Ed Koch is the cantankerous three-term former Mayor of New York City who is now taking on another job: the unofficial president of a gathering of people–members of good government groups, public policy experts, and political experts– dedicated to government reform.
Their unofficial slogan? Throw The Bums Out.
Koch says he wants even the supposed “good guys” out because they’re “not good enough” and warns it will be long-standing incumbents who will face his wrath. And his anger is common throughout the city, state, and country, fueled by a bad economy and mounting ethics probes for elected officials.
A day after April Fools Day, the Daily News published a two-page article on the recent federal probe of not one, not two, not three, but four Queens politicians (one retired)–State Senator Malcolm Smith, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, former Congressman Reverend Floyd Flake, and Congressman Greg Meeks.
The federal investigation varies per politician, but the themes that run throughout are common: lined pockets and special favors for family and friends in the form of suspicious non-profits and real estate deals, some involving a charter school.
The three politicians currently serving the people of Queens have held their seats for years. Helen Marshall, for example, crushed her competition in the last election for borough president by large, double-digit margin. Meeks and Smith also have won their last elections by big digits even though, as I’ve pointed out before, their constituents
Ed Koch–a man who clearly loves and respects justice as he worked as a judge on People’s Court–is angry. The newspapers are angry. Even other politicians are angry.
But the people? They ultimately decide who stays and who goes. Are they angry enough?
NOTE: My sister worked for a few years as an editor at The Wave, the local newspaper serving the communities in Rockaway. Over dinner one night while we both visited our parents, she reminded me of a column Congressman Meeks would sometimes put in the paper, Meeks Speaks, where he would offer a PR-type piece on all the good he’s doing for the people reading the paper.
“It was a nightmare to edit,” she told me. “Whoever was writing it didn’t understand the English language.” It had been a while since I’d seen the column, and I figured he was no longer writing his commentary.
But last week’s edition of The Wave featured a return to Meeks Speaks with the title “Health Care Reform: Help Is On The Way”, which was his long-winded way of saying he voted yes for the Health Care Reform Act. He didn’t mention any of his scandals. Welcome back!