DAY FIFTEEN:Sept. 25:
Today, incredibly, is election day. Because the voters passed a ludicrous term limits law three years ago, nearly the entire -- ENTIRE -- elected city government is required to step down in January. Rank amateurs and second string politicians are vying for jobs as everything from Mayor on down to district court judges. In "normal" times this would be a major inconvenience and cause of anxiety, as the Three Stooges and Marx Brothers threatened to step into governance of a city that is larger than many nations and wealthier than most.
But these clearly are not "normal" times, and filling the ranks of local political power with people who have had little or no experience in governance, regardless of their espoused ideologies, is actually terrifying. The omens were not good as the polls opened this morning. The sky was black, and has remained so all day. Rain fell, sometimes heavily. Voter attendance during the morning hours was sparse, and though there is still about an hour of voting time ahead it looks like turnout will have been poor. In downtown Manhattan, where many voting places no longer exist, having been destroyed on Sept. 11, or are behind security lines, there was much confusion as residents tried to find their new polling sites. A couple of the relocated sites had no electricity, and backup generators had to be found before anyone could vote.
Newsday's exit poll results offer more cause for concern. On the Republican side Michael Bloomberg -- who is, four times over, a billionaire -- has slam-dunked his only opponent. With such strong support from his constituency, and unlimited financial resources at hand, Bloomberg is well positioned to run a blitzkrieg against any Democrat, right up to November's final election day. Bloomberg has never served in government in any capacity. His wealth derives from many sources, chiefly Bloomberg Reports and his canny stock market investing. He speaks often and rhetorically of the need for "a leader", but has never been tested as one, himself. He seems to believe that business leadership requires precisely the same skills set as political: just wait until he sits in his first City Council meeting. That will disabuse him of such idiocy mighty fast.
On the Democratic Party side it looks like a dead heat between two liberals, meaning there will be no clear mandate, another runoff election will be required, and whomever proves victorious will go into the final fight against Mega-Bucks Bloomberg with financial resources drained. In this rerun will be Mark Green and Fernando Ferrer, if Newsday polling predictions are correct. Both men have, in constrast to Bloomberg, served in government for years, Greene as the Public Advocate and Ferrer as Bronx Borough President. I'm sure that you non-NYer's are wondering what the hell this gibberish is all about, but let me assure you these are powerful posts, and highly charged ones. Sadly, the more significant factor in this town may be race: Ferrer was born to Puerto Rican parents, Greene to Jewish, gringo ones.
Before September 11 Greene looked like a winner. He has a Bobby Kennedy appeal to him, even down to his style of dress and hair. He kept rhetoric to a minimum, and had a strong track record as a Public Advocate. He had managed to do the impossible: cultivate followers in both the pro-police and anti-police camps. And there was hope that he would heal the wounds formed by Rudy's highly devisive handling of police brutality scandals.
Ferrer, in contrast, shouted against the police, aligning 100% with the anti-cop constituency. He attacked Greene in ways that signaled to the Latino and African-American communities that they ought not vote for the White Guy. And he made Business nervous by allying very strongly with the most militant trade unions. (The unions, overall, did not ally with any particular Democrat, but spread their support around.)
After September 11 both Ferrer and Greene stayed quiet, showing deference to Giuliani and the exigencies of emergency response. But after a tasteful week of silence they recommenced campaigning. Greene held a press conference to outline his rough plans for the rebuilding of New York, luring back investment and maintaining the tremendous harmony and racial unity this catastrophe has forged. It was, of course, largely hot air but Greene could be credited with being the first candidate to put forward a post-catastrophe plan for the future of the city. Ferrer also held a press conference, saying that the issues that were on the table on September 10 were still on the table, as far as he was concerned, on September 20. And he issued some muted, but critical comments about the police --- an astounding thing to do when this city is busy burying heroic police officers.
If Newsday's exit polls prove accurate predictors of the ultimate results in this fight, we may be in for a real debacle. Ferrer and Greene will fight tooth and nail for two more ghastly weeks, inevitably screaming about the police. It will be tawdry, and may anger so many New Yorkers that traditional Democrats will be moved to vote for Bloomberg in November. Wall Street and the major real estate interests in this city will be thrilled, rejoicing in the possibility of having one of their own sitting in Gracie Mansion where, they might have reason to hope, he will dole out contracts for reconstruction of ugly highrises from which they will profit mightily. Out of "respect for the dead" they will undoubtedly erect some modest sculpture and memorical on the site, but the real drive will be to create as many square feet of office space where the debris and bodies now lay as existed before, in the five now-destroyed buildings.
Amid all of this some truely nasty individuals have been targeting the New York media with bomb threats and computer viruses. We don't, of course, know who they are, but the damage is done. Newsday's Queens offices had to be evacuated again today, due to such a bomb threat, and three times in the last seven days hackers have managed to get past our many firewalls to insinuate destructive viruses in our computer systems. As a result, Email and Internet access are chaotic, painful experiences. I've personally had two virus assaults via Email in the last five days. Both Emails had sympathetic statements about the World Trade Center attack in their subject headers. Sick bastards.
Despite all this gloom there seems more light and hope each day. The stock market is rebounding -- at least, for now. Work is becoming normalized again for most New Yorkers. Many of those who were depressed and bed-ridden are now filtering back into streets and "normal" life. And the rustle of wind in leaves signals that autumn will soon be upon us. Few conjunctions of time-and-place are as romantic as autumn in New York. And surely that will mean something, in our hearts and souls, even as we face the drums of war, nastiness of electioneering and heartbreak of excavation.
Be well. Be safe. Stand Defiant.
Laurie Garrett
