McDonald Kindly Clears The Path For Competitor Joe Lhota

One of the known Talmudic teachings talks about the characteristics of different types of people with regard to wealth: ('Ethics of the Fathers' - Chapter 5, Mishnah 10)- "There are four characteristics among people: One who says, "Mine is mine and yours is yours," that is the mark of the average person; some say that is the mark [of the people] of Sodom. [One who says,] "Mine is yours and yours is mine," [that is the mark of] an ignorant person. [He who says,] "Mine is yours and yours is yours," [that is the mark of] a godly [person]. [One who says,] "Yours is mine and mine is mine," [that is the mark of] an evil person." 

He who says, "Mine is yours and yours is yours," some say is more than mere acts of kindness and righteousness. In this case, the guy is prepared to give up claims against others, despite the fact that he is not legally obligated to do so. The most significant Jewish legal expression of this moral stance is the dictum ze nehene ve ze lo chaser--one has a benefit and the other does not lose . This dictum, writes Meor Tamari, permits one to benefit from another's property provided that the owner does not suffer a loss thereby.   

In our case, Republican mayoral candidate George McDonald, who won a minor victory in Manhattan Supreme Court Monday, made one of his Republican primary opponents Joe Lhota the biggest beneficiary, writes Chris Bragg in The Insider. Untill now, Mr. Lhota expected to enroll in the city Campaign Finance Board's public matching funds system—which allows individuals to raise only $4,950 from donors.   However, if Mr. McDonald's legal team is successful in arguing that candidates not enrolled in the public system should be bound by the higher state limit of $41,100, Mr. Lhota's campaign might well do that instead., which will help Lhota, considering he emerges as the victor, compete in the general elections. 

"Currently, we are abiding by the campaign finance laws as they stand, " Lhota's strategist, Susan Del Percio, told Crains New York Insider, indicating that Lhota might also forgo the city's taxpayer funded campaign program if Mr. McDonald's case is successful.