The Wave Endorses…

The election that will be held this coming Tuesday takes on a proportion greater than itself in light of what happened in our city on September 11. It is more important than ever that all registered voters do their civic duty and vote for the candidate of their choice. Democracy demands no less and the voter’s decision this year is critical to take us through this difficult period in our history. We need only the best to guide us through the next few years. After much debate and discussion, The Wave editorial board has decided to make the following endorsements.

For City Council in the 31^st Councilmanic District, James Sanders, Jr:

The reason that Sanders is our obvious choice is due to the fact that he is a fierce proponent for change in the Rockaway community, and he has been for many, many years. He is the candidate that has the most feasible and realistic plan for economic, cultural and social reconstruction within the district. His opponents have some interesting ideas as well, but we feel that Sanders’ status as a community activist, civic leader, businessman, vice-president of Community School Board 27, and lifelong Rockaway resident make him the best choice to address the concerns of District 31.

For City Council in the 32^nd Councilmanic District, Joseph Addabbo. The decision on who to endorse in the 32^nd District was a tough one. There are four candidates, two of whom reside in Rockaway. One of those candidates, Robert Curran, is an attractive, young candidate with many good ideas. Our problem with Curran is that we do not believe a Green Party candidate can win the election. Given a few years, however, that might change. We will be watching Curran closely in future elections. John Baxter, the other Rockaway resident running for this seat has been active in both the community and his party for a long time but has little community support. That leaves the two mainland candidates, Joann Ariola and Joe Addabbo. We believe that both of them will pay attention to Rockaway issues and that both have experience in both community affairs and in government. What it comes down to then, is character and our belief that Addabbo will do more for Rockaway. We were saddened when Ariola made personal attacks on Audrey Pheffer in her 1996 campaign for the Assembly. We believe that she miscalculated and lost the election because of those personal attacks. Since that time, Ariola has worked closely with two politicians who we believe represent the worst of what a politician can be – Al Stabile and Noach Dear. Try as she will, there is no way that she can distance herself from these two men who she worked for and their politics. Stabile has never served Rockaway well and there is no reason to believe that his ex-chief of staff will be any different. In addition, at a political forum held Monday night at Beach Channel High School, Ariola again moved away from her attributes to attack Joe Addabbo. Addabbo retained the high ground by refusing to attack Ariola in turn. That is why Addabbo is our choice. He is bright and articulate, both a lawyer and an accountant. He has spent time in Rockaway and understands our particular needs. He maintains the high ground. His ideas are sound and realistic. We do not believe that he will promise us anything that he cannot deliver and we do believe that he will work tirelessly for Rockaway. We urge voters to cast their ballot for Addabbo.

For Queens Borough President, Helen Marshall. There was never any doubt about which candidate The Wave would endorse for this borough-wide position. Al Stabile has never answered the questions concerning his involvement as president-treasurer of the Ozone-Howard Little League and concerning the use of campaign funds to pay for his daughter’s wedding. They are important questions of character. Far worse than those questions, however, is the way Stabile has treated Rockaway as its councilperson. Shortly after his election, he closed his Rockaway office and stopped addressing the needs of those who live on the peninsula. For a time, he even refused to come to Rockaway to receive awards from groups who were honoring him for providing them with funds. As his troubles grew, so did his isolation from the community. He was perhaps the worst city council member ever to represent Rockaway. There is no indication that he would do anything more as Borough President. While Marshall is the choice of the Democratic power structure and our own Audrey Pheffer was passed over by that power structure, there is no choice but to endorse Marshall.

For Mayor, Mike Bloomberg: It may very well be that Mike Bloomberg, with his business background, is the man that our city needs right now to lead it through the crisis we are facing. Mayor Giuliani had no "political" background when he took the job, but that did not keep him from leading the city in the right direction. Bloomberg’s lack of a political background does not worry us in the least. What does worry us is the fact that we do not like some of the things that he stands for. We do not like his education platform very much and we do not like some of his ideas that seem to be more right-wing than enlightened. Mark Green, on the other hand, has long been part of the Liberal, Democratic Party power structure and it frightens us that he comes from the Koch-Dinkins-Messinger wing of the party. We do not want to see the city moving backwards into that milieu, even for a minute. Bloomberg does not know much about Rockaway. In an early interview with the editor of The Wave, he seemed to know little and care less about Rockaway’s particular problems and how to solve them. Perhaps that has changed now that he has had some campaigning under his belt. Green, on the other hand, walked the Rockaway boardwalk and talked to voters. In an interview with The Wave, he had a grasp on Rockaway problems and those of senior citizens. Having said that, we endorse Mike Bloomberg as the man who has the experience that New York needs most at this point in its history. This is no time for politics as usual and that is what Mark Green represents.

For Supreme Court Judge, Martin Ritholtz, Joan Durante, Duane Hart, Peter O’Donohue and Sidney Strauss. While a number of the candidates are "cross-endorsed" by both parties, two are not. We believe that electing the Democratic candidates, particularly Rockaway resident Martin Ritholtz, is in the best interests of the peninsula.

On the six City Charter Amendments, we urge voters to cast a "No" vote for all six. The amendments will be expensive; they will increase the bureaucracy and will serve little purpose. Even the school safety proposal is flawed because it will criminalize behavior that is not criminal for both students and for school staff.