Where’s He Going?
William Scarborough Shares!

By MICHAEL SCHENKLER

When Southeast Queens    Assemblyman William Scarborough called my office to ask for a sit-down, I was pleased.

In my many years of schmoozing with political hoohahs, our two paths never crossed.

Well, I’m glad they finally did.

Bill is impressive. In an hour session, he proved to be intelligent, quick-thinking, pleasant, sincere and most of all, a straight shooter. Unlike too many politicians, he tells it like it is – on the record.

Occasionally, he’s a bit cautious with his words. When it came to the commuter tax repeal – a dreadful political deal that Scarborough and a batch of his downstate Democratic colleagues supported – he chose his words with care, detailing the same excuses for voting for it that his leader Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver used when he ramrodded the effort.

Scarborough mentioned that there was a State and City surplus at the time of the vote, and said, “[The Democrats] felt it was a difficult issue, but we felt we needed to protect the Democratic majority in the Assembly. . . . We felt it was the lesser of two evils.”

Still, despite defending the vote (which cost the City some $2 billion and counting), he admitted, “In retrospect I’m sorry I voted for it.” And although he did admit that Silver pushed the Dems, he made sure to add, “There was a logic to it.”

Yes, he’s careful, but the man who says he “loves” his job is basically honest and straightforward.

For example, he came right out and just about declared his candidacy for Queens Borough President after Helen Marshall leaves the post.

He said, “I would love to [run]. I did put my name up when Claire Shulman was term-limited out.” Although he said he wouldn’t run against Helen Marshall and had heard that “she’s preparing to run again,” he has his sights fixed on that seat when she leaves, and said, “I certainly want to move ahead.”

A way to speed up the process of moving forward is becoming a district leader, and he said, “That’s something I would look at.” Currently, former Councilman Archie Spigner holds the district leader seat he would be eligible for, but when Spigner retires, Scarborough said, “I could be next in line. We’ll see.”

In his current position, he admits, “There’s frustration in Albany,” and when asked whether the system works, he responded quickly and bluntly, “No, it doesn’t work.” He added, “It’s a dysfunctional system. I think it’s a sad commentary that we haven’t been able to come together.”

He called the budget’s April deadline “unrealistic,” and said the Legislature’s record of not passing an on-time budget in 18 years is its biggest failure.

He said the process “needs fixing,” and said the “blame can go all around” for the Legislature not addressing the State’s deficit until now.

He said he doesn’t feel stonewalled when introducing legislation in the Assembly, and noted, “Every piece of legislation that I have seriously pushed and gone through the process with, has gotten passed. There have been no roadblocks from Shelly [Silver].” He admitted, however, that when it comes to Albany group participation, “It’s certainly not as much as it should be.”

He also said the Legislature’s poor image comes from the media’s refusal to cover anything positive, and insisted, “Those things that catch the public’s attention are when a politician is caught with his hand in somebody else’s pocket . . . I believe most [elected officials] that I see are not corrupt. Most that I see got into this business to make a difference, to be helpful.”

 That’s why he got into politics, he said, as a member of Community School Board 28 and the Guy Brewer Democratic Club. Those positions led to a job as District Manager of Community Board 12. He ran for office in 1994 against Cynthia Jenkins – an oddball incumbent who was not well liked by Democratic Party insiders. In fact, Scarborough was able to beat the incumbent because County (the Dem Organization) knocked her off the ballot for fraud.

“Is that what County’s planning to do this year against oddball Councilman Allan Jennings?” I asked. Bill doesn’t know, but said, “I would not be surprised if ‘someone’ challenged his petitions.”

Will Scarborough’s successor with Board 12, Yvonne Reddick, be the one challenging Jennings? “I keep hearing she’s running,” Scarborough said, admitting he hasn’t spoken to her about it.

Although he likes Reddick, and said he heard that Jennings has “burned a number of bridges on the City Council and the [Dem] Party,” he said, “I don’t think [Jennings] is going to be easy to beat.”

He called Congressman Greg Meeks the political leader of the community and mentioned that he holds meetings with the Southeast Queens delegation to “hash things out” every once in a while. Of the Southeast Queens political community effort, he mentioned that many of the elected leaders work effectively together, but admitted that State Senator Ada Smith and Assemblywoman Vivian Cook are sort of on their own. He said, “I get along well with both of them.”

We tried to get an invite to one of those Southeast Queens political get-togethers and Scarborough, ever the diplomat, said, “Call Greg [Meeks].”

Currently, Scarborough said he’s focusing on education issues and opposes the Mayor’s plan for education. He doesn’t think the City should have kept the old horrific system, but doesn’t think combining districts is the way to fix what’s broken. He said he believes the structure and personnel needed fixing, but not the districts themselves. He said, “I think we threw the baby out with the bathwater.”

As we watch leadership of Southeast Queens evolve in the post-Congressman Floyd Flake era, several leaders have been emerging. Scarborough named Meeks and had high hopes for Councilman Leroy Comrie, as well as others.

But this modest, well-spoken public servant has come a long way  himself since that commuter tax vote and the next time there is a real horserace for Queens Borough President, look for William Scarborough rounding the first bend.

Bill, it was a pleasure meeting you.

Hope to see you again soon — maybe at one of those meetings with Greg . . . .

— Angela Montefinise
contributed to this column

The Learning Process Of School Change  

They’re upset in Community School District 26.

Now, I’m not looking to pick a fight with the mob-like gang that descended on and ran last week’s meeting sponsored by Community Board 11 and the District 26 President’s Council on the changes to the City’s educational system.

I even understand that residents in the City’s best school district want to hold on to what they’ve got. They fear change threatens their educational level, property values and their insular community.

To some degree they’re right.

But to get the answers to fair questions, there must be dialogue. Shouting, rudeness and limiting the speaking time of a patient, knowledgeable and caring Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott demonstrates not concern for resolution but the woeful obstructionist mentality that divides people and delays solutions.

Our City’s school system has failed our City’s children – for far too many years. Change is needed — no one can doubt that.

Along comes a forceful, visionary Mayor ready to tackle the education crisis and make the tough decisions. He brilliantly negotiates control of the system and begins the process of change.

He is a skilled — perhaps brilliant — manager whose ability will be tested at this most difficult task. But he has accepted the challenge and we applaud him for it.

We expect, as his process of change moves forth, Mayor Bloomberg and his team will seek input from all of NYC’s people.

The dialogue will be important to the final outcome.

But I fear many of the members of the gang in School District 26 do not want a dialogue. I fear they might be willing to try to prevent the City from serving all the children in order to build their own fortress.

This is a big and wonderfully diverse City. District 26 is part of it. Change is occurring. Using their intellect and voice to provide constructive input into the process may serve as the best learning example for their children in what a democratic society is all about.

We challenge District 26 to help the Mayor achieve the best for all our children, including theirs.

A Visit From Joe Lieberman

Joe Lieberman & Michael Schenkler

Joe Lieberman came to town earlier this month on his quest for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the Presidency.

At a small informal gathering, Lieberman supported the Bush war position with Iraq, but was critical of the administration’s first year and its half failure to establish goodwill in the world community by sitting down and discussing the issues that mattered to them.

Lieberman is one of nine Dems seeking the Democratic nomination for president and he referred to the field as the “party’s own baseball team.”

The visit was his first step to build goodwill among party decision makers and fundraisers.

Not4Publication.com by Dom Nunziato

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Michael Schenkler can be reached at: MSchenkler@queenspress.com