[BwayDems] Rangel attends Broadway Dems, urges locals to vote in November

[Paula Diamond Roman]

Rangel attends Broadway Dems, urges locals to vote in November
http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2010/10/15/rangel-attends-broadway-dems-urges-locals-vote-november
 
The embattled congressman was greeted with loud applause from the 35 or so neighborhood residents who attended the meeting, organized by the local Broadway Democrats.







By Sammy Roth and Elaine Wang
Published October 15, 2010
 

 
Jack Zietman / Senior staff photographer
 


According to Harlem Congressman Charles Rangel, the Democrats will face off with cartoon characters in the November elections. 
 
“It’s a serious battle, even though some of the candidates, I thought, would’ve been considered to be cartoons,” Rangel said in an interview on Thursday night at a Manhattan Valley town hall.
 
The embattled congressman—who recently won his crowded primary race, despite ongoing allegations of ethics violations—was greeted with loud applause from the 35 or so neighborhood residents who attended the meeting, organized by the local Broadway Democrats.
 
At the meeting on 109th Street, discussions centered on elected officials’ new initiatives and legislative efforts, though speakers also took the opportunity to emphasize the importance of voting in November. Some weren’t shy about criticizing the Republican candidates making headlines this month.
 
“Paladino is a wacko,” State Assembly member Daniel O’Donnell said of gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, who recently gained attention for homophobic remarks. “He’s crazy. He’s a hypocrite,” O’Donnell added. 
 
When asked how well he expected Democrats to perform in November, Rangel reiterated the importance of getting people to the polls.
 
“It all depends on whether people who are pained, frustrated, disappointed, whether they realize that not voting and giving up is going to be detrimental to our great country,” he said.
 
Willie Mae Anderson, a Morningside Heights resident and member of the Broadway Democrats, said she attended the meeting in part because this year’s election is so important.
 
“This is what everybody wants—they want Rangel to lose, Republicans in charge of the Congress,” she said. “And that makes it much easier for them to get rid of our president when he comes up for election.”
 
For the event’s organizers, getting residents interested in elections is key. 
 
“Your everyday person doesn’t get to go, ‘Oh, that’s what my elected official looks like,’” said Paula Diamond Román, one of the organizers of the meeting and a Broadway Democrats district leader. “And I think it’s good for people.”
 
The Broadway Democrats endorses candidates, but also gives residents the opportunity to interact with local officials, she said. 
 
Roads, education, landmarking, juvenile justice, and small businesses were also among the topics raised by O’Donnell and City Council member Inez Dickens.
 
O’Donnell said that he thinks charter schools—privately run public schools—are not the solution to education problems because they cannot reach enough students.
 
“Don’t take the one percent or two percent of kids and say, ‘Look what they can do,’” he said.
 
Dickens, in addition to explaining a City Council measure to conserve water, also presented an initiative focused specifically on preventing gang violence. “Our children are literally killing each other, and if one of us gets in the middle, we’re dead also,” Dickens said.
 
At the end of the meeting, Luis Román, president of the Broadway Democrats, took one last opportunity to implore attendees to go to the voting booths in November.
 
“Tell your friends. Tell your families,” Román said. “Tell everyone they have to go out and vote.”
 
news at columbiaspectator.com


      
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