Man-Dates and other political mud

By Ben Munson

So Senator Jon Corzine is now Governor Jon Corzine. Looks like Doug Forrester’s “At least I’m not gay or divorced” tactic didn’t work. I think the Daily Kos crowd will proclaim this and the Democratic win in Virginia as further knives in the back of the Bush administration, but I’m not so sure. While Governors are important in solidifying electoral power for the executive branch, they’re not nearly as important as legislative inroads, and neither of these seats are gains for the Democrats, merely holds.

On the matter of Michael Bloomberg, let’s hope that he takes this victory not as a mandate to continue his policies unabated, but an opportunity to re-examine his way of doing things. The biggest thing I hope Mayor Bloomberg does is re-examine how people are supposed to survive in the city. The average price for buying an apartment now in New York is almost a million dollars. Even with the housing bubble, this is a ridiculous figure. The mayor has already mandated affordable housing be built by developers creating large developments - let’s hope he moves further in that direction. New York works best when everyone can afford to live there.