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.

 Here is a story from the New York Post dated September 10, 2010 we thought you may like highlighting the 33rd State Senate Race.

We must add that Mr. Ricky Martinez is running for the position of Male State Committee in the 78th Assembly District, and is a part of the Jose Rivera Slate of candidates in the 78th Assembly District. Assemblyman Jose Rivera has endorsed Pedro Espada Jr. in the 33rd State Senate race over Gustavo Rivera.

Mr. Robert Press in his political column 100 PERCENT that appears in the Bronx News, Parkchester News, and the Coop-City News has predicted in the 33rd State Senate race that Gustavo Rivera will become the new state senator in the 33rd district.

Senate Primary Down to Espada vs. Rivera

The 33rd Senate District Democratic primary, a closely-watched contest for months now, has now become a two-horse race.

Daniel Padernacht, a lawyer and member of Community Board 8, officially announced on Tuesday, September 7 that he will be backing out of the race and supporting Gustavo Rivera over the other option, the incumbent Pedro Espada.

It is too late to remove his name from the September 14 ballot, so instead Padernacht has asked his supporters to give Rivera the Democratic nomination.

“I have determined that the right thing for me to do is step aside,” Padernacht said.

“We thought we had a great chance,” he continued. “We did not see it as an absolute win... there is a better chance to unseat Pedro Espada if we support Rivera. We need a new mix of personalities in Albany; legislatures that are willing to work together. My decision comes with the hope of reforming Albany.”

Some residents were disappointed, but for the most part the Padernacht decision deminishes the possibility of him and Rivera splitting the anti-Espada vote, which many opponents of Espada felt sure would happen.

Robert Press, a member of the Committee of 100 Democrats, was unsure of what to expect now. “I myself favored Dan Padernacht,” he said. “We [the C100 committee] couldn’t come to a consensus on endorsing a candidate in the 33rd, so there was no offical endorsement made.”

Ricky Martinez, who is running for State Committee in the 78th Assembly District, was equally puzzled as to what we can expect now from the primary, and could not predict a likely winner.

“I liked Dan. To me he was a great candidate,” said Martinez. “Now we have to ask, which is the best of two evils? I don’t think Rivera is ready. He has something he is hiding. Espada, yes, he has crossed over party lines, but he has also brought revenue to the community.”

Martinez continued: “Espada is a good candidate. But the man has pissed off a lot of people.”

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, the newspaper El Diario and Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. are among those who have now officially endorsed Gustavo Rivera.

But the BP’s father, State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. supports the reelection of Pedro Espada.

It has become, according to most, the biggest race in September 14’s Democratic primary, and with the added support of Padernacht, Gustavo Rivera feels he has a real shot.

“One of the great things about having Dan on my team now is that I want to work with him not only to get elected, but also, looking forward, to make the Bronx better,” said Rivera over the phone while knocking on doors late at night Tuesday, September 7. “I love knocking on doors like this. I’ve done it for other candidates, but this is the first time I’ve done it for myself. It’s so refreshing to talk to people in their homes about what’s important to them, and this is something Pedro Espada does not do.”

Rivera said that grassroots effort has made his candidacy stronger. “Over the past few weeks, we have put together a union of community leaders like Dan to make sure we can defeat Espada. I think we stand a pretty good shot, but we are not taking this for granted. We will continue to knock on doors every single night.”

What The Newspaper Column 100 PERCENT Left Out

   In case you read the print copy of the column 100 PERCENT that ended "We suggest to the 80^th A.D. Male District Leader Kenny Agosto", and wanted to know how the column ended, here it is.

   We suggest to the 80^th A.D. Male District Leader Kenny Agosto who decided not to challenge the incumbent this year, that he should start his 2012 candidacy for the 80^th assembly on September 15^th 2010. 

   In next weeks column's of 100 PERCENT we will be looking into our crystal ball once again to try to get some more information on Primary day results as our deadline for the column will be Monday afternoon the day before Primary day. 

   Things seem to be getting a little closer and just how much of an impact will those new voting machines have on the election, as candidate Charlie Ramos (32nd Senate District) has also asked for the Justice Department to monitor the Primary day election.

BRONX VETERANS DAY PARADE TO BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER  25th.

THE BRONX VETERANS COMMITTEE WOULD BE HONORED TO HAVE YOU JOIN OUR VETERANS FOR OUR 3^RD ANNUAL BRONX VETERANS PARADE.

The Parade: Starts 11:00am at E. 178^th St & Crotona Pkway. Travel along Southern Blvd to E.180^th Street, making right turn           

                      at E. 180^th Street, and on to 1^st stop (Old Soldiers Cemetery), then 2^nd/last stop (Vidalia Park).

Wreath Laying Ceremony: At Old Soldiers Cemetery (E. 180th Street, b/w Southern Boulevard and Boston Rd).

Reviewing Stand, Socialization & Entertainment: Until 5:00pm in Vidalia Park on E.180th Street (b/w Vyse & Daly Ave),

COME ONE!      COME ALL!  

Salute the Veterans!

