Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky wants to rally the masses in the cause of freedom from tyranny and the dreaded DROP program:
My dream is that the DROP program will burn Council just as the 2005 post-midnight pay grab did the state Legislature. Those Harrisburglars ignited a passion for reform that booted some of them out of office.
Now on the public's radar screen, DROP is gaining traction here. I've heard from many furious taxpayers, reaching for their pitchforks and asking what they could do.
My answer:
Write letters to the editor.
Call talk radio.
Call your councilperson and raise hell.
DROP will not be fully resolved at today's hearing. The simple - if often ignored - fact is this: As "public servants," Council works for you, not the other way around. You are the boss of them.
Get out your taser and order them to stop chasing after every loose dime that rolls off the table.
It's worth remembering, however, that none of the so-called "Harrisburglars" from Philadelphia were affected in the least by the midnight ride to a bigger paycheck - and that was an issue that was fairly easy to understand. DROP is a complicated program with, as Bykofsky writes, several different goals.
Good luck with the war on DROP, Stu. Now it's up to the rest of the media to take on all of the other things that City Council needs to figure out... property tax assessments, councilmanic prerogative, etc.