The election for Borough President of Brooklyn is two years away, but already it's heating up and the two main declared candidates are squaring off.
Bill de Blasio got into it with Charles Barron, with Barron pulling out (as they say) the race card and beating up on de Blasio for voting against the renaming of a street after deceased and controversial black activist Sonny Carson.
De Blasio should be thankful for one thing: At least (as far as we know) Barron didn't threaten to have him assassinated, as Barron's former chief of staff, Viola Plummer, suggested might happen to black Queens Councilmember Leroy Comrie when Comrie abstained from voting for the street renaming.
But this early stage of the race is down and dirty enough anyway, and one only wonders how low it will go. Down to the groins? Barron gave every suggestion that it just might.
Race will clearly be a factor in Brooklyn. Though demographers say the black population of Brooklyn is dropping, it is still, and will be for a long time, a very black borough, more than 30 percent of residents being of African descent.
De Blasio, who is very progressive on social issues by Council standards, hopes to easily counter assertions by Barron that he is against the interests of black people. For one thing, de Blasio backed Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette Clarke last year when she was up against white Councilmember David Yassky, who many considered to be an obnoxious white interloper.
One significant issue distinguishing Barron and de Blasio is that Barron opposes the building of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards and de Blasio (though he has been lately silent about it) has supported it.
The News' article on the race was fairly interesting.
Comments