Oddo: I Want to Endorse Quinn, But Can’t (For Now)

On his Facebook page, Staten Island Councilman/Republican Minority Leader Jimmy Oddo just laid out his plans for the 2013 New York City mayoral race, saying that his “heart” is with Council Speaker Christine Quinn, but that he’s going to remain neutral — at least for now.

Oddo, who is running for Staten Island Borough President — and is the clear favorite — says that he simply must have a good relationship with whomever ends up winning the mayoral race because “Staten Island is so dependent on the relationship we have with the Mayor.”

Oddo goes on to say that he  and fellow Staten Island Councilman Vincent Ignizio will soon be releasing a “contract with Staten Island,” which will list several issues of vital importance to Staten Island that Oddo hopes will become part of the 2013 dialogue. Oddo states that both he and Ignizio could eventually make an endorsement based on this contract.

Here’s the text of his Facebook post:

“Folks in the media and more and more friends on Staten Island have been asking me for my opinion about the 2013 Mayor’s race. Having worked with each of the leading candidates, I am grateful to be able to call all of them friends. I guess that is why so many people want to know what I think of the candidates and to whom I will throw my support. People who know my two decades long friendship with… Council Speaker Christine Quinn naturally assume I will be supporting her. I think the world of Chris (as evidenced most recently by my comments in today’s Staten Island Advance) and I am not going to disingenuous in any way — my heart is with Chris, as it was when she was competing for Council Speaker. However, if I want to have the privilege and the responsibilities of representing nearly 500,000 Staten Islanders as Borough President, my heart can be where my heart is, but the rest of me has to keep its powder dry. Staten Island is so dependent on the relationship we have with the Mayor that it is critical for the next BP to have a good working relationship with whoever is the next Mayor.”

“In the coming weeks look for an announcement from Councilman Vinny Ignizio and I about a sort of “contract with Staten Island,” which will list several vital issues with which Staten Island needs help. The point of our announcement will be two fold. First, we want to make these critical issues part of the dialogue and the discussion of the Mayor’s race. We want candidates to know that when they come to Staten Island, they will be asked pointedly about these issues and that Staten Islanders will expect commitments of help on each of them. We want to create the expectation that if candidates come to our borough for contributions or votes, they will have to commit to Staten Island that help is on the way on these very specific matters. The second point to this “contract” is to say that the public support of Councilman Ignizio and I is up for grabs to ANY of the candidates, and we will support the individual who embraces our positions on these Staten Island issues, genuinely commits to helping Staten Island and makes a public covenant with the people of this borough that if they become Mayor Staten Island’s agenda will be integral part of his/her agenda.

So stay tuned to our formal announcement, and together we will see which of the candidates makes the best case to Staten Islanders.”