Pridgen blasts School Board

The Buffalo Board of Education voted to rescind the residency requirement for teachers at a meeting on Wednesday. The public was not informed of this discussion. It was done very quietly behind closed doors, because the Board knew it would be controversial.

Buffalo Common Councilmember Darius Pridgen is rightly outraged. People in the city need jobs. The teacher who lives in the city is going to add to his/her street. They will shop at the neighborhood supermarket and contribute to the local economy. From my experience in organizing youth sports, I can say many teachers have served as great volunteer coaches for their own kids, also. If the children in the city don't have teachers on their streets to look up to as role models, they will model themselves after the gang leaders and drug dealers that we know are on their streets. The taxpayers of Buffalo are the employers for the Buffalo Schools. They have a right to decide whether this is a good law or not. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go to the beach in Hamburg (Oh wait, I can't. It's for Town residents only.)...

Share|

Rev. Pridgen reacts to Buffalo News story

The Reverend Darius Pridgen reacted today from the pulpit on the Buffalo News story from Sunday's paper discussing the criminal pasts of the City Grill shooting victims:



As I've stated before on this site, I like Darius Pridgen's style. I think he's going to defeat Curtis Haynes for a position on the Buffalo Common Council. It's unfortunate, because Haynes is a very intelligent leader also, something which Buffalo is in short supply of these days. I can certainly understand Pridgen's anger towards the News. He knew some of the victims personally ( even mentioning that he baptized two of them recently). I would like to think that the Buffalo News would have mentioned the victims' criminal past had they been white instead of black.

It would be great if a leader as charasmatic as Pridgen could use this tragedy to help change the gun laws. Cities like Buffalo need to do something drastic to make it less easy for young people to get their hands on illegal guns. That's the first step. People selling the guns to the criminals need to be prosecuted. In other countries, the only people able to obtain firearms are legitimate hunters. Somebody out there is being greedy and the end result is gang members walking around with guns.I don't know what the answer is, but I'm sure a guy like Pridgen would have some very good suggestions.

The other two problems in both poor white and poor black communities are the breakdown of the traditional family and a complete lack of respect for the importance of education. Until those three issues (guns, family, and education) are seriously addressed within the poorer communities, tragedies like the one at the City Grill will continue. I have confidence that someone like Reverand Pridgen will step up with some solutions to these issues that have been around for at least two generations now.

Share

Common Council:"Look who we've got our Haynes on now"

The Common Council's ruling majority selected Curtis Haynes to replace Bryan Davis for the Ellicott District seat. This is a tough call. The Common Council traditionally chooses the candidate recommended by the district committeemen to fill the vacancy. However, the council according to the city charter, is not bound by this recommendation. I actually liked both of the frontrunners Darius Pridgen and Curtis Haynes. Pridgen is beloved by members of his church and has proven to be a great organizer. Haynes is a respected Buff State Professor with some great ideas on urban planning. I think both would do an excellent job on the council.Reverend Pridgen won the committee vote by a one vote margin. For reasons I cannot understand, disgraced Councilmember Davis (who is also an Ellicott Committeeman) was allowed to vote for his successor. He voted for Pridgen who is aligned with Brown.

I don't think the district committemen represent the will of the people. They represent the will of the Democratic party bosses but not the will of the residents. In South Buffalo, this has happened twice recently when the late Jimmy Griffin resigned from the council and Mark Schroeder moved from the County Legislature to state office. The neighborhood committeemen in those cases chose Jeff Conrad and Tim Kennedy respectfully, two intellectually challenged party hacks handpicked by Brian Higgins. Neither one of them was capable of leading themselves out of a paper bag. Neighborhood committeemen are widely known as partisan bottom feeders only looking out for themselves. I should know. I was one for like 10 years.

Back to today, check out the audio tape on the following link to hear the contentious debate that went on. If there was only a second vote to remove all of these guys...
Over protests, Council appoints Haynes : Home: The Buffalo News

Council Should Appoint Pridgen to Vacant Post

I've always believed that city residents should pick their own representatives. That sounds great in theory but in practice, it is often the neighborhood political goons who manipulate the process.

In the Ellicott District, Brian Davis has been forced to give up his seat and several people are vying for it. Here's how the process works.The neighborhood committeemen and women recommend someone (usually a like minded bottom feeder) to the Common Council. The council traditionally rubber stamps their appointment and the city goes on operating in it's typical dysfunctional way.

This time, it's different. The council's majority is an all white faction, composed of people in direct opposition to Mayor Brown. The Ellicott committemen will recommend someone but the all white majority on the Common Council are under no legal obligation to go with their choice. They, in essence get to pick from the several candidates being interviewed for the $50,000/year post.

East side residents recently showed up wearing all red clothing in a show of unity behind the Reverend Darius Pridgen from the True Bethel Baptist Church. In my opinion, the council should select Pridgeon from this field. He is clearly the candidate most respected by residents of this district. Any other choice would be motivated by politics. I wouldn't want Damone Smith telling me who should be the next South District Councilmember. Dave (I've been in office for 100 years) Franczyk shouldn't get to pick Davis' successor.

Pridgen could be the person best suited to bridge the racial divide on the council. He has been known to speak out on controversial issues. Recently, he called for his congregation to help capture the black teenagers accused of beating up a white high school student for having a black girlfriend. I believe he is the most independent of all the serious candidates. Pridgen is also a great organizor. His church has grown tremendously under his watch and even has a Subway Restaurant inside of it. In the end, I think the council will have no choice but to select him. But with this group and Buffalo politics, you never know?
Pridgen supporters for Council seat pack interview : Buffalo/Erie County : The Buffalo News

Pridgen's Act of Kindness

The Reverend Darius Pridgen invited Brian Milligan and his family to his church yesterday. Milligan is the young white teen beaten by three black teens for no apparent reason except his color. Milligan dates a young black girl. Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts has even called for the defendants to be charged with a hate crime.

In a great act of kindness, Pridgen and his congregation handed Milligan a check for $600 and gave him a standing ovation. Milligan seems like a good young guy. He just wants the defendants to tell him why they attacked him. He has no memory of the attack. When asked why they attacked Milligan, one of the defendants told detectives, "because we felt like it." I hope this statement gets them the maximum sentence.

I give Pridgen credit for speaking out on controversial issues like this one. Weeks ago, he called on his congregation to help find the attackers. Milligan's father believed this helped in the investigation. Random acts of violence like this should never be tolerated. However, Pridgen deserves credit for trying to make something positive come out of the situation.
Congregation opens its heart to beating victim*