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General
Election Results
x-Adolfo Carrion, Dem 104,334 - 79 percent
Aaron Justice, Rep 22,374 - 17 percent
Kevin Brawley, Con 2,933 - 2 percent
Ronald Law, Lib 2,138 - 2 percent
Primary
Election Results
Adolfo Carrion 48,913
Pedro Espada Jr. 44,124
June Margolin Eisland 26,815
(Official Vote Count from the Board of Elections)
Incumbent: Fernando Ferrer
(can't run in 2001)
The Candidates:
Contributors to these candidates, according to the Campaign Finance Board:
Kevin Brawley has not filed.
Contributors to Adolfo Carrion
Contributors to June Eisland
Contributors to Pedro Espada Jr.
Aaron Justice has not filed.
Ron Law has not filed.
Letter
from a Brooklyn Jail
by Adolfo Carrion
Campaign
Feature:
Carry On (In Prison Stripes)?
Under most circumstances, run-ins with the law are not
recommended as a career path for aspiring politicians. But
then, normal political rules don't always apply in the Bronx.
The contest to succeed
Fernando Ferrer (term limited and running for mayor)
includes one candidate who is currently in jail and another
who barely avoided jail. And those are the frontrunners!
Councilman Adolfo Carrion, the Democratic organization's
choice for borough president, has spent the last several
weeks in a federal detention center in Brooklyn as part
of the Vieques Four-the four local leaders sentenced to
jail time for civil disobedience for protesting the Navy
bombing of the Puerto Rican island.
The detention has been a double-edged sword for Carrion.
He started his campaign only in late May, so his incarceration
has taken time away from his efforts to campaign and circulate
petitions to get on the ballot. On the other hand, being
part of the Vieques Four has given him incalculable media
attention and made him better known than he ever was as
a rising young councilman from the South Bronx.
A well-regarded city planner, Carrion was marked for bigger
things the day he arrived in the City Council in 1998. Some
believe he could have become the council speaker next year
had he decided to stay in the council. But he represents
class among the borough's council delegation, so it was
not hard to see why Bronx Democratic Chairman Roberto Ramirez
(another of the Vieques Four) picked Carrion to succeed
Ferrer.
Carrion's primary roadblock is an old adversary for Ramirez
and the Bronx Democratic organization: state Senator Pedro
Espada Jr. Espada, who made his name running a string of
health clinics, has been battling both the Democratic machine
and local prosecutors for most of the last decade. He beat
the machine in 1992 to win a state Senate seat, then was
knocked off the ballot when he sought re-election in 1996.
His son, Pedro G. Espada, beat the machine to win a council
seat in 1997, then the elder Espada beat the machine again
last November to reclaim his Senate seat. Several weeks
later, Espada went on trial for allegedly funneling money
from his health clinics into his campaigns. He was acquitted,
and immediately launched his campaign for borough president.
The big question in the Bronx is where Ramirez's political
foes will line up. Ramirez made a lot of enemies last fall
when he challenged the renomination of Representative
Eliot Engel . Engel won anyway and now the congressman
and his friends, mostly from the Bronx's Jewish community
in Riverdale, are looking for revenge.
Espada backed Engel in his fight last year, but it is not
clear whether Engel feels comfortable supporting Espada,
given his checkered past. Engel considered supporting salsa
singer Willie Colon for beep, but Espada persuaded Colon
to run for public advocate instead-eliminating one potential
Latino borough president candidate. (Hispanics make up half
of the Bronx's population.)
Another possible anti-Ramirez candidate Engel could endorse
is Councilwoman June Eisland of Riverdale, a term-limited
council member looking to take advantage of a split in the
Hispanic community between Espada and Carrion. But Eisland
has not been one of the more aggressive council members
and she entered the contest very late.
Finally, there is a fourth candidate in the race-Ron Law,
a former aide to Governors Carey and Cuomo and the only
black in the race. Demographics could give him an edge in
a large field (nearly one-third of the Bronx is black),
but he is unknown and has raised little money, making him
very much an underdog.
Despite recent feuds, the Bronx Democratic organization
remains strong. Its top priority this year is electing Ferrer
mayor and it will do everything it can to turn out a strong
Bronx vote for him. Many of those voters will also pull
the lever for Carrion, making him the favorite-even though
he has had to start his campaign wearing prison pinstripes.
Philip Lentz
posted 6/25/01
Previous Bronx Race Features
Campaign Trail
9/7/01
June Eisland, 61, who is running for the Democratic nomination for Bronx
borough president in Tuesday's primary, hopes her 22 years on the City
Council isn't her only edge in the race. Facing her are two men, state Sen.
