Two items came into our e-mail inbox this weekend. The first was the latest result from the highly respected Marist Poll, which showed that Mayor Bloomberg enjoyed a 15-point lead over challenger Bill Thompson in the mayor's race.

The second was an urgent missive from PSC vice president and chief political guru announcing that the PSC had made its choice for mayor: it was going with... Bill Thompson.

Why the PSC chose to endorse Thompson just as polls showed him almost certain to lose Solidarity Steve didn't choose to tell us. If it were so important for CUNY that New Yorkers elect Thompson mayor, why didn't the PSC say so earlier, when there would have been time for the union to flex what London considers his enormous political muscle and move the poll numbers in Thompson's direction?

Instead, we're left with an endorsement that comes too late in the process to mean much---except to further alienate PSC management from the incumbent mayor and the person likely to exercise power for the next four years.

Despite its tardiness, our Dear Leader, Barbara Bowen, did describe the PSC's choice of Thompson as a "strong endorsement." In her statement, she declined to mention Mayor Bloomberg by name or position. Instead, she called him "the Republican candidate."

Stay classy, Barbara.

 

TO THE BARRICADES!

The news from Albany: massive budget cuts proposed by Governor Paterson. What's the PSC's response?

Well, they can't reach out to pro-CUNY Republicans to form a bipartisan coalition. After all, the Dear Leader can't even bring herself to utter Mayor Bloomberg's name.

What about well-positioned NYC Democrats in the state legislature? That's tough, too---why should someone like Carl Kruger go out of his way to help CUNY after the PSC went out of its way to alienate Kruger?

What about the Working Families Party? Well, they're certainly ideologically acceptable to our Dear Leader. But, alas, the WFP doesn't have any members of the Assembly elected solely on their own line.

So when all else fails, why not the tried & true New Caucus tactic---a public protest! They picketed the Chancellor's private residence. They picketed Stella D'Oro. They picketed Sen. Kruger's office. Now, says Tami Gold, PSC head honcho at Hunter, the time has come for a "protest rally" outside Gov. Paterson's New York City office.

Color us skeptical, but we doubt that the governor will look out his office window, see the usual handful of red-adorned PSC professional protesters, and decide that he's going to stake his political future on an alliance with the Dear Leader.

 

 

Sharad Karkhanis, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Editor-in-Chief