It was the crown jewel of New York City's Republican Party. The 13th Congressional District, which covers Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, had been held by many notable center-right Republicans, like Guy and Susan Molinari. In 2008, its last occupant, Vito Fossella, regrettably stepped down after a number of personal issues came to light that would have undoubtedly interfered with his ability to perform his public duties. And so, the crown jewel was captured by a Democrat, then-City Council Member Michael McMahon, after an embarrassingly botched and superbly lackluster effort by Republicans to retain the seat.

If it looks like a party, and it sounds like a party, then it must be a party, right? Well, no… One of the most glaring dysfunctions in the operation of the New York State Republican Party that I’ve noticed over the past several years...

“We pride ourselves on always getting our candidates on the ballot,” boasted a Brooklyn Republican leader in conversation recently. “Ok, but after all that effort, what about after they get on the ballot?” I asked. “Oh, c’mon, it’s not like any of these people are...

In the past two weeks, we have seen in reality that there are two very different Brooklyn Republican Parties. This past Monday, I went to a special meeting of the Fiorello LaGuardia Republican Club in Bensonhurst. In a standing room only crowd, I got to hear from Lucretia Regina-Potter, a very good friend of mine and a staunch reformer of the Brooklyn Republican Party, who is running for State Assembly. Also present was Michael Grimm, 13th Congressional District candidate, and Joe DioGuardi, who is running for U.S. Senate against Gillibrand. All three are petitioning their way on the ballot as the independent Republican candidates (read: not endorsed by the party).

It has begun. Just watch here. No Aliases were used in the making of this video. Please lend a hand to a good friend of mine and many Republican activists out there--go to www.lucretiaregina-potter.com/petitioning.