Pedro Espada Jr. of Soundview and City Councilman Adolfo Carrion Jr. of
Kingsbridge. "We've never had a woman borough president in the Bronx, and
this is an historical opportunity," Eisland said. "I also believe I have
more experience in public office than both my opponents combined."
(Daily News)
9/6/01
The Daily News continues its series of profiles on Bronx borough president candidates with an article on Adolfo Carrion (Daily News)
9/5/01
Profile of Bronx Borough President Candidate Pedro Espada. The first in a
series of articles on the candidates in the race (Daily News)
9/4/01
The Daily News endorses Adolfo Carrion
(Daily News)
9/3/01
In a contest among two Puerto Rican men and one white woman, the
focus of the race for Bronx borough president is now on the Bronx's
African- Americans, who make up an estimated 40 percent to 45 percent
of the borough's Democratic voters. (NY
Times)
8/31/01
The New York Times makes endorsements in this race. The
Bronx: Three candidates are fighting to replace the outgoing
president, Fernando Ferrer. They are June Eisland and Adolfo
Carrion Jr., both City Council members, and State Senator
Pedro Espada Jr. Of the three, Mr. Carrion would be the
strongest candidate to represent the entire borough because
of his temperament, his training as an urban planner and
his focus on urgent problems with housing and schools in
the Bronx. Mr. Carrion's close ties
to the Democratic Party organization cause some concern,
but he has vowed that as borough president he will try to
reconcile warring political factions and provide more openness
and support to residents throughout this diverse borough.
We have strong hopes that he will be the kind of thoughtful,
independent-minded and inclusive politician the borough
desperately needs. We endorse Adolfo Carrion Jr.
(NY Times)
7/3/01
Former Mayor Ed Koch endorsed Adolfo Carrion for Bronx borough president.
(Daily News)
7/18/01
Two candidates for Bronx Borough President dropped out yesterday. City
Councilman Larry Warden told the city Board of Elections that he was
withdrawing his nominating petition and Ronald Law did not get the 4,000
signatures needed to get on the ballot. The remaining candidates for the
Democratic primary include state Senator Pedro Espada Jr. and City Council
members June Eisland and Adolfo Carrion Jr. (Daily News)
7/12/01
State Senator Pedro Espada yesterday formally announced his candidacy for
Bronx borough president. Espada says he has 25,000 signatures, enough he
believes, to withstand any attempts by his long-time adversaries at the
Bronx Democratic Party organization to keep him off the ballot. The
organization is backing City Councilman Adolfo Carrion for borough
president. (Daily News)
7/11/01
City Councilman Adolfo Carrion formally announced his bid for Bronx borough
president on the steps of Borough Hall yesterday. (Daily News)
7/3/01
Just a few days after his release from a federal prison in Brooklyn after
being held for 40 days, Adolfo Carrión is returning to his race for Bronx
borough president with a fury. But Mr. Carrión, a Democratic city
councilman, has returned to a campaign whose competitive dynamics have
intensified significantly since he was arrested and jailed for his role in a
protest against the United States military's bombing exercises on the Puerto
Rican island of Vieques. In that time, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. has
unleashed a campaign whose pitch can only be described as feverish. Apart
from daylong campaign appearances throughout the borough, Mr. Espada has
raised more than $100,000 and plastered the Bronx with his campaign posters
and campaign literature. And another competitor, Councilwoman June M.
Eisland, is also raising money and increasing her public profile throughout
the Bronx. Moreover, the names of two other candidates have surfaced. One,
Ronald Law, who was once an aide to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the former
senator, and Mario M. Cuomo, the former governor, has entered the race.
Councilman Lawrence A. Warden, another Democrat, has also begun raising
money and collecting signatures to qualify for the ballot in the Sept. 11
Democratic primary. All of that has heightened the sense of unpredictability
in a race that is the most competitive contest the Bronx has seen for the
borough presidency in recent years. (New York Times)
6/28/01
Three Bronx politicians, arrested for trespassing to protest the Navy
bombing range on Vieques, say their jailing and their release tomorrow could
mark the beginning of a new political era. Bronx Democratic Party Chairman
Roberto Ramirez, Assemblyman Jose Rivera and City Councilmember Adolfo
Carrion Jr., a candidate for Bronx borough president, say they hope to use
the public attention they gained from their arrest to galvanize black and
Latino voters, among others, into a powerful voting bloc for this year's
city elections. (Newsday)
6/8/01
Adolfo Carrion, who just finished a week-long hunger strike, has some
trouble running for Bronx borough president stuck in jail serving 40 days
for protesting the Navy bombing exercises in Vieques, Puerto Rico. But his
incarceration could inspire the Latinos of the Bronx. (NY Times)
6/7/01
Adolfo Carrion Jr., who is running for Bronx borough president, says he
doesn't want his Vieques jail term to become an issue in the campaign.
