DE BLASIO’S VOTE TO GUT PUBLIC ADVOCATE OFFICE AND LACK OF INDEPENDENCE AT COUNCIL

“It was wrong when de Blasio voted to gut the Public Advocate budget 40% and wrong when he supported his Speaker 99.5% of the time," says former Public Advocate Mark Green. "The City needs an Advocate who's an independent leader, not politics as usual by go-along Councilmembers."
 
New York –Mark Green today shined a light on Council Member Bill de Blasio’s record of voting with Speaker Quinn 99.5% of the time, including voting with the Speaker and Mayor to gut the New York City Public Advocate’s budget by 40%, from $2.8 million $1.7 million.
 
“While serving as a member of the City Council, it was Bill de Blasio’s role to negotiate the City’s budget on behalf of the Brooklyn delegation and also to stand up to Quinn when necessary, and to stand up to Bloomberg when necessary. But when the effectiveness if not existence of the Public Advocate’s office came up, he was publicly silent and took a dive when City constituents needed him -- and voted in favor of gutting the office he ways he wants to hold. Why is he running if he doesn't seem to believe in the office he's seeking?”, asked Green.  “The budget issue is not about so much Bill or me but rather the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who need a strong, independent advocate for them in the bureaucracy and over City Hall, getting them the housing they need, the senior services they need, the education their kids need." 
 
“A reduction of just 20 percent of de Blasio’s individual Member Item Slush funds would have left the Public Advocate’s budget intact,” explained Green. "The City now needs new independent leadership, not more politics as usual represented by go-along incumbents like Bill de Blasio."
 
The Public Advocate has been referred to by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as "the Conscience of the City." Under the City Charter, it is the “ombudsman” who answers citizen complaints, investigates City services, and serves as a counter-weight to a powerful Mayor. "It used to be a voice of the people making sure that they had access to their government and had the services they needed and paid for -- all that at just 25 cents a citizen.  And it can be that again, unless legislators like de Blasio cut and gut the office."

 “So I would have joined Councilmember Eric Gioia in voting against the budget,” added Green. “Bill may talk a good game about children and invoke the tragedy Nixzmary Brown often.  But gutting the Public Advocate’s budget means that there won’t be sufficient funding to identify systemic problems like those that lead to her death and we won’t have a strong advocate for reform as my office was following the death of Elisa Izquierdo that successfully lead to the Administration for Children’s Services.”

Image courtesy of NewYork.OpenLegislation.org.