Mayoral Races..

The elections are coming... September 12 then winnowing the votes the following week. And comes the dreaded November 8th with telecasters announcing winners and losers.

A couple of classic scene comes to mind.. The leading team at some reception area with phones ringing and aides shouting out current numbers. NBC running clips about the softer side of the candidate's personae (Think Bill Clinton's gamble in 1992 as Boy from Hope, Arkansas) with snippets of interviews by persons affected by change. Cut to the loser - standing alone, hopes dashed, in a deserted reception area with signs and banners littering the floor. LOSER is usually a popular word stamped across his or her forehead.

Much as I rail against apathy.. I fear I usually walk the talk.. Presidential elections are easy cos you have one or two people against the incumbent or heir apparent. State Assembly and Congressional elections are a pain in the ass. Too many people..Local are the best thing cos it really affects you more than 2,000 miles away.. Is it easier to ignore our problems and focus on others?

Naturally with disasters like the *record scratching* 9/11 and Katrina.. One cannot help but really listen what the contenders have to say about their ideas on' evacuation plans and structural improvement/communications'. And again, be more proactive in local politics. I went for Nationwide to vote for Kerry, and Bush, the greater of two evils won. Start small. LBJ (though he was arm wrestled into it but I'm happy he did it) authorized the Great Society and presided over the civil rights era.. And the Warren Court gave Americans more choices (roe v wade) before it was shoved right by the Rehnquist Court stripping away choices or plans to viscerate laws (ADA). The highest court in the land now has two empty seats.. all the justices are old and some, frail. It's convenient that a conservative president will preside over whom to appoint (the last was Nixon)...


Back to the point.. Local politics. I caught most of the televised debate tonight at 7pm on local NBC channel. Approximately 7 minutes into the debate the captions went off as if the steno had a sudden CT attack. No reinforcements? I sent an email to NBC4 grousing about the lack of captioning.. and after 15, 20 minutes of channel surfing periodically checking the debate.. The captions have finally returned..

I still do not know much about the 4 democratic contenders against the mighty Bloomy:

C. Virginia Fields - formerly borough president of Manhattan.. Along with Fernando Ferrer, she is a seasoned debater keeping her comments tight and not wandering so much, the no nonsense kind. One of the panel posed a really shitty question asking her if race relations (with New Orleans in mind, naturally) in New York City is better, the same or worse? The round of questioning warranted a "yes" or "no" response. Fields argued against that saying there are many factors to it.. Once she was coerced to answer, she plainly said "No".

Miller - at age 35 the youngest contender.. He's a city council speaker or something. Though he may have perfectly democratic and idealistic answers they're long winded saying "I did this" "I am the only person here" and I could see the other 3 and older contenders trying to refrain from rolling their eyes and thinking "youth!". Come back in 10 years. Re: race relations - he says they are better.

Anthony wiener.. Currently a Congressman from Brooklyn.. He had the 'right' answers and kept them mainly short. I'm not sure about him.. But it's obvious he's terribly aware of relationship between New York and the nation's captial, D.C.. Like Miller, he affirmed that the race relations were better. Re: education - he wants rewards for good teacher and oust bad teachers. Available resources is a nasty element to grade the teacher..

Fernando Ferrer.. Borough president of the Bronx. Like Fields, not only he is a minority, he is very aware of problems in the poorer and working class neighborhoods.. He said "no" to race relations questions. My opinions of him are basically the same I have of Fields.

I would go for either Fields and Ferrer.. They were borough presidents and oversaw some positive changes for the poor and marginal.. I will need to read more into their background and work. They support bilingual education..

I can't imagine the minorities telling a white candidate of their woes. Being Deaf I'd be skeptical when a Hearing leader promises me better things. But the hearing person would have larger agenda to worry about.. I'd rather have a Deaf person with our agenda pushing and fighting for us to fit us into theirs. Over the years I've worked with people who mainly are people of color and I've learned that being white and WASPy I cannot possibly empathize with them no matter how much we touch on similar frustrations (ie being deaf, making ends meet). The race barrier and class are here to stay... when does it expire?