Word out of the 35th City Council District is that NYC councilwoman Letitia “Tish” James is in political trouble, and may be headed for legal trouble too. Rumors have been circulating for over a year now that Ms. James was under investigation of some sort(s). The veracity of this rumor has never been confirmed by official sources, but as time has elapsed the rumor has perpetuated. Given the recent scandals surrounding Speaker Christine Quinn and also many of the other council members -for their improper use of taxpayer dollars (at least prima facie)- it is not surprising that at least three potential challengers are already lining up to unseat Ms. James -if she is still in office next year. At least one of these challengers believes that it will be an open seat. Sources are saying that Tish is going down (for the full count). They expect the shoe to drop real soon. We will see; all I am doing here is giving you the 4-1-1 in terms of what is being said on the rough and tough political streets of Brooklyn. And though I may piss-off many of my detractors by doing this: some folks seem to think I do this real well, and they love to read my columns.
Recently, a top staffer from Ms. Tish’s office was arrested by Homeland Security forces. This staffer (Ray Martin) is said to know where all the bodies are buried (so to speak). This has set off a chain of speculation as to what’s going on behind the scenes. I am sure you all can recall, Ms.James came to office in 2003, when as the candidate of the Working Families Party she was victorious over Geoffrey Davis (Democrat) in the general election. This was the maiden victory of the WFP in the New York City Council. The historic significance of her win was lauded by many people, who had been fighting to break the two party (Republicans and Democrats) stranglehold on this city and state. These events unfolded after the incumbent councilman James Davis was murdered in the council chamber in July that year. James Davis had defeated Tish in 2001.
After defeating Geoffrey Davis (the brother of James) in 2003, Ms. James faced a spirited challenge from Eric Blackwell in 2005; she won handily. The dynamic Mr. Blackwell has openly stated his intention to mount another challenge next year, and has been actively seeking support for this run over the past few months. He even appeared before the Campaign Finance Board recently, still trying to obtain his matching funds from the 2005 campaign. Eric Blackwell is a university lecturer and an urban planner. He was born and raised in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. He has lived there all his life and knows first hand the political issues surrounding this district. He says that he intends to run even stronger next time around, after totaling close to two thousand votes in 2005.
Geoffrey Davis is also said to be considering another run for his deceased brother’s old seat. Geoffrey is presently considering a run for District Leader in the 43rd Assembly District come this September. He will be challenging the incumbent attorney/community activist Jesse Hamilton. There are also big rumors that another potential challenger for Tish is a woman with the same last name. She ran for the council last year, in a special election for the 40th district. Her name is Jennifer James. This may comes as a surprise to many, since she was last sighted working for King’s County leader Assemblyman Vito Lopez -as Executive Director of the Brooklyn Democrats organization. It is said that Ms. James has since left that post and is seriously contemplating this run for the 35th district. Other potential runners in this race include Anthony Herbert, Walter Moseley, ex-cop Mr. Billups and James Caldwell of the BUILD organization. Tony Herbert is presently running for State Senate against incumbent Velmanette Montgomery. Over the years Tony has done good community work on the issues of gang violence, crime and the concerns of inner-city minority youth. Walter Moseley (the son of the venerable community activist and former School Board member Marilyn Moseley) is presently running for male district leader (DEM) in the 57th AD. He, his mother and many other political activists in Brooklyn have been slowly building a political organization in the district during the past few years.
Stay tuned-in folks.