One Man's Humble Act Could Spell The End For Pedro Espada

One of the best institutional guards for incumbency is that multiple challengers can split the vote for change in a district. Even if more voters opt for someone else, an elected official can remain in office if they win a plurality. State Senator Pedro Espada thought he had that when four different candidates were running against him. Over the summer two of them dropped out, and now with one week to go, Dan Padernacht is nobly laying his banner down and joining forces with Gustavo Rivera, the strongest challenger to date to face the infamous Espada.

From The Daily Politics:

Dan Padernacht, a 34-year-old community board member, formally threw his backing to fellow challenger Gustavo Rivera, 34, saying he wanted to create “a united front” against Espada and restore credible representation to the district.

“I believe it’s the right thing to do,” Padernacht said at press conference outside the Municipal Building in Manhattan, where he was joined by a bevy of elected officials who are backing Rivera’s campaign, which has drawn endorsements from potent unions and many Democratic elected officials.

In return, all of Gustavo's endorsers in and around New York City are singing Padernacht's praises. Perhaps he can cull something out of this in the future for himself, but right now he gets that this race is bigger than him, and that taking out Espada is priority number one. Espada is low life criminal with a title that is too big for his britches.

The only downside is that he waited too long to get his name off the ballot and inevitably will probably get a few votes that he now does not want. Nevertheless, with a strong campaign and Get Out The Vote system that joins Rivera and Padernacht's forces, amazing things can happen, even up in the Bronx.

Pilgrim-Hunter Bows Out Of Challenge To Espada

Espada may be kicked out of the Democratic party shortly, but regardless he needs to be beaten at the ballot box this fall. Since he is considered a vulnerable incumbent several (actual) Bronx residents decided to challenge him, though one has already decided to bow out. Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter seemed to be an excellent candidate to clean the mess in the 33rd Senate district, but apparently that wasn't the case.

From The Bronx News Network:

“This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ll ever have to make,” she said. “In the interest of making sure that [incumbent state Senator] Pedro Espada is out of office, and also building power in my community, I’ve decided to withdraw.”

Money, or lack of it, was the main reason she decided to end her bid, she said. Despite several fundraisers in supporters’ homes, she had raised only $30,000, while Espada already has more than $300,000 on hand.

“We did a really good job of fundraising,” she said referring to the number of small donors in the community who gave to the campaign. “It wasn’t enough to be able to have an effective fight and win this race.”

This statement comes not so long after charges were made against her for taking disability payments while actively campaigning for office. Pilgrim-Hunter claims that there are legitimate reasons for the disability payments she collects but the story casted doubt over her chances of ousting Pedro. Now there are three challengers left, Gustavo Rivera, Daniel Padernacht and Fernando Tirado. As far as basic political campaign theory goes, splitting the anti-Pedro vote three ways is better than four, but still gives too much to the corrupt and unethical incumbent. When you have a scoundel like Espada who will buy petition signatures with free food, there's nothing he won't do to win another term.

I honestly cannot say which of the remaining three challengers has the best shot, Boogiedowner and other Bronx blogs have a better take on that than I do. What is of most importance is that a challenger win, because I truly believe no one can be as despicable as Pedro.

Espada Bought Petition Signatures With Free Food

As someone who has stood on street corners and knocked on doors for petition signatures, I can tell you that if I had free food to give out, I'd have added to my totals exponentially. However that's illegal, so I didn't even think to do it. Senator Espada however, who is being threatened with expulsion from the Democratic party decided to gamble on committing that crime in order to look good at his press conference yesterday.

From The Daily Politics:

I spoke with Rivera strategist Horacio Guttierez this morning, who summed up: "We got people who were not liking what they were seeing who would call our office to let us know."

As he describes it, residents of Espada's district would get the letter you see part of here, urging them to come pick up free food (courtesy of the New Yorkers For Espada campaign). When they arrived at the pickup site, Guttierez said, they were induced to sign Espada's petition to get on the ballot.

Guttieriez noted that the program seemed very similar to a Senate program Espada announced back in February: An anti-obesity "Farmers Market Initiative" based at the Davidson Community Center, which, via a state grant, would provide free, fresh produce to residents.

While any statement from a political opponent must be taken with a grain of salt, that flyer from Espada's office says plenty all on it's own.

Dems Say "Good Riddance" To Pedro Espada

Pedro Espada may still have a few months until election day, but his departure from the New York Democratic Party is just around the corner. Sources have let on that the corrupted Senator has made enough enemies within the party to be officially ousted and left to his own devices. Mr. Espada has had a mottled political career from the get go and he hasn't done much to change that image.

