Debate Needs To Be Investigated

(Moderator Michael Serrano standing in front of candidates Andrew Cohen, Cheryl Keeling, and Cliff Stanton as he partially blocks candidate Andrew Cohen.)

Riverdale Report
By Robert Press

BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 15- The July 11th city council debate at Lehman College needs to be investigated by not only Lehman College President Richardo Fernandez, but probably Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson, and The Campaign Finance Board. What went on was not a debate, but something of a set up by one candidate on another candidate in the 11th city council race.

This was billed as a City Council District 11 Democratic Debate, moderated by Michael J. Serrano, Hosted by DIALOG: A Campus Forum, Live at the Lovinger Theatre, Lehman College. Within the first few minutes of dialog by the moderator who said that he lives by the Williamsbridge Oval one could sense the direction that this debate might be going. It was not the answers to his questions that were important to me as all three candidates seemed to agree on their answers. What started to bother me was that candidates Andrew Cohen and Cheryl Keeling rotated going first or second while candidate Cliff Stanton always answered in the advantageous position of last, thus being able to hear what his opponents had said before he answered. My blog located at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com details the answers given during this round of questions by the moderator.

At the intermission point I asked Mr. Serrano the moderator why he had candidates Cohen and Keeling only answer first and candidate Stanton always answering last. He answered me by saying that was the way he did it, and before the debate resumed he told the audience that during the intermission he was asked why candidate Stanton always went last on each question. Mr. Serrano told the audience “Because he can as moderator”.

After the break moderator Serrano asked for questions from the very poorly attended event. The Norwood News listed the attendance at 40 while I estimated 60 people of which maybe 12 could have been impartial. I am not going to go into the audience questions, because as you can see in the photos on my blog two of the people chosen to ask questions were wearing Stanton for Council t-shirts. It got to a point where candidate Andrew Cohen said, “Should someone on Mr. Stanton's payroll be asking me a question”? He answered the question none the less. I also know several others who are associated with the Stanton campaign who were allowed to ask questions, and will say that the Cohen side did get to squeak one question in as the person who asked it was sitting alone and looked like he was not associated with the Cohen campaign.

At the end of the audience questioning the moderator then pointed to the reporter who was from the Riverdale Press (once a fine local newspaper that has deteriorated in its quality of reporting which is seen in the drastic drop of its circulation) to let her ask a question. She asked candidate Andrew Cohen “Did you ever work for Pedro Espada Jr.”? Mr. Cohen answered that he was council to then Councilman Pedro Gautier Espada in the year 2000. The editorial of the Riverdale Press July 11th said that three of candidate Andrew Cohen's supporters State Senator Jeff Klein, Congressman Eliot Engel, and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz have stopped taking questions from that paper due to their reporting, no wonder why.

I then called upon the moderator to let me ask a question of the candidates. I asked if the candidates would send their child to a school that had no auditorium, no gym, no lunch room, no music & art, and was going to teach children in an area that was used as a garage. Candidates Cohen and Keeling said no they would not, while candidate Stanton said obviously that question is aimed at me since that is exactly what the charter school I helped set up is going to do. Stanton said that he did not send his child to the school, but I can tell Mr. Stanton as a former citywide parent leader I could have been talking about one of the many buildings that children have been, and are still being taught in such as the former PS 51 in School District 10 to name only one.

Back to the so called debate. It deteriorated so that when candidate Cohen could not be rattled the person on candidate Stanton's payroll then attacked current Councilman Oliver Koppell record. This person while campaigning for candidate Stanton proudly boasts on his letterhead that he helped elect Councilman Koppell in 2005 and again in 2009.

I have been impartial in this race as in all other races that are going on, and have said to Mr. Stanton's chief of staff the race would go to Mr. Cohen, and Mr. Stanton would have to pull a rabbit out of his hat.. After this debacle (not debate) I now think Mr. Stanton has to worry about finishing third in the race behind candidate Cheryl Keeling, and possibly fourth as there was a fourth person who filed petitions to run in the 11th city council district Democratic primary. This race is over as I predict candidate Andrew Cohen the winner and will say with 83 percent of the vote with a margin of error at 5 percent.

To see my take on what went on at Lehman College Thursday night July 11th complete with photos go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com.
If you have any comments about anything in this column or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.