Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., & the Bronx Clergy Task Force

                                      

     Invite you to join our--- “Peace in Our Streets” Initiative

  

“Peace in Our Streets” is a borough-wide community outreach initiative where members of the faith-based community, along with volunteers, go out into the community and speak to fellow Bronxites and disseminate information about ways they can make their neighborhoods safer and help to remove guns from our city’s streets.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

12:00 p.m. – Convene

1:00-4:00 p.m. – Community Outreach

Greater Faith Temple

4214 White Plains Road

If you are outraged by violence in our communities,

be part of the solution and volunteer your time on September 25th!!

This a special call to action to all Bronx houses of worship,

young adults and all Bronxites!

Please wear light blue to signify peace.

 

Bronx Democratic County Organization Getting Very Busy

   Now that the Democratic primary is over the Bronx Democratic County Committee is getting very busy in the next two weeks. Notices are being sent out to all county committee members and Judaical delegates and alternates of the upcoming meetings.

   On Wednesday evening September 22nd the Bronx Democratic County Committee will meet, and decide on officers, after that the elected officers and district leaders will then vote on the county leader. Current Bronx Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie is confident that he will be re-elected as Bronx County Leader. The Bronx County Committee meeting will take place at the Eastwood Manor located at 3371 Eastchester Road just south of Boston Road.

   On Thursday night September 23rd the newly elected Bronx County Judicial delegates and alternates will convene to nominate Judicial candidates. The meeting will take place at the Villa Barone Manor located at 737 Throggs Neck Expy, at Phillip Ave. 

   I was able to ask Chairman Heastie about the primary results, and he said that he should not be badgered about loosing only one race (the 86th assembly), when all of the other candidates he backed won. I also asked Chairman Heastie his thoughts on the Republican candidate for governor Carl Palidino. Heastie said "Carl Palidino is the one person that you would want for an opponent, Palidino is a racist, bigot, and anti woman Andrew Cuomo can't loose".  A few weeks ago Republican candidate Carl Palidino visited the Bronx where I was able to ask him his opinion of the recent test score uproar, and bilingual education. Palidino said that he could not give me an answer on those two important education issues, becaus he did not know about them. I wonder if Mr. Palidino has done his research on those and many other important issues to the voters, and would quit using scare tactics that mean nothing to the voters.

Primary 2010 Continued

   We were going around the 33rd State Senate District on primary day, and saw that there was very low voter turnout. We believe that this was because there was no real race of importance to many voters. One reason the turnout was higher in the northern part of the 33rd State Senate District was the fact that the attorney general race was of interest to those voters. Since current AG Andrew Cuomo filed suit charging that Pedro Espada stole 14 million dollars from his Soundview Health Center, that must have been one reason Espada did so bad (being outvoted by up to 5 to 1) in the northern part of the 33rd senate district. 

   While the final tallies won't be in for a few days we were told that Espada did manage to win in the 86th A.D. and was close in the 78th A.D., but only by a very slim margin which was not enough to offset his tremendous deficit from the northern part of the district. 

   I was with Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. when the polls closed and saw that Senator Diaz was both happy and sad at the same time. When I  asked Senator Diaz what was wrong he told me " yes I have won big, but it is looking like I will loose an amigo in the senate". Senator Diaz then told me the early numbers from the northern part of the 33rd State Senate District which had Pedro Espada Jr. behind by very large numbers. 

   I then traveled up to the Gustavo Rivera Victory celebration to arrive as the results were coming in over the televisions that were on. The crowd cheered every time new numbers came in, and the loudest roar came when Senator Pedro Espada Jr. admitted defeat. 

