Rep. Rangel to Run for 23rd Term

Has been representing Harlem forever

So what if he was censured three years ago? Rep. Charles Rangel, the Democrat who has represented Harlem since 1971, will run for reelection next fall. Why? Well, he writes in a Daily News op-ed, "The President needs an ally who commands the attention of Congress when he speaks."

Rangel explains, "Over this past year, I have been one of the most outspoken defenders of the President and Democrats' agenda. I was there to lead the historic healthcare reform bill into passage and fought hard against Republican obstructionism to repeal it. I am fighting hard against their antics to derail our efforts to implement it and will continue to do so."

The 83-year-old Congressman was censured for numerous ethics violations, like his multiple rent-stabilized apartments, financial mishaps and his work to solicit donations for a City College center named after himself. Rangel had pointed out his misdeeds were not corruption or other things ("I did not go to bed with kids, I did not hurt the house speaker, I did not start a revolution against the United States of America") but he did, as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, do things like preserve a tax loophole that saved an oil company hundreds of millions (the company's executive promised $1 million to the CUNY school being named after Rangel).