Mayoral hopeful Weiner garners Cusick endorsement

Representative is 1 of 4 Democrats running to unseat GOP's Bloomberg

Saying he would focus "like a laser beam" on issues affecting middle-class voters, Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner picked up the endorsement of Assemblyman Michael Cusick yesterday in his campaign for City Hall.

"If you're satisfied with the way things are, you have other choices," Weiner told more than a dozen supporters outside Borough Hall, St. George. "But if you want things to get better and better and better, I'm the person for you."

Weiner (D-Queens/Brooklyn), one of four Democrats running to unseat GOP Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said his campaign would tackle middle-class issues like taxes, overdevelopment and traffic.

"We need to remember that the middle class in New York City doesn't ask for very much and, frankly, doesn't get very much back," Weiner said.

Weiner, who has proposed a 10 percent tax cut for every New Yorker making less than $150,000 a year, said the city had an "old-fashioned way" of pursuing budget priorities.

"The first instinct has been to raise taxes, rather than look for ways to make government more efficient," said Weiner.

But William Cunningham, a Bloomberg campaign senior strategist, said Bloomberg had increased efficiency by creating the city's 311 system, and had closed a $6 billion budget deficit without resorting to layoffs.

"Anthony Weiner doesn't read history, that's his problem," said Cunningham. "He's wrong so often, it's impossible to take anything he says without a big smile on your face." Weiner also said Bloomberg was mistaken when he said that rising property values were a sign of the city's fiscal health.

"If you ask middle-class residents of Staten Island what that means to them, they're not moving, so what that means is that their taxes are going through the roof," Weiner said.

Said Cunningham, "Most people understand that your property values are like money in the bank. Sure, you pay more taxes, but when you sell, you're going to get more."

Cusick (D-Mid-Island), who will serve as Weiner's Island campaign chairman, called Weiner a "fighter" who had aided all New Yorkers by bringing home education and homeland security funding.

He said Weiner understands "that boroughs like Staten Island are made up of middle-class folks who work every day, bring home a paycheck, and deserve the services that this city should provide all its citizens."

Cusick said he and Weiner also represent very similar legislative districts.

"He knows what the plight of middle-class folks is," said Cusick. "It's a matter of being in touch with the people you represent."