   When Mr. Gustavo Rivera arrived the crowd went crazy chanting "GUSTAVO-GUSTAVO-GUSTAVO" again and again until it was time for the primary winner (and as the Bronx votes new state senator) to speak. Gustavo Rivera first thanked his parents for the way he was brought up, then thanking Ms. Hunter and Dan Padernacht (former candidates who united with him) to defeat Pedro Espada Jr. next came a slip of the lip (or maybe Senator Rivera knows something we don't) as Gustavo thanked Borough President Jeffrey Dinowitz. After correcting himself he thanked Assemblyman Dinowitz, Bronx BP Ruben Diaz Jr., Councilman G. Oliver Koppell (one of the first elected officials to support Mr. Rivera), the rest of the elected officials on hand, the unions for their help and ended by thanking the Working Families Party who also helped in the victory. Mr. Gustavo Rivera now has the Democratic line which all but ensures him victory in the November general election. Mr. Rivera will also have the Working Families Party line, but must face Pedro Espada Jr. again who does have the Independence Party line in the November general election.

Primary Day 2010 The Day After

   It is the day after Primary Day 2010 and the dust is settling so here's what happened.

   In the 33rd State Senate District Gustavo Rivera won, and won big 62% to 33% for Pedro Espada Jr., with 5% going to Dan Padernacht who withdrew to support Gustavo Rivera. 

   In Bronx Assembly races all incumbents have won.

   76th- Peter Rivera squeaks out a victory over his challenger 56% to 44%.

   78th- Jose Rivera wins by 76% to 24% for his challenger.

   80th- Naomi Rivera wins by 69% to 31% over her novice challenger.

   82nd- Mike Bennadetto wins with 73% to 27% split between two challengers.

   85th- Marcos Crespo wins with 73% over his challenger.

   86th- Nelson Castro pulls this one out by winning 56% to 44%. 

   In other State Senate races- 

   28- Jose M. Serrano wins by over 2 to 1 over his challenger (we did not have the exact figures).

   31- Adriano Espaillat wins with 51% to 33% for Mark Levine, and 16% for the other 2 candidates.

   32- Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. wins big 79% to 21% for his challenger.

  In the Attorney General race current State Senator Eric Schniderman won 34% to 32% for Rice, and 33% split between the 3 other AG candidates.

   The other big upset is look out Andrew Cuomo, because upstate businessman Carl Palidino won big in the Republican primary for governor by almost 2 to 1. Rick Lazio did however hold on to win the primary for governor in the Conservative party 60% to 40%, but it does not look good for the conservatives.

  We will have more details and comments in future reports, and in our column 100 PERCENT which appears in the Bronx News, Parkchester News, and Coop-City News.

 

Primary Day 2010 Final Update

   Voter turnout is much lighter than expected since there has been no real reason for voters other than those in the  Riverdale section of the borough to come out and vote for the Attorney General race, and while there are some local races are of importance it looks like the majority of registered voters in the Bronx will complain once again about their elected officials the day after the primary. This time those who did not vote can only look in the mirror and say to themselves, just why didn't you vote yesterday? 

   There have been reports of allegations of impropriety at the poll sites in almost every assembly district, with most having been reported in the 33rd State Senate District. There have been problems citywide with Mayor Bloomberg saying that this morning has been a royal screw up by the board of elections. 

   We are heading out for our final voter tallies, and will be visiting different campaign headquarters to be with the winners and see how those who did not win are doing. 

   We are now calling the 33rd State Senate race a toss up that could go either way due to the very low turnout.

Primary Day 2010 Update

   We just got back from voting, visiting a few poll sites, and having the honor of being at PS 8 where Pedro Espada cast his ballot. 

   First while I was shocked to see only two ballot scan machines at my poll site that has 11 election districts, voting  however went smooth and fast for me. There was no line as my Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz was not facing a primary, so my paper ballot was very easy to read and understand.

   Upon visiting some other poll sites I saw smooth and fast voting with little problems,  just the usual where do I vote. Turnout in the morning has been very light, and even at the larger poll sites. 

