Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer took an apparent swipe at his mayor’s race opponent, calling for an end to pork spending by local lawmakers.
Our Reuven Blau reports:
Stringer criticized City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the other 50 members for their $49 million in earmarks that neglects to reach the city’s poorest neighborhoods.
“We have a system where some districts get a lot more than others and politics is the only reason,” Stringer told reporters yesterday.
Quinn is an early frontrunner in the mayoral election with the largest war chest of more than $4 million. Yet one of her major challenges in her expected run is the so-called slush fund scandal that erupted in 2007. The revealed a longstanding pattern of Council members steering money to groups controlled by their friends or relatives.
Stringer, a mayoral hopeful, didn’t directly blame his political rival Quinn for what he called a “broken” and “embarrassing system.”
“This issue is not about one individual Speaker,” he said. “It’s part of our culture. Put aside who is in charge- let’s all agree that we can do a better job ending this practice.”
Stringer’s “Reforming Local Member Items” report noted that some Council Districts received $1.2 million more in pork funds than others.
Council Finance Chair Domenic Recchia, who represents Coney Island and Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, handed out more money than any other member–$1.4 million compared to some members who had barely $100,000 to dole out. That list of reduced members includes Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron who has frequently been at odds with Quinn.
“Politics has been driving the distribution of these tax dollars for years,” Stringer said. “There should be no financial reward in toeing the party line.”
Maria Alvarado, a Council spokeswoman, responded, “We are proud of the budget reforms the Council has already implemented that increase transparency and accountability – including an online database that the Borough President has embraced today.”
Stringer himself has benefited from the setup, he acknowledged. Each year, the city’s Borough Presidents are also allotted money for pork barrel spending that is often handed out to favored charities and nonprofits.
“All of us have to look at this process and its time to look at a merit based system,” he said.
His 24-page report suggested all the money to be disbursed by the Mayor’s Office of contracts. His sweeping changes also recommended that the city set a baseline level of money to be disbursed each year in order to guarantee help for needy groups.
Stringer admitted the proposed changes face an uphill battle.
“I know people are going to be upset with this proposal but we can’t keep putting our heads in the sand,” he said.
