By Heather Grossmann and Jeff Mays
DNAinfo News Editor
HARLEM — Harlem residents had mixed reactions Thursday evening to the House's 333 to 79 vote to censure Rep. Charlie Rangel for a series of ethics violations.
Rangel stood silently in front of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she formally reprimanded him for his ethics violations. He was then allowed to address the House.
"At no time has it ever entered my mind to enrich myself or do violence to what is expected of all of us in this house," Rangel said. "I know in my heart that I'm not going to be judged by this Congress, but by my life, my activities, my contributions to society."
Along 125th street, Harlem residents were torn over the 21-term congressman's fate.
Frank Ouedraogo, 28, a student who is studying finance, said that after all of his years in Congress, Rangel should have understood the rules.
"I cannot say he deserved it but there are rules to be followed," he said. "If you are in a position of power you should not cut corners because people are watching."
Ouedraogo said Rangel was also setting a bad example for his constituents and fellow legislators.
"Violating ethics rules is very dangerous because ethics is the fundamental part of trust. You need to have morals," Ouedraogo said.
Yanci Reinoso, 35, a nurse's aide in Harlem, said that Rangel was an "old man" and that Congress "should have left him alone."
"He worked for the things he had. He didn't steal anything," she said.
But Errol Millwood, 39, a UPS driver, said he was glad Rangel was censured — he said he was tired of Rangel playing the "sympathy card."
"Now he's saying, 'I'm 80. I don't deserve this.' He just doesn't want to jeopardize his legacy," Millwood said. "I know he's African-American and he's been here a long time and did a lot for the community but he deserves this for what he did."
"These politicians get a slap on the wrist for stuff regular people like me wouldn't be able to get away with," he added.
Still, Rangel's good deeds outdid the bad, according to Jay Thompson, 44, an educator in the neighborhood.
"Charlie Rangel does not deserve this because he has lived in and serviced this community for many years," Thompson said. "He stayed in this community when no one else would and he's been punished enough."
Rangel is the first politician to receive a censure since two representatives were censured in 1983 for engaging in sexual activities with 17-year-old pages. Prior to Rangel's ethics hearing, former Rep. James Traficant was the last representative to face a House ethics trial.
Prior to the vote, Rangel, who won reelection to his Harlem seat in November with nearly 80 percent of the vote, pleaded with the House late Thursday afternoon to vote against censuring him.
"Let me apologize to this august body for putting you in this very awkward position," Rangel began, before launching into a description of his military service in Korea, saying that he told the story not for sympathy, but because he wanted his audience to know that during that time, he decided he "would dedicate my life in trying in some meaningful way to improve the quality of life for all Americans."
He then concluded that he had made mistakes, but that he deserved "fairness," not the "humiliation of a censure."
Rangel then yielded the remainder of his time to Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, who spoke on the congressman's behalf, calling censure a "singularly harsh and unfair and without precedent." He said that Rangel had made mistakes, but that he had not been the recipient of financial gain or engaged in any criminal conduct, unlike those who had been censured previously.
Scott was followed by Rep. Peter King and Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, among several others, who took the floor to say that they would vote against a censure for Rangel, saying that an appropriate action would be a reprimand, not a censure.
A motion was made to reduce Rangel's punishment to a reprimand instead of censure, but the amended sanction was voted down.
The House's vote Thursday comes two weeks after the House Ethics Committee found Rangel guilty on 11 of 13 accused counts of ethics violations, including improperly using a rent-controlled apartment as his campaign headquarters, failing to pay taxes on rental revenue from a home he owned in the Dominican Republic, and soliciting donations from organizations with business before the Ways and Means Committee — which he had chaired — to create a center at City College to be named in his honor.
