Ask and You Shall Receive: A Mindy Meyer Voter Steps Forward

On Wednesday, we asked readers to step forward if they were one of the 2,553 residents who voted for Republican state Senate candidate Mindy Meyer, self-proclaimed Diva of the District. 

Lanielle, a 33-year-old attorney and Flatbush native, answered the call, saying that she voted for Meyer not because she's in favor of Meyer herself, but because of her strong distaste for incumbent Kevin Parker.

"I can't think of one thing that Mr. Parker has done for the Flatbush community, other than bring embarrassment and negative publicity to the area," she wrote in an email, referring to the senator's famously bad temper—Parker was sentenced to three years probation after assaulting a New York Post photographer in 2009. 

"I'm just sick of voting for him," she told Patch during a phone call on Friday. "He's constantly in the news for flying off the handle. He always seems to be in trouble."

Parker has long been known as an inflammatory figure: In addition the assault, he is also known for once referring to a Republican colleague as a white supremacist. 

Outbursts aside, Lanielle, who asked Patch not to print her last name, finds Parker to be an ineffectual leader, citing his absence in the face of SUNY Downstate Medical Center facing possible closure. 

"He's never anywhere to be found when these things are going on," she said. "But lo and behold, he gets elected again, because he's been in the job for so long and everyone knows who he is."

"They see his name and just check the box," she said. 

This year, Lanielle decided to vote for Meyer in protest, despite knowing little about Meyer or her policies — or even that she had a fluorescent pink website. 

She added that had she been more familiar with Meyer, she may have reconsidered her decision to vote for her. 

"Had I known, I may have just left it blank, but I don’t like doing that," she said. "I want to vote for someone, otherwise I feel like I’m not voicing my concerns."