In an interview to Jewish Political Radio - The Spin Class, Mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis indicated he might be behind the Daily News story that broke today on Adolfo Carrion helping a major developer who had arranged to provide him with an architect for home renovations.
Speaking to Radio host Michael Fragin, Catsimatidis indicated he might seek the nomination of the Independence Party, expressing confidence Carrion would drop out of the race
Before I even managed to utter a word, Democratic mayoral candidate Sal Albanese smiled and asked me: "So, you are going to ask me about the Quinnipiac poll?" which, honestly, was my intention to ask in the first place. Despite the media exposure he has received over the years in public office, Albanese, who is running for mayor for the third time, was excluded from the Quinnipiac's polling question in a poll released today on the Democratic mayoral primary. In the latest Marist poll released two weeks ago, Albanese pulled in a mere 2 percent of support, falling short from the 21% he got in the 1997 primary. "I am only 7 points behind John Liu," he laughed.
While the mayoral candidates, other than Bill de Blasio who's a proud progressive, on the Democratic and Republican side are touting their liberal social views but fiscal conservative policies,There's one guy out there, unnoticed, that is the opposite of all. Erick Salgado, a Hispanic Pastor backed by Reuben Diaz Sr., presents himself as a social conservative and a fiscal liberal. Oh, and he's running in the Democratic primaries for mayor of NYC.
Christine Quinn has not yet officially announced her candidacy for Mayor on NYC, but her lead over her opponents is only growing and almost reaching the threshold of 40% to avoid run-off, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll published Wednesday morning.
In the Democratic primary for mayor, Quinn leads with 37 percent, more than the three other serious candidates combined, according to the poll.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has 14 percent, with 11 percent for 2009 Democratic mayoral candidate William Thompson and 9 percent for Comptroller John Liu. Another 27 percent are undecided.
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."
Don't tell me you're convinced that the mayoral frontrunner is at this point will indeed emerge as the favorite once campaign kicks in full steam. Looking back at 2009, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was coasting to a convincing victory, as a Quinnipiac University poll showed the mayor with a commanding 12-point lead over Bill Thompson, the Democratic challenger. A Marist College poll, released four days before the election, gave Bloomberg a 15-point advantage. But as the returns started streaming in on election night, the mayor’s lead evaporated, squeaking out at the end of the night a mere win of 4.6%.
Republican Mayoral candidate George McDonald scored a small, but significant, win in court yesterday: For the time being, he can collect campaign donations that are legal under state law but exceed the $4,950-per-donor limit imposed by the city, the NYPost reports.
At a press conference at the foot of the Verrazano Bridge in Brooklyn this afternoon, with Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis at his side, mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis was asked by Ross Barkan from Politickerabout Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s controversial plan to ban high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces.
“I wouldn’t want my kids to drink 32 ounce sodas,” said Mr. Catsimatidis, explaining that he would also want more health education programs put in public schools. “When I went to the movies a couple of weeks ago and I looked at the 32 oz soda and it said 1,100 calories, wow, never in a million years would I buy that one!”
Mr. Catsimatidis also promised a mysterious press conference in Brooklyn next week. “Stay tuned to next week. We saved jobs in Brooklyn nobody knows about,” he told Politicker.
Republican mayoral candidate has not yet hired a pollster, although its in the makings according to his campaign manager, but he was fast enough to dismiss the latest poll showing him with a mere 5% of support among NYC Republican voters.
“I love when they underestimate me,” he told The Daily News. “People have been underestimating me from a little Greek island to 135th St to top of American industry.”
Three of the potential Republican mayoral candidates met a welcoming crowd at the first Brooklyn Young Conservative Club' Presidents Day dinner Thursday night. Joe Lhota, George McDonald and Adolfo Carrion, who came with an Independence party slot in pocket addressed the crowd in acknowledging the significance of the Conservative party's growing base in Southern Brooklyn.
Former MTA chief and the favorite candidate in the Republican party, Joe Lhota introduced his candidacy by quipping: "I am Joe Lhota, and I am running for Mayor of NYC."
