By DAVID CRUZ

With the Congressional Primary set for June 24, the Norwood News spoke to the top three candidates for the 13th Congressional District over the issues miring the Bronx side of the district. Part one of this three-part series  focuses on Rev. Michael Walrond. 

Rev. Michael Walrond: A Clergyman Eyeing DC to Inspire Change 

Though he’s entered the race with scant experience from a legislative standpoint, Rev. Michael Walrond has arguably spent a decade preparing a run for Congress. He’s been mostly on the other side of the 13th Congressional District, building a network of followers at First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, where he’s taken a parish that’s morphed from 300 to 9000 folks in the past decade. The lesson there is strength in numbers, a tactic he looks to employ to resolve key nagging issues in the 13th CD, where roughly 20 percent of it rests in Norwood, Kingsbridge Heights, and portions of Fordham and University Heights.

“What I’ve talked about throughout this campaign is cross-sector collaboration to address the issues that confront the neighborhood,” said Walrond, later adding, “This seat should be held by someone who’s a visionary, and what does visionary mean? Someone who can bring people together around shared goals, shared aspirations, shared dreams to push this district forward.”

And despite a watered down understanding of the borough, Walrond can easily spout uncomfortable statistics hurting the entire 13th Congressional District. He’s used those figures to create solutions to issues, specifically the Bronx’s 12 percent jobless rate, healthcare disparities and affordable housing crunch.

“You can’t talk about poverty without the need for jobs,” said Walrond, who’s outlined a plan that creates jobs by investing in the borough’s infrastructure. “If you invest a billion dollars, you have the capacity on average to create 13,500 jobs in this city,” said Walrond, citing a report from the University of Massachusetts.

Walrond, should he be the victor of the 13th Congressional District, would ensure jobs are coupled with training. “We boost the economy and then you fight for the jobs in the places and for the citizens who have been marginalized the most,” said Walrond.