WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. February 6, 2013:
Mayor Thomas Roach is most likely going to run for a full term as Mayor in his own right this fall. But, with the Democrat voter registration more than 2 to 1 than Republicans, you could run Richard Parker for Mayor as a Democrat and he would win. All he would have to do is roar.
The view from Dem-Heavy White Plains is whom would the Republican Party put up to run for Mayor against Roach? Would he or she have a chance?
I spoke with one of the few Republican personalities who has dared to criticize the Roach administration, Mike Amodio Monday evening
If you recall. Amodio criticized the all-Democrat Common Council for selecting a councilman to replace David Buchwald without making it public that the council was looking for a few good men or women to take the position. Amodio also questioned the need for the council to make the Buchwald replacement appointment immediately. The council excuse was they needed unanimous consent to pass ordinances on the first time they are introduced.
Amodio told me that a group of Republicans were going to hold meetings and approach possible candidates to run for Mayor and Council. There are three council running for reelection. Brian Maloney the chairman of the Republican Party did not return a call I made to him Monday afternoon. Perhaps he’ll get back to me today.
Maybe, just maybe they won’t run anyone against Mayor Roach or even the Common Council. In recent years, the White Plains Republican party under its profoundly puzzling leadership has run candidates unfamiliar to the populace – the only exception being Bob Hyland who made a valiant run at Bill Ryan for County Legislator and also at Mayor Roach in the Special Election to complete Adam Bradley’s Mayoral Term. Tim Sheehan and Jeffrey Binder ran for Common Council back in 2007 but fell short.000
The situation in White Plains where a party has deteriorated to the standpoint that they automatically concede elections by not running candidates is disturbing. In 2009, the Republicans did not run a candidate against Adam Bradley, cross-endorsing him . They bypassed possible candidates like Glen Hockley and Timothy Sheehan and just threw their weight behind Bradley.
In the three years since then, have the White Plains Republicans been out there developing new personalities; pushing new young turks out to the people and speaking out in the Common Council meetings on key issues?
That is a rhetorical question.
Of course not.
The White Plains Republican party has played patsy to the Democratic Party, much like the Washington Generals continue to play patsy to the Harlem Globetrotters.
It is a shame the Republican leadership, and I use the word kindly, has not been stumping and thumping against the Schulmanesque administration that Mayor Roach appears to be running. This administration, were it not for Republican “do-anything-but-run,” could be toppled. Why? It moves at a leisurely pace. Does not move with a sense of urgency and it decides matters in secret, more so than the Delfino administration that preceded it.
The Republicans are facing an administration that has strung out approval or denial the French American School of New York proposal for the Ridgeway Golf Club property for two years because a neighborhood is mounting strong opposition to it. The administration even concocted a new ordinance that would prohibit the development that FASNY wants to execute (strictly coincidence), spending a half million in city money to pay lawyers to create it.
The council did not even take up the controversial Open Space Recreation Ordinance for golf courses Monday night at the Common Council meeting the administration appears to be playing to the gallery in the south end of town to preserve Ridgeway Country club as a derelict property for as long as possible – at least until after Mr. Roach is elected again.
Mr. Roach supports green initiatives but that does not mean putting more green back in taxpayer’s pockets. The city continues to pad fund balance with sales tax to pay off labor contracts expected to be foisted upon them and they do not cut live personnel, though they have eliminated jobs that were budgeted and not filled. There is no financial sense of reality.
The Winbrook Revitalization plan continues to be shrouded in fog, with no massive funding from HUD in sight, in fact until HUD settles its court cases over housing with the Astorino administration, White Plains probably is not going to get millions from HUD to rebuild that complex. That deal actually happened in the Republican administration under Mr. Delfino. But Mr. Roach has not moved to address where that Winbrook project is going to our knowledge, except to discuss Section VIII and IX rents.
Meantime, city property taxes appear ready to go up in the new budget to settle union contracts and no one is even talking about cutting the budget. Instead new lawyer consultants continue to be hired, three so far on the FASNY issue alone, one on labor The city is very secretive in its operations and does not discuss new proposals for development or policy in work sessions virtually at all. They are making the former Delfino Administration look like open government.
But other than Mr. Amodio, no Republican political figure has issued statements, come to the Common Council meetings or criticized the Democratic administration. Even though you have a city that is essentially standing still on development. And has been just keeping the lid on a pot without the gas on.
I have just named some of the issues the Republicans might run on. Amodio figures that a good candidate for Mayor would need about $50,000 to run a campaign. That brings up another thing. The White Plains Republican Party needs to fundraise. To my knowledge they have not done that.
The local loyal opposition has to find some new champions who pay attention to what is going on. You cannot just come to a common citizen or local business man and say “we like you. Do you want to run for Common Council? Or you have a great reputation in the community? Want to run for Mayor?”
Where are the Marc Pollitzers of yesteryear who spoke out, watched the action or lack of it and spoke truth to power?
There is only one person I can think of with the experience to run for Mayor against Mr. Roach. That is Rita Malmud who retired from the Common Council in 2007. Her twelve years on the council, her thoughtfulness on issues, her sense of reason immenently qualify her to run for Mayor. Whether the Republicans would have the shrewdness to draft her and run her as an independent on the Republican ticket, remains to be seen. Of course, Ms. Malmud may not be at all interested. But she would be able to raise funds. She could craft policy. She has respect of both parties, and is well-known.
More to the point, Ms. Malmud could attract strong council candidates to surround herself, because she has credibility as a mayoral candidate.
Perhaps you could run Hyland for Council; and two Malmud selectees against the present incumbents who are vulnerable on their stands on the issues.
But that perhaps is too creative for the Republican Party in White Plains.
Ms. Malmud also probably is too nice to run against her Democrat friends. But, you never know. All she can do to the Republicans is say “No.”
In White Plains Republicans are not the insane Republicans we see on the national stage. They are just lazy and seem to find it very easy to just allow Democrats to run against inexperienced candidates.
Of course, the Republicans could always draft Joseph Delfino, the former Renaissance Mayor to bring them back. I think Delfino would decimate the Roach administration. But “America’s Favorite Mayor” may not want to run. He certainly could fund-raise, and he could count on heavy union support considering the Bradley-Roach administration war on the police and fire unions. (There has not been a Bradley-Roach Administration War on Commissioners and Appointees, I might note).
Mr. Amodio’s efforts may be too late.