Channeling Jimmy McMillan's gubernatorial run in 2010 theme, Lhota reminded the crowd of the rent is too damn high slogan, saying "I will be the candidate who will say over and over: "The government is too damn expensive."
"The job is too complicated for on the job training," Lhota said while touting his experience in the private and public sector as the best equipped for the job and challenges "on day one."
"We are going to have an interesting race," Lhota said while pointing out the presence of Adolfo Carrion, presenting him as a third party candidate. "I think it is going to be very interesting to see how one can win this race," he added. Lhota's confidence lays in the belief, as he expressed later on in a private conversation that Carrion's candidacy will do more harm to the potential Democratic nominee.
Adolfo Carrion, who spoke right after him, briefly introduced himself as the one that could bring New Yorkers together. Adding that he's looking forward "to a robust discussion of the future of our city."
George McDonald also addressed the crowd by touting his experience in providing help for the homeless, "not by going to Bain Capital, but to main capital."
McDonald was approached by the Observer's Colin Campbell who asked him whether he is also Jewish, seen that every Republican candidate has somehow found some Jewish connection to their personal life. Shockingly, McDonald revealed that his wife is Jewish.
Public Advocate and mayoral candidate, Bill de Blasio released today a report that shows the that over the past decade - and especially over the past three years under the Bloomberg/Quinn administration - small businesses across the City have been hammered by inspections, violations and fines from the Dept of Consumer Affairs and the Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Adolfo Carrion, who won the nomination of the independence party for mayor, was asked yesterday by Celeste Katz about anti-Semitic remarks made in the past by Independence Party leader Lenora Fulani, who retracted the statements and apologized back in 2007, Azi Paybarah reports.
Carrion strongly objected to the idea that he was associating with anyone or anything anti-Semitic and said his advocacy for Israel practically makes him Jewish.
John Catsimatidis plans to deploy some of his massive personal fortune to improve his standing, setting up his campaign as the ultimate test of how much credibility money can buy, according to Hunter Walker, who wrote up a Politicker profile. “Right now, you know, we’re budgeting a million dollars a month,” said Mr. Catsimatidis. “We’ll see where we go.”
People call Bloomberg - The king, but the lady's acts when she has her hand on the cash, hardly gets noticed. While the City Council's discretionary funding ($50M), dispersed by Council Speaker Quinn, are supposedly distributed based on each area's need, Gothamist's interactive map suggests that some areas are surprisingly needier than others, yet receive far less.
Based on the data made public by the city, Quinn's constituents in Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen received the most funding out of any neighborhood in the city, Gothamist finds. While the majority of zip codes in the city received $10-100 per capita, Quinn's zip codes received $396-696 in the past four years—more than 10 times what most of the city got.
In a WNYC interview thismorning, Joe Lhota addressed the recent controversy where Staten Island powerbroker Guy Molinari very publicly withdrew his support from Mr. Lhota in response to unreturned phone calls. Mr. Lhota said he was “surprised” by the communications mishap, but Mr. Molinari should have called him personally to resolve it, according to the conversation and reported by Colin Campbell.
Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis, is not wasting time to appeal to the general public, in a bid to boost his name recognition and business credentials as an investment 8 months ahead of the general elections.
I am told that Catsimatidis has hired a Jewish liaison, who's name will be announced in the near future. As part of the planned Jewish outreach, Mr. Catsimatidis has bought ad space in every Jewish publication, Orthodox, Yiddish and English newspapers, wishing Jewish New Yorkers a Happy Purim, which is celebrated on the 14th of Adar next Sunday.
While Joe Lhota, who is believed to be the favorite hopeful in the Republican primary, is investing time among Republican donors and voters, Mr. Catsimatidis is looking ahead to the general election. Acknowledging his scooffed up campaign chest and the extra time given, the Catsimatidis campaign's belief is, that while the Democratic candidates are busy fighting over the hearts of the labor unions and hardcore Democratic voters, and while the Republican candidates struggle to gain traction, fundraise and appeal to the GOP base who are likely to go out and vote, Mr. Catsimatidis is able to invest and time, energy and money to reach out to certain communities who feel neglected in the primary process.
