NYC Councilman Charles Barron provided details today of his plans to begin a protest bid for governor, and blasted Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and the Democratic Party for putting together an all-white statewide ticket.

[YWN reminds our readers that just last week Mr. Barron compared the Israeli blockade on Gaza to the Nazi death camps. That statement prompted a response by Councilman Greenfield calling Barron a “anti-Semite of the highest order”.]

Mr. Barron, a black leader with a knack for stoking controversy, said he would begin a petition drive to create a new party, the New York Freedom Democratic Party, as a place for minority voters who had grown disenchanted with the Democratic Party. He said Mr. Cuomo had insulted African-American voters by picking a white man, Mayor Robert J. Duffy of Rochester, as his running mate, knowing that the rest of the party�s ticket would be white.

�The Democratic Party has taken our vote for granted for many, many years,� Mr. Barron said in an interview, and added of Mr. Duffy�s selection: �This is the latest slap in the face. This political blackout by Andrew Cuomo is outrageous, that he would be comfortable going with an all-white state slate.�

Is diversity an area of concern for Mr. Cuomo?

While eight members of minorities are among the 21 members of his executive staff in the attorney general�s office, his closest advisers tend to be white, with Charlie King, who he recently installed as executive director of the state party, as a notable exception. Because of the makeup of the state ticket, some Democratic strategists are concerned that the party will have a difficult time energizing minority voters, a key base of support.

Still, a Siena College poll released on Monday showed that, while there was some modest softening in Mr. Cuomo�s overall popularity, his poll numbers remain stronger among black voters than among whites. Specifically, he had a 69-to-18 percent favorable/unfavorable rating among blacks, compared to 57-to-28 percent among whites. The poll was a survey of 808 registered voters from June 7 to June 9, with a 3.4 percentage point margin of error.

So does Mr. Barron see himself as a spoiler?

�Spoil what?� he said. �They already spoiled us by excluding us and having a statewide slate that looks like Mississippi in the 1950s. What am I spoiling? I�m going to be an empowerer. A vote for Cuomo is a wasted vote, because he�s already got it.�

(Source: NY Times)