Shopping For Political Party Endorsements

an excerpt from Tom Robbins in the Village Voice

Down with the working class: Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg arrived at the Working Families Party mayoral forum last Thursday evening, determined to add one more bauble to his political collection. New York's wealthiest man strolled confidently into a hall packed with union members and community organizers.
He carried a red binder and was trailed by a retinue of aides. There were a lot of them because Bloomberg is the best-paying employer in politics. Above all else, he is a magnificent salesman, and one of his top selling points is this: You, too, can have a piece of me.
This pitch has already won him endorsements by the Republican and Independence parties, both of which he has scorned in recent years. Persuaded by the mayor's high poll numbers and always tantalizing wealth, those parties quickly got over any hurt feelings. Did the mayor say two years ago that political parties "don't stand for anything"? Did he shed his Republican registration as if he were scraping gum off his shoe? Well, what of it? That was then, and this is now.
Now it's the turn of the Working Families Party to face this mayor's seductive charms, and even this high-minded organization is having a tough time of it. Party leaders insist that a Bloomberg endorsement is the longest of long shots. The real question, they say, is whether Bloomberg's low-key rival, city comptroller William Thompson, can get the designation, or whether the little party's mayoral ballot line will remain safely blank, just as it was in 2005 when the last Democratic candidate, Freddy Ferrer, faced off against the free-spending Bloomberg.
But the same officials—who got a taste of Bloomberg largesse last summer when four of his closest friends donated $60,000 to the party—refuse to rule out a possible Bloomberg nod. Others, with ties to some of the powerful unions that sit on the party's decision-making committee, adamantly maintain that when Working Families chooses a candidate this Thursday, it will be none other than Michael R. Bloomberg.
If so, it will be a consumer fraud on par with Bernie Madoff's investment earnings reports. Just 10 months ago, when the mayor decided he wanted to change the rules so that he could win the third term he is now seeking, no group stood taller in opposition than Working Families. The law was clear, the party maintained, confirmed by two separate public referendums.

Be A Clown

I just love this excerpt from Barrett's article from the previous post

Carlo Scissura, Brooklyn's new member, quickly proved himself the comedic equal of the man who appointed him, Markowitz, who loves to preen around in a blue and gold boxing robe to celebrate his borough's official colors. Scissura, who is also Markowitz's chief, actually declared: "This board is not a rubber stamp." Scissura's last public school position was as a member of a community school board under the old system -- a post he was thrown out of by the prior chancellor, Harold Levy, when he failed to show up for an educational seminar all members were required to attend. When Scissura ran for city council in 2001 he falsely claimed in his campaign literature that he was a board member when he'd been out of office for months.

I should have made Marty's nose brown to go with my version of "Be A Clown"

Be a clown and love to brown
That's the way to get down
Act a fool, on Mike's behalf
Let the King choose the staff
Wear the chain, fight the smells
And you'll rate with all the great swells

Send In The Clowns

Aren't I rich
And I've got a pair
I muffle all challenging sounds
Education, who cares?
Send in the clowns.
The electorate? Go piss
Only I can approve
You go wander aimlessly around,
I'm the one with the moves
Where are the clowns?
Send in the clowns.
Don't bother, they're here.

