“Dan Squadron is not a Bloomberg Democrat“.—-Michael Bouldin 8/8/08
“I am proud to endorse Daniel Squadron for State Senate, and strongly encourage Democrats in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn to vote for him in September."– Michael Bloomberg 8/12/08
Given the unpopularity among public school parents of continued Mayoral control of the school system, many thought that the assertion made a few days ago that the State Senate race between incumbent Marty Connor and challenger Dan Squadron was going to be a_referendum_on_continued mayoral_control_of_the_public schools looked to be wishful thinking on the part of supporters of Senator Connor.
Today, in the wake of Squadron’s endorsement by Bloomberg, this assertion looks more like prophecy. While many voters may not perceive the contest this way, it’s quite clear that Bloomberg does.
Other explanations are hard to fathom. Both candidates supported congestion pricing, although, as “Daily Gotham” blogger Dan Millstone has pointed out, Squadron was still telling people he was against it at a time when Connor had already endorsed it.
And it couldn’t be the current plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park, which Connor and Bloomberg both strongly favor, and which Squadron says he opposes. In fact, Bloomberg’s endorsement of Squadron lends further credence to my prior assertion, based on conversations with community leaders in Brooklyn Heights, that Squadron has been telling people that, once elected, he will support the Park plan; apparently those people now include Bloomberg, whose girlfriend is a prominent supporter of the Park plan.
We know it’s not Connor’s vote in opposition to the Gansevoort Waste Transfer Station, which is within smelling distance of his district. I mean, Squadron couldn’t possibly support the plant, could he?
Hey Danny, where do you stand anyway?
But, given Bloomberg’s endorsement statement, which spoke glowingly of Squadron’s work helping Bloomberg implement his school “reforms”, it’s clear that Danny has sufficiently demonstrated his fealty to the Mayor on what may perhaps be the hottest issue in Albany next year. No need to worry about accountability if the Mayor’s pet rock, Danny Squadron, is jumping as far and high as the Mayor asks.
Actually, I’ll concede, there is one other possibility.
Bloomberg has pledged his millions (a figure as high as $10 million has been confirmed as being discussed) to both Joe Bruno and then Dean the Dog (Skelos in Greek) in the hopes of continued Republican control of the State Senate.
Bruno’s strategy has always included backing Democrats who would support his continued rule of the Senate for seats where a Republican cannot win. There is no reason to believe Skelos has altered this tactic.
Danny, if you’re not a “Dean Skelos Democrat”, why is Skelos’ bottomless money-pit Mayor Bloomberg now backing you and others against incumbent Democratic Senators?
Given the meaning of Skelos‘ name, can we now call these candidates “The Doghouse Democrats?