Photos courtesy BronxTalk
By Pamela Segura
BronxTalk, the political talk show that airs on the public access station BronxNet, will broadcast an hour-long debate between Congressman Charles Rangel, State Sen. Adriano Espaillat and Rev. Michael Walrond, Jr. on June 16 at 9:00 p.m.
Gary Axelbank, the host of BronxTalk, told the Norwood News that although this is a local program “there are many things that go on in our national government that have a direct impact in the Bronx.
“And each candidate will have the chance to talk about [his] position,” he added.
Rangel, Espaillat and Walrond are in the primary election for 13th Congressional District, where a fifth of it covers Norwood and Kingsbridge. The rest includes Washington Heights and Harlem, which is considered Rangel’s base. Congressional lines for the 13th District were redrawn shortly after the 2010 U.S. Census, placing a small portion of the Bronx into the district.
Rangel, who has represented the district for over 40 years, faced Espaillat during the 2012 Democratic Primary. Rangel nearly lost, inspiring a second push by Espaillat, a Dominican-born legislator.
Walrond is the senior pastor at the First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem. This is his first time running for representation of the 13th District. Though Walrond’s base is Harlem, he has been seen making the rounds within the Bronx section of the 13th Congressional District. He was recently spotted at a Community Board 7 general meeting.
Axelbank said that the candidates will address key issues, including access to health care, unemployment, elected officials’ response to Bronx needs and federally-funded projects in the Bronx.
The Bronx is historically the sickest county in New York. Conditions like heart disease, diabetes and asthma are worsened by high unemployment and poor housing, according to health statistics.
The unemployment rate in the Bronx remains stubbornly high at 12.0 percent as of February, according to statistics from the state Department of Labor.
The candidates are expected to make their points for an hour with Axelbank, who’s hosted plenty of debates before. The debate will air on BronxNet’s Cablevision channel 67 and FiOS channel 33. The debate will be recorded on June 13, three days before it airs. BronxNet will also stream the debate at www.bronxnet.org.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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THE GREEN PARTY IS RUNNING A CANDIDATE IN THIS RACE AND SHOULD BE AFFORDED AN INVITE TO PARTICIPATE AS WELL.
Bronxnet how does this further the democratic process when YOU decide who should be on the panel instead of the taxpayers citizens of the bronx. I think ispeak for many when i say bronxnet should reconsider this undemocratic position and open up the debate to include third party candidates as well for the benefit of the people of the bronx and the body politic as well.