Bloomberg Administration Official Offers Qualified Defense of Quinn's 'Parking' Practice
City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark isn't sure how much wrongdoing there actually was in connection with the recently discovered slush fund at the City Council.
Speaking last night on The Perez Note, an online radio show hosted at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Stark said [around the 14:20 mark], “I can’t figure out what, if anything, went wrong. And I’m not sure when all is said and done that anything did.”
She added, “It never seemed that a check was cut to a false organization. This is discretionary money. That is exactly what our budget and our system is set up to do. We give elected officials, whether it’s a borough president, or the speaker of the Council members, a certain amount of money that they can, in their discretion, both give out to groups in their neighborhood and the like."
For City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, it’s no small thing to have a financial official giving her the benefit of the doubt. It's significant, though, that the praise is coming from the administration that Quinn has tried to associate herself with so closely since taking over leadership of the Council.
Stark also spoke about her own political future, ruling out running for city comptroller in 2009, saying, “It’s a great office, it’s just not what gets me excited.” She added, “I would say I’m 99 percent certain I don’t want to do it. I’m not sure what the 1 percent difference is.”
Also: She had some advice for young people.
“I think you need to do everything in your power not to feel foreign in the world, right? Not feel alone,” she said. Recalling advice she gave her own niece, Stark said, “When we poop, it stinks. And when we smile, it lights up the world."
[NOTE: The headline on this piece has been changed from the original.]
- Poll
- Obama (D)
- McCain(R)
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- Obama +2.4
- Candidate
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This person is NYC Finance Commissioner? Money hidden in fake organizations, and she doesn't know what the problem is?
This person should resign ASAP.
Perhaps she should be made 'Commissioner of Poop.'
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"this person" has been running the Department of Finance for 7 years with an impecable record. Maybe, just maybe, she knows a little its bit more about the City's $60 billion budget than you people.
"Money hidden in fake organizations." NO...they never gave a dime of City tax levy dollars to any of these groups, they just "parked" some money...a tiny, insiginficant proportion of the city's gigantic budget...in appropriations for groups that didnt exist. From a policy perspective this looks far, far more sleazy and innapropriate than it actually is. Of course the Council keeps a little extra in the budget. So do most agencies. There are little pots of money hidden all over the budget. Its neccesary to fix problems that come up during the FY. People need to get a grip & Billy Thompson needs to get off his high horse and quit his political vendetta against Chris.
The press, meanwhile, should have a look at who is minding the store in the Comptroller's office. Not to mention perhaps taking a look-see at the Board of Ed's finances while Comptroller Billy was running that corrupt, dysfunctional agency.
When did they allow Maura Keaney to use the computer? Same Quinn crapola she's been spewing for years.
"Money hidden in fake organizations." NO
Technically you're correct; the money wasn't actually given to the fake organization, because it didn't exist. But the budget said it had been given to that organization, when in reality it went into some unnamed fund to be used at the speaker's discretion. Whoever put those items in the budget defrauded the taxpayers, and did so for a reason. If you have no problem with that, could you please move to some other city and foster corruption there instead.
"a tiny, insiginficant proportion of the city's gigantic budget.."
For Chrissake, if I robbed my local citibank today it would only represent "a tiny, insiginficant proportion" of their worldwide assets. Should they just write it off then?
"Of course the Council keeps a little extra in the budget. So do most agencies."
Then the council should budget it under "Little Extra Money" not "Widows and Orphans"; why would that be a problem? Also the difference between an agency and the council is that agencies have to come to the council to get their funding, the council is allocating money they get from the citizens.
I agree with Rediculos @ 11:06AM and Anonymous @ 11:49AM.
Wow all this calling out of actual staff members on the Politicker is SO retro-Gifford Miller.
Lay off Joannie. She is a pain in the butt but harmless.
Anonymous 11:30am,
Why refer to Bill Thompson as "Billy" just because you want to criticize him for doing his job as Comptroller. It was probably intended to be a subtle swipe but it was obviously condescending. Why would this be a vendetta if "Chrissy" brought this upon herself? It is like blaming the fire dept for fires or the sanitation dept for illegal dumping or the police dept for illegal parking. Interesting how politicians play the victim and blame others for their own wrongdoing. That is so 1990's Clinton.
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Theresa Boulart - Political Analyst
[Note: The headline on this piece has been
changed from the original.]