DC 37 Demeans Itself

Earlier this summer, when the Bloomberg administration declined to offer District Council 37 the same raises it had agreed to with numerous uniformed unions, some union officials bristled about a lack of respect being shown.

But DC 37 has virtually invited city officials and others not to take it seriously with its recent endorsement of former City Councilman Allan Jennings for a State Senate seat in Queens.

During his term in the Council, Mr. Jennings initially cultivated a reputation as a sometimes-outrageous flake. His image turned nastier when it was found, during a Council investigation, that he had sexually harassed five different Council staffers in a variety of ways.

It was considered a sign of DC 37's political cluelessness that it continued to regard Mr. Jennings as its go-to guy at the Council even after he became a non-person in the eyes of that body's leadership. He was censured — something that is remarkably rare given the transgressions committed by some other members — but showed he was unrepentant by refusing to pay a fine or seek the anger-management training that he was required to undergo as part of the settlement of the charges against him.

That experience should have been Mr. Jennings's political obituary. His attempt to win elected office again serves primarily as a reminder of what an embarrassment he was.

DC 37's explanation for backing him — his past support of civilianization in the Police Department — would sound plausible if the union had actually made strides in achieving that goal.

But it wouldn't explain how a union whose membership is primarily female could endorse a man who showed such contempt for female subordinates over an extended period. DC 37 and Mr. Jennings clearly share one thing in common: both need professional help.