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Friday, November 25, 2005
Early Blessing For Spitzer From PBA
Backs Bid for Governor
By Reuven Blau
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association Nov. 16 endorsed State
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s bid for Governor, citing
his record of innovation and creativity in dealing with complicated
law-enforcement problems.
“We want to put someone in the statehouse that understands
us, respects us, and will work with us,” said PBA President
Patrick J. Lynch, at a press conference held at the union’s
headquarters in lower Manhattan.
‘Meaningful’ Support
Mr. Spitzer, the firmly established front-runner in the 2006 election,
called the endorsement “meaningful,” noting that he
has spent much of his career as a prosecutor working in tandem with
the NYPD. “From my first days in the [Manhattan] District
Attorney’s Office, handling petty larcenies [and] graffiti
cases, to the most sophisticated cases from organized crime or fraud
on Wall Street, the NYPD has been there as a partner,” he
remarked.
From 1986 to 1992, Mr. Spitzer served as an Assistant District
Attorney in Manhattan’s DA’s Office. He eventually became
the Chief of the Labor Racketeering Unit, where he prosecuted organized
crime and political corruption cases.
In 1998 he was elected Attorney General, a job in which he has
garnered national acclaim for his vigorous efforts to prosecute
pervasive fraud at a myriad of large Wall Street corporations, stepping
in where he saw a lack of enforcement by the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission.
The Right Background
In one of his most famous cases, Mr. Spitzer went after Merrill
Lynch for providing misleading financial advice to investors. That
prosecution produced a huge settlement for clients who were misled.
“We know he has the integrity to lead this state on into
the future,” Mr. Lynch said, “We know from his law-enforcement
background.”
The PBA may hope to parlay the early endorsement into future help
at the bargaining table, insiders speculated. But Mr. Spitzer declined
to comment on the Public Employment Relations Board arbitration
award issued for Police Officers this past summer.
“I’m not going to get into specific budgetary issues
right now,” he said after accepting the endorsement. “That
is a process obviously that has run its course and is moving along,
and moving along properly, and I will leave it at that.”
‘Innovative’ Tactics
While many have hailed his tough approach against corporate fraud,
his critics on Wall Street question his tactics. They claim that
he brings lawsuits against major corporations with the specific
intent to drive down the firms’ share price in order to force
it to seek a settlement.
Mr. Lynch, however, cited Mr. Spitzer’s “innovative
way of thinking” as a major reason for the union’s backing.
“He has a way of taking a problem, analyzing it, seeing how
it can be resolved, and when the answer is no, to find out a way
to get to yes,” he said.
George Arzt, a political consultant, said the union’s early
endorsement was important. “I think it’s significant
because the PBA usually goes for a Republican,” he observed.
“And this is a case [that] the Republicans know it will be
very tough for them to get legitimate support from conservative
unions.”
Past Pataki Backer
Over the past several major city and state election cycles, the
PBA has typically backed Republican incumbent candidates, reflecting
the views of its mostly conservative membership. The PBA endorsed
Governor Pataki’s re-election campaign in 1998 and in 2002.
Indications are that Mr. Pataki will not seek a fourth term next
year.
Mr. Arzt said that the PBA backing was “a shot across the
bow to any Democratic challengers such as [Nassau County Executive]
Tom Suozzi.”
The PBA represents a total of 50,000 active and retired officers
and is the third public-sector union to support Mr. Spitzer. “These
are the men and women who keep us safe, who have made a remarkable
difference over the last years,” Mr. Spitzer said.
The Court Officers’ Association and the Supreme Court Officers’
Association endorsed Mr. Spitzer in August. Those groups represent
roughly 2,900 officers.
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