Adam Clayton "A.C." Powell IV (born Adam Clayton Powell Diago;
Andy Newman. The New York Times. April 14, 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2014. in 1962) is an African American politician from the state of New York. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 2001 to 2010. From 1992 to 1997, he served as New York City Council Member representing East Harlem and parts of the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

and the South Bronx. Beginning in 2001, Powell represented the 68th Assembly District, which includes parts of

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

and East Harlem.Sabrina Tavernise, "No Charges for Legislator in Allegation of Sex Assault," ''New York Times'', October 8, 2006, found a
New York Times archives
Retrieved January 30, 2009. He was defeated by

Charles Rangel Charles Bernard Rangel (, ; born June 11, 1930) is an American politician who was a U.S. representative for districts in New York from 1971 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the Ho ...

in the 2010 Democratic Primary for the seat of the 15th Congressional District.

Early years

Powell was born to

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

leader and former congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and his third wife Yvette Diago in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

. He was named Adam Clayton Powell Diago, as is the Spanish naming custom of using the mother's surname as part of his official name. Powell's maternal grandfather Gonzalo Diago was a mayor of

and served as such from 1941 to 1945. When his parents separated, Powell's mother was granted custody, and he was raised and educated in Puerto Rico. In 1980, Powell moved to the mainland United States to study at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

in Washington, D.C.. He changed his surname by dropping his mother's surname "Diago". He then continued to use the name Adam Clayton Powell IV. This has caused confusion as his half-nephew, 8 years younger than he, was also named Adam Clayton Powell IV. He later earned a law degree from

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test t ...

in New York.Ebony
/ref>

Political career

Powell ran successfully for the New York City Council in 1991. Powell actually lost the Democratic primary vote by 34 votes to William (Bill) Del Toro in a seven-person field. Del Toro and his brother Assemblyman Angelo Del Toro, were powerful players in East Harlem politics for two decades with Angelo as a powerful Assembly committee chairman. Powell sued for a new election. His Campaign Manager Geoffrey L. Garfield, spent a month at the Board of Elections combing through every registered voter card (“buff card”) to ascertain whether non-Democrats voted in the primary. They found over 1,000 voters whom did not properly check the “party affiliation” box on the form. Del Toro sued to stop the effort by declaring “defective service” of legal documents to Del Toro’s home. Powell was successful in a hearing with an Elections Department Referee; on appeal the lower Supreme Court reversed the decision. Powell appealed to the state’s Appellate division where a five-judge panel ruled in Powell’s favor and mandated a Special Election the following week. Powell won 73-27 percent of the vote. (Source: Geoffrey L. Garfield, Campaign Manager) In 1994, Powell challenged Representative Charles B. Rangel for his seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, but lost. In 1997, he ran for

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

borough president, but lost to C. Virginia Fields. Powell worked for the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

(FEMA). In 2001, he participated and was arrested in the Vieques protests, which demanded the departure of the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

from that island. When Rangel retired in 2016, Powell ran again for the House seat. He lost to state Senator Adriano Espaillat.

Family life

Powell married Andrea Dial, a former ''Ebony'' fashion fair model. They had a son, Adam Clayton Powell V, before divorcing in the mid-1990s. Powell was a Co-Producer of “Keep the Faith, Baby!”, a Showtime/Paramount Television feature film on the life and career of his father Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

Controversies

Fundraising

When Powell ran for Congress in 1994, he raised $64,000, 10% of which came from residents of his state, while the remainder were donated by contributors from Miami and New Jersey, including $5000 from Free Cuba PAC, Inc., headed by leading Cuban-exile community figure Jorge Mas Canosa who made a $1000 personal donation to Powell.

Campaign funds

Powell spent $1,200 of his campaign funds traveling to Ireland.http://solanaanderik.com/articles/AlbanyCampaignSpending.pdf Powell said he accompanied several lawmakers on the Ireland trip, which was sponsored by the New York American-Irish Legislators Society as a means to raise awareness of the issues that affect the Irish community.

Vehicular charges

In 2008, Powell was arrested and charged for allegedly

driving while intoxicated Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

(DWI) on the Henry Hudson Parkway in New York City. He was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

of driving while intoxicated and found guilty of the lesser charge of driving while impaired. This charge is considered a

traffic violation A moving violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "motion" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include violations involving a ...

rather than a criminal conviction. One juror commented, "the whole thing is we didn't think he was drunk."

Congressional race, 2010

Powell lost to

in the 2010 primary for the 15th district.

References

External links

Adam Clayton Powell family tree contains a mini biography of Adam Clayton Powell IV
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Adam Clayton, Iv 1962 births Living people American politicians of Puerto Rican descent African-American state legislators in New York (state) Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics Fordham University School of Law alumni Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) Howard University alumni Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly New York City Council members People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Powell family of New York 21st-century American politicians African-American New York City Council members Hispanic and Latino American New York City Council members