Following are the endorsements and recommendations of The New York Sun with respect to the election today:

Proposals 1 and 2. We recommend votes of “no.” The proposals would allow the government to borrow more money, the last thing it needs to be doing when it can cut spending.

Proposal 3, for so-called “nonpartisan elections,” we urge a vote of “no.” There is no need to scrap a system that allows New Yorkers to associate freely and to aggregate their political power via political parties. We share many of the policy goals of the proponents of this scheme, but would rather win on substance than by changing the rules.

Proposals 4 and 5, on these we recommend votes of “no.” These proposals supposedly are aimed at improving procurement and administration respectively. Prop. 4 would add more rules regarding minority- and women-owned businesses. Prop. 5 would give the Department of Consumer Affairs more judicial power. The city is already over-regulated.

In the races for City Council, three Republicans in Manhattan have banded together under what they are calling the “Urban Republican Platform,” pushing for tax cuts, spending cuts, and school choice. One, Jennifer Arangio, is running against the council’s current speaker, Gifford Miller, in the fifth councilmanic district. Mr. Miller can be held accountable for the council’s failed tenure, which has been marred by the tax increases, the smoking regulation, and the scandalous vote against the liberation of Iraq.

The other Urban Republicans are Joshua Yablon, who is running against Gale Brewer in the sixth council district on the Upper West Side, and Jay Golub, who is running against Margarita Lopez in the second council district on the Lower East Side. All three candidates, despite some timidity on taxes cuts, deserve support. Also winning our endorsement is Michael Cohen, who is running against Democrat Eva Moskowitz, who is an earnest, at times courageous chairman of the Education Committee but who voted for the tax increases and failed to fight the anti-war resolution.

In Queens, we support the re-election of Tony Avella in the 19th councilmanic district. Mr. Avella was one of only three Democrats to oppose Mr. Bloomberg’s property tax increase. The other two were the late James Davis of Brooklyn and Allan Jennings of Queens. Mr. Jennings faces no op ponent today. In the 26th district in Queens, the Sun supports Patrick Hurley, an outsider and underdog. Mr. Hurley opposes the mayor’s Keystone Smoke Kops and argues for the interests of tavern owners. He wants to repeal the mayor’s property tax increase, and he’s for school choice.

In Brooklyn, voters have a chance to send a message to the incumbent in the 43rd district, Vincent Gentile, for his default on taxes after winning a special election earlier this year. He ran claiming to represent “the beginnings of an outer-borough tax revolt.” However, he voted with the council’s Democratic majority to authorize the state Legislature to raise income and sales taxes in the city. So we endorse the Republican, Pat Russo, against Mr. Gentile. Mr. Russo understands the harm the smoking ban has caused and has the endorsements of state Senator Martin Golden and Mayor Giuliani.

To replace the late James Davis in Brooklyn’s 35th council district, the Sun endorses Anthony Herbert, a disaffected Democrat running as a Republican. He opposes the Democratic machine in Brooklyn, supports school choice, and favors growth. In the judicial races, the Sun endorses Margarita Lopez Torres, an opponent of the Democratic machine. She is running on the Working Families Party line, having been spurned by the Democrats. Her election would send a message that it is possible to stand up against corruption in Brooklyn. For Civil Court, we endorse Philip Smallman, who is running on the Republican, Conservative, and Independence lines.

In Staten Island, we endorse Lisa Giovinazzo in the 49th councilmanic district to replace incumbent Democrat Michael McMahon, who supported Mr. Bloomberg’s property tax increase, which the Independent Budget Office said will hit the North Shore district harder than any other part of the island, costing landlords an average of $570 a building every year. Ms. Giovinazzo has pledged not to raise taxes. In the race for district attorney of Staten Island, we endorse Daniel Donovan, a former prosecutor who is currently the deputy borough president. Mr. Donovan makes a convincing case that the office, under his opponent, David Lehr, and his boss, the long-serving district attorney, William Murphy, has not lived up to its potential. We also support the re-election of James Oddo in the 50th council district. Despite opposing so-called “overdevelopment” on Staten Island, Mr. Oddo has served as a voice of the middle class, leading the Republicans in opposition to Mr. Bloomberg’s tax hikes.