NYC Mayoral Idol : Meet the Contenders

[iconoclastNYC]

Yesterday I went to "The Road to Gracie Mansion", an event hosted by the Manhattan Young Democrats. I learned about out about this event on www.Cosmopolity.org, New York's Progressive Calendar.

Four people are running for the Democratic nomination and aim to give Mayor "Daddy Infobucks" Bloomberg (picture above left) more time to spend at his Caribbean villa. The contenders (pictured above from the right) are: Freddy Ferrer, Virginia Fields, Gifford Miller and Anothy Weiner. They all gave short speeches and took a few questions from the crowd.

First up was former Bronx Borough president Freddy Ferrer. He didn't make a good impression with me. He just seems like a typical career politician. Not someone I'd want to give a Keynote at the DNC convention. He seemed flippant and arrogant. Someone asked him why dropped out of the primary back when Guiliani was running for re-election and he replied that it was for party unity against Guiliani. The questioner quipped: "well we lost anyway!" Ferrer had the gall to say as he walked away from the podium, "Don't blame me. I quit." No doubt embaressed he quickly,walked back and added, "but this time I'm not going to." I was embarrassed for him.

Marshal Fields, I mean, Virginia Fields was up next. She is more likable then Ferrer but her rhetoric was pretty weak. She rambled a bit, esp in regards to an overly specific question she was confronted with. She seems a little too wonkish. I doubt her ability to leverage the press to get a message out.

Gifford Miller was up next. He was by far the most polished. He spoke about his record as City Council President which is impressive. His narrative seemed to be : "if i can get all this accomplished with against a hostile mayor, imagine what i can do AS MAYOR." He talked about progressive values in basic terms which is a good thing that most democratic politicians lack. He was entertaining, making some pretty good jokes. He seems like he could parlay the mayorship into a prominent role on the national scene. Maybe Govenor Spitzer should give him Hillary's seat in the Senate. He needs to be a little bit more natural about dropping in his talking points. At one point it was like slap across the head.

Last up was Antony Weiner. He also tossed off some good zingers
which got the crowd's attention. He had the best Bloomberg attack
points of the four. He really really thinks NYC 2012 is a bad idea. He was the second best speaker. But he seemed a little green, and I'm not sure how his experience in D.C as a representative prepares himself for city government. He didn't really inspire me like Miller did. He gets points for his effort to take graffiti: Weiner's Cleaners. No I'm not making this up.

I hope Miller gets the nomination. I think he has the best chance of
getting a large grass roots following behind him which will be essential to beat Daddy Infobucks Bloomberg. I think he'll make a point with his campaign to shine a spotlight on the Democratic party's progressive values and contrast those with Bloomberg's crony values. I also think Miller is the candidate most likely to effectively use the mayorship up of America's largest city to advance the values of the Democratic party.

(poster is not affliated with any mayoral camapaign)

[saltpoint]

1. Thanks for this post. I hope you will keep us posted on --

-- developments as they go.

Is Mark Green out of the running altogether?

[iconoclastNYC]

3. Well.

Since he lost big time last election i'd assume so. He has not announced he's running that i'm aware of.

[saltpoint]

5. Ok, thank you for the update. Green was more liberal --

-- than Bloomberg, so I kind of rooted for him against Millionaire Mike.

But I like your assessment of the candidates running this time & will keep a close eye out to see what happens.

[iconoclastNYC]

6. Mike is a billionaire

And if you'd ever look over a Bloomberg invoice you'd understand why. Pricey as all hell.

[Jim Lane]

12. Mark Green is running for Attorney General

In 2001, he didn't lose to Bloomberg "big time" -- the margin was about two percent of the total vote. For this cycle, however, he's said that he's not a candidate for Mayor. Instead, he's gearing up for a race for NYS Attorney General in 2006.

[brooklynite]

13. He's planning to run for Attorney General instead

[smirkymonkey]

2. I'm definitely voting Bloomberg off the island.

So far, Miller is at the top of the list amongst the above mentioned candidates (Ferrer is at the BOTTOM) but I am really not that impressed with any of them.

I am ABB on this one - anybody but Bloomberg.

[iconoclastNYC]

4. Look into Miller's record.

He really did do a lot in the City council over Bloombergs vetoes, and he is a good speaker.

[mdmc]

7. also Dr. Blevins

(not a dem but very cute)

[democratnyc]

8. Fields and Diallo

Let us be perfectly clear in our understanding of the Diallo case and both Virginia Fields and Freddy Ferrer's stances before labeling anyone a flip flopper on this issue. Ferrer never once in 1999 or since called the Diallo shooting a crime, he stated that the police and mayoral policies at the time led to the shooting and he got arrested for protesting in front of 1 Police Plaza. Virgina Fields on the other hand stated that she did NOT think the incident was a crime instead labeling it a tradgey, said "it is not the fault of the Mayor or the Police Commissioner", and instead of getting arrested she watched the protestors from her office window in the NYC municipal building. It is only now as she runs for Mayor and seeks the endorsements of Charlie Rangel and Al Sharpton that she labels the Diallo shooting a crime. If you don't believe me then read the story in the NY Daily News published on Thursday (Page 20)

[mdmc]

9. welcome to DU

first post! Very informative. :~)

[newyawker99]

10. Hi democratnyc!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[BL611]

11. Maybe Kerrey too....

Bob "Rick Santorum is latin for asshole" Kerrey has said over the weekend he is contemplating running evidently on a platform of "hey Mr. 9/11 President, where the hell is our homeland security money". Kerrey would be good for NYC and maybe even better nationally on turning 9/11 against the Republicans.

[DawnneOBTS]

14. Yeah!

Anybody that could put up with our ex-governor, Howdy Doody, for as long as he did is capable of just about anything! Go Bob Kerrey!