And…They’re Off

It’s good to be the king. That was the clear message sent out by Mayor Mike Bloomberg at the mayoral forum hosted this weekend by the Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council, the Queens Civic Congress and Newsday at the Samuel Field Y.
Hizzoner arrived just as the forum was being opened up. Mayor Mike was given the mike, which he used to give a stump speech, half-answer a question, thank the crowd and depart for his next event.
The problem with the remaining candidates was that the mayor loomed as the elephant in the middle of the room, as each spent at least some of their allotted time pooh-poohing his hasty departure.
Council Speaker Giff Miller came first, clearly needing a cup of tea to soothe his raspy voice. The Speaker had a lot of facts and figures at his fingertips, including the fact that “he” (read: the Council) had funded the very building we were in to the tune of $200,000. Miller also slyly cajoled moderator Dan Janison from Newsday into allowing him more time by quickly fielding a question from the audience.
C. Virginia Fields was probably the most unfamiliar Democrat to the residents in attendance. The Manhattan Borough President built the most solid case for her candidacy of any hopeful, citing her background in all levels of government and her understanding of community activism. She also spoke the least about Queens, which didn’t score well with the crowd.
The most animated of the group was Rep. Anthony Weiner, who relished the role of “local Jewish kid,” which worked. He also lamented the fact that there has never been a mayor from Queens (evoking a clever “Thank you, Anthony” from Tom Ognibene) and closed by noting, “I will say ‘Queens’ every single day because that’s where I’m from.”
Frontrunner Freddy Ferrer was more laidback in his approach, and as a result, his speech was more forgettable. Ferrer did get off the most poignant criticism of the mayor in the bunch (then again, he had all of 2001 to practice) when he said, “It’s not just that the mayor doesn’t get it, I don’t think [he] cares that he doesn’t get it.”
Ognibene led off for the two Republicans on the panel by making a crack about the GOP always coming second in New York City. He was the funniest, most affable candidate of the forum.
There were, however, audible groans from the audience when rookie Steve Shaw claimed the city wasn’t as safe as advertised. Note to Shaw: Don’t scare the voters.