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Monday, October 17, 2011
City Hall News Profiles Potential Citywide Latino Leaders
Laura Nahmias at City Hall News profiled the prospects for a number of latino leaders in the upcoming Citywide elections. In the article she expresses some doubt as to whether anyone can pull it together for the 2013 elections. She writes "Others suggested that the city’s best Latino leadership was being groomed for state and federal office rather than citywide positions. Rising stars like Sens. Gustavo Rivera and Adriano Espaillat are said to have sidestepped city office altogether, leaving an age gap between older machine politicians and the young Latinos now filling the City Council. Espaillat, for example, is said to be considering running for a seat in Congress. The federal level has its advantages: Politicians can control funds for their districts without having to kiss the rings of local Democratic Party leaders." Of Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, she says "One potential candidate to be the first is Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who is young, charismatic and experienced but is little-known outside the Bronx—except for helping kill a plan to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory in a dispute over wages there." 2013 should be an interesting year.
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The article also states: "A number of obstacles stand in the way—from what some consider to be Latino political subservience to Democratic machine politics, to a spate of scandals in the Bronx, to the relative youth and inexperience of Latino politicians in the outer boroughs."
ReplyDeleteRegarding scandals, I fear that some of the "rising stars" seem more likely to follow in the disgusting footsteps of ex-Councilman Miguel Martinez, ex-State Senator Efrain Gonzalez Jr., ex-State Senator (and ever so briefly Acting Lieutenant Governor) Pedro Espada Jr. and ex-State Senator Hiram Monserrate.
If the rising stars are Gustavo Rivera, Adriano Espaillat and Ruben Diaz Jr., that's one very dim constellation.
ReplyDeleteIt really wasn't that that long ago when Martinez, Gonzalez, Espada, and Monserate were so-called rising stars . . . . But look at them now.
ReplyDeleteIf you ultimately boil politics down to ethnicity, which is often the case in NYC, you have to acknowledge the differences within the Latino community. Its fair to say that for years, Puerto Ricans have dominated have been the dominant voice of the larger Latino community. Dominicans are changing that and are not going to be satisfied unless 'one of there own' gets a taste.
ReplyDeleteIt is pure ignorance to regard these politicians as future citywide leaders based solely on the fact that they are Latinos in local elective office.
ReplyDeleteDoes being a person of Latin-American descent make an empty suit any less empty?
Mark my words: A statesman with the wisdom and vision of Ruben Diaz, Jr. comes along only once in a generation. That man is going to be the Governor of New York someday, and from there the sky is the limit.
ReplyDeleteBased on the exuberantly laudatory remarks about Baby Diaz, it's safe to say that Anon. Oct. 19 @ 8:57 is totally off his rocker!
ReplyDeleteSo mark my words -- Ruben Diaz Jr. is not fit for any citywide office or statewide office.
Diaz is a lightweight. No way he becomes governor, mayor or anything higher than the largely ceremonial post he now holds.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed how many people who choose to make comments here are anonymous. What does that say about our current Bronx political structure that people are afraid to put their names. As for the Governor comment, I'll believe when I see. If this armory thing is not corrected before his BP term is over...he's finished. As for Gustavo, there is a man with a very promising future, he has the natural intellect, charisma and community-minded work ethic...the only issue is does he want a political future...He did the Senate thing because no one else would dare challenge Espada...he wasn't interested in running..but..he has been good at it thus far...
ReplyDeletePolitics? Too cut-throat, says George Clooney
ReplyDeletePeople here don't comment anonymously because we are afraid to show our names...we comment anonymously so we can say outlandish things without fear of consequences.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Clooney for Bronx Borough President!
ReplyDeleteYes, in the blog world some comments are outlandish claptrap. However, most of what I read on Bronx Political Chatter is well-reasoned and thought-provoking commentary .... It's basically an open and uninhibited marketplace of opinion. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 10/20/2011 5:11 a.m.: That was my point. We should all be able and willing to speak freely without FEAR of consequences. The fact that people do not feel that they can speakly freely, says a lot about the current Bronx Political structure. I agree that this blog has well-reasoned and thought-provoking commentary. I just think it is sad that those who participate, and have a good vision for the Bronx, have to hide. I use to put "Anonymous" in the past. But, I am tired of hiding. This is a free country and if we cannot express ourselves without fear of reprisal what does it say about this borough, city, state and country. Last I checked, we lived in a democracy. Keep the visions coming, and a new dawn may rise.
ReplyDeleteSomeone correct me if I'm wrong, but don't many of the Hispanic politicians mentioned in the article seem like anachronisms?
ReplyDeleteDiaz Jr. fell short on the armory thing and now its time to admit it just has not worked out and move on.
ReplyDeleteDiaz Jr. did not "blow it" on the armory situation. In the short-term it may seem that way, but in the long-term, he will be vindicated. I think a good compatison is Dennis Kucinich's stand on Cleveland's Muni Light when he was their "boy mayor." His refusal to sell Muni Light lead Cleveland into default and his political banishment, only to become vindicated in the long run when it was found that his action saved Cleveland consumers hundreds of millions of dollars. I think Diaz Jr. will be similiarly vinidicated. If developers want tax incentives and abatements, they need to pay their workers a fair wage. We aren't talking $52,000 a year. We are talking $1- per hour. The people who want to hang Diaz Jr. on this are shills. Plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteRob Giuffre sounds like a paid Diaz apologist.
ReplyDeleteHe kind of reminds me of that old Iraqi information minister Baghdad Bob, who used to defend Saddam Hussein by claiming that no US troops were invading, everything was just fine, and Saddam is on the winning side of history.
That's funny . . . We can call him Baghdad Rob!
