For those who missed the Saturday morning press conference at the Alhambra, where Rep. Charles Rangel endorsed Keith Wright to succeed him, there was a smaller, more intimate occasion with Wright that evening at Tsion Café.
Wright was the recipient of a fund-raiser, and among those in attendance was Robert Jackson, who is seeking a seat in the New York State Senate.
“Congressman Rangel, like any elected official, [they] do not give their endorsements lightly,” Wright said. “When the congressman says that I am qualified to take his place, following behind him and Adam Clayton Powell Jr., that means an awful lot to me.”
It was widely presumed in the community that Wright was the heir apparent to the post, but Rangel had withheld his endorsement, apparently waiting to see how things would pan out and if Wright could assemble a solid coalition.
“I had always hoped it could be Keith,” Rangel told reporters at the Alhambra. “But make no bones about it: if Keith did not have the ability to reach out … and bring all these people together from all parts of the district, I would have had to do what I thought was best for the district and the country.”
Rangel also took a few swipes at two other candidates in the race. He blasted Adriano Espaillat, who opposed him two years ago, for not resigning his State Senate seat to fully commit to the race.
“Are you in or are you out?” Rangel asked. “It’s such a basic, nonpolitical question. Are you running for the Congress or are you holding on to your seat and raising money for an unsuccessful run?”
Rangel chided Clyde Williams, a former Democratic National Committee political director, for raising money largely from Wall Street.
“All eyes, across the nation, are focused on this election,” Wright said. “This election year is one of the most consequential in recent history. And I feel absolutely blessed to get the congressman’s endorsement because my campaign team has worked hard to get me nominated.”
When Jackson, who served in the City Council for 12 years before he was term-limited out, was asked about the 13th Congressional District contest, he said he had a horse in the race. “I’m leaning toward Assemblyman Wright,” he said, “but I’m a Democratic leader in District 71 Part A. I belong to a new Democratic Club called Uptown Community Democrats, and I will be communicating to them and hoping that we are on the same page.”
Meanwhile, Jackson has his own campaign to manage as he seeks to replace Espaillat in the State Senate. Jackson ran against Espaillat two years ago. “If he wants to run for Congress, well, he can be my guest, but don’t hold up the Senate seat,” Jackson said.
Jackson said that Espaillat was absent 60 percent of the time from Senate votes. “If you were missing that much time from work,” he added, “you’d be out of a job. And two years ago he had the worst attendance record in the senate, and that speaks for itself.”
He also had some opinions about the presidential election, particularly the Democratic contest between Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders. “In the end they will have to come together, and I think they will,” he said. “I remember 2008 in Denver, where I was a delegate for Clinton. When she saw that she wasn’t going to win, she called all of us together and released us to Obama.”
Whether Sanders will do this as his chances of winning become dimmer is left for speculation. “Sen. Sanders should be thankful that he’s made it this far, but you have to talk about party unity,” Jackson concluded.
Rangel said Wright has support from several top pols from the Bronx, which includes half the district, and predicted he would continue Harlem’s “political success” in Washington.
“I don’t have to worry that the people from the Bronx respect him,” Rangel said. “Keith, you’re going to have more support than you ever would think.”
Wright called Rangel a “combination between Joe Lewis and Muhammad Ali.”
It was time to get back inside the café for more schmoozing and listening to the music provided by saxophonist Alfredo Colon, a City College graduate.
