BP Diaz, Jr is out. Bronx County Chair Crespo is out. So who's in?

Never has the name of our blog being more precise than today.

As we all know by now, two of the borough’s most prominent officials – Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and County Chair Marcos Crespo – will no longer be in Bronx politics. In January, Rubencito announced he will finish his term in 2021 and no longer run for any political post. A month later, Crespo followed by announcing he will not seek re-election to his Assembly seat.

Yes, this was a shock to many here in the Bronx. Rubencito was expected to run for Comptroller in 2021 (since his Mayoral prospects seemed to disappear for several reasons). Crespo was expected to follow him into Bronx Borough Hall. All of a sudden, those plans came down crumbling, catching everyone by surprise.

On Friday, Crespo abruptly announced that he was resigning from his Assembly seat AND as Chair of the Bronx Democratic Party. Why not wait it out until end of the year? This is a question everyone is asking. This is a question that has gone unanswered.

Last week’s Congressional elections in the 15^th district also put the party apparatus and leadership in question. The presumptive winner is Ritchie Torres, who is not known to be a soldier of the Bronx machine. Michael Blake, who came in second, and refuses to concede until all votes are counted, also is not soldier. Reverend Ruben Diaz – The Rev – came in a surprising third, getting a mere 15% of the votes. This was a bit surprising since all the politicos were saying that the race was between Ritchie and the Rev. It could not be clearer that the voters of the 15^th sent a strong message that the Reverend’s position (pro-Trump, anti-gay, anti-women) was not the direction they wanted to go. While the Reverend remains Councilman, he will have a very tough primary next year with his opponent: progressive and charismatic Amanda Farias.

But what everyone knows but are not speaking about in public is that the Diaz kingdom has fallen. But not only the Diaz. The Bronx party establishment has proved what many have been saying for some time now: it’s slowly losing their ability to be united and elect their candidates.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

With Crespo’s resignation from the party, there’s a power struggle for that position. Several have been rumored to be interested while others are rumored to be pushed by Assembly Speaker (and former Bronx Party Chair) Carl Heastie.

First, there’s Northwest Bronx Assemblyman Victor Pichardo who last week went on Twitter to say that he is pursuing the post. This was a surprise to many since it has long being rumored that Pichardo has been looking for a new gig, outside of elective politics. In his Twitter exchange with political commentator Gerson Borrero, he seemed to back-tracked and now is interested in staying in office.

We also hear that Assemblyman Karines Reyes is also a very possible choice to lead the Bronx Democrats. While Reyes was elected in 2019, she has been one of the most active members of the Assembly. During the pandemic, she put on her uniform as a nurse and went back to the hospital and helping to save lives. Reyes, offers a very unique opportunity for the party. It has never been run by a woman and in a borough with majority Latino population, Reyes would seem the logical choice. But, that’s only the opinion of some. Others may think differently.

Another Bronx Democrat out there is Latoya Joyner, who, as it has been reported in some outlets, is Heastie’s favorite. While Joyner has more time in the Assembly than Reyes, this would be a slap in the face for Latinos in the Bronx.

One thing is clear: the Bronx is lagging behind other boroughs in having women in leadership roles. This an opportunity to change that.

With the 2021 municipal elections around the corner, where the majority of the Bronx City Council delegation is term-limited and new Councilmembers will be elected, the Bronx Democratic Party stand to be a powerhouse or simply become irrelevant.

The voters are changing. Bronx politics is changing.

Part 2 of 2: Who will take over Congressman Serrano's seat?

Part 2  of 2: Who will take over Congressman Serrano's seat?

Not much has happened since our part 1 of this post so we'll just cut to the chase.

YDANIS RODRIGUEZ: Rodriguez, who is term-limited in 2021 from his current gig at the City Council (from neighboring Washington Heights), seems to THINK that he actually has a strong chance at winning the Congressional seat. However, there are a few obstacles that can prevent him from becoming the second member of Congress that is of Dominican descent. 

First, he's not from the Bronx, nor has he has a base of support. He's relying on the Dominican vote but he should know that unfortunately, the Dominican vote is too scattered and very unreliable during a Primary election. The district has been said to be heavy on Puertoricans, followed by African-Americans. Rodriguez is relying on the "support" of Congressman Adriano Espaillat and his troops who have been slowly dispatched to "help" his campaign. However, the political war of Rodriguez and Espaillat is one that everyone knows of and Rodriguez should not rely much on Espaillat as he may be led to believe. The truth of the matter is that Espaillat, as one source close to the Congressman said, is looking to 'take out' Rodriguez from the political arena and this is one way. No, not because they truly believe Rodriguez has a shot at the seat but by discrediting his ability to get elected (Rodriguez tried unsuccessfully for City Council Speaker, Manhattan Borough President and more recently, for Public Advocate). He has failed in all his attempts and this race will be no differently.

Lastly, Rodriguez has failed to get the support of any of the Bronx elected officials, particularly those of Dominican descent (Victor Pichardo and Karines Reyes) nor any influential community leaders that can move votes. He has been on the Spanish news outlets lately but many see it as pandering. Let's see if he can mobilize the Dominican community and become the first Dominican member of Congress from the Bronx.

SAMELYS LOPEZ: Samelys recently picked up the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which was the group that helped elect Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC). But this race is nothing like that of AOC, where she went up against a giant (Queens Democratic Party boss) Joe Crowley. Samelys is very bright, prides herself in her district roots and upbringing and has been gaining some traction.

It is the year where more women are running for office and challenging the status quo. Samelys, if she continues running a grassroots campaign, as we have seen in her social media, making it a point that she's not with the party establishment, combined that with some more media, she can pull off an upset. It is surprising she's not highlighting or taking advantage of the fact that she's a woman and this is a great time to send a woman to Congress. She's charismatic and can convince voters easily. If AOC comes out for her, sooner rather than later, we could be looking (or writing) about Congresswoman Samelys Lopez.

MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO: MMV was expected to be the front-runner in this race as it was speculated for some time that she was pursuing this seat, even before current Congressman Jose Serrano announced he was not running for re-election the year. Having served as the last Speaker of the City Council, she had clout.

However, as she became more focused on Puerto Rico, she also became too distant from the district. This is now catching up to her and unfortunately, with little to no traction nor any grassroots support, we shouldn't be surprised if Samelys gains more votes than MMV.

It is worth noting that the Bronx Democratic Party, nor any Bronx elected official for that matter, has come out in support of any candidate. We suspect that it will remain as such given that in the middle of all this, is the father of the Bronx Borough President who would like to be Mayor in 2021. So rather than to upset the Diaz dynasty, folks seems to be what any good soldier does: follow orders.