Monday, August 2, 2010
Good day to you all. Today is the day we go to court for democracy.
I
find it very sad and contradictory that Congressman Edolphus "Ed"
Towns, a 27-year Democratic incumbent here in Brooklyn, New York's 10th
Congressional District, is suing me. Like him, I am a life-long
Democrat. Like him I was born in another state but came to Brooklyn at a
relatively young age and served my community in a variety of capacities
before seeking public office. And like Mr. Towns, now age 76 and
someone who lived through the Civil Rights Movement, I am African
American.
This
is why the entire spectacle of Mr. Towns suing a fellow Democrat to
prevent me from being on the Democratic primary ballot on Tuesday,
September 14, 2010 is sad and contradictory. Sad because it says that
Mr. Towns and his team are now so nervous about my Congressional
campaign that they are resorting to the same kind of legal maneuvers
that once prevented Blacks like him from voting in America. Doubly sad
because this legal tactic has become common in Brooklyn Democratic Party
politics. It was done by then party boss Clarence Norman to Charles
Barron in 1997. It was done by Assemblywoman Annette Robinson to
Cenceria Edwards in 2008. And now it is being done to me in 2010. And
the lawsuits are always so predictable. In my case it is being stated
that I do not live in the district, even though I have lived most of my
20 years in New York City in Brooklyn's 10thCongressional district; and I am a very well-informed and engaged citizen so I certainly know who reps me on all levels.
After
our many volunteers worked diligently for a month collecting 8200-plus
signatures--signatures that were very carefully reviewed by our petition
consultants Bobby and Jack Carroll, long-time Brooklyn political
operatives--it is being alleged that we've committed fraud. I am here to
say that Mr. Towns and his team are wrong on these and all counts. I
certainly live in the district, have proof of it, and we certainly have
more than enough legitimate signatures to be on the ballot (1250
signatures are needed to be on the ballot for this particular race).
The
real issue here is about American democracy. It is clear that Mr. Towns
and a few others in our Democratic Party right here in Brooklyn, New
York really do not believe in democracy at all. If Mr. Towns did, we
would not hear the endless stories from voters in our Congressional
district being threatened with job loss or the ending of funding support
simply for supporting me publicly. Or what of one woman supporter, just
last Thursday night, July 29, 2010, at approximately 10pm, who had a
mysterious man and woman show up at her home, awake her and her son,
claiming to be "officials from the Board of Elections?" When the woman
asked for identification the pair ran back to their car and sped off.
Clearly they are employed by Mr. Towns.
These
kinds of scare and bully tactics might have worked in the old Brooklyn,
but they are not going to work in the new Brooklyn. For there is a new
generation of residents, engaged citizens, and, yes, leaders, who do not
subscribe to clubhouse or machine-style politics. Our belief is that a
public servant, whose salary is paid for by taxpayers, is here to help
the people, period. That means any and all public servants owe it to the
people to be accountable, visible, and accessible. And when challenged
in a campaign, to participate in public debates and the free exchange of
ideas and solutions, with the voters--not a courtroom--deciding who
should win an election. In essence, by attempting to get me off the
ballot Mr. Towns is pushing for a Tuesday, September 14thDemocratic
Primary where the voters will have no choice but him. How is this any
different than what the Dixiecrats pulled in Southern states like North
Carolina, where Mr. Towns was born in 1934, during segregation in
America?
Finally,
this whole circus of Mr. Towns suing me is so contradictory to the very
principles of our nation, is an incredible waste of taxpayer dollars,
and is nothing more than him stalling the inevitable: Kevin Powell will
be on the ballot on Tuesday, September 14, 2010. We've been running a
clean, responsible, and transparent campaign the entire way; we've
picked up waves of support across Brooklyn, and beyond, and we know that
the people of our borough, and of nation, want a new direction, and
fresh voices, for these times. No matter what Mr. Towns and his team do
or say, they simply cannot stop the changing of the guard that is now
here and ready in America. It is our time.
NOTE: This is now posted at huffingtonpost.com:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-powell/why-is-congressman-ed-tow_b_666921.html
NOTE: This is now posted at huffingtonpost.com:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-powell/why-is-congressman-ed-tow_b_666921.html
