- See more at: http://blogtimenow.com/blogging/automatically-redirect-blogger-blog-another-blog-website/#sthash.Q6qPkwFC.dpuf Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 11 | Bronx News Networkbronx

Friday, September 11, 2009

Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 11

We'll start this dreary Friday off with some politics as we approach the last weekend before the Sept. 15 primary.

Big profile of 14th District Councilwoman Maria Baez in the Times. Headline: "Often-Absent Bronx Councilwoman Fights for Political Survival." The article then starts off with the story of how Baez, owner of the worst attendance record in the City Coucnil, missed 24 consecutive meetings in the spring of 2008. During that time she spent at least a week in Puerto Rico with her daughter and her daughter's fiancee.

She charged the $3,100 trip to her state campaign committee and said she was meeting a fund-raiser there. But there are no contributors from Puerto Rico listed in her campaign finance reports.

This is also the time when Baez says she was missing Council meetings because of an illness that she won't discuss. Baez says the illness affected her in 2008, but the article goes on to say that she only attended 58% of her Council meetings in 2005.

Times' reporter Ray Rivera calls Baez, "the rarest of the rare, a City Council incumbent in danger of losing her seat." In the last 20 years, incumbents have won 97% of Council races.

Some commentary on Baez and the 14th District Council race in the Village Voice. And here's some more from Liz Benjamin about the race, including Al Sharpton's endorsement of Fernando Cabrera. Yudelka Tapia is also in the three-headed race.

In other news:

The fallout from the Stella D'oro cookie factory closing is that hundreds of local Bronxites will be looking for work when the plant closes after this month.

Neighborhoods in the growing north Bronx says they need rec centers.

10 comments:

  1. Maria Baez is a crook and a liar. The New York Times did an excellent job in exposing her crooked ways. She has time to go to Puerto Rico, but no time to go to work for District 14. I am looking forward to this Tuesday's election, when Cabrera will bring in honest leadership into our district.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh......Your so right Juan. The NYTimes , with The Village Voic, also did a great job explaining how Ms Baez is more of a Westchester Visitor than a Bronx Resident. Wow!. Just like Fernando Cabrera...That is news..Thank you BXNN

    www.westsidebx.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stop with your nonsense Anthony. You full well know Cabrera lives in the Bronx.

    Where do you live Anthony? You don't even live in the district.

    ReplyDelete
  4. From The Blog: Common Sense

    "Cabrera Can't Stop Lieing!!!

    At a recent City Council Debate Rev.Cabrera's blatantly lied about his attendance record as a member of Community Board #7. He then brazenly invited challengers to look as his track record. When we did we found that the Reverend was in violation of that 9th Commandment. "Thou shall not lie."

    Cabrera's attendance record as a Community Board member was less than 30%. At the debate he stated,

    "I was a community board member and I had good attendance. As a community board member the former Bronx Borough President had a policy that if you did not have good attendance you were automatically taken of the board. "

    After getting access to copy and inspect the records the following was identified: (Copies could not be made because CB7 Copy machine was not working when we showed up)

    Marked Present:
    09/20/05
    10/18/05
    11/05/05

    Marked Absent at Board meetings/ Not Present at Parks & Recreation Committee Meetings:
    12/29/05
    01/17/06
    02/07/06 (NOT CONFIRMED)
    03/21/06
    04/04/06
    04/18/06
    05/24/06
    05/31/06
    09/07/06
    10/05/06
    11/28/06
    Missing Records Jan, Feb, March, April, May, June 2005, June 2006

    A footer found on the files of the monthly minutes reads.
    "Your attendance and participation at community board meetings and committee meetings is vital to a productive operation of the community board in order to achieve excellence in service to our community"

    Needless to say Borough President Carrion DID NOT renew Rvd Cabrera's membership on the Community Board.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's hard to take something seriously that has its title misspelled.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Its funny you ask where i live because as a 34 year Northwest Bronx Resident, I do not think of my lovely neighborhoods as "Districts"--i think of them as neighborhoods......but to answer your question

    5 yrs on Loring place (and burnside)......7 yrs on Morris & Kingsbridge.......5 years in norwood and 17 years in Bedford Park.....(or if you want to talk council districts.....(12 yrs...in 14th CD.....22 yrs in 11th)......or as I see it...My North (and South ) Bronx neighborhoods........which is why we created NorthWest Bronx Democrats........To help, after 25 years and 2 Bronx Political Wars...to have an independent political voice....or "The 3rd paradigm"!!!

    www.westsidebx.blogspot.com

    PS. So, Cabrera's Attendance in Community Board Meetings is actually WORSE than Maria Baez in the City Council???????...(and they want to know why an independent club is needed)..lol

    ReplyDelete
  7. So Anthony, you moved out of district 14? LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  8. considering i was there yesterday, u think not..lol

    ReplyDelete
  9. Blogging at 4:15 in the morning Anthony? chacho..

    ReplyDelete
  10. yeah, we work hard in tapia-land you know..lol

    ReplyDelete

Bronx News Network reserves the right to remove comments that include personal attacks, name calling, foul language, commercial advertisements, spam, or any language that might be considered threatening, libelous or inciting hate.

User comments are reviewed by BxNN staff and may be included or excluded at our discretion.

If what you have to say is unrelated to this particular post, please visit our readers' forum.