So this guy Derek Evers is elected to office as a Democratic district leader, and also was appointed to the local community board by Donovan Richards (which may be a no-no as per the city charter), yet he conveniently neglected to mention he's also Juan Ardila's paid campaign manager...
Prior to reading his ridiculous screed against Ardila's opponent, here's a partial fact check:
- The contentious homeless shelter in the 2017 race was located in a Maspeth hotel. It's gone now.
- Holden was never chair of the community board. If he was, that would be displayed prominently on his campaign material, no?
- The HCQ thing links to an article where Cuomo pleads for it, not Trump.
- There's a screenshot of an undated Facebook post with a blurred out name purported to be from Holden's Deputy Chief of Staff that shows a pro-Trump rally but doesn't show the breach of the Capitol or praise of same. Kinda stalkerish to be snooping on a staff member's Facebook page regardless.
- Chokeholds have been banned by the NYPD patrol guide for decades and the legislation in question was not to make them legal.
- Not sure what Holden's age has to do with anything unless the Ardila campaign is ageist along with everything else (likely).
- By his own measure he's failing on graffiti? Or is it more like police aren't making graffiti arrests because the DAs are declining to prosecute and the judges are dismissing the charges now in New Woke City?
- How can 40% of the district be Latino and also be gerrymandered?
- People of all races hate those loud car speaker/biker/ATV assholes and besides that they are dangerous to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, but it's good to know the Ardila campaign is in favor of them. (This position seems to be against the progressive doctrine to oppose motorized vehicles at all times. I guess there are exceptions.)
Now go ahead and have a good laugh:
Dear Democratic leaders of Queens,
I’m tired.
I’m tired of living in a District run by an angry man who uses his votes and his rhetoric and his relationship with the press to divide and separate our wonderful community.
Robert Holden does not represent District 30 in a manner befitting of any elected role, regardless of what political party he wants to align with. At his core, he’s a divider who preys on people’s fears to create a “path to victory” in local elections.
Of course, this is nothing new. This is what Robert Holden does.
He did it in his 2017 race against Elizabeth Crowley, drumming up hatred for a homeless shelter that was inevitably still built after he was elected. Yet, despite his own failures to stop construction or to address the homeless crisis in his district, he continues to lean into it with hate-filled rhetoric, saying things like the men who live there “will never assimilate into the neighborhood, they'll never blend in."
Even as far back as his days as chair of the Community Board there are stories of people being scared to run against him because they knew the Juniper Berry would smear them if they tried.
And now that he’s running for re-election he’s going to try to pull the same Trump-like “divide and conquer” strategy. So I implore you, do not look at the Robert Holden who is running for re-election, look at his voting record to see what kind of man he really is.
Robert Holden wasn’t running for re-election when he voted against a bill that would prohibit employment discrimination based on an individual’s sexual and reproductive health decisions.
Or when he voted against a bill that would allow individuals to change their sex designation on their birth certificate to conform with their gender identity.
Or when he voted against a bill that would establish diversity working groups in each community school district.
Or when he appeared on FOX News to say NYC should not be a sanctuary city.
Or when he voted against creating an Office of Diversity and Inclusion within the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
Or when he voted against an order that would replace the word “alien” with “noncitizen” in the City Charter.
Or when he introduced a bill that would re-allow the police to use a chokehold like the one that killed Eric Garner.
Or when he quit the Immigration Committee because he thinks ICE agents should be allowed in New York state courthouses without warrants.
Or when he remained silent as his Deputy Chief Of Staff praised the Jan 6th insurrection on Facebook, calling it “beautiful” and ending it with “Donald Trump I will fly your flag everyday no matter what”.
Then of course there’s the veiled racism in a district that is nearly 40% Hispanic but gerrymandered so heavily that the Latino portions of our district are under-represented. It’s no coincidence that he continues to target loud music in the park, young men of color who congregate with their cars in park parking lots, or boys of color who ride their bikes in groups.
He’s been on the graffiti task force for 20 years and yet, by his own measure, he’s either failing or repeatedly brings it up as just another dog whistle. And despite the reputation of having one of the best school districts in the city, we have a dismal SHSAT record of racial disparity and zero dual-language programs for public elementary schools that are 70% Latino.
I am a middle-aged man and Robert Holden is older than my father. I would say he should know better, but this is who he is. This is who he has always been.
So I implore you, as fellow Democrats, please do not buy into his words and heed the warnings of his actions. If you don’t have the bravery to stand up to his hate-filled record of divisiveness, then do what our parents told us to do when faced with a bully — ignore him and try not to engage.
This is not the leader our community wants or needs. I hope you remember that when you speak to your friends and neighbors, and most importantly, when you head to the polls.
Thank you |
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Sincerely,
Derek J. Evers Democratic District Leader, AD37B |
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