Not long after a judge upheld the legality of the term limits extension that allowed Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run for a third term as mayor, the Queens GOP announced its intention to endorse Bloomberg.
Republican John Catsimatidis will reconsider his plans to form a mayoral exploratory committee. Bloomberg was twice elected mayor as a Republican, even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in the city more than 2−1. This time, he will run as an independent.
If Republicans are miffed at the mayor for abandoning the GOP, they will be wise to not show it. Although Bloomberg has endorsed some Republicans, he is and has long been an independent.
Despite controlling City Hall for nearly 16 years, the GOP has failed miserably to expand its power in the city. The exception is state Sen. Frank Padavan, who has played an important role in Albany for nearly 30 years. Like Bloomberg and to some extent former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Padavan has been fiercely independent.
The GOP is on life support, but continues to play an important role in the city, offering a counterbalance and at least an opposing opinion on issues.
Color Blind Editorials
In a letter published last week, the Rev. Charles Norris of St. Albans takes the TimesLedger Newspapers editorial board to task for being insensitive to issues important to the African American community.
We disagree.
Norris was miffed the paper criticized his campaign to have a controversial principal removed from a junior high school. We did not defend the principal, who happens to be white. We only said he had a right to due process.
We call ’em like we see ’em. When we think a community group or elected official is wrong, we say so no matter what color that person may be. Just ask Councilman Tony Avella. Another letter writer recently criticized us for making fun of Avella’s efforts to relocate Queens parrots to a different hemisphere.
More than any other paper in this city, we give the people we criticize space to defend themselves. We may not always be right, but we make an effort to be fair. And unlike Norris, we take pride in being color blind, even at the risk of offending the local powers that be.
