What You Should Know

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz

32nd Senatorial District, Bronx County, New York

Tel. 718-991-3161

Credit Where Credit is Due

You should know that Roberto Perez, who serves as Bill DeBlasio’s Chief Public Affairs Consultant just blasted an email boasting “De Blasio wins Latino Vote with 41%”.

Mr. Perez’s email boasting Bill De Blasio’s lead in the Democratic ballot for New York’s mayoral primary stated: “In exit polls conducted by Edison Research, De Blasio trounced his rivals among all main demographic groups. He held sway among men (44%) and women (42%), whites (46%), blacks (44%) and Hispanics (41%), all the city's main religious communities and all age groups.”

You should know that Bill Thompson had the support of some of New York’s strongest elected officials and most legendary political leaders – and Christine Quinn and John Liu had the support of some of New York’s strongest unions.

Mr. Perez apparently wanted to send a clear message to everyone who reads his email and didn’t support Bill DeBlasio: "Eat your heart out!"

Mr. Perez can brag all he wants, but he forgot to give credit where credit is due. He forgot to mention some small details – some key factors – that made the difference in Bill DeBlasio’s victory. The most important factor was Bill DeBlasio's son, Dante - and his afro. The Daily News front page on September 11, 2013 got it right with their screaming headline: “WAY TO FRO!”

You should know that no endorsement from any elected official or labor leader or business leader could have had the impact on this election that Dante had on it.

In all five boroughs, a large percentage of people who voted on Primary Day were proud to announce that they voted for Dante’s father.

My dear reader, as a father myself, I have deep respect for Dante, a son who was proud to stand beside his father and let the world know how much his father means to him. I have great respect for Dante’s parents who clearly have raised fine children.

We all need to give a round of applause to the genius who thought of creating a commercial with Dante. It was effective only because it was true and it brought a very human element to what could have been a vicious campaign. It touched a lot of New Yorkers. It made us happy to see a young guy standing up with and for his father.

And let's not forget the last minute input Mayor Michael Bloomberg had on the results of this election. His assault on Bill DeBlasio's family was the last straw for many New Yorkers. Mayor Bloomberg's ugly statements about a beautiful family gave Bill DeBlasio that last minute push to victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, statistics can provide many facts, and powerful people can try to sway our thinking, but sometimes the simplest things can make all the difference.

This is Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz, and this is what you should know.