Report from the first 59 1/2 minutes of Thursday night's NYC Mayoral Forum


(by mgh)

A 500-seat auditorium unfilled by 150 Democrats: many women, many African-Americans, several BlackBerries, a bevy of digital cameras and cell phones, at least one laptop. At rostrum, two angled tables: the right occupied by four larynxes from WWRL, amplifier of Armstrong Williams (paid-off right-wing shill) and Alan Colmes (who does it free); the left occupied by the four esteemed minds, hearts, hands and souls who propose to deliver us from Bloomberg.

They are:

Congressman Anthony Weiner, the scrappy fighter with the funny name. "I may not look like much, but I can handle myself."

City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, the experienced executive. He will form a tantric mantra with the phrase "voluntary inclusionary zoning" later in the night.

Former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, the crowd favorite. He collects applause just by saying "Section 8 housing vouchers."

Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, the jobs and schools candidate. More on that below.

Noticeably absent from the evening was any sign of internecine quarrel. Two candidates made a special point of praising their competitors' competence ("any of them on their worst days are better than Michael Bloomberg on his best day"), and no candidate offered an attack, zinger, or unflattering comparison with any other, contrary to the who-rebuked-whom stories on which The New York Times has chosen to concentrate its coverage.

Also in the lost + found last night were all topics unrelated to the economy, specifically anything other than Housing, Taxes, Jobs, and Education (which was framed as an economic not social issue: get kids job-ready and reduce unemployment in years to come). Gay marriage, citywide recycling, the smoking ban, taxis and subways, anti-terror and security, all fell to the image of mayor as CEO of Big Apple, Inc.

Possibly the candidates have unwittingly allowed Bloomberg to frame the office of mayor to his advantage; possibly they just don't think Bloomberg's that bad on social issues. As one questioner asked, How do you run against Michael Bloomberg when he himself is a Democrat who only registered Republican to run for mayor? As Giff Miller responded, "I don't think he is a Democrat because no Democrat would turn into a Republican in order to run." He's right — Bloomberg is no Democrat, on social issues any more than fiscal issues.

But fiscal issues were the order of the night. Here's what I got out of it:

• Fields' flagship jobs proposal is to create a deputy mayor post for minority employment, to get the nearly-half of the city's African-American men and the nearly-third of the city's Hispanic men who are unemployed back in steady jobs. It would be helpful if she would name her prospective deputy, so that person may be asked how he or she will do it.

• Ferrer's core proposal last night was a half-penny-per-share tax on stock trades, revenue from which he said will be put primarily into schools with a "small proportion" reinvested in Wall Street. He said the new tax would be paid for mainly by "day traders and speculators," using the same tone that the other side reserves for "trial lawyers," "activist judges," and "Massachusetts liberals." On education, Ferrer broached the idea of returning free tuition to CUNY but stopped short of endorsing it.

• Miller departed the jobs-and-housing theme to highlight his record on health issues like emergency contraception for sexual assault victims and restrictions on lead paint. His musings on voluntary vs. mandatory inclusionary zoning, in which builders are incentivized or required to create affordable housing along with commercial space, showed a firm grasp of the policy issues but a perhaps lighter grasp of his audience. On the economy, Miller emphasized the need to get "New York City's fair share" from Washington and Albany, and Bloomberg's failure to stand up to Bush or Pataki.

• Weiner delivered the most specific plans of the candidates, at the cost of holding any single banner high. He proposed a ten-percent tax cut for those making less than $150,000/year off-set partly by a new tax increase "on millionaires." On education, he seemed to advocate either cutting or halting the expansion of special academies, gifted and talented programs, or other advanced outreach programs, investing instead in making regular class sizes smaller; he would maintain mayoral control of the schools system; and he indicated he would let teachers and principals take a harder line against disruptive students. On housing, he wanted to take advantage of Section 202 housing for the elderly, which provides federal aid for seniors living in private housing with some support services, moving them out of their larger apartments and freeing those spaces for the rental market.

Any of the candidates would be a fine replacement for Bloomberg; any one could beat him; any one would improve the lives of New Yorkers and the economy of New York. My gut says it will come down to Weiner vs. Ferrer, but we are still almost five months from the election and my gut - not being a registered Democrat - is unfortunately not eligible to vote.

UPDATE: More coverage elsewhere...
No Democrats in Mayoral Race Are Rising to the Top (Gothamist)

Posted: Fri - April 22, 2005 at 08:26 AM   | Category:     |   |   | |


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