Black Voters, No Longer a Bloc, Are Up for Grabs in Mayor's Race

NY Times ^ | September 26, 2005 | MANNY FERNANDEZ

[Pharmboy]

Craig Livingston, a Caribbean-American real estate developer and Democrat who lives in Harlem, has never voted for a Republican in his life. But on Nov. 8, he is prepared to do just that, casting his ballot in the New York City mayoral race for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg over his Democratic opponent, Fernando Ferrer.

Mr. Livingston feels that the mayor has been accountable on his chief concern, improving the public schools, while Mr. Ferrer has failed to demonstrate that he is more than a lifelong politician.

But there is no consensus among black voters in his circle.

His cousin is voting for Mr. Bloomberg. One of his friends, Hakeem Jeffries, 35, a politically active lawyer from Brooklyn, supports Mr. Ferrer.

Mr. Jeffries sees a split in the black vote in his own life. His parents are backing Mr. Ferrer. A friend is critical of Mr. Ferrer but undecided. And Bill Howell, a deacon at Mr. Jeffries's Baptist church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, is such a fan of the mayor's that he joined the newly formed African-Americans for Bloomberg.

"This is the first time that I know of in my lifetime where the black electorate has been this receptive to the Republican agenda, and in New York City that is huge," said Mr. Livingston, 35.

Mr. Ferrer's victory in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary has provided Latinos with an historic opportunity to flex their political muscle, as Mr. Ferrer tries to become the city's first Hispanic mayor.

But to win City Hall, Mr. Ferrer's strategists believe he must build a multiracial coalition, a feat requiring him to capture a significant percentage of the black vote. Interviews with dozens of black voters suggest that that may pose a formidable hurdle, as the nature of the black electorate changes...

[jmc813]

I don't love the guy either, but, as they say, "Better the devil you know than the one you don't know."

I hear you, but the point remains that he was a Democrat until right before his election. I don't even give him the credit of being called a RINO.

[Pharmboy]

Yeah...I'm with you. But the chance of getting Mark Green even scared the left back then! LOL!

When you get down to it though, not much difference between Bloomie and Rudy also, eg, abortion, guns. But, at least they're not socialists.

[G.Mason]

"The only good use I've ever seen for a hyphen in front of "American" ;)"

It is hard for me to imagine the mind and intellect of those that live here, in the greatest country on the face of the earth, enjoy the freedoms She has, enables even those with sloth like minds to make a decent living, own property beyond the imagination of most other people of the world and have the need to hyphenate their nationality with the ancesteral background they fled from.

Other than some slaves who were captured by their own people of color, most others ran away from their ancesteral homes and even the decentants of those slaves are 1000% better off than any bush African. [no relation to our current president]

Were this not true, these complaining, whining Afro-Americans and other hyphenated mental midgets would be back to their home land, using a plastic pail and walking a couple of miles for a bucket of water.

[RockinRight]

That would be awesome!!!

[foreshadowed at waco]

As an Irish Catholic from NYC I think there has always been a blue collar segment of the Irish who are politically conservative--they want criminals to finish their prison terms, lazy people to get off the public dole, and they are anti-lock-step feminist--Irish women are pretty influential within the home and don't necessarily see themselves as needing the liberal elite to free them (and they abhor girly men...think firemen and Marines)--remember the Reagan Democrats? That's us.