Black groups watch debate

By GLENN BLAIN, THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: October 14, 2004)

MOUNT VERNON — As a supporter of President Bush, Cicely Greaves-Vega expected to be in the minority at the debate-watching party she attended last night. But that was nothing new.
Greaves-Vega is president of the Black Republicans of Westchester and is often outnumbered.

"It happens a lot, but that's fine," she quipped. "I don't mind being part of a true minority."

Greaves-Vega was among about two dozen people who attended the debate party organized by the African American Chamber of Commerce of Westchester and Rockland Counties and co-sponsored by the Black Democrats of Westchester and the Black Republicans of Westchester.

Although most polls show that black voters overwhelmingly support Sen. John Kerry, the party at the First Presbyterian Church was intended to provide a bipartisan forum for people to hear what both presidential candidates had to offer and to show that blacks are open to "whoever can deliver for the minority business community," said chamber President Robin Douglas.

Last night's debate was the third and final contest between Bush and Kerry before Election Day. Unlike the previous two, however, this debate was focused entirely on domestic and economic issues, which was of special importance to minority business owners, Douglas said.

To get things started, Mount Vernon Mayor Ernest Davis, a Democrat, and Charles Smith, area vice president of the Black Republican Council, spoke to the audience on behalf of their candidates. Then the audience settled in for the debate.
While the party was billed as bipartisan, the Kerry contingent seemed, if not larger, much louder than their Bush counterparts. Several Bush statements were met with giggles and winces on the part of many in the audience.

"Every time I hear the president speak, I wonder how he got into office in the first place," said Monica Johnson, 33, owner of a communications and graphic design business in White Plains.
"The president is extremely flustered," said Derek Keno, 37, a White Plains native who now lives in Newburgh, N.Y. "He's yelling again, like he did in the first debate."

Keno said he's a Republican but will likely vote for Kerry because Bush is too conservative. He added that "conservative doesn't mean fiscal conservative anymore, it means social conservative."

Other Republicans in the audience argued, however, that Bush offered a strong message that should resonate with minorities and their families.
"A black person trying to provide for his family lives by a conservative view: You go out, work hard and make something of yourself," said Denny London, a builder from Mount Vernon and a Republican.