Everyone, Even the Mayor, Needs a Good Editor

Crain's In$ider is reporting today that the Assembly is looking to modify the mayor's congestion tax plan. As the newsletter says, "State assembly members are talking about trying to force changes to Mayor Mike Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan before giving it their approval."

Among the changes supposedly in the works are; (1) An alteration and narrowing of the zone; (2) A reduction of the hours that the tax would be applied; and, (3) A modification of the current allowance that allows New Jersey drivers to deduct their congestion tax from the tolls they pay crossing the Hudson.

Crain's observes that all of these potential changes could lead to a showdown with the mayor, who said Wednesday that the legislature shouldn't be "micromanaging" the city's plan-another example of the arrogance emanating out of city hall. The fact is that the plan is deeply flawed and needs to be altered, something that would have been done had the mayor brought the whole idea to the legislature early on. That would, however, been out of character for the "my way or the highway mayor."

So instead, the mayor and Deputy Dan exhibit their lack of political acumen and any chance of success has been diminished because of it. Our feeling in all of this was that the mayor was the best friend that opponents of his plan could hope to have. It remains to be determined if he can use his muscle to overcome his lack of skills in the legislative process.