From East Harlem to Times Square on Election Day
I spent the afternoon riding in a car with Craig Schley, who ran under the slate Voices of the Everyday People for Change (VOTE People), and with his volunteer as he campaigned on Election Day. Schley yelled out of a bullhorn as he drove pass local residents standing at bus stops and walking down the streets of Central and East Harlem.
Schley found himself running as an underdog against U.S. Representative Charles B. Rangel, the 38-year Democratic incumbent from Harlem. Rangel, 78, has represented the 15th Congressional District since he defeated Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in 1970, making him the fourth longest serving Democratic member of the House. The district, which has nearly 400,000 registered voters, stretches from the Upper West Side to Washington Heights/Inwood, Rikers Island, and includes a part of northwestern Queens and the Bronx.
Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, is under scrutiny by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for failing to report taxable income from a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic and for living in four rent-stabilized apartments in Manhattan. Still, some constituents were obviously not concerned with the accusations about Rangel.
From the beginning, Schley’s candidacy against Rangel had been an uphill battle. At noon, Schley returned to the polling site where he voted to address complaints that two of the five machines at P.S. 144 on East 122 Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard were broken by 11:30 a.m. More than anything Rangel benefitted from being in a heavily Democratic district with loyal party voters. Even those who know Schley and live in his district told him they unknowingly voted for Rangel.
“[People] are not confused about the ballot,” Schley said. “The problem is that they are voting straight democrat.”
After a long reporting day in East Harlem, I returned to the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism newsroom to wait to be edited. Although I was not completely happy with my edits, I eventually surrendered since I knew I could not win the battle. I went to BBQ’s where I watched MSNBC as they reported that Barack Obama would be the first African-American and 44th president of the United States.
I headed to 42 Street and Times Square where thousands of people cheered, yelled, cried and smiled with joy that Obama had won. I had never seen such a spontaneous street celebration. The feeling was surreal. That’s when it hit me that a black man had finally been elected president. There is no doubt that last week’s historic presidential election instilled hope for change in America.