According to some operatives involved in the campaign, if Mr. Catsimatidis manages to make inroads among Democratic Jewish voters while he's not obligated to do so, the effort will pay off once the primary season gears up, and he emerges as the Republican nominee for mayor. Mr. Catsimatidis hopes that by then he will already be sold as a viable candidate with an appeal to key voting blocs who are willing to give another republican a chance, especially after a bruising Democratic primary. After all, over 80 percent of Orthodox/Hasidic voters in NYC voted for Mitt Romney in the past presidential election.
Mr. Catsimatidis, at a press conference in Queens two weeks ago, told Azi Paybarah from Capital New York (and TwitterWorld) that he is planning to appoint liaisons to every ethnic group in the city who will report to him directly. Looks like Mr. Catsimatidis is not wasting time executing his promises.
It's important to note that in the Orthodox community newspaper ads are the most significant and effective outreach, and after 12 years of Bloomberg, the idea that a Republican candidate, who's not Jewish, is granting such a substantial amount of attention to the growing community, will have a great impact, a Democratic observer told me.
Attached is the 'Happy Purim' ad by John Catsimatidis that will feature in every publication over the weekend, from Hebrew, Yiddish, English and Yinglish.
NY and LA will both pick mayors this year, but while LA is likely to pick a Jewish mayor, NYC who has lost a great Jewish Mayor (Ed Koch) and has had a Jewish mayor over the past 12 years, will likely remain without a Jewish mayor, Josh Nathan-Kaziswrites in the Jewish Forward.
Nearly every mayoral race in recent memory has included a Jewish candidate. Yet in 2013, not a single one of the handful of front-runners vying to replace Bloomberg is Jewish.
“That there is no Jewish candidate in this particular race is more a consequence of personal behavior on the part of the potential Jewish candidate than anything else,” quipped Flora Davidson, a professor of political science and urban studies at Barnard College, referring to Weiner, who resigned by disgrace..
Oh, remembers Nathan-Kazis, "there actually is one Jew in the New York City mayoral race. Tom Allon, a newspaper publisher, is running for mayor as a Republican, though his lack of name recognition makes him a long shot."
Joe Lhota, who is actually the favorite on the Republican side is also Jewish by law, as earlier reported.
What the forward is doing , is basically selecting the viability of the candidates to justify their claim (after all you need something to write a story) that No Jew is running this year for mayor. Its up to the voters, Mr. Josh Nathan-Kazis.
Adolfo Carrion's path to victory as a non-affiliated party candidate (well, independence) seems to lay in the hands of the non-voters. "The Silent Majority," he calls the 71% who did not bother to go out to vote on election day in 2009.
Ed Koch always knew when to jump on the train, when to time his endorsement and how to expand it in favor of his candidate. Not this time. Days before he died, former Mayor, Ed Koch made an announcement in his hospital room: “I want to help Chris Quinn,” The NY Times reports. But Quinn's campaign failed to meet the deadline of setting up a formula of a new statement on her behalf since Mr. Koch died three days later.
Back in 2011, when Koch first endorsed Ms. Quinn, he had no intention of going anywhere soon. “I’m 87,” Mr. Koch said at the time. “I’m not looking to roll up i.o.u.’s.”
Interview with Ceceilia Berkowitz - who is soon going to register as a NYC Resident, very soon as a Democrat and getting closer hiring campaign managers and fundraisers.
In the mean time, she is making gathering some Oppo research on her potential candidates, and planning to reach out to President Obama and mitt Romney for fundraising appeals. She's not yet planning a visit to Israel. In fact, she is the strongest pro-Israel in the race since she was educated on Israel at an early age, and, therefore, firmly believes Israel deserves a country on their own.
Mayoral candidates scored a double endorsement this week, that could help him make some inroads in the Black and Hispanic community respectfully Marisol Alcantara, a Democratic district leader from West Harlem, is endorsing Mr. de Blasio for mayor, The Insider reported Saturday.
I was asked maybe trillion times to interview her, but i have not yet managed to find the spare minute in my schedule, in this epic, rather exicitng for politicos, mayoral race.
So, Azi Paybarah "was curious about this person who managed, at least, to create a feedback loop about herself among those "serious" people."
