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leagues. In his speech at the fundraiser, Crespo joked, “I beg you to help me get him elected to the City Council so I can get him out of Albany,” but there may be an element of truth to that, particularly as it pertains to some of Díaz’s controversial statements and his past alliances with state Senate Republicans. Díaz was famously a member of the “Four Amigos,” a nickname he coined, which included former state Sens. Pedro Espada, Carl Kruger and Hiram Monserrate that broke away from Senate Democrats and caucused with Republicans in 2009. All but Díaz would end up in prison for various crimes. Díaz said the maneuver was all about creating political power, and giving a stronger voice to his constituents. The Four Amigos also planted the seed for another Democratic revolt: the current leadership arrangement between the state Senate Independent Democratic Conference, led by Bronx state Sen. Jeff Klein, and Republicans, a fact that’s not lost on Díaz. “It was too big for us Hispanics to get the power,” he said. “But we got it, we did it. Now Jeff Klein comes with four whites and says, ‘Make me second in command, give me offices, give me this, give me that.’” Bronx Democrats also have their eye trained on the 2021 mayoral race, when Díaz Jr. is widely expected to run in an open election that may be their best shot at Gracie Mansion since Fernando Ferrer challenged Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2005. Díaz Sr. seemed genuinely conflicted about whether he views himself as a political liability for his son – “I don’t know, maybe I am” – and knows Díaz Jr. is, at times, asked to answer for his father’s statements and actions. Publicly, Díaz Jr. takes the comparison in stride, although he supports LGBT and abortion rights. He is his father’s son and he doesn’t run away from it. “I’ve been (an elected official) now over 20 years. I’m 44 years old. I think that people understand the differences between my father and I and our issues,” Díaz Jr. said. “At the dinner table when we all come together at mom’s house and you not only hear from me and dad, but our siblings and grandchildren – everybody has political differences, and we can be quite verbose about it, but we do it in a respectful way. (My father) understands where I’m coming from and so we just agree to disagree.” Díaz Jr. is also quick to credit his father for helping secure the influx of investment coming the Bronx’s way, including four
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new Metro-North stations, $1.8 billion to rebuild the Sheridan Expressway and thousands of units of affordable housing. Díaz Jr. points to the bills his father passed through the state Legislature – many while Diaz was in the minority conference – as a measure of his effectiveness. He also understands why some question his father’s motives for pursuing at least another four years in elected office at age 74. “I don’t plan on being an elected official at 74 years old, but if I was 74 years old with the record that he has in terms of delivering services and having tangible projects and legislation and bringing real change to this community over the next decade and a half, I would have called it a day,” Díaz Jr. said. Díaz Sr. bristles at that notion that he should step aside for a younger generation: “I am still young. I’m still full of energy. Why should I retire? I have the experience. I have the knowledge and dedication, the guts to do it. I still have the energy and the vision, why resign because they are young?” Two of Díaz’s City Council opponents, Elvin Garcia and Amanda Farias, both mentioned the need for new blood and fresh ideas in Bronx politics, rather than the county party propping up machine candidates. The Bronx Democratic Party, like most county parties in New York City, is a vestige of Tammany Hall-style politics – famously resistant to outsiders that don’t have a built-in base of support or major fundraising connections. In a revealing moment, Arroyo said as much at the fundraiser for Díaz: “We cannot allow people to come from the outside to take over the work that we developed without the contacts that are necessary to bring money to the South Bronx.” Farias, an aide to City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley of Queens and manager of the City Council Women’s Caucus, said this mindset is reflective of Díaz and the county organization, and went a step further by pointing out the Bronx Democratic Party is a veritable boys’ club: Arroyo, Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner and City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson are its only female elected legislators. “They have a record of protecting incumbents and are always slow to adopt change,” Farias said. “Even as women have put in their time and built their own base of support, they don’t have the support of the boys’ club. There will not ever be progress if we don’t start holding the men accountable and letting them know that they need to look at women under them and start lift-
ing them up to run as candidates and have leadership roles within their offices.” The challenge as it pertains to Díaz is that his base of support is inherently more socially conservative. In many parts of the city, a candidate with his views on samesex marriage and LGBT rights would be anathema. But there is a reason that Díaz has remained in office for 16 years. Garcia, who is an openly gay Bronx borough director for Mayor Bill de Blasio, recognizes the fine line between making the race a commentary on Díaz versus focusing on the quality of life issues that the residents of the 18th City Council District care about. He has said that he does not want to make the race all about identity politics. “At the end of the day this is a working-class community,” Garcia said. “So while there is feminist and pro-choice activism in this district, while there are openly gay couples and young people that are registered to vote in this district, people care about the reduction in crime, people care about improving the schools, access to transportation – those are the bread-andbutter issues, ultimately.” But in the era of President Donald Trump, when political rhetoric is being scrutinized more than ever, even if Díaz remains on his best behavior, 2017 could be the year that his statements and social views come back to haunt him. Last year, Díaz was quoted in The Washington Post comparing himself favorably to Trump, and his bizarre flirtation with Ted Cruz during the Republican primary – possibly the most reviled politician in the city after his infamous “New York values” comment – might not win him any new votes in a crowded primary. For now, Díaz is content to rely on his tried and true base of support. He leads the field of 10 candidates in private funds raised – just under $125,000 – but trails Garcia in total cash on hand, as of the latest New York City Campaign Finance Board filing deadline. He insists that voters and his potential colleagues in the City Council not judge him based on reputation alone, but he is also going to be himself, for better or worse. “I will talk to everybody,” he said. “I will reach everybody and I will talk to the people. People need to know me and then judge me. But people also need to give me the opportunity.” He pauses a beat and adds a caveat: “And if they don’t even want to talk to me, and they say, ‘Get out of here,’ then I respect that.”
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