NYC Comptroller's Race: Let me be the first to endorse John Liu
I recently wrote about (based on a good analysis from True News from Change NYC) how lawyer and developer money is dominating the NYC Comptroller's race. As background I will also refer you to the corrupt sweetheart deals developers routinely get in NYC. Basically, when I wrote that earlier article the Comptroller's race looked pretty lousy with Melinda "Developer's Quisling" Katz, David "Weasel" Yassky, and David Weprin who I don't know well enough to give the kind of nickname I hear from a new State Senator that I have become known for. Weprin had been my choice by default because he a.) wasn't such a clear developer shill as Katz, b.) hadn't supported the Bloomberg Putch like Weasel Yassky, and c.) actually had considerable experience in regulation of banking and financial industries. Weprin, as came up in my earlier article, does seem conservative and, as brought up in the comments to that article, has sponsored some bills that have raised some concerns. The field was very weak.
That field looks to be about to get better.
When I heard Councilman John Liu speak at a recent Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats meeting, I found him excellent. I agreed with him on most issues. He came off intelligent, knowledgable and experienced. The only problem was he was running for Public Advocate, a race that already had two far more qualified candidates, Norman Siegel, who has been NYC's unofficial public advocate for 30 years, and Mark Green, who was previously NYC's official Public Advocate. I asked him if he might not change his mind and run for Comptroller. He answer was less convincing than the rest of his speech, basically saying he thought he could do more as PA than as Comptroller. Even he didn't sound convinced.
Now, from Azi over at the Politicker, it seems John Liu may be about to announce that he is running for Comptroller. This news seems premature and his campaign has been a bit evasive and contradictory about it, but given the strength of the Public Advocate field, and the weakness of the Comptroller field, I strongly suspect John Liu will decide to run for Comptroller.
And let me be the first person to endorse John Liu for NYC Comptroller! He would be a much, much better and more trustworthy Comptroller than Katz and Yassky. And I have never been fully comfortable with Weprin, and no one I know has been enthusiastic about him either. But I know many people who find Liu an attractive candidate for Comptroller.
A little background on John Liu:
His family seems to love the Kennedy family since his father changed his name (when he moved to the US from Taiwan) to Joseph while John's brothers were named Robert and Edward. Like Weprin, Liu has some good experience on oversight and financial issues, having served on the Consumer Affairs, Contracts, and Oversight and Investigations Committees as City Councilman. One of the things I love about Liu is that as Chair of the Transportation Committee he has tried to do what no one else seems willing to do: actually demand accountability from the MTA (remember how they keep two sets of books and got away with it?).
That field looks to be about to get better.
When I heard Councilman John Liu speak at a recent Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats meeting, I found him excellent. I agreed with him on most issues. He came off intelligent, knowledgable and experienced. The only problem was he was running for Public Advocate, a race that already had two far more qualified candidates, Norman Siegel, who has been NYC's unofficial public advocate for 30 years, and Mark Green, who was previously NYC's official Public Advocate. I asked him if he might not change his mind and run for Comptroller. He answer was less convincing than the rest of his speech, basically saying he thought he could do more as PA than as Comptroller. Even he didn't sound convinced.
Now, from Azi over at the Politicker, it seems John Liu may be about to announce that he is running for Comptroller. This news seems premature and his campaign has been a bit evasive and contradictory about it, but given the strength of the Public Advocate field, and the weakness of the Comptroller field, I strongly suspect John Liu will decide to run for Comptroller.
And let me be the first person to endorse John Liu for NYC Comptroller! He would be a much, much better and more trustworthy Comptroller than Katz and Yassky. And I have never been fully comfortable with Weprin, and no one I know has been enthusiastic about him either. But I know many people who find Liu an attractive candidate for Comptroller.
A little background on John Liu:
His family seems to love the Kennedy family since his father changed his name (when he moved to the US from Taiwan) to Joseph while John's brothers were named Robert and Edward. Like Weprin, Liu has some good experience on oversight and financial issues, having served on the Consumer Affairs, Contracts, and Oversight and Investigations Committees as City Councilman. One of the things I love about Liu is that as Chair of the Transportation Committee he has tried to do what no one else seems willing to do: actually demand accountability from the MTA (remember how they keep two sets of books and got away with it?).
posted by mole333 | 2:30 PM
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