By Jon Schuppe
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
HARLEM — Most of the candiates challenging Rep. Charles Rangel chose not to attack his alleged ethical missteps at a Monday night Harlem candidates forum. But among those who did, state Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV stood out.
Powell, whose father was unseated by Rangel in 1971, said the congressman has lost his power and supporters in Washington, and now represented the corrupting power of money in politics.
“In order to have good fruit you must have a healthy tree,” Powell said, paraphrasing the Book of Matthew. “We not longer have a healthy tree and we won’t have healthy fruit if this continues.”
But Rangel, who was greeted with a standing ovation at Convent Avenue Baptist Church, responded as he always has. He refused to step down, saying he deserved a fair trial by the House ethics panel and wanted to continue helping Democrats fend off Republicans in Congress.
"There is not a way in the world we would walk away and resign,” he said.
Powell has said that he believes Rangel is running so that he can ultimately use election rules to choose his own successor. He reiterated that opinion Monday night.
Rangel said that was ridiculous.
“He’s the only one I’ve head say this…Unless he’s talked to my doctor, I intend to serve the next two years.”
Rangel is under investigation for allegedly failing to pay taxes on a vacation home in the Dominican Republic, using rent-stabilized apartments in Manhattan and conducting improper fundraising, among other charges. The House ethics panel begins hearing the case on Sept. 13, the day before the Democratic primary. Moderator Les Payne pointed that out, and asked the Harlem congressman if he was concerned about the timing.
“They don’t want any part of me. They have no clue what to do with me,” Rangel responded.
Payne also asked Rangel his opinion of President Obama's comment last month that the 80-year-old congressmanw wants "to be able to end his career with dignity."
Rangel responded, "President Obama has enough problems without me...quite franky, he has not been around long enough to determine what my dignity is."
He added: "In the next two years I will be more likely to protect his dignity"
The forum was not a debate, in that the candidates did not address each other directly. Instead, each candidate gave opening remarks, followed by questions from Payne, and closing remarks. The order was chosen by the drawing of straws, organizers said. Rangel went before Powell, allowing the incumbent to try to blunt the challenger’s attack.
The forum included all dour of Rangel's opponents in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary — Powell, Joyce Johnson, Jonathan Tasini, Vincent Morgan — and Independent Craig Schley. Republican Michel Faulkner did not take part. He held a rally outside the church protesting that he was not invited.
Powell himself has had his own legal problems, including a recent conviction on DWI charges. Payne brought that up during Powell’s criticisms of Rangel.
Powell responded, “You cannot compare that with a pattern of years and years of corruption."
As cheers and boos echoed through the church, Powell added, “Four rent controlled apartments is a slap in the face of this community.”
Tasini said Rangel had become a symbol of Washington surrendering control to corporations and lobbyists.
"This isn’t just about Congressman Rangel,” he said. “This is about corruption of the system.”
The forum's other three challengers — Joyce Johnson, Vincent Morgan and Craig Schley — chose not to emphasize Rangel’s problems. They spoke instead about turning Harlem power over to a new generation of young leaders, and the need to hold on to Harlem’s cultural tradition in the face of gentrification.
Earlier in the evening, State Sen. Bill Perkins and his challenger, Basil Smikle, explained their positions on charter schools — the issue that probably defines the race for Harlem's State Senate seat more than any other.
Perkins has been an outspoken opponent of charters, and that position has cost him political support among Harlem politicians. It was also one of the motivating factors behind Smilke’s candidacy, and the reason why Harlem Assemblyman Keith Wright’s Democratic club reportedly voted to endorse Smikle.
Smikle, who spoke first, suggested that charters schools helped public schools by increasing competition. He reiterated his support of lifting a cap on the number of charter schools in New York State. And he said he didn’t see any time in the near future when charters would tilt the balance of money and support away from public schools.
Perkins cast himself as an Albany reformer, and said he was not absolutely opposed to charter schools, just not to the detriment of public schools.
“You have to be critical. You can’t just be part of the chorus that just sees something and turns a blind eye to it,” Perkins said. ”Especially if you know better.”
Monday morning, Perkins got an unexpected boost on the charter school front when he scored the support of the New York Charter School Parents Association, who praised him in a press release for showing "the courage to stand up for parents and do what is right, without worrying about the political consequences."
