Morgenthau Tells Liberals, No Thanks, 43 Years After He First Had Their Line
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, has decided not to run on the Liberal Party line in this fall’s election.
The longtime district attorney consented to have his name appear on Liberal Party petitions that Mayor Bloomberg’s team has been circulating. But a few days ago, Mr. Morgenthau told the Liberal leader, Henry Stern, in a letter that he’s decided to not to accept the party’s endorsement, even if it is offered.
The Liberal Party’s support for Mr. Morgenthau dates back to 1962, when he ran for governor against Nelson Rockefeller.
The district attorney is facing a vigorous challenge from Leslie Crocker Snyder in the Democratic primary.
Mr. Stern said last night that Mr. Morgenthau is not turning his back on the Liberal Party, which lost its official standing as a party in the last gubernatorial election and became what’s known as an “independent body” under state law.
“It had nothing to do with his regard for the Liberal Party, as far as we know,” Mr. Stern, the former city parks commissioner, told The New York Sun. “He feels, or his staff feels, that there would be a tactical advantage in not being involved in an affirmative litigation before the primary, which is a totally reasonable position, and since he’s a good friend of the Liberal Party, we respect his position.”
Mr. Stern was referring to the possibility that his party might go to court to try to get its own line on the ballot, using Nassau County candidates as plaintiffs. Under current law, “independent bodies” must share a line on the ballot if their candidate receives the endorsements of more than two “major” parties. That means Mr. Bloomberg, whose campaign is proceeding with Liberal Party petitioning, could appear on November’s ballot as a Liberal Republican, as well as the nominee of the Independence Party.
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Rep. Anthony Weiner’s comment during Tuesday’s Democratic primary debate that union presidents who have endorsed Mayor Bloomberg should “hang their heads in shame” brought a backlash from some of those unions, which said yesterday they would not support Mr. Weiner in any future elections as they had when he ran for Congress and earlier for a seat on the City Council.
Protesting outside his downtown office, presidents and members of local carpenters, painters, construction workers, court officers, correction officers, and fire dispatchers’ unions lambasted Mr. Weiner, who, along with the other candidates, urged union members to break ranks and vote for a Democratic mayoral candidate.
Mr. Weiner, who had drawn ire from unions because he did not support a Jets Stadium on the far West Side, said: “I’ve criticized them for turning their back on the Democratic party and they criticize me for criticizing them? It’s like a Jackie Mason routine.”
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A candidate for public advocate, Andrew Rasiej, released a pair of television commercials yesterday attacking Mayor Bloomberg for failing to get the city wired for Internet access.
Mr. Rasiej’s campaign team announced the commercials during a conference call yesterday afternoon, with two reporters listening in and asking questions. Campaign officials would not say how much they spent to make and air the advertisements.
The commercials attack Mr. Bloomberg using some of the mayor’s own footage, rather than going after the incumbent in the office, Betsy Gotbaum. Mr. Rasiej’s campaign has focused on improving and expanding the city’s Internet connections and communication systems.
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The city’s Campaign Finance Board distributed more than $2.8 million in public funds to 50 candidates yesterday, but the board denied a request for matching funds from one Democrat running for mayor, Anthony Weiner.
“It’s our understanding that this was primarily a paperwork issue,” a Weiner spokesman, Anson Kaye, said.
“I’m not going to get into details while we’re in conversations with the CFB,” Mr. Kaye said. He added, though, that the campaign expects it will soon receive a payment from the board “in the ballpark of 50 to 100 grand.” He said that Mr. Weiner, as a Democratic congressman from a Brooklyn-Queens district, is subject to federal campaign finance laws in addition to city rules, so “it’s a more complicated regulatory scheme for us than it is for the other campaigns.”
Mr. Weiner’s three principal opponents in next month’s mayoral primary all received payments from the board yesterday, with front-runner Fernando Ferrer’s campaign reeling in the most in matching funds, $121,490.
Meanwhile, in the race for president of Manhattan, all nine Democratic candidates received matching funds, including a City Council member, Margarita Lopez. Her request for $115,933 from the board had been rejected earlier this month, reportedly because she had not accounted for discrepancies in filings from her 2001 council campaign. Yesterday, though, Ms. Lopez received $382,239 from the board.
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The only major-party female candidate running for mayor, C. Virginia Fields, received endorsements yesterday from three women’s organization. Ms. Fields, who is president of Manhattan and one of four Democrats vying to challenge Mayor Bloomberg, said in a statement that the endorsement would add “momentum” to her campaign.
The organizations are the National Organization for Women New York City, Women Building for the Future, and the Women’s Campaign Fund. The campaign released a statement from the manager of Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, Donna Brazile. Ms. Brazile, who is affiliated with the Building for the Future organization, said: “We’re delighted to stand with Virginia and we are asking voters to look at her record in public office and see the results for themselves.”