In primary aftermath, it’s still a tale of two competing clubs

It was just a day after Darcel Clark won her contested primary to remain the Bronx district attorney. The event was an evening meant to express appreciation for members of the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club. But instead, Clark had nothing but appreciation for her voters and supporters.

“This is a labor of love, you know,” she told the Ben Franklin Club members visiting the Blackstone Bar & Grill on Riverdale Avenue. “It’s not always easy, but it’s easier when you have the support of the communities that you serve. And this is one of them.”

That support included some of Ben Franklin Club’s most notable members like club president Virginia Krompinger, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, and his son, Councilman Eric Dinowitz. The , Councilman did not face a challenger in the Democratic primary.

“I’m just so happy that I can be your district attorney, to bring the balance that we need in this borough for safety and justice at the same time,” Clark said. “And here in Riverdale, you understand that and you want that. And I’m glad that I can deliver it. And now, with your help, I’m going to have another four years to continue it.”

The younger Dinowitz traversed rain and snow with Clark’s volunteers to support her, she said. And U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres said he could not be happier Clark won, adding that the Bronx is her heart.

She celebrated a bit, but for Clark, it’s back to work. Clark received nearly 73 percent of the votes last week to defeat challenger Tess Cohen in the low-turnout primary. Clark credited that outcome on the fact she’s been in the Bronx her whole life, and has worked eight years to build trust off the community.

She’ll continue to network with elected officials, community-based organizations, business communities, clergies and others to make sure the Bronx gets the resources it needs to stabilize the community.

“We can’t arrest our way out of crime and problems boroughs face,” Clark said, “but we can put more resources, smarter investment programs for our kids and seniors.”

Stabilizing issues like mental health, substance use disorder, and housing will be enough to help people not turn to crime because of their circumstances.

Clark’s third term — like her previous terms — will be about balancing public safety, fairness and justice for the criminal court system. she said.

As for Cohen, she also will get back to work after some time as a criminal defense and civil rights attorney. She wants to continue to work with progressives, organizers, advocates, and community members she met over the course of the campaign.

But why were her efforts to unseat Clark unsuccessful? One of them is easy: money.

She couldn’t compete with the “fundraising mechanism” that an incumbent aligned with the “Bronx machine” gets, alongside her name recognition. And then there was the low voter turnout, saying a lot of people didn’t even realize there was an election.

Nevertheless, Cohen is hopeful this primary will bring change for the better in the Bronx, noting that it certainly helped Clark change course on criminal court discovery reforms. She hopes that by drawing attention to some of the resources the Bronx doesn’t have, a light will shine, and there’ll be real incentive to fix the problem.

Cohen hasn’t ruled out the possibility of running for DA again, but says she has promised herself she would wait at least a few months before deciding.

In the meantime, she is getting her kids a puppy — a terrier mix.

Looking forward

With the primaries over, it is time to start preparing for the November general election, and even more for next year’s presidential contest. Eric Dinowitz has a challenger from the Conservative Party, but it’s a race he’s expected to have no problem winning in a heavy-Democratic district.

With few truly contested races on the Bronx ballots in November, there is fear turnout could be even lower moving forward — something a spokesperson from the Unity Democratic Club said was “devastating to see.”

For Jeff Dinowitz’s Assembly district, just 6 percent of Democrats showed up to vote in the primary.

“Some voters told us they received information saying there were no contests because the City Council race was uncontested,” the club — which opposes many of the positions and candidates of the Ben Franklin Club — said, in a statement. “Many people were unaware that there was an election, and there are a lot of disenfranchised voters in our district and in the Bronx.”

The Unity Club  advocates for voting in all elections, and will continue to provide information to voters to encourage them to vote in future contests.

Assemblyman Dinowitz pointed out two people were elected district leaders on a platform of increasing voter turnout. The two leaders were elected from the Unity Club slate, toppling candidates offered by the Ben Franklin Club.

The two clubs have been at odds with each other since the Unity Club’s formation during the pandemic. While it had backing from some electeds when they were formed — redistricting changed a lot of that.

Including a move that pushed U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman north into Westchester County, and bringing in Torres, who had nothing but praise for the Ben Franklin Club. In fact, last week, he called it the “gold standard” and “pinnacle” of political organizing.

“A few weeks ago, I was on ‘The Daily Show’ with John Leguizamo,” Torres said, “and I said to him, ‘If someone had said to me, to a 13-year-old version of myself, that I would be a member of congress during a global pandemic and witness an insurrection against the U.S. Capitol and then vote to impeach the host of the ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ — and all of that would happen within the first two weeks — I would’ve said that sounds like a story written by George Santos.’”