To The Editor:
Re: “Hot race to succeed Christine Quinn,” by Stephen Witt, 3/21 issue.
If we continue the lollipop analogy used by the spokesperson for Councilmember Sara Gonzalez, to describe other boroughs that have produced City Council speakers, I would simply respond that you would have to be a complete sucker to believe that Councilmember Gonzalez could ever become the next council speaker.
Seniority alone is no justification. Indeed, the only reason she even has seniority is because she completed her mentor's (the disgraced Angel Rodriguez) term after he was convicted and sentenced for shaking down a waterfront developer.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I ran against Gonzalez in 2005 and even as an incumbent she failed to get 50 percent of the vote.
Additionally, Gonzalez has only recently found her way to City Hall. The New York Post cited her a few years ago for having the worst City Council attendance record. Disturbingly, Speaker Quinn elevated her sub-committee, Juvenile Justice, to a full committee, raising her lulus but not her productivity. The committee barely meets and has not produced any significant legislation or reports.
In this latest re-election campaign, she has raised eyebrows and thousands of dollars from developers (while constituents in the district fight for a rezoning to stop displacement and gentrification), a pro-landlord group and the owner of an energy company that wants to build additional power plants on the already congested and infested Sunset Park waterfront.
Gonzalez may get another term on the council, but she will not satisfy her sweet tooth. She should look for another candy store.
David Galarza
Brooklyn
