Eye
on
politics
By John Toscano
Bloomberg’s Plunge In Polls Raises Dems’ Hopes

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has raised several taxes sharply, cut city services and laid of thousands of city workers, all of which has led to a severe drop in his approval rating according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.

Yet, despite what some may consider his austerity program to pull the city out of a $3.5 billion financial sinkhole, there are those who say he has not been tough enough, in extracting concessions from municipal unions, for instance.

Whenever a mayor starts to tank, the list of would-be Democratic successors starts to grow. Getting attention nowadays as possible challengers next year are Assemblymember Brian McLaughlin, Congressmember Anthony Weiner, city Comptroller William Thompson, Council Speaker Clifford Miller and former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer.

A surprise addition to this list is, like Bloomberg, a businessman—John Catsimatidis, a Greek–American supermarket tycoon.

McLaughlin (D–Flushing) has been more visible and outspoken from the start of the year and has never dismissed the suggestion he might be testing the waters whenever we’ve asked him. He would come in with some solid labor support, being president for several years now of the 1.1 million-member Central Labor Council. He’s also been building a war chest and recently hired a new fundraiser.

Weiner (D–Queens/Brooklyn) has also been very visible in both boroughs, speaking out against the mayor’s tax hikes. His stock response when asked if he’s interested in running is "maybe" and he’s bought a home and established residency in Forest Hills Gardens, setting himself up perhaps as a favorite son in one of the strongest Democratic boroughs.

In an interview Catsimatidis said he’s seriously exploring possibilities of running, but this has not been confirmed. He recently was among a group of prominent Greek–Americans to revive a political action committee (PAC).

Miller (D–Manhattan) is considered a sure bet to run if the Term Limits law amendment survives a pending court challenge and can run for re-election this year rather than have to step aside. If his present career as a councilmember ends in December, it would be a major blow to his mayoral ambitions.

Presently, Miller is scoring points for guiding the council through the troubled budget minefields, getting credit for some revenue enhancing initiatives while the mayor takes a beating for billion-dollar tax increases and layoffs.

One of the major knocks on the mayor has come from financier Felix Rohatyn, who was a major architect of the 1970s save-the-city plan. Earlier this year, Rohatyn was praising Bloomberg’s policies, but more recently he has criticized Bloomberg-supported tax increases and his failure to extract $600,000 in municipal union givebacks.

Rohatyn and other veteran financiers have suggested the mayor should seek to bring the state Financial Control Board back into the picture, and possibly get a freeze on hiring, wages and benefits for the city unions. Others have said Governor George Pataki has this same option open to him and wonder why he hasn’t availed himself of the opportunity.

MILLER, MAYOR IN QUEENS: There will be an interesting crossing of paths this Sunday between the mayor and Miller when the Council Speaker acts as keynote speaker at the seventh annual testimonial and installation breakfast of the Queens Jewish Community Council in Bayside with the mayor in the audience.

Miller will discuss the city’s budget and other items of community interest according to the QJCC announcement. Honorees include state Senator Frank Padavan (R–C, Bellerose), community activists Ruth and Sam Bloom and Mala Desai, director of the Northern Queens Health Coalition.

The event starts at 9 a.m. at the Bayside Jewish Center, 203-05 323nd Ave., Bayside.

THOMPSON HONOREE: Another of the Democratic mayoral aspirants Thompson, will be in the spotlight tomorrow evening as the honoree of County Democratic Party Chairman Thomas Manton and the Democratic Organization of Queens County at a 6 p.m. dinner-dance at Antun’s in Queens Village. Councilmember Melinda Katz and state Senator John Sabini are co-chairs of this event.

HILLARY JOINS GIOIA FOR MOTHERS DAY EVENT: Two old buddies from the days of the Clinton Administration at the White House got together in Sunnyside last Sunday on Mothers Day for a reunion of sorts. United States Senator Hillary Clinton and Councilmember Eric Gioia joined in urging local residents "Get Your Mom A Mammogram for Mothers Day—the best gift is a gift of good health." The event was part of a City Council campaign.

When Clinton was the First Lady and Gioia was a law clerk in the White House general council’s office, their offices were next to each other and they became friends.

On the national front, although Clinton has said repeatedly that she does not intend to run for president against incumbent George W. Bush in 2004, GOP fundraisers keep raising that specter because it prompts contributors to make donations to the president’s campaign war chest.

As for Clinton-as-candidate, we think she would be the Democrats’ best bet to succeed Bush. She would have wide appeal she can give and take on the campaign trail, and she’s a great fundraiser.

VALLONE JR. MEETS NEW CONSTITUENTS: Recently, Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. was invited to speak at the Northern Regular Democratic Club at Boulevard Gardens in Woodside and to meet the club members. The cooperative apartment complex was added to the lawmaker’s new district, which was redrawn earlier this year in time for the council elections in November.

As a welcoming gift, Irene Tiranno, president, and Anne Fitzpatrick and Jimmy Lanza, Boulevard Gardens officials, presented Vallone with a Boulevard Gardens hat and sweatshirt.

Vallone reminded the members that his dad, former Council Speaker Peter Vallone, had once had the housing complex in his district, so its residents were no strangers to him. He said he always considered Astoria and Woodside as one community. "We shop at the same stores, attend the same houses of worship, and share the same community board, [Board 2] and the same police precinct [the 114th]."