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Uptown

By Hunter Walker 12/03/12 3:19pm

Uptown

Robert Jackson

Robert Jackson Flexes Harlem Machine Muscle for BP Campaign

Councilman Robert Jackson is rolling out his high-profile allies in the Harlem political establishment to help him celebrate his birthday and raise money for his bid to be Manhattan borough president later this month. Former Mayor David Dinkins sent out an email this afternoon announcing a fundraiser and birthday celebration for Mr. Jackson that he will be attending along with Congressman Charlie Rangel, State Senator Bill Perkins and Councilwoman Inez Dickens on December 17.

“Robert Jackson is an effective and energetic fighter who understands the challenges we face in this borough and has proven that he can get the job done,” Mr. Dinkins wrote. “He has been a strong, hard-working, progressive leader in the City Council, and I have great confidence that he will continue to advocate for measures that promise to improve the lives of all the people of the Borough of Manhattan.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 7/25/12 7:09pm

Uptown

Reverend Al Sharpton eulogizing Sylvia Woods at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon. (Photo: Getty)

Harlem’s Political Power Lunchers Remember Sylvia Woods

Harlem restaurateur Sylvia Woods was a legendary chef, but she was also a key figure in the Uptown political scene. At her funeral service at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon today, many of the high-powered regulars from Woods’ eponymous restaurant showed up to share their remembrances and pay tribute to Woods as a pioneering African-American businesswoman, an ally in the civil rights struggle and, of course, a superb chef.

“Every protest, every movement, every plan, every law started with a breakfast, or lunch or a dinner at Sylvia’s,” former Governor David Paterson explained. Read More

By Hunter Walker 7/11/12 10:24pm

Uptown

State Senator Adriano Espaillat announcing his intention to run for re-election.

Adriano Espaillat On His Plans For a ‘Landslide’ Re-Election And His Beef With The BOE

State Senator Adriano Espaillat officially moved on to a new race at a meeting of the Northern Manhattan Democrats for Change and the Friends of Adriano Espaillat in Fort George Presbyterian Church tonight, but he still had a lot to say about the close and controversial congressional campaign he just lost to longtime incumbent Charlie Rangel. Mr. Espaillat, who conceded to Mr. Rangel on Monday announced his intention to run for re-election to the State Senate, something he repeatedly said he didn’t plan to do “at this time” during his congressional race.

“Do you want me to run for the Senate? Do you want me to run for the Senate? Do you want me to run for the Senate?” Mr. Espaillat shouted to the cheering crowd in the church before switching languages to officially announce his re-election bid.

“The fire has not been put out. The hope you had has to persist,” Mr. Espaillat said in Spanish. “The unity has to always survive.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 5/24/12 9:32pm

Uptown

Guillermo Linares (photo: assembly.state.ny.us)

Guillermo Linares Endorsing Charlie Rangel

Assemblyman Guillermo Linares will endorse longtime Congressman Charlie Rangel’s re-election bid tomorrow at noon. Mr. Rangel’s campaign announced the endorsement this evening via an email. Mr. Linares initially pledged to support one of Mr. Rangel’s challengers, State Senator Adriano Espaillat, however, last month, he appeared at an event with Mr. Rangel stoking speculation he might be preparing to switch sides.  Read More

By David Freedlander 5/22/12 5:20pm

Uptown

adam-clayton-powell-iv-officially-a-rival-to-rangel-thumb-400xauto-8504_1

Rangel To Get Adam Clayton Powell IV Endorsement Tomorrow

Congressman Charlie Rangel will continue his efforts to “solidify” his Latino base when he will roll out the endorsement of former Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV tomorrow.

The two have a long history. Not only did Mr. Rangel defeat Mr. Powell’s father in 1970 to win his seat in Congress–a race that pitted a longtime incumbent against a young upstart that has reminds many of Mr. Rangel’s current run against State Senator Adriano Espaillat–but the Assemblyman challenged Mr. Rangel twice, once in 1994 and again in 2010. Read More

By David Freedlander 5/18/12 6:04pm

Uptown

Cha

El Barrio Comes Out For Rangel, Who Knocks Espaillat Over SuperPAC Support

Charlie Rangel will be endorsed Saturday by a host of elected officials from East Harlem, including City Councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito, State Senator Jose Serrano and Assembly member Robert Rodriguez (who, it should be noted, already endorsed the Congressman.)

The Rangel camp are filling out the stage with a number of electeds closer to his central Harlem base, including State Sen. Bill Perkins–who at one point had been rumored to be making a run for the seat himself–and district leader Keith Lilly and Cordell Cleare. Read More

By David Freedlander 5/18/12 1:57pm

Uptown

clyde9

Williams Thanks Clinton For Staying Out Of Rangel Race

This morning The New York Post reported that Bill Clinton had decided to stay neutral in Charlie Rangel’s congressional race, after recording a robo-call for the longtime Harlem pol when he was facing a tight re-election in 2010.

This afternoon, Clyde Williams, who served in the Clinton administration, was later a domestic policy adviser to the Clinton Foundation and went on to work for the Democratic National Committee under Barack Obama, sent out a statement touting his own relationship to the former president and thanking him for staying out of the race. Read More

By Hunter Walker 5/02/12 8:30am

Uptown

Illustration by, Dale Stephanos

One Last Sale: Can Charlie Rangel Convince Voters to Give Him Another Term in Washington?

Congressman Charlie Rangel didn’t want to discuss who will succeed him in the House of Representatives.

“Is this an obituary?” he asked during a sometimes combative phone interview on Monday afternoon, which the longtime lawmaker described as a “rough one.”

“I’m 81-years-old, you want me to discuss what happens in three years? At the end of this year plus two. Would that make sense at all?” he asked.

Rather than deciding whom to anoint as heir, the outspokenly liberal octogenarian is facing what could be the closest campaign of his more than forty year career, while simultaneously coping with fading health and the waning power of the political empire he built in Harlem. Read More

By Hunter Walker 4/27/12 9:11am

Uptown

Clyde Williams

Clyde Williams: ‘I Will Be On The Ballot June 26′

Former DNC political director Clyde Williams faced two challenges to the 6,000 petition signatures he obtained to get on the ballot in the congressional race for Upper Manhattan’s 13th district that he blamed on “associates” of the incumbent, Charlie Rangel. Those objections have expired and Mr. Williams said he’s going to be on the ballot without issue.

“Thousands of residents who signed my petitions participated in the electoral process and now their voices will be heard. I will be on the ballot on June 26,” Mr. Williams told The Politicker. “We now enter a new phase of the race and I look forward to continuing to engage voters and share ideas for the future of this community.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 4/24/12 12:20pm

Uptown

Gabriela Rosa (Photo: Facebook)

Gabriela Rosa Readies Run For State Assembly

Gabriela Rosa, a senior policy advisor and special assistant to Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell, is preparing to announce an attempt to join her current boss in the State Assembly. According to El Diario’s Roberto Perez, Ms. Rosa will announce her intention to run for the Assembly seat in Upper Manhattan’s 72nd District at a press conference on thursday. Ms. Rosa has also created a Facebook page for her campaign.

“Join me in this exciting journey to bring true change to Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill. I am a member of this district and I know the problems we face because I live them,” Ms. Rosa wrote on Facebook. Read More