BRONX REPRESENTATIVES WIN AGAIN

Submitted by ub on

US Representative Charles Rangel has once again shown those non believers, this time including Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, by winning renomination in yesterday's Democratic Primary in New York's 13th Congressional District.

Rangel won 47.4 percent of the vote, over his top opponent Adriano Espaillat, who won 43.6 percent. Espaillat was being supported by Diaz, but the voters saw through the political smoke screen and cleared the air inside the polls.

Back in the 2012 primary, Rangel beat Espaillat by a margin of 44.3 to 41.8 percent a difference of 1,086 votes or 2.4 percent of the total votes cast, giving Rangel a larger percentage lead and a slightly actual vote advantage over 2012 1,826 versus 1,086 of 740.

Charles B. Rangel Bio: A war hero, history-making congressman, master lawmaker. A founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, he made history as the first African American member of Congress to lead the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Now serving his 22nd term in the House of Representatives, he has been cited as the most effective lawmaker in the House, leading all of his colleagues in passing legislation. He was a prime contributor to President Obama's historic health care reform law.

Growing up on the other side of the tracks on Lenox Avenue in Harlem, he was transformed from high school dropout to war hero after volunteering for service in the Army during the Korean War. Wounded in an attack by waves of Communist Chinese troops, he was awarded a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for Valor after leading his surviving comrades from behind enemy lines.

With the aid of the G.I. Bill, he earned degrees from New York University and St. John's University Law School. He began his public service as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and was later elected to the New York State Assembly. He came to Washington in 1971 to serve in the House after defeating the legendary Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

In Congress, following Saint Matthew's teaching, he has been a stalwart champion for the "least among us," advocating powerfully and persistently to improve the lives of working people. He is a defender of veterans and has treated education as a national security issue.

A leading advocate for equal rights and equal opportunity, Congressman Rangel has boosted the incomes of millions of working families with the Earned Income Tax Credit, and pumped billions of dollars into revitalization of communities across the nation, including Harlem. Demonstrating his commitment to education, he has created financial mechanisms to construct and rehabilitate public schools across the country.

Congressman Rangel's unparalleled foreign policy record has focused on Africa and the Caribbean. In 1986, he sounded the death knell for apartheid in South Africa with the "Rangel Amendment," which forced the largest U.S. investors to abandon the country. He has created trading and investment opportunities for struggling nations in the Caribbean and Africa. In 2010, he successfully promoted vital investment incentives for earthquake ravaged Haiti.

Then, in another race affecting The Bronx Latino community, US Congressman José Serrano, another politician who Diaz has shown his cold shoulder to was overwhelmingly renominated by the Democratic Party for reelection.

Perhaps The Bronx Borough President may wish to regroup, or at least reconsider which other powerful veteran political powerhouses he decides to turn his back on in the future.

José E. Serrano Bio: U.S. Congressman José E. Serrano represents the Fifteenth Congressional District of New York in The Bronx . He is the only Congressman from New York City on the exclusive House Appropriations Committee and serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government. This prestigious post as top Democrat on the Subcommittee allows Congressman Serrano to help oversee the budgets of multiple agencies, including the Treasury Department including the IRS; the FDIC; the District of Columbia; the Judicial branch, and other agencies.

Congressman Serrano is also Senior Whip for the Minority Whip operation, a position through which he helps develop strategies to marshal support for party positions and legislation. He is an active member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and served as Chair of the Caucus from 1993-94. He is now the most senior Member of Congress of Puerto Rican descent.