ZABLOCKI SAYS CITY COUNCIL VOTE IN 2004 UNDEMOCRATIC; UPDATES PRESS ON CFB DEBATE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2009

Contact: Alex Zablocki

347-885-1200

*ZABLOCKI SAYS **BILL** DE BLASIO'S VOTE IN 2004 WAS "UNDEMOCRATIC"
**AND**STIFLED DEBATE IN THIS ELECTION CYCLE; ZABLOCKI SAYS DE
BLASIO'S LEGISLATION
IN 2005 WHICH EXEMPTED UNIONS FROM THE SAME AFFILIATION STANDARDS AS
CORPORATE CONTRIBUTIONS MUST BE REVERSED; ZABLOCKI CALLS FOR **CFB** REFORM*

*Campaign Finance Board, **Manhattan* – "No debate equals no democracy".
Those were the words from Alex Zablocki, Republican candidate for Public
Advocate, regarding the law that requires $25,000 be raised and spent to
participate in a city sponsored debate.

Since inception, the Campaign Finance program in New York City
did not require a certain amount of money to be raised in order to
participate in the first mandatory debate. However, in 2004, the City
Council passed Intro 124-A, which placed a requirement of $25,000 to be
raised and spent by a candidate in order to participate in the debates for
Public Advocate. The same legislation also eliminated one of the two
mandatory run-off debates and was voted for by Councilman Bill de Blasio,
the Democratic candidate for Public Advocate.

"No debate equals no democracy. This terrible piece of
legislation has stifled all debate, at least televised, for this race. For
Bill de Blasio and the City Council to place financial requirements on
candidates in order to be a part of democracy goes against everything the
Campaign Finance program is about. What Bill de Blasio and the City Council
did was self serving and parts of this bad piece of legislation must be
reversed", Zablocki said.

The legislation (Intro 124-A), which passed the City Council, was vetoed by
the Mayor and then overturned by the City Council, stated that "These Debate
Program changes will improve the functioning of debates, ease the process of
selecting debate sponsors, and enhance the value of the Debate Program for
City voters" but Zablocki said they did anything but improve and enhance the
value of the Debate Program for City voters.

"What the City Council and Bill de Blasio did in 2004 did not enhance the
value of the Debate Program for City voters. They merely placed a price tag
on ones ability to participate in debates and in-turn ended debates and
discussion about the general election," Alex Zablocki said.

The Mayor's veto message said that "…some changes made by Int. No. 124-A are
questionable. The elimination of one of the two runoff primary debates does
not serve the public interest…" Zablocki believes less debate during the
run-off led to lower voter turnout.

Zablocki thinks all candidates should be able to participate in the
mandatory CFB debates, regardless of how much money they raise. The real
test of ones candidacy is the fact that they make it on the ballot, Zablocki
said, and by how many signatures they file. Zablocki filed nearly 30,000
signatures for this candidacy; about four times the legal requirement.

Alex Zablocki also points out that Bill de Blasio was the prime sponsor of
Intro 564 in 2005, which exempted unions from the same affiliation standards
as corporate contributions. The Village Voice, in an article titled "De
Blasio leads unholy union war on City's Campaign Finance Board", published
November 15, 2005, wrote that "De Blasio is a poster boy for conflict of
interest on a bill that essentially exempts unions from the same affiliation
standards that the Campaign Finance Board has long applied to all
institutional donors, including corporations and partnerships." The Village
Voice notes that the New York Times ran an editorial calling de Blasio's
legislation "meaningless". The legislation helped organizations like SEIU
Local 1199 and HERE, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees
International Union, contribute limitless amounts of money to candidates
like Bill de Blasio – and all of these groups are connected to de Blasio's
campaign and his family.

"De Blasio opened the door to corruption and unlimited campaign funds from
big unions through this legislation. As the Village Voice stated, de Blasio
is a poster boy for conflict of interest. How can we elect him to the Pubic
Advocate's office where special interests will control his every move? It is
time we get the special interests out of government and elected people
willing to stand up to these groups," Zablocki said.

If elected Public Advocate, Alex Zablocki will work with the Campaign
Finance Board to introduce legislation that will open up the mandatory
debates to all candidates that make it on the ballot. Zablocki will also
seek to strengthen the loopholes in campaign finance law that allows special
interests to give unlimited amounts of money to candidates. If Zablocki
isn't elected, he will be speaking at the meetings held by the CFB after the
general election to discuss campaign finance reform.

At 26 years old, Alex Zablocki is the youngest candidate ever to run for
Public Advocate. A native New Yorker, Alex lives on Staten Island where he
owns a home. More information on Alex and his candidacy can be found at
www.alex2009.com.

The legislation and the Mayors veto message is attached to this release.

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