The City Board of Elections denied Independence Party candidate to replace the late John Lavelle representing Staten Island’s North Shore in the March 27 Special Election Kelvin Alexander’s bid to place his made up Family First line (Not to be confused with Working Families which supports Democratic opponent Matt Titone ) as an additional line on the ballot. The board ruled that 611 of the petition’s 1616 signatures were invalid, leaving him short of the 1100 he needed for that additional line.

Alexander, a Staten Island Democratic County Committee member, is running on the Independence line and potentially turning a potential easy Democratic win into an opportunity for Republican Rose Margarella because the party chose Titone over him. He is undecided if he’ll fight the ruling with the state Supreme Court.

Alexander has accused any challenge of his fabricated party petition as marginalizing minority voters. I find that a stretch since he’s already on the ballot as a better known party’s candidate.

I also need to clarify that I am supporting Titone in this race. I have donated money to Titone, campaigned with Matt and have a Titone sign on my front lawn. There are some comments on the Link TextStaten Island Advance’s SIlive political forum that take out of context my initial backing of Alexander in the Daily Gotham. Although I would have voted for Alexander in the first round of voting at the County Convention had I been allowed to participate, I would have switched to Titone in subsequent rounds. Also for the SIlivers who read my blog, I was not one of the January Committee additions thought loyal to Olivari. I was told I was added in June 2006 and still haven’t been named to the Committee and thus still can not vote in County matters.

The papi chulo of ethnic polling has this to say about today's elections :

"You can expect the majority of Hispanics to show up to vote in New Jersey, where they are more than 10 percent of the electorate," Miami-based [Sergio] Bendixen said.

The border states of Arizona and New Mexico may also see Hispanics influencing the ballots in a year when immigration became a hot political topic.

Arizona was in the center of the immigration debate, and Republican congressional candidate Randy Graf has taken a hardline stance on illegal border crossings in his race against Democrat Gabrielle Giffords.

In neighboring New Mexico, Hispanics could play a key role in deciding whether Republican Rep. Heather Wilson (news, bio, voting record) loses her re-election bid to Democrat Patricia Madrid, the state's Hispanic attorney general.

"Graf could lose to a Democrat with his strong anti-immigrant speech, and in New Mexico, Patricia Madrid may very well take the congressional seat of Wilson," said political analyst Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia.

SWING VOTE IN FLORIDA
Bendixen said Hispanic votes could also play a key role in the Florida governor's race to replace outgoing Republican Gov.
Jeb Bush,
President George W. Bush's brother.

"Based on recent polls, this is going to be a very close race, so Hispanics can be the swing vote," he said.

Source : Reuters via Yahoo!News

I've met Sergio Bendixen and I have to tell you, nobody makes statistics sound sexier than Mr. B.

I can't remember if those were the exact words of the guy, but this was said to me at Wednesday's Blogging and Politics event and, well, I am still shocked at the comment.

Why? Because he said it after I commented "when was the the last time you saw a Puerto Rican black woman being part of the political discourse?"

This guy for some reason found it necessary to call me a shrill because I am a Puerto Rican black woman being part of the political discourse. That somehow, the only way a Puerto Rican black woman can only be part of the process if she is shrill or offensive or part of an echo chamber. That somehow there is no merit to what I as a publisher am trying to accomplish with my blogs because of the kind of mentality that will rationalize, "if no Puerto Rican black woman made it before, then there's a reason for why you shouldn't be here now".

I was shocked and I am still shocked that this guy said what he said.

BTW : If you were there, please feel free to correct me in the wording of this asshole