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The Candidate From Vibe

July 2, 2008

Congressional challenger Kevin Powell of central Brooklyn is hoping to get elected to office, in part, on the strength of his association with famous people: He likes Barack Obama, and celebrities like him.

“Chuck D e-mailed me today,” Powell told The Observer, referring to the outspoken rapper made famous in the late 1980s and early ’90s with songs like “Fight the Power” and “911 is a Joke.” “He was driving in Montreal, Canada, and he said, ‘Kevin, I’m with you. Anything I can do for you, let me know.’”

Powell is attempting this year to unseat a 13-term incumbent, Representative Ed Towns, a Baptist minister who supported Hillary Clinton in the primary and whose absence from the campaign trail in 2006 (and so far this year) can make it hard to notice there’s an election happening.

He is trying to generate support for his cause not only by calling on the famous contacts made as a hip-hop journalist but, more significantly, by tapping into the network of activists and ordinary voters in the majority African-American district who supported Barack Obama in the Democratic nomination fight.

The strategy is no more unusual, or controversial, than the candidate himself.

Source: Observer Read the complete article here

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Written by NY Politics · Filed Under candidate 

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