Q&A
Debate over hypothetical scenarios where Mastro might side against the mayor
4:57:23
·
6 min
Jumaane Williams presents Randy Mastro with hypothetical scenarios where he might need to side against the mayor. The exchange highlights the complexities of the Corporation Counsel's role and the potential conflicts that could arise.
- Williams presses Mastro on whether he would defend the mayor in court if the mayor were to violate existing laws
- Mastro emphasizes that his decisions would be based on evaluating the law and the best interests of the city
- The discussion highlights the tension between representing the mayor and upholding the law
Jumaane Williams
4:57:23
What more context would you like for the example so that you can answer the question?
Randy Mastro
4:57:30
Again, you're saying that the mayor would be violating the law by doing something.
4:57:33
I'm not sure what it is exactly
Jumaane Williams
4:57:34
what the man did.
Randy Mastro
4:57:35
I I you know, public advocate, if the mayor violated the law, I'm gonna tell the mayor is violating the law.
4:57:40
But I
Jumaane Williams
4:57:41
Would you defend him in court if we if myself or the counsel sued to try to get a lot implemented?
Randy Mastro
4:57:46
If if the mayor again, you're asking a hypothetical.
4:57:51
If the mayor would to do something illegal, And the the council had a contrary position, and the council position was legal.
4:57:57
Unlike probably any experience you've ever had before, I would tell the mayor he was right now,
Jumaane Williams
4:58:02
there's a there's at least 3 piece of legislation that the mayor is not following.
4:58:05
There's actually law that the council has passed.
4:58:09
It is has to do with housing vouchers, has to do with solitary confinement
Randy Mastro
4:58:13
Yes.
Jumaane Williams
4:58:13
Has to do with how many stops act.
4:58:16
That is not hypothetical.
4:58:17
That is happening right now.
4:58:18
Would you defend the mayor in court?
4:58:21
To support the position he has.
Randy Mastro
4:58:23
First of all, in each case, it would be irresponsible for me to opine on a pending case without studying the case and giving my views.
4:58:31
But after I have studied the case and heard from both sides, but I have said and I've said it unequivocally here that if the council passes a law and overrides a mayor of veto, that's the law of the city and that if the mayor thinks that's illegal, it's the it's the obligation of the mayor to go to court, not wait to be sued.
Jumaane Williams
4:58:54
Would you be the attorney
Shekhar Krishnan
4:58:55
not wait to go to court?
4:58:56
Counsel.
Jumaane Williams
4:58:57
Would you be the attorney to help him go to court?
Randy Mastro
4:58:59
It would it would rest entirely on whether I believe the mayor's legal position was correct or not.
4:59:05
But I would not recommend what I understand has happened in some of the cases you've talked about.
4:59:13
The administration's simply not, you know, waiting to be sued by the council.
4:59:18
Yeah.
Jumaane Williams
4:59:18
I know.
4:59:19
I'm just saying I'm not talking about what you would recommend.
4:59:22
I'm talking about what you would do as corp counsel.
Randy Mastro
4:59:24
Right.
4:59:25
I just told you what I would do.
Jumaane Williams
4:59:26
No.
4:59:26
You didn't.
4:59:27
So would you be the attorney that goes into court on behalf of the mayor to not implement these laws?
Randy Mastro
4:59:33
Only if I thought the mayor's legal position was the correct one.
4:59:37
If not, I would be representing the council.
UNKNOWN
4:59:40
But I
Randy Mastro
4:59:40
would be telling the mayor he needs to go to court, not wait to be sued by the council.
4:59:44
And when there are conflicts like that, I have to say, I think that there are so many disputes that could be avoided by more communication across the whole.
4:59:55
So I hope to
Jumaane Williams
4:59:56
I agree.
Randy Mastro
4:59:56
Facilitate that.
4:59:57
I hope to facilitate that and make sure we avoid
Jumaane Williams
5:00:01
I agree.
Randy Mastro
5:00:01
Litigation.
5:00:02
But when there is litigation, I will evaluate the council's position.
5:00:05
I will evaluate the mayor's position, and I will call the balls and strikes, and whoever I think is legally right, that's the party I will represent.
5:00:13
And I will I
Matthew W. Daus
5:00:14
wanna get pellet from other parties.
5:00:15
Will help them get through that.
Jumaane Williams
5:00:17
But I I will get to that.
5:00:17
But I have a couple more questions.
5:00:19
I'm gonna have the independent campaign.
5:00:21
Up against Sorry.
