Charles Barron

Charles Barron is the Council Member for the District 42 in New York. He is well known for his outspoken criticisms of Mayor Giuliani, Mayor Bloomberg, the police among many other things. After being elected in 2001, Mark Goldblatt of The American Spectator reported that “he spent his first day on the job petitioning to remove a painting of Thomas Jefferson from City Hall and replace it with one of Malcolm X.” It's not surprising that he was a member of the Black Panthers.

Recently at parade supporting Haiti in Flatbush called “Haiti We Love You,” Charles Barron made a speech. According to Ian Frazier from the New Yorker, “Charles Barron, a member of the City Council, suggested that the recent earthquake might have been caused deliberately by something called 'induced seismicity.'” I called Barron's office to check if he really believed that. As of this writing, my phone call has not been returned.

Barron has made inflammatory remarks. In the summer of 2002, Mark Goldblatt also reported that he said at the Reperations March in Washington, D.C., “I want to go up to the closest white person and say 'you can't understand this, it's a black thing' and then slap him, just for my mental health.”

Although he is best known for his controversial comments, Barron has done many things for his district sionce being elected. According to his page on The New York City Council site, “in the winter and spring of 2003, Barron delivered $280,000 to senior citizen programs in his district.” He also has helped secure funding for a recreation center (12.5 million), for renovating a a park in district 42(1.2 million) and helping with issues surrounding scholarships and funding at CUNY.