A tranquil view of the district where Thomas Lopez-Pierre is attacking Mark Levine. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Thomas Lopez-Pierre’s email to developer Brian Benjamin began innocently enough. The New York City Council candidate even wished him a happy New Year.

But a few paragraphs later, Mr. Lopez-Pierre called the recipient an “uncle Tom Nigger bitch.” He berated Mr. Benjamin for being a black man fund-raising for one of Mr. Lopez-Pierre’s political rivals, Democratic district leader Mark Levine, in what has emerged as the most racially charged City Council race in the city.

“What good does it do our community (by this I mean Black and Hispanic people) to have uncle Tom Nigger bitches like you graduate from Ivy League schools if all you do is suck the cock of guys like Mark Levine?”

After Politicker and other outlets reported on the email, it was condemned by officials from around the city, including party bigwigs and mayoral candidates. The district’s current representative, Councilman Robert Jackson, who is term-limited, has also repudiated Mr. Lopez-Pierre.

But Mr. Levine himself, sitting with Politicker over lunch last week, was not shaken.

“You can’t get into politics in New York City if you’re not prepared for a rough fight,” he explained. “This is an ethnically diverse town, and sometimes tough fights have ethnic overtones.”

Mr. Levine also said he was “heartened” by the condemnation, across racial and ethnic lines, of Mr. Lopez-Pierre’s rhetoric. “It’s unfortunate for our society, for our political culture that someone espousing those views has a megaphone.”

Mr. Lopez-Pierre has been known to rant against gays, recently telling an uptown gay rights activist that he supports gay marriage, but “would be greatly disappointed if any of my kids were born gay (in the same way I would be unhappy if my kids were born mentally ill).” However, the candidate, who claims Puerto Rican, Dominican and Haitian descent, more often rants against Jews.

“Jewish people never ask the question is it morally wrong to take limited resources at the expense of others such as from poor Black and Hispanic people in order to promote, protect and service the needs of Jewish people?” he wrote in a letter to reporters and operatives last month. “Jewish people just do it! And could care less about who the FUCK complains about it!”

Mr. Levine, a Harvard-educated nonprofit executive and former public school math teacher, described these sorts of comments as a “wake-up.”

“I have to say that overt anti-Semitism in that form is not something I expected to see in political discourse in the 21st century,” he said as he chewed on the stewed codfish at El Presidente, a restaurant on 165th Street in Washington Heights, just barely inside the northern tip of the district. “What we’ve witnessed in this race is far, far beyond what I consider the bounds of acceptable political discourse. And it’s certainly been a wake-up to see this kind of rhetoric expressed in a modern political campaign.”

Despite the demographics of the district, which stand at 47 percent Latino and 19 percent black, almost every institutional force—from State Senator Adriano Espaillat, an influential Dominican power broker, to the labor-backed Working Families Party—has thrown its support behind Mr. Levine.

“He was a teacher for many years, so education has been a passion for him. And housing, of course, is a critical need,” Mr. Espaillat said in an interview, also touting Mr. Levine’s trilingualism (he speaks English, Spanish and Hebrew). “I don’t know anybody who can beat that, but if they can, let them come forward,” Mr. Espaillat said.

The backdrop to Mr. Lopez-Pierre’s diatribes is gentrification, as well as the district’s soaring white population, a result of a recent redistricting that changed its borders to include parts of Morningside Heights and Manhattan Valley. When Mr. Levine first ran for office in 2001 against Mr. Jackson—he managed to finish second in a crowded field—the district was only 13 percent white. More than a decade later that percentage has doubled, and the world beyond Columbia is now seen as a land of opportunity for developers.

If Mr. Levine is elected, will be reversing a prevalent trend in New York City politics. Typically, longtime elected white officials have given way to minority representatives as the city’s newer communities multiply, assimilate and wield their electoral muscle. (Mr. Jackson, the current officeholder, is both African-American and Muslim.) Based on recent electoral history, pundits would project that Mr. Jackson’s successor would be Latino.

But the race for Mr. Jackson’s seat has been anything but normal. Mr. Levine’s main opponent, according to several neutral observers, is Zead Ramadan, who is of Palestinian descent. Mr. Ramadan, the chairman of the board for the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is backed by a few influential power brokers himself, including Bill Lynch, a senior adviser to Congressman Charlie Rangel.

