Vote Nov 2: Our future depends on it

By NAYABA ARINDE
Amsterdam News Editor

Rev. Dr. Congressman Adam Clayton Powell once asked, “What’s in your hands?

Representation, referendums and rights.

Next Tuesday the nation can participate in the general election—and in theory choose the candidate who is best willing and able to satisfy the interest of the public good. It is, of course, all a matter of opinion and perspective, with hundreds of candidates, incumbents, propositions and side issues up for consideration.

NYT: Cuomo Vows Offensive Against Labor Unions

Andrew M. Cuomo will mount a presidential-style permanent political campaign to counter the well-financed labor unions he believes have bullied previous governors and lawmakers into making bad decisions. He will seek to transform the state’s weak business lobby into a more formidable ally, believing that corporate leaders in New York have virtually surrendered the field to big labor.

read the rest at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/nyregion/25cuomo.html?ref=nyregion

We need a Supreme apology

By ELINOR TATUM Publisher and Editor in Chief

Ginni Thomas, the Tea Party activist and wife of Supreme Court judge Clarence Thomas, had the nerve to call Anita Hill and ask her for an apology over the weekend.

For those of you who don’t remember, Anita Hill was the woman who accused then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment in 1991. African Americans had to watch as two Black people were on national display during Supreme Court confirmation hearings in front of the Senate. Thomas, famously claimed during his testimony that he was the victim of a “high tech lynching” – and an all white senate body squirmed as they tried to decide who was telling the truth-the Black man or the Black woman. After the bitter hearings, Thomas was named to the Supreme Court with one of the lowest margins of approval by any justice with a 52–48 vote.

MWBE bill is in effect; lobbyists and politicians explain significance

By STEPHON JOHNSON Amsterdam News Staff

“Because of the legislation we will sign today, that won’t happen on my watch or after my watch.” That’s what New York State Gov. David Paterson said in late July inside the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building. “Today, we will sign legislation that will fundamentally change the way the state does business and with whom the state does business.”

Paterson was announcing and signing several pieces of legislation that would change the collective state of minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBE) in New York and give them a fair shot at receiving government contracts.

Unions weigh in on midterm elections

By CYRIL JOSH BARKER Amsterdam News Staff

Representatives from several unions came together last week at the Manhattan Neighborhood Network before members of the ethnic press to discuss the unions’ stance on the upcoming midterm elections. Hector Figueroa, secretary treasurer for 32BJ; Odemola Oyefeso, political director for RWDSU; Leo Casey of the United Federation of Teachers; and Wanda Williams, political action director of DC37, all weighed in on the positions of their unions.

On the heels of the recent One Nation Working Together rally in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, which brought out hundreds of thousands of union members, panelists at the discussion emphasized the need to put words into action by heading to the polls and letting their voices be heard in November.

15th Congressional District challengers

By CYRIL JOSH BARKER Amsterdam News Staff

While most voters might not know it, especially in his district, Cong. Charlie Rangel currently has two challengers vying for his congressional seat in the 15th District. One of them is a community activist, and the other a Harlem pastor.

Craig Schley is running as the Independent Party candidate and under his self-made VOTE (Voices of the Everyday People) for Change Party. Republican Party candidate Rev. Michael Faulkner is also running under his self-made Jobs Now Party. Both candidates say they have the skills to run the 15th Congressional District, which Rangel has held for the past 40 years.

Paladino’s upstate base

By STEPHON JONHSON and AMITY PAYE

Already, it’s been quite the ride for Carl Paladino.

And while the Buffalo businessman and Tea Party favorite has become the butt of national jokes and is an embarrassment for many Republicans statewide, his reputation is a mixed bag for those associated with his upstate alma maters, St. Bonaventure University and Syracuse University.

Paladino graduated from St. Bonaventure, located in the western part of the state between Olean and Alleghany, in 1968, and while there was connected to the school’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (or ROTC). He went on to Syracuse Law School, where he graduated in 1971.

Key forgotten congressional races in New York State

By STEPHON JOHNSON and CYRIL JOSH BARKER Amsterdam News Staff

While the gubernatorial race has drawn a significant amount of attention, congressional races in New York State are just as important as anything you’ll find involving Andrew Cuomo, Carl Paladino, Charles Barron or Jimmy McMillan. Running as the Democratic candidate for New York’s 23rd District, Bill Owens is battling Republican Matt Doheny down to the wire on Election Day.

The 23rd District includes parts of Plattsburgh, Watertown, St. Lawrence, Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, Franklin, Fulton, Madison, Oneida and Oswego.

Dems confident they will remain in power in state Senate

By CYRIL JOSH BARKER Amsterdam News Staff

As the midterm elections come close, questions linger about whether or not the Democrats in the New York state Senate will hang on and keep control.

After a having power for such a short time, Democrats are looking to maintain their majority. While all 62 seats are up for grabs, Republicans, with no members of color in their caucus, are seeking to regain a majority again after losing it in 2008 and getting it back briefly due to last year’s legislative coup.

Debate debacle

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

Asking students on Hofstra’s campus in Hempstead, Long Island, about the debate and its location was almost as daunting to them as a question on statistics. Many of them had no idea what the lost reporters were seeking or what debate they were talking about.

The same may be said for several of the panelists during the gubernatorial debate, if it can be so defined. Far too often, it was a debacle, a charade or, as Blue Magic once sang, “Let the sideshow begin.”