from Wayne Barrett at the Village Voice

The Empty-Suit Board of Ed, Wednesday, Jul. 8 2009 @ 5:59PM
The new vocabulary test for Scott Stringer, Helen Marshall, Marty Markowitz and Jim Molinaro, just issued by Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, poses a multiple choice question seeking a synonym for the post all of them hold, borough presidents:
( ) zeroes
( ) "neutered beasts"
( ) stickmen
( ) trifles
( ) blank cartridges
( ) Tom, Dick and Harry
( ) All of the above
Last week the four beeps (that's what the tabloids used to call borough presidents when, in days of yore, they had the power to at least make a sound loud enough to be heard) made their most significant appointments in years -- naming new members to the newly reconstituted Board of Education, which temporarily rules the nation's largest school system again. Thanks to the stalemate in the state senate, the mayoral control bill expired on June 30, seven years after it was adopted, and the $18.4 billion system reverted to the laws in place before Mike Bloomberg's prized legislation.
For a second, borough presidents, who controlled five seats on the old and re-invented seven-member board, actually mattered. But the Bronx's Ruben Diaz was the only of the five with the guts to say he would actually exercise the independent judgment the charter conveys to every elected public official, and appoint someone who would not just do Imperial Mike's bidding.
The New York Post, which has for months turned its news pages into a serial advertisement for mayoral control, chirped that the new board might as well be called "The Board of Bloomberg."
Queens' Helen Marshall, who used to be a rather feisty councilmember, actually went so far as to install Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, whose cubicle is a few feet from the mayor's at City Hall, eviscerating any notion of a separation of powers, precisely what the old law envisioned and required.
This claque then picked Walcott as its chair and met for a grand total of eight minutes, refusing to publish an agenda, allow even a moment of public comment, or meet again until after schools open in September.
The Post crowed that the new board's resolutions "gave Klein more power than he would have" if the assembly bill extending mayoral control had also passed the senate.
"They shouldn't have given Klein all that power," says Brooklyn Assemblyman Jim Brennan, a leading member of the education committee. Brennan points out that the old law, which passed in 1969, granted contracting powers to the board, not just the chancellor, and that the assembly's bill, which was backed by Bloomberg and approved by a 121 to 18 vote in the assembly, imposed some new restraints on the chancellor's contracting authority. But the resolution passed by the new board gave Klein absolute power over all contracts, prompting Brennan to charge that the board "abused their power."
Cathy Nolan, the chair of the assembly education committee, ducked Voice attempts to get her to comment on the differences between the assembly bill and the new board's resolution.
Carlo Scissura, Brooklyn's new member, quickly proved himself the comedic equal of the man who appointed him, Markowitz, who loves to preen around in a blue and gold boxing robe to celebrate his borough's official colors. Scissura, who is also Markowitz's chief, actually declared: "This board is not a rubber stamp." Scissura's last public school position was as a member of a community school board under the old system -- a post he was thrown out of by the prior chancellor, Harold Levy, when he failed to show up for an educational seminar all members were required to attend. When Scissura ran for city council in 2001 he falsely claimed in his campaign literature that he was a board member when he'd been out of office for months.
When the Voice called Molinaro's office to get a little biographical info on his appointee, Ed Burke, who is Molinaro's top aide, a Molinaro staffer said they couldn't answer any questions about their own deputy borough president. They told us they were instructed to refer all questions to Klein's press army. All we wanted to know was if Burke had kids in public schools. As it turns out, none of the members appointed by Molinaro, Markowitz and Stringer -- Burke, Scissura and Jimmy Tan -- have children, one more way the new board is out of step with the assembly bill, which required that two public school parents be named to the Panel on Educational Policy, the facsimile of the board that's existed since 2002.
Stringer, who was publicly ruminating about running for the U.S. Senate just a few weeks ago, insisted in a Voice interview that the new board's abject subservience to Bloomberg "didn't diminish borough presidents," but showed how willing they were "to take decisive action without seeking political advantage" at a crisis moment. Asked to explain why there was no public comment or agenda, Stringer said: "That was not us." Pressed about the delegation of full contracting powers, Stringer said that he "fully intends to raise that issue" and put the assembly bill's contracting powers "in place in the very near future" if the Albany deadlock continues.
His defense was that it was an emergency and that every action they took was predicated on the notion that it was "temporary" and would only last a couple of weeks. Asked repeatedly why the resolution couldn't just as easily have limited the contracting powers to those under the old law or the new assembly bill, Stringer said simply that "the mayor and Marty," a reference to Markowitz, negotiated that.
To see how far we've come, the last Board of Ed president was Bill Thompson, who rode that job into his current position as comptroller. Robert Wagner and David Dinkins were Stringer predecessors whose records as Manhattan borough president carried them into Gracie Mansion, and former Bronx Borough president Fernando Ferrer was the last Democratic nominee for mayor. Now, not all the clowns are in Albany.

