Showing posts with label Ed Koch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ed Koch. 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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Wednesday, September 08, 2010

New York Observer Endorsement: Reshma 2010 Now Unstoppable

Reshma Saujani

Carolyn Maloney has represented Manhattan's old silk-stocking Congressional district—once the home of John Lindsay and Ed Koch since 1992. It seems fair to say that she hasn't had to break a sweat ever since. Token opponents have been swatted away without much discussion or debate. Every two years, voters in the 14th Congressional District on the Upper East Side and in Queens have marched to the polls and given Ms. Maloney virtually uncontested victories. Not this year.

A 34-year-old hedge-fund lawyer named Reshma Saujani has emerged as a refreshing, energetic alterative to Ms. Maloney. We support her bid to unseat the incumbent as the Democratic Party's nominee in the 14th District. Ms. Saujani is the sort of Democrat who understands that faux populism won't bring back jobs to New York. Ms. Maloney jumped on the bandwagon to "punish" Wall Street after the catastrophes of the last two years, supporting job-killing regulation and interference. Ms. Saujani, who has worked for three hedge funds, has a more sophisticated understanding of the relationship between Wall Street and government. She believes New York and the nation will prosper when politicians stop blaming bankers and financial institutions for the country's economic malaise.

Carolyn Maloney has been a capable if unspectacular member of Congress for nearly 20 years. It's time to bring new energy and fresh ideas to the House. Democrats should choose Reshma Saujani.
The New York Observer
The New York Observer’s Primary Choices
Last Word On Reshma/Maloney General Election
Gillibrand To Raise For Maloney

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