Betsy got it wrong. Norman is not the public adversary; rather,he has been fighting the public's adversaries (i.e., the lack of skyscraper safety, the illegally withheld 9/11 documents, the use/threatened use of eminent domain for private use/gain - in which homeowners, mom & pop businesses (and their tenants and employees) could lose their life savings/financial and/or housing security for the benefit of a well-monied private developer-, etc.

"When will we get rid of the Public Advocate? What a waste"

When someone like Betsy Gotbaum's in the position, yes, it's a waste. For someone who could actually make things happen, like Norman Siegel, it's a has HUGE potential.

"A niche leftie constituancy"?? Does anyone really think that Norman Siegel's list of accomplishments (from http://www.norman2005.com) is of "niche" interest or importance? What has Betsy Gotbaum done?

From http://www.norman2005.com/biography:

In 1978, he became Project Director for MFY Legal Services, Inc., which assists poor people in neighborhoods in Manhattan.

As Executive Director of the NYCLU (1985-2000), Norman was involved in some of the City's most critical civil rights and civil liberties struggles, including

• the creation of an independent Civilian Complaint Review Board;

• the successful defense of the Brooklyn Museum's right to exhibit controversial art

• the fight for citizens' access to the steps of City Hall for protesting.

In the last three years in private practice, Norman has advocated for and represented myriad groups:

• The newly created Association of New York City Education Councils

• The Williamsburg community's right to keep its local firehouse open

• Prospect Heights, Brooklyn and Harlem communities working to stop the government from using eminent domain to take their homes for the enrichment of private developers.

• Firefighters and non-profits seeking the implementation of a skyscraper safety program and provisions for our firefighters to guarantee they have proper working communication equipment

• Families who lost a loved one on September 11th, 2001, as they seek the public release of materials from that day, including 911 emergency tapes and transcripts (Norman argued this case in the New York Court of Appeals on February 9th).

As a contributor to the City's major papers--the New York Times, Newsday, the Daily News, and the Amsterdam News--Norman has enriched the public debate on civil rights, race relations, and civil liberties. Demonstrating his commitment to engage NYC's youth in public affairs, he co-taught a class-"Civil Rights and Race Relations"-at his alma mater, New Utrecht High School, from 1989 to 2002. For more than 25 years he has served on the board of directors of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and he is a founding board member of the Amadou Diallo Foundation.

When will we get rid of the Public Advocate? What a waste

I listened to the debate for a few minutes last night. Gotbaum came across as totally ineffective and unimaginative. Kinda scary thinking she is in line to succeed the mayor. Golub was completely ignorant of the city's policies on homeless people and claimed he didn't need to be familiar with city policies until he was sworn in. I didn't listen long enough to hear if Rasiej is anything more than a one-issue candidate. I agree that he does have great campaign posters though.

The plug-in at a Starbucks line is kind of an annoying political red herring. While it's true one can access WiFi at any Starbucks anywhere, you also have to pay TMobile for the privilege, and for the casual user, it can get expensive. Of course, that doesn't answer the question as to how the city would pay for such access, but to dismiss what Rasiej is proposing using a Starbucks example is either blatant political lying to make an opponent seem silly or flat out ignorance, which should disqualify anyone from running for a government post.

I'm not specifically a Rasiej supporter or anything, and who knows if from the relatively powerless Public Advocate position he could implement his platform, but NYC is already behind the curve in creating blanket WiFi with Philadelphia and other smaller cities -- like Spokane, WA for example -- already moving in this direction. This citywide WiFi coverage has also proved to be valuable for city and law enforcement services rather than simply just being a way for people to IM and check email, and in fact, those are the reasons they were created with public use public use simply a side benefit.

It's pretty cool being able to go to Bryant Park and get free WiFi access. It would be fantastic to be able to do that anywhere.

I agree with Gotbaum that Siegel is the public adversary. Norm represents a niche leftie constituancy that was in vogue somewhere around 1980. I predict he'll only carry the upper west side. Maybe he can get a token radio chat show like Dinkins. That seems customary for NYC political dinosaur lefties.

Kudos, zach.

I'm sorry, but the "terrible city economy" during the dinkins administration was in no way the fault of David Dinkins, who was voted out in no small part because of Giuliani's racist fearmongering after Crown Heights. Whether or not Dinkins was a better mayor, i don't know, but i'm sick of the cult that's formed around someone who condoned police murder of unarmed immigrant youth, made corrupt endorsement deals with city unions, enforced gentrification at gunpoint, and is currently making obscene amounts of money exzpoloiting September 11th.