Gustavo Rivera, a little known figure running to unseat Pedro Espada (who unbelieveably still serves as the Senate Majority Leader), has picked up some powerful union allies. 1199 SEIU and 32BJ both endorsed his race to oust the ethically challenged Espada (see City Hall News article). These unions deserve a lot of credit for getting involved in this race. But it's hard to believe that so few Bronx political "leaders" have not jumped in as well. It is recognized state-wide as the most crucial seat that must be changed if the State Senate is to have any respect. Yet there is silence from the Bronx County Leadership -- that means Carl Heastie, Jeff Dinowitz, etc. The Bronx BP Rubin Diaz had a very public "lunch" with Gustavo yesterday but would not endorse yet. What does it take? It is mid-August, so there is only about a month to go in this race. If Gustavo does not pull this one out, it won't take a rocket scientist to figure out why.
Heatie + Dinowitz + Diaz = Zero
ReplyDeleteoh,oh, it wont be the first time they dont get involved , they will get involved when they know he is the winner,by then there will be a negative impact with respect to county support in the future and Gustavo knows how to play the cards.
ReplyDeleteThe Bronx Politicians are afraid to support anyone other than Espada because sadly there is a good chance he will buy, oops I mean win re-election so they would have to continue to work with him in the future. If Rivera or any primary contender had an ovewhelming lead/support they would be more inclined to step up.
ReplyDeleteRumor has it that a local elected official's mother was seen on video accepting free food handouts from Espada's people outside one of the Amalgamated buildings? Is this true? Can anyone confirm this rumor?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Amalgamated Shenanigans Blog, the incident invloves the mother of New York State Assemblyman Jeffrey E. Dinowitz. Here is the link to the blog and the video:
ReplyDeletehttp://amalgamatedshenanigans.blogspot.com/2010/08/disgraceful-doesnt-even-hit-mark.html