Good news for disgraced pol Vito Lopez is sad news for hipster politicians. Despite tweets to the contrary it looks like Lopez arch-enemy and 50th Assembly District Committeeman Lincoln Restler won't be getting another two years to try and fix parts of Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Fort Greene. In the end the 28-year-old reform poster boy lost last month's election for the unpaid job to Lopez's pick, Chris Olechowski, by 19 votes. The final tally was 6,037 votes to 6,018. See, your votes do count!
Still, don't think this is the last you've heard from young Restler, who got quite a bit of attention this year thanks to his age, anti-corruption message and the never-ending vote-counting that came after last month's primary election. The Daily News reports that Restler "has privately told supporters he plans to challenge Lopez’ former chief of staff City Councilman Steve Levin (D- Greenpoint) next year."
And as one "insider" told the paper, "He shouldn't cry over losing the District Leader race given that he's going to run for City Council. If anything, he just keeps the campaign going."
Meanwhile residents in parts of Williamsburg, Fort Greene and Greenpoint? Say hi to Chris Olechowski, your new District Leader.
