Black Lives Matter Leader: De Blasio Should Resign

Plus: The former middle school principal taking on Rep. Eliot Engel [View this email in your browser]( [Politics Brief from WNYC + Gothamist] [Keep friends and family informed. Forward the Politics Brief.]( Progressives Have Coalesced Around One Bronx Candidate Taking On An Incumbent By [James Ramsay]( [Congressional candidate Jamaal Bowman poses in WNYC's studio back in 2019] Richard Yeh/WNYC In the 16th Congressional District, which includes parts of Westchester and the Bronx, the Democratic primary is now down to two main candidates: Rep. Eliot Engel, the 31-year incumbent, and Jamaal Bowman, a former Bronx middle school principal (pictured above). The narrowing of the field comes after Andam Ghebreghiorgis, a former special ed teacher with some degree of grassroots progressive support, [withdrew from the race]( and enthusiastically endorsed Bowman. "We ran a series of polls this week across the district and were surprised to see that most registered [Democrats] are still undecided about who to vote for three weeks out from Election Day," Ghebreghiorgis said. "My mission has always been to bring new representation to the district who understands the needs of the people. As my campaign is not in the position to make that a reality at this time, I am hopeful Jamaal can lead us to the finish line." Bowman, who's been [endorsed by leading progressive groups]( including Justice Democrats, the Sunrise Movement, and the Working Families Party, told The Takeaway's Amy Walter that he's seen a boost in fundraising since the start of the pandemic. (The interview aired several days before Ghebreghiorgis dropped out.) "Over the last two months, we’ve seen a record number in our fundraising, because people are even more excited about change at this moment than before," Bowman said. "The pandemic revealed what many of us knew was already in place: rampant economic and racial inequality, the dearth of resources in our health care system, and understanding how environmental injustice, health care, jobs, and education are interconnected. [It] has revealed that for people who maybe didn’t see the connections before." One of his core motivations for challenging Rep. Engel has been a sense that the congressman isn't present in the district he represents. "When I looked at Eliot Engel and I looked at his record, and I started talking to people about him, the word I continued to hear was 'absent,'" Bowman said. "Eliot Engel has been in office for 31 years, and he’s lived in Maryland for 27 of those years. He has claimed his home in Maryland as his primary residence for over a decade, and had to be forced to stop doing that." Recently, Engel came under scrutiny for remaining in his home in suburban Washington, D.C., rather than returning to his district, which was hit hard by COVID-19. When [asked about it by a reporter from The Atlantic]( Engel contradicted his own spokesperson and said he'd been "in both places." (Earlier today, Engel was spotted at an event in the Bronx asking Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. for a turn at the microphone, saying, ["If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care."]( Bowman told The Takeaway that his goal has been to "center" those who are most vulnerable in the district. "This district is one of the most unequal economic districts in the country. We have some of the highest real estate prices in the country, and we also have some of the highest numbers of WIC recipients in the country," he said. "The working class is what drives America, and the working class should be centered in our political decision-making." The primary in the 16th Congressional District — and across the state of New York — is June 23rd. [Hear Bowman's full interview on The Takeaway](. Black Lives Matter Leader Says Mayor Bill De Blasio Should Resign "Bill de Blasio has failed black New York time and time again," Hawk Newsome, the chair of Black Lives Matter's greater New York chapter, told NY1 this morning. "It is my firm belief that if Bill de Blasio would've handled the Eric Garner murder correctly, then we wouldn't be in this spot. It would've set a national precedent, it would've set a national standard, and the world of policing would've learned from what happened to Daniel Pantaleo." Newsome's comments, referring to the NYPD officer who was fired (but never criminally charged) [more than five years after fatally choking Eric Garner]( in Staten Island, comes after the mayor [extended a curfew]( and doubled the NYPD response to protests in New York City. The demonstrations, which are a response not just to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but police brutality and systemic racism at large, have been met with [violence from police](. Following several days of expressing support for the police (e.g., [he sympathized]( with officers who drove two SUVs into a crowd of protesters), Mayor de Blasio said Monday that he's interested in [repealing a law]( that shields police disciplinary records from the public. This reform is something police accountability advocates have long pushed for, saying it would present an opportunity to reign in police violence. But Newsome [and others]( now argue that after seven years on the job, the mayor has already blown his chance at stopping these patterns of police brutality. ([Spectrum NY1]( South Jersey Republicans Want To Win Back A District. What Kind Of Candidate Can Do It? In the July 7th Republican primary in New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District — which cuts from the Philadelphia suburbs in the west to Toms River and the Central Jersey Shore on the east — voters will choose between two notably different options. One is a 34-year-old woman who works for a labor union. The other is a wealthy 53-year-old man with ties to President Donald Trump's reelection campaign. Kate Gibbs, a former Burlington County freeholder who now works for Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative Local 825, is running, in part, on the premise that she represents a crucial demographic the GOP needs to win back. David Richter, a former construction executive, had been planning to run for the Republican nomination in the 2nd District, which encompasses the southern tip of the state. But he was dissuaded once the district's sitting representative, Jeff Van Drew, switched parties and became a Republican late last year. Richter then decided to run in the 3rd District — and he's doing so with the help of Bill Stepien, who ran Chris Christie's gubernatorial campaigns and now serves as the deputy campaign manager for President Trump. The two candidates are both Trump supporters, and differ only subtly on policy issues. But they both come into the race with distinct baggage. Gibbs was arrested twice in her early 20s — for shoplifting, and then cannabis possession — and attack ads have compared her to Snooki from MTV's "The Jersey Shore." Richter, who's been called a "district shopper" for only recently getting a residence in the 3rd District, has also faced scrutiny for his construction work in Libya. Gibbs' campaign is running ads accusing Richter of doing business with the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Ultimately, Republican voters will decide next month which of these two candidates they think has the best shot at beating Rep. Andy Kim, the first-term Democrat who turned the district blue back in 2018. ([Politico]( Apply For An Absentee Ballot. It's Very Easy. [a close-up of a NYC 'I Voted' sticker] Rebeca Ibarra/WNYC "The state made the decision to mail [registered voters] an absentee ballot application, so you should be getting something in the mail," WNYC's Brigid Bergin told Brian Lehrer this morning. "But I really, really encourage people to go online .... If you're within the five boroughs, using the website that the city Board of Elections set up — [vote.nyc]( — is probably the best way to do it, because it goes right into their system." [Hear Bergin walk through the process]( of applying for an absentee ballot, getting that absentee ballot, and filling the whole thing out — including, for Democrats, the presidential primary ballot. [logo for Come Through With Rebecca Carroll] Don Lemon Is A Solider For The Army Of Truth In the era of "fake news," CNN anchor Don Lemon says reporters need to beware of the “objectivity trap” set by the Trump administration. Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. [Donate]( Copyright © 2020 New York Public Radio, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: New York Public Radio 160 Varick Street New York, NY 10013 [unsubscribe]( [update preferences]( [privacy policy](