Posted on 10/31/2003 1:45:11 PM PST by Indy Pendance
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Local politics in New York rarely makes headlines, but the fight to succeed one councilman has it all -- murder, drugs and sex.
Not only was Democratic Councilman James Davis shot dead in July before hundreds of people at City Hall, but his brother, who now wants the job, has a criminal past.
Candidate forums have given way to bursts of rage, and top Democrats, including former Mayor Ed Koch, have endorsed a third-party contender who was the slain man's political foe.
"The race has certainly turned into a bit of a circus," commented Hakeem Jeffries, head of Brooklyn's Freedom Democrats organization.
"You have the slain councilman's brother on one side and on the other his arch rival and one of his most bitter political enemies," he said. "Given those ingredients it should not be surprising that the race turned very contentious."
The saga began with the July 23 killing of Davis, who represented Bedford-Stuyvesant and other impoverished sections of Brooklyn. He was shot in City Hall by a political rival, who in turn was shot dead by police.
Davis' brother Geoffrey then stepped up in the hope of succeeding his brother, but his past caught up with him and weakened whatever sympathy vote might have been expected.
Public disclosure showed Davis, a high school dropout, had a record that included selling marijuana, soliciting a prostitute and not paying child support.
Now a supervisor of a youth program at a local college, Davis blamed youth and a system he says failed him. "Nothing has ever been easy for me in my life," he told a recent rally.
Meanwhile, Letitia James, who ran unsuccessfully against James Davis, joined the race on a ticket for the Working Families Party. A Republican and a Conservative round out the field in the strongly Democratic district.
Top Democrats, including Koch and U.S. Rep. Major Owens, have endorsed the Working Families candidate.
"I'm offended by the thought that people think a seat is inherited by a family and because a brother had the seat before he died that it now goes to another brother of the deceased. It's ridiculous," said Koch.
At a candidate forum this month, Davis fumed and threatened to walk out when asked about his criminal past. "What you're doing is assassinating my character and attempting to kill me slowly," he said.
James has raised about three times as much money as Davis, whose deeply indebted campaign has borrowed $20,000 from his mother, records show.
Nonetheless, Davis has an advantage as a Democrat, and third-party victors are rare in city politics, said political strategist Hank Sheinkopf, who has worked for both Davis brothers.
"At this point, that's Geoffrey's only hope," said Jeffries. "His greatest hope is in the power of the Democratic Party line."
That damned Yoot, guilty of so much evil in our society. And his ally Sis Tem, an infamous criminal in his own right. Where was Person Al Responsibility when he needed him?
The Democratic Party is a criminal entity.
Davis blamed youth and a system he says failed him. "Nothing has ever been easy for me in my life,"
A real stand-up guy.
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