Sorting out the "truth" may seem a treacherous endeavor in such a politically polarized time. But we believe our journalists can play a greater role as an honest broker for voters bewildered by the barrage of campaign talk.
So in a move rare for a news organization, we're dedicating a team of reporters and researchers to meticulously examine the rhetoric of candidates and their partisans, and then make a call: Is the claim true or not?
You might think such work would be standard journalistic fare. But many news organizations can spend less money and get less grief if their political reporting sticks to stenography and puffery.
It's easier to record the words and claims of competing candidates than to vet their accuracy. It's easier to write about the strategy of using negative advertising than to do the painstaking research to sort out whether the claim is actually true or false.
— Neil Brown, Executive Editor of the St. Petersburg Times, announcing Politifact, a new project to determine whether candidate statements are actually true.
I guess, David, you & I have different ideas about all this.
My view is that any candidate will come up with laundry list of stuff which he or she'll support if elected. Such squibs, in my view, don't add up to an agenda.
For example: repeal of the Ustadt Law and of vacancy decontrol, which Mr. Squadron favors, are key demands of Tenants & Neighbors and other housing groups. Does Mr. Squadron's support for these distinguish him from Senator Conner?
During the period during which the 421-a tax abatement was up for renewal, what was Mr. Squadron's position? Did he support the effort of NYC Council Members (like Mendez & Mark-Viverito) to require affordable housing city-wide? Did he oppose Mr. Bloomberg's plan to limit the affordable housing requirements to Manhattan. I was paying some attention at the time and heard nothing from him on this; but maybe I missed it.
At present, Mayor Bloomberg is choking the New York City Housing Authority to death. NYC takes hundreds of millions of dollars from NYCHA every year while NYCHA is unable to maintain it's properties because of the cash NYC takes. Did I see Mr. Squadron standing with NYCHA tenants demanding elimination of the cash payments to NYC? Tell me. I seem to have missed it.
Mayoral control of NYC public schools will soon expire. Those elected to the legislature will vote to change it or keep it the same. Many parents of public school children, I among them, have been unhappy with the way in which Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Klein have shut parents out of key decisions, squandered millions on no-bid consultants, and avoided spending money to reduce class size. What's Mr. Squadron's view? I couldn't find a word anywhere about his view on Mayoral school control or Mr. Bloomberg's school management. Does Mr. Squadron support the Bloomberg budget cuts aimed at NYC schools?
I am not mad at Daniel Squadron and I certainly don't think Martin Conner walks on water. But if you think his web-site gives you reasons to support Mr. Squadron over Mr. Conner, you're an easier sell than I am. Not that there's anything wrong with that.