Heights. U.S. Rep. Grace Meng has represented the reliably Democratic district since 2013; Park is looking to unseat her. The primary election is June 23.
While food has always played a supporting role in political campaigns, Mayor Zohran Mamdani changed up the game by spotlighting the food and restaurants of working-class immigrants of color. Park is now presenting another chapter of that playbook.
In recent mayoral dining history, Eric Adams visited Le Pavilion (French), Rao’s, and Mario’s (both Italian) while Michael Bloomberg ate burgers at J.G. Melon and turkey wraps at now-closed Scobee Grill. Bill De Blasio dined at Arepa Lady (Colombian), Royal Queen (Chinese), The Door (Caribbean), and Melba’s (soul food). And Mamdani campaigned at — and continues to visit — establishments like Boishaki (Bangladeshi), Abuelita’s Desserts (Puerto Rican), and Saint Louis (Senegalese).
https://gothamist.com/food/can-a-congressional-candidates-dumpling-diplomacy-win-over-queens-immigrant-communities
NY-13: Mamdani stands by Avila Chevalier; fellow endorsee Lander keeps his distance
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday that he had not seen resurfaced social media posts from Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier before endorsing her, but he continued to support her campaign and said her views had evolved.
Mamdani addressed the controversy during a news conference in Manhattan, where a reporter asked whether the deleted posts had concerned him or affected his decision to endorse Avila Chevalier’s Democratic primary challenge against Rep. Adriano Espaillat.
“No, I had not seen those tweets,” Mamdani said. “What I’ve heard from her, and what I know a lot of others in the district have heard from her, is that her views have evolved.”
Avila Chevalier, 32, is a Democratic Socialists of America-backed organizer running against Espaillat in New York’s 13th Congressional District, which covers parts of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. Espaillat, 71, has represented the district since 2017 and serves as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
https://www.amny.com/politics/ny-13-mamdani-stands-by-avila-chevalier/
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