“I hear a lot of anger, obviously, and clearly I don’t think we should focus on the identity of an individual—I really think we should be focusing on the issues, number one, and the experience and leadership qualities ... all the other stuff is just fuzzy background noise and just muddies the waters and poisons the minds of the voters,” Mr. Ramadan said when asked about Mr. Lopez-Pierre.

Yet it is Mr. Lopez-Pierre, a fringe candidate perhaps previously best known for opening a racy singles club, who has managed to suck up all of the oxygen, even as he’s raised less than $10,000—compared with nearly $100,000 by Messrs. Levine and Ramadan. The attention could make it harder for opposing candidates like Mr. Ramadan to get their own traction, especially with Mr. Lopez-Pierre promising a “political reality show” on his campaign website.

He recently posted a YouTube video of himself confronting Mr. Levine at a Democratic club forum. In the clip, Mr. Lopez-Pierre corners the mild-mannered Mr. Levine in the lobby of Bank Street College, hammering him with the question, “Why do you take money from landlords?”

Adjusting his glasses and grinning painfully, Mr. Levine eventually shoots back, “I don’t take as much as you do.”

“Why do you take thousands of dollars from landlords?” Mr. Lopez-Pierre reiterates, circling Mr. Levine. The race’s front-runner slips through a pair of double-doors, away from his taunting antagonist.

“Did you get it?” Mr. Lopez-Pierre says to the cameraman as the video cuts out. “Okay, good.”

Robert Jackson

Over the weekend, Thomas Lopez-Pierre, an uptown activist who has been running a Council campaign characterized by a series of angry, racially charged emails sent another missive endorsing Robert Jackson, the man he's trying to replace. Mr. Jackson is prevented by term limits from running for re-election to his council seat and is instead pursuing the Manhattan borough presidency. However, Mr. Jackson is clearly not eager to have Mr. Lopez-Pierre's endorsement.

“We totally reject Thomas Lopez-Pierre. Throughout his life, Robert Jackson has been a leader fighting for justice and understanding and against bigotry and intolerance," Richard Fife, Mr. Jackson's spokesman, said in a statement. "He has condemned the racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic rants of Lopez-Pierre in the strongest way possible."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre's earlier emails have targeted Mark Levine, one of his rivals in the race to replace Mr. Jackson, as a "a White/Jewish candidate" who, if elected, would potentially damage "the political empowerment of the Black and Hispanic community" in the Upper Manhattan council district. He has also blasted Brian Benjamin, an uptown realtor, as an "Uncle Tom" who "sold out the Black people of Harlem" by supporting Mr. Levine. Mr. Lopez-Pierre's latest message came after Mr. Jackson responded to his initial missives by joining with other area politicians by signing onto a "Say No To Hate" petition condemning "the use of discriminatory language and rhetoric in all 2013 New York City political races" and issuing a joint statement "condemning the hateful language used by Thomas Lopez-Pierre" that referred to his emails as "despicable" and "shameful."

In spite of Mr. Jackson's harsh criticism of him, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he is eager to support Mr. Jackson's bid for the Manhattan borough presidency in his latest email.

"I plan to vote for you and encourage my Black and Hispanic supporters to vote for you (and encourage my contributors to give to your campaign, please advise me on who I should speak with about contributing to your campaign) as the next Manhattan Borough President," Mr. Lopez-Pierre wrote. "Yes, you can consider this email an official endorsement from Thomas Lopez-Pierre for your campaign for Manhattan Borough President."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre's endorsement email also addressed Mr. Jackson's joint statement against him. While he said he agreed in principle with the statement's sentiment that the Upper Manhattan council district draws "strength" from being "one of the most diverse in the city," Mr. Lopez-Pierre said Mr. Jackson's statement did not recognize that, in practice, "White/Jewish" and "Asian residents" pose a threat to black and Latino members of the community.

