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Edward KocheEdward Koche
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Session:         Page of 617

Johnson. Well, what did they expect him to do? But that was the issue, one of those political issues.

Q:

Incidentally, MacNeil Mitchell, a Republican, had held that seat for quite a few years. Wasn't he quite senior?

Koch:

Senior and had made a fortune under the Mitchell-Lama legislation because people who wanted to build housing and get special tax write-offs and write-downs would hire Senator Mitchell and Assemblyman Lama, who had put this bill together, and Lama was an architect and Mitchell was a lawyer. So if they wanted to get the state to approve their application, they went to Lama and Mitchell. And that's what it's called, the Mitchell-Lama legislation.

In any event, I decided I had lost that one and I thought unfairly, and I remember Costikyan saving that he wanted to be for me -- he would vote for me -- but he had called I guess Alex Rose or maybe Ed Morrison, who was the county leader and is now a good friend of mine, was not at that time, and was told no I could not get it and Berman would get it. And so Costikyan said, “There's no sense in my voting for you, and I'll vote for Berman, too.” And Berman got it. I maybe got one or two votes. And I remember Edith Wagner, who is now a district leader and was one then, although she took a leave of absence for a time, came out of the room and she was for me. There may





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