3^RD Annual Bronx Veterans Parade                             

                         

 SAVE THE DATE                                              Saturday, 9/25/10

                         (RAIN OR SHINE) 

              The Line Up: Starts 9:00am at  

               E.178^th Street & Crotona Pkway                              

                                                                       

                    

CO-CHAIRPERSON: Raymond Lettsome

(718) 824-2197


 

SGM Santiago 1917559-6248

   CHAIRPERSON:

   Dolores Steele          

   (718) 506-6533

Croton Filter Project - CFMC Meeting Next Week

Agenda

Croton Facility Monitoring Committee Meeting

Thursday, September 16, 2010 – 7:00 PM

DEP Community Office, 3660 Jerome Avenue, Bronx NY 10467

 

I Welcome      Damian McShane, Chairman
 

II Consider, Adopt 6/17/10 Meeting Minutes CFMC Representatives
 

III Construction Update and Look-ahead  Bernard Daly, DEP

      Including Status of Force Main
 

IV Brief Update on Croton Jobs, Training  Mark Lanaghan, DEP  

      Including M/WBE Meeting on 10/13/10 

V  Status of Public Access Report   Mark Lanaghan  
 

VI CFMC Discussion, Set Next Meeting  CFMC Representatives
 

VII Adjourn

 

Dan Padernacht Endorses Gustavo Rivera in 33rd State Senate District

   In front of the municipal building, and across the street from City Hall, Dan Padernacht officially  ended his campaign for the 33rd State Senate District.  All the elected officials including Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., New York City Comptroller John Liu and Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio, State Senators Eric Schniderman and Liz Kruger, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, and former Bronx Borough President Freddy Ferrer said that Dan Padernacht was doing the right thing by ending his campaign for the 33rd State Senate and endorsing Gustavo Rivera to defeat incumbent Pedro Espada Jr. 

   Ruben Diaz Jr. said that it is not only knowing when you have to step up, but more important to know when to step aside for the good of the community. Freddy Ferrer said to Mr. Padernacht "Dan you did the right thing,and that does not always happen in politics". Assemblyman Dinowitz said that it is not often that people put the good of the community before their own political ambitions. Dinowitz and those gathered again thanked Dan Padernacht for his unselfish act of withdrawing to support Gustavo Rivera to defeat Pedro Espada Jr. 

   Dan Padernacht thanked everyone for their words of praise, and for creating a unified democratic front. He added that "it was a difficult decision to withdraw, but in order to defeat Pedro Espada Jr. we needed a united front".  He ended by saying that he will help Gustavo Rivera defeat Pedro Espada Jr. in any way he can.

   Gustavo Rivera then thanked all who came to support him, and mostly Dan Padernacht saying "from the first time we met Dan showed me that ha cared about community issues". Rivera added that with your support we will win on September 14th, and that he wants people like Dan Padernacht and Assemblyman Dinowitz, and others to be with him in Albany. " This is not about me or Pedro ,but it is about the needs of the people of the district and the Bronx.

New Voting Machine Demo at Bronx Courthouse

   Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the Board of Elections gave those in attendance a demonstration on exactly how the new ballot scan voting machines work. Board of Elections spokeswoman Valerie Vasquez along with Bronx Board of Elections Commissioners J.C. Polanco (republican) and Naomi Barrera (democrat) who were on hand to say a few words on just how easy it is to use the new voting machines. Ms. Vasquez said that there has been community outreach with neighborhood demos such as today's, to ads on buses, in newspapers, and on television and radio. BP Diaz said that it is important for people come out and vote. He added that "this is a very important election, and we will be using new voting machines".

   The demo started with BP Diaz being given a sample ballot to fill out in one of the available privacy booths that was equipped with a magnifying sheet if needed. BP Diaz read the items on each line to be voted, and said aloud his choices on the sample ballot. When he was finished filling out the sample ballot he was instructed to feed the finished ballot in to the Ballot Scan Machine (see photo below). After accepting the ballot the number one came up in the vote tally area to show that the ballot was accepted and counted. BP Diaz asked for another sample ballot this time to mark more than one choice in the same line. When he fed the finished second ballot into the Ballot Scan Machine a red and green light came up warning that there was an error on the ballot. The red light was to be touched if the voter wants to redo their choices on a different ballot, or the green light can be touched if the voter wants the incorrect ballot to be processed anyway with the error. Voters will be given up to three times to cast a ballot on the new machines if an error happens.

  We would caution you however to check you ballot before you start marking it for any errant stray marks that may have gotten onto it by accident that could be read by the Ballot Scan Machine to void one or more lines. If you do receive a ballot with a mark on it you should go to the person in charge at the polling site to report it, and you may want to also call the board of elections at 212-487-5300 to report it also.

   We must say that we might agree with the candidate in the 33rd State Senate District who has asked for federal observers to oversee the election in that district, and we can think of other districts where impartial observers might be needed. We however hope that it does not come to a court case like was the case in the 2000 Florida election.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. feeds sample ballot into the new Ballot Scan Voting Machine. Ms. Valerie Vasquez of the Board of Elections is also in the photo.

  

Dan Padernacht ending 33rd State Senate Bid and Endorsing Gustavo Rivera

   Tuesday morning at City Hall 33rd State Senate candidate Dan Padernacht will be ending his state senate campaign, and endorsing Gustavo Rivera in the race to defeat Pedro Espada Jr. 

   We sat down with Dan Padernacht who said "while I believe that I am percentage points ahead, I can't be sure that Pedro Espada Jr. will be defeated in a three way race". "My goal has been to defeat Pedro Espada Jr., and I will now support Gustavo Rivera for the good of the Democratic Party". 

   While Padernacht's name will still appear on the ballot he will be campaigning with Gustavo Rivera around the 33rd State Senate District, urging his supporters to defeat Pedro Espada Jr. by voting for Gustavo Rivera.