Former Bronx BP Hints Of Possible Homecoming
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Former Bronx borough president Adolfo Carrion, who left last year to take a job in the Obama administration, hinted Thursday that he may be setting his sights on an elected office closer to home. NY1's Bobby Cuza filed the following report.Adolfo Carrion came home Thursday to a hero’s welcome. The son of the Bronx has been in Washington D.C. for a year, directing President Barack Obama's urban policy, and keeping a low media profile. But it’s clear he’s still beloved in his hometown.
"This smile that you see on my face, I’m having difficulty wiping it off, because it is so good to be home in New York," Carrion said.
Carrion was in New York on Thursday giving a speech to transportation planners in Manhattan, then helping cut the ribbon at a new Boys & Girls Club in Morris Heights that once was an abandoned, graffiti-covered blight on the neighborhood. It was a project he helped shepherd as Bronx borough president.
"I remember seeing the building for a long time and being troubled by the fact there was a symbol of urban decay in this part of the Bronx that the kids in this neighborhood had to walk by every single day," Carrion said.
Carrion's name was often mentioned as a possible candidate for mayor in the lead-up to last year’s election. He ultimately took aim instead at city comptroller, but all that changed when he was tapped by the Obama White House last February.
As the White House Director of Urban Affairs, Carrion coordinates federal aid to cities. Whether he plans to run for mayor in 2013 or beyond, Carrion wouldn’t say, but hinted he has a plan.
"The tools and the knowledge that I now am acquiring in terms of how this federal government actually works I think will be very useful to my home city in the future," Carrion said.
Some believe Carrion is the Democrats’ brightest hope, should he choose to run -- a sentiment echoed by many of his longtime friends.
"He’s a tremendous relational person. And I feel sorry for whoever’s going to run against him," said Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Daniel Quintero.
When asked what office he would seek upon his return, Carrion responded by saying "We’ll see what happens."