"And, as a reporter who complains regularly about lack of direct access to candidates, I kind of hoped that, with her very direct self-introduction and willingness to field and answer questions with no filter or preconditions, she was maybe even in the process of proving a little something about how an aspiring citizen-candidate with ideas but no money could go about building a public profile," Azi writes about his preparations ahead of the scheduled interview.
Here is what happens when a Mayoral hopeful is severely angry about toll hikes on Staten Island's V-Z bridge since he he is the one forced to pay it out from his own pocket on a daily basis. Democratic mayoral candidate Sal Albanese, in an attempt to appeal to Staten Island potential voters, tells SIlive he personally understands Staten Islanders' anger over the recent toll hike on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
“Ah!” Mr. de Blasio exclaimed when asked about Mr. Bloomberg’s ominous warnings concerning what will happen without his leadership in City Hall, yesterday, on Up Close with Diana Williams, “You know, he sounded a little royal when he was talking about [how] after him everything’s going to fall apart. I’m a little sick of this way of thinking about the world.”
The city’s public advocate also blasted Mr. Bloomberg’s address for painting what Mr. de Blasio described as an overly rosy picture of the city’s economic and educational climate.
“That speech acted like everything is fine in New York City,” Mr. de Blasio argued. “Didn’t acknowledge what a lot of middle-class and working-class people are going through in terms of struggling economically. Didn’t acknowledge that our schools are failing a lot of our kids. And I think people want a new direction.” (h/t Colin Campbell - Politicker).
George McDonald, vying for the Republican slot and an advocate for the homeless, has taken 10 campaign contributions greater than the city’s $4,950 legal limit — including one for $40,000, The Daily News reports. McDonald's campaign has obtained a $120,000 loan in violation of city election law, too. McDonald campaign could be fined $57,050 by the city Campaign Finance Board, a board official said
Adolfo Carrion will be running for mayor whether or not he gets on the Republican Party Line. “Absolutely. We’re going all the way to November,” Mr. Carrion told Ross Barkan for Politicker at a national Independence Party conference in Manhattan on Saturday. “We’re hopeful we can continue a discussion with the Republicans and they continue to engage us. But this is about ensuring that there is an independent choice for mayor of New York City. I think that’s where the voters are.”
Bloomberg ain't leaving us paradise, nor would the Democratic candidates politically acknowledge that after 5 terms of a Republican Mayor, NYC is better off than 20 years ago.
Hence, other than Bill de Blasio, his Democratic rivals Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson and John Liu dismiss the possibility that New York could go into decline. After all they are all part of what has happened to the city over the past 8 years or so, so why not take some credit for the achievements reached.
'Don't think for a moment, by the way, that just because NYC is a liberal town a Republican candidate can't win this — that's how Bloomberg and Giuliani both won their seats," writes Linette Lopez in the Business Insider.
The question remains, in this epic race, who has the shine to stand up to the plate? And who are they?
In a brief profile of the top tier candidates, the Business Insider takes a close look at who might become the next mayor of NYC.
Long shot Democratic mayoral candidate, Sal Albanese, in response to Mayor Bloomberg's State of the City Speech, said the speech showed that Bloomberg is “still out of touch with average New Yorkers.”
"Mayor Bloomberg's speech today was a mixed bag, just like his legacy will be,” said Albanese, a former Bay Ridge councilman who spoke out almost immediately after the speech ended, according to the Brooklyn Eagle. “He entirely ignored the city's middle class families, dismissed people who care about their neighborhoods as obstructionists, avoided the real issues facing our public schools, and glossed over our horrendous rate of income inequality,” Albanese said.
“Political independence, the kind that I've made a core of my campaign, is the only way to ensure that the next mayor is free to focus on building a safer, smarter, and fairer New York," he said.
Touting her economic experience and knowledge by read books written by "Von Mises, Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek," Ex-Madam and former Gubernatorial candidate, Kristine Davis is ready to take on Quinn and the other candidates in the mayoral race..
Christine Quinn may of evolved on the issue of congestion pricing ahead of her mayoral bid, Capital New York reports. “I don’t anticipate congestion pricing coming back around,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn told an audience at New York Law School today, according to Dana Rubinstein. “It didn't do well and I don’t expect that proposal to come back around in that way.”
