This advice is unsolicited. It comes after taking a long look at the field of entrants for the 40th City Council seat that Yvette Clarke must vacate soon, as she steps up to Congress. It comes after reading the response from Chris Owens to my “Grapevine #8” column, last Saturday (see “comments” section of the thread). I believe that Chris Owens will make the best candidate in this upcoming race; the problem is that he doesn’t intend to run.
Since that column, there have been a few new developments in the race, for example, recent rumors have Roy Hastick (founder of Caribbean Chamber of Commerce) moving to the head of the line and reconsidering his stance on running or not. I am told that the Clarkes (Yvette and Una) will support Roy if he decides to go. It’s also said that Haitian-American Michelle Adolphe is seriously considering the race, so too Wellington Sharpe. Then there are at least two possible entrants that I am not at liberty to divulge at present, and someone named Victor Babb who is nothing short of a political unknown.
We are heading towards two dozen possible entrants folks. Is this because the annual salary of a council member is going to be around 125,000 dollars soon/lol?
Now I know that Jesse Hamilton is really interested in making this race, and so too is Zenobia McNally (based on what I have heard), and I also know that Chris and these two are in some ways aligned; so it’s possible that he may have promised one or the other his support. I hope not. Chris Owens is by far the best of all the potential candidates in this race.
Chris needs to nail down the Working Families line right now and start preparing for a special election in February of next year. He can win. If he gets the Democrat’s line then his chances soar even higher. If he has to collect signatures to create a new line, then so be it. Either way his chances seem to be the best of those contending. He is the brightest, smartest, most educated, most qualified and most experienced politically, of all the runners here. He will be a tremendous asset to the council, having been his father’s understudy for so long. He is a thinker who articulates the issues phenomenally well, and is quite progressive in his analysis and approach. If he wins this seat, he has the potential to be in that office for eleven years (unless he moves up to Congress or any other higher office/lol). He can contribute a lot in this period. He can also accomplish a lot. Chris Owens has a lot to offer this district, this borough, this city and this country; he needs to know this. There: I have said it.
Of all these candidates, Chris Owens will be the best at building coalitions that will transcend racial, religious, ethnic and nationalistic lines. In a district as mixed and diverse as this one, Chris is best suited to heal the contemporary divisions/rifts, especially after that contentious congressional primary, which has surely left some fissures.
I am sure that he will be thinking that fundraising will be a problem, especially since it’s so soon after a bruising primary; but he must know that “matching-funds” from CFB will be a big help in this race, and as such he needs to put his running shoes back on: immediately.
It should be easy to re-assemble his campaign team, support staff and volunteers for this run. People get highly motivated when they sense a victory. Given the enthusiasm of his supporters in the last race –where everyone knew that his chances were not the best- we can expect even more energy in a run like this one. Watch how many people come out of the woodwork to support; people like potential winners. Trust Uncle Rocky on this one. Chris will thank me for it; and he will owe me too/ again//lol.
I doubt that there is any other candidate in this race that can pull two thousand votes out of this district in a special election, as easy as Chris can. That number is a winner folks. The Owens name is good for that number in this special-election, and it won’t take Herculean efforts.
Chris, I can only hope that you have read this article, or that one of your supporters (like Bouldin) reads it and tells you about my thoughts on this matter.
I really do hope that you heed my unsolicited advice. I really do hope that you run.
Stay tuned-in folks.