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JOURNAL
November 2005
Why I Voted For Bloomberg
For me, it has always been difficult to get beyond Bloomberg's abrasive personality, a Yankee snobbishness that reveals itself in that voice, a condescending, nasal whine. And, at times, that snobbishness shows a complete lack of regard for the working class people of this city. Generally, he has been slow to address the problem of affordable housing for middle class people and the landlords have been winning the battle against rent control under the Mayor's tenure. I do not like the fact that Bloomberg contributed to the Bush campaign, but I must hold my nose and realize that this is what party politics is all about in this country. Also, Bloomberg demonstrated his boneheadedness in his insistence on winning the Olympics for New York City in 2012, complete with a stadium on the west side of Manhattan. He was out of touch with what the people wanted — or didn't want. His plan showed careless disregard to traffic, noise, environmental considerations, local residents and small businesses in the area. Not to mention the fact that most New Yorkers didn't want the Olympics in the first place. Thankfully, he was defeated soundly on that measure.
All of that must be weighed against his considerable accomplishments, despite his lack of charm and tact. Crime is down across the board and the Big Apple is now considered one of the safest large cities in America. The Mayor's vigilance has kept us free from additional terrorist attacks and, in fact, a few plots have been foiled. In fact, the Mayor worked quickly and diligently to put us back on the map after 9/11 and now tourism is up, businesses have returned (to all boroughs) and unemployment is finally down: nobody thought this was possible four years ago. As a part-time bartender, I was critical of the Mayor's crackdown on smoking in bars, thinking he had overreached his authority. The facts have proven me wrong: bars are still thriving and patrons have stepped outside for their cigarettes. Along with the heavy tax, many have stopped smoking. In the longterm, lives are being saved, medical conditions being avoided. And we are all going home with cleaner clothes and cleaner lungs. Bloomberg's establishment of a 311 line has been a godsend of cutting through the red tape to get questions answered and complaints filed on everyday annoyances. Once I called 311 to complain about a sheet of ice covering the sidewalk near the library; when I went out at lunchtime, workers were chipping it all away. Another time, I called to complain about construction noise in my neighborhood at 3 a.m.; within a half hour, it had stopped.
At long last, Bloomberg negotiated teacher contracts with the powerful teachers' union, making everybody on both sides happy and negating that issue. He has demonstrated sensitivity on racial issues and has quickly defused situations that may have gotten out of hand (many forget that Giuliani had a big problem in that area). He reestablished the recycling program that Giuliani had stupidly given up on five years ago.
Despite this formidable record, I would have been more than happy to stick with my Democratic party if the Democrats had offered up a decent candidate. I liked Anthony Weiner, who probably could have given Bloomberg a run for his (considerable) money. Unfortunately, we got Freddy Ferrer, who stumbled badly coming out of the gate, by campaigning on sacred 9/11, pandering for an endorsement from Al Sharpton (very few New Yorkers consider that a plus, according to polls), and being caught in an "editing mistake" on his website, where he claimed he attended public schools (he did not). And despite eighteen or so years as Bronx Borough President, I've yet to meet anyone who can tell me exactly what he accomplished there, point by point. Even he couldn't seem to define himself, his campaign vaguely saying he helped "turn the Bronx around." Oh really? Let's have some details! All of these missteps, unfortunately, branded Ferrer with the big scarlet "L" (for Loser) on his shirtfront. He may be an accomplished politician and a fine gentleman but the average voter did not see any evidence to back this up.
I have many friends who will be calling me, telling me I should have voted down the Democratic line to keep the Republicans from getting too much power, but, although I'm a proud Democrat who votes for my candidate 90% of the time, I always must vote for the person, not the party. Besides, Bloomberg switched to Republican himself, for political expediency: he's a closet Democrat. In the end, success must be weighed against failures, and in politics, success must trump personality. Mike Bloomberg has been pretty good for New York. I don't have to sit and have coffee with him.
What's Your Opinion?
KevScoHall@Verizon.net