Concannon Responds to Robocall Criticism

State Senate candidate Joe Concannon’s campaign responded Thursday to Tony Avella’s criticism of a robocall that the senator and his supporters accused of having racial undertones.

Avella and some of his supporters said they were upset by a recent robocall that referenced the senator’s attendance at the city’s Muslim Day Parade, but also mentioned that he previously worked for Mayor David Dinkins and accused him of supporting Councilman Charles Barron, D-Brooklyn, a former Black Panther, and activist Sonny Carson.

Avella said the call failed to mention that he stormed out of the parade after a speaker made anti-American statements.

Concannon’s campaign sent out a statement Thursday on the matter.

“Tony Avella is a career politician who does not want to answer for his mistakes and his propensity to pander,” the statement read. “It is a matter of public record that Avella supported honoring Sonny Carson, a race baiting anti-Semite, when few of his colleagues did and supported spending taxpayer money to do it. Avella also voted consistently with Charles Barron, a former Black Panther and racial huckster so out of the mainstream the DNC and President [Barack] Obama endorsed his primary opponent, Hakeem Jeffries, at least in part to keep him from becoming a national embarrassment.”

The statement goes on to accuse of Avella of not speaking out enough against statements during the Muslim Day Parade.

“Avella can be downright bombastic about anything from bus stops to sidewalk cracks, but he refused to speak out against these offensive comments,” Concannon’s statement read. “Well, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to remain silent.”

Avella could not be reached immediately for comment on Concannon's statement.

Bayside resident Andy Rothman told Patch earlier this week that he was offended by the robocall because he felt it referenced Dinkins, Barron and Carson because all of them were black.