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Bronx Special Election Could Establish A New Political Dynasty

David Cruz

Published Mar 12, 2021

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Eric Dinowitz (at podium) at an event in 2019 in the Bronx. His father, Jeff Dinowitz, stands near him to the right.

Eric Dinowitz Campaign

David Cruz

Published Mar 12, 2021

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Of the five candidates vying to come out on top in the Bronx's 11th Council District special election this month, Eric Dinowitz stands the most to gain.

For Dinowitz, a lead contender, his prospect of winning the seat is boosted by local name recognition — his father, Jeff Dinowitz, is Assemblymember for the 81st Assembly District. The elder Dinowitz has represented the 81st for more than 20 years and remains active in the local Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, where Eric is a de facto member given his own post as the 81st Assembly District leader. The two already wield considerable influence in the neighborhood of Riverdale, home to their political base.

If the younger Dinowitz wins, he and his father will establish a new political dynasty in a borough where the era of political families has eroded. Such an outcome has raised questions over whether father and son can legislate independently of each other since the district Eric seeks to represent largely overlaps with his father's.

"My fear is that they are of one mind," said Jessica Haller, another challenger in the race who's been outspoken on political families. "Jeff and Eric are ideologically almost identical, live near each other, are engaged with each other almost all the time. And I'm very fearful of the scenario."

The halcyon days of Bronx political families have waned over the years, where clans had carved out a piece of the pie. Those golden years began in the late 1990s, when current Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was sworn in as assemblymember. His father, the controversial Councilmember Ruben Diaz Sr., eventually joined him in public service, serving as a state senator before being elected to the Council. Both legislators announced they will retire from politics this year.

Before the Diaz dynasty, disgraced former state Senator Pedro Espada Sr. brought his son, former assemblymember Pedro G. Espada, into politics in 1996. The formation of these political families continued in the 2000s with former Representative Jose Serrano inspiring his son, state Senator Jose M. Serrano, to successfully run for office. While the elder retired from politics last year, the son remains in office. Other Bronx political families included Assemblymember Carmen Arroyo and daughter Maria, who served as a councilmember, and the Rivera family, made up of current Assemblymember Jose Rivera, and his children, former Councilmember Joel Rivera and former Assemblymember Naomi Rivera.

The elder Rivera—who served as chair of the Bronx Democratic Party—is arguably the key reason political families earned a poor reputation in the Bronx, with accusations that he treated the county party as a nepotistic patronage mill, while arm-twisting party leaders into pulling the political levers in getting his son Joel to serve as the Council's majority leader.

Michael Benjamin, a former assemblymember in the Bronx who sits as an editorial board member for the New York Post, bore witness to the reigns of these political families, which had rankled younger members of the party. Joel and Naomi are no longer in office, with the latter leaving in disgrace.

"They worked the party hard for years," Benjamin said of party loyalists. "And now to see these children show up, who hadn't been working in the trenches it annoyed them."

Bob Kappstatter, a former editor with the Daily News' Bronx Bureau, found that to be standard practice. Much of that was driven by the party's long-established rule in supporting the wishes of incumbents. Kappstatter is now a political consultant for Daniel Padernacht, another challenger in the race.

"With incumbents running their children with party backing, and the endorsements that backing brings, other aspiring candidates are discouraged from throwing their hats in the ring," Kappstatter said. "Tell me what party is going to turn down one of their entrenched incumbents to back an even minimally qualified son or daughter for an open seat?"

Adhering to the practice of obligatory party endorsements on behalf of an incumbent seems to be the case in the 11th Council District race, in which the party officially endorsed Eric Dinowitz.

Along with Padernacht and Haller, other candidates in the special election race include Carleton Berkley and Mino Lora.

Throughout the campaign, Eric has fended off criticism over his connection to his father. At a candidates forum in February, the younger Dinowitz stressed he has demonstrated an independent streak, voicing differing opinions on standardized testing and the Democratic presidential nominee last year.

"You have to judge them as people," Jeff Dinowitz told Gothamist/WNYC. "Each person should be judged individually on their own merits. And up until now, the only people who have had any issue with that are people who aren't supporting Eric in the first place and are looking for a reason to say they're not."

But political families are not exclusive to the Bronx, according to the assemblymember. He pointed to Queens, where the late Saul Weprin, who served as Assembly Speaker from 1991 to 1994—had two sons who entered politics, Mark and David Weprin, who is now a candidate for New York City Comptroller.

"So is this unusual? John Adams, John Quincy Adams. Come on," Dinowitz said.

In a statement from the younger Dinowitz, the campaign said "Eric will agree with any elected official when they align with the shared progressive values of the community, and disagree just as passionately when necessary." This was the case, according to the campaign, when he's "in the classroom, as a leader within the United Federation of Teachers, and as a Democratic District Leader."The spokesperson added that voters in the district are "smart and will make an informed choice in the race for City Council."

With several decades in the spotlight, the elder Dinowitz recalled warning his son on the pitfalls of running.

"My first reaction is, 'Are you sure want to do this? There's a lot of nasty people who will undoubtedly try to attack you on the basis that you have the same last name as somebody who's already in public office,'" Dinowitiz said. "So I'm going to tell one of my children that they shouldn't pursue their dream? Of course I wouldn't do that."

Tagged

election 2021

the bronx

David Cruz

David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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