Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 5 July 2007 — Page 43

The Muncie Times • July 5, 2007 • Page 43

NEWS BRIEFS

continued on page 39 says regardless of a father's occupation, "if you're in the home, that's leadership. That's the role of a man. So, he is providing, he is loving, he is nurturing, he is teaching. Without that, then it falls to a woman. A woman cannot understand how to be a man. And when that man is absent, it falls to the uncles, the church, to the community and to the village." Often the village means the drug dealers, the gang leaders, domineering friends or whatever figures of authority comes into the life of a child. More often than not, that translates into a life of crime leading to prison or death that could have been prevented. "The power of the black father could be a revolutionizing force. Provided that more black fathers would adhere to the tradition of what fatherhood is all about instead of being one who plants the seed and does not fulfill his obligation in terms of what family really means," says John Smith, chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the official press for the conference. Richmond veteran politician, who endorsed Republican

in 2006, loses Demo nomination RICHMOND, Va.-He had far less money and a lot less seniority than his opponent. But A. Donald McEachin had a message compelling enough to sweep him to victory in the Democratic primary election for a Virginia Senate on June 5: “Vote for the True Democrat,” his campaign slogan stated. Voters agreed, giving Delegate McEachin won over veteran Richmond Sen. Benjamin J. Lambert III, whose defeat ends a 29year tenure in state political office. It was a backlash. A majority of voters apparently were angered at Lambert for turning his back on Democrat Party loyalty and endorsing conservative, proConfederate Republican George Allen in last year’s U.S. Senate race. To voters and political observers alike, that move alone sealed Lambert’s fate in the majority black 9th District, encompassing parts of Richmond and Henrico and all of Charles City County. McEachin, who currently represents the 74th House District, won big majorities in all three jurisdictions, with Lambert loyalists unable

to stem the tide of disapproval. Unofficial results show ed McEachin winning 58 percent of the vote to Sen. Lambert’s 42 percent. The vote total was 6,145 to 4,418. Describing himself as happy and humble on Tuesday night, McEachin was gra cious about the man he defeated. In his victory remarks to a cheering group of more than 100 supporters, he said:. “Sen. Lambert is to be commended for his 30 years of service, and not just serving, but his willingness to serve.. He represents one of the finest families in Richmond. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart.” His wife, jubilant and proud parents and three teenage daughters were nearby as McEachin went on to thank the volunteers, campaign staff, politicians and union officials for their roles in making him a winner. With the Democratic Party nomination in hand, the 46-year-old McEachin is regarded as a shoo-in to win the November general election and to take office in January. No Republican candidate is vying for the seat, or any wellfunded independents. McEachin served in the House of Delegates from 1996 to 2002, before giving up the 74th

District seat to run unsuccessfully for attorney general. He regained the seat in 2005 with an upset primary victory over then-Delegate Floyd H. Miles Sr. McEachin came into Tuesday’s primary race with recognition from sponsoring a state apology for slavery. He waged the primary with a $125,000 war chest, about a third the size of the $404,000 amassed by. Lambert, 70. Critics applaud proposal to test NYPD officers for alcohol use NEW YORK CITY, N.Y—’’Never mind just a breathalyzer, psychological testing should be mandatory for all police officers,” char ged Phyllis Clayburne, the Brooklyn mother of police shooting victim Timothy Stansbury. And what about testing their racism? What about that? Ask the likes of activist Carol Taylor. Mixed are the reactions in New York City central and the outer boroughs to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly’s Committee for the Review of Undercover Procedures 19-point plan to refurbish an NYPD w>th a tarnished reputation; particularly in the wake

of the police shooting deaths of Timothy Stansbury, Ousmane Zongo, Sean Bell and Fermin Arzu. Throw into the mix the frequently tense relationship the police department’s foot soldiers, and even top brass, has with the inner city community, fling in the almost obligatory, constant charges of police brutality, and things are not looking up for police/community affairs. The level of mistrust and disrespect co-exists like it was carved in stone on some unofficial dictate. It is unfortunate. It is big city reality, however. So when Commissioner Kelly announced this week that he was recommending mandatory alcohol testing of undercover officers involved in fatal or even non-fatal shootings, there was not so much as thunderous applause, as the sound of crickets in some quarters and hisses from police and detective unions in others. Reverend A1 Sharpton, president of National Action Network, called it “a small step towards justice as a result of the Sean Bell tragedy.” Bell’s widow Nicole Paultre-Bell echoed the same sentiment. continued on page 44