City Scuffle
Syracuse City Eagle
Walt Sheppard
February 15th, 2007
To death and taxes add the inevitability of Democrats bickering as soon as they get into power. On any level. Nationally posturing, much of it for performance on the presidential nomination state, as to whether resolutions on the war should be binding or not, whether funds should be withheld for the surge of new troops or even the war itself, not, and a range of dates for a withdrawal from Iraq, if there should be one, gives the Bush administration an unexpected pause to catch its breath.
As the State level, Mr. Mandate, the governor who has hardly had time to blow the dust off the pile of files on stalled issues he has inherited, comes to town to blast Assemblyperson Magnarelli for voting with the speaker of his House on who should be state comptroller. Magnarelli had fired the first shot by nailing Mr. Mandate for meddling in the process. Which brought instant salivating in the hood. The Westside hood, that is. Local Irish Democrats (Syracuse's ethnic Democrats and Irish and Italian first and party loyalists second) become visibly enthused.
"He's vulnerable now," they chorused to each other, referring to Magnarelli, whose faction within the party had vied with their's over the election of a new county party chair, and whose potential candidacy in the coming county executive race could pose a primary challenge for their potential candidate, Mayor Matt Driscoll.
"Somebody should call Miles," one mused, suggesting that veteran Westender and former mayoral contender Republican Miles Bottrill might be able to mount a challenge for Magnarelli's Assembly seat two years hence with their support. (The city's Republicans, although factionalized at times, generally compensate for their being significantly outnumbered by Democrats in voter registration by placing party solidarity above ethnicity.)
All of which draws bemusement, but some cautious optimism as well, from local Green Party organizer and perennial candidate Howie Hawkins. After an exhausting Senate campaign last year, in which the major media prevented him from participating as anti-war counter to Hillary Clinton in televised debates, Hawkins voted to return to the equally exhausting daily toil of local organizing for the Greens. "We've got a half dozen who are with us all the time," he reflected last week on local Green activists, "and another dozen who turn out when we need them. There's about 1,500 Greens registered in the county."
Greens are targeting the Common Council on this November's ballot, with Hawkins running at-large and, for the first time since they've been running candidates, a sense that they can actually win one, that the open race in the 5th District is within their electoral reach. They don't have candidate yet, but they still have the issue that got Hawkins so much notice in the 2005 mayoral race.
"Either the Democrats on the Council will put the $150,000 in the budget for a full scale feasibility study of public power, so the study can get done for June to get it on the November ballot as a referendum," Hawkins projects, "or Greens will have an issue to run on. The budget should be done by May 1. We've got five votes for it: Simmons, Hogan, Robinson, McMahon and Seals. They say yes, but they say we've got to get Driscoll on board. We don't need him if we have five votes. Driscoll won't put the money in the budget. He's intimidated by the NiMo exit fee. I don't think he really understands public power."
The Greens have a pre-feasibility study with results they feel warrant the full scale treatment.
"Mike Mathis, a former Niagara Mohawk engineer with experience in doing feasibility studies for NiMo generation plants," Hawkins observes, "has been giving a power point presentation on the benefits of public power for the Public Power Coalition. His basic conclusion is that building a municipal generation capacity of 275 megawatts would save the city $40 million a year and cut residential rates by 35 percent."
On the state level, Hawkins sees much of Mr. Mandate's reform rhetoric as largely transparent.
"It's typical talk for the little guy," he says, "But in terms of policy and budget the big guys still don't pay their fair share. The big question is how to meet the campaign for fiscal equity, with the stat under court order to aid the schools in New York City. They could make if they went back to the income tax rates under Rockefeller, where the wealthy paid their fair share."
On the national scene, Hawkins notes, "With all the posturing for de-escalation in Iraq, the U.S. military struck in Somalia without a peep of protest from the Democrats. The Democrats don't want to be blamed for losing Iraq, which means would could end up with two war candidates (for president) in 2008." Another issue for the Greens.