BY MORGAN PEHME I understand why the governor, the mayors of our major cities and their immediate families are worthy of police protection, given the visibility of their positions and the passions they engender. I can see the case made for assigning a round-the-clock sentry to our United States senators. But barring a specific threat, wasting police resources and squandering public money on guarding any other elected or appointed official in our state strikes me as silly. I mean, how many people can even recognize New York City Public Advocate Letitia James or Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, let alone care enough about them to bear them any genuine malice? Yet nonetheless, every time the Speaker takes a step, tough guys with earpieces spring into action as if she were the president. I’m sure they don’t realize it, but in truth it is the elected officials benefiting from these perks who suffer from them the most. Falling into the bubble of exclusivity is exactly what keeps them from connecting with the people they need to stay in touch with to further their careers. A rumor floating widely about at the SOMOS conference earlier this month was that Gov. Cuomo had offered Christine Quinn Deputy Secretary for Civil Rights Alphonso David’s position when he moves on, but rather than wanting his meaty job, she prefers the largely ceremonial one of secretary of state, because unlike David’s, it comes with some of the goodies, such as a chauffeur, that she had grown accustomed to as New York City Council Speaker. (To his credit, Cesar Perales, the current secretary of state, has declined these accoutrements, though a knowledgeable source tells me they could easily be restored to his successor upon request.) Whether this gossip is true, it has the ring of truth—and that’s sad enough. What I don’t understand is why, in this new progressive era, Mark-Viverito, James and Stringer, all self-proclaimed populists, wouldn’t make a very big public show of saving the taxpayers money by renouncing their security details and doing away with their drivers. That would certainly win them praise from editorial boards and voters alike. I’m not holding my breath for that to occur. The fact is, these politicians are only too happy to accept such perks—while hiding behind the excuse that they are mandatory—because these trifles make them feel powerful. It is lost on them that it is not the trappings of power that make one mighty but what one does with the power one possesses.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 12:11:44 +0000
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