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.

 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.”