Posted on 10/16/2009 6:09:23 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Powell will try to win the seat that Rangel took from his father
Harlem State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV may challenge U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel in a race for the congressional seat Rangel has held for nearly 40 years but once belonged Powell’s father.
Powell, 47, said he is launching an exploratory committee to see whether he has any chances to win the seat if he runs against the embattled Rangel.
"It's no secret I'm interested," Powell said. He has been fund raising since 2004 for a campaign that has yet materialized.
He is the son of the late U.S. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a Harlem Democrat who was ousted from the House following a corruption scandal in 1967. He eventually reclaimed the seat only to have it taken away by Rangel in 1970.
Powell IV is anticipating Rangel, 79, to leave the seat sometime in the near future, noting his age and calls for Rangel to resign.
Powell isn’t alone in his interest for that House seat as Vince Morgan, Rangel’s ex-campaign manager, announced this week that he wil alsol run for it, even if Rangel holds on to the seat in 2010.
"I don't get this sense, at least in the leadership that there's this circling of the buzzards," said Jay Jacobs, the chairman of the state Democratic Party. "I think we have to be patient and see what the House Ethics Committee says."
Rangel failed to pay taxes on the income he earns from his vacation villa in the Dominican Republic making it ironic that he is the chairman of the Ways and means Committee, the person who has the authority to write tax laws for the country.
The Harlem Democrat also neglected to report hundreds of thousand of dollars worth of assets on his yearly disclosure forms.
"I plan to campaign vigorously as I have for every election," Rangel said in a written statement. Powell also has some dirt. Albany police investigated him in 2004 over an incident after a night of drinking in a motel room. A 19-year-old legislative intern made an allegation that Powell sexually assaulted her. Charges were never filed, his lawyer said, as she later took her statement back.
There is also, however, a pending case for his arrest in 2008 for driving drunk in Manhattan.
Despite his blemished past, Powell's name carries great power. In Harlem, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard is a street named after his father who was popular and well-known in the community.
This should be good.
So what. He's a Democrat.
No one expects decency from them.
Only evil Republicans are held to standards of decency...by those who believe themselves above such accountability themselves.
Time for one crook to pass the baton to another crook?
These Democrats really are a loyal bunch.
As of 2007, Powell had not introduced a single bill in the New York State legislature for 3 consecutive years
Oh good. One idiot replacing another.
The Powell’s could teach even Charlie Rangel things about making political power pay off.
The only thing to do with people like this is change them out whenever possible.
The campaign of Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV ( D-Manhattan) reimbursed him for nearly $30,000 in meals, gas, stamps, tolls, parking and worldwide travel - including $1,200 for a trip to Florida and Ireland. Another $2,500 in campaign funds went toward the Ireland trip through a travel company, Celtic Tours.
Powell, who represents Harlem, said he went to Ireland to familiarize himself with his Irish constituents.
As of 2008 Barack Obama had a virtually blank resume.
If he is the son of a “Jr.”, he can he be the 4th?
The Third (III) was another brother of his, a step brother, by a different mother.
Oh boy! How many crooks do we have to suffer in this race?
I know it’s not likely for a Republican to win this seat (and I know it’s an undstatement to acknowledge this..), however hear me out: Would it be possible for Conservatives to recruit an independent Conservative (or even conservative Democrat-like say a black pastor) to run for this seat..?
For real, or are you being sarcastic?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.