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Friday, June 5, 2009

14th District Drama: Ruiz Drops Bid, Baez Criticizes Bronx Dems

A little political food for thought on this rainy Friday.

First of all, cross another name off the list of candidates in the race for the 14th District Council seat. Former state senator and city council member Israel Ruiz, Jr. said today that he will not be running for the hot seat currently occupied by Maria Baez.

For the past few months, Ruiz had been indicating that he wanted to re-enter Bronx politics. First, he hinted at a run in the special election for borough president. Then, after withdrawing his name from that conversation, he said he might joining the crowded race to unseat Baez.

Today, however, after speaking with County Chair Carl Heastie earlier in the week, Ruiz said he's dropping his bid. And on his way out, he had some interesting things to say about the 14th District race, specifically, and Bronx politics, in general. Here's a little sample:

  • If four candidates wind up on the 14th District Ballot, Ruiz says, Baez will almost certainly win.
  • He says he's never heard of Fernando Cabrera, the Bronx Dems' and Working Families Party's chosen candidate.
  • He says he only wanted to run in order to oust Baez, who he says is doing a terrible job of representing her constituents. He added that Baez's primary argument for re-election -that she brings money back into the district -- isn't valid because anyone in her position would get the same amount of funds to distribute.
  • He says he hasn't decided who he will support but he like Miguel Santana because he thinks Santana's got a handle on policy issues.
  • He likes new party boss Carl Heastie, but doesn't know if he'll be able to unify the party and actually affect real changes.
Speaking of Heastie and the Bronx Democrats, Maria Baez is upset about them deciding to support Cabrera. She says it's a case of gender bias on the party's side. She also said it was because certain "individuals decided I was the weakest link."

She also says the decision flies in the face of the party's attempt to unify the Bronx politicians. "If we’re talking about us as leaders, coming together, this is strange way of showing it," she said.

More on this later and other 14th District intrigue on Monday.

7 comments:

  1. Bronx County(Heastie)is gender bias? Female executive director, female board of elections commissioner, supporting the re-election of Councilmembers Maria Del Carmen Arroyo, Annabel Palma, Helen Diane Foster and supporting the only female candidate running for citywide office comptroller candidate Melinda Katz. Poor councilwoman Baez has to attack because she can't defend her own dismal record. Her days are numbered

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  2. Neither Jose Rivera, Joel Rivera, nor Maria Baez attended the swearing in nor inaugural celebration of our new borough president. As elected representatives It was a monumental show of disrespect for their constituents, the office of borough president, and the borough of the Bronx.

    Think of it. The former chair of the Bronx Democratic Party, minority leader of the City Council, and head of the Bronx City Council delegation decided they had something more important to do. Imagine, for example, if John McCain missed the Obama inauguration. For goodness sakes, even Dick Cheney attended in a wheelchair.

    "If we’re talking about us as leaders, coming together, this is a strange way of showing it."

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  3. Hmmm. Isn't Ruiz a convicted felon? As for Baez, I think this is a sign that people in the Bronx want more. The residents there are tired of being defrauded and I believe that the people will not actually pull the lever for Baez again. People want change and accountability.

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  4. Primaries make the party stronger. What exactly do the people of the 14th CD want their Council Member to do? Let us bring the topic to issues not people.

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  5. She talks about unity, yet continues to support a lawsuit against Heastie.

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  6. This lady is funny. I don't know what else to say.. Anonymous (1) and Gax make excellent points.. Moving right along...

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  7. Let's get over it people the article was about Ruiz dropping out. Ofcourse he would!!....its funny how he mentions that baez will certainly win if there are only four canidates but then slanders her name on every other point. PATHETIC!!. He dropped out because he know the real competition was Fernando Cabrera not anyone else. He obviously can't make up his mind where to run better yet drop out. He made the right choice. Hopefully so will the other canidates. Its just a matter of time.

    ReplyDelete

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