Payne says he’s unbossed

Assemblyman Bill Payne on Tuesday targeted North Ward tough guy Steve Adubato, who backs Payne’s opponent in the district 29 senate race.

Speaking at a Newark fundraiser thrown for him by his brother, U.S. Rep. Donald Payne, the state Senate candidate dismissed M. Teresa Ruiz as a detail confined to the sprawling political canvas of Adubato -- and presented himself by contrast as a Civil Rights folk hero, who fought his way into Newark politics as an African American in tempestuous times, and who knew Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I can’t be bought, I can’t be intimidated,” said the candidate, flanked by his brother, his nephews, Assemblyman Craig Stanley, Councilman Donald Payne, Jr., and by State Sen. Ronald Rice. “Steve Adubato’s the elephant in the room. Everybody knows he’s behind this, and it’s frustrating to me. I have a record that says I’ve been able to produce for my district. You don’t punish people who have served you well. Because Bill Payne will not kowtow to Steve Adubato is the only way I’m not being supported.”

Standing on the 22nd floor of One Newark center, beside a framed picture of himself with King and Medgar Evers, Payne, a former state chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), reminded an audience of about 50 people that he was in public life to fulfill those ideals served by the martyrs of the movement.

“I will not allow anyone to disenfranchise us before it’s our time,” said the assemblyman, who had sought the party’s affirmation for a line A position on the ballot, but balked when a blender of other Democratic Party power players – namely Adubato, director of the North Ward Center, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker - said they were prepared to do nothing more than back his return to the assembly.

A nine-year legislative veteran in his mid-70s, Payne insisted on the senate, and failing negotiations, forwent the primary to regroup for a general election bid as an independent candidate. Using the presence they can muster on nearly all levels of government – city, state and federal – the Paynes showed that while they may have been bumped off the line in this race, they will not break from one another.

“He was always a trailblazer,” U.S. Rep. Payne said of his older brother. “I served in a supporting role, and I was able to benefit from his activities and his achievements. He laid the groundwork and forged the visions of the Paynes and I was able to capitalize on that.

“Voters will evaluate his experience, and we’ll elect him to a senate seat,” the congressman added. “There is no doubt about who’s most qualified. Now it’s about getting voters to the polls.” Happy to attend in support of the Paynes, Rice, who won a tough primary fight earlier this month in his re-election bid, maintained his attack on Mayor Cory Booker. Booker has allied himself with Adubato in the fight against Bill Payne, as he did in the district 28 primary race where the mayor hoped to finish off Rice, his perpetual foe.
Rice prevailed this time, and on Tuesday he offered himself as the smiling embodiment of what is politically possible.

“We have to send a message on election day, send a message about how we feel about this administration,” said Rice. “People sent me as the first tier. Electing Bill Payne to the state Senate is the second tier of the message.”

Stanley, who is contesting the results of a district 28 primary election he lost by a little over 100 votes, told the audience he remembers riding as a child in his grandfather’s car in 1962, when his Uncle Bill was running for city council.

“I didn’t exactly know what it was but I knew it was important,” he said of the column of cars that had formed in support of the elder Payne’s election bid.

“You’re still fighting for a cause, and I salute you, Uncle Bill,” Stanley said. “I salute you because you leave it all out on the field. God bless you.”

Among those attending the fundraiser were Bishop Edward Brittingham of Trenton, CEO and founder of Agape Comprehensive Community Services, Inc.; Ira D. Stern, representative of Local 108, RWDSU-UFCW; Terrence P. Zealand of the Aids Resource Foundation for children; and Roselle Mayor Garrett Smith.

“I ran off the line in Roselle,” said Smith. “I learned if you come in and run for the community with great ideas, if you don’t fall into party politics, people want to eliminate you and discredit you. I have worked with the Paynes and they have supported me from the very beginning. They have my full support, whether the party is behind them or not.”