Not So Fast on Roosevelt Island Democracy - What Will Governor Spitzer Do?

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It's nice to see some reporting on Roosevelt Island by the NY Times. The Sunday's NY Times had an article on the Roosevelt Island election for nominees to the RIOC Board.

...Roosevelt Islanders have grumbled for a decade about the way the island is governed.
Although the island is city property, it is leased to the state until 2068. The governor appoints all nine members of the operating corporation’s board, which manages an annual budget of $32.5 million. Legislative efforts to amend the system so that members are directly elected have repeatedly failed in the State Senate.

... On Feb. 12, the island’s city and state legislators, along with Representative Carolyn Maloney, whose Congressional district includes the island, wrote to the governor urging him to appoint the candidates. They would then require approval by the State Senate.

“The ball is now in the governor’s court,” said Assemblyman Micah Kellner, one of those lawmakers. “He can do the right thing by appointing these six people if they pass the vetting process, or he can ignore the wishes of the people on Roosevelt Island.”

This statement by Governor Spitzer's spokesperson, Erin Duggan does not seem very encouraging. She said Governor Spitzer's office would:

“give consideration to all the potential appointments in the way that we consider any recommendations from local leaders and community organizations.”

This statement seems to suggest that the ballots of over 1718 Roosevelt Island residents, more ballots than were cast on Roosevelt Island for any elected official including Governor Spitzer, is of no greater importance to the Governor, than the recommendation of any local politico or community organization such as the Residents Association. If this is truly the position of the Governor, and I am basing this on nothing other than the statement above, then the whole election for RIOC Board was a mockery and waste of time. I hope it is not the case!

Also, for the record. The Governor does not appoint all 9 members of the RIOC Board as reported by the NY Times. The New York City Mayor has 2 of the 9 appointments and the Commissioner of DHCR as well as the NYS Director of the Budget have 1 each. You would think the Times could easily do a fact check on this small point. One wonders when the NY Times gets an important fact wrong on a small story like the Roosevelt Island election, what facts are wrong or incomplete on big stories like the Presidential elections and war in Iraq?