Klein criticism not revisionist

To the editor:

The Klein team’s rebuttal (Dec. 11, 2014) to my op-ed, “Anatomy of a Public Betrayal,” is pure campaign rhetoric.

Based entirely on journalistic reports, my piece (published Dec. 4, 2014) contained no revisionist history.

In order to be co-leader of the state Senate, Mr. Klein has now twice run as a Democrat and twice turned his back on the state Senate Democrats.  

Will we keep electing him to continue in this vein? Will we keep letting him distract us with local donations and ignore his larger political game? Our parks and schools and senior centers will receive perks. But across our vast state, workers who wish to earn more than $18,200 a year, women who wish to solidify equal pay and reproductive rights, the children of immigrants without access to college scholarships or financial aid and tenants who rely on affordable housing will suffer.  

That 73 percent of Mr. Klein’s campaign fortune was amassed from the real estate industry, the liquor industry, the nursing home industry and other corporate interests ensures that he will not deviate from his pattern of quashing campaign finance reform or serving a Republican agenda.

On the surface, Mr. Klein co-wrote legislation to create obstacles for large healthcare developments in the Bronx such as the Montefiore proposal. Beneath the surface, the fact that Mr. Klein took $93,850 in donations from the Montefiore developer ensures that he has its best interests at heart. 

Considering all of the progressive legislation that has failed and will continue to fail due to Mr. Klein’s abandonment of the state Senate Democrats, it is absurd that he should now liken himself to FDR. Rather, his Independent Democratic Conference’s betrayal and power grab is akin to that of Pedro Espada’s “Four Amigos.”

Jennifer Firestone