A City Council candidate is trying to use former President Donald Trump’s popularity with southern Brooklyn voters to unseat Republican incumbent Inna Vernikov.
Igor Kazatsker’s campaign submitted enough petition signatures to the Board of Elections for him to run as an independent in November’s general election, under a line called “Team Trump” — which has no affiliation with the ex-president, sources said.
The Trump-loving Vernikov accused Kazatsker of fabricating a relationship with the ex-president through the new line, saying she feels it’s part of an elaborate scheme to “manipulate” Republican constituents into splitting enough votes so that Democrat nominee Amber Adler could pull off an upset win over her in November.
“People need to be made aware that this is a made-up line with no connection to Trump,” said Vernikov, who has filed papers with the BOE challenging the petition signatures collected by Kazatsker.
Kazatsker, a Republican radio executive, is already running as a longshot candidate in the June 27 GOP primary against Vernikov, who has the party’s endorsement and received significant support from the real Team Trump during her 2021 Council campaign.
Democrats hold a large enrollment edge over Republicans in the district representing Sheepshead Bay and other nearby neighborhoods.
However, Trump easily carried the district over Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election as many of the district’s moderate-to-conservative Democrats crossed party lines.
Records show Kazatsker’s and Adler’s campaigns are separately using some of the same political consultants – including the same lawyer, Aaron Foldenauer.
Foldenauer insisted to The Post that Kazatsker and Adler aren’t in cahoots, adding Kazatsker’s strategy is trying to show constituents he’s the candidate who best represents Trump’s values.
When asked about representing two candidates in the same campaign, he said “Amber and Igor both hired me because they want to win, and I am one of the best election lawyers in the business.”
Kazatsker is an underling and handpicked candidate of Russian radio mogul Gregory Davidzon, who Vernikov alleges is trying to use his clout to bounce her off the Council because she refused to spend $30,000 on ads for his radio station WSNR 620-AM.
The allegations are under review by the Brooklyn DA’s office, the city Department of Investigation, and the city Campaign Finance Board.
