Former NYC mayor Koch endorses Eliot Spitzer for governor

[cal04]

Former mayor Ed Koch endorsed Attorney General Eliot Spitzer Friday for governor, citing the Democratic candidate's record as a corporate reformer.

"Eliot is the right guy to change Albany. As attorney general, he demonstrated a real commitment to reforming institutions from Wall Street to Main Street and I look forward to watching him work on reforming state government," Koch said at a news conference.

Koch, a Democrat, endorsed Republican Gov. George E. Pataki for re-election in 2002. Pataki has announced he will not seek a fourth term.

Spitzer is the lone Democrat in the race, although some Democrats say Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi is considering entering the race.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/ny-bc-ny--governorsrace-sp1230dec30,0,153153.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

[Renew Deal]

1. He finally endorses a Democrat for something again?

:eyes:

[AX10]

2. So he is a Democrat again?

:eyes:

[timbnyc44]

3. Who cares?

Really, who cares? I have no idea why NY1 keeps him on.

[Ignacio Upton]

4. When was the last time he supported a Democrat?

He endorsed Pataki almost every time, supported Al D'Mato in 1998, and supported Reagan in 1984 and Bush in 2004. The guy's a DINO and was a mediocre Mayor, along with Lindsay, Beame and Dinkins and Giuliani in the respect of his hatred for civil liberties. Hell, Bloomberg is probably the best Mayor out of the ones NYC's has had for the past 40 years.

[sabbat hunter]

5. actually

koch did a very good job as mayor. brought the city back from the brink of bankruptcy. during the transit strike in 1981 he lead the walk across the brooklyn bridge (which bloomie later stole during the 2005 strike)
he also has been an advocate for gay rights.

lindsey was a decent mayor but caved into muni unions completely, giving them contracts which would help lead the city to fiscal disaster. beame was merely a caretaker. a nice guy but not equipped for the postition.

[Ignacio Upton]

6. I guess some things were also beyond their control

Lindsay had to deal with construction workers getting into fights with hippies and the continued white flight to places like Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Unfortunately the city did NOT manage its finances in a proper way, and this led to NYC's near bacnkrupcy. Koch presided over an era where things got better SOMEWHAT, but the quallity of life was still crap. The general image of NYC as crime-laden and garbage strewn still had truth to it in the '80s. You had the crack epidemic, and prominent public places in Manhattan like Bryant Park and Times Square and Grand Central were still shit-holes. The only reason why NYC even appeared better in the '80s was because of the yuppies on Wall Street like a la Bonfire of the Vanities, but the city itself was still very polarized, especially in the early '90s (Crown Heights, anyone?) Dinkins couldn't handle the job well, or else he would have won re-election. The quallity of life actually became good while Giuliani was Mayor, and he did some good things (I support being aggressive against grafitti on subways and squeegee men because they're signs to me of urban decay and are a public annoyance.) but he was overly aggressive in the way he handled himself. Bloomberg, while still somewhat of a douchebag, has been better than many fo the recent Mayors in history, but he is also not without his fault, especially how he handled the RNC protests. I honestly don't think NYC has had a truely good Mayor since...LaGuardia, just ones that are the lesser of several evils.