"For Black and Hispanic tenants in the 7^th Council District, the so called diversity you speak of in your 'Joint Statement' means that Black and Hispanic tenants get pushed out of their apartments to make way for White/Jewish people and other high income people," Mr. Lopez-Pierre wrote. "What you failed to mention in your 'Joint Statement' was that the White/Jewish people moving to Upper Manhattan are NOT moving here to live in social-economic peace, in brotherhood with low income Black and Hispanic people–but they are here to push out low income Black and Hispanic people out of their own community."

Along with his critique of the joint statement and his endorsement of Mr. Jackson, Mr. Lopez-Pierre's latest email contained more harsh words for Mr. Levine and Mr. Benjamin. The joint statement and petition were among many negative reactions to Mr. Lopez-Pierre's first messages about Mr. Levine and Mr. Benjamin, but Mr. Lopez-Pierre claimed the situation had help him raise money for his council campaign [sic throughout].

"My public comments about Brain Benjamin has been very good for fundraising–you be surprised by how many people know Brain Benjamin and do NOT like him (for the rest this campaign, I plan to use Brain Benjamin as my very own campaign ATM machine - and Mark Levine, I am saving the best for Mark Levine)," wrote Mr. Lopez-Pierre. "To be fair to Brain Benjamin more people dislike Thomas Lopez-Pierre than they dislike Brain Benjamin – but give me time, I am sure that I can close the gap to within 40 points by Primary Day. If I may add, Brain Benjamin dates some of the best looking women in NYC – and he does NOT discriminate base on race: Black, White, Asian and Hispanic, he has sex with them all! For a short little man, he does have great taste in women–please make it a point to check out anyone of the many hot women he has on his arm and that share his bed–they all have two things in common – they are hot looking and they tower over him like the Harlem State Office Building on 125^th Street and 7^th Avenue."

According to the latest data from the New York City Campaign Finance Board, Mr. Lopez-Pierre has raised $8,239 for his council bid in the past six months.

(Photo: Facebook)

Mark Levine, a Democratic district leader campaigning for the seat held by outgoing Councilman Robert Jackson, is flexing his political muscles even as attention in the race has shifted to the racially-charged epithets used against him and his supporters. Indeed, this morning Mr. Levine announced he has received the formal endorsements of three notable elected officials on the northern side of Manhattan: Congressman Jerry Nadler, State Senator Adriano Espaillat and Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito.

"In a district as diverse as the 7th, it is critical that we elect a leader with a proven track record of bringing people together--a leader like Mark Levine," Mr. Espaillat said in the statement. "From speaking fluent Spanish, to founding a diverse Democratic club, to fighting tirelessly for progressive causes, Mark has the skills and experience to be a great council member for ALL residents of this district."

Mr. Espaillat touting Mr. Levine's diversity credentials is no accident of course; the district he's campaigning for is only about 24 percent white in the latest redistricting rendition, although that's subject to change in the final draft. Further highlighting the demographic issues, one of the candidates in the crowded field of contenders, Thomas Lopez-Pierre, has taken to writing controversial missives attacking Mr. Levine's "White/Jewish" candidacy and calling his supporters names like "Uncle Tom."

While the endorsements don't come as a massive surprise--Mr. Espaillat and Mr. Levine are close allies, after all--they reflect a growing base of establishment support for Mr. Levine. Past endorsers include Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and Assemblyman Denny Farrell.

View today's full list of statements below:

"Now more than ever, the progressive movement needs activists like Mark who combine a passion for social justice with the skills and experience to make real change.” said Congressman Jerrold "Jerry" Nadler. “He is exactly the kind of leader I want as a partner in government."

State Senator Adriano Espaillat said, "In a district as diverse as the 7th, it is critical that we elect a leader with a proven track record of bringing people together--a leader like Mark Levine. From speaking fluent Spanish, to founding a diverse Democratic club, to fighting tirelessly for progressive causes, Mark has the skills and experience to be a great council member for ALL residents of this district."

New York City Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito said, "Whether the issue is affordable housing, education, or economic justice, Mark is a proven fighter who knows how to get results. I know he would be an incredibly effective council member and I look forward to serving with him."

Reacting to the endorsements Mark D. Levine said, “I am honored to have the backing of these three outstanding public servants,” adding, “I look forward to working with them as a team to advance progressive values and improve the lives of the families of the 7th District."