Needless to say, the heave-ho couldn't have come soon enough:

A top state party official, in an unprecedented move, has prepared a letter to Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, the Bronx Democratic chairman, calling on him to formally begin the ouster effort.

The letter, expected to be delivered tomorrow, was written with the approval of Charlie King, the state party's executive director and a top political aide to Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Cuomo, who has accused Espada in a civil suit of "looting" $14 million from his Soundview health-care clinic.[...]

"Through his repeated public statements and bad conduct, Sen. Espada has shown he is not 'in sympathy' with our party's fundamental principles," says the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Post.

Espada is certainly the top offender within the party that is worthy of such a letter. A few others could use it as well, but I'm impressed that the state Dems are cutting the cord with at least one bad apple. The man is clearly anything but a Democrat and only a self-interested politician that cares nothing about the people that he is charged to represent.

The election effort that ousts him from power will be far more rewarding come election day (this presumably pushes his d-day back to the General Election and not the Primary). If you want to help ensure this important political change, check out my personally endorsed candidate, Desiree Hunter.

I Could Never Forget You Pedro

Even though I was on a nine month blog hiatus, I never lost track of Senator Espada's dishonorable mentions in the press. I've written about him in the past and will continue to do so until he is placed where he belongs...in jail. Pedro's rap sheet is lengthy to say the least, and many things he does that aren't illegal are still quite shady. While the disgraceful excuse for a Senator lashes out at the Attorney General like a petulant five year old, the people of his district and the whole of New York state is sick and tired of his criminal behavior.

Pedro Espada started out well enough as a tenant rights' advocate and founder of a medical clinic that serves countless Bronx residents. However in the end he will be remembered for the $20,000 in sushi deliveries to his home in Mamaroneck (which happens to be outside the district he supposedly lives in).

The details of his $14 million looting spree of Soundview is what makes for the best headlines this week. That does not mean though that we should forget Pedro Espada has a sordid history that stretches back for at least a decade. He has been fingered for multiple failures to submit accurate campaign finance documents in his failed race for Bronx Borough President in 2001 and his latest campaign that successfully reintroduced him for the third time to the State Senate in 2008.

Yes that's correct, he's been booted by the people of the 32nd Senate District twice. The only reason he won a third time (in the 33rd District this time) is because Senator Efrain Gonzalez, his predecessor, was more corrupt than himself, at least at the time.

And now Mr. Espada is in the middle of a scandal that deals with crimes concerning a non-profit just as Mr. Gonzalez was ultimately convicted for last year.

Mr. Espada is the epitome of corruption and abuse of power in Albany. Sure, there are plenty of other miscreants that supposedly serve at the behest of the people of New York, but Mr. Espada is the worst of them all.

So what needs to be done? I would love nothing more than to see him beaten in November. No one knows better than his constituents that this man needs to be thrown out of office and having it done by ballot is always an exhilarating process. Yet what really needs to happen is for the justice system to deal Mr. Espada the punishment he deserves. Once these alleged crimes become legal fact, he must be stripped of any and all power and then thrown in jail for as long as the judge possibly can.

An example must be set here in New York so that politicians realize there are consequences for using the people they elect for their own contemptible plots. Trying and convicting the kingpin of the L.O.B.'s crooks is a great place to start.

Parking Cops Go Way Too Far In The Bronx

A funeral in the Bronx was upset by the ridiculousness of local parking ticket officers recently. This is one event out of many where these officers issue tickets to one particular neighborhood in the Bronx at 2 1/2 times the average rate. While the practice may boost revenues for the city, it is drawing the ire of local residents and state Rep. Jeff Klein.

From The Daily News:

City parking enforcement agents are making life unbearable for mourners in the Bronx, funeral home officials and a state senator charged yesterday.

The agents slapped summonses on cars with roof-mounted funeral flags parked outside a borough funeral home and two local churches during funeral masses, said Robert Ruggiero, the owner of F. Ruggiero & Sons in Morris Park.

The agents even towed mourners' cars, Ruggiero said.

"Luckily, we managed to stop the towing, but the traffic agent with the tow-truck driver didn't quash the tickets," Ruggiero said of the most recent incident at St. Francis Xavier Church.

"This is not a night club or a disco," he said. "They are people who are very upset at a time of deep emotional distress."

Personally I feel that these light blue uniformed "cops" are generally obsessive when it comes to their jobs. The amount of tickets issued all over the city is way out of hand and needs to be curbed. Illegally parked cars should be given summonses, but when you have cars in a funeral being towed, the only discipline needs to be directed at the ones writing the tickets, not the other way around.