The feud between 1st Ward Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe and state Representative and 1st Ward Committeewoman Yaphet El Amin erupted in full form at a Board of Aldermen committee meeting recently. The tussle that caused El Amin and Troupe’s slow-burning dispute to explode publicly stems from El Amin and her husband’s objection to what they describe as the lack of public dialogue about a board bill introduced by Troupe (Board Bill 213) that would designate the entire 1st Ward as a conservation district.
The designation of the entire ward as a conservation district would result in the establishment of more stringent building inspection standards for the residential and commercial property in the 1st Ward. Yaphet and her husband, 1st Ward Committeeman Talebdin El Amin, attending a recent Board of Aldermen meeting and requested that a vote on the bill be delayed to get more “public dialogue” on the impact of the bill. Troupe responded by forcing a vote on the measure.
When 22nd Ward Alderman Jeffrey Boyd, a close ally of the El Amins’, voiced his concerns, Troupe allegedly asked Boyd to stay out of the 1st Ward (which would be difficult to do, since Boyd’s mama lives in the ward).
Troupe and the El Amins were once intimate allies. In fact, Troupe appointed Yaphet as Democratic committeewoman and was instrumental in her successful election as 57th District state representative in 2000. Word on the street has it that the El Amin and Troupe’s relationship hit splitsville when Troupe won the 1st Ward aldermanic seat this spring. Troupe wanted Yaphet to appoint someone other than her husband as committeeman, but Yaphet decided that blood is thicker than mud. How this plays out in Yaphet’s quest to win the 4th District state Senate seat has yet to be revealed, but the EYE will bet money that Troupe will not be on her supporters list.