A New Campaign Charge: You Supported Clinton

Brooklyn’s 10th Congressional District, home to more African-Americans than any other in New York, gave Senator Barack Obama his highest margin of victory in the state. But the district’s longtime congressman, Edolphus Towns, did not share his constituency’s preference for Mr. Obama. Now some of those voters are pushing to oust him.

“His decision not to back Obama shows he is out of touch with his constituents,” said N. Chandler, a former city corrections officer who lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant and who had supported Mr. Towns in the past. “And I think the people of this district are ready for a change.”

The tensions in the district echo those in a handful of races around the country as Democratic incumbents with large African-American constituencies try to soothe resentments and anger incited by their support for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Even after Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton embraced in Unity, N.H., on Friday and sought to put their divisions behind them, some strains are still evident closer to the ground.

In Georgia, Representative John Lewis, a prominent civil rights leader, is facing primary challenges from two black candidates who have been critical of him for backing Mrs. Clinton for months before shifting to Mr. Obama. To underscore the point, one of the challengers set up his headquarters in the same building that served as Mr. Obama’s office for the primary. Nearby, in Savannah, Representative John Barrow, who is white but represents a district that is largely black, is under attack from a challenger who says Mr. Barrow was also late to endorse Mr. Obama.

Another New Yorker, Representative Gregory W. Meeks of Queens, faces a primary opponent who has sought to make an issue of Mr. Meeks’s support of the Clinton campaign in a district, New York’s 6th, where Mr. Obama drew nearly 56 percent of the vote.

The man seeking Mr. Meeks’s seat is Ruben Wills, 36, a former chief of staff for State Senator Shirley L. Huntley and an organizer for Mr. Obama in southeast Queens. “I was on board with Obama from Day 1,” Mr. Wills said. “Meeks had to be dragged across the line.”

And Representative Yvette D. Clarke, of Flatbush, Brooklyn, is running unopposed but lost the endorsement of a vital organization, the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, in part because she embraced Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy.

Most of these seats are considered safely Democratic, leaving little incentive for the national Democratic Party, or its leaders, to get involved in the races.

But at least one district — Mr. Barrow’s in Savannah — is considered vulnerable to Republican competition in the fall. And there, Mr. Obama surprised many black leaders by endorsing Mr. Barrow, a conservative Democrat who did not endorse him until after the Georgia primary.

Regina Thomas, a Georgia state senator who is black and is running for the seat, said that voters shared her displeasure with Mr. Obama’s decision. “This is what one constituent said to me, ‘Barrow didn’t do anything to help Obama win the 12th District,’ ” she said. “After he endorsed Barrow, people were like: ‘What in the world is he doing? Why doesn’t he just stay out of it?’ ”

For Mr. Towns in Brooklyn, leftover tensions from the Clinton-Obama battle seem especially strong. An emerging young black political class is seeking to assert the neighborhood’s power against what it sees as an older establishment, based in Harlem, that has long exercised disproportionate influence in New York. The younger Democratic activists link Mr. Meeks and Mr. Towns, the son of a North Carolina sharecropper and a 25-year veteran in Congress, to that structure.

Mr. Towns cannot afford to take the challenge lightly. Two years ago, he won with less than 50 percent of the vote in a three-way race. The man who is running against him now, Kevin Powell, is a community organizer who has the backing of celebrities like the comedian Dave Chappelle, who is scheduled to headline a fund-raiser for Mr. Powell.

Jordan Thomas, who led the organization Brooklyn for Barack, and Arthur Leopold, a fund-raiser for the Obama campaign, are backing Mr. Powell, as are several Democratic clubs, including the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, in part because of members’ disappointment after Mr. Towns backed Mrs. Clinton.

It is difficult to overstate the enthusiasm and pride Mr. Obama stirred in the district, where he received 58 percent of the vote. Interviews last week with residents, political activists and businesspeople throughout the district showed those feelings to be still close to the surface.

