Mayor(s) of New York

 

 

"Is he a nut ball? No, some fear he is worse than a nut ball..." 

I don't think there is a large city in the United States that has had a wider diversity of mayors than New York City. Because New York has been around for so long, the first mayor was elected in 1665 - decades before we became a country. Growing up, my Dad loved to tell stories about Fiorello La Guardia (yes, the man the airport is named after). He was a wonderful mayor during a very tough time in New York (mid 30's to mid 40's). Diminutive in stature, he was a giant in leadership.

Probably the most hands on mayor since La Guardia is Rudy Giuliani. He was a bulldog in fighting crime, and consequently the city became much safer under Rudy. But the thing that most of us remember about Rudy is now historic. He was the mayor of New York during the 9/11 attacks. He had his nose right in the thick of the rescue attempts. So much so, he was sometimes in danger. How he acted, how he performed during that most trying time, earned him the nickname "America's Mayor".

Even though throughout the centuries New York has alternated between Republicans, Democrats and Independents, good mayors and not so good mayors, the blasé to the colorful, the last two mayors have been a piece of work.

Michael Bloomberg wanted to regulate just about everything fun and pleasurable out of existence. Nothing harmful should pass between your lips. Large sodas, smokes, sugar, fats, you name it. Plus, we wanted to eviscerate all Second Amendment rights (he still does). Life under Mayor Bloomberg was liking going to a private military or old time Catholic school. Lots of rules and very little fun.

HOWEVER (and that is a BIG however), the latest guy really and truly takes the cake. A former hippie now turned ultra-Progressive, he has long ago taken leave of his senses. Many New Yorkers are scratching their collective heads right now wondering how in the world they let this guy become their mayor. After that stunt he pulled siding against his own police force, well, he has become a pariah to many in uniform.

What he announced last week really was a stunner. He wants to honor all Muslim holidays in the New York City school system. I don't know how many holidays there are in the Muslim faith, but I imagine there are at least two (Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al Adhd). I am surprised he did not give everyone the entire month of Ramadan off as well!

I can only imagine what will come next. New York will celebrate a GLBTQ day. Then indigenous people's day. Then Buddha's birthday. Then Gaia (Goddess of the Earth) day. The New York City school district will be PC run amuck and the kids will have to be in class year round just to handle the holidays!

New York City will somehow survive Bill De Blasio. A new mayor will be elected and try to return the city to some kind of normalcy. If the tenure of Mayor de Blasio can teach us all one thing, it is this - elections matter. In the election which gave Bill de Blasio the job of mayor, the turnout was a historic low - only 24% showed up to vote.

Citizens who don't care for Bill de Blasio and chose to stay home on election night, need only look in the mirror. They have nobody to blame but themselves. We do all of us need to remember that lesson before 2016.