Charlie Rangel won re-election Tuesday, despite the ethical cloud still shrouding him, because all politics is local.
Rangel’s censure by Congress in 2012 has been all but forgotten by his voters, and those who recall that embarrassing episode believe that “Charlie was shafted by Congress” for doing what other members have long gotten away with.
And so it goes in Harlem, East Harlem, Washington Heights and even in the Bronx — Congressman Charlie Rangel is the guy many primary voters know and like.
New York City primaries are low-turnout affairs determined by a loyal corps of voters’ motivated by ethnic identity, passion and a sense of history.
And in Tuesday’s low-turnout affair, Rangel’s strength among Puerto Rican voters contributed greatly to his victory.
Yet, although half-Puerto Rican, Rangel isn’t considered a favorite son amongst Puerto Ricans, because for years, he downplayed his heritage.
The Puerto Rican vote is given short shrift by many political reporters and pundits.
According to Angelo Falcon, director of the National Institute on Latino Policy at Hunter College, Puerto Ricans make up about a quarter of the Latino population in the district. Unlike Dominicans and other recent Latino arrivals, they are all US citizens and eligible to vote upon arrival in New York. Consequently, Puerto Ricans make up 30 percent or more of the Latino vote in the 13th CD.
Another important but overlooked factor contributing to Rangel’s win was the ethnic division among Hispanics. Hispanics in the district are predominately Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Mexicans.
WNYC reported in 2012 that the Puerto Rican nabes in the 13th CD (East Harlem and the Grand Concourse in The Bronx), Rangel won by a 2-to-1 margin. And, despite losing the support of East Harlem Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez this election, Rangel won the endorsement of Rodriguez’s club, which worked El Barrio hard for him.
Tuesday was a major embarrassment for Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, a native Puerto Rican, as she was unable to deliver her East Harlem district to Espaillat. Absent the support of 1199 SEIU, Mark-Viverito had neither the troops nor the charisma to move East Harlem voters.
Rangel’s victory openly questions the ability of Puerto Rican pols to move Puerto Rican voters in support of a Dominican insurgent against a popular and well-known congressman.
Observers now wonder if there’s a disconnect between Puerto Rican voters and their “political leadership.”
If Puerto Rican pols backing Espaillat couldn’t move their bloc to him, one has to question their utility as endorsers.
Former Bronx state Sen. Israel Ruiz says, “Puerto Ricans voters do not like Dominicans — especially Dominican politicians . . . perceived as cocky and pushy and who never give credit to the Puerto Ricans who opened doors for them.”
Apparently, Puerto Rican voters are more comfortable with an incumbent Harlem pol they know than a Dominican one that they perceive as a competitor in the broader Hispanic politics.
As with many NYC elections, tribal politics was a deciding factor on Tuesday. And I’m not hopeful that we’ll ever resolve those fissures.