Part of my interview with Republican mayoral hopeful, Joe Lhota:

Joseph Lhota is Jewish according to Jewish law. His maternal grandmother, Ita Steinberg, was born in the USA to a Russian Jewish family but married a Roman Catholic.

In an extensive interview, Mr. Lhota said he had been aware of the fact since he was a very young man, but wouldn’t use it as a tool to court Jewish votes. “I think that would be patronizing,” he said.

“I am extremely respectful of the Jewish community. You know, I am Christian. I think of Jews as my older brothers. I mean, there wouldn’t be Christianity without the Jewish religion. There is a direct connection between the two of them,” he added.

Asked about his personal relationship with the Jewish community, Mr. Lhota spoke of his time as Budget Director and deputy mayor in the Giuliani administration. “As budget director, I had great personal relationships with the folks at MET council, Agudath Israel, and various different COJO’s. Maintaining those relationships was instrumental in making sure day-care vouchers were made available to frum families. During the Giuliani administration, the Jewish community was understood. There was a reciprocal affection in the administration for the Jewish community,” Mr. Lhota noted.

YWN: How do you intend to earn the Jewish vote?

Lhota: “I had been spending, since mid-January–when I announced–a significant portion of every day fundraising, because I have to. I am running against a guy who is self-funding. I am also against people who have been fundraising for the last 3 and 4 years. So I have a lot to catch up,” Mr. Lhota said.

Speaking of the issues that are of great concern to the Jewish community, Mr. Lhota acknowledged that he still has a lot to learn. Nevertheless, he expressed great knowledge of the issues the individual in the Jewish community faces in daily life. “Every time I go to the Jewish community, the issues are the same. It’s about education. Not just public school education, but also how unfairly yeshivas are being treated in comparison to others. It’s about affordable housing. It’s about jobs. The unemployment rate in the Jewish community is not really talked about. And last but not the least, treating the community fairly and equitably,” Mr. Lhota said.

Mr. Lhota promised to fight hard for school choice vouchers. “The mayor can use the bully pulpit to advocate in Albany for private schools,” he said. “It’s important that our children are properly educated. The role of the government and the role of the state is making sure they have the proper textbooks, making sure they are secure and making sure that they have transportation. The children that go to parochial schools and yeshivas are residents and the children of taxpayers in the city of New York, and they are not getting their fair share,” he asserted.

“On the issue of tax credits, I have been in favor of that. I have yet to find a way that it would cover the full tuition, but some form of a tax credit, to give relief to parents who pay for property tax as well and all the other taxes in New York, and are also paying tuition,” Mr. Lhota proclaimed.

YWN: Would you pledge to fight for it and get it done in your first term?

Lhota: “Would I start fighting for it in my first term, using my bully pulpit? I will start doing it in my campaign. However, the mayor doesn’t have a vote in Albany. You can be rest assured I will fight as hard as I possibly can to make sure it happens in Albany. I couldn’t make a commitment that I will get it done in the first term.”

With regard to affordable housing, Mr. Lhota said he’s in favor of returning to the Mitchell-Lama program that gave tax credits to private developers as long as they remained in the program, and low-interest mortgages, subsidized by the federal, state, or New York City government. “We need to the same thing again. Those programs have lapsed. The government needs to partner with the private sector. The government shouldn’t build the houses, but provide the financial incentives to developers who build the housing, and keep the rentals affordable,” he said.

Mr. Lhota also raised the issue of City and State owned vacant properties, as a possible option to get more land to build affordable housing.

The third area is the federal government, Mr Lhota pointed out. “The federal government talks about closing most of the post offices. There are about 30 post offices in New York City they want to shut down. I want that property. Most post offices are surrounded by tall buildings. We would be able to take those buildings and use them as a location to put new housing, and coordinate that with some tax incentive plan.”

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)