Marty Markowitz first knew he wanted to become Brooklyn’s borough president when he was in his teens. But if it hadn’t been for an event that threatened to kill his political career long before he ran, he may have never have achieved that dream.
The year was 1982. Mr. Markowitz, a former tenants’ organizer, had spent four years representing a slice of Brooklyn in the New York State Senate only to see his former district diced up during a round of redistricting. To stay on the job, he needed to win re-election in a new, overwhelmingly African-American and Caribbean seat.
“I must tell you that when I was reapportioned, for a few minutes, I was not a happy camper … I was like shell-shocked,” Mr. Markowitz recalled, speaking to Politicker earlier this month at his office in Brooklyn Borough Hall.
Read More