MV City Council Debate: Two Candidates AWOL!

“I don’t see Lisa Copeland here, I don’t see Cheryl Dennis here,” Rev. Jeffery R. Wheeler says at the City Council Candidate Forum. “I think it’s sad, I think it speaks to who they are inside.”

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Mt. Calvary CME “The Promise Church”, located at 38 S. 2nd Ave, held a City Council Candidates Forum, Thursday night and many in attendance noticed the Democratic City Council Nominee and number one vote-getter in the primary, Lisa A. Copeland, was once again a no-show. While Dennis was at the Fleetwood Citizen’s Society City Council debate a few weeks ago, Copeland didn’t make it to that one either.

Rev. Jeffrey R. Wheeler, pastor of Mt. Calvary CME, a respected religious leader in the Mt. Vernon community, was visible disappointed (to say the least) that the two candidates were a no-show. Especially Copeland who has been a longtime presence in the Democratic Party in both Mount Vernon and the County. Copeland has done very little campaigning and appears to believe the City Council seat is a birth-rite instead of privilege. That she doesn’t have to work for it, we should just hand the seat over to her.

Once again, BW finds itself at the end of one of Copeland’s endless rants and she runs around telling everyone she is suing BW’s AJ Woodson and Damon K. Jones and Mount Vernon Exposed’s Samuel L. Rivers. While there has been much written about Copeland, BW decided to take the high road, supporting the Democratic Nominees, but once again Copeland for whatever reason, decided to come after us. Last time it was a verbal attack, online about an article we wrote about the FCS debate before the primary, where they shared what they thought of the candidates. She immediately went in on BW’s Editor-In-Chief, without even reading the article.

BW never even mentioned Copeland’s name, with the exception of naming her as a winner in the primary. Now there has been a lot written on the council candidate recently online…

A local blog, Independent Democrats, wrote: Lisa Copeland Another “NO SHOW” for City Council Debate! Why should we VOTE for her?‘ Another blog, Democrats Exposed, wrote: Longtime Democratic Loyalist Lisa Copeland Goes Against The Party and Mount Vernon Democrats! The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Bipolar.  Mount Vernon Exposed wrote about Copeland using an official city parking pass despite the fact she hasn’t even been elected in office yet, just to name a few.

But after being threatened with a lawsuit for defamation (despite the fact we had not written much about her) then attending the forum at Mt. Calvary, noticing her blatant absence at yet another debate, hearing the words of the church’s pastor and then reading the Independent Democrats piece, I think we need to ask some questions.

Lisa has yet to tell the voters, the taxpayers of Mt. Vernon how as a City Council Official she will change the atmosphere of unaccountability, crime and corruption in City Hall to a place, that is respected in all levels of government in New York State, Independent Democrats writes.

Since we have already been threatened with a lawsuit, its time to officially break our silence. I personally stated in the previous editorial, Copeland was going to be the one to beat and even though BW had not endorsed any candidates, I made it no secret I was leaning toward voting for her, before she went after us on Facebook.

If she can not make time to speak to the residents, the voters, the taxpayers at these debates to share her vision and plans for the city, should we just vote for her because she is the most popular candidate, because of her long-standing in the fraternal organizations as well as the Democratic Party?

The same goes for Cheryl Dennis and any other candidate that will not face the people and let us know why we should vote for them. We must get past the days where we vote for a candidate because of their popularity, race or party affiliation.

New face, Janice Duarte has come out and answered the hard questions and residents concerns. She impressed many in attendance at both the FCS and Mt Calvary debates. Should we just blindly vote for Copeland because we know her, because she looks like us, if she can not take the time to present her agenda to the voters.

Andre Wallace another newcomer to the political arena, has also made the rounds, answered the hard questions, addressed the concerns of the people. He has also been impressive during these debates and also seems like a breath or fresh air from what we’ve had lately. BW, while we can not tell you who to vote for on Nov. 3rd, we can suggest you consider those who show up, when you call them and come out and answer the questions and not just go with those whose name you know best.

Maybe it’s time to send a message, that your vote will not be taken for granted, and if you can not make time for the people to earn their vote, you do not deserve it.

I attempted to reach out to Copeland, for a quote only to find out she has blocked and/or unfriended me on various social media outlets.

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AJ Woodson

AJ Woodson is the Editor-In-Chief of Black Westchester and Co-Owner of Urban Soul Media Group, the parent company, Host & Producer of the People Before Politics Radio Show. AJ is a Father, Brother, An Author, Journalism Fellow (Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism), Hip-Hop Artist - one third of the legendary underground rap group JVC FORCE known for the single Strong Island, Radio Personality, Hip-Hop Historian, Documentarian, Activist, Criminal Justice Advocate and Freelance Journalist whose byline has appeared in several print publications and online sites including The Source, Vibe, the Village Voice, Upscale, Sonicnet.com, Launch.com, Rolling Out Newspaper, Daily Challenge Newspaper, Spiritual Minded Magazine, Word Up! Magazine, On The Go Magazine and several others.