Mixed Observations Over Impact of Hurricane Smith on Light Field of Candidates In GOP Primary

In a slightly narrow field of GOP candidates in the Republican primary for mayor, the views of many are split to whether the Smith bribery scheme would have any direct repercussions on one of the mayoral contenders or not.

While an enraged Republican City Council member, Eric Ulrich, seized the opportunity to suggest that Catsimatidis should end his campaign for mayor, citing the candidate’s ties to the Queens GOP and the fact that he didn’t suspend Tabone earlier when he first became aware of the investigation,Mr. Catsimatidis piled the dirt back onto Joe Lhota's wagon. 

"Most of them had endorsed our opponent, Mr. Lhota–well, Savino, Dan Halloran and we hear that maybe other people may be involved. We think that there may be another shoe to fall, Mr. Catsimatidis told reporters Tuesday evening. 

Mr. Catsimatidis, who suspended Tabone from his job Tuesday, shrugged off his ties to the scandal. “It doesn’t affect us at all. We think that we come out smelling like a rose and above it all because we worked with the feds,” he said.

The simple fact that Halloran and Savino were major backers of Joe lhota, may hurt former Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joe Lhota, suggests the NY Daily News. Lhota had no comment as of now.

George McDonald, who's failing to gain tractions and is struggling with campaign contribution funds, tried the hardest to spin the scandal to his advantage. "I'm an outsider," said Mr. McDonald. "I came into this process understanding how difficult it was going to be for me to get on the ballot. The first meeting that I had with these gentlemen, it was about, 'Would you run even if we told you not to?'"

“I don’t think this will have an impact on the mayoral campaign,” Former Congressman Bob Turner told City and State NY. “I think that there are a fine slate of candidates and everyone is fairly removed from these grubby, horrible allegations. I hope we have enough time to restore credibility and trust between now and the elections.”

Mr. McDonald recalled his meeting in an East Harlem restaurant with the five bosses of New York City’s Republican Party in August, hoping to persuade them to support his bid for mayor. The message he received, Mr. McDonald told the NY Times, left him stunned. “There was no doubt they were looking for somebody who had a big pile of money,” Mr. McDonald said. “They all needed money, and it was more about what they needed than it was about the best interest of the Republican Party."

So, while this story could deal a major blow to the City's floundering Republican party, it is unclear what effect it may have on the Republican primary. After all, the Republican electorate is minimal in deciding who the next mayor will be, and the expected low turnout in the primary may decide the nominee on a handful of votes. Thus, regardless if Joe Lhota benefit's from the scandal, he will face an even bigger uphill battle in the general as representative of the damaged Republican brand, while Mr. Catsimatidis would still be able to tout his broad appeal, as he calls himself a New Yorker candidate.

“I don’t think this will have an impact on the mayoral campaign,” Former Congressman Bob Turner told City and State NY. “I think that there are a fine slate of candidates and everyone is fairly removed from these grubby, horrible allegations. I hope we have enough time to restore credibility and trust between now and the elections.”