When I first broke the news (1-22-06) on the Politicker, that Charles Barron was challenging Ed Towns for his congressional seat, some callers thought I was smoking crack. Well, I may be a political-junkie, but I don’t smoke crack. Never did. Never will. I took a lil “toke” on some reefer here and there- during my younger days- but I never went further. I never liked the idea of cocaine and other drugs even then, and nowadays I have zero tolerance for drugs, period. Anyway, after their initial shock-on ascertaining the truth of my post- the detractors argued that Barron would pull out, just like he did in his mayoral bid. Even after he filed his committee and showed close to a hundred thousand dollars being raised in a couple months, many detractors still insisted that he wasn’t in the race for the long haul. Well get over it detractors because Charles Barron is for real in this race.
I am predicting that he will do very well. I am predicting that he will win the black areas. I am not predicting a victory for him, at least, not yet; but see me in September (Labor Day), by then I will tell you what I really think. Let’s see how this campaign unfolds first.
Another thing I can say is that the “bad-boy” is very popular amongst the grassroots. He has gotten more press in his first 5 years in office, than any black elected official in New York City’s history. But then, how many were really taking notice. So many were too busy hating on him (as they say on the streets), to even comprehend what was going on. Charles Barron has blown-up before our very New York eyes. To many on the nationalist fringe, Charles Barron was a well kept secret. A gifted speaker, he has the charisma to seduce many an audience. He is also possessive of a keen wit and likewise his intellect, and he is talented in many ways. He had been involved in many causes before getting elected in 2001. He even served as chief-of-staff to Rev. Herbert Daughtry for some time. He was very involved in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, and also in the fight against police abuse of power across New York State.
Still, many of his colleagues don’t particularly embrace him. Sure, he is liked somewhat, but many think that he is a media-hound and an ambulance-chaser. A lot of “player-hating” is going against Barron in the city council, if this wasn’t happening on a high level, he could be even more effective as a council-person. One supporter of Ed Towns once said that the most dangerous place to be is between Barron and a network TV camera crew; what many don’t understand is that in politics, media-hounding and ambulance-chasing work. When I worked as Deputy Director of Field Operations for C.Virginia Fields, during her mayoral campaign last year, we had Barron along for many walking tours, and guess what: the “bad-boy” was more popular/ recognized than CVF, in many quarters.
Other detractors suggest that he is obsessed with “race” issues; they feel that he makes too many whites uncomfortable with his inflamed rhetoric. Some others point to his association with the Black Panther Party in his youth, as a disqualification for higher office. The irony about this is that some other blacks think that he embellished this association in the first place, in order to hook the press. And yes, the press is hooked. When he withdrew from the mayoral race, many reporters admitted to being sad. You see, they are all out there hoping that one day Barron will make another “slap” remark, which in turn will sensationalize him, the person who to them creates the only real excitement in the city council. So they wait anxiously for another verbal political faux-pas. What they don’t know is that Barron’s remark (made at a reparations rally/ where he claimed wanting to slap a white male, for his mental health/ reasons/ since they don’t seem to understand the reparations issue), is the classic Freudian-slip. On Barron’s face is evidence of many racial mixtures; including Caucasian. GOTCHA/ lol.
Well, tomorrow Barron opens his campaign office on Fulton Street in Brooklyn. Why? Because he is in this race till the end, and also because he is trying his best to win. Don’t be shocked if he does.
LATEST ODDS (10th Congressional)
Ed. Towns (incumbent), 4-5
Charles Barron, 4-1
Roger Greene, 20-1
Kevin Powell, 50-1
Stay Tuned!