Patrice C. Queen, a freelance writer from East New York, Brooklyn, and a volunteer for Mr. Powell’s campaign, was especially upset that Mr. Towns had continued to back Mrs. Clinton even after her supporters made what she said were racially charged comments about Mr. Obama.

To her, the reason black leaders like Mr. Towns stuck with Mrs. Clinton was obvious. “Racial self-hatred,” said Ms. Queen, who is black. “It was as if they were saying: ‘We people of color are not ready yet. We’re not ready to be in the White House.’ Self-hatred does that to you.”

Kyle Clarke, an elementary school teacher, said Mr. Towns’s loyalty to Mrs. Clinton was purely strategic.

“He’s been in office for 25 years and he’s part of the establishment,” he said. “How’s he going to go up against the Clintons? He wants to have a career.”

A. T. Mitchell, 42, who recently started a political club, Hip-Hop Stand Up and Vote, on a gritty block in East New York, said Mr. Towns’s support of Mrs. Clinton was not solely a reason to abandon him, but it did send a powerful message.

“It said that he is out of touch with his constituents, that he is removed from the concerns of the common voter,” Mr. Mitchell said.

In an interview, Mr. Towns said he was worried that the compressed primary calendar did not give him much time to make peace with Obama loyalists. “September is not that far away,” he said, referring to the Sept. 9 primary. “That’s problematic for me.”

While the Towns campaign plans to dispatch the representative on a schedule of intense campaigning later this summer, the operation is also readying its lawyers to aggressively scrutinize the signature petitions Mr. Powell has gathered to get on the ballot, with the hope of knocking him off.

The challenge appears to have taken Mr. Towns by surprise. His campaign said he had more than $300,000, a relatively meager sum at this stage for an incumbent facing a challenge.

Mr. Towns said it had been personally difficult for him to choose between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama. “I serve in the Congressional Black Caucus, and he is a member,” he said. “But Hillary Clinton represents New York State, and I’ve worked together with her on many projects.”

Mr. Towns can expect some help from a longtime House colleague, Representative Charles B. Rangel of Harlem, who also supported Mrs. Clinton but escaped a primary fight, in part because he lined up much of Harlem behind her.

Powell Upends Towns; Nadler Beats Impeachment Challenge

No Endorsement for Squadron or Connor; Harrison, Saunders Endorsed

Second CBID Endorsement Meeting Considers Charged Contests

Congressional challenger Kevin Powell received the endorsement of CBID -- 83% of the votes -- over 25-year incumbent Edolphus Towns (10^th Congressional District). CBID members were very impressed with Powell’s compelling presentation, his knowledge of federal issues, and a thoughtfully-prepared questionnaire. Powell focused on Towns’ history of missed votes and questioned the true value of House seniority when alleged benefits are elusive to many residents of the Congressional district. Powell, an early supporter of Senator Barack Obama’s Presidential candidacy, made reference to but did not focus on Congressman Towns’ ongoing support of Senator Clinton. Towns neither submitted a questionnaire nor appeared at the meeting.

Long-time liberal incumbent Representative Jerrold Nadler was endorsed by CBID in the 8th Congressional district with 79% of the votes. A challenge by newcomer David Eisenbach focused on the impeachment of Vice President Cheney as a necessary step for Democrats to take as soon as possible. Eisenbach, an impassioned political science professor from Columbia University, made it clear that his candidacy was an effort to force Nadler to support immediate impeachment steps. Nadler, who appeared in person, dismissed impeachment as a path that would hurt Democrats more during this Presidential election and not achieve the most desirable outcome – holding Bush, Cheney and others accountable for their many potentially impeachable offenses. Nadler also reminded the audience of his legislative track record in Congress and his “political courage” on a variety of issues.

As the Democratic machines in Brooklyn and Staten Island push conservative City Councilmember Mike McMahon forward as a candidate for Rep. Vito Fossella’s now-open Congressional seat, CBID did not delay their vote or select “No Endorsement.” Instead, CBID enthusiastically endorsed the progressive Democratic candidate, Stephen Harrison, for this 13th District seat in the House of Representatives with 90% of the votes. Harrison, who received more votes in 2006 against Fossella than any previous Democratic challenger, stressed his endurance as a candidate and his greater electoral strength in the upcoming Democratic Primary. Given the last-minute nature of McMahon’s selection, the Councilman had not been invited to appear before CBID.