5:00:22
Time I'm trying to set for myself, but a private property owner has a right to say, I don't want to do business with people who sue me.
5:00:31
Those are the words when it those are your words, when it came to defending the interest of mass square garden, only James Dolan, to use facial recognition technology to keep out 60 lawyers from his property.
5:00:43
Now I want to discuss public spaces in the past Our office has asked the pause in facial recognition technology used for surveillance in public spaces.
5:00:50
Should you be appointed a corporate counsel, would you give the city the green light to use facial recognition technology to surveil people in public spaces?
5:00:57
And if so, would that information be shared with corporations.
5:01:00
I just wanna make sure that I got that quote right.
5:01:03
I don't want to do business with people who sue me.
Randy Mastro
5:01:08
What I literally said is true when you are a private property owner and Madison Square Garden is a private venue.
5:01:18
You have a right to determine you not to do business with people who sue you.
5:01:22
That's the law and that's been the law in New York for over a 100 years and that's why I've won every court decision.
5:01:29
But, you know, the fact of the matter is that you talk about facial recognition technology.
5:01:36
There was a lawsuit about facial recognition technology at Madison Square Garden.
5:01:41
And a federal court dismissed it at the outset.
5:01:44
I was not mad at this Greg Gordon's counsel, but it was dismissed because that technology is merely ancillary to a policy that is a legal policy.
5:01:52
So you ask me the question.
5:01:54
I give you the answer.
5:01:55
You have a right not to do business with somebody who sues?
Jumaane Williams
5:01:58
I I will say that there is a point where the private ownership kinda merges with the public in Madison Square Garden.
5:02:05
Although it's private, there's a lot of public things that happened in a lot that that line gets blurred when it comes to place it like nice working garden, but I think legally what you're saying is correct.
5:02:14
That doesn't mean that it's necessarily correct.
5:02:16
And again, the the right thing to do, again, is about the decisions you make and the clients you decide and the fight you decide.
5:02:26
And why you decide those is to try to figure out what value system you use when you're making those decisions and what value system will be applied as a court counsel.
5:02:35
I did I did wanna ask some of the tactics that were used like
Randy Mastro
5:02:38
I respond to that, and
Jumaane Williams
5:02:39
you can respond to this next question.
5:02:40
Some of the tactics that were used like was mentioned in the Lucerne Hotel where you hide the private investigations and and Trisha folks.
5:02:47
Is that the type of tactics you will use as corp counsel?
Randy Mastro
5:02:53
Again, there was a a legal reason involving standing why needed to establish that shamans was living.
Jumaane Williams
5:03:00
I got it.
5:03:00
There was a legal reason.
5:03:01
Is that a fact that you would you would use as court counsel?
Randy Mastro
5:03:04
It's not it's it's not one that, you know, one would necessarily have to use in city government.
5:03:10
But at the time, at the time, there was no confirmation he had moved.
5:03:15
Shams knows why that was done.
5:03:18
And I didn't tell someone to go there and use false pretense.
Jumaane Williams
5:03:22
I'm just asked for
Randy Mastro
5:03:23
a photograph, and Shams knows that.
5:03:25
And he respects me.
5:03:26
I respect him, and he's
Jumaane Williams
5:03:28
The question is that those tactics you would use as the public attorney.
5:03:31
As a corporation.
Randy Mastro
5:03:32
It shouldn't be necessary because the city should know.
5:03:35
That that he's moved.
5:03:36
That he's moved.
Jumaane Williams
5:03:37
Is that
Randy Mastro
5:03:38
You wouldn't be necessary?
Jumaane Williams
5:03:38
Yes.
5:03:39
You would.
5:03:39
You wouldn't use those type of tactics.
Randy Mastro
5:03:41
I wouldn't have to do that as corporation counts.
Jumaane Williams
5:03:43
You wouldn't have to.
5:03:44
I'm not sure if that's yes, you would or you would not.
5:03:46
But okay.
5:03:47
I do have some questions just about.
Randy Mastro
5:03:48
Can can I answer the question about Madison's credit card?
Jumaane Williams
5:03:51
In my next question if you want, but I I gotta I gotta move forward because, you know, I wanna try to let some of the folks be.
5:03:57
I I This this definition Well, just
Randy Mastro
5:03:58
do that if I were a corporation council because the city would already know he'd moved.
5:04:02
But go ahead.
Jumaane Williams
5:04:03
The definition of the city because we hear it is the mayor, the council, the public advocate, the controller, and the people.