My mother, Florence Peloquin, still lives in the same (wonderful) apartment where I grew up in New York City in Peter Cooper Village. She sent me the following recent email exchange with the office of her local representative, Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick, in response to this New York Times article exposing Coke and Pepsi political donations. (See if you can spot the resemblance.)
Dear Dan,
I am so disappointed by the news that you have accepted $175 from Pepsi to oppose the Bloomberg plan to limit the sale of jumbo sodas in movie theaters and restaurants.
As a loyal Peter Cooper neighbor and constituent, I don’t want to see our kids gulping huge sugary Pepsis and Cokes. Obesity and diabetes are rampant. Let’s try to curb this trend, and not encourage it with $175 worth of sugar coating to our elected officials.
C’mon, Dan. Get on the right side of this issue.
Florence Peloquin
Response:
Dear Ms. Peloquin:
Thank you for contacting the office of Council Member Garodnick. I shared your message with the Council Member… [he] agrees that we need to do what we can as a city to curb childhood obesity, and promote healthy eating habits. However, he does not believe that Mayor Bloomberg’s soda policy does this.
As with all issues, we hope you know by now that Council Member Garodnick makes his policy determinations on what he believe to be the merits. To suggest that he “accepted $175 from Pepsi to oppose the Bloomberg plan” is wholly unfair.
Best,
Genevieve
Genevieve Michel
Special Advisor
Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick
