Weiner's Jewish Brothers Embrace Ambitions, Divided On Timing

While pundits are divided among themselves whether Weiner's bombshell announcement that he's seeking to jump into the mayoral race hurts frontrunner Christine Quinn or Bill de Blasio, there's definitely one group that is not yet locked on any of the candidates. Weiner entry could shake up allegiances among New York City’s Jews, Josh Nathan-Kazis writes in The Forward.

Growing Anxiety Of Post-Bloomberg Mayor Immune To Powerful Interests

The latest corruption scandals, has exacerbated those fears of many from a post-Bloomberg mayor immune to bribery or intimidation by powerful special interests. After 12 years of  a billionaire mayor, who had no outside interests to abide with, a less assertive manager would bring down New York to the level of a messy backroom deal-making government, Chris Bragg and Andrew Hawkins write in The Insider Blog.

Where Is Thompson... Where Are You?

Since covering the mayoral race, we have gotten numerous calls from former Thompson supporters who have expressed disappointment in Bill Thompson's absence from major Jewish events.

Mr. Thompson's last visit to the Jewish community in Brooklyn, was at a closed event in the Avenue Plaza hotel's conference room, with the attendance of a dozen community leaders and operatives. However, Mr. Thompson was notably absent from the annual COJO of Flatbush legislative Breakfast, as from the JCC of Marine park breakfast a week earlier.

NYT: Mayoral Contributions Dramatically Down Since 2001

Bill Thompson Assures Wary Jewish Community He can Win And Deliver

In the event of so many campaign announcements and Borough tours, Mayoral candidate Bill Thompson met Sunday evening with a dozen of Jewish community leaders and politicos at the Avenue Plaza Hotel in Borough Park. "You are looking at the next mayor of New York, without any doubt," said Rabbi Freilich.

Mr. Thompson, who remembers that Borough Park handed over victory to Mayor Bloomberg in 2009, faced a tougher crowd than expected, with questions about vouchers, transportation, public safety, taxes and  unions covering the entire Q&A. While Thompson seemed to be on the defensive (after all this is a district that has voted for Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani in the highest numbers) he also deferred concerns of a future Democratic administration after 20 years of Republican/Independent control of City Hall.

Bill de Blasio's War on Buggies

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has pledged that one of his 'first acts' as the city's chief executive would be to get Central Park's carriage horses off the streets, David Seifman reports. 

"I would ban the horse carriages in Central Park within the first week on the job," de Blasio told a midtown forum Tuesday night sponsored by several Democratic progressive groups. "I think it's horrible what happens to the horses. I think it's unnecessary and doesn't do anything for our economy, much to the chagrin of the mayor who thinks it's at the center of our tourism economy." 

Interview with Sal Albanese - The Outsider Who Wants to Be Seen Inside

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.

Quinnipiac Poll Shows Quinn with Commanding Lead Over Opponents

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.

Why Early Poll Numbers Should Not Get Us Emotionally Sure-Footed

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%.

The Forward Selects Viability of Candidates to Claim No Jew is Running for Mayor

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-Kazis writes 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.

Bill de Blasio Scores Double Endorsement by 'Hispanic' District Leader in 'Harlem'

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.

Daily News Editorial: Democratic Candidates Have Shown Zero Willingness To Make Tough Choices

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.

Who's In The Mayor-Pack: RINO's, Left Leaning Democrats And Joe Lhota

'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. 

Kristine Davis to "Throw Brassiere In The Ring" for Mayor

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..

Some Snippets of the Mayoral Election NY1/Marist POll

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.

New Marist Poll: Quinn and Lhota Vaguely Lead In Mayoral Primaries

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. 

Poll Shows Thompson Lacking Minority Base Support

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.

Number Cruncher: Could A Minority Candidate Come Close Winning Democratic Primary?

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.

Design Experts: Mayoral Candidates' Logos 'Abysmal' - Not Connecting With Voters

Design experts are not too convinced by the majority of the 2013 mayoral candidates' logos. Both, the Democrats and Republicans, logos rely on clichéd symbols, tired fonts and a sloppy appeal to voters, according to a panel of design and branding experts consulted by DNAinfo.com. 

Shots Fired! Mayoral Opponents React to Quinn's Middle Class SOTC Speech

Bill de Blasio (D)

“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…

— Bill de Blasio (@deBlasioNYC) February 11, 2013

George McDonald (R)

Today Speaker Quinn failed to honor Mayor Koch's legacy of talking to NYers like adults.

— George McDonald (@McDonald4NYC) February 11, 2013

Her proposals are not to find ways to make New York more affordable by reducing costs, cutting taxes or creating efficiency.

— George McDonald (@McDonald4NYC) February 11, 2013