Black-White ‘Flier’ Storm
Sally Goldenberg, New York Post, September 3, 2009
Public-advocate candidate Bill de Blasio has outraged black politicians and many of his own constituents by sending targeted mailings to African-American neighborhoods featuring pictures of his interracial family, sources told The Post.
Most of the ads mailed to predominantly white areas had no pictures or just showed photos of the candidate, the sources said.
“The insulting part of it is that if you want to appeal to the black community, then appeal to us based upon our issues, not based upon who you’re married to,” said City Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn).
De Blasio, whose campaign denied ethnic targeting, is a councilman who represents central Brooklyn. He’s white and his wife, Chirlane, is black.
Up to six of his mailers showcased Chirlane. At least one featured photos of their two children, a 14-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy.
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Another has a message from his wife simply saying, “He gets it.”
“This is the one I’ve heard so many black women complain about,” said one source.
“The implication is he’s married to a black woman so he ‘gets us.'”
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Still, sources told The Post that many politicians, including some who have supported de Blasio’s bid in the four-way Democratic primary to succeed Betsy Gotbaum, were highly offended by the mailer.
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A resident of de Blasio’s district who got the family pictures, said, “Bill is well liked in the black community, but has now gone too far and with too much.”
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