Yudelka Tapia Joining Forces with Victor Pichardo?

Victor Pichardo and Yudelka Tapia @ Bronx Centennial KickOff - January 9, 2014
Picture by www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com

Word on the street is that Yudelka Tapia, Female District Leader for the 86th Assembly District in the NW Bronx, is joining her former political rival and eventual winner Victor Pichardo in the upcoming September 2014 primaries as she seeks to keep her District Leader seat.

Yocasta Polanco

One of her potential challengers is Yocasta Polanco, former State Committeewoman under former disgraced Assemblyman Nelson Castro. Polanco has been rallying up troops from Castro's camp, which for better or worse, remain active in community issues. Recently, Congressman Rangel was the guest speaker at the William Jefferson Clinton Democratic Club, which she serves as one of its leaders. Polanco is also part of the team led by Male District Leader Steve Santana and potential candidate for State Senate (33rd District) Manny Tavarez.

When asked about Tapia's decision to join with Assemblyman Pichardo's slate, one of the former candidates for State Assembly stated that "she [Tapia] will do whatever she needs to do to stay as District Leader and/or be elected into office, even if that includes selling her soul to the devil."  A Bronx political operative with knowledge of this scenario stated that "Tapia and Pichardo are talking" and further added that "Tapia knows what's best for her."

We tried reaching out to Hector Ramirez and Haile Rivera, two of the other candidates who ran in last year's Democratic primaries against Pichardo. Ramirez did not respond to our email and Rivera simply stated that "I'm focused in my family and whatever Yudelka decides to do is her decision to live with."

Ramirez has been reaching out to folks in his effort to challenge Pichardo while Rivera has been rumored to be potentially seeking the District Leader. There are also several names floating around for this position (more on that later).

As far as who will County Chairman Carl Heastie support (Tapia or Polanco) remains to be seen but we suspect that they will rather have nothing to do with anyone who is tied to Nelson Castro. On the other hand, Tapia still has that $108,000 fine pending with the New York City Campaign Finance Board for failure to account for $60,000 in matching funds received from her unsuccessful 2009 City Council run. Not sure how Heastie is able to back Tapia with this heavy baggage (we confirmed with the NYCCFB last week that this matter remains pending).

Politics, particularly in the Bronx, is unpredictable and yes, interesting. Stay tuned for more updates on this race!

Rangel Seeks Support in NW Bronx

This past Saturday, Congressman Charles Rangel was in the Bronx, meeting and seeking the support of the William Jefferson Clinton Democratic Club, relatively unknown political club that once was led by disgraced Bronx (former) Assemblyman Nelson Castro and his associates.

Rangel was accompanied by Councilwoman Inez Dickens, which leads us to believe that maybe the Congressman is prepping Dickens to take over the seat when he retires, assuming he wins the upcoming June primary against his strongest challenger, State Senator Adriano Espaillat.

The meeting was held at the residence of community activist David Williams on Creston Avenue and was led by former Castro staffers, current NW Bronx District Leader Steve Santana and former district leader Yocasta Polanco. Castro's former Chief of Staff, Krystal Nieves was also one of the coordinators. Many political operatives we talked to, said that it would be of no surprise if Castro himself is playing an active, yet behind-the-scences role in the district. Some have seen the former Assemblyman holding bi-weekly meetings in an undisclosed location on the Grand Concourse.

Congressman Charles Rangel with District Leader
Steve Santana and Manny Tavarez

It caught our attention the presence of Manny Tavarez, who challenged State Senator Gustavo Rivera in 2012 and despite coming up short, many were surprised he obtained over 35 percent of the votes. Word in the street is that Tavarez is eyeing another run against Rivera. This could prove to be an uphill battle as NW Bronx Councilman Fernando Cabrera is seriously considering challenging Rivera. Another possibility for Tavarez would be running for State Assembly and challenging Victor 'Levergate' Pichardo. This would put Tavarez on a collision course with Hector Ramirez, who came in a close second in last year's election. We also hear that former Obama campaign staffer and candidate himself, Haile Rivera (no relation to Senator Rivera) will be supporting Ramirez in September and will run as District Leader.  No word on Yudelka Tapia and her political ambitions but when we consulted with the City's Campaign Finance Board, Tapia's $108,000 debt remains unresolved.

While only a group of 15-20 residents were on hand for the meeting, it is clear that Congressman Rangel is seeking support from anyone and everyone who can help him in his re-election efforts. Without Castro, it is questionable how much influence or political muscle this club has in the district.

No official word on what Espaillat's Bronx outreach efforts may be. Our 'consultants' do tell us that it is highly unlikely, and a major mistake for Espaillat to be involved with this group given their close ties to Castro (who remains to be sentenced for perjury charges).

CBP will remain vigilant and post any updates as we receive information. Stay tuned ...