ZABLOCKI SAYS BILL DE BLASIO’S VOTE IN 2004 WAS “UNDEMOCRATIC” AND STIFLED DEBATE IN THIS ELECTION CYCLE; ZABLOCKI SAYS DE BLASIO’S LEGISLATION IN 2005 WHICH EXEMPTED UNIONS FROM THE SAME AFFILIATION STANDARDS  AS CORPORATE CONTRIBUTIONS MUST BE REVERSED; ZABLOCKI CALLS FOR CFB REFORM

 

Campaign Finance Board, Manhattan – “No debate equals no democracy”. Those were the words from Alex Zablocki, Republican candidate for Public Advocate, regarding the law that requires $25,000 be raised and spent to participate in a city sponsored debate.

 

            Since inception, the Campaign Finance program in New York City did not require a certain amount of money to be raised in order to participate in the first mandatory debate.  However, in 2004, the City Council passed Intro 124-A, which placed a requirement of $25,000 to be raised and spent by a candidate in order to participate in the debates for Public Advocate. The same legislation also eliminated one of the two mandatory run-off debates and was voted for by Councilman Bill de Blasio, the Democratic candidate for Public Advocate.

 

            “No debate equals no democracy. This terrible piece of legislation has stifled all debate, at least televised, for this race.  For Bill de Blasio and the City Council to place financial requirements on candidates in order to be a part of democracy goes against everything the Campaign Finance program is about.  What Bill de Blasio and the City Council did was self serving and parts of this bad piece of legislation must be reversed”, Zablocki said.

 

The legislation (Intro 124-A), which passed the City Council, was vetoed by the Mayor and then overturned by the City Council, stated that “These Debate Program changes will improve the functioning of debates, ease the process of selecting debate sponsors, and enhance the value of the Debate Program for City voters” but Zablocki said they did anything but improve and enhance the value of the Debate Program for City voters.

 

“What the City Council and Bill de Blasio did in 2004 did not enhance the value of the Debate Program for City voters. They merely placed a price tag on ones ability to participate in debates and in-turn ended debates and discussion about the general election,” Alex Zablocki said.

 

The Mayor’s veto message said that “…some changes made by Int. No. 124-A are questionable.  The elimination of one of the two runoff primary debates does not serve the public interest…”  Zablocki believes less debate during the run-off led to lower voter turnout.

 

Zablocki thinks all candidates should be able to participate in the mandatory CFB debates, regardless of how much money they raise. The real test of ones candidacy is the fact that they make it on the ballot, Zablocki said, and by how many signatures they file.  Zablocki filed nearly 30,000 signatures for this candidacy; about four times the legal requirement.

 

Alex Zablocki also points out that Bill de Blasio was the prime sponsor of Intro 564 in 2005, which exempted unions from the same affiliation standards as corporate contributions. The Village Voice, in an article titled “De Blasio leads unholy union war on City’s Campaign Finance Board”, published November 15, 2005, wrote that “De Blasio is a poster boy for conflict of interest on a bill that essentially exempts unions from the same affiliation standards that the Campaign Finance Board has long applied to all institutional donors, including corporations and partnerships.”  The Village Voice notes that the New York Times ran an editorial calling de Blasio’s legislation “meaningless”.  The legislation helped organizations like SEIU Local 1199 and HERE, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, contribute limitless amounts of money to candidates like Bill de Blasio – and all of these groups are connected to de Blasio’s campaign and his family.

 

“De Blasio opened the door to corruption and unlimited campaign funds from big unions through this legislation.  As the Village Voice stated, de Blasio is a poster boy for conflict of interest. How can we elect him to the Pubic Advocate’s office where special interests will control his every move? It is time we get the special interests out of government and elected people willing to stand up to these groups,” Zablocki said.

 

If elected Public Advocate, Alex Zablocki will work with the Campaign Finance Board to introduce legislation that will open up the mandatory debates to all candidates that make it on the ballot.  Zablocki will also seek to strengthen the loopholes in campaign finance law that allows special interests to give unlimited amounts of money to candidates.  If Zablocki isn’t elected, he will be speaking at the meetings held by the CFB after the general election to discuss campaign finance reform.

 

At 26 years old, Alex Zablocki is the youngest candidate ever to run for Public Advocate. A native New Yorker, Alex lives on Staten Island where he owns a home. More information on Alex and his candidacy can be found at www.alex2009.com.

 

The Mayors veto message can be found here.

 

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