Symbolism Strong as Ferrer Supporters Rangel, Thompson Stand With Mayor

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The New York Sun

Mayor Bloomberg joined with two of his Democratic challenger’s top supporters yesterday afternoon to announce a series of initiatives that would open job opportunities in the construction industry to women and minorities.


The broad coalition of union and political leaders who gathered in City Hall’s Blue Room for the announcement heralded the programs as avenues for tens of thousands of New Yorkers to high-paying jobs. But with questions swirling about the mayor’s refusal to participate in tonight’s Campaign Finance Board-sponsored debate at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and with the Bloomberg and Ferrer campaigns fighting for supporters, the people who stood beside Mr. Bloomberg – Rep. Charles Rangel and Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. – might have been more important than the initiatives they announced.


The comptroller and the congressman insisted that the event wasn’t about politics, but with Election Day just a month away, almost everything in New York City is political, and it was hard for them to deny the political symbolism as they stood with Mr. Bloomberg and praised him for tackling an issue that is one of Fernando Ferrer’s top campaign gripes.


Mr. Rangel gave Mr. Bloomberg an elbow-holding handshake as the cameras rolled. He said the political implications of standing with the Republican mayor were outweighed by the thought of “tens of thousands of kids and the people who are out of work” who would be helped by the conclusions of the Mayor’s Commission on Construction Opportunity, which Mr. Bloomberg created in March at Mr. Rangel’s request.


Mr. Thompson started his remarks by giving the mayor credit “for the work that you’ve done and the leadership you’ve shown on this issue.” He added, “We’ve taken our political hats off at the door and left them there. This is standing up and doing work collaboratively on behalf of the people of the city of New York. And that’s why we were elected, to stand up and work for them.”


At an event in Harlem, Mr. Ferrer downplayed the importance of his supporters, praising the mayor for attempting to create construction jobs for women and minorities.


“I’m really glad the mayor is focused on it now, with fewer than five weeks to go till the election. Better late than never. And I’m glad that he’s finally focusing on a problem that’s been talked about by all of us with the encouragement of Congressman Rangel and Comptroller Billy Thompson for four years, though Michael Bloomberg has virtually ignored chronic unemployment,” he said. “He’s virtually ignored the 50% dropout rate. So, it seems to me, this is … well, he’s a day late and a dollar short.”


Mr. Bloomberg received another round of pummeling yesterday for his decision not to participate in tonight’s debate on NY1.


Mr. Rangel called the mayor’s decision “personally hurtful,” and the State Democratic Committee distributed an e-mail to reporters claiming the mayor was “afraid to answer simple yes/no questions about his record.”


At the mayor’s Q &A with reporters, he faced almost 10 minutes of questions about his debate decision.


“I can just say it has nothing to do with dissing any community,” he insisted. “There were two debates four years ago, there were two debates eight years ago. We’re going to have two debates this time.” He was asked twice if he was afraid. Both times he said no.


Mr. Bloomberg said it made more sense to debate closer to the election, when New Yorkers are more focused on the election – “when people are focusing on the election as opposed to whether the Yankees are going to win the World Series.”


He also insisted that he supports the Apollo Theater and is not racially insensitive. Richard Parsons, who is the chairman of Time Warner Cable, which owns NY1,and the chairman of the Apollo Theater Foundation, sent out a statement yesterday afternoon indicating that he is more on the side of the mayor than on the side of his own television station.


He said people have “sought to portray the mayor as disrespectful of this historic venue, its heritage, and the community it serves.” In his opinion, “nothing is further from the truth. Not only has Mayor Bloomberg been a supporter of the Apollo for many years, he has encouraged others to support us as well. As this election season moves into full swing, I encourage all New Yorkers to focus on the issues that confront our great city and not the venues for their debate.”


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