ReplyDeleteBaghdad Robby also sounds like the late Colonel Qaddafi's son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, who claimed "We broke the backbone of the rebels ... so we are winning!"
ReplyDeleteNot paid one penny -- just my honest take on the situation. These corporations would of wanted massive tax incentives and abatements, and then they would of turned around and offered part-time jobs that pay $8 per hour...not exactly a good deal for the city. Especially when you think about the greed on the part of the corporations. Would the difference of $3 per hour really make the project unfeaseable? Come on now... $5.5 million dollar a year profit isn't enough? How much of a difference is there from $5.8 million and $5.5 million (of course using made up numbers, but you get the point). And to Diaz Jr.: sometimes things that you are scorned for you should be adored for. And why don't the rest of the "Anonymous" commenters form an opinion that the Post's and Daily News'editorial board doesn't cram down your throats? Think for yourselves.
ReplyDeleteThis Armory Deal would of been the same kind of crappy project like the Gateway Mall or even the ripoff job the Yankees pulled on the Bronx and the City with the new stadium. It was a sham deal, and Diaz Jr. doesn't need to apologize.
ReplyDeleteHey Rob .. Plain and simple: the situation at the armory sucks and Diaz is one of the main reasons why!
ReplyDeleteHere are Some Actual Quotes From the Former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf (a/k/a "Baghdad Bob"), compiled by WeLoveTheIraqiInformationMinister.com :
ReplyDelete"There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!"
"My feelings - as usual - we will slaughter them all"
"Our initial assessment is that they will all die"
"I blame Al-Jazeera - they are marketing for the Americans!"
"God will roast their stomachs in hell at the hands of Iraqis."
'We have destroyed 2 tanks, fighter planes, 2 helicopters and their shovels - We have driven them back."
"Surrender or be burned in their tanks."
"No I am not scared and neither should you be!"
"We have them surrounded in their tanks"
Britain "is not worth an old shoe."
Of U.S. troops: "They are most welcome. We will butcher them."
"We will welcome them with bullets and shoes."
"Washington has thrown their soldiers on the fire"
"These cowards have no morals. They have no shame about lying"
"They're not even [within] 100 miles [of Baghdad]. They are not in any place. They hold no place in Iraq. This is an illusion ... they are trying to sell to the others an illusion."
"They do not even have control over themselves! Do not believe them!"
"Faltering forces of infidels cannot just enter a country of 26 million people and lay besiege to them! They are the ones who will find themselves under siege. Therefore, in reality whatever this miserable Rumsfeld has been saying, he was talking about his own forces. Now even the American command is under siege."
"They tried to bring a small number of tanks and personnel carriers in through al-Durah but they were surrounded and most of their infidels had their throats cut."
"We made them drink poison last night and Saddam Hussein's soldiers and his great forces gave the Americans a lesson which will not be forgotten by history. Truly."
READ MORE AT: WeLoveTheIraqiInformationMinister.com
Baghdad Bobby has no head for business.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it:
ReplyDelete1) Ruben Diaz, Jr. is a flop.
2) That empty Kingsbridge Armory is very ominous for the Bronx.
3) The full consequences of Diaz’s shortsightedness will be felt for many many years to come.
It's really easy for most of us to guess who Baghdad Boy's sugar daddy might be!
ReplyDeleteHey Giuffre,
ReplyDeleteYou had my support when you went up against Snookie, but I did not realize what a Socialist you are, never thought I would say it, but I see why she won. Here are some numbers that are not made up. Real Estate taxes alone on an empty Armory total about two million dollars, it would cost about 300 hundred million dollars to revamp the Armory (The working river at the bottom alone was a tremendous expense) The new and improved Armory would have had a tax abatement but then it would have cost an estimated twenty million dollars a year in just property taxes.
Only Related had the means.
It is too silly to ask a disgruntled Occupier to run for office again....And that is the reason why we don't sign our names......
I am not shilling for anyone, and I know I hold the minority opinion, but this is connected to something larger. Real estate developers and big business need a check. They need to realize that we have working people in New York and that, if they expect tax benefits, they need to act as part of the community, and part of that is doing the right thing and paying a fair wage for NEW YORK CITY. This is literally over a few dollars per hour -- not some communist uprising. Give me a break! If anyone should be blamed it is the executives who refused to bend a little and act in good faith and pulled their offer over a few bucks per hour.
ReplyDeleteYou can attack me all you want, but you know I am right.
A democrat spoke up and acted like a liberal. WOW! HOLY CRAP! About time. Voters in the Bronx like that.
ReplyDeleteDid Baghdad Rob just say that he'll never leave the Bronx and would die fighting there for Ruben "Armory-cito" Diaz, Jr. if necessary?
ReplyDeleteCasting Giuffre as the fugitive son of Libya's Gadhafi ... that's a good
ReplyDeleteone too!
Wow, the Bloomberg machine's local operatives sliced and diced Rob in no time at all. But it should come as no surprise given the power and reach of major money in New York City politics.
ReplyDeleteYou'll all notice how quickly and efficiently Rob was attacked and mocked. After pointing out the various holes in his reasoning, they piled on a torrent of abuse, including the following labels:
-Paid apologist
-Saddam's minister of information
-Gaddafi's son
-Crony
-Man with a sugar daddy
-Socialist
-Wall Street occupier
Kevin Sheekey created a well-oiled and brutal machine for his lord and master.
Rob Giuffre is entitled to express his opinion, even if I think he's dead wrong to support Baby Diaz on that armory fiasco.
ReplyDeleteSome of these comments are almost as dumb as the movie Bats! (where a guy is decapitated by a flying fox)
ReplyDeleteDecapitated by a FLYING FOX????
ReplyDelete