It appears that the clubhouse known as the Bronx Democratic Party is going to tie its fortunes to the pathetic embarrassment otherwise known as Pedro Espada:
Bronx Democrats, Potential Candidates Back Off Espada Challenge
The Bronx Democratic Party, focused on refilling its depleted campaign coffers and coalescing around new leader Carl Heastie, has hinted that it will either sit out Espada's race next year or even go so far as to back the feisty majority leader.
"So far, Espada's been pretty decent," one party source said. "I'm not so sure you're going to find anyone willing to go up against him."
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Another hint that the Bronx organization will most likely pass on challenging Espada is the Bronx senator's close relationship with party consigliore Stanley Schlein, who represented Espada during the summer leadership negotiations. Although the two have had a volatile relationship, punctuated by a fistfight at the Bronx offices of the Board of Elections several years ago, some Bronx watchers assume that Schlein and Espada's renewed alliance will curtail any potential party-backed challenges.
This is unacceptable. The Bronx Democratic party has long had a reputation for being a cesspool of corruption, backroom deals, and clubhouse politics, so it's not surprising that they would support a slimeball like Espada for no other reason than to benefit from the largesse he has embezzled from the state treasury.
Schneiderman staffer Lilliam Perez expressed interest in challenging Espada a few months ago, but has since backed off making a clear commitment. Perhaps she would be more inclined to run if she knew she could count on the support of the progressive blogosphere. So what do you all think? Should we draft Lilliam? |
