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Tw o Letters You M ay H ave M is s e d ...OPEN LETTER TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE 14th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, NEW YORKDear Neighbor:As painful as this task is, I must disclose to you that certain public allegations have been made against me and a criminal charge will be brought for an act of solicitation.The facts are that I made solicitations with payment of money to a young man beginning almost a year ago, and, as a result of those solicitations, last February 1 made further solicitations with payment of money, in my own home, to a man who unbeknownst to me was an undercover police officer. Nothing more happened.1 prayerfully ask for your compassion and understanding at this extremely difficult time for myself, my parents, my son, my staff%u2014and for you.I cannot offer any logical explanation. During various periods of personal stress I made bad judgments involving my private life. To all of you who have worked on my behalf, supported me in various social, political, civic, business and community efforts and offered friendship, 1 apologize from the bottom of my heart for any hurt I may have caused.1 have been aware of these intense pressures for some time and, accordingly, have sought appropriate professional advice. 1 will continue to seek such advice. I believe that, with an unshakeable faith in God and a firm belief in the human capacity for understanding and compassion, my family and I will survive this ordeal.1 am advised that I am eligible for the First Offender Treatment Program in the District of Columbia. Accordingly, 1 have requested such treatment, which will involve a not guilty plea and my agreement to comply with certain required conditions including, principally, the continuation of professional treatment. After a specified period of time for compliance with such conditions, I am advised that the charge against me will be dismissed.The most obvious questions that must be asked, of course, concern not myself, but the future of my work for the people of New York and above all, my work for the people of the 14th Congressional District.My concern must be and is for the people I was elected to serve. It is my hope that my record of community involvement, congressional activity and civic endeavor will be judged on its own merits. The goals 1 have worked for as a public citizen, a member of the City Council and in the Congress will continue to establish the guidelines for my professional activities. My active dedication to these goals will not be diminished.Fred Richmond\By Geoffrey StokesDear Congressman Richmond,During the last four years, you have become a wonderful congressman%u2014clearly the best of the New York delegation, and one of the best in the country. I don't know a single person seriously concerned with nutrition who doesn t respect the work you've done on a wide range of issues concerning food and agribusiness; you have a skilled, devoted staff, which provides an extraordinary range of services in the district; and you have about as good a voting record as I can imagine. Partly for these reasons, 1 think you'll be reelected. For other reasons, however, 1 will not vote for you.They concern, of course, what you call \itself misleading, for there was more than an incident. There were at least two, separated by several months. In each case, you attempted to use your money to turn a human being into an instrument of your own pleasure. One of those human beings was a kid my son s age; he was also poor. The other, to your chagrin, was an undercover cop. Both of them were black.Both of them, too, were male%u2014a fact that will obviously hurt you in some parts of the district, but might even help in others. For myself, there is nothing like having a teenage son to give one a keen appreciation of how vulnerable to exploitation kids are left by their erratic veering between clarity and contusion.What counts for me, however, is that the incidents and your reaction to them indicate your continuing belief %u2014a belief amply demonstrated by your electoral career%u2014that everyone is for sale, and that your considerable wealth gives you the right to buy whatever you want. That belief has been at the heart of your worst political acts, but it has also cheapened your apparent generosity. For this, at least, you have the compassion your letter requested.Sincerely,A constituentVILLAGE VOICE, June 19, 1978...A n d One To Help You D ecideR A M S E Y C L A R KDear Friends,Bernard Gifford is running for Congress in the 14th Congressional District of New York. He is a person of highest personal integrity, competence and commitment. He will be a much needed major force for social change in the Congress.Bernie comes out of the urban poverty of Bedford-Stuyvesant. He learned its bitterness and inhumanity from the great teacher, experience. He doesn't want other children to attend that school. His understanding and passion can help us abandon our tragic pattern of paternalism in dealing with urban poverty. He knows fulfillment of the individual comes from freedom and dignity that paternalism and poverty deny. He is a driven liberal activist.Only 35, Bernie Gifford, after consistent academic excellence, has risen from poverty to a Ph.D. Here is a Phi Beta Kappa who has held a JFK Institute of Politics Fellowship and served as Deputy Chancellor of the New York City school system.He can bring his people of the 14th C.D. the representation and service they, the Congress, and the nation so desperately need. He can win.But he runs against a millionaire incumbent who buys political power with personal wealth. He runs in a District where machine politics has dominated and people have been systematically excluded. He will be heavily outspent, but can overcome if he has enough money to carry his message to the people.He needs your support and contribution now, and your vote September 12th.I urge you to lend Bernie Gifford a hand.Sincerely,Ramsey ClarkThese people have decided they want Bernard Gifford for Congress:Frank C. Arricale, II Reverend Samuel Austin Assemblyman Frank Barbara State Senator Vander Beatty Kenneth Clark Ramsey Clark Pedro Cordero Ossie DavisPeter Eikenberry Don ElliottCongressman Robert Garcia Grand Rabbi Israel Halberstam Alex Haley Evelyn Jimenez Reverend William Jones Dr. Seymour P. Lachman endorsed! by The Village VoiceBruce Llewellyn Jewell Jackson McCabe Richard Ravitch Councilman Robert Rodriguez Rabbi Chaim M. Stauber Percy SuttonAssemblyman Albert Vann Nancy WolfGifford for CongressTuesday, September 12 Democratic Primary[%u2019 a id fo r b y th e B ern a rd R G ilf o r d fo r C o ngress C o m m itte e 21 S m ith S treet. B ro o k ly n . N V. 11201. B e n ja m in E. F e n m . tre a su re r 855-2245 A c o p y o l o u r re p o rt is o n tile w ith th e fe d e ra l E le ction C o m m is s io n a nd m ay be p urchased fro m the Federal E le ctio n C o m m is s io n , W a s h in g to n , D .C 20463September 7,1978, THE PHOENIX. Pam 9