Rev. Al Sharpton Endorses Ferrer For Mayor

[cal04]

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton said Saturday he is endorsing Fernando Ferrer for mayor, a decision he said was motivated by the suffering he saw in poor communities during a trip to the hurricane-damaged South. "I wrestled with this, even over the last few days, as I sat and stood and walked in Louisiana, where I saw people ravaged, lives torn," Sharpton told NY1 on Saturday. "I thought about the fact that we need a man that's strong enough to bring us through 9/11 but compassionate enough that if Katrina hits, will make sure that poor people are not the scapegoats of a natural disaster." He said Ferrer "has the strength and the compassion to do both." A message left at Sharpton's office was not immediately returned Saturday night.

Ferrer and the other three Democrats running to unseat Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg have aggressively courted an endorsement from Sharpton, who in 1997 finished a strong second in the Democratic mayoral primary himself.
The preacher is considered one of the more powerful black leaders in city politics. And nationally, he boosted his profile with his own presidential run in 2004 and by weighing in on issues like the hurricane, Cindy Sheehan's protest outside President Bush's Texas ranch and Mexican President Vicente Fox's comment that Mexican immigrants take jobs "that not even blacks want."

Throughout the summer he has waffled on whether he would back any of the four Democratic mayoral contenders. His Ferrer endorsement is likely a huge blow to the campaign of C. Virginia Fields, who is the only black candidate this year.
Sharpton told the cable news channel that he respects Fields, but said she "did not get the traction that would be necessary to be competitive." The Manhattan borough president has struggled to raise money, and her numbers in opinion polls have been mostly static.

In the 2001 race, Sharpton also supported Ferrer, who ultimately lost in a runoff to Mark Green. Ferrer, a former Bronx borough president who is of Puerto Rican descent, angered some minority communities and black leaders in March when he said the 1999 fatal police shooting of an unarmed African immigrant was not a crime. The four white police officers later said they mistook Amadou Diallo for a rape suspect they were pursuing, and were acquitted of criminal charges. But the shooting came to stand for police brutality and is important to minority voters.
Sharpton said Saturday he still was unhappy with Ferrer's comment about Diallo, but that his endorsement was "not about apologies," but rather "an alternative for the people."

http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_253211858.html

[robbedvoter]

1. Deja vu all over again. So, we'll have Bloomberg again and we deserve

him if we don't learn. Shame!
Ferrer wins the primary, I stay home on general election. Tired of being a patsy.
PS Did anyone notice that Sharpton didn't speak ONCE against Bloomberg?

[AndreaCG]

2. I will hold my nose and vote for Ferrer in the general election

What can I say, I dislike Bloomberg more and would not want to encourage a Republican to be reelected.

BTW Sharpton's Presidential campaign was largely bankrolled by Republicans. So I don't expect to see him dissing Bloomberg.