Thomas Lopez-Pierre (Photo: ThomasLopezPierre.com)

Thomas Lopez-Pierre, a candidate for an Uptown City Council seat who has been making a series of racially-charged arguments against one of his rivals in the race, Mark Levine, has taken things to a whole other level. In an email filled with racial slurs, expletives and violent rhetoric, Mr. Lopez-Pierre blasted Brian Benjamin, a real estate developer, for deciding "to pick Mark Levine the only White/Jewish guy in the race to raise money for."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre went on to call Mr. Benjamin an "Uncle Tom" who by joining Mr. Levine's campaign, "sold out the Black people of Harlem."

The email was addressed to Mr. Benjamin and over 30 Uptown political figures, including Mr. Levine. Politicker has confirmed the email was sent from Mr. Lopez-Pierre's address.

We've reproduced Mr. Lopez-Pierre's email to Mr. Benjamin in full below, but be warned, it is decidedly not safe for work.

"January 3, 2013

Brain [sic] Benjamin:

First I would like to say Happy New Year!

Now that bullshit is out of the way, I wanted to say this to your face but I did not want my words to be misunderstood.

So I am sending it to you in writing and sharing it with others.

I see that you are on the host committee for Mark Levine for City Council.

I would hope that one day you would give me the legal grounds to bitch slap you.

You are an uncle Tom Nigger bitch.

Its Nigger bitches like you that have sold out the Black people of Harlem.

To think there are about eight other candidates in this race that are Black and Hispanic and you decided to pick Mark Levine the only White/Jewish guy in the race to raise money for.

What good does it do our community (by this I mean Black and Hispanic people) to have uncle Tom Nigger bitches like you graduate from Ivy League schools if all you do is suck the cock of guys like Mark Levine.

All the best,

Thomas Lopez-Pierre

PS, The reason why you got your Nigger ass kicked (politically) by Jamaal Nelson when you ran for district leader is because Black people in Harlem can smell the Bitch in you.

They know that you are a weak, little short man who sucks White/Jewish cock."

Additional Reporting by Hunter Walker

Thomas Lopez-Pierre (Photo: ThomasLopezPierre.com)

Thomas Lopez-Pierre, a Harlem activist with a controversial past who is running for term-limited Councilman Robert Jackson's seat, circulated an email late last night in an attempt to plan a "private meeting" to "discuss the potential damage to the political empowerment of the Black and Hispanic community if Mark Levine, a White/Jewish candidate was elected to the 7th Council District in 2013." This morning, Mr. Lopez-Pierre told Politicker he isn't organizing the meeting himself and is working on behalf of a larger group who became concerned when they read a report on the political blog The Perez Notes that the Upper Manhattan political machine headed by State Senator Adriano Espaillat and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez has been working to "clear" the crowded field of candidates running for the seat to help Mr. Levine win.

"Now that he actually has a chance to win it's scaring people," said Mr. Lopez-Pierre. "So, what started first as a discussion of the blog post has now mushroomed among candidates and community leaders into basically a 'Stop Levine' campaign."

The race to replace Mr. Jackson in the 7th District is shaping up to be one of next year's most hotly-contested Council campaigns. In addition to Mr. Levine, who is a local district leader and founder of the Barack Obama Democratic Club, and Mr. Lopez-Pierre, there have been at least eight other candidates eyeing the seat. These hopefuls include local power broker and district leader Maria Luna, Socrates Solano, an aide to Congressman Charlie Rangel, Cheryl Pahaham, the outgoing vice chair of Community Board 12, and another district leader, Marisol Alcantara.

Mr. Lopez-Pierre registered to run for the seat last month. He is also running to be a district leader in the 69th Assembly District, which includes parts of the Upper West Side and Harlem. In June, Mr. Lopez-Pierre launched a political club in the district called the Douglass Grant Democratic Club. Earlier this year, Mr. Lopez-Pierre, who operates several real estate businesses in Harlem, also formed a political action committee dedicated to backing candidates who would support more charter schools in the area.

In his email announcing the meeting about Mr. Levine, Mr. Lopez-Pierre identifies himself as the chair of the Douglass Grant club and said he has spoken to "a number of Black and Hispanic candidates and Black and Hispanic community leaders" who share concerns that Mr. Levine could win without the support of the area's predominantly African-American and Latino voters because there are so many candidates running for the seat.

