Leticfia James - the Only Selection for New York City Public Advocate

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

In case you missed the televised debate between Letitia "Tish" James and Dan Squadron on News 1, Tuesday evening, Tish James won, hands down!

Now the reason I can say that with all assuredness was because Squadron was caught in so many lies - including his receipts of funds from developers; endorsements from Bloomberg; and the fact that Brooklyn Bridge Park was to have been a mixed economy development, has become a luxury high end exclusive development.  

One of the most negative things about Daniel Squadron is the similarity between him and former public advocate, Mark Green, perhaps the most ascerbic public advocate ever.  His disdain for the Black community was so rank that Rev. Al Sharpton, in 2001, warned voters, when Green was running for mayor, "I can't tell you who to vote for, but I can tell you, don't vote for him (Mark Green)."  It was this exhortation that cost Green, the apparent front runner, the mayoral election.  Well, I'm making the same exhortation in reference to Daniel Squadron:  "Don't vote for him." 

The Public Advocate serves as an ombudsman to the public in the issues that affect them in terms of law, city policies.  They can hold hearings, convene the City Council, take the mayor to task.  The Public Advocate is considered an insiders voice of the people.  Letitia James has served in that capacity, one way or another, during her tenure as City Council Representative, frequently going above and beyond that role.  She combines her background as a lawyer with that of a social worker, and one who comes from a community, too often victimized by hostile or insensitive city policies. 

The following is an article that appeared subsequent to the debate which took place on New York 1.  For those who do not have cable, or did not catch the debate, as I mentioned before;  
  
 LETITIA "TISH" JAMES WON THE DEBATE HANDS DOWN! 

VOTE FOR LETITIA JAMES AS THOUGH YOU WERE VOTING FOR PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA.  IT'S THAT IMPORTANT! 

Bitter Tone in Debate Between Public Advocate Rivals 

By KATE TAYLOR

NY1

Letitia James, 54, a councilwoman, and Daniel L. Squadron, 33, a state senator, hurled personal accusations at each other.

• Debate Offers 2 Similar Public Advocate Rivals a Chance to Stand Out (September 24, 2013)

Nearly 40 minutes into a chilly debate between the two Democratic candidates for public advocate, one of them, Letitia James, had not so much as looked at her opponent, Daniel Squadron, directing her eyes straight ahead as the two traded accusations.It was a lightning-round question that finally broke her focus: Had either of the candidates tried marijuana? Ms. James said she had not, citing the dangers of drugs. When the professorial-looking Mr. Squadron answered that he had, Ms. James looked at him quizzically. “Really?” she said, and laughed. 

It was the closest the two candidates came to a human connection in a debate marked by bitter exchanges. The setup was informal: the two sat side by side at a table in a studio at NY1, across from the moderators, Errol Louis of NY1 and WNYC’s Brian Lehrer. But the mood was frosty.

Ms. James, 54, a Brooklyn city councilwoman, and Mr. Squadron, 33, a state senator who represents parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, will face off next Tuesday in a runoff for the Democratic nomination for public advocate. The runoff was required because none of the five candidates in the primary received 40 percent of the vote. As there is no Republican candidate, the winner of the runoff is expected to assume the office. 

Turnout is expected to be exceedingly low, which may have influenced the fiercely negative tone of the debate, as both candidates sought to win over the tiny number of undecided voters who plan to go to the polls and to motivate their supporters to do so.  

THESE ARE THE KINDS OF SELF-FULFILLING PROPHESIES THAT THE MEAN STREAM PRESS ARE FAMOUS FAR.  IT IS TRAGIC THAT THEY CAN'T FIND WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE READING PUBLIC TO INCREASE TURN OUT AND PARTICIPATION.  EVEN MORE TRAGIC IS THE FACT THAT WE CAN BE SO SUSCEPTIBLE TO THESE KINDS OF SUGGESTIONS THAT WE ACTUALLY FALL FOR IT, AND DON'T TURN OUT.  DON'T LET THAT HAPPEN THIS TIME AROUND.  WE NEED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU OUT THERE VOTING FOR LETITIA JAMES ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1.  THE CITY YOU SAVE, WILL BE YOUR OWN.

Ms. James painted Mr. Squadron as an ally of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, noting that he was endorsed by the mayor when he ran for State Senate in 2008 and that he did not endorse Mr. Bloomberg’s opponent, William C. Thompson Jr., in the 2009 election. Mr. Squadron, in turn, described Ms. James as untrustworthy, saying she had failed to disclose rental income from tenants in her Brooklyn brownstone, as required by law, and that she was the only candidate for citywide office who had not released her tax returns. 

