THE ANATOMY OF A POLITICAL FIASCO By ROBERT HARDT Jr.
November 8, 2001 -- It was a Tom Wolfe novel come to life - and the secret plot was to have former President Bill Clinton save Mark Green's nose-diving mayoral campaign.
The featured characters in the Monday-night political drama at the Four Seasons hotel also included the head of the national Democratic Party, a movie mogul, a black activist, a Bronx political boss, a public-relations maven and an angry ex-mayoral candidate.
The story of Clinton's failed last-ditch effort to save the Democratic Party was pieced together by The Post after speaking with most of the participants.
It started when publicist and longtime Green buddy Ken Sunshine realized Green was in desperate need of getting more support from the Latino community.
Sunshine wanted to arrange a high-profile, last-minute campaign appearance with Green's defeated Democratic rival, Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer.
Ferrer, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Bronx Democratic leader Roberto Ramirez had been infuriated with anti-Ferrer fliers distributed by Green supporters in the waning days of the Oct. 11 primary runoff.
Ferrer and Ramirez both gave Green perfunctory endorsements while Sharpton ominously hinted voters should perhaps just stay home.
Sunshine enlisted the help of Miramax films honcho Harvey Weinstein without telling the Green campaign, setting up a meeting with Sharpton in a Midtown Miramax office.
Unhappy that Ferrer didn't show for a large Democratic "unity dinner' he hosted at the Sheraton New York hotel on Friday night, Weinstein wanted to get the Puerto Rican politician on board.
After talking with the two men, Sharpton suggested they meet at the Four Seasons hotel with Ferrer and Ramirez.
Sipping a Diet Coke at the hotel bar, Sharpton proposed an impartial third person help broker the peace - perhaps Clinton, who had recently appeared in Harlem with Green.
A longtime Democratic fund-raiser, Weinstein instantly called Clinton and asked him to come to the hotel.
The ex-president quickly agreed and called Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe to tell him he was going to bring Ferrer back into the Green fold at the 11th hour.
Attending a gubernatorial fund-raiser at a black church in Trenton, N.J., McAuliffe seemed nervous. He wondered, Did the Green people know about this?
After calling one of Green's deputy campaign managers, Jeremy Ben-Ami, McAuliffe learned to his dismay the Green team was out of the loop and didn't want Sharpton engaging in a photo op with Clinton on election eve.
McAuliffe called Clinton back from the church and told him to cancel his trip to the hotel.
When Weinstein heard Clinton was pulling out because of Ben-Ami, he exploded and called McAuliffe.
"People in the church could hear Harvey screaming over Terry's cell phone. It was wild," said one witness.
Ferrer, Ramirez, Weinstein, Sharpton and Sunshine were now ensconced in a 40th-floor suite in the hotel, ordering room service - with Ramirez and Sharpton grumbling and talking about holding an anti-Green press conference.
Learning that Sharpton was now even more furious with him, Green telephoned Clinton after a campaign stop at Sandy's, an East Harlem restaurant.
"He told Clinton that maybe it was a good idea to meet with them after all and Clinton was really into the role of being the peacemaker," said one source.
Green's hope was to have Clinton and Ferrer join him in a dramatic unity appearance outside Florent restaurant in the Meatpacking District with Green supporters in time for the 11 p.m. news - but without Sharpton.
When Clinton was driven to the hotel, he was shocked to find camera crews - obviously tipped off by Sharpton - waiting for him.
After Clinton quickly drove away, the five men ended their 51/2-hour meeting in the suite - with Sharpton and Ramirez leaving from the front of the hotel and Sunshine, Ferrer and Weinstein slipping out through a garage.
"The idea was to get Roberto's machine on board to get out the vote in The Bronx and to make a bold public statement," said another participant.
Instead, Weinstein was so furious with Green that he gave Michael Bloomberg some last-minute support and Ramirez very publicly ate dinner with his Bronx cronies on election night rather than urge people to vote.
"When it fell through, I really wondered if Bloomberg had just won the election," said one negotiator.
"It was the strangest night I have ever seen in politics."