The tight race for Charles Rangel’s congressional seat took an ugly turn Sunday when a Democratic Party official backing him filed a police report charging the campaign manager for challenger Adriano Espaillat harassed her.
East Harlem Democratic District Leader Peggy Morales — a longtime Rangel supporter who switched to Espaillat in March and then flip-flopped back to Rangel on Saturday — claimed that Jesse Campoamor confronted her outside a local park where she was taking three young children.
She said when she realized that Espaillat, a state senator, was campaigning inside the park, she stayed outside. But Campoamor left the park and walked up to her.
“He approached me in a hostile manner and told me to keep out of the middle of this,’’ she said.
“He was in my face. He was very angry.’’
Morales said Campoamor was upset about her talking to the media about her latest switch. She felt so threatened, she said, she went to the 23rd Precinct station house to file a harassment complaint.
Neither campaign had an immediate comment.