At the State level, three Senate races were considered at this meeting.

In the 18^th District, incumbent Velmanette Montgomery was endorsed for re-election (96%). Montgomery, one of the strong voices against the Atlantic Yards project, focused on development issues during her presentation (her questionnaire was light on some detail). Mr. Anthony Herbert, campaigning this year as a Democrat, did not appear at the meeting and had not submitted a questionnaire.

In the 21^st District, a battle may be brewing between headline-earning incumbent Kevin Parker and “Slushgate” poster child Kendall Stewart, himself a City Councilmember and Democratic State Committee member, but, while Stewart did not receive a single vote, not enough CBID members decided that the incumbent warranted support this year from this particular club Parker's apparent waffling on Atlantic Yards contributed to this outcome. “No Endorsement” was endorsed with 62% of the vote.

“No Endorsement” (57%) was also the result of balloting on the 25^th Senate District contest between long-time incumbent Martin Connor and Chuck Schumer protégé Daniel Squadron. During an evening filled with endorsement meetings by various political organizations, Squadron did not appear at CBID (though he did submit a questionnaire) and Connor surprised many by making a personal appearance. The Senator’s presentation was very impressive, containing a mix of detailed legislative knowledge, institutional memory and optimism about the potential of a Democratic State Senate. Connor left CBID members in conflict – most of them were loyal to Connor’s 2006 opponent Ken Diamondstone and were not in love with Connor, but they were wary of newcomer Squadron’s big money and his work for Schumer, the NYC Department of Education and a big PR firm. Squadron's minimal grassroots community experience was also a problem.

Of the remaining contests, the hottest was for the male Democratic State Committee seat in the 57^th Assembly District (Fort Greene, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights). Incumbent William “Bill” Saunders is being challenged by attorney and political operative Walter Mosley (no, not that Walter Mosley …). Mosley, who had submitted a thorough questionnaire response, also appeared in person and gave a strong presentation. Saunders was leading petition-training meeting elsewhere and was represented by a surrogate. In addition, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Democratic State Committee member Alan Fleishman expressed their support for Saunders’ re-election. Fleishman said that he considers Saunders an ally in the struggle to hold Democratic County Leader Vito Lopez to higher standards of transparency and democratic behavior. CBID members liked Mosley overall, but were not happy with the fact that he never mentioned his past employment with convicted former Democratic County Leader Clarence Norman (even when asked about past employment) and that his political support included Congressman Ed Towns and former Assembly member Roger Green. It was Mosley’s tepid criticism of Atlantic Yards that closed the deal for Saunders with a number of CBID members. In this case, Mosley’s support of Obama (he is the 10^th Congressional District Alternate Delegate) and Saunders’ support of Clinton had no real impact upon the decision. Bill Saunders was endorsed with 83% of the votes.

Incumbent Democratic State Committee members Jacob Gold (Male – 44^th Assembly District) and Olanike Alabi (Female – 57^th Assembly District) were endorsed with 68% and 91% of the votes, respectively. Both had presented at last week's meeting and neither was opposed.

In a countywide Civil Court race, unopposed incumbent Loren Baily-Shiffman received 100% of the vote for her re-election bid. Unopposed newcomer Ingrid Joseph, in her third try for the bench (twice endorsed by The New York Times), was endorsed by CBID for a “vacant” countywide seat with 96% of the vote.

In a contested 1st District Civil Court race, attorney Devin Cohen was endorsed by CBID with 89% of the votes over attorney Roger Adler and “No Endorsement.”

Since Supreme Court contests will not be included on the upcoming nominating petitions, the CBID endorsement meeting was recessed until a later date (probably September) to complete the review of Supreme Court candidates and make endorsements.

The summary of CBID's 2008 endorsements to date reads as follows:

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