The race for mayor is on and I see a phenomena swirling through the political landscape.

It is that of the "flip-flop" Latino vote and of political position.

We saw this "thing" eight years ago in the defeat of David Dinkins.

"Cambio, Cambio" was the cry throughout the streets of our city in the final weeks of that campaign.

We saw Herman Badillo and Charles Rivera switch sides and influence a percentage of Hispanics to vote against the first African American mayor in a close and bitter election. In fact, in the second Rudy Giuliani/Dinkins race, a significant number of Hispanics made the switch.

Seven years after the quiet person of color political coup that went virtually un-noticed, and changed history, Blacks were asked to forget what happened and unite behind Fernando Ferrer to make him the first Hispanic mayor in the city.

Freddy was certainly qualified to have the job. But a movement of Black and Latino elected officials, no doubt with either short memories or an understanding of political bedfellowing, also fell in behind the push for a Ferrer Mayoralty.

In the last week of the run-off campaign, the conservative element of Mark Green’s campaign launched scare tactics towards the voting populous making much ado about the Sharpton factor in the Ferrer camp — an effort that Blacks and Black elected officials would likely find more offensive than our fair-haired Latino brothers and sisters would.

In the end, it gave Green the edge in the final count with yet another close finish.

But now, after Black elected officials, a number of unions and even Freddy Ferrer himself decided to move on and support the Democratic ticket, there appears to be a movement afoot in the Hispanic community to dislodge Green’s run at Gracie Mansion by choosing to support Republican Michael Bloomberg.

Is it because Bloomberg is the right man for the job?

No, clearly they were ready to vote against him if it were Freddy’s name on the ballot.

The more than 50 percent of Latinos polled who say they will vote for Bloomberg, are basically pissed that their man isn’t in the post and now they are going to show everyone just how mad they are.

It’s kind of like people rioting in their own neighborhood to show the world how mad they are — burning down their own stores, beating their own people, and destroying their own community to make a point. Most rational people would say that kind of action doesn’t make a point at all. In fact, for many, it would just be an opportunity to steal with little hope of getting caught.

If we are to be a community of people who are people of color and who want the political, economic, and social landscape to reflect the actual diversity of this city, we cannot wear the mantle of "minority" only when it suits a particular purpose.

As Black people we live, eat, breathe it and we can’t simply slip out of costume.

Vote for someone because you believe in his record, his philosophy, or because you like his commercials, not because he has a surname like yours or because you’re pissed the guy who won doesn’t have one like yours.

In the end, I don’t want things around me messed up in the post Sept 11th era because of some machismo act of payback.

I want to know the people here made up their mind based on the issues they feel matter.

Look at it this way, the commander-in-chief is President now not just because ten thousand elderly voters mishandled their ballots, but also because Ralph Nader, a guy who was pissed off at everyone, chose to put himself in position to siphon millions of votes from the Democratic party.

If it weren’t for war, well, we’ll never know.