Gifford Miller
Encyclopedia
A. Gifford Miller is the former Speaker of the New York City Council
, where he represented Council District 5. Barred from seeking reelection due to term limits, the Democrat
ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for the opportunity to run against
incumbent Republican Mayor, Michael Bloomberg
in November 2005.
and Johnson
.
Miller attended St. Bernard's School
, a day school for young boys and graduated from Middlesex School
. He later graduated from Princeton University
with a degree in political science
. Miller attended Fordham University Law School leaving before completing his degree in 2000 to focus on his successful race for the New York City Council Speaker. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Pamela Addison, and their two sons, Marshall and Addison Leigh.
Following his graduation from Princeton in 1992, Miller joined the staff of Representative
Carolyn B. Maloney
, a Democrat who represents the New York 14th Congressional District, which overlaps Council District 5. Council District 5 represents of the Upper East Side
, Yorkville
, Carnegie Hill, Turtle Bay
, Sutton Place and Roosevelt Island
.
as the Speaker of the New York City Council.
Under Miller’s leadership the Council passed new laws to protect children from lead-paint poisoning, expanded civil rights, strengthened the City's campaign finance system and established tax credits to encourage greater energy savings and cleaner air.
Miller led the Council in enacting some of the most sweeping changes in land use policy in the City's history. Miller set a new standard for affordable housing requirements as part of land use applications, broadening the use of inclusionary zoning. Miller pushed through historic rezonings for Manhattan's Far West Side and Chelsea districts and the Williamsburg
-Greenpoint area.
Miller provided invaluable leadership to the City during the fiscal crisis that followed the World Trade Center attacks. Faced with a $7.5 billion budget gap, Miller cut his own salary by ten percent, approved more than $3 billion in budget cuts overall, yet also successfully fought to protect critical public safety and emergency services.
Miller sought the Democratic mayoral nomination in 2005. His opponents for the nomination included former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer
, Congressman Anthony D. Weiner
and outgoing Manhattan borough president C. Virginia Fields. The winner of the Democratic primary election on September 13, 2005 was Ferrer, who was easily defeated by Republican
mayor Michael Bloomberg
in the general election held on November 8, 2005.
Miller was, according to a York Magazine article, barraged by local media, and politicos. Some claimed that Miller lacked the "ethnic base" necessary to be a successful politician in New York City-wide elections. According to the New York Observer
, Miller is "widely regarded as a decent and talented man" who has nonetheless shown "signs of immaturity: his reversal on lead-paint legislation after pressure from special interests; his eagerness to spend the city budget surplus to hire teachers, reopen firehouses and cut taxes despite an ongoing climate of fiscal uncertainty".
Although Miller had the most money of any of the candidates in the Democratic field, as well as many key endorsements, he suffered severe reversals of fortune in the final month of the primary. He failed to get backing from much of the entrenched local Democratic Party machinery. A news report concerning his voter-information mailings was released close to the primary election date. It was alleged that Gifford's aides initially originally stated the mailings cost only $37,00, but later stated they cost taxpayers $1.6 million (which was well within the average of mailing costs for City Council members). $37,000 would have been by far the lowest of all City Council members. While Miller's aide disputed that the figure $37,000 was ever offered, it had already been run as a news story during the election week. Miller also held that his $1.5 million of his fund was exempt from the primary's $5.7 million spending limit as it was self-financed which caused a spat with the New York City Campaign Finance Board
. While Miller vigorously maintained his position, he ended the dispute by canceling over $500,000 in important final stage advertisements, negating his spending edge. Miller saw much of his potential support drift to Congressman Anthony Weiner. In the end, Miller placed fourth in the primary field with 10.19%.
In the fall of 2006, Miller was a teacher at New York University
's College of Arts and Science, leading a Freshman Honors Seminar, entitled "Governing Gotham" on public policy and urban planning in New York City. He also runs a strategic consulting firm, Miller Strategies, and a real estate investment firm. Miller serves on the board of a hedge fund and numerous non-profit groups, including Friends of the High Line, NYC Outward Bound and the New York Academy of Medicine.
