Oddo and Gallagher and Wal-Mart

The ongoing frost between Republican Councilmembers Oddo and Gallagher and the Bloomberg administration is highlighted in the Sun yesterday. Gallagher's position can be partly attributed to his close relationship with Tom Ognibene but an even greater reason may lie with the disconnect he sees between his conservative principles and the mayor's lack thereof.

Oddo's reasons are probably derived from the four years of disregard from the mayor and his minions. As he now says, he is more concerned with who the next speaker will be and doesn't expect that the mayor will pursue him with any real ardor between now and Nov. 8th.

All of this can only help the Alliance's efforts to develop a strong city-wide coalition against Wal-Mart. It is important that we cultivate the city's more conservative homeowner constituencies and the help of Gallagher and Oddo would be appreciated indeed. In this context, the mayor's continued support for the retail giant will only work in our favor.