New York – Rep. Rangel Fends Off Challengers to Win Difficult Primary Despite Ethics Taint

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    Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. , shakes hands with a poll worker as he arrives to vote in the Democratic primary, Tuesday, June 26, 2012 in New York. (Photo AP)New York – Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, the gravelly-voiced New York City congressman whose career has already lasted more than four decades despite the taint of an ethics scandal, overcame demographic changes in his district to win a chance at a 22nd term on Tuesday.

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    Rangel defeated Adriano Espaillat and three other contenders in New York’s congressional primary, his first election since the House of Representatives censured the 82-year-old Korean War veteran in an ethics controversy focused on taxes and financial disclosure statements.

    In some other closely watched races Tuesday night, Republican former Erie County Executive Chris Collins defeated Iraq War veteran David Bellavia in the 27th district linking the outskirts of Buffalo and Rochester, while Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries knocked off City Councilmember Charles Barron in the 8th district in Brooklyn and Queens.

    And in the newly drawn 6th District in Queens, Assemblywoman Grace Meng beat Assemblyman Rory Lancman and City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley. Meng would be the first Asian-American member of Congress from New York if she wins in November. The area is currently represented by Rep. Gary Ackerman, who is retiring.

    Rangel was censured in December 2010, shortly after he handily won re-election. He has been a longtime political leader in Harlem, but his influence in the House had waned by the time of his censure. He had stepped down as chairman of 1 of Congress’ most powerful committees earlier that year after he was criticized in a separate ethics investigation.

    This year, new questions about Rangel’s vulnerability arose after the boundaries of the congressional district covering Harlem were redrawn as part of the once-a-decade redistricting process, with some of Manhattan being taken out of the district and parts of the Bronx added in. That changed its ethnic and racial composition: While the number of blacks stayed roughly the same, there are fewer whites and more Hispanics. Hispanics now make up more than half of the residents and almost half of the eligible voters.

    Rangel said he wasn’t hampered by the addition of new areas in the Bronx to the district.

    “I was pleased to see that a lot of people knew me, there was a connection,” he said, adding that his incumbency helped.

    “When you’re there for four decades, it’s kind of hard for you to not be known by most people.”

    Overall, he said, “it was never a big obstacle to overcome.”

    Rangel, who is black, also got the support of some Latino public officials and endorsements from politicians including Gov. Andrew Cuomo and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans in the city, making Rangel the favorite to win the general election in November.

    Espaillat had been bidding to be the first Dominican-American in Congress.

    “Though we didn’t make it to the finish line tonight, the values we fought for and the communities we seek to improve will continue to light a fire in us,” he said. “The truth is, even in coming a bit short, we made history. We are most proud of the fact that our campaign introduced bold, new ideas to move New York forward. We will continue to fight for these ideas with every fiber of our being and make our communities stronger than ever.”

    Rangel was convicted of 11 ethics violations, including failure to pay some taxes and using congressional resources to raise money for an academic center bearing his name. At a hearing in front of the ethics committee, Rangel apologized “for any embarrassment I’ve caused you individually and collectively as a member of the greatest institution in the world.”

    After the censure came down, though, he called the vote politically motivated.


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    2 Comments
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    sasregener
    sasregener
    11 years ago

    regular people dont get censured they go to jail. he gets a slap on the wrist and re-elected. g-d bless america.

    11 years ago

    C’mon!!! And I thought NYers were smart…