Turning Out for Bloomberg
By Bill Hohlfeld
Friday, October 30, 2009
Throngs of New York City Building Trades members turned out Tuesday night to rally and show their support for Michael Bloomberg. As you might well imagine, chief among them was a delegation from the District Council of Ironworkers. Locals 40, 361, 580 and, of course, Local 46, joined forces to make an impressive presence. Within that setting, about 40 Metallic Lathers did their best to make our collective voice heard.
The action all took place at 67th St. and Columbus Avenue, outside the ABC Television Broadcast Studio. The moist breeze and intermittent drizzle did nothing to dampen the spirits of of the hundreds of Bloomberg supporters who waited behind barricades to welcome him and cheer him on for his debate with mayoral candidate and controller Bill Thompson.
The debate itself was broadcast live from what is normally the set of Kathy and Regis. With a little quick work on the part of the stagehands, the ersatz living room evaporated and podiums for the candidates, as well as desks for moderator, Bill Rittter and panelists Dave Evans, Mariela Salgado and Stan Brooks appeared.
Immediately preceeding the broadcast, ABC vice president of broadcast news, Kenny Plotnick welcomed all to the studio audience. Bill Ritter seconded that adding that it was really a privelege for all of us to be able to participate in the political process. At one minute to “air time,” the candidates looked solemn as they checked their notes and the make up crew disappeared.
The atmosphere remained tense as each canidate fielded the usual questions about the items that concern the residents of the Big Apple - crime, school scores, taxation and affordable housing. The banter was predictable. Bloomberg reiterated his commitment to 165,000 more units of affordable housing. Thompson countered by alluding to the recent Stuyvesant Town privatization destroying the best model we had for affordable housing in this city.
Bloomberg touted his own record by pointing to an increase in test scores in our schools and a decrease in crime in our streets. Thompson claimed Bloomberg was “cooking the books” on test scores and complained that to compare that to his own reign as school chancellor was like comparing apples and oranges.
A hint of financial impropriety was added for both candidates, each of whom resoundingly denied them. Each portrayed themselves as a champion of the middle class, with Thompson promising no new taxes and cuts in waste, and Bloomberg vowing to “expand the universe” for all New Yorkers.
The evening ended with a curve ball thrown by ABC reporter, Dave Evans asked each of the candidates to rate the other in his performance as an elected official thus far. For Thompson, it was a swing and a miss when he gave the mayor a D- and the grade by stating he would be kind. Bloomberg, on the other hand, took a higher road stating that as a rule, he found Thompson pretty easy to work with but he just didn’t think he was the right choice for mayor. One got the feeling that afterwards, Thompson wished he would have taken the same approach.
Finally, a note of thanks should go out to Susan Sharaby at 1010 WINS, one of the sponsors of the debate. It was Susan who set aside a seat for Local 46 so we could see “up close and personal” what the candidates were all about.
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