Week of 24 September 2000:
Crisis Politics
Summoning the three winners of last Tuesday's mayoral primary contests,
Mayor Rudy Giuliani reportedly gave them an ultimatum: Support his bid to
extend his term by three months, or face him in a re-election bid on the
Conservative Party line. Michael Bloomberg, the Republican nominee, agreed
to support the extension. So did Mark Green, one of the two front-running
Democratic candidates. But Fernando Ferrer, who will face Green in a
Democratic runoff on October 11th, said that he would not support the plan,
though he did say if he became mayor he would appoint Giuliani as the
chairman of a "new recovery authority" to oversee the rebuilding of lower
Manhattan. (Giuliani has already told reporters that he does not want a
job like that.)
"I know the politics of the moment might dictate a different position,"
Ferrer said in a statement. "But I am deeply concerned about the precedent
this would set and the implications of this extraordinary step for the
long-term interests of our city. For centuries, we have made orderly,
constitutional transitions of government, even in times of crisis. We must
not disrupt that process now."
It is not clear what Giuliani will do now. In nationally broadcast
interviews with everyone from Dan Rather to Oprah Winfrey, the mayor, whose
popularity has soared in the city and throughout the world because of his
response to the September 11 terrorist attack, has made it clear that he
would like to stay in office. But the current term limits law, a law he
supported, prevents him from doing so. His supporters have offered a
variety of scenarios that would reverse or get around the law, and argue
that, in this time of crisis, he should be in charge of the city, even if
only until April 1st. His critics, while careful to praise his performance
over the past two weeks, say that his political maneuvering is dangerous and
unnecessary; is starting to undercut whatever good he has done; and is a
good argument in and of itself for why there should be a new mayor on
January 1st.
Politics As Usual
There are 11 races for the City Council that remain too close to call. In
some cases the two front-runners are separated by fewer than 100 votes. In
one of the most widely-watched races, for example, in district 20 in
Flushing Queens, Ethel Chen is just 201 votes behind John Liu, and says
supporters of hers were given the wrong guidance in using the voting
machine. In this and the other ten races, the long process of vote-counting
at the New York City Board of Elections begins today, and could last for
weeks. See Campaign Trail for details. See our Primary Results page for the
results in the other races. Both are available on Searchlight On Campaign 2001.
Sixty Days or Four More Years?
As the men who hope to replace him ponder the primary results and their next
campaign move, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani continues to dominate political
speculation and news. Yesterday the mayor said he would be meeting with the
three mayoral candidates, Democrats Mark Green and Fernando Ferrer and
Republican Michael Bloomberg to discuss ways to "maintain the unity that
exists in the city." Although the mayor refused to be more specific, the
Times and the News report that Giuliani wants to remain in office for 30 to
90 days beyond the end of his term on December 31.
The latest proposal comes after the plan by Giuliani to seek a third term, a
move barred by the city term limits law, ran into opposition, despite his
widespread popularity in the wake of the World Trade Center attack. A number
of politicians, including some who would have to approve any suspension of
term limits, told the mayor they were reluctant to change the law.
Under the plan reportedly offered by Giuliani, the election would still be
held November 6. So far, there was no response from the three campaigns.
Results, Runoffs, and Turnout
For the first time since 1977, there will be a runoff for the Democratic
nomination for Mayor. Public Advocate Mark Green and Bronx Borough President
Fernando Ferrer will face each other in a runoff election on October 11,
since neither candidate received 40 percent of the vote. City Council
Speaker Peter Vallone finished third in the Democratic mayoral race, Alan
Hevesi followed in fourth, and City Auditor George Spitz came in fifth. The
winner of the Democratic mayoral runoff will face Republican Michael
Bloomberg who defeated City University of New York Chairman Herman Badillo.
Board of Education President Bill Thompson won the race for City
Comptroller, and former Parks Commissioner Betsy Gotbaum has one of the two
runoff spots in the race for Public Advocate. It is still unclear who will
face Gotbaum in the runoff. In the Borough President races, the unofficial
nominations went to Adolfo Carrion Jr. in the Bronx, Helen Marshall in
Queens, Marty Markowitz in Brooklyn, and James Molinaro in Staten Island.
