By: Jared Evan
Alec Brook-Krasny, the former Democratic politician from Brooklyn has changed his party registration to Republican and is possibly going to run for office again soon. Brook-Krasny recently told The New York Post, “I can’t believe everything that’s going on in the Democratic party, all the calls to ‘defund the police,’ the cancel culture. It goes against my character and my nature”. According to The New York Post, “Brook-Krasny is eying a run for his old Assembly seat in the 46th District, which under redistricting includes Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights. Mathylde Frontus is the Democratic incumbent.”
Democrats have the ability to change district lines to be as advantageous to their party as possible. Even in a blue-leaning state like New York, many neighborhoods in the outer-boroughs lean conservative. The rise of crime in New York City, partly due to bail reform measures putting criminals right back onto the streets, is a major reason politicians have become disenchanted with the Democratic Party. The New York Post reports, “Brooklyn Republican Party chairman Ted Ghorra welcomed Brook-Krasny into the GOP fold. The Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies [have] shifted public opinion. The Democratic-run state Legislature had the audacity to raise taxes in the middle of a pandemic,” Ghorra said.”
Brook-Krasny describes his thoughts of his former Party to The New York Post as, “Members of Democratic Party turned on the police — the people who provide safety and security to our constituents,” he said, referring to eliminating cash bail for most alleged crimes.The party switcher also said he’s a strong supporter of school choice and charter school expansion — calling Democratic lawmakers’ effort to limit options to students and parents “un-American.” Brook-Krasny told The New York Post, “he predicted other moderate and conservative Democrat pols in southern Brooklyn will soon follow his lead.“I think this is just the beginning,” he said. “I think we will see a trend. I’ve tried for a long time, but I don’t think I can change the Democratic party from the inside out, so it’s time to work from the outside.”
The Republican Party is doing well in Brooklyn and Long Island. The New York Post reports, “Republican candidates crushed Democrats in races for district attorneys in Nassau and Suffolk counties by running against Albany’s controversial bail reform law that releases most criminal defendants pending trial. In a surprise upset, Republican Bruce Blakeman defeated Democrat incumbent Nassau Executive Laura Curran.
And in southern Brooklyn, Republican Inna Vernikov trounced Democrat Steven Saperstein by 30 percentage points in the 48th District as the GOP picked up seats in the City Council. Like Brook-Krasny, Councilwoman Vernikov was also once a Democrat.