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
, where he represented Council District 5. Barred from seeking reelection due to term limits, the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for the opportunity to run against
New York City mayoral election, 2005
The New York City mayoral election of 2005 occurred on Tuesday November 8, 2005, with incumbent Republican mayor Michael Bloomberg soundly defeating former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, the Democratic nominee. They also faced several third party candidates.This was the fourth straight...
incumbent Republican Mayor, Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
in November 2005.
Early life and education
Alan Gifford Miller grew up in New York City, with mother Lynden, a landscape designer and father Leigh Miller, who was a political appointee to Presidents KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
.
Miller attended St. Bernard's School
St. Bernard's School
St. Bernard's School, founded in 1904 by Francis Tabor and John Jenkins, is a private all-male elementary school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. St. Bernard's offers motivated young boys of diverse backgrounds an exceptionally thorough, rigorous, and enjoyable introduction to learning and...
, a day school for young boys and graduated from Middlesex School
Middlesex School
Middlesex School is an independent secondary school for grades 9 - 12 located in Concord, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1901 by a Roxbury Latin School alumnus, Frederick Winsor, who headed the school until 1937. Winsor set up a National Scholarship Program for the school, the first of its kind...
. He later graduated from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with a degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. Miller attended Fordham University Law School leaving before completing his degree in 2000 to focus on his successful race for the New York City Council Speaker. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Pamela Addison, and their two sons, Marshall and Addison Leigh.
Following his graduation from Princeton in 1992, Miller joined the staff of Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Carolyn B. Maloney
Carolyn B. Maloney
Carolyn Bosher Maloney is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, popularly known as the "silk stocking district", includes most of Manhattan's East Side; Astoria and Long Island City in Queens; and Roosevelt Island.-Early life,...
, a Democrat who represents the New York 14th Congressional District, which overlaps Council District 5. Council District 5 represents of the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
, Yorkville
Yorkville, Manhattan
Yorkville is a neighborhood in the greater Upper East Side, in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. Yorkville's boundaries include: the East River on the east, 96th Street on the north, Third Avenue on the west and 72nd Street to the south. However, its southern boundary is a subject of...
, Carnegie Hill, Turtle Bay
Turtle Bay, Manhattan
Turtle Bay is a neighborhood in New York City, on the east side of Midtown Manhattan. It extends between 41st and 54th Streets, and eastward from Lexington Avenue to the East River, across from Roosevelt Island...
, Sutton Place and Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island, known as Welfare Island from 1921 to 1973, and before that Blackwell's Island, is a narrow island in the East River of New York City. It lies between the island of Manhattan to its west and the borough of Queens to its east...
.
Political career
In January 1996, Miller won his first term in the New York City Council at the age of 26. He was the first Democrat in recent history elected to represent the traditionally wealthy district. He easily won reelection in 1997, 2001 and 2003; term limits laws prohibited him from seeking a fifth term. Following a unanimous election on January 9, 2002, Miller succeeded Peter Vallone, Sr.Peter Vallone, Sr.
Peter F. Vallone, Sr. is an American politician.- Background :His father, Judge Charles J. Vallone of the Queens County Civil Court, encouraged young Peter to broaden his horizons beyond the limited social interactions with other ethnic and religious groups than were encouraged in the pre-Vatican...
as the Speaker of the New York City Council.
Under Miller’s leadership the Council passed new laws to protect children from lead-paint poisoning, expanded civil rights, strengthened the City's campaign finance system and established tax credits to encourage greater energy savings and cleaner air.
Miller led the Council in enacting some of the most sweeping changes in land use policy in the City's history. Miller set a new standard for affordable housing requirements as part of land use applications, broadening the use of inclusionary zoning. Miller pushed through historic rezonings for Manhattan's Far West Side and Chelsea districts and the Williamsburg
Williamsburg
Williamsburg may refer to:*Williamsburg, former name of Kernville , California*Williamsburg, Colorado*Williamsburg, Florida*Williamsburg, Dunwoody, Georgia*Williamsburg, Indiana*Williamsburg, Iowa*Williamsburg, Kansas*Williamsburg, Kentucky...