Carrion, along with Rev. Al Sharpton and two other Bronx politicians, is
serving a prison sentence for trespassing May 1 during a protest of Navy
bombing exercises on the Puerto Rican island. Although he is the Democratic
Party organization1s candidate for the borough presidency, Carrion faces a
stiff challenge from State Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., as well as City
Councilmember June Eisland and Ronald Law, a onetime aide to former Sen
Daniel Moynihan. (Daily News)
6/5/01
Bronx borough president candidate Adolfo Carrion, one of the Vieques 4
jailed for a protest against the Navy bombing of the Puerto Rican island, is
ending his hunger strike. (Newsday)
5/30/01
The race for Bronx Borough President now has five candidates. Ronald Law, an
administrator for the federal General Services Administration and former
aide to Deputy Mayor Rudy Washington and former U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick
Moynihan, said he will run. Some are speculating that Law is the
African-American candidate that Rev. Al Sharpton alluded to two weeks ago.
(Daily News)
5/23/01
June Eisland, a City Councilwoman from the Bronx, announced yesterday that
she would run for Bronx borough president. Eisland becomes the fourth person
to formally enter the race by joining City Councilman Adolfo Carrión, State
Senator Pedro Espada Jr., and salsa singer Willie Colón.
(NY Times)
5/22/01
City Councilmember June Eisland says she is joining the race to succeed
Fernando Ferrer as Bronx borough president. She joins state Senator Pedro
Espada Jr., singer and former congressional candidate Willie Colon and City
Councilmember Adolfo Carrion as contenders in September's Democratic
primary. (Daily News)
5/20/01
The Bronx Democratic Organization endorsed Adolfo Carrion Jr. for Bronx
borough president, though this by no means assures his election. His
opponents include State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. and Willie Colón, the salsa
performer and onetime candidate for Congress. Other candidates the
organization endorsed: Ruben Diaz Sr. (district 18), Michael Benjamin
(district 16), Jose Marco Serrano (district 17), Larry Seabrook (district
12) (NY Times)
4/05/01
Willie Colón, a potential candidate for Bronx Borough President, has called
for reform of the system used to tax co-op apartments. Colón, a musician and
actor, is expected to announce his candidacy for Bronx borough president
shortly. Colon said the current system requires co-op owners to "go back to
politicians on a recurring basis to maintain the tax relief that should be
their permanent entitlement." He also charged that co-op owners often pay
two to three times the tax charged single family homeowners, even when their
home is of equal value.
(Riverdale Review)
3/15/01
Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer's final major speech to his Bronx
constituents was very much an attack on the Giuliani administration. Ferrer
focused on police/community relations and on education, especially the
recent court ruling which found that the state underfunds New York City
schools. He criticized Governor George Pataki's decision to appeal the
court's ruling and Guiliani's plan to dissolve the Board of Education,
stating that it would not help a single student learn.
(Riverdale Review)
3/11/01
So far, only Pedro Espada Jr. has formally declared his candidacy for Bronx
Borough President. But others known to be considering running include City
Council members Adolfo Carrion, June Eisland and the Rev. Wendell Foster;
Assemblyman José Rivera; Bronx Overall Economic Development head Joe Ithier;
former state Sen. and City Councilman Israel Ruiz, and salsa legend Willie
Colon. The reason why the party organization has not narrowed the field
down, some say, is based on the strategy that the more candidates running,
the more incentive for their supporters to go to the polls - and vote for
current Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer for mayor.
(Daily News)
2/26/01
The race for Bronx borough president is heating up, and is seen as a
theatrical battle between two rival political organizations. On one side,
State Senator Pedro Espada Jr, has already announced his candidacy. On the
other, Assemblyman Roberto Ramirez and the Bronx Democratic organization is
looking for a strong candidate. Among those interested are Assemblyman Jose
Rivera, City Councilman Adolfo Carrión Jr. and Jose L. Ithier, former chief
of staff to current borough president Fernando Ferrer. But adding to the
political theater is some music: Willie Colon, the salsa musician who ran
for Congress in 1994, said over the weekend that he, too, was a candidate.
(NY Times)
01/12/01
No candidates have formally announced in the race to replace Fernando Ferrer
as Bronx Borough President, but those people who are considering a run
include: the singer Willie Colon, City Councilmembers Adolfo Carrion Jr,
Wendell Foster and June Eisland, and newly elected State Assemblymember Jose
Rivera. (Crain's NY)