The Taking Of PS 123

from Juan Gonzalez at the daily news on July 3, 2009 and ednotes online from July 4th

Classrooms being packed up without teachers or principals knowledge at P.S. 123 in Harlem.
No one was expecting the moving men when they arrived Thursday morning at PS 123 in Harlem. Not Principal Beverly Lewis, nor any of her staff, nor any of the school's parent leaders. "These strangers suddenly appeared, went up to the third floor, removed the cylinder locks from a bunch of classroom doors and started moving out all the furniture and computers, and piling everything up in the gym," said one teacher who was conducting a summer school class when the men arrived. The tense confrontation that followed reveals why Harlem has become Ground Zero in a growing neighborhood resistance to mayoral control of schools. It is a wakeup call to the politicians in Albany not to give Mayor Bloomberg a blank check to run roughshod over parents and teachers. The moving men claimed they had orders to empty and refurbish all the school's third-floor rooms to make way for an expansion of the Harlem Success Academy.
That's the charter school operation run by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz. The same one Schools Chancellor Joel Klein routinely praises as Exhibit A for educational reform. Moskowtiz's program currently uses a few third-floor rooms at the school.
The teachers at Public School 123 are no ordinary bunch. They and the parents have opposed the unilateral decision Klein made in May to turn over more of their valuable classroom space to Harlem Success. Theirs is not a failing school and they were told talks were continuing over how to divide the space. They saw the sudden arrival of the workmen Thursday as a signal that the discussion was over. So several of them rushed upstairs to confront the strangers, blocked the doorways and occupied the rooms.
"I told them, you're not taking my books and furniture out of here," said one teacher.
Police were called in. After an hour-long standoff, an official from school headquarters called to say that no one had authorized Moskowitz's movers to be in the school. The workmen then vacated the building, leaving furniture and boxes strewn in the hallways and piled high in a corner of the gym. Afterward, Harlem leaders labeled it a sneak attack. "This is mayoral control run amok," said State Sen. Bill Perkins. "Eva Moskowitz has been treated with such privilege by the mayor and Joel Klein, she acts as if she doesn't need any authorization to do things." "We had an agreement with DOE that no construction is to begin in the school until there is another meeting with all sides to work out space needs," said a spokeswoman for City Councilwoman Inez Dickens. DOE officials conceded there was a "mistake in communications." "As soon as we were made aware of the situation today, we told the charter school to stop," DOE spokeswoman Melody Meyer said. Moskowitz denies impropriety. "There is a space allocation agreement that the DOE has clearly, repeatedly, consistently and in writing said would become effective on July1," Moskowitz said. The renovations of the new rooms for Harlem Success can't be delayed, she said, because classes at her school begin on Aug. 12 - weeks earlier than the regular public schools. "Dr. Lewis and the [teachers' union] are deliberately taking steps to prevent us from renovating these rooms," Moskowitz said. Lewis declined to comment. Bloomberg recently made some bizarre remarks about possible "riots in the streets" if Albany doesn't renew mayoral control. Well, the teachers and parents at PS 123 sent a very different message Thursday: In Harlem and all over this city, parents and teachers are getting fed up with mayoral dictatorship.

School Turf War Fuels Protest In Harlem: AKA The Taking OF PS 123

from ny1.com

School Turf War Fuels Protest In Harlem
A turf war between a Harlem public school and a charter school reached a boiling point Tuesday after the charter school brought in movers.
Outraged parents and students from PS 123 say Harlem Success Academy began removing furniture, books and teachers' belongings without their knowledge.
A spokesperson for the academy says there was an agreement for the expanding charter school to begin moving in.
"There needs to be a different approach. You can't bogart, you can't butch kids, you can't just come over and take over the space just because there is a need," said City Councilman Robert Jackson.
"We will be sharing the school and we need to work together," said Harlem Success Academy teacher Danique Dayloving. "When I walk to school I see kids from 123 and I see kids from Harlem Success Academy. We all live in the same neighborhood. So we all work together and I hope we continue to work together."
The Department of Education plans to downsize PS 123 by seven classrooms to make room for the charter school.