-Greenpoint area.
Miller provided invaluable leadership to the City during the fiscal crisis that followed the World Trade Center attacks. Faced with a $7.5 billion budget gap, Miller cut his own salary by ten percent, approved more than $3 billion in budget cuts overall, yet also successfully fought to protect critical public safety and emergency services.
Miller sought the Democratic mayoral nomination in 2005. His opponents for the nomination included former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer
Fernando Ferrer
Fernando James "Freddy" Ferrer was the Borough President of The Bronx from 1987 to 2001, and was a candidate for Mayor of New York in 2001 and the Democratic Party nominee for Mayor in 2005.- Background :...
, Congressman Anthony D. Weiner
Anthony D. Weiner
Anthony David Weiner is a former U.S. Representative who served from January 1999 until June 2011. A Democrat, Weiner held the seat previously occupied by Democrat Charles Schumer and won seven terms, never receiving less than 59 percent of the vote...
and outgoing Manhattan borough president C. Virginia Fields. The winner of the Democratic primary election on September 13, 2005 was Ferrer, who was easily defeated by Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
in the general election held on November 8, 2005.
Miller was, according to a York Magazine article, barraged by local media, and politicos. Some claimed that Miller lacked the "ethnic base" necessary to be a successful politician in New York City-wide elections. According to the New York Observer
New York Observer
The New York Observer is a weekly newspaper first published in New York City on September 22, 1987, by Arthur L. Carter, a very successful former investment banker with publishing interests. The Observer focuses on the city's culture, real estate, the media, politics and the entertainment and...
, Miller is "widely regarded as a decent and talented man" who has nonetheless shown "signs of immaturity: his reversal on lead-paint legislation after pressure from special interests; his eagerness to spend the city budget surplus to hire teachers, reopen firehouses and cut taxes despite an ongoing climate of fiscal uncertainty".
Although Miller had the most money of any of the candidates in the Democratic field, as well as many key endorsements, he suffered severe reversals of fortune in the final month of the primary. He failed to get backing from much of the entrenched local Democratic Party machinery. A news report concerning his voter-information mailings was released close to the primary election date. It was alleged that Gifford's aides initially originally stated the mailings cost only $37,00, but later stated they cost taxpayers $1.6 million (which was well within the average of mailing costs for City Council members). $37,000 would have been by far the lowest of all City Council members. While Miller's aide disputed that the figure $37,000 was ever offered, it had already been run as a news story during the election week. Miller also held that his $1.5 million of his fund was exempt from the primary's $5.7 million spending limit as it was self-financed which caused a spat with the New York City Campaign Finance Board
New York City Campaign Finance Board
The New York City Campaign Finance Board is an independent, nonpartisan agency of the City of New York. It was created in 1988 in the wake of several political corruption scandals. It gives public matching funds to qualifying candidates, who in exchange submit to strict contribution and spending...
. While Miller vigorously maintained his position, he ended the dispute by canceling over $500,000 in important final stage advertisements, negating his spending edge. Miller saw much of his potential support drift to Congressman Anthony Weiner. In the end, Miller placed fourth in the primary field with 10.19%.
In the fall of 2006, Miller was a teacher at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's College of Arts and Science, leading a Freshman Honors Seminar, entitled "Governing Gotham" on public policy and urban planning in New York City. He also runs a strategic consulting firm, Miller Strategies, and a real estate investment firm. Miller serves on the board of a hedge fund and numerous non-profit groups, including Friends of the High Line, NYC Outward Bound and the New York Academy of Medicine.
Links
- Hu, Winnie, For Ex-Council Speaker, Few Regrets and a New Role as N.Y.U. Public Figure, New York Times, February 26, 2006
- Hu, Winnie, The Missteps That Hampered Miller, New York Times, September 15, 2005
- New York crooner aims for office, BBC News, May 11, 2005
Source
- Confessore, Nicholas, That's Entertainment? No, It's Politics, New York Times, May 11, 2005