Election officials estimated that fewer than 450,000 voters turned out for
the rescheduled primary day. The record low turnout eased lines at many
polling sites and there were fewer voter complaints at the New York Public
Interest Research Group hotline. It will still take several days or more for
the official results to be tabulated by the Board of Elections. For all of
the results including City Council, District Attorney, and Judicial races,
visit Searchlight on Campaign 2001.
Primary Today
Polls opened at 6 a.m. and will close at 9 p.m. Anyone who voted at the
polls on September 11 must vote again to be counted. Anyone who mailed in an
absentee ballot the first time around, however, need not do so again.
For questions about voting eligibility or to determine your district or
polling place in New York City, call the City Board of Elections: (212)
VOTE-NYC. The New York Public Interest Research Group and Common Cause/NY
will run a voter help line from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Callers can learn about
their voting rights or report problems at the polls. The number is
(212)-854-9900.
The New York Immigration Hotline will also provide voter assistance in 16
languages. These include Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Haitian Creole, Polish,
French, Italian, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic, Albanian, Serbo-Croatian,
Macedonian, Turkish and English. The toll-free number is (800) 566-7636.
In addition, several polling places in lower Manhattan have been changed.
OLD SITES:
1. Leadership High School - 90 Trinity Place
2. 1 World Financial Center
3. IS 89 - 201 Warren St.
4. PS 234 - 292 Greenwich St.
5. PS 41 - 116 W. 11th St.
6. PS 131 - 100 Hester St.
7. PS 3 - 490 Hudson St.
NEW SITES:
1. Residential Building/45 Wall St.
2. Surrogates Court/ 31 Chambers St.
3. Surrogate's Court/31 Chambers St.
4. Surrogate's Court - 31 Chambers St.
5. Gay & Lesbian Center - 208 W. 13th St. or Jefferson Market Library 465
Sixth Ave.
6. PS 130 - 143 Baxter St.
7. Tent next to PS 3, on Grove Street, between Hudson and Bedford Sts.
Primary Tomorrow
Preparations are being made for tomorrow's primary, amid some sentiments,
including those expressed openly by the governor, that Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani should be kept in office beyond his legal term. The mayor, whose
aides reportedly have been sending out feelers as to what could be done to
overturn the ban against his seeking a third term, is expected to address
the subject publicly as early as today.
There are some indications that the average New Yorker does not even know
that the election is being held. (Even those who do know might not realize
that, unless they voted by absentee ballot, their September 11th vote was
thrown out, and they must vote again.) As Mark Berkey-Gerard and Lara Naaman
report in Gotham Gazette's Issue of the Week, "New Primary, New Priorities"
http://www.gothamgazette.com/iotw/newelection, it is not only the voters who
have been thrown off by the events of September 11th. "I tell people the
primary has been rescheduled because that's part of getting back to normalcy
and continuing democracy," said Steven DiBrienza, who is running for Public
Advocate. "I don't care who they vote for at this point. I really don't.
Just so they get out and vote."
One candidate, though, knows that his campaign might have saved a life - his
father's. David Yassky's father Lester should have been on the 82nd floor in
the south tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, but he took the
day off to help his son in his race for the 33rd City Council district in
Brooklyn Heights.
Rallying
There were a slew of mass events this weekend to raise money and lift
spirits in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. On Friday night,
virtually all broadcast and cable channels showed a special telethon by
Hollywood performers and pop stars. Yesterday, a mass prayer-vigil was held
at Yankee Stadium. Also yesterday, more than 100 celebrities re-recorded the
1970's hit "We Are Family" (the proceeds of which will not go to the victims
of the attack, but to non-profit organizations promoting tolerance,
defending minorities from racial attacks, and offering "diverse information
on the crisis.") Even events not specifically dedicated to it were tinged
with the tragedy. When baseball returned to Shea Stadium on Friday night,
rescue workers were given a 21-gun salute by the U.S. Marine Corps honor
guard, as many fans wept and waved American flags. When the National
Football League resumed its schedule yesterday, the coaches both for the
Giants and for the opposing team, the Kansas City Chiefs, wore caps from the
New York City Fire Department and New York Police Department.
Rebuilding NYC
In the second installment of our series of articles about rebuilding New
York City, we asked the six major mayoral candidates to outline their plans
for recovering and rebuilding http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001
See also our guide for the last-minute voter, and a Q and A about the new
election day.
Last week's stories...
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