Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Ex-Pols Love Their Vanity Plates

They may not have their special-issue state plates anymore, but a few local politicians who have either left or been kicked out of office still like their cars to seem official. The Daily News caught a number of these former electeds with official-looking vanity plates where it could be argued they're looking for a certain kind of treatment with NYPD's parking enforcement.

From The NY Daily News:

Longtime State Sen. Marty Connor lost his reelection bid last fall, but you wouldn't know that from looking at his Jeep Cherokee.

Connor, an election lawyer in Brooklyn, has license plates reading "25 SD" - presumably referring to the 25th Senate District, which he represented for 30 years.

The former senator, who registered the vanity plates just days before his successor was sworn in, brushed off the suggestion that his plate referred to the seat he lost in November.

"That's your conclusion," he said. "I don't have to tell you why I picked the plate."

Connor isn't the only former politician sporting vanity plates that appear to give an air of authority. Several former City Council members own cars with license plates starting with an official-looking "NYC."

Perhaps Connor just likes the letters "SD" and the number "25" put together for aesthetic reasons. And perhaps the other former pols like putting "NYC" on their plates to show they live in New York as opposed to the ten million or so cars that also have New York license plates. However, this is a more realistic reason:

The advocacy group Transportation Alternatives said that, for some government workers and elected officials, plates that appear official are part of a "culture of entitlement."

"Official-looking plates, to our eyes, are one of the most widespread ways that people skirt the law and manage to avoid parking enforcement," said the group's spokesman, Wiley Norvell.

It may not legally give special powers to these former pols, but on the chance that it will fool a parking enforcement official, then the fee would be worth it. Though I really think that may just be a potential bonus, what it comes down to is that these politicians are into their own vanity, and express it on their cars.