Checks and Balances in Government: The Case of the WFP

In an earlier post, we worried about the excessive influence of the Working Families Party on the Dems in the state senate. Some may take this as a hostility on our part to the WFP; nothing could be further from the truth. Our view is that healthy government needs strong checks and balances, and that a more moderate senate is in the interest of the majority of New Yorkers-particularly the neighborhood retailers that the Alliance has always fought for.

At the same time, however, we have lauded the WFP for its role in the Bloomberg term limits debacle-here checks and balances is on the other foot; with a billionaire mayor running roughshod over democracy, and small business and labor are left sucking hind teat. The WFP is standing strong here on behalf of the folks, providing the balance against anti-democratic impulses and forces.

In addition, WFP has also been a strong ally on the ant-Wal-Mart/box store fights; so it's clear that our position vis a vis the party is not based on any ideological implacability to WFP-it depends on the issue and the venue. Clearly, they have a healthy role to play in the interplay of interests in both NYC and Albany.