Some Thoughts on the Ousting of Pedro

Much of the Bronx is breathing a huge sigh of relief today and hoping for good things to come as Pedro is on his way out and Gustavo Rivera is (most likely) on his way in.

A BD Reader sent in the following points, and we couldn't agree more with each of them:

Well, what a morning! I was excited to be voting in my first real competitive race ever (let's face it, most national and state elections are not really like this around here) and happy for the result.

Just a few quick thoughts-
1. The only person who actually grew up in the 33rd, went to school here, and still lives here was Padernacht. It's a bit sad when truly local residents are kind of brushed aside in favor of people whose ties to the community are not as strong...I am not suggesting he would have won by a long shot, but I hope races like this encourage more local persons to take a stand. Gustavo is a very nice guy, but I know of NO ONE who had even met him until November and even then, he seemed like a long shot because, well, NO ONE HAD EVER HEARD OF HIM. He had not been involved in any local races, was not present on the Armory issue, was not at any local community board meetings, school meetings, etc. So I think we all felt a little surprised when he appeared.

2. And....money is a huge factor. If Rivera did not have the New Roosevelts, would we have this result? Pedro has oodles of illegal gained cash on hand but Samuels (an upstater!) pledged a quarter of a million to this race. So, if you are say a local person, want to run, and hold a few rubber chicken dinner's around the neighborhood, do you get in? It seems the answer is no.

In the end though, this was way way more about rejecting Pedro than Rivera (similar to how Obama won...he was not Bush!). Good luck to him, I think he will do fine and we can return to the real work of the Bronx-smart development, better funded schools, and the creation of jobs and housing that make it an attractive place again.

The Bronx truly lived up to its motto last night-Ne Cede Malis (Do NOT GIVE WAY TO EVIL).

Nicely put, BD Reader!

~ErLu

Espada Concedes Primary to Rivera

The reign of terror is OVER!

Click here for the Daily News update.

Can't wait to bring you a Listing of the Day for 325 E. 201st Street, #4B, Espada's "residence" here in Bainbridge House. I'd imagine it's in pristine condition because it's barely been used!

Congratulations to Gustavo Rivera - don't let us down!

~ErLu

Primary Day: Vote for Rivera

Primary Day is finally here. Get out there and vote for Gustavo Rivera. Be vigilant and make sure that your vote counts with the new machines...If you don't understand how to use them, ASK FOR HELP. If the person who comes over to help you doesn't know what he/she is doing, ASK SOMEONE ELSE FOR HELP. That is unless you're voting for Espada...in that case there's no need to be so assertive about making sure your vote is cast correctly. Ha!

Some updates from the field from BD Readers...

• It still amazes me that our most important Democratic process is entrusted to such unimpressive (and untrained!) poll workers. They were just opening when I got here at 6:40am, even though polls officially open at 6am. I was voter #1. I took me a few different tries to find an English speaking poll worker for help. Connie Espada was there just hanging out.

• From a Facebook status update: "BD Reader" just voted, and HOPES it counted... poll workers aren't trained, and new machines are giving error messages.

Feel free to leave your poll experiences (good or bad) in the comments section.

~ErLu

Espada Trading Pineapples For Petition Signatures?

Here are a few videos from resident political gadfly and blogger Rafael Martínez Alequín, via the Daily Politics, that allegedly show Westchester Pete giving away bags of food at Vladeck Hall in the Amalgamated Housing Cooperative on June 26. We wonder how many of the 10,000 signatures he brandished at the Bronx Board of Elections were garnered in similar fashion?





~ErLu

Espada's Westchester Home Burglarized: "People Will Get Hurt"

The NY Post is reporting that Mr. Espada's Westchester (real?) home was burglarized yesterday or today. It appears that some files were stolen. I tend to keep all my important documents in my primary residence, but that's just me.

In response to the break in, Espada, showing his thug-ish tendencies, is quoted as saying:

"Things are on the precipice of violence... People will get hurt."

How scary is it that this guy is the president of our state senate?

~ErLu

Do pets count as registered voters nowadays?

In another shocking display of political arrogance reported by the NY Daily News, Nelson Castro, a Bronx Democrat gunning to replace Assemblyman Luis Diaz, was found to have nine registered voters listed in his one bedroom apartment. Wait, it gets better... His campaign coordinator, Steve Santana(who actually ignored a subpoena to tesatify), had a staggering 15 residents registered as voters associated with his motel, ahem, apartment.

Not sure how or why Bronx Supreme Court Justice Robert Seewald decided to dismiss this case, but alas - he did. Castro is still on the ballot.

I certainly hope that Justice Seewald discovered that an honest mistake was made resulting in dogs, cats, parakeets, and mice being counted as actual flesh and blood voters, because it just kills me thinking that our meek and pious Bronx public servants are so hard up that they must resort to renting their apartments out by the hour to random passersby with valid voter registration cards in order to pay their rent and/or mortgages.

But seriously, between this latest political scheme and the Pedro Espada Jr. residency antics we posted about earlier today, I'm feeling a little peeved that politicians seem to think Bronx residents are really that complacent that they don't mind being taken advantage of and lied to regarding the lives of those whom they will elect to represent our borough. Is anyone else appalled by the less than impressive stature of Bronx politicos?

A big hat's off to the NY Daily News' Bob Kappstatter who continues to stay on top of these important issues.

Photo courtesy of Noonan for NY Daily News.

~ErLu