White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Democrats Nominate Bernstein, Boykin, Greer for Council. Camacho Quinn Rejected

WPCNR Backroom Bulletin. By John F. Bailey. May 9, 2003 UPDATED WITH PICTURES: At the Democratic City Committee meeting at the Party Headquarters at 170 East Post Road Thursday evening, Democratic Party District Leaders nominated incumbents Robert Greer for his fourth term for Common Council, and City Council President Benjamin Boykin, Jr. for his second term. They also nominated long term campaign manager, Arnold Bernstein to run for William King's council seat which Mr. King is vacating.

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN: Benjamin Boykin and Robert Greer were nominated last evening. Both candidates said it was important to manage White Plains' growth carefully in the next three years and that was the major challenge and issue the city faced. Both said they would continue to work for all the people of White Plains.
Photo by WPCNR News

After listening to speeches by Boykin, Greer, Bernstein and Eridania Camacho Quinn, who was challenging the Nominating Committee selection of Bernstein, instead of her candidacy, District Leaders voted by secret ballot to reject her bid by what was described to this reporter as a decisive margin.

FAVORITE SON: Arnold Bernstein, left, with Nominating Committee Chairman Howard Glassman right, after Mr. Bernstein received the vote of confidence he was looking for from District Leaders last night. Former Campaign Manager for Adam Bradley, Robert Greer, Glen Hockley, and Rita Malmud, Bernstein now will take a run of his own.
Photo by WPCNR News

SUPPORTING THE TICKET AFTER HER CHALLENGE: Eridania Camacho Quinn, the woman candidate supported by minority leaders and encouraged to challenge the Committee slate, said in the aftermath, "I agreed I would work for the slate. I was assured they would run me at the very next opportunity. I will make sure there is going to be a next time." She thanked the party for the opportunity to challenge Mr. Bernstein for the nomination to the Common Council. She said she did not think she would primary the other three nominees in September.
Photo by WPCNR News

Mr. Bernstein, commenting on the Camacho Quinn challenge, said "She exercised her rights and we welcome it. She's a very classy lady."

When asked about reaching out to the Hispanic community, whose leaders exiting the meeting were very upset with the outcome of the vote, Mr. Bernstein said the party was committed to "putting people first."

Bernstein said his next step in his campaign would be gathering petition signatures, due by the beginning of July.

Bradley: Strength of Democratic Party

Adam Bradley chatting amiably with WPCNR after emerging from 170 East Post Road said this was one of the strengths of the Democratic Party that people could disagree then come together. He said the party was fortunate to have four such highly qualified candidates.

THE BACK ROOM AT 170 EAST POST ROAD: District Leaders listening to Dennis Power report on a registration effort. Seconds later, WPCNR was asked to leave the meeting.
Photo by WPCNR News

When I arrived at 8 PM, I was announced loudly by Mr. Bernstein at the door of the meeting already in progress. Adam Bradley, New York State Assemblyman, and City Democratic Committee leader, left the head of the meeting and came to the door. He politely said the meeting was not public and was closed to the press, to prevent any further reporting of what he said were "mischaracterizations" of committee actions in the media. For the second time in three years, WPCNR had been ejected from a Democratic City Committee Nominating Convention.

The Last Activist Challenges Bradley Gag Order

Within about 15 minutes of my cooling my heels on East Post Road, Ron Jackson (who gave up his aspirations for the Council in favor of Ms.Camacho Quinn), trooped down out of the entrance of 170 East Post Road, where I was encamped, awaiting the close of the meeting.

THE LAST ACTIVIST HITS THE STREET: Ron Jackson said he had left the meeting in disgust. He said Adam Bradley had opened the meeting by admonishing committee members not to speak to the press.
Photo by WPCNR News

Jackson told me he was furious. He said he told Bradley and the District Leaders, "When I woke up this morning I thought I was in America. We live in a city that's diverse. Once the minority community learns this Hispanic woman, a great candidate was rejected, there is going to be some bullet voting."

After cooling off, Mr. Jackson returned upstairs.

The Hispanic Hope Fades.

Hispanic leaders WPCNR overheard in the hall were discussing primary possibilities at one point. One delegate suggested that on primary day, they figured there were about 450 homes they needed to target to pull out registered Hispanics to vote for Ms. Camacho Quinn. The two persons talking about this talked in low meaningful tones, speaking of organizing phone banks to get out the vote, and organizing a fleet of latino and African American taxicabs to transport voters to the polls.

Speech well-received.

Mr. Jackson came back down at approximately 9:25 to tell me the voting was commencing. He said Ms. Camacho Quinn's speech was very well received. Whether Mr. Bernstein, Mr. Boykin and Mr. Greer made lengthy speeches, it was hard to determine, given our listening post on the street.

Ms. Camacho Quinn Calls on the Leaders to Make the Effort.

In her speech to the Leaders, acquired by WPCNR, Ms. Camacho Quinn said her nomination would give the party of person familiar with a segment of the city their ticket did not represent, noting,

"I believe in diversity. In a city where, according to the U.S. Census, 15% of its residents are seniors 65 and over, 23% are children under 18, 52.7% of us are women, and 40%, like me, are people of color, we really do need to make a greater effort to have a government that is truly representative of the people. Having this as my mission, I will work hard to keep our party and our city committee united under the one big tent."

She pledged to support the ticket, no matter what the decision in her speech, and said, "I promise you this: I am qualified to hold office and I assure you that no one will harder for you than I will."

The Minority Street.

The decisive dismissal of Camacho Quinn's credentials did not play well to District Leaders of Minority descent.

After the vote was announced, the applause was about half the volume for the Camacho Quinn speech. Minority delegates exited to the street with a look of resignation, puzzlement, and realization on their faces. They appeared sobered by the margin of Ms. Camacho Quinn's defeat.

Anjel Tejada and Ms. Camacho Quinn's brother, Hector, talked in slow measured tones about the result, Mr. Tejada saying, "Here you have a woman with a political science degree, extensive campaign experience, and she is not qualified? In four years they haven't been able to do this. It is not acceptable why we can't. It can be done."

"THIS WAS A FIX:" William Campbell of the White Plains Tenants Council was blunt and asked that WPCNR quote his remarks: "I participated in the freedom marches in Selma, Alabama, and I saw more discrimination in this room tonight than I ever saw down there.This deck was stacked right from the beginning. It was fixed."
Photo by WPCNR News

Meanwhile, in Another Part of Town

After the meeting, WPCNR was contacted by Jeffrey Binder, declared Republican Candidate for Common Council, who reported the Republicans were talking to two women of Hispanic ethnicity to challenge for the Hispanic and minority communities.


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