AN INTERESTING ALLUSION LETITIA JAMES AS A LANDLADY, AS IF IT WAS A CRIME, OR AS IF SHE WAS MAKING MULTI-MILLIONS, COMPARED TO BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK AND OTHER UBER-EXPENSIVE DEVELOPMENTS WITH WHICH SQUADRON HAS BEEN INVOLVED, WHICH HAVE ALSO BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN DISPLACING THOUSANDS OF LOW AND MODERATE INCOME FAMILIES.

When Ms. James said that she would release her tax returns “to you and to anyone else,” Mr. Squadron pressed her on whether she would do so on Wednesday morning, noting that she had pledged to do so in an earlier debate but then had not. 

“Yes, Dan, I will release my tax returns,” Ms. James said, bristling, “just as I hope that you would release the fact that you have a trust fund.” 

Mr. Squadron, who had been referred to as “Trust Fund Dan” by another candidate in the primary campaign, chastised Ms. James for making what he called an inappropriate personal attack, and added that it was not true that he had a trust fund because his family had lost all its money to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. 

Ms. James frequently described herself as “independent” and as someone who had “stood up to very powerful interests,” including Mr. Bloomberg. She noted that she had opposed Mr. Bloomberg when he sought to extend term limits, close schools and ban the sale of large sugary drinks. She also said she had stood up to “powerful developers” — an allusion to the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, which she opposed. 

THE BIGGEST BONE OF CONTENTION WAS IN REFERENCE TO BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN FOR MODERATE INCOME FAMILIES, BUT WITH SQUADRON'S  IT ENDED UP AS AN EXCLUSIVE, EXPENSIVE HIGH RISE DEVELOPMENT.

Mr. Squadron countered that Ms. James had opposed Mr. Bloomberg’s soda limits while accepting contributions from Coca-Cola, and he asserted that she had also taken contributions from developers while weighing their projects. Ms. James barely responded to these accusations, repeating like a mantra, “No one has questioned my integrity.”

 

“Any contribution that I receive,” she added, “is not going to change my policy one iota, not one bit.”

Mr. Squadron also tried to undermine Ms. James’s claim to be independent of the mayor, asserting early in the debate that she had voted with the mayor “159 times in the City Council — 98 percent of the time.” 

Essentially responsible for fielding complaints about the city’s services, the public advocate has a minuscule budget and little direct power (AS A RESULT OF THE EVISCERATION OF THE BUDGET UNDER THE BLOOMBERG REGIME). Still, the office has frequently proved a steppingstone to running for mayor. 

Some of Ms. James’s supporters have made race and gender issues in the campaign, saying that, because the mayor and the comptroller are both expected to be white men, voters should elect Ms. James, who is black, rather than Mr. Squadron, who is white. 

THE OTHER FACTOR, IN ADDITION TO HAVING A BLACK WOMAN IN THIS POSITION, IS THAT LETITIA JAMES RELATES TO THE ISSUES EFFECTING THE MAJORITY OF NEW YORKERS WHO HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO THE LAST TWO MAYORAL REGIMES - A CONTINUITY OF DEPRIVATION, LACK OF RESPECT AND REPRESENTATION, FOR  20 YEARS -  8 UNDER GIULIANI, AND 12 UNDER BLOOMBERG. 

Ms. James, meanwhile, seemed to be trying to insert class into the debate, with her “trust fund” comment, and an assertion that she was endorsed by labor unions because “I do not represent the interests of the rich and well connected.” 

THE ISSUE OF CLASS HAS BEEN PROMINENT FOR QUITE SOME TIME, BECAUSE NEW YORKERS HAVE BEEN FORCED INTO A "HAVE NOT" POSTURE, WHILE THE CITY HAS BEEN PUT UP FOR SALE TO THE HIGHEST BIDDERS - MOST OF WHOM HAVE COME FROM OUTSIDE THE US.  THE WORKING CLASS MAKES UP THE LARGEST PORTION OF THE CITY, YET ARE RECEIVING THE LEAST AMOUNT OF SERVICES, AND DWINDLING.  THE SCHOOL CLOSURES, THE DE-LICENSING OF CHILD CARE CENTERS; THE ESCALATION OF TRANSIT FARES; OVER PRICED APARTMENTS, DEPLORABLE LIVING CONDITIONS - IT  MAKES CLASS FRONT AND CENTER.  TO VOTE FOR DAN SQUADRON WOULD BE TO VOTE FOR THE FURTHER DEMISE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS. 

THEREFORE; VOTE FOR LETITIA JAMES AS NEW YORK CITY'S NEXT PUBLIC ADVOCATE, OCTOBER 1, 2013.

Stay Blessed &

ECLECTICALLY BLACK

Gloria Dulan-Wilson

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