Weprin Explains the Council's Congestion-Pricing Shift, Ruefully

At an anti-congestion pricing rally at City Hall yesterday, Councilman David Weprin claimed that the program isn’t supported by a majority of city lawmakers, even though it passed the Council recently by a vote of 30 to 20.

“You had the mayor and the speaker actively lobbying and offering incentives to individuals to change their vote, which clearly happened,” he said. He added, “There is no secret that people who said they were openly against it switched their votes at the last minute. You’ll have to ask them why they did that. Clearly the mayor and the speaker were trying to say to people, ‘What can we do for your district to help you vote for this?’”

Later, at about the 5:30 mark, I asked him to elaborate on this point, and whether he thought this “lobbying” was connected to Christine Quinn’s slush fund.

“I can’t speak to that at all, other than to say you’ll have to ask them,” he said. Then, he added, “I’m not saying there’s anything illegal or unethical. It was all part of the lobbying process that is a legitimate part of the political process. But at the same time, what I’m saying by that comment is that people originally felt one way and they were influenced [to vote] another way, that doesn’t mean that’s a reflection of the will or the desire of the constituents of the city of New York.”

After the press conference, activist Michael O'Loughlin, who supports congestion pricing, defended the program.