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Volume XX • Number 37 • September 5 - 11, 2013 •
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Business and Labor group targets Stanton over strip club campaign contributions By RIVERDALE REVIEW STAFF The campaign of City Council candidate Clifford Stanton is reeling from a series of mailings made by an independent business and labor group unaffiliated with local politicians. The first of these mailings hit mailboxes last week, another is said to be on its way. Both attack Stanton – in separate English and Spanish versions – for his ties with kingpins of the strip club industry, who have made contributions that have resulted in thousands of dollars finding their way into Stanton’s campaign coffers. The mailings came from the lobbying organization, Jobs for New York, supported by a coalition of labor unions and real estate interests. The tough tone of the mailings has upset candidate Andrew Cohen, who vowed to run a positive campaign. But others are somewhat less upset. Andrew Wolf, the publisher of the Riverdale Review, which weighed in by endorsing Cohen in this week’s editorial, aid that Stanton has nothing to complain about. “What do you expect,” he asked. “You take so much money from strip club interests, you have to understand that there will be a negative
reaction. I see no reason for Mr. Cohen to be so skittish about this effort to defeat his opponent. When unaffiliated third parties provide accurate information, this is not a negative campaign. It is an independent effort to get truthful information to voters. If the truth is harmful to the Stanton campaign, that’s the price one pays for taking money from strip club owners.” Ironically, Stanton bitterly attacked Mr. Cohen for accepting a $250 contribution from Daniel Reingold, the CEO of the Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale. “This is a wonderful organization, that does magnificent work for our seniors. How dare Stanton criticize Cohen for taking a measly $250 contribution when he has been so remarkably compromised by strip club interests. Can’t Stanton see the difference?” For his part Cohen said, “I am committed to running a positive campaign; dealing with real issues that have a real impact on us, such as overcrowding in our schools and cleaning up our parks while discussing my record of service… I received a mailer from Jobs for New York. It has been reported in the New York Times that Jobs for New York is a political action committee
made up of labor unions and members of the real estate industry. My campaign has had no contact with this group and the mail they send out has absolutely nothing to do with my campaign. Cohen noted that the mail he received, “while factually correct, does not represent the kind of discussion I want to have with the community. While I am aware that the other candidate in this race has been stuffing flyers under doors attacking my record, I will continue the positive, issue-oriented campaign I have run from the beginning. I am proud to be recognized as an independent leader by a broad cross section of groups interested in the future of our city; from Planned Parenthood Action and the NY League of Conservation Voters to the United Federation of Teachers and 1199 SEIU.” But Mr. Wolf was less concerned. “The negative tone was set initially by Mr. Stanton, going back years to his preemptive jihad against the Riverdale Review. He now is reaping what he has sown, and nobody should feel sorry for him. No one forced him to take this money from strip club interests.
RIVERDALE REVIEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS (You can cut this out and take it into the polling place with you) MAYOR 3Bill THOMPSON COMPTROLLER 3Scott STRINGER PUBLIC ADVOCATE 3Daniel SQUADRON BOROUGH PRESIDENT 3Ruben DIAZ, Jr. CITY COUNCIL 11th DISTRICT
3Andrew COHEN
Dionne Warwick draws huge crowd to Seton Park
By PAULETTE SCHNEIDER At dusk last Tuesday, Seton Park was a patchwork of blankets, lawn chairs, picnics, kids and dogs as hundreds of mostly graying Dionne Warwick fans enjoyed the waning summer evening, waiting for the legendary singer to appear on the portable stage. Campaigning politicians, including those running against each other, staked out separate areas and took the opportunity to work the crowd—a perfect captive audience. The free event was part of state Senator Jeff Klein’s annual summertime concert series. People shlepped coolers from
parking spots blocks away, some having driven all the way from Queens to hear the awardwinning diva of contemporary pop and R&B. Warwick finally arrived to great applause, struck up her band and launched into what she called a “walk down memory lane,” treating aging baby boomers to one hit after another from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. “If you see me walking down the street” she began, to no one’s surprise, launching a spontaneous sing-along. “And I start to cry each time we meet, walk on by, walk on by,” the Continued on Page 2