What You Should Know

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz

32nd Senatorial District, Bronx County, New York

Tel. 718-991-3161

It was Supposed to be a Fly Ball to the Pitcher

According to those who counseled, talked and convinced Adriano Espaillat into running for Congress, it was supposed to be an easy win. They thought that all odds were against Charlie Rangel and in favor of Adriano Espaillat.

“Adriano, this will be a fly ball to the pitcher,” was the advice, that according to some, Luis Miranda and Roberto Ramirez, owners of the strategic counseling firm, the MirRam Group, gave Espaillat to convince him into running against Charlie Rangel for U.S. Congress.

According to their analysis, Charlie Rangel was in big trouble, starting with his age and health. At the age of 82 and suffering from terrible back illness, Charlie Rangel needed a walker or a person to help him walk.

Congressman Rangel was recently found guilty of 11 ethical violations by the House Ethics Committee. These violations included failing to pay taxes on his rental income for his property in the Dominican Republic.

Congressman Charlie Rangel was also found guilty of abusing the New York City Rental guidelines on low income properties by renting various apartments and using one of them as a political headquarter.

Senator Adriano Espaillat was the only Hispanic running in the primary, while Charlie Rangel had three other Afro-Americans in the same race. Former Aide to President Bill Clinton Clyde Williams, Businesswoman Joyce Johnson, and former Rangel Assistant Craig Schley - all Afro-American - were supposed to divide the Afro-American vote making it a lot easier for Espaillat to win. 55% of the voting population in the 13th Congressional District is Hispanic.

After analyzing all of these factors, “The experts” Luis Miranda and Roberto Ramirez convinced former Bronx Borough Presidents Fernando Ferrer and Adolfo Carrion to support Espaillat, assuring them that Espaillat would have an easy victory. The MirRam Group failed miserably to convince other top hispanic elected officials, and failed to rally the Hispanic vote to achieve the numbers they promised, Making themselves, Fernando Ferrer and Adolfo Carrion, the biggest losers in the race.

The old warrior, Charlie Rangel at 82 years of age and after 42 years in Congress has given everybody – including the editorial boards of El Diario La Prensa, the New York Post, the Daily News and the New York Times – a lesson in politics, sending everyone back to take kindergarten lessons in the old school of politics. Charlie Rangel won by a bigger margin than anyone had expected.

Now the questions for Luis Miranda, Roberto Ramirez and others are: What will happen to Adriano Espaillat’s future? How will they help Adriano Espaillat come out of the mess that he is in? Especially due to the fact that Adriano Espaillat publicly stated, in a debate on NY1, that he has not authorized and he is not collecting petitions to run again for his State Senate seat? All this has created a division in the Dominican community because Assemblyman Guillermo Linares is a candidate for the State Senate seat currently occupied by Adriano Espaillat.

You should know what was supposed to be an easy fly ball to the pitcher has become the Achilles heel for Espaillat and the Dominican community.

I am Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz and this is what you should know.