Here’s Christine Quinn at her press conference today, both praising and sort of dismissing Bill de Blasio’s web site that publishes information about funding requests made by City Council members.
Quinn praised de Blasio’s effort, but said it was focusing on the “beginning of the process,” which is debatable, because Quinn’s site is the beginning of the process for groups seeking funding. Seeking money through her site does not require the endorsement of a City Council member, and all groups that want funding must participate.
De Blasio’s site is supposed to shed light on members’ requets for funding for various groups–in this case the group has already gained the support of at least one member of the Council. It’s less appealing to members for exactly that reason–it assigns responsibility of the funding request to the Council member. Of course, it’s also voluntary, which means Council members up something shady probably are not going to participate.
At the end of the video, Quinn was asked if she’ll provide her information to de Blasio’s site. “No,’ she said.
All in all, debating who’s transparency web site is better is the kind of fight I wish would occur here more often.
