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.

Experts: Quinn's 40K Housing Units in Decade Plan 'A Drop in the Bucket'

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.”

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

Quinn's Election Year State of the City Speech Featured The Middle Class Squeeze

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%. 

'Show Me The Money' Vs. 'Look Who's Talkin'.

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.

Skeptic Republican Donors Float Super PAC Plan to Bolster Joe Lhota's Campaign

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.”

de Blasio's Campaign Contributions "Stinks To High Heaven,” Says Campaign Finance Watchdog

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.

Albanese Wants to Redeem New York from Bloomberg Kingdom

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. 

Powerful Labor Union Endorses Quinn As Most Liberal Democratic Candidate

One of the city’s largest and most powerful labor unions, The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), announced their endorsement of Christine C. Quinn, for mayor, David Chen reports in the NY Times.

Bill Thompson Totally Ready To Burst Out of Boring Brand

Bill Thompson is ready to get rid of his boring status, one that might of costed him the election in 2009, as he lost by a mere margin of 4.6 to Mayor Bloomberg. In an extensive profile of former City Comptroller, Bill Thompson for Politicker, Colin Campbell helped Thompson become creative about overcoming the notion that his candidacy is kind of sleepy or boring to a certian extent.

 

“If I had thrown an expletive in, maybe it would have gotten more attention. But then people would have to bleep it out,” he said while sipping on his coffee. "Then it would be, ‘Bill Thompson, he doesn’t have the temperament to be the mