Things got down and dirty today in the 43rd Assembly District race today, when Working Families Party Candidate Diana Richardson confronted a man who was going into shops along Nostrand Avenue and tearing down all the ‘Vote for Richardson’ campaign posters.
Richardson said she was campaigning in the district when she received a call from a shop owner that tutors children that a man barged into their storefront and began tearing down the Richardson posters and stating he actually worked for the Richardson campaign.
Then Richardson received several calls from other shop owners along Nostrand that the man was doing the same thing in their stores.
At this point, Richardson said she grabbed a campaign worker and took off down Nostrand Avenue and caught up with the man around Nostrand and Prospect Place, where the man said he worked for her. Richardson told her aide to record the conversation on their cell phone, where the man said he was hired from Richardson’s office on Nostrand and Montgomery Street.
The office on Nostrand and Montgomery belongs to rival candidate Shirley Patterson. Richardson’s office is further into the Lefferts Garden side of the district on Nostrand between Midwood and Maple Streets.
Patterson’s office could not be reached for comment. Patterson also failed to show up for last night’s NY1 debate, leaving some pundits to speculate that her failure to appear was because she feels a debate can only hurt her campaign.
But a source from the Independence Party, which is the line Patterson is running on, said that Patterson’s campaign focusses only on knocking on doors and talking to voters on issues that matter most to them such as affordable housing.
“This is a smear tactic by a desperate Richardson campaign who paid the guy to take tear down her own posters for a story,” the source said.
Richardson called that charge ridiculous and that she feels bad that the election is quickly moving away from issues and into thuggery.
“This kind of bad politics is not good for our community. This race should be about the issues, clean campaigning and showing up for debates to get your platforms across,” said Richardson.
Also in the race is Geoffrey Davis and Menachem Raitport in a district that includes Crown heights, East Flatbush, Lefferts Garden and Wingate. The election is May 5.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include remarks from the Independence Party.
