By Howard Koplowitz
Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed state Sen. Frank Padavan (R−Bellerose) in his re−election bid against City Councilman James Gennaro (D−Fresh Meadows) during a visit Sunday to North Shore Towers.
The mayor in part cited Padavan’s experience as a fiscal conservative as a reason for the endorsement.
He said Padavan, who has been in office since 1972, would fight to curb spending when most legislators in Albany are reluctant to make budget cuts.
“They’ve never seen a program they don’t like,” Bloomberg said, referring to the state Legislature. “I can’t urge you enough to give your support to Frank Padavan. I’d rather have Frank Padavan in the state Senate than anybody else.”
Bloomberg, who ran for office as a Republican and then became an independent in 2007, also credited Padavan with creating Fort Totten Park and fighting for property tax relief and getting illegal guns off city streets.
The mayor, who according to Forbes is the eighth−richest American with a net worth of $20 billion, also offered up financial tips for the well−to−do residents of the Floral Park co−op.
He suggested owning a “broad diversity of stocks” — he said he only owns mutual funds, not individual stocks — and warned against day trading.
“Don’t ever bet the store,” Bloomberg told the standing−room−only crowd at Towers on the Green, the co−op’s catering hall. “If you want to day trade, go to Las Vegas, go to Atlantic City.”
Turning to the economic crisis, the mayor said he would cut funding to city agencies, but he did not think he would have to cut city jobs.
Instead of faulting the government or any political party for the crisis, Bloomberg placed blame on the people.
“Everybody lived beyond their means and now the bill is coming due,” he said. “Sadly, we should blame ourselves.”
The mayor also criticized the presidential candidates for failing to put together a viable proposal to get the country out of the crisis.
“Neither has given a cogent plan to solve the problem,” he said.
Padavan also touched on the economy during his remarks, suggesting the state could get rid of $1 billion in Medicaid fraud and also enforce tax collection on cigarettes and gasoline sold at the state’s native American reservations, which he said would add between $500 million and $1 billion in revenue.
The senator said the Legislature “had to make tough choices” when he was first elected amid the city’s financial crisis in the 1970s by charging tuition at the then−free city university system.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e−mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 173.