Hence as pointed out, Quinn once supported it vigorously.
"I stand here today strongly in support of congestion pricing," said Quinn in 2007. "It is a tough choice and it is a bold idea." Quinn said she was persuaded of its merits. A failure to restrict such restrictions would lead to people being “literally choked by the level of traffic in this city," According to an excerpt in the NY Times. This isn't a political decision,” she said.
Following her speech,Azi Paybarah asked Quinn if she would like to see congestion pricing return.
"I think that is just not going to happen," she said.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has quietly decided to return thousands of dollars of campaign contributions from one of the city’s largest operators of homeless shelters, The NY Post reports.
“I just made the decision that it was smart to give it back and move on,” de Blasio said. “Again, I’ve just made the decision to return the money and that’s all I have to say,” de Blasio responded when asked whether he knew Lapes’ background before accepting the contributions.
Just to prove you money talks, Republican mayoral candidate, who's polling at 5% in the Republican primary, according to the latest NY1/Marist poll, launched a grandiose early robo-call to 400,00 Republican residents in the city, in a ibd to boost his credentials.
“Jobs, jobs, jobs. I’ve created thousands of jobs right here in New York City and as mayor I’ll create hundreds of thousands of new jobs,” Catsimatidis, who describes himself as an “independent Republican businessman”, vows in the recording.
Democratic mayoral candidate, Rev. Erick Salgado, who is hoping to assemble a coalition of minority groups and multiracial communities together in support of his candidacy for Mayor, uploaded a recording of an interview he conducted Feb. 7th with 'Russian media Mogul' -as describes in a NY Times profile - Gregory Davidzon.
The interview, that was conducted in English and translated in Russian back and forth was about the issues concerning Russian voters, which like other issue concerning voters is: Israel. Given the fact that NYC serves as the home for a majority of Jews outside the Jewish Homeland. "As a Latin evangelical, we have been pro-Israel a hundred percent," he said. Adding that his church is very heavily supportive of Israel.
Christine Quinn's support among Liberal Democrats is the highest with 43%, with de Blasio in second place with only 13%.
Quinn's lead is bigger among Conservative Democrats with 38%, compared to only 33% among moderates. John Liu is in 2nd place with 16% of Conservative Democrats. Hence, 47% are still uncertain and might change their vote before election day.
Bill Thompson has the support of less than a quarter of his strongest base: African American voters, trailing Quinn's 29% of support. Only 32% have indicated they might change their preference before election day.
Brooklyn Tea Party President, and former Assembly candidate, Joseph Hayon announced his resignation as president, joining the campaign of Conservative Democratic candidate Rev, Erick Salgado for Mayor, the Brooklyn Independent GOP Fountainhead blog reports.
"While I completely value the Tea Party's general position against wasted spending, to lower our taxes, and to root out government corruption, sometimes some of the Tea Party values contradict with the family values I hold dear -- religious freedom and traditional marriage," Hayon told the the fifteen Tea Party members who gathered at the monthly meeting. "When a candidate such as Erick Salgado comes along, who is completely against the Tea Party on the issue of immigration because of his family values, I will support him over Joe Lhota," he added.
Chris Quinn and Joe Lhota, respectively lead in their party's mayoral primaries a new NY1/Marist poll shows. In the Democratic primary Quinn garners 37% of registered Democratic voters followed by former Comptroller Bill Thompson at 13%, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio at 12%, Comptroller John Liu at 9% and former Councilman Sal Albanese at 2%, with 26% of registered Democrats undecided.
Via SI Advance: Westerleigh resident, and Democratic mayoral candidate Rev. Erick Salgado, and a dozen members of the North Shore community met at the Bayonne Bridge on Sunday morning, Feb. 3, to protest the proposed three-year Bayonne Bridge construction project. Salgado expressed his concerns about the impact of the project on the lives of local residents and businesses.
