Norwood News

By DAVID CRUZ

Sepulveda
It comes with a heavy heart that we hear that Bob “Kappy” Kappstatter, former longtime editor and political columnist of the Daily News and most recently The Bronx Times Reporter, has joined the “Dark Side”–public relations. Now a political and media consultant, his first client is Parkchester Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda. Kappy sounds happy in his new role. “After years on being on one side of the fence, it’s now kind of fascinating to be on the inside, and hopefully doing some good.” Good luck Kappy.

This only adds weight to a long-running rumor of Sepulveda’s quest to run for higher office–ahem, Bronx District Attorney. Sepulveda has been viewed as a potential DA candidate, but decided against it this year. He hasn’t ruled out any future run. Sepulveda can also become a replacement should current Bronx DA Rob Johnson, at some point, become a judge. For now, Sepulveda’s planting some seeds, bringing a heavyweight in.

#DumpTrump
That Twitter hashtag has been floating around recently after ego-billionaire Donald Trump marginalized people of Mexican descent by calling them rapists. The comments sent ripple effects to the world of local politics, going up to the office of Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

The tie there? Diaz went palling around with Trump when the borough’s new golf course, Trump Links at Ferry Point, opened in March. The city-funded project, greenlit during the Bloomberg years with The Donald fronting $10.5 million, is being held up as another redesign of the Bronx’s image. And while the de Blasio administration has ruffled Trump’s feathers by saying it will review their existing contracts with him, the Borough President’s Office didn’t outright say it would distance itself from Trump.

Diaz Jr.’s status with Trump was insinuated in a statement saying, “The Trump Links at Ferry Point should be a monument to the transformation of our borough and the great things happening in the Bronx, and Mr. Trump’s hurtful, insensitive remarks have made that difficult. NBC’s and Macy’s actions should send a strong message to Donald Trump that hateful, divisive rhetoric will not be tolerated, and that such rhetoric has real consequences. Mr. Trump must apologize.”

Meantime, Welcome2TheBronx, a well-know blog covering South Bronx issues, called on the city to consider removing Trump’s name from the links, which could be tricky since bulletproof contract law could bar the city from moving on that idea. Unless there was a payout of some kind?

So why all the dump on Trump? Well, populist politicians are fully aware that the Hispanic vote represents a critical voting bloc in elections these days. With the Bronx boasting a large Hispanic population, and largely leaning Democrat, it behooves Mayor Bill de Blasio and Diaz (who is Puerto Rican) to make nice with Hispanics. After all, both politicos are going after the same job, with one trying to keep it, and another trying to succeed him.

Cuomo vs. de Blasio
Mayor Bill de Blasio didn’t come out much of a winner during one of the more tumultuous periods in the Albany Legislature. The mayor, a progressive Democrat whose Bronx-related asks–extending mayoral control beyond one year, more funding for NYCHA repairs, and less tax benefits to housing developers of the 421a program—fell flat.

De Blasio, in a move seen as calculating and foolhardy, railed on Cuomo’s indifference in an interview with the City Hall press corps., a day before his family vacation.

With de Blasio’s strained relationship with Cuomo, it’s likely de Blasio will lose any endorsement come re-election time. This makes Cuomo a wildcard endorser, conceivably backing Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. should he want to run for mayor. After all, Diaz has his major chess piece (maybe queen?) in Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. Should those two continue to play nice, Cuomo could lean towards Diaz.

With Cuomo offering little in the way of support for Downstate affairs, it’s incumbent on its cast of local politicians such as Speaker Carl Heastie to deliver on improvements for the borough.

How’d They Do?
With the Albany Legislature now over (lawmakers are undoubtedly performing cartwheels), The Bronx Beltway reviewed how the borough’s state senators fared this year in getting their lead-sponsored bills at least heard in the chambers. For the State Senate, the nifty website Open New York Senate helped shed light on floor votes. They are:

• Of the 126 bills Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. sponsored, seven went to a floor vote.
• Of the 70 bills Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson sponsored, three went to a floor vote.
• Of the 79 bills Senator Jeff Klein sponsored, 31 went to a floor vote.
• Of the 47 bills Senator Gustavo Rivera sponsored, two went to a floor vote.
• Of the 53 bills Senator Jose Serrano sponsored, four went to a floor vote.

Hassell-Thompson’s office didn’t return a call seeking to double-verify the numbers. Overall, of the 1,712 floor votes reported on the Open New York website, 68 were from Bronx state senators, according to a review by The Bronx Beltway. As the numbers indicate, Klein wielded the most influence, no doubt from his position as co-leader of the Independent Democratic Conference. As for whether these bills passed, that’s an entirely different matter. The figures are pending, though Sen. Gustavo Rivera, representing the 33rd Senate District, yielded two bills signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. He also signed one of Klein’s bills, which extends the free Wednesdays at the Bronx Zoo through 2020.

Deadlines kept us from reviewing this further, so next time we’ll tell you where Bronx Senators rated when compared to the rest of the city.