New York's Path to Recovery

: Betsy Mccaughey on Oct 23, 2024

The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is nominating Zohran Mamdani for mayor, declaring that "it's time for us to get to work to replace our corrupt, autocratic mayor with a proven socialist." And Israel hater.

As Mayor Eric Adams' legal woes mount, ambitious politicians and far-left forces smell blood. Mamdani is the latest of several far-left candidates to announce. Even if New Yorkers dodge these bullets and elect a moderate candidate with a plan to reverse the city's rapid deterioration, more is needed. Simply rearranging the chairs at City Hall won't save Gotham.

Adams was handicapped from day one -- before the corruption charges -- by an ideologically extreme City Council. The council treats Adams like a pinata.

A newly elected mayor with a common-sense agenda -- safe subway rides, good schools, order instead of chaos on the streets -- will need allies on the council.

In last year's municipal election, when all 51 council seats were up for grabs, voter turnout was a dismal 7.2% for the primary and 12.8% in the general election. The number of New Yorkers who went to the polls was smaller than the number who voted with their feet to move out of the city over the last three years.

The public is paying the price.

The council is willfully destroying public safety and quality of life, even affirming that sleeping on the street is a "right" -- the impact on your neighborhood be damned.

The council defeated Adams' attempts to restrain spending and prioritize crime fighting. The budget agreement, finalized in June, spends 18.3% more than former Mayor Bill de Blasio's final budget, and de Blasio was a reckless spendthrift. Spending on schools -- driven by the teachers' union -- skyrockets, even though enrollment has plummeted as families flee low academic standards and 30% truancy rates.

Worse, none of the increased spending will be used to increase manpower at the New York Police Department, where headcount is disastrously low.

In another attack on crime fighting, the council enacted the How Many Stops Act, which will force cops to fill out complicated paperwork every time they interact with anyone, whether a suspect or not. The embattled mayor vetoed it, but the council had the votes to override him.

What's next? Proposed legislation would muzzle the NYPD from criticizing councilmembers on social media.

The council wants to halt freedom of expression for cops but increase it for Rikers inmates. Councilwoman Crystal Hudson (D-Brooklyn) says sex accessories, including prosthetic penises and wigs for transgender inmates, "should be our priority."

This agenda will not make New York City safe and prosperous. Most councilmembers don't even pay lip service to those goals.

Instead, the extremist majority is plotting a power grab to render the next mayor even weaker than Adams and steer the city far left.

Speaker Adrienne Adams is putting a measure on the November 2025 ballot, giving the council "advice and consent" over mayoral appointees to run the NYPD and most agencies. That would destroy mayoral accountability and allow the council to push an anti-policing candidate for police commissioner.

The council showed it's unfit to give "advice and consent" when it interviewed lawyer Randy Mastro, Adams' choice for corporation counsel. Majority Leader Amanda Farias (D-Bronx) asked him, "Why do you feel comfortable joining the administration as a white man to replace a woman of color?" referring to the previous corporation counsel. Never mind Mastro's superb track record; it was all about diversity, equity and inclusion.

All is not lost. It is possible to elect sensible councilmembers. Kristy Marmorato won last November, the first Republican to represent the Bronx in the council in 40 years, even though only 14% of voters in her district are Republicans. She ran on quality-of-life issues important to her neighbors, including Latino and Black voters.

The Republican Party should be fielding more candidates and offering voters a reason to turn out. Where is it? Ever since the days of Andrew Jackson, in the early 19th century, political parties have identified candidates, supported them and brought out the vote. A two-party system is missing in New York City. Except on Staten Island and a handful of exceptional districts in other boroughs, the GOP is voluntarily moribund.

Whoever runs for mayor pledging to rescue the city from decline will need to campaign for City Council allies and wrest control from the lunatics. New York's future depends on it.

Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Governor of New York and co-founder of the Committee to Save Our City at saveourcityny.org. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

----