The Manhattan Times

For Democrats it is time to vote

Unfortunately the elections happening next week haven’t awakened much interest among Democratic Party voters. Everyone is acting as if the most important political positions in the city weren’t up for grabs. And while the mayor’s race won’t be decided until November, the winners or second round winners of the Democratic races for City Council, comptroller, and public advocate will be declared the night of Sept. 15. We all know that after Mike Bloomberg, the Republicans in New York City have no one. That’s why it’s time to get energized and head out to vote for whomever you want, but please vote.

These are the people I will support. And so that we’re clear some of them are represented by my company. To start, Bill de Blasio is my candidate for public advocate. I have known de Blasio for a long time but the first time we worked together was when he was Hilary Clinton’s campaign manager and we worked to get her elected as senator.

He is intelligent, good-humored, and can be mayor if something were to happen to the next mayor. Ideologically, de Blasio supports the social agenda that I support: resources for our public schools, building affordable housing, and a health system that doesn’t discriminate.

One of his opponents in this race is Mark Green who deserves my opprobrium because his 2001 mayoral race against Fernando Ferrer was repugnant.

I would love to forget the ugliness of the past but as my late mother said: “You don’t have to hold grudges but if you don’t remember who it was who hit you in the head with a rock, you run the risk of having them bust open your head again.”

Those of us who remember Green’s cheap tricks against Ferrer won’t vote for him and luckily there is a better candidate anyway – Bill de Blasio.

For comptroller the decision is more difficult. All of the candidates are good people and I have worked with them all in the City Council. But David Yassky is who I’m voting for. Again, ideologically, David Yassky is the candidate whose positions most reflect my fiscal values – namely that government, as with any other institution, needs to be cautious in how it handles its budget. I believe firmly that in times of economic crisis, we all have to tighten our belts. And during good times, we live within our means and save for a rainy day.

Yassky has promised to invest more resources from our pension system in urban development, continuing the work begun by current Comptroller Bill Thompson, and he has a plan to diversify the corps of money managers who handle the city’s pension funds. Like me, Yassky believes that you don’t fool around with the public’s money, but there are important social issues that require that we use all of the tools at our disposal.

Finally, I have decided to vote for Cy Vance as the next Manhattan district attorney. This was a decision I made just recently. Even though my local Democratic club had endorsed Vance a while ago, I was still mulling over the experience and platforms of the other two candidates in the race. But recently I had the chance to sit and talk with Cy Vance for more than an hour and I was impressed by his equanimity and knowledge.

His pledge to open a satellite office of the district attorney in our community is needed and will be a unique opportunity for the DA’s office to expand its horizons. Vance also impressed me with his willingness to engage different points of view before offering an opinion. 

Well, that’s all for now.

The most important message that I want to leave you with is to get out there and vote, no matter the candidate, on Tue., Sept., 15.

As someone who works in politics I know that when communities like Riverdale or the West Side vote en masse, politicians pay attention. My hope is that our community will one day become one of those electoral jackpots that elected officials covet so much.