Scott Stringer, August 30, 2006

Scott Stringer (born 1960) is a New York Democratic politician and the current Borough President of Manhattan. His mother, Arlene Stringer-Cuevas, is a cousin of Bella Abzug and served on the New York City Council. Stringer grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan/Lower Inwood, attended Manhattan public schools and graduated from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In 1983, he became a legislative assistant to Assemblyman, and future Congressman, Jerrold Nadler. During these years, he supported Democratic candidates such as Governor Mario Cuomo. In 1992, Stringer ran for Nadler's Assembly seat representing the Upper West Side when Nadler replaced deceased Congressman Ted Weiss.

During his Assembly career, Stringer served as Chairman of the Cities Committee, Chairman of the Real Property Taxation Committee and Chairman of the Oversight, Analysis and Investigation Committee.

In 2001, Stringer ran unsuccessfully for New York City Public Advocate. In 2005, he entered the race to succeed C. Virginia Fields as Manhattan Borough President. On September 13, 2005, he won the Democratic primary against 9 other candidates and was later elected in the November general election. He took office as Borough President on January 1, 2006.

On November 6, 2008, Stringer announced his decision to seek re-election as Manhattan Borough President. His Republican opponent, David Casavis, a history professor and foreign affairs writer/commentator, is running on a platform to abolish the office.^[1] In an October 5, 2009 article in City Limits, Stringer dismissed calls by Casavis and Mayor Bloomberg to eliminate his office: "There are people who are going to call for the elimination of the public advocate office, borough president, the City Council. There are people who believe that we should have a king system here," says Stringer. "Borough presidents are part of a new era and a different kind of government. It has real responsibilities and it gives you a large footprint on the issues you get involved with. It's up to the individual to take advantage of that, that you might have an impact."^[2]

Stringer considered a primary challenge to incumbent United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.^[3] However, he announced in May 2009 that he would not run for the Senate: "In light of President Obama's clear desire to avoid a Democratic primary in New York State, I have decided to focus on my re-election race for Manhattan Borough President and to suspend my exploratory committee and fund-raising efforts for the 2010 Senate race."^[4]

[edit] Controversy

On August 28, 2001, Village Voice political writer Wayne Barrett wrote a lengthy piece entitled, "Mother Dearest & the Courthouse Cabal," in which he discussed Stringer's involvement in courtroom politics, specifically questioning how Stringer's parents had benefitted financially from his political ties, and whether some of his campaign contributors were involved in ethical improprieties. Barrett also raised questions about whether Acting Supreme Court judge Louis York had attempted to gain Stringer's support in his bid for a full term on the court by appointing Stringer's mother nine times as a court evaluator and conservator.^[5]

New York political blogger James "Gatemouth" Ellroy, in an endorsement of Stringer's re-election, criticized Stringer for "using the office to issue statements designed to please his constituents, mostly concerning matters not within his purview."^[6]

The New York Daily News and the New York Post have published editorials calling for the borough presidencies to be eliminated A Post editorial dated July 20, 2008 alleged that Stringer may be billing the taxpayers for some of his campaign travel by chauffered limousine, an allegation Stringer denied. A March 17, 2009 Daily News editorial, headlined, "Useless wastes: Borough presidents don't do much except spend tax money," criticized Stringer and other borough presidents for spending millions of dollars on "pet projects.".^[7][8]

In late July, 2009, Stringer's deputy press secretary, Lee Landor, resigned over controversial, allegedly racist comments she wrote on the social networking service Facebook, including one posting mentioning President "O-dumb-a."^[9]

[edit] External links

• Official Manhattan Borough President Website
• Stringer 2009 Campaign Website

[edit] References

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