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really shocks me, that you would be opposed to strikes by municipal employees. That would mean that we obviously could not support you.” So I said, “I understand that, Victor. You have to look at my whole record, but if the only issue that you will make your judgment on is how one stands on strikes by municipal employees, then obviously you have to oppose me. I understand that. And I'm not going to change, Victor, because you have a different point of view. I would just hope that you would decide on balance that I'm still the best.” The same kind of conversation with Al Shanker.

And then Peter Berle tried to get the county committee, which has to endorse what the executive committee did in the Liberal party in giving me the nomination. He tried to get them to set it aside and give it to him. I never forgave him for that. But what he didn't know and what Henry told me was that the Liberal party (obviously it's a workers’ party) hate municipal strikes. They just think it's an outrage to have a municipal strike, and these are very decent, dedicated, bourgeois people. These are not radicals. And so my position on that, which I had taken independent of knowing that, did not hurt me. They would take that same position privately, although they would oppose it publicly. So it had no bearing and did not in any way affect my getting the nomination.

I've had subsequent conversations with Victor Gottbaum, again very much the same in the latest round of municipal workers cuts and so forth. I made some statements which were supportive