Gotham Cable News
June 13, 2008
Harvey Dent Wins in Landslide
Harvey Dent's massive win over incumbent Roger Garcetti and challenger Dana Worthington rocked Gotham City yesterday. Dent amassed over 70% of the vote, a number not met in a major contested race in recent history.
"This is a huge blow-out, frankly," said longtime pol watcher Walt DeFabrizio. "Nobody expected the sheer size of Dent's victory."
The size of Dent's win puts him in a powerful position as he takes office and attempts to crush organized crime syndicates, sources close to the candidate told GCN.
"The voters showed that they are demanding a true break with the past, a true war on crime and corruption," said Allan Cypes, media manager for the Dent campaign. "The extent of the victory will strengthen Harvey's hand when he runs into bureaucratic obstacles to his agenda."
The Dent victory party was a scene of pandemonium and joy as thousands of supporters watched their man rack up the enormous victory. One man began crying as the networks called the election for Dent.
"I can't believe we did it," said Sly Kramert, a grocery store owner in East End as tears fell on his "Dent for DA" t-shirt. "I didn't think they'd let us win, but we did it!"
The party took on the feeling of a wild concert, as city headliners took the stage and played rock tunes, gospel numbers, and anthems devoted to Harvey Dent.
At one point, Dent's "brigade of teenagers" — known as the "Dent-teens" — entertained the crowd with a rap song entitled "Harvey is the Dude."
Buttons, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and even Dent boxer shorts sold out quickly. By the end of the party Dent supporters lingered outside the hotel, refusing to go home.
"We have nowhere else to go," said Gotham coffee-shop worker Jeanie Lurinsky, 23. "The Dent movement is our family now, we all worked so hard for him!"
In his victory speech, Harvey Dent directly addressed the criminals and corrupt officials he's been campaigning against. "I tell Sal Maroni, the Chechen, the corrupt cops, I tell them all today — I'm coming after you. It's time for you guys to be scared, not the people of Gotham."
"Save Batman" Proposition Defeated
Are Gotham city streets safe for Batman? After the loss of Prop D, they may have gotten a little less safe. Gotham police have just heard the voters speak out on vigilantes. And their message? Don't save Batman, arrest him.
Prop D was the most bitterly contested proposition on the ballot. Major rallies sponsored by the controversial group "Citizens for Batman" in support of Prop D hit every neighborhood in Gotham in recent weeks.
But by a narrow margin of 51-49, voters defeated Prop D, which would have required police to make arresting vigilantes its "lowest priority."
Gotham's Police Union was the center of the "No on D" movement. "We knew if we just got our message out — that nobody can take the law into their own hands — the Gotham citizens would act wisely. And they did." union head Sylvio Annavariano told GCN.
But disappointment shattered what was supposed to be a victory celebration in Gotham Square. "Citizens for Batman" head Brian Douglass summed up the crowd's reaction.
"We're shattered. We thought that everybody could see that Batman is a hero for doing what needs to be done. But I guess something went wrong," said CFB head Brian Douglass.
Inside sources at City Hall told GCN that there will be no change in policy regarding Batman. "Our stated policy will stand — Batman will be arrested on sight for multiple violations of the law," said one source close to Mayor Garcia.
Gotham voters also voted on ten other propositions. Prop A's school and library bond measure passed with a healthy margin. Prop B's sick leave and pregnancy leave for government employees was defeated narrowly.
Voters approved Prop C, forcing landlords to pay $5,000 to certain evicted tenants. Prop E — the "Gotham Goes Green" measure — won with a healthy margin.
Prop F, which offered non-violence offenders non-prison alternatives, also passed. Prop G's "Casino on the waterfront" measure was defeated narrowly.
The city will no longer be allowed to "dump" mentally ill patients onto skid row, as voters passed Prop H outlawing the practice. Prop I passed overwhelmingly, providing funds to rebuild the infrastructure of the Narrows.
Prop J was approved, setting up a fact-finding commission to investigate the Narrows Attack and the city's much-derided response. And Prop K went down to defeat. If passed, the measure would have guaranteed a 15% payraise for Gotham cops over the next three years.
The Road to Victory
Harvey Dent's overwhelming victory in the Gotham District Attorney's race shocked political insiders — and showed how Gotham supporters salvaged his campaign at a moment where Dent looked politically dead.
When Dent announced his campaign, he was almost immediately hit by devastating charges of corruption and prosecutorial malfeasance. The group "Concerned Citizens for a Better Gotham" released television attack ads using Gotham cops to paint Dent as a man prosecuting innocent cops in an attempt to gain political power.
"Those charges were incendiary," said longtime political observer Walt DeFabrizio. "At the time, I thought there was no way Dent could recover."
But Dent did recover — with the help of his grassroots supporters. Thousands began to investigate the shadowy group behind the attacks. This grassroots investigation uncovered ties between the group and mob associates. Tipped off by Dent's supporters, GPD's Internal Affairs Division initiated a probe into the conduct of several police officers involved in the attack ads.
Ensnared in the tug of war between the mob and the Internal Affairs investigation was GPD officer Frank Notaro. Notaro, who appeared in an attack ad against Dent, began to cooperate with Internal Affairs but grew frightened when his partner and his family was killed in a car bombing.
Notaro traveled to reputed organized crime hangout Rossi's Deli to confront mob associates in an incident that turned into a hostage situation. It was there that Dent seemed to become an unstoppable force in Gotham.
When Dent exchanged himself for the hostage held by a police officer who had taken part in the bogus smear campaign, Dent earned himself the title "The White Knight of Gotham." A huge shift in the electorate seemed to occur overnight. Dent took the lead in polls, and never gave it up until his huge victory on election day.