The pretty bizarre mayoral election season may become even more exciting with a possible third party Independence Party challenger. Former Bronx Borough President Alfoldo Carrion Jr., who's awaiting the decision of the Republican county chairmen, is touted as a likely Independence Party candidate, following full-page ad spotted in free metro daily Wednesday, theDaily News reports.
The newspaper ad by the Independence party touted its role in electing Mayor Bloomberg and declaring that it was “now working with” Carrion “to become an independent candidate for mayor.” Sources inside the party and the Carrion campaign said the party will make the endorsement official within two weeks.
While conventional wisdom and political punditry would suggest that Bill Thompson is the favorite and destined to at least make it to the Democratic primary run-off, based on his appeal to black and minority voters, a poll analysis, shared with Chris Bragg for The Insider, indicates a drop so far in Mr. Thompson’s support among black and Latino voters compared to the same time in 2009.
And a comparison between Thompson's current numbers and those of Fernando Ferrer at a similar point during his 2005 mayoral campaign shows Mr. Thompson a 50 points behind where Mr. Ferrer (who is Latino) was among Hispanics, and 13 points back among African-Americans.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s ambitious proposal to build 40,000 new units of middle-class housing over 10 years will likely have to be scaled back, one budget expert told Andrew Hawkins for The Insider. “All of these plans start out very ambitious and then they don’t reach the number of units that they aspire to,” said Carol Kellermann, president of the Citizens Budget Commission.
Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, called Ms. Quinn’s housing plan “a drop in the bucket”.
“There are 3.4 million housing units in the city,” she said. “Forty thousand units is basically nothing.”
“She’s obviously running a housing-centered campaign,” Ms. Gelinas said, noting that the speaker’s rivals, such as Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, will likely unveil housing agendas of their own. “De Blasio will try to out-house her.”
Can a long shot candidate, who's not even looked at, emerge as a top tier candidate, or even enter the run-off? The possibility and the chance of anyone hoping for this outcome are very low, yet given the demographics of the NYC population, we might wake up one day rubbing our eyes out of surprise.
An important lesson to political candidates: Don't ignore telephone calls and don't stop calling. It could boost or bust your campaign either way. Some times nudging for support can pay off.
In this case, either Carrion has Mazel (good luck), or Lhota really screwed up big time. Staten Island power broker Guy Molinari and GOP mayoral candidate Joe Lhota are no more buds, according to the Staten Island newspaper. Molinari has switched his support to the wannabe Republican Adolfo Carrion, paving the path for a majority among the city's county chairmen to grant him a Wilson Pekula to enter the GOP mayoral primary.
It is not only the government's fiscal policies that have failed in creating jobs and reducing the unemployment, or even the under-employment rate, among college graduates, it's the education system, argues mayoral candidates John Castsdimatidis.
Speaking to reporters inside the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesman in Manhattan, Catsimatidis announced an education initiative to prevent students from dropping out of school and help the economy at the same time, Azi Paybarah reports.
John Catsimatidis might be another self-made billionaire who wants to be mayor of New York City, but he’s one of the most exciting Republican mayoral candidates and less politician style than Mike Bloomberg 12 years ago.
Catsimatidis explained to Lloyd Grove of the Daily Beast, his Twist Twitter Handle to his surname. “That’s why it’s John ‘Cats’ when I’m running for mayor,” he says. “You know Gotham had Batman? New York is gonna have Catsman!”
“Strengthening and expanding the middle class requires more than lofty words and playing an assigned role in the annual kabuki theater that our city budget process has become,” Mr. de Blasio said, according to Politicker. “From paid sick leave to early childhood and after-school program expansion to small business advocacy, Speaker Quinn has partnered with Mayor Bloomberg in blocking programs that would make a real difference to the lives of working families. If the next four years at City Hall are simply a continuation of the last 12, we will have failed millions of forgotten New Yorkers who deserve a mayor who speaks for them.”
Why do Bloomberg, Quinn & others think lower taxes 4 millionaires is more important than early ed 4 kids like Oscar? twitter.com/deBlasioNYC/st…
Council speaker and mayoral candidate, Christine Quinn's State of the City Speech, delivered at City Hall, focused mainly on a new City Council study that shows the city's middle class has been shrinking as a percentage of the city’s workforce. The word 'Middle Class' was mentioned 44 times in the speech and 'working class' 5 times.
