November 28, 2003

THE REMAKING OF THE MAYOR - PART 2... THE "GUY" FACTOR.

By James Eugene*

In my original "Remaking" piece, I stated that there was no way for the Mayor to remake himself as "my guy" to any voting bloc. So the question becomes what can the Mayor do to help his reelection chances?

Over the past few weeks, I have seen Mayor Billionaire at a number of different functions before various groups outlining the themes discussed in the original "Remaking" piece. Crime and education were at the forefront of almost every speech, as well as a defense of the tax increases with the hope for their repeal also a prominent part of the speeches. The Mayor takes his credit as the leader and also praises the municipal work force. While his leadership could be discounted by contenders (as it would be with any Mayoral candidate), praising the municipal workforce will not win the Mayor their votes when expired contracts define their worklife.

The Mayor needs to think about how he can become part of something bigger than himself, part of a movement. Bill Thompson, Freddie Ferrer and other minority candidates have that element simply because of their respective ethnic community background and voting bloc patterns. Mayor Billionaire needs a similar social angle. Having never really led a movement or had to grow a political base (which is very different from growing a business), the Billionaire Mayor may not even be aware of this need.

But there is a way Mayor Billionaire can grow the semblance of a base that may pull him to victory. For now, the Mayor too often discusses what the City bureaucracy is doing or will do and his role in that bureaucracy as leader. It is very much an "us" and "you" relationship. Movements are about "us" and "we". The Mayor needs to take the "you" and make it "us."

For example, in his speeches, the Mayor credits Police Commissioner Ray Kelly for the drop in crime. He explains Kelly's methods and the service of the police officers. Good, but not good enough. He needs to credit the public. How about adding the following to his speech: "And you need to take credit too. The public has come to know and expect that it will be safer and that together we can make this City safer. We refuse to simply give into crime. We report crime, we don't tolerate crime and we work together to continue to reduce crime. Together, we are partners in making this City safer."

Or take the economy and tax increases. The Mayor likes to discuss this issue in "passive" voice as if the public does not know that he and the Council increased taxes. But even this can be turned to his advantage. How about something like this: "We have faced tough fiscal times over the past few years and our City has had to face massive deficits, much of not of our own making as Albany has forced us to assume massive new pension obligations. Yes, taxes were raised and you made those sacrifices for the good of our City. We knew why taxes were getting raised: so the quality of our City would not deteriorate, so that we can have the schools our children deserve, so that we can have a quality of life that makes us proud to call ourselves 'New Yorkers'. Yes, it has been tough, but we are a different breed, ready to sacrifice in a time of need and not run from our problems. And I promise you, when we no longer need to sacrifice, I will do everything in my power to lift this burden. Together, we will work ourselves through the treacherous blows brought about by the twin evils of 9-11 and the recession."

And maybe ending with something like: "We are New Yorkers. We confront our problems. We don't run or hide from them. We did the tough work, and as we head into the future, the clouds are lifting and our City can begin to see itself back from the abyss into which our enemies tried to bury us. Some of our colleagues died on 9-11, but we have vowed not to allow that day take a single victim more. Our city has moved away from the abyss. It was not easy, and we have more work to do. But together we will continue to move forward, and I only hope that you will give me the opportunity to continue to work with you as our City's Mayor to complete the job that we started three years ago."

The Mayor's goal in all of this is quite simple. After stating that the work was done together, a vote against the Mayor almost becomes a vote against yourself. And you don't vote against yourself. The Mayor, in essence, becomes your guy. Something so many pundits say he has a problem because he can't relate to the "little guy." But sometimes it is not about a politician relating to the little guy. It is about the little guys relating to the Mayor.

The Mayor won the first time because the political stars had a certain alignment. Giuliani helped, a weak candidate in Mark Green helped and his money helped create an image where there was no record to rebut the image. The next candidate will be stronger than Green and Giuliani will not help as much. Mayor Billionaire has an image (and it is not great right now) that his money can only help reshape, not create. This time the Mayor will need to put his own stars into alignment. Making the little guy feel as if he is part of those stars is a good place to start.

THE LESSONS OF AFGHANISTAN.

I may have said this before, but I am going to say it again. The more that things happen in Iraq, the more I am surprised whenever I hear people talk about the "Lessons of Vietnam." Iraq has absolutely nothing in common with Vietnam. There is no cold war, there are no surrogate combatants, there is no apparent enemy in a fixed location. Comparing Iraq to Vietnam is comparing apples to oranges.

A better comparison is Iraq with the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan where rebel groups waged a guerilla war that we helped fund. We should ask ourselves: what Soviet strategies worked best against the Afghan rebels? Our CIA should know... afterall, they helped the people we are now trying to stop (as Al Queda supposedly joins the battle in Iraq).

If we focus too much on the lessons of Vietnam and not enough about the Soviet experience in Afghanistan, I fear that in a decade, we may be talking about the "Lessons of Iraq." And not in the tones that our President currently uses.

* James Eugene is the pseudonym of a veteran of NYC government affairs. Inside The Big Apple will appear exclusively on the Empire Page. If you want to send tips or column ideas to James Eugene, email them to jameseugene@empirepage.com.