In 2001, I was a volunteer for Michael Bloomberg's campaign.
Accompanied by the founder of the Guardian Angels, Curtis Sliwa,
he came to Staten Island to thank the volunteers.
Just prior to the visit, Mr. Bloomberg made a public statement
admonishing the Mark Green campaign for distributing racist
material about his rival in the Democratic primary, Fernando
Ferrer. I spoke to the future mayor and tried to tell him that if
he was rallying around Mr. Ferrer to court Hispanics, he was
wasting his time because the Democrat's support in that community
was tenuous at best. Mr. Bloomberg responded only that Mr. Green
was wrong to do what he did to Mr. Ferrer. Today's Election Day
results will probably bear out my opinion, and if the Democrats
can't figure out why, there's no hope for them.
The GOP primary took place on September 11 and I voted early for
Mr. Bloomberg. Fate intervened in the form of the World Trade
Center attack, and the primary was rescheduled. Once it was
obvious, however, that Mr. Bloomberg had secured enough votes to
win the Republican nomination, I voted for Herman Badillo on
principle because he should have been the Hispanic standard
bearer. His values represent those of the community more
accurately.
Most Hispanics I knew either stayed home the day of the Democrat
primary or voted for Mr. Ferrer only because they didn't want Mr.
Green to win. Why? Because New York City is a huge deal and Mr.
Ferrer is a former Bronx borough president with a lack of vision
for this great town.
Most Hispanics who vote are working people, and jobs, safety, and
schools rank highest among their priorities. Mr. Bloomberg is a
self-made billionaire, so many residents figured that the city
would benefit from his business acumen. Mr. Ferrer, on the other
hand, is a traditional Democrat who comes from the
anti-corporate, pro-social service programs school and is prone
to raise taxes to pay for them. That is so passe.
Herman Cain is a black man who wrote the book "They Think
You're Stupid." He was referring to Democratic politicians
taking black voters for granted. The same can be said for
Hispanic leaders, who are chanting the same tired slogans about
tax cuts for the rich while ignoring the fact that tax cuts have
helped the struggling families of New York City. Liberal
politicians and left-wing blatherers like Michael Moore may
despise corporations in their rhetoric, but their blatant
hypocrisy has been exposed on the Internet and in a new book,
"Do As I Say: Profiles of Liberal Hypocrisy," by Peter
Schweizer, who actually checked their stock portfolios.
Hispanics shop at Wal-Mart and some work two or three jobs to
support their families. They are conservative and have basically
strong family values. This is not the image that is promulgated
by the Democratic Party, which insists that abortion rights and
gay rights supersede all others. This particular year, the
Republican candidate also shares these nontraditional values,
which may result in many Hispanics staying home or, like me,
voting for the Conservative candidate, Thomas Ognibene.
I met Mr. Ferrer last year and learned that he had attended
parochial school as I did, which probably explains why neither of
us speaks with an accent. I wondered how someone taught by nuns
could be associated with a faction that supports partial birth
abortion. Apparently, that thought occurred to whoever posted the
falsity on Mr. Ferrer's Web site that he attended public school.
Religious education is a luxury many Hispanics would dearly love
for their children. Had Mr. Ferrer indicated that he supported
school choice, perhaps he would have increased support here.
It would also have been nice if Mr. Ferrer had visited the North
Shore of Staten Island, where many Hispanics live, to criticize
the Bloomberg administration for halting the move of the 120th
Precinct to Stapleton near the housing project, a high-crime area
that was the scene of an intense manhunt for the killers of two
undercover police officers last year. Residents would have
cheered anyone who championed their cause for a stronger police
presence. Instead, a new temporary police substation was recently
ordered for the 122nd Precinct on the West Shore, a more
affluent, politically powerful area that does not have a serious
crime problem.
Mr. Ferrer waited until Sunday to venture to the forgotten
borough to greet shoppers outside a Pathmark. He should have held
a town hall meeting with minority community leaders at the
beginning of his campaign to discuss his agenda. If the Democrats
really want to recapture the mayor's office, they should stop
running hapless campaigns with generic ethnic candidates and
focus on issues that resonate with all New Yorkers.