The Best Candidate You Haven't Heard Of
And that's no accident
The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality. — Dante Alighieri
The races are tightening. Even here in deep blue New York, there’s a candidate wreaking havoc with all expectations of where the polling should be.
And no — we’re not talking about Lee Zeldin.
Meet La’Ron Singletary, running in New York’s 25th Congressional District. The former Chief of Rochester PD, Singletary has his opponent — who has outspent him by roughly five times — sweating bullets. Here’s Politico on the story:
Democrats rush aid to deep-blue seat in Upstate New York
The Chief’s main issue (you guessed it): public safety. New York’s 25th, which covers the greater Rochester area, is suffering under New York State’s criminal justice “reforms” as much as New York City is.
Singletary’s story is inspiring — and will sound familiar to many law enforcement types. He always wanted to go into police work, even as a kid, and he rose through the ranks to become the top officer in his hometown.
An African-American man with that story. Were he the Democratic candidate, he’d likely have all the funding he needs and the media fawning over him. But welcome to New York (where the Republican party went to sleep years ago).
Nonetheless, Singletary — a former Democrat — is running as a Republican. His story in many ways encapsulates the rightward shift among many African-Americans, who — shockingly! — want to be safe.
Your narrator had the opportunity to meet the Chief and hear from him directly. Click below. (Please note: This interview does not pretend to be objective reporting [unlike many outlets these days!]. This is a friendly discussion with a candidate we believe in):
Listen to that guy! As I said at the end: Whatever happens on November 8th, we’ll be hearing more from Chief Singletary.
We need this good man in Congress, and we appreciate his taking the time. His website can be found at www.singletary4congress.com.
We hope Rochester residents remember one of their own on November 8th.
This is the calvalry? When we started The Ops Desk a scant 6 weeks ago, we decided initially on a policy of at least trying to avoid politics.
Didn’t last.
The truth is, as this excellent article by veteran Queens County prosecutor Jim Quinn points out: with the left intent on defunding and deforming the justice system, we’re left with little choice as to who to root for. (As a friend of this substack puts it: “This ain’t your daddy’s Democratic Party”).
And while we have covered a host of cities suffering the effects of ill-conceived progressivism, Philadelphia may be the standout. Hence, to Pennsylvania.
Fact: John Fetterman HAS advocated for the commutation of those convicted of Murder 2 in Pennsylvania, a crime defined as a killing
… committed while defendant was engaged as a principal or an accomplice in the perpetration of a felony.
Essentially: Un-premeditated murder, or “felony murder” (a killing while committing a different felony).
So: You’re the getaway driver, you stayed in the car during the robbery, and your accomplice shot and killed the store-owner. Should you do life? That is essentially the question.
My point: Fetterman is not entirely wrong. According to this piece at factcheck.org, Pennsylvania is one of the only states in the U.S. that has mandatory life sentences for Murder 2. In some circumstances, that does seem unduly harsh.
But a better way to treat the issue would be what our government is sort of set up to do, no? As in: go to the legislature to change the law. This impulse to overuse executive power is part of the problem — and it seems to be a problem with John Fetterman.
The same factcheck article also reveals that Fetterman HAS — in his role on the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons — been soft on crime (even in cases of Murder 1). So that assertion has merit.
And it’s the criminal justice issue, more than any other, that I believe is moving the needle there.
So in a sure sign of trouble for him, Fetterman recently looked to Washington to help rally the vote. Over the weekend, President Biden and VP Harris visited the Keystone State, where the Oz-Fetterman race is currently neck and (strangely bulging) neck.
But I’m not so sure this is going to help:
(I didn’t understand any of that). (Wait — are there 54 now?).
Fetterman, Biden, and Harris, in one room. The word salad had to be next-level.
Little-known: It has been widely reported that should he win, NYS Gubernatorial hopeful Zeldin promises to fire Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg on day one. He also promises to declare a “crime emergency,” thereby overriding the current “bail reform” laws.
Two subtleties:
Zeldin not only can fire Bragg… he can also fire NYC’s Mayor. In fact, the language regarding the Mayor is even more unequivocal.
NYC Charter, Ch. 1, Sec. 9:
Section 9. Removal of mayor: The mayor may be removed from office by the governor upon charges and after service upon him of a copy of the charges and an opportunity to be heard in his defense.
The actual procedure is here.
Now, I can barely conceive of circumstances under which this would occur. And to be honest, even in Bragg’s case, I don’t love undoing the will of the electorate. Manhattanites voted Bragg in… let them live with him.
But who knew?
It’s not entirely clear that Zeldin’s dramatic campaign promise to declare a “crime emergency” on day one can actually be done. The relevant law states the Governor can do it in the event of
… fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, high water, landslide, mudslide, wind, storm, wave action, volcanic activity, epidemic, disease outbreak, air contamination, terrorism, cyber event, blight, drought, infestation, explosion, radiological accident, nuclear, chemical, biological, or bacteriological release, water contamination, bridge failure or bridge collapse.
I don’t see “crime” on that list.
But true to form, New York’s law has a seemingly contradictory section, which may provide some wiggle room.
Stay tuned… (of course, he’s got to win first…).
Thoughts and prayers for those killed and injured in the awful crowd stampede in South Korea (over 150 dead at this writing).
It got us thinking about crowd control in NYC. The NYPD does crowd control perhaps better than any department anywhere. New Year’s Eve in Times Square, Fourth of July fireworks, constant parades… they all generally go off without a hitch. It’s a skill for which the Department gets little credit.
Police executives, middle management, and front-line cops learn from those who went before them, and the procedures are passed down. An interesting point: I was once told, in inquiring about this, that the PD picked up the key “penning” technique (that is, breaking up huge crowds into a more-manageable pen grid) from the Israelis.
Having worked these events — “details” as they’re known — I can tell you that they are like complex military operations. The planning and execution are really something to see from the inside.
Usually, everyone comes, has a good time, and goes home in one piece — with the PD getting little notice for it.
Which, in a perfect world, is as it should be.
And finally: Like the art and lyrics that used to come with vinyl records, the digital age has killed the art of newspaper covers (click here for a NY Post classic).
So when I passed this on a newstand, I did a double-take.
The Post remains our only (intentionally) funny newspaper.
Wow. All I can say is: I’m glad the NY Post is not mad at me (yet).
We’ll see you Friday, for our Weekend Buff. Until then… stay safe!