The so-called, "Middle Class Squeeze" report found the unemployment rate for middle-income residents is at an all time high of 6.2%.
Mayoral candidates Bill de
Blasio and Bill Thompson had a mini quarrel over Thompson’s pledge to grow the NYPD by
more than 2,000 cops if he is elected mayor. Mr. de Blasio suggested Thompson ain't seeking to back up his campaign rhetoric by deeds, since the city can’t afford to increase police manpower from 34,800
to 37,000. The extra cops would cost the city about $200 million a year, a increase of about 5 percent in the NYPD budget.
Joe Lhota wants you to know: He's a good manager. Just ask his colleagues in the private sector, and you'll be overwhelmed. In an interview with Crains New York, Mr. Lhota told Andrew Hawkins he plans to put a spotlight on his work at Cablevision, the MTA, and his previous jobs, placing his experience as a crisis manager at the forefront of his campaign.
"If
you talked to anyone that I worked for—clients when I was an investment
banker, or senior execs at Cablevision and Madison Square Garden—ask
them if I was able to achieve goals," he said. "They will say that I not
only achieved them, but I exceeded them."
Republican mogul and the viral candidate of the 2013 mayoral race, John Catsimatidis has no fear of fitting in the shoes of any previous mayor, of course if elected. With a size 12 shoe, Catsimatidis believes he can get his way any way, anywhere.
"Listen, when a mayor has size 12 shoes, he could put his foot down," Catsimatidis told Azi Paybarah at a press conference in Queens last week, when asked what a mayor can do about a State agency, like the MTA.
Republican donors are beginning to float the idea of forming a Outside Super PAC to allow Joe Lhota's mayoral campaign overcome the financial might and electability appeal
of Jon Catisimatidis within the Republican party, the NY Times reports.
As a latecomer in the race, and a likely participant in the city’s campaign finance program, which matches
private donations with public funds, Lhota's disadvantages created doubts and skepticism even by his own supporters. “Joe has an uphill battle,” said Mr. Kalikow, a former owner of The New York Post. “I did tell him that.”
"I tell people, look at the current Mayor, that is a Jew, and look at the other hand at Bill - One is Jewish, and one is Black. But in reality, the Jew is not so Jewish, and the black guy is not so black," said one of the Jewish activists, who's supporting Bill Thompson's bid for Mayor of NYC, to the Israeli Orthodox magazine 'Bakhila' in Hebrew.
In an extensive profile of former city comptroller and mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, Bakhila magazine describes Thompson's ties to the Jewish community in Brooklyn and his support for Israel, with the header: 'A Shabbos Goy' (a non-Jew who performs certain types of work for a Jew on the Sabbath).
"You are the most leftist candidate... sorry .. most progressive candidate in this race," radio host, Michael Fragin, described Mayoral candidate Bill de blasio, in a debut 'Meet The Mayoral Candidates' interview on the Spin Class / Jewish Political radio station.
After 2 decades of Republican control, 24 years after the last Democratic mayoral candidate was elected as mayor, De Blasio expressed confidence that a Democrat will become mayor of NYC come January 2014. "2013 is going to be a Democratic year," he said twice.
Azi Paybarah, from now on @azi, noticed this great shot of Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis striking a Richard Nixon pose, during a Press conference in Queens today.
Jon Catsimatidis - New York 2013 (photo credit: @deborahyun
Richard Nixon's trademark "victory" sign during successful presidential run - Philadelphia July, 1968 (photo credit: Wikipedia)
Non related: Catsimatidis' daughter, Andrea, is married to Chris Cox, Nixon's grandson.
Wednesday's New York Post, featured a full-page tribute to the late former Mayor Ed Koch signed by Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis and his wife, Margo.
“I paid for it personally,” Catisimatids toldPoliticker.
In a frank conversation with Hunter Walker of The Observer, Catsimatidis acknowledged that he never tried to persuade Mr. Koch to back him, despite of his proud affirmation that he was the closest guy in new York to President Clinton. However, had the mayor lived, Mr. Catsimatidis thinks he might have been able to win him over.
