Ben Franklin Endorsement 13 C.D.

  The room was packed with Ben Franklin Club members (of the 81st Assembly District), and many others to see just who the Ben Franklin Democratic Club would endorse in the Democratic Primary in the 13th Congressional District. There was also the option of a no endorsement vote, as it was the same for the other position on the agenda the 34th State Senate District. 

   The 34th S.D. was first up, and there were no challengers to incumbent Senator Jeff Klein who had just picked up the bulk of 81st A.D. after redistricting. That fact was pointed out by currentwho said that working with one state senator who has the bulk of the district is better than four who each have a small piece of the assembly district.

   A wrench was thrown into the mix by Lorraine Coyle Koppell (wife of Councilman G. Oliver Koppell) when she asked if Senator Klein would support a Democrat for leader of the state senate or a Republican if his vote would make the difference. Senator Klein said that he is a Democrat, and would support a Democrat for senate leader if the opportunity came up. 

   Next up were four of the five candidates running for the 13th Congressional District. Current State Senator Adriano Espiallat, Ms. Joyce Johnson, Current 15th C.D. Congressman Charlie Rangel, and Mr. Craig Schley. Mr. Clyde Williams the fifth candidate in the race for the 13 C.D. decided to forgo this endorsement meeting. There were some questions and then Ben Franklin Club President Ms. Ellen Feld read the rules for the voting, that there was always the choice of no endorsement also for any position. 

   Senator Jeff Klein received the endorsement of the Ben Franklin Club 59 yes to 19 no endorsement votes for a 75% margin. In the 13th C.D. Senator Espiallat won the endorsement with 54 votes (70%) to 13 for Congressman Rangel, 2 for Mr. Schley, 1 for Ms. Johnson, 1 for Mr. Williams, 4 no endorsement, and two invalid ballots with more than one candidate marked.

Left - 13 C.D. Candidate Ms. Joyce Johnson.   Right - 13 C.D. candidate Mr. Craig Schley. 

Left -  Senator Adriano Espiallat making his point for the endorsement.  Right - Congressman Charlie Rangel talking about his record in congress.

Left - A joyous Senator Espiallat after receiving the Ben Franklin endorsement for the 13 C.D. with supporter Councilman G. Oliver Koppell.    Right - Senator Jeff Klein with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.

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13th Congressional Race Mr. Clyde Williams

    Redistricting has changed the once majority black district into a majority Hispanic district. While Harlem, East Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood remain as part of the district 200,000 Bronx voters have been added to the district. The mostly Hispanic communities of Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights, Van Cortlandt Village, and most of Kingsbridge were placed in the new 13th Congressional District. A date of June 26th was also place as the date of the new congressional primary.

   Charlie Rangel has claimed to be the incumbent in this new district as most of it came from his old 15th Congressional District. Rangel has the backing of the Manhattan and Bronx Democratic county machines (and we said that both Democratic county leaders were looking at the proposed district lines for a possible future run). State Senator Adriano Espaillat announced his intention to run in the now majority Hispanic 13th C.D. Senator Espaillat has nothing to loose if he does not get elected to congress, as he can still run for his state senate seat in the September Democratic primary.

   We sat down last week with Mr. Clyde Williams, who is another candidate in the 13th Congressional race.  Mr. Williams is concerned how the district has problems that have not been addressed by Congressman Rangel. High unemployment, lack of jobs, poor public education, lack of accountability, and high oil prices are high on his priority list of things to get done. How can Clyde get that done, I asked. Mr. Williams who first praised Congressman Rangel for the good things that he did in the past, and said that there are new problems now then there were in the past. He went on to say that there are huge health care disparities and education gaps.

   Mr. Williams spoke of putting people to work in the jobs that are needed, such as nursing, auto mechanics, electricians, and other good paying jobs. when I asked about the Empowerment Zone that Congressman Rangel set up, Mr. Williams said most are out of business by using the funds for the community, but that "the Harlem Empowerment Zone still has lots of money left". Mr. Williams said that up to 5,000 new jobs could be created right now if tourism was set up not only for lower Manhattan, but the rest of the city. New Hotels and restaurants could be built for tourist to stay over rather then come for an hour or two, or to see the Yankee game then leave.

  When I asked Mr. Williams what his qualifications for congress were, he said that he knows the D.C. area very well, the president, and how congress works. He added that he worked for both President Clinton and President Obama in high level positions. Mr. Williams believes like others do that in this election the Bronx will play a key role in determining who the representative from the 13th Congressional District will be. He is making important connections in the Bronx, and plans to keep them. when asked if he is doing all this to set up for a run for office when Congressman Rangel decides to retire possibly in 2014 or sooner, Mr. Clyde Williams said "I am in this race to win this race".

Mr. Clyde Williams stands in front of the Kingsbridge Armory with two of his supporters

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Here the trio stand by the Kingsbridge Road Subway station of the   # 4 subway line. On Mr. Williams left is Mr. Ephraim Cruz of Bronx For Change, and Mr. Anthony Rivveccio of NWBD on his right.

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New York Hispanic Clergy Organization

  The New York Hispanic Clergy Organization held their 24th annual Ministers Banquet last week. The NYHC honored Bishop Abelardo Batista, Apostle Rene Cruz, Rev. Pedro Olivieri, Rev. Mirna Padro, Mr. Pedro Sanchez, and Colonel Jaun Bautista Jimenez Reinoso who were recognized for their outstanding commitment to the people of New York City. Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz Sr.is the president of the NYHC which meant that many elected officials up to U.S. Senator Charles Schumer were in attendance, as well as over 700 other supporters of the NYHC.

NYHC member Ms. Lourdes Colon warms up the crowd before the event started.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer addresses the audience. Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. is behind left, as to the right are New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Bronx Democratic County Leader Carl Heastie, and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr..

Good friends Senator (and candidate for Congress) Adriano Espaillat and Bronx BP Diaz pose for this picture as Bronx Democratic County Leader Heastie looks on.

Congressman Charlie Rangel stands between Senator Diaz Sr. and Bronx BP Diaz Jr., with Rangel political consultant Mike Nieves to the right.

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