Seabrook Speaks: Attendance, Matching Funds

Shortly after he was singled out for having one of the lowest attendance rates in the City Council, I happened to catch Larry Seabrook on his way to the National Action Network dinner at the Sheraton last night. Above, he's joined by Jose Rivera, the Bronx County leader. (Or, as he described himself, Seabrook's "street lawyer.") Seabrook explained that the story about his lackluster attendance was unfair because "suppose the highest [attendance rate] was 80" and "the lowest was 70. Is that fair? Why don't they put everybody in?" While I had the opportunity, I also asked him (well after the fact) about why he needed matching funds for his 2005 re-election campaign against a Republican candidate who had $0 in his campaign account. In a letter to the Campaign Finance Board, Seabrook had explained that he needed the money because his opponent was being supported by Michael Bloomberg. Seabrook later endorsed Bloomberg. "I didn't know what deep pockets he had," Seabrook said of his opponent in the race.