“You never know, because me and him did the Congressman Turner campaign together,” said Mr. Catsimatidis noting Turner's across the line endorsement. “Do your homework on that one.”
Mayoral candidate Bill Thompson blasted the City's Housing agency's plan to lease out unused public space and playgrounds to private developers to build luxury apartments in the middle of Manhattan housing projects. Mr. Thompson called the plan a "wrongheaded move" against the purpose of the NYCHA.
Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, has been taking donations to pay off 2009 campaign debts from donors who have already exceeded the maximum permissible amount to his current campaign for mayor, the NY Times reports.
A few months ago, it looked like the savior of the Republican party in NYC will be non other than a Obama Democrat.
Carrion, who changed his party registration to unaffiliated, was seen as a gig for the Republicans to maintain NYC's control. Yet, in order to run on the Republican line he sought to seek the approval of 3 out of 5 County chairmen to grant him a Wilson-Pakula.
Now that Joe Lhota and John Catsimatidis, who both have the name recognition to fit the frame, have jumped into the ring, they both claim there’s no need for the GOP to look outside the ranks.
New Yorkers just mourned the loss of the most prominent Jewish mayor. They are also departing, at the end of the year, from a 3 term Jewish mayor. Are New Yorkers ready for another Jewish Mayor?
No, he doesn't eat gefilte fish. But apparently Joe Lhota is Jewish (according to the Jewish law).
"My father’s side is from the Bohemian part, 120 km south of Prague. My mother’s father was Italian. Her mother, Jewish," Lhota told Cindy Adams in a special 'page six' profile for the NY Post. "Like New York, I’m a little of everything, which means alienating everybody else. My great-grandfather came over first," he added.
Looks like the five Boroughs Republican Chairmen have given up on the hope of coming together to support a single candidate, in favor of a Republican primary. "It is what it is. They are all qualified," said Brooklyn GOP Chairman Craig Eaton. "That's good for the Party," he added.
Celeste Katz published a raw video of the city's five Republican county committee chairmen speaking after Monday night's meeting with five of the candidates seeking the Republican nomination for mayor.
Sal Albanese, running for mayor in the Democratic primary, blamed Mayor Bloomberg and his recent budget proposal for the city’s financial shape.
“You can't manage a city like a kingdom or its workforce like serfs,” Albanese told Paula Katinas from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Following his 5 borough tour last week, and his visit to Borough park a day after announcing his candidacy for mayor of New York City, where he spoke about the holocaust and Iran's nuclear threat, Bill de Blasio continued making inroads among voters in the Jewish community of Brooklyn. In a brief appearance at the Yeshiva Machzikei Hadas Belz' annual dinner, the Public Advocate by the chairman of the event as "the next Mayor of NYC." The estimated crowd of 1500 participants enthusiastically applauded his presence. de Blasio was accompanied by his liaison to the Jewish Community, Pinny Ringel.
One of the Belzer community's activists, Mr. Eliezer Igel, echoed a teaching by a passage of the Torah, where Moses was reminded by his father-in-law as he entered a new role of leadership: 'don't forget your own children'. "Don't forget your own communities," the speaker turned to de Blasio, "which are all standing behind you."
Democratic mayoral candidate, Bill Thompson was the only mayoral candidate who protested alongside Brooklyn’s Jewish leaders Thursday, to stop the Brooklyn College Political Science Department from sponsoring an anti-Israel forum next Thursday.
“Those are our taxpayer dollars. We should not be using those dollars to express hate,” Thompson said alongside Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a political heavyweight in the Brooklyn Jewish community.
Does Rudy Giuliani really believe his former deputy Joe Lhota can be elected mayor?
Well, according to Lhota’s Republican rival, John Catsimatidis, Giuliani well knows Lhota can't win. Speaking to DNAinfo, Catsimatidis said he was at lunch last month with Giuliani when Giuliani admitted he doesn't think Lhota really has a chance.
“Rudy sat there… and says, ‘Lhota can’t win.’ Eyeball to eyeball,” Catsimatidis told DNAinfo.com. “Because a pure Republican in this city can’t win," Giuliani allegedly said.
