Candidates Work Gay Pride Parade

The signs were affixed to barricades, mounted on sticks, and held high by cheering spectators. On one block alone, more than 70 were visible. Marching down Fifth Avenue yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg was surrounded on all sides by a near-wall of posters reading “Mike Bloomberg With Pride.”Except for the cross-dressing cheerleaders in rainbow-colored wigs, one could have mistaken the gathering for a political rally, rather than the annual Gay Pride Parade. New York’s parades have long been a forum for candidates to connect with voters. With the Bloomberg re-election campaign now spending at a rate of more than $1 million a week, much of it on outreach and advertising, the Pride Parade this year included a mighty visual display of the mayor’s money and resources.While Mr. Bloomberg calmly strode the parade route, occasionally chatting with a spectator, one possible opponent, City Council speaker Gifford Miller, energetically shook hands and introduced himself to spectators, while a flatbed truck carried male dancers in pink Gifford Miller T-shirts down the avenue.Mr. Miller has positioned himself as a stronger backer of gay rights than Mr. Bloomberg. Today he will try to override the mayor’s veto of a bill that would have forced some companies doing business with the city to provide same-sex domestic-partner benefits. Mr. Miller also differed with Mr. Bloomberg on whether the city should have appealed a decision in the state Supreme Court, clearing the way for same-sex marriage.Speaking before the parade, the mayor reiterated his opposition to the domestic-partners bill. “The city can’t use its procurement policies to advance social issues because if it did, eventually you couldn’t deal with anybody,” Mr. Bloomberg said. He also told reporters that he would not perform a same-sex marriage at City Hall. “Because at the moment, it’s not legal,” he said.The other Democratic candidates for mayor were also on hand. C. Virginia Fields was flanked by a pair of 2001 political adversaries: the Reverend Alford Sharpton and a former public advocate, Mark Green.

Candidates Work Gay Pride Parade

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