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A Rift Among Bronx Democrats at Annual Dinner

In many ways, Thursday night’s Bronx Democratic County dinner at the Marina Del Rey waterfront catering hall was typical. The powerful figures of Albany — Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo — were there to honor the party chairman, Assemblyman Jose Rivera. Various aspirants for citywide office were there, too.

But the dinner was as notable for who didn’t attend as for who did — exposing a deep rift in the Bronx party.

Among those who declined to appear were State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. and his son, Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. Also absent were Assemblymen Carl Heastie and Michael Benjamin as well as City Councilwoman Helen Foster.

Many dissidents fault the leadership of the 72-year-old Mr. Rivera, explaining that they are upset he chose to endorse Maria Matos for a Civil Court judgeship, selecting her over their choice, Elizabeth Taylor. Another point of tension is Assemblyman Diaz’s plan to run for Bronx borough president next year — with his strongest competitor being Mr. Rivera’s son, City Councilman Joel Rivera.

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A New Dominican Face in Bronx Politics

Nelson Castro, campaigning in the Bronx for NY State Assembly

Few people inside or outside of Bronx political circles knew much about Nelson Castro just a few months ago. Yet in a short time, Mr. Castro, a 36-year-old former coordinator with a health insurance company, has positioned himself to become the first Dominican-born member of the Legislature from the Bronx.

Mr. Castro was deeply involved in Democratic politics in Washington Heights, the heart of the Dominican community in New York City. He was once chief of staff to Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat, the first Dominican member of the Assembly. But he and Mr. Espaillat had a less-than-amicable parting of the ways. He moved to the Bronx three years ago and started to work with civic groups in the University Heights area.

This year, he decided to run for district leader against the incumbent, Hector Ramirez. But before that campaign got off the ground, the Assemblyman in the district, Luis Diaz, resigned to take a community affairs position in the administration of Gov. David A. Paterson.

Assemblyman Diaz had already obtained signatures for his petitions to get on the ballot for the Sept. 9 Democratic primary, when he decided not to run, so that placed the decision about a replacement on the ballot with a committee on vacancies, a five-member panel consisting of people close to the Bronx Democratic organization and its chairman, Assemblyman Jose Rivera.

After interviewing a number of aspirants, the committee selected Mr. Castro.

“I want to continue the work that Luis Diaz did in his years in the Assembly,” Mr. Castro said. “He did a lot of work with seniors and I want to continue that. I also want to develop more programs to keep kids in school and to expand on child care programs for women with kids.”

Of course, it will not be a completely easy run for Mr. Castro. He faces a Democratic primary opponent, Mike Soto. Mr. Soto is the brother of Richard Soto, a politically active business man in the Bronx who has run for office in the past. But Mr. Soto has campaigned little if at all and his telephone number is not accepting messages (the memory is full, the recording said).

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In the Bronx, a Rift Between Two Larrys

It is almost expected in the Bronx that elected officials will seek to have their children follow them into the world of politics. It is also true that yesterday’s friends can quickly become today’s political adversaries.

That seems to be the situation in a City Council race in the northeast section of the borough, covering Williamsbridge, Wakefield and Co-op City.

It looks as if Councilman Larry B. Seabrook is positioning his daughter, Latisha, to succeed him. Mr. Seabrook, who is barred by the city’s term limit laws from running for re-election next year, said that his daughter was looking seriously at running for his seat.

“She has involvement in the community,” Mr. Seabrook said of his daughter, who works as a manager in a city agency.

If she enters the race, she will face a rival for the seat who has been a longtime family friend, former Councilman Lawrence A. Warden.

Mr. Seabrook and Mr. Warden were once so closely aligned politically that they were known widely as “the two Larrys.” They belonged to the same political club. And in the 1990s, when Mr. Seabrook was a state senator and Mr. Warden served in the City Council, the two officials shared office space and often traveled together to political functions.

Mr. Seabrook left the State Senate in 2000 to mount a primary challenge (ultimately unsuccessful) to Representative Eliot L. Engel. Mr. Warden left the Council at the end of 2001, blocked by term limits from running for re-election, and Mr. Seabrook succeeded him in the Council.

After that, the Larrys drifted in different directions.

Mr. Warden, some Bronx Democrats said, was angered by what he considered Mr. Seabrook’s tepid support for his unsuccessful 2002 race for the State Senate.

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