On June 27th, Councilman Ritchie Torres said, “…Instead of choosing an expert in housing and urban planning, nepotism won…” when speaking of Lynne Patton’s possible appointment on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Donald Trump’s administration has come over immense scrutiny for his cabinet appointees having no prior government experience on their resume and simply being big shots in the corporate world to take over federal positions.
Before going further in this discussion, I want to make it clear that I agree with Councilman Torres’ assessment on Patton’s nomination. To put people in important positions simply because they are friends, family, or owed a political favor is disingenuous to the American people.
The problem with that statement is that this same thing is happening here in the Bronx political scene. How many times have the Bronx machine played musical chairs with political seats from Judges, District Attorneys, Senators, Assemblymembers, and Councilmembers.
For years Bronx political positions have been in the hands of the Democrat Party. Once a candidate is endorsed there is relatively no chance of wining a seat no matter the amount of money raised, credibility held, knowledge of community needs is had, or experience.
There are a few solutions for the masses to help change this for any office. If you feel that President Trump is doing a bad job, remember the individual electors that supported him and vote them out.
When it comes to the Bronx Machine, we can increase voter registration to allow a larger margin spread, and lastly on primary and election day, VOTE!
Featured photo c/o The New Yorker