All Articles Tagged "african american politician"
In Queens Council Race, Wills Seeks Finance Probe of Rival
(Wall Street Journal) — New York City Council Member Ruben Wills’s campaign called on the city’s Campaign Finance Board to investigate rival Allan Jennings for allegedly using “questionable loans” to bankroll his comeback bid. Jennings’s latest financial-disclosure reports showed his campaign received loans totaling $67,000 from three people. These loans represent the lion’s share of his campaign’s intake of money. Wills and Jennings, along with two other lower-profile candidates, are competing in next Tuesday’s Democratic primary for the right to serve the Southeast Queens district in 2012 and 2013. Jennings, who held the seat from 2002 through 2005, has raised nearly $13,000 in contributors and currently has an estimated balance of $71,852 in his campaign coffers. Will has raised about $45,000 and received more than $76,000 in public funds. He has roughly $50,000 left in his campaign coffers.
Brooklyn Councilmember Detained at West Indian Parade
(New York Times) — A New York City Council member was detained at the West Indian Day parade after a confrontation with police. A spokesman for Jumaane Williams says the Brooklyn representative was stopped as he walked along a blocked-off sidewalk around 1:30 p.m. Monday.
Rush Is on to Succeed Leslie Johnson
(Washington Post) — Curtis Smalls, a retired elementary school principal, is worried about the high rate of foreclosures in Prince George’s County. Bridgette Kendrick, an analyst with the Internal Revenue Service in New Carrollton, says that crime in her Kettering neighborhood is on the upswing and that she no longer takes long walks in her leafy community. Sandy Pruitt, a community activist from Lake Arbor, says Prince George’s needs to repair its “tarnished image” after Jack B. Johnson (D), the former county executive, and his wife, former County Council member Leslie Johnson (D), pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges. “We need to move ahead of where we are with Jack and Leslie,” Pruitt said.
Black Man in Running for Top Miss. Seat
(AP) – JACKSON, Miss. – Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree on Tuesday won the Democratic nomination for Mississippi governor, becoming the first black candidate in modern times to win a major-party nod for the state’s top job. DuPree defeated Clarksdale attorney and developer Bill Luckett in a Democratic primary runoff. DuPree, 57, advances to the Nov. 8 general election to face Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, 56, of Brandon. ”I’m just so proud of the fact that we had people who believed in us, believed in the message, believed in what we’re trying to accomplish. I’m so proud that people took a hold of that,” DuPree said in a phone interview from a Hattiesburg community center, where he celebrated with family and supporters.
Jesse White: I’ll Run Again in 3 Years
(Chicago Tribune) — Secretary of State Jesse White made it clear a year ago that his 2010 race would be his last, but he announced Wednesday that he’s running for re-election again — in 2014, when he’ll be 80. The popular 77-year-old statewide official, first elected in 1998, will become the longest-serving secretary of state at the completion of his current, fourth term. White’s declaration at a breakfast sponsored by Democratic county chairmen was unusual for its timing on two counts: coming so soon after he ruled out a fifth term and years before the next campaign will start. The former paratrooper said he decided he still had a “mission” to improve his office.
Assemblyman’s Vehicle Is Hit by Gunfire in Brooklyn, but He Is Unharmed
(New York Times) — A sport utility vehicle driven by Assemblyman William F. Boyland Jr. was hit by gunfire in Brooklyn on Wednesday evening as he rode with his 7-year-old son, a police spokeswoman said. Neither Mr. Boyland nor his son was injured, said the spokeswoman, Deputy Inspector Kim Royster of the New York Police Department. Inspector Royster said Wednesday night that investigators did not believe that Mr. Boyland, a four-term assemblyman who represents the 55th Assembly District in Brooklyn, was the intended target of the shooting, which occurred in his district. She said it appeared to be “a random shooting.” “It doesn’t seem they were aiming at the vehicle,” Inspector Royster said.
Thomas Receives Mixed Support in Ward 5
(Washington Informer) — Beleaguered D.C. Council member Harry Thomas, Jr. faces formidable legal problems but a survey of some Ward 5 residents found support for him and the desire that the investigative process be fair and transparent. Thomas (D-Ward 5), is accused of taking more than $300,000 in funds earmarked by the D.C. Council in June 2007 for youth sports programs. D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan filed a civil complaint on Monday, June 6. The complaint also alleges that Thomas misused $80,000 in private donations to pay for personal travel to Las Vegas, Nev. and Pebble Beach, Fla., and to purchase an expensive SUV. Thomas, 50, has denied any wrong doing.
Prison Gives Kwame Kilpatrick Much to Ponder
(AP) — During the past year that Kwame Kilpatrick has spent in Michigan prisons, Detroit’s ex-mayor has had plenty of time to ponder his once-promising public service career. It has been in those lonely hours that he thought about what he did right and wrong, and how those actions affected the future of the city, Kilpatrick said Thursday in a telephone interview from the Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson County. ”You have conversations with yourself,” Kilpatrick said. “It’s just you and the walls.”
Clyburn's Leadership Role Lacks Clear Rule
(Washington Post) — As Rep. James E. Clyburn settles behind his desk on the first floor of the Capitol, the view behind him — of the office buildings across Independence Avenue — is less than commanding. His office is high-ceilinged but narrow, and the walls are bare. Multiple aides are crammed into an adjoining room. It’s a far cry from the spacious third-floor suite the South Carolina lawmaker occupied when he served as majority whip. But now that Democrats have been relegated to the minority, Clyburn is fortunate just to have an office in the Capitol and, more importantly, a place at the leadership table.
After their electoral drubbing in November, House Democratic leaders played an unusual game of musical chairs in which, rather than leave someone standing, they simply decided to add another seat. Thus was born Clyburn’s current title — assistant Democratic leader. The post was created after it became clear that Clyburn couldn’t beat Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) for the minority whip position, but he also didn’t want to unseat either of the two men below him on the leadership ladder: Democratic Caucus Chairman John B. Larson (Conn.) and Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra (Calif.)
African-Americans Under Fire in Washington
(New American Media) — In 2010, African-American politicians find themselves under siege. Black political power and influence appears strafed and demolished in less than two weeks time. Even President Barack Obama is not immune as he fends off assaults from both left and right, including a Washington Post column by two prominent Democratic strategists recommending he pass on re-election in 2012. A combination of scandal, Republican electoral tsunamis and lack of a coordinated response to the new political climate have left Black politicos trapped in a smoky wilderness of uncertainty.
