Judging from Heard in the Hall's voicemail and e-mail inbox, readers were intrigued/outraged by our story Saturday on the rift between City Council and Committee of 70 CEO Zack Stalberg. You can find the article here. To recap, Stalberg wrote a pointed op-ed in the Daily News, essentially making the case that council through the years has left a "rotten impression," and that it needed to shape up and help out the next mayor. He used some barbed language, and it irritated more than a few members of City Council.
Reading between the lines a little here, it's clear that at least some members of council feel the Committee of 70 has overstepped its bounds, both in terms of Stalberg's rhetoric and the organization's mission. Seventy is undeniably more aggressive these days, and it is taking public stands on everything from ethics reform, to charter change, to efficiency in government. And Stalberg, who is of course the former editor of the Daily News, is not afraid to publicy question the conduct of council members.
So what do you think? Is council right? Have Stalberg and 70 strayed from their mission and gone too far? Or are these just the complaints of a crew uncomfortable with a strong watchdog?
Comments (2)
City Council needs to stop whining and get with the program of higher standards and expectations.
Posted by Anonymous | November 19, 2007 11:51 AM
Posted on November 19, 2007 11:51
Many will find it hard to disagree with Stalberg, but will his critisizm hurt the Committee of Seventy's agenda? Will the ethics reform and charter change in regards to the police comissioner be stalled? That's a high price to pay for saying what everyone already knew.
Posted by Roman | November 19, 2007 1:24 PM
Posted on November 19, 2007 13:24