Ion
politics
By John Toscano
Bloomberg Puts $2M Into Charter Change Issue

Although there was always a strong possibility that Mayor Michael Bloomberg would tap his ample bankroll to promote his proposal to change the City Charter to end partisan primary elections, when he finally did it last week, it left an unsettling feeling.

However, he spent an unprecedented $75 million to win a mayoral election in 2001 and it didn’t seem to upset anyone except the Democrats he defeated to become the city’s chief executive. So why is it any different that he’s spending a paltry $2 million now to get his tailor-made Charter amendment approved by voters next Tuesday?

Understandably, the Democratic Party, which stands to lose the most if the amendment is approved and its allies in organized labor are upset for obvious reasons.

But there are others not directly involved in the political skirmishing who are also bothered by the planned expenditure. Perhaps Gene Russianoff, a top attorney with the government watchdog organization the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) put his finger on it. Russianoff, quoted in the New York Times, zeroed in on the fact that the mayor picked the issue, then handpicked the Charter Revision Commission to get it on the ballot as a proposed amendment.

Russianoff stated: "It would be naive for me to say that I don’t understand that frequently in government people have an end goal, and tailor their research to get there.

"Even if you’re cynical about the process, this commission performed below basic acceptable standards of fairness."

Russianoff seems to be saying the game was flawed from the outset, and now it appears that, by extension, the mayor spending $2 million to achieve his objective is also flawed and unfair.

We’ll have to wait until Tuesday night to see if somehow this feeling will be shared to some degree by the electorate who then turn down the mayor’s proposal.

Among the mayor’s opponents in this fight, state Democratic Chairman Herman D. Farrell charged outright that the mayor is "trying to buy another election."

Another, the New York City Central Labor Council put out a flyer urging voters to defeat the proposal because it "favors wealthy candidates like Mike Bloomberg."

MAYOR WANTS LANDLORD TAX SCRAPPED: Bloomberg and Phil Ragusa, the candidate he endorsed against City Councilmember Tony Avella in Bayside’s 19th Council District race, are on the same page as far as the city’s surcharge tax on absentee landlords is concerned. Both want it rescinded.

The tax, passed as part of this year’s budget, is a 25 percent surcharge on property taxes for owners who rent out one-, two-, and three-family homes they do not reside in.

Ragusa says it falls unfairly on seniors whom it affects because the rental earnings help them get by on the fixed incomes they live on. Also he says it ultimately hurts renters when landlords pass the tax along to them.

Last week, the mayor said the tax is too hard to administer and should be scrapped.

KANN TRIES AGAIN: For the third time in three years, Jerry Kann of Astoria is running for elective office—the City Council post held by Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. (D)—in his home community. Kann, 42, a free lance proofreader and copy editor, lost to Vallone two years ago and lost again last year in a bid against Assemblymember Michael Gianaris.

Kann will square off with Vallone tomorrow night in a debate at Riccardo’s. He’s a former Labor Party member who switched to the Green Party three years ago. He is secretary of the local party affiliate, the West Queens Greens.

GIOIA ENGAGED: Councilmember Eric Gioia, although involved in a re-election campaign, has become engaged to Lisa Esler, a Seattle girl he first met when both worked on Al Gore’s presidential campaign several years ago when she took up residence in New York City. Esler is executive director of Council Speaker Gifford Miller’s Political Action Committee. Miller’s a leading Dem candidate for mayor in 2005.

PC KELLY RESPONDS TO AVELLA: Responding to Councilmember Avella’s request for more attention to illegal truck traffic in his Northeast Queens district, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that 11 summonses have been issued in the 111th Precinct in Bayside since Avella wrote, and more attention has been devoted to the problem in the 109th Precinct in Flushing.

Kelly also noted that beginning in November, state law will be amended to increase penalties for drivers who deviate from designated truck routes and he expects that there will be a decrease in illegal truck traffic on local streets.

WEPRIN DELIVERS GRANTS: Grants secured by Councilmember David Weprin (D–Hollis), chairman of the Council Finance Committee, were delivered to two schools in his district last week. P.S. 203 in Queens Village got a check for $62,000 to renovate the school’s library and upgrade the computer system, and I.S. 109, also in Queens Village, received $75,000 for the same purpose.

WEINER BIDS FAREWELL TO CONCORDE: It was a long time in coming, but last Friday, the huge, noisy, supersonic Concorde jet flew out of John F. Kennedy International Airport for the final time. Congressmember Anthony Weiner (D–Queens/Brooklyn), who’s been the Concorde’s harshest critic for several years, marked the occasion by joining with local Rockaways residents for a farewell champagne toast as the plane passed over at 7 a.m. Weiner said, "The cessation of Concorde flights will be a blessing not only for the people on the ground, but also for the swells who want a fast commute, but need a safe one." Weiner said the $12,000-round-trip service was cancelled because the huge plane had become unsafe.

C OF C BREAKFAST: Tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m., the Queens Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual legislative breakfast at the Bulova Conference Center in Jackson Heights to give its members a chance to chat informally with Queens City Councilmembers. Councilmember James Sanders Jr. (D–Laurelton), chair of the Economic Development Committee, will be the featured speaker. C of C co-chairs for the event are Stanley Legan and James A. Lacchini; sponsor is the Universal Auto Group.