Yesterday, Erick Salgado joined the crowd of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor, holding a large campaign kickoff rally on the steps of City Hall.  (He has previously been campaigning and raising money – you can watch our report from a candidate forum he attended in March here.)

Salgado, a Brooklyn pastor little known in politics, staged an impressive rally.  His campaign brought in 300 supporters for his energetic speech.  Raised in Puerto Rico, he speaks english with a thick accent and somewhat jumbled syntax.  He nonetheless is engaging and charismatic, holding his audience in both english and spanish.  As he put it during his speech:  “I speak with an accent, I’m proud of it, but I don’t think with an accent.”

Notable supporters at the rally included Senator Ruben Diaz and Gregory Davidzon, the politically active operator of an influential russian-language radio station.  (We spoke with Senator Diaz about the arrest of his fellow Bronx Democrat Eric Stevenson – you can watch it here.)

He faces many challenges, but comes with some real strengths.  Watch our report for a full analysis.

Here is a more extensive set of clips from Salgado’s rally, including segments in spanish.