DRAFT
­
CONFIDENTIAL



September
XX,
2010


VIA
FAX:

718‐596‐4013
Hon.
Vito
J.
Lopez
Chair,
Kings
County
Democratic
County
Committee
16
Court
Street,
Ste.
1207
Brooklyn,
NY

11241


Dear
Sir:


Pursuant
to
the
invitation
you
extended
to
me
on
September
20th
to
meet
and
discuss
ideas
for

helping
Brooklyn's
Democratic
Party,
I
am
writing
to
express
my
interest
in
doing
so
and
my

intention
to
make
an
appointment
to
meet
with
you
after
the
November
General
Election.


However,
I
was
sorry
to
learn
that
you
are
now
the
subject
of
multiple
investigations
at
different

levels
of
government
‐
federal,
state
and
municipal.

At
a
time
when
the
Democratic
Party
in
New

York
State
‐
and
nationally
‐‐
is
under
attack,
and
at
a
time
when
the
confidence
and
trust
of
voters

with
regard
to
their
elected
officials
is
extremely
low,
I
cannot
see
how
your
role
as
leader
of

Brooklyn's
Democrats
can
be
optimized
when
there
are
some
critical
questions
and
investigations

that
will
require
answers
and
resolution.

Your
focus
will
undoubtedly
need
to
be
on
these
cases.


As
you
mentioned
in
the
Executive
Committee
meeting,
this
year's
General
Election
is
upon
us
and

we
in
Brooklyn
have
some
important
work
to
do.

The
potential
distractions
that
exist
for
you
can

only
detract
from
the
organizing
work
that
needs
to
be
done.

Furthermore,
Brooklyn's
work
on

behalf
of
our
statewide
candidates
should
not
become
a
campaign
issue
for
Republicans.


Unfortunately,
this
is
more
likely
to
become
a
reality
if
you
do
not
take
affirmative
action.

Staten

Island
District
Attorney
Donovan
has
already
indicated
his
willingness
to
use
your
situation
as
a

"political
football."





While
I
certainly
believe
that
you
are
entitled
to
the
presumption
of
innocence
with
regard
to
all
of

the
legal
matters
that
have
emerged,
and
I
sincerely
wish
you
the
best
in
addressing
them,
I
also

believe
that
at
this
point
in
time
it
would
be
very
prudent
of
you
to
take
a
leave
of
absence
from
your

position
as
Chair
and
allow
another
District
Leader
‐
preferably
one
who
does
not
double
as
a
public

elected
official
‐
to
serve
as
Interim
Acting
Chair
until
such
time
as
these
investigations
are
resolved.


There
are
precedents
for
this
step,
most
notably
U.S.
Representative
Charles
Rangel's
decision
to

relinquish
his
title
as
Chair
of
the
House
Committee
on
Ways
and
Means
pending
the
outcome
of

investigations
involving
him.

Rep.
Rangel's
decision
was
made
in
the
interests
of
the
Democratic

Party
and
his
constituents.

I
am
asking
you
to
consider
these
same
interests
and
to
take
appropriate

‐
and
hopefully
temporary
‐‐
action.


Accordingly,
I
am
formally
requesting
that,
pursuant
to
Article
V,
Paragraph
3,
Section
(B)
of
our

governing
Rules,
a
Special
Meeting
of
the
Executive
Committee
be
called
on
or
prior
to
October
17th

to
discuss
these
matters,
to
provide
you
with
advice
as
to
how
to
proceed,
or
to
take
whatever
other

actions
are
deemed
necessary.


Thank
you
for
your
consideration
of
this
request.


Respectfully,


Chris
Owens