"The purpose of the private meeting would be to rally support behind one Black candidate and one Hispanic candidate in order to provide Black and Hispanic voters with a less confusing selection of candidates to consider," Mr. Lopez-Pierre wrote. "A number of community leaders have expressed the dire concern that with so many Black and Hispanic candidates planning to run for the 7th Council District that Mark Levine would sneak into office (like a thief in the night)."

According to his website, Mr. Lopez-Pierre is "of Puerto Rican, Dominican and Haitian descent." Despite his strongly racial rhetoric, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he thinks Mr. Levine could be "an excellent candidate" for a number of other offices. However, he doesn't want to see a white candidate take a Council seat in a community that is predominantly made up of minorities and was previously occupied by an African-American.

"It's about progress....How can the Latino community explode in population and then we get a non-Person of Color as a Council person?" Mr. Lopez-Pierre asked. "The Black and Puerto Rican Caucus at the City Council will be negative one if something isn't done next year."

Under the current redistricting proposal for next year, the 7th Council District would be 47 percent Hispanic and 20 percent African-American. Despite the area's demographics, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he believes the number of likely voters in the community is largely caucasian. Because of this, he said he is concerned Mr. Levine could dominate a crowded field "while blacks and Latinos are fighting among themselves." Mr. Levine, who speaks fluent Spanish, has in the past garnered considerable support in the community. In 2010, he unsuccessfully ran against Mr. Espaillat in the State Senate race to replace Eric Schneiderman and received about 39 percent of the vote.

"The reality is that white people, even if they're in black neighborhoods, do not share the same values in terms of what is important to low income black and Latino families," Mr. Lopez-Pierre said. "He cannot come and pimp--and I hope you quote me on this--he cannot come and pimp the black and Latino community to be his foundation for his political empowerment."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre's email about Mr. Levine isn't his first foray into heated email identity politics. In July, he sent another email criticizing "dumb" African-American politicians for allowing Dominican "control" of Harlem. That message wasn't the first time Mr. Lopez-Pierre stirred up controversy. Last year, he was arrested for stalking, though the case was later dismissed by a judge and the Harlem Club, a private singles club he founded in 2004 provoked the outrage of many in the community who saw it as sexist and trashy.

Mr. Lopez-Pierre told Politicker his arrest was caused by a "business partner" who "cheated" him. He said the case was "laughed" out of court by the judge. Comparing himself to the rapper and entrepreneur Jay Z, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he believes people will not hold his controversial past against him as he increases his involvement in local politics.

"I serve an awesome god. I live in a great nation. I live in a nation where a former drug dealer can host a fundraiser for the President of the United States," Mr. Lopez-Pierre said. "Our community has embraced him and my community has embraced me over this stupid Harlem Club....This is not the stuff that black and Latino people in the hood care about. They care about education, public housing, healthcare. They care about the issues."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre declined to reveal the names of any of the other local political leaders he claims share his "concern" about Mr. Levine's candidacy because he said his conversations with them occurred "in confidence." Though he is currently standing alone in his effort, race has been an undercurrent in other recent campaigns in Upper Manhattan and Mr. Lopez-Pierre's email is an early indication one of the City's most crowded campaigns of 2013 may be even more racially charged. Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he hasn't set a date for the meeting because he wants the field for the race to be fully formed before he begins his push to whittle the hopefuls down to a single African-American and Latino candidate. When the meeting does occur, Mr. Lopez-Pierre believes he is one of the contenders who should merit consideration.

"I am one of the serious candidates," he said. "I have a history of being able to raise money from what I call bourgeois negroes, like middle class."

Update: (4:18 p.m.) We reached out to Mr. Levine who responded by talking more broadly about the nature of the district.

"The 7th Council District is incredibly diverse, one of the most diverse in the city actually, which is a wonderful thing. Whoever is going to represent the 7th in the Council has to be someone who brings people together, it can't be someone who divides us," he told Politicker this evening. "What I've done my entire life, whether it was in the nonprofit arena or progressive activism on the campaign trail, has been about bringing people together."

Additional reporting by Colin Campbell.