   At 10AM I was at PS 8 where Pedro Espada Jr. walked in to his poll site and signed in to vote. Senator Espada was given a paper ballot, asked if he knew how to fill it in, and then given a privacy sleeve to mark his ballot at one of the privacy booths that were set up. When Senator Espada finished marking his ballot he was instructed to go to the ballot scan machine to cast his ballot. Doing so as his vote was scanned and then recorded Espada said "see how easy it is". He added that he is confident that he will be returned to Albany even though it looks like it will be a low voter turnout. Mr. Espada's vote was number 17 at 10:05 AM which seemed low for his poll site. When asked by a reporter who he voted for Espada jokingly said "Padernacht".

More in future updates.

Primary Day 2010

As primary Day 2010 begins there are reports that a shortage of voter scan machines has occurred in the Bronx.

We have been told that there will be only two voter scan machines per poll site no matter how large the poll site may be. 

We will be trying to catch up on some of the important races, and hope to watch New York State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. as he casts his ballot today at 10 A.M. at his local Bronx polling site.

We urge you to carefully look at your ballot to make sure that no stray marks are on it where you are to mark your choice of candidate. This could result in the voter scan machine informing you that there is a problem with your ballot. If you make an error you can ask for a new ballot.

BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT HOSTS THE ANNUAL

SEPTEMBER 11^TH MEMORIAL SERVICE

WHEN:           Wednesday, September 15, 2010

TIME:             12:00 pm 

WHERE:             Steps of the Bronx County 

             Courthouse 851 Grand Concourse          

                        East 161^st Street

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. encourages everyone throughout the Bronx and adjoining boroughs to join him, along with community leaders and residents of the borough, to commemorate the lives and sacrifices of those lost on September 11^th during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

The memorial service will take place on the steps of the Bronx County Courthouse, located at 851 Grand Concourse at East 161^st Street. The Fire Department of New York and the New York Police Department, in addition to other government agencies and community groups, will play a key role in the memorial service.

                                                                                                                      

Borough President's Diaz Jr.'s response to New York State's math and reading tests

In response to concerns regarding the ongoing controversy over adjustments to New York State’s math and reading tests, which are used to measure progress at public schools in the Bronx and across the City, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. has sent a letter to State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, chairperson of the State Senate’s education committee.

The letter urges Senator Oppenheimer to hold hearings on the test score issue in all five boroughs, including the Bronx, and in other communities across New York State. In addition, the letter asks that Senator Oppenheimer also require former State Education Commissioner Richard Mills to testify at any hearing that is held.

Bronx Democratic County Committee Barbecue Huge Success

   Today was the Bronx County Democratic County Committee barbecue, and while it rained midway through the barbecue there was no shortage of elected officials ( to many to list in this column) from the City Council, to the State Legislature, to the U. S. Senate and Congress. The Board of Elections even had the new voting machines on hand for demos by the elected officials and public. 

    Some of what we call the best quotes were. Speaker Quinn on advice from Councilman G. Oliver Koppell, “he gives it to me when I ask for it , and gives it to me when I don't”. Councilman Koppell said, “here in the Bronx we are all proud democrats without a single republican elected official”. New York State Comptroller Tom Di Napoli said “even though I have no primary on Tuesday that should not stop people from coming out to vote”. New York City Comptroller John Liu said that it has now been eight months that he has been in office, and that he will help to re-elect democrats. Comptroller Liu also thanked Bronx County Leader Carl E. Heastie and the Bronx Democratic organization for their support in last year's elections. State Senator Ruth Hassel-Thompson who also does not have a primary this year said, “I will be helping other democrats who do have a primary challenge win and help move the Democratic majority agenda in the State Senate”. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said, “ we have a lot of friends running for  office”, naming a few like Richard Brodsky, Hector Rameriz, and Gustavo Rivera. Congressman Jose Serrano predicted victory in the congress, senate, and the re-election of President Obama in 2012. When I asked about redistricting next year Congressman Serrano said that he has no idea if his district will change, and that he will run where ever his district starts and ends. Chairman Heastie said that he could not be happier by the turnout of people and elected officials, and plans to do it again next year. Due to the rain the dunk the elected official tank was not used, but will put away for next year's barbecue. From what I heard there were a lot of elected officials who volunteered their district leaders to sit in for them.