Showing posts with label Christine Quinn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christine Quinn. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

John Liu Saved New Yorkers A Billion Dollars

English: John Liu speaking at a meeting of the...
English: John Liu speaking at a meeting of the Staten Island Democratic Association, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
John Liu is that guy who saved New Yorkers a billion dollars. He is not the guy who stole 10,000 dollars like Preet Bharara and the FBI are saying.

In saving a billion dollars on behalf of the New Yorkers John Liu challenged powerful interests, made enemies. That is how you know the accusation that he stole 10,000 dollars is purely political. The FBI drama has been carried out on behalf of the powers that be in this city. This is not the first time the FBI has played such a political role. It's just too tempting. To be able to be faceless and yet so powerful as to possibly mar some guy's mayoral chances. How do you pass on that, right?

New York City voters have to wake up on this.

Could John Liu Rise From The Ashes
“Bloomberg hates Liu,” said one well-known former Queens-based elected official. “Bloomberg doesn’t like to be audited, you know. That CityTime thing was a disaster, and Liu has milked it for all it is worth.” ...... The CityTime thing is a scandal that, if it hadn’t been so mysteriously underreported, might by now have taken its place beside the Parking Violations Bureau corruption case that ravaged Ed Koch’s third term ...... When the CityTime project (aimed at automating the city’s payroll, among other things) first began in 1998 under the Giuliani administration, the cost was projected at $63 million. Thirteen years later, by the time Liu became comptroller, the city had already spent as much as $760 million, the lion’s share going to outside consultants. Liu made it an issue, declaring himself “absolutely shocked to find this sort of waste and mismanagement at a time when the mayor is talking about closing schools and firehouses.” ....... “That sort of stuff pisses Mike off, especially if he thought Liu was using the comptroller’s office as a cudgel to run for mayor, which he has been doing since the day he got into office,” asserted the Queens pol, repeating the oft-heard charge that Bloomberg, who everyone assumes will support Christine Quinn in 2013, “uses his chairmanship of the Billionaire’s Club to influence coverage in the three daily papers.”
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If Bloomberg Is Running For A Fourth Term He Should Say So

English: New York Mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg.
English: New York Mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Is Preet Bharara A House Nigger?
Could John Liu Rise From The Ashes
My First Obama Event Of The Year
John Liu Could Be Mayor
John Liu And Being Asian American
John Liu: Mayor Of NYC: 2013
John Liu: Victory
New York City

Mike Bloomberg has on many counts been an excellent Mayor. This was a guy who was a Democrat in the 1990s. He became a Republican to avoid the Democratic primary. I don't blame him. Then he ran for Mayor as an Independent. I have been an Independent myself since 2008.

I have had my policy disagreements with the Mayor, no doubt. The guy does exhibit a little bit of a class bias. But all along I have admired his entrepreneurial journey. He was a tech entrepreneur long before this city started producing those. He has been a remarkable person.

And his astounding business and management skills he has applied to the governance of the city, many times with great results. This has been a great city to live in.

But it is beneath him to take active part in the Democratic primary. For one, he is not a Democrat. I am sure the Democratic Party would love it if he were to join the party now, but I doubt he will. As a non Democrat and office holder it is unbecoming of him to play the role he has been playing.

If he keeps doing it, it is going to create a stink. His legacy is going to suffer for it. He should stay focused on governing the city. He should leave the mayoral election to the various contenders of the Democratic Party.

To be fair, I don't know much about Christine Quinn. I know her name, I have seen her picture, I know she is Speaker at the city level, and I think it is great that she is gay. But I don't know her, I have not read up on her.

But if the Mayor tries too hard, it is going to look like he or his people were the ones who planted that story in the New York Times that got Bharara all excited. A stink like that can cost a man his legacy.
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