Put up, or shut up.
An unexpected fight has broken out between mayoral candidates Bill de Blasio and Bill Thompson over Thompson’s pledge to grow the NYPD by more than 2,000 cops if he takes over City Hall.
Public Advocate de Blasio suggests that’s empty campaign rhetoric that will quickly fade because the city can’t afford to increase police manpower from 34,800 to 37,000.
“I do want to see more police, but I don’t ever want to get into the practice of not telling the whole truth to people,” he told a forum several days ago in Washington Heights, taking a dig at Thompson, the former city comptroller.
“I don’t think we’re going to be in a position budgetarily to add substantially to the police, certainly not in the next few years. I think the one thing I commit to is that the current level will not be reduced. We can draw that line in the sand.”
In an interview last week, de Blasio invoked a famous movie line and called on Thompson to “show me the money.”
“If he’s presenting it as a signature plan and something that has to happen, it’s his obligation to show us how he’s going to pay for it,” de Blasio said.
Differentiating himself from his rival, de Blasio stressed that his own plan for expanding prekindergarten classes counts on a defined revenue stream of higher income taxes on those making $500,000 or more a year.
Thompson responded to de Blasio’s missive by saying he’ll spell out the specifics for his police expansion plan when he’s good and ready and not when de Blasio wants him to.
“I’ll take fiscal advice from Bill de Blasio right after I take term-limit advice from Chris Quinn,” Thompson declared, getting in a sharp shot at both the public advocate and the City Council speaker, another mayoral opponent.
Thompson said that he would phase in the added cops over time and not all at once — and that he would spell out how in an upcoming budget speech.
The extra cops would cost about $200 million a year, a boost of about 5 percent in the NYPD budget.
Thompson said voters should have confidence he’ll come through, claiming he has the “strongest financial background” of any of the Democratic contenders.
Most voters will have a hard time distinguishing the positions of the major Democratic candidates, who tend to agree on many of the most important issues in the campaign.
Now there’s a stark choice.
Thompson’s the guy if you want more cops and believe he can deliver them.
Whereas de Blasio gets the nod if pre-K classes are at the top of your list and you don’t mind higher taxes on the rich.