Mark D. Levine. Photo: markdlevine.com

A candidate for a position on New York City’s 7th Council District referred to his opponent as a “White/Jewish candidate” and said that he was trying “to sneak into office like a thief in the night.”

Thomas Lopez-Pierre, an African-American, made the remarks in emails sent to the Douglass Grant Democratic Club. The subject line of the email was: “A White/Jewish City Council Member representing Upper Manhattan?”

In an interview with the Jewish Week Lopez-Pierre said, ‘I don’t hate Jews; I love black people. I love political empowerment. … A black person has represented the district for many years, and we don’t want to see the black and Latino caucus be minus one.”

Lopez Pierre also said in the same interview, “I don’t want a councilman that represents all the people; I want a councilman who represents my community.” The 7^th District is located in upper Manhattan, which he says has a 70 percent minority population.

“They said those Jews are gonna lynch you,” Lopez-Pierre told the Jewish Week. “But because I work for myself, I don’t have to answer to anyone. I have the cojones, the balls, to send out this e-mail.”

Ron Meier, New York director of the Anti-Defamation League, told The Jewish Week “introducing race and religion into a city council election as a stand-in for qualifications is offensive to all voters in the district and offensive to the democratic process.”

Commenting on Lopez-Pierre’s allegations, Levine would only say that the remarks were “so outrageous they don’t even merit a response.”