Date: Thursday, April 11, 2002 3:23 PM
From: “Valerie Wilkins”
Subject: re: Democrats Race-baiting once again…
Why aren’t the politicians we support endorsing Carl Mc Call?
by M. Paul Redd in his publication “Westerchester County Press”
For over a year, New York Comptroller H. Carl McCall has been talking about running for governor of the State of New York. Well, Mr. McCall officially annonced his candidacy recently. He received support from elected officials, both nationally and statewide, county leaders, grassroots as well as some union support.
You might say mr. McCall was on a roll until the end of the Clinton Administration, when Andrew Cuomo, former Secretary of HUD, in-law in the famous Kennedy family, decided that since his father, former Governor Mario Cuomo, never ran for president of the United States, that he, Andrew the eldest son, would run for president and the way to start would be to become governor of New York State. Immediately after he made his intentions known, that is, that he was seeking the gubernatorial nomination from the Democratic Party, the media started calling him the front runner. Little by little, Democratic chairmen throughout the state began to change horses and Mr. McCall (an, African-American) didn’t look so good to them.
Now, if you’re just looking at resumes, and I do understand that resumes do not tell the whole story of a person, but let’s look at both resumes.
Andrew Cuomo ran his fathers’ campaign for governor in 1982; founded WestHELP, an organization that builds affordable housing; became United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and then came back to New York looking for a job.
H. Carl McCall is a former state senator; state Human Rights Commissioner; ran state Democratic voter registration drives; was United States Ambassador to the United Nations; President of NYC Board of Education; vice president of Public Television (PBS); vice president of Citibank; an ordained minister and New York State Comptroller in his second term.
Anyone seeing the two resumes and not knowing either person would select the second resume. Political pundits, including Democratic leaders are saying they do not want to turn this into a racial campaign. It already is a racist campaign. That’s what white folks call it when the shoe is on the other foot. If the resumes were switched, they would be saying Mr. Cuomo is imminently qualified. Then I guess white folks are just born qualified for anything they want to run for.
Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of the City of New York, had never run for public office in his life. It was reported that he spent approximately 87 million dollars in his campaign to win that office. Andrew Cuomo, Jan Hoffman and Bill Mulrow have never run for public office before. Cuomo wants to be governor; Hoffman wants to be lieutenant governor and Mulrow wants to be state comptroller. Dennis Mehiel [democrat running for governor of NY 2002] has never been elected, but ran for Congress.
Again, I say white folks are born to start at the top. They tell us we have to work our way up and that it takes time for the people to get to know you.
It also seems like many of the politicians we have always supported have a problem when it comes to supporting our candidates or us. Either there is something wrong or they are going to remain neutral until after the primary. Which brings me to our junior United States Senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who, according to Mr. McCall, has been neutral up to this point.
When Mrs. Clinton came to New York to run for the United States Senate, blacks defended the charge that she was a carpetbagger. We traveled with her throughout the state in the black communities and we certainly voted for her big time, not to mention the support we gave her husband in large numbers both time he ran for president of the United States and we were his biggest supporters when he was impeached. SENATOR CLINTON, IT’S PAYBACK TIME!
We also have not heard from our Congresswomen Nita Lowey, whom we have supported in every election. And as far as I am concerned, our County Executive Andrew J. Spano has been awful quiet, too. We supported him big time as well when he ran for county clerk, chairman of the Democratic Party and both times for county executive. He has not endorsed Carl McCall for governor when it appears that the majority of the County Democratic Committee is supporting Mr. McCall, in spite of the fact that our County Chairman David Alpert has run off the reservation. Don’t forget that Carl McCall won Westchester both times he ran for NYS Comptroller. As far as I am concerned, those politicians who are neutral are against us, but they’ll be back.
Why don’t they join United States Senator Charles “Chuck” Schumer, Congressman Eliot Engel, Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver, and a list of other elected officials, too numerous to mention, who have come out publicly for H. Carl McCall. They all hve to get elected too, but at least they have taken a position.
…AND, THAT’S ONE MAN’S OPINION…
The Democratic Party is in a “race-baiting” mode once again. Not surprising, though. Example; the NYC mayoral democratic primary with the two democrats Mark Green and Freddy Ferrer! Green won the primary, but thankfully lost to Mike Bloomberg (R-NY). Our now Governor George Pataki (R-NY) is in his second term. It is time for some fresh ideas and approaches. I like him, he is afterall, a native Peekskillian! I am too!
Please pass around!
Valerie A. Wilkins-Godbee
Interracial Activist