Cut to City Watchdog is ‘Bad Government’

MANHATTAN – Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum stood with good government groups and candidates for  her office, to condemn the nearly 40% cut to the Office of the Public Advocate as a damaging blow to accountability and good governance in New York City. No office of the other elected officials sustained a cut of more than 6%. Recently, Public Advocate Gotbaum charged that Speaker Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg cut the budget as retaliation for her opposition to extending term limits without a referendum. Public Advocate Gotbaum renewed her call for an independent budget to ensure that this type of power play cannot happen again.

The 2010 budget, proposed by Mayor Bloomberg and approved by Speaker Quinn, contains a nearly 40% cut to the Office of the Public Advocate, from $2.9 million to $1.8 million. This year, despite an increase in the overall budget, and full or partial restoration for every other elected official, the Public Advocate received no restoration.  

Public Advocate Gotbaum said, “This office is the watchdog over city government. And when the Mayor and Speaker impose damaging, crippling cuts to the agency that is meant to watch over them, it is time to speak out and call it like it is: this is an anti-democratic power play, and it’s bad government.”

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