Author: Rock Hackshaw

When I did part one of this series, I got many inquiries as to what were the credentials/qualifications of Ms. Yvonne J. Graham, which propelled her towards running for Brooklyn’s Borough Presidency. Fair enough. This is always one of the first questions fielded by any potential candidate for public office. So let me fill in some of the blanks.

I believe that Ms. Graham is a tremendous candidate for Brooklyn’s boro prez. She brings many fine attributes to the table. Who knows if she won’t become the first female mayor of New York City? Isn’t it time Brooklyn developed a mayor? Okay, so she is not battle-scarred (given Brooklyn’s many political wars of past decades); I think that’s an asset. This is a talented young woman folks. She has the ability to bring diverse people together, and has successfully worked with people of all races and ethnicities. How she handles the political stump is left to be seen; one thing for sure is that many feel she should go for it. Although she hasn’t formally declared for the race, all indications are that she is a candidate. Her support is growing. She has told me directly that she is going to enter the race, so I am not speculating here folks. I got it straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak. It is expected that Ms. Graham will be endorsed by her old boss and present boro prez Marty Markowitz. If Marty runs for mayor it will help Yvonne’s candidacy a great deal; that in itself will tremendously increase her chances of winning.

[This article was originally posted on Room Eight on 12-02-06 and given the outcome of the "Sean Bell" trial, the author has decided to repost.]

About ten years ago I happened to be one of three guests on a television show, along with present NYC councilmember Charles Barron and activist-attorney Colin Moore. The name of the show was “Caribbean Roundtable”, one of the better Caribbean-American talk shows still around. The hostess (Verna Smith) was a Jamaican-born journalist, who just happened to be quite active in Brooklyn’s Caribbean-American political circles; thus her questions were not of the powder-puff variety; not at all, since Verna can be a tough interviewer at times. On Sunday mornings, you can usually catch the show on Cablevision, and at other times on Time Warner cable. The gist of that show was basically an analysis of the results of the 1997 Democratic primary elections, which had taken place a few weeks earlier. Just before the show ended, the topic of “police brutality” crept in. Given that Barron and Moore brought to the table, tremendous knowledge in this area, they immediately jumped on the issue, offering some insight into the whys and wherefores. When it was my turn to speak, I got a few things off my chest that I had wanted to say publicly for quite some time. My opinions riled both guests. I wasn’t really surprised. The events of last weekend brought back memories of that roundtable exchange. I will get to that in a second.

Back in October 2006, I did the first of a two-part column, where I asked whether or not a black person would soon become Brooklyn’s Borough President, and in so doing: make history. At that point in time, the only black who had publicly spoken about running for the office was Assemblyman Nick Perry. Let me tweak that: Chris Owens-the well known political activist from Brooklyn- had also publicly stated interest in running for the position. Now remember that Chris has a black father and a white mother, so to be accurate I call him mixed (both black and white); just like Barack Obama. That’s the only reason why I didn’t mention him in the same breath as Nick. If Chris calls himself black – or considers himself black (only) – then he can le me know, so in future I will refer to him as he wishes. It is one of the painful realities of the good old USA: this racial identity thing that could be ridiculous and absurd at times.

You want to know what makes leaders effective? One word: credibility. And credibility comes from consistency, reliability, loyalty and honesty. Once credibility is established, it is easy to get people to follow your lead; since they trust you as a leader. So this is a column about two so-called leaders living oceans apart; one is Robert Mugabe and the other is NYC councilmember Charles Barron.

In the past, both of these men have flattered to deceive. They started out with so much promise, but in the overall analysis: they both fail on many levels. Barron came to the City Council with optimism and flair, and even though he has gained nationwide popularity by skillfully “playing” the media and race cards ad infinitum, the end result is that his accomplishments are few, insular and personal. Mugabe was a hero of the colonial struggle in Rhodesia (later: Zimbabwe), but since the overthrow of Ian Smith, he has dismally failed to lead a rich African country- with enormous potential to be a big time player on the continent, and on the world stage– to the kind of stability and prosperity that all well-wishers anticipated.

Dr. Kendall Stewart is no stranger to controversy; he believes it comes with the territory (politics). That’s why he is so calm after the latest hits. Two of his staff members have been charged with misusing NYC taxpayer dollars- amongst other felonies- through various organizations that one of the accused had set up. Federal prosecutors allege that although the not-for profit organizations did indeed do some good work over the years (relative to its mandates from the council), a significant amount of its funds were diverted to the wrong places and/or persons.

Look, we are all supposed to grant to any accused, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and in this case we should afford both of Stewart’s staffers (Asquith Reid and Joycinth Anderson) the same courtesy. As much as I know both individuals charged, I will let the system of justice take its natural course before I say anymore- relative to their current plight. I could only wish them well, given what they are facing. If these charges are proven in a court of law, let me say that I will be personally disappointed and saddened. From where I come: if you do the crime then you should do the time. Period.

Every now and again something really nice happens in this life. If you are lucky and/or patient enough: it happens more often than not. This is not to downplay the everyday wonders of life- that marvel most of us who appreciate every waking day- but only to say that some days are sweeter than others; that’s all. For the most part, I have been lucky in this life; but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t had my share of bull-crap; believe me when I say I have; sometimes bad days have come in rows. All in all, bad days are few and far and in between; and I thank God for that.

Something nice happened on Tuesday 8th April, 2008, that I want to share with some of you. You see; there are over nine million political stories in this naked city: New York; this is a different kinda political story. Enjoy.

Although the focus has been on the presidential primaries- where I have been batting in the .900 range- the beat goes on in NYC politics. Especially in my favorite borough: Brooklyn. So let’s catch up on things (important or not) for the political crack heads out there. I will leave my comment section open for this one, but please: “don’t start no shit” (as the late great Richard Pryor used to say/lol).

Word is that our first black governor (David Paterson) is pissed at the Bill lynch crew. He needs to get a friggin grip. Bill Lynch and Associates have always had his back and he needs to show some more loyalty. Trust me when I say he will need that crew again real soon. Didn’t Luther Smith (Associate) step in to do damage control when Patterson’s Lieutenant-governor campaign was in the doldrums? Didn’t Bill help in putting together the support that convinced Spitzer to select David? And did they not work hard to convince many to help convince David to run; even when he was reluctant to do so? Did they not help keep Ms. Eve in the fold when she could have caused some problems by running for the position? After all: she was out there first. Anyway; the point is: David Paterson needs to know where his true friends reside. Bill Lynch and Associates have been -and still is- very loyal to the governor.