Kevin Powell is Ready to Roll; Web Site Raps Towns for Backing Clinton

Prolific writer Kevin Powell has a website up and running as he tries to raise cash in a bid to unseat Congressman Ed (Edolphus) Towns.

Towns, as readers here know, is one of three U.S. Representatives in whose districts Barack Obama won majorities in the Feb. 5th New York primary.

All three of those Congressmembers, who happen also to be African American, are supporters of Hillary Clinton. The other two are Yvette Clarke (like Towns, from Brooklyn) and Gregory Meeks (of southeast Queens).

A question simmering among politics watchers is, to what extent will the Representatives' backing of Clinton against Obama hurt them in their heavily African American districts?

All three Representatives are also superdelegates, those Democratic Party bigwigs who have special powers that conceivably could put their candidate over the finish line at the party convention this summer. That status has been causing some worry and even anger among Obama backers on the homefront in Brooklyn.

Powell, who ran against Towns in the last election two years ago but dropped out, is the author of "Someday We’ll All Be Free," a collection of essays on freedom, democracy and justice. This year he's set to publish two books, "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," which is his second volume of poetry, and "The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life."

Of the current desire to replace Towns, he says:

"If you are like me, you’ve been deeply inspired by the message and the movement that is Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. . . His inspiring message is, for sure, one of the reasons why I am running for a seat in the United States Congress here in Brooklyn, New York in 2008. We need a new kind of leadership in America, at every level of government. And I take that challenge and that responsibility very seriously. . .
. . .My opponent, 26-year incumbent Congressman Ed Towns, represents the old brand of leadership, the old way of thinking. He is a superdelegate who refuses to change his vote, which he pledged to Senator Hillary Clinton months ago. Barack Obama won the majority of Super Tuesday primary votes in our Congressional district . . . [but] Congressman Towns refuses to budge."

Powell's decision to challenge Towns was the subject of a City Room blog posting in the New York Times. (read)

Comments

[Paul Moses]

Voters in Brooklyn don't get enough choices in primaries; the elected officials take it as a personal affront to have to actually campaign for re-election. If the Obama-Clinton race induces a few primaries, so much the better for democracy. The next step is to do something about the ballot access laws, which work to the advantage of incumbents.