Some folks were scandalized by the $1.6 million of taxpayer
money that the mayoral candidate Gifford Miller, as City Council
speaker, spent on campaign literature disguised as government
filings. The real scandal was that it was spent on junk mail.
Earth to candidates! No one reads campaign mailings. They go
straight to the circular file, because no one believes any of the
promises and claims of anyone running for office in this town.
Indeed, very few residents ever read those end-of-year
newsletters from their representatives, which are supposed to
enlighten us on what they are accomplishing on our behalf.
Save the trees. Stop these mailings.
Besides, most voters get their information about candidates from
the newspapers, the Internet, and some television advertising. Of
course, there's always the possibility that I could be mistaken,
so I pledged to rescue the next campaign mail from the
wastebasket and scrutinize it. Lo and behold, it was from the
campaign to re-elect Mayor Bloomberg. "Promises made,
promises kept," the mailer reads. According to Mr.
Bloomberg, his promises to improve education, lower crime, and
open doors to affordable housing opportunities have been kept.
The campaign brochure notes Bloomberg achievements that seem
impressive but prompt further questions. For instance, it
claims,"62,000 new jobs have been created." What kind
of jobs, I wonder. Are they private-sector jobs? In which case,
how can the mayor claim credit for them? If they are city jobs,
then his administration hasn't cut spending but increased it.
Another claim in the brochure is that he has delivered a $400 tax
rebate to homeowners. I did get one $400 check, but I've been
paying an extra $250 every month since his outrageous increase in
property taxes took effect, and so far, the mayor hasn't
suggested a rollback of that punitive hike. As for improvement in
the city's economy, many leading economists have credited the
president's tax cuts for spurring the market revival.
But it doesn't make any difference what the brochure says. Who'll
read it?
After my column on Republicans against Bloomberg appeared, I
received two interesting calls on my office voicemail. Both
callers neglected to leave their names, so I couldn't call them
back.
One call was from a man, who spoke until the tape ran out,
criticizing Mr. Bloomberg with statements that I found
thought-provoking. Much, he said, is made about Mr. Bloomberg's
philanthropy when in actuality he's divvying up the most valuable
parcels of city land to make billions for his friends. The caller
charged that the mayor appeals to the interests of sports-loving
constituents but really couldn't care less about sports. Thus,
Mr. Bloomberg has managed to grant Atlantic Yards to his friend
Bruce Ratner, who is poised to make billions building expensive
condominiums on the land surrounding the proposed Nets arena. Mr.
Bloomberg tried to grab valuable land on the West Side for the
Jets' stadium and is eyeing Willets Point in Queens for a new
Mets stadium. Olympics, football, baseball, my eye! It's all
about making billions. Meanwhile, developers who are not cozy
with the mayor - the actor Danny Aiello and the principals of
Stapleton Studios - had their Staten Island project quashed by
the city's Economic Development Corporation in spite of
tremendous community support for it.
The other call was from a woman who said she was a pro-lifer and
wanted to know why I denounced Mr. Bloomberg for favoring
abortion rights when I had supported Mayor Giuliani and Governor
Pataki, who also are pro-choice.
Yes, I did support those two men. In 1993, my husband voted on
principle for George Marlin, a true conservative and a great man,
while I was a pragmatist who knew that Mr. Giuliani had a better
chance to beat Mayor Dinkins. But while Mr. Giuliani is
pro-choice, his successor's actions can be described only as
pro-abortion. Mr. Bloomberg is beholden to advocates such as
Planned Parenthood and NARAL. His administration gave $32 million
through that same Economic Development Corporation to improve the
headquarters of Planned Parenthood. Barely months into office, he
ordered mandatory abortion training at the city's public
hospitals. So it's no wonder that NARAL - what is now called
NARAL Pro-Choice America was established as the National Abortion
Rights Action League - endorsed Mr. Bloomberg's re-election and
he said he proudly accepted its support.
I know that the mayor's Republican challenger, Thomas Ognibene,
can't afford $1.6 million in campaign mail. He also can't afford
to fight Mr. Bloomberg's efforts to keep him out of the GOP
primary. Thanks to the Conservative Party leader, Michael Long,
he'll be on that party's line, and this time around, I'll have
the opportunity to vote on principle.