I happened to be there. Just to show you the bias of the media, 99% of the story was the protest and the view of the school being "bogarted" yet ny1 had the need to include Danique Dayloving. Quite a name!

The Mayor Must Go

He's Got Them All On a String

Every once and a while he has to take the dogs out

Who let the dogs out
(woof, woof, woof, woof)
(woof, woof, woof, woof)
(woof, woof, woof, woof)
(woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
(woof, woof, woof, woof)
When the party was nice, the party was jumpin' (Hey, Yippie, Yi, Yo)
And everybody havin' a ball (Hah, ho, Yippie Yi Yo)
I tell the fellas "start the name callin'" (Yippie Yi Yo)
And the girls report to the call
The poor dog show down
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
I see ya' little speed boat head up our coast
She really want to skip town
Get back off me, beast off me
Get back you flea infested monger
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
I'm gonna tell {Hey, Yippie, Yi, Yo}
To any girls calling them canine {Yippie, Yi, Yo}
Tell the dummy "Hey Man, It's part of the Party!" {Yippie Yi, Yo}
You fetch a women in front and her mans behind {Yippie, Yi, Yo}
Her bone runs out now
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Say, A doggy is nuttin' if he don't have a bone All dogy hold ya' bone, all doggy hold it
A doggy is nuttin' if he don't have a bone All dogy hold ya' bone, all doggy hold it
Wait for y'all my dogs, the party is on
I gotta get my girl I got my myind on
Do you see the rays comin' from my eye
What could you be friend
That Benji man that's breakin' them down?
Me and My white short shorts
And I can't seek a lot, any canine will do
I'm figurin' that's why they call me faithful
'Cause I'm the man of the land
When they see me they doah-ooooo(howl)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)

Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)

He's Got The Board On A String

an excerpt from ny1.com

The mayor congratulated the board and the borough presidents for their actions today, but said the State Senate needs to take urgent action to renew mayoral control.
"The Senate has through its inactions handed our city a current governing structure not too dissimilar from the governing structure of the Senate, one made up of multiple and conflicting lines of authority, certainly the flaw of gridlock," said the mayor. "The temporary school board has attempted to sidestep all those consequences. But as prudent as its actions today have been, bear this in mind. These are band-aids, not solutions.”
Borough Presidents Helen Marshall of Queens, Marty Markowitz of Brooklyn and Ruben Diaz Jr. of the Bronx echoed the mayor's sentiments, saying that mayoral control should be preserved.
"This was a place where none of is wanted to be," said Diaz.
“This is the continuation of mayoral control within the confines of the reality of constituting a new Board of Education. That is the lens that we’re looking at,” said Stringer.

I think Stringer's lens is brown

I Got The Scott On A String

A work in progress

I've got the Scott on a string,
As I orchestrate an overthrow
Got the string around my Stringer
What a world! What a life!
I'm King Mike

I've got a song that I sing,
And I make the media echo
I give them all my zingers
Lucky me! Can't you see
I'm King Mike

Being King is a beautiful thing
As long as I hold the string.
I tell them all where to go
As I shout Tally Ho

I've got the Scott on a string,
Along with piles and piles of dough
Got the string around my Stringer.
What a world! What a life!
I'm King Mike

Stringer's Unsurprising Support Of Bloomberg

many public school parents were shocked that Stringer did not appoint Patrick Sullivan to the reconstituted Board of Education, but others wrote

He moved to the other side? He was born and raised there!
Stringer was an Assembly member who voted FOR Mayoral control and despite a number of critical reports on CEC effectiveness, overcrowding, the lousy capital planning process, etc. he has not recanted his pro Mayoral control position. Removing Patrick, the only reasoned and critical voice in the wilderness (of Tweed), is a real blow to the parents of Manhattan and the whole city.

I guess that's why he's named Stringer

A Recipe For Vichyssoise : Scott Stringer And Marty Markowitz

See ednotesonline