By Eric Schoen
If you live in Yonkers, I urge you to vote to re-elect Eliot Engel For Congress in the 16th Congressional District on Primary Day, June 23. You can vote in person, by mail or during the early voting taking place at the Grinton Will or Yonkers Riverfront Libraries through this Sunday.
Why do I urge you to vote for Eliot? Simply he is running against a blank slate with no knowledge of Yonkers. He is running against a candidate who moved into OUR district just so that he could run for Congress. He is running against an opponent with no Yonkers credibility, a man who doesn’t list any community involvement in Yonkers on his campaign literature. Why? Because he has none!
What an insult it is to those of us who work hard everyday trying to make Yonkers a better place to live. We simply cannot open the door to someone who couldn’t find their way to Getty Square. Or Yonkers City Hall. Or to the schools in our city with such severe financial problems. Or to major business districts like Central Avenue, Ridge Hill, the fresh coffee brewing at everyone’s favorite store in the Austin Avenue development, the McLean Ave and Yonkers Avenue business districts, you name them I doubt Eliot’s opponent Mr. Bowman could find them.
How insulting to the people who make Yonkers great. Not a bit of community service on his campaign literature. I know people who have lived in Yonkers two years that at least have some roots to their community.
Before I sing Congressman Engel’s praises you need to know more about his blank slate opponent. He claims he is an ‘Award Winning Educator!’ In 2018 alone NYC Board of Education Records on his school state 81% of students ‘failed math standards’ and ‘66% failed English.’
And sadly, Mr. Bowman doesn’t bring up the New York Post October 25, 2018 story that told how he as a Principal was fined a thousand dollars by the New York Conflicts of Interest Board for using his school for political purposes. Our hard working parent and community organizations have to pay to use our school buildings after school. Is he going to let his political cronies use our school facilities for nothing?
Mr. Bowman calls himself a Democrat. When did he become a Democrat? When he moved to Yonkers less than 2 years ago and decided to run for office. Before that he was a member of the Independence Party. You remember them. The party that supported Sarah Palin. Yes, that Sarah Palin.
He wants you to care who the Democratic Candidate for the 16th District is but did he care who the Democratic Candidate for President was in 2008? In 2016? He did not vote in any Democratic Primary when he lived in Brooklyn nor Manhattan through 2016. And he calls himself a Democrat?
Matter of fact he didn’t even register as a Democrat when he moved to Yonkers in 2017 not voting for County Executive that year nor in the June 2018 Congressional Primary for the seat he currently seeks. Something seriously wrong with this picture!
Let’s look at Bowman’s literature. He’s a coalition builder and community organizer. Not in Yonkers. He will push universal health care, bring down prescription drug prices, defend a woman’s right to choose,
immigrants rights, voting rights, support labor Unions and green deal jobs, stand up to Trump’s division, reduce gun violence, enact police reform, fight for affordable housing. That’s what Engel’s literature says he will do.
Wait a minute. That’s Bowman’s literature. Funny but Eliot Engel has been doing this and more since Bowman was a child. By the way, funny how Mr. Bowman didn’t mention any support for Israel. It’s not funny. It’s sad!
Bowman is supported by NYC Comptroller Stringer who probably couldn’t tell you the name of the Yonkers Controller. Congresswoman Andrea Ocasio-Cortez who know bupkis (little) about Yonkers. She went to school in Northern Westchesteri. Probably had more opportunities than those of us who grew up in South Yonkers. And State Senator Alessandra Biaggi whose grandfather, Mario Represented many parts of Yonkers for years and is probably rolling over in his grave knowing his granddaughter is endorsing someone with no roots to Yonkers nor the Bronx.
And as we go to press comes support from Senator Elizabeth Warren. Let me not insult my Native American brothers and sisters (my cousins sister is married to a real Native American) by bringing up her name.
Engel has a lifetime ‘ F’ voting record from the NRA. He fought for needed funds to combat the coronavirus. He demanded money for NY hospitals. He demanded Personal Protection Equipment for emergency services frontline workers. He obtained 1000’s of FDA approved coronavirus antibody tests.
Most importantly, he has done all the things his opponent Bowman says he will try to do and more. Did you know that Engel spends most of his Congressional Budget in his district with workers solving your federal issues?
I was sponsoring a candidates night at the Yonkers Public Library Will Library during Hurricane Katrina. I was shocked that Eliot showed up as some lesser officials failed to show. He was waiting for a call on his flip phone from the White House. Cell service stunk. I said, ‘Eliot, thanks for showing up, you can go you have more important things to worry about. He stayed for the event, answered questions from the audience and took notes for follow-up. All while holding on for the President on his flip phone from Washington.
I’m tired of carpetbaggers coming into Yonkers asking us how long we have lived in our city. Telling us how to solve the problems of a city we know so well. I have never felt as strongly about asking you to vote for a candidate as i do with Eliot Engel. He’s not perfect. He made a gaffe on a local cable channel he should not have. He should have been in district during the coronavirus situation but hey, I would not have put my grandfather on a plane. I don’t think you would have either.
I hope you will join me in voting for someone who knows the needs of our district, Congressman Eliot Engel on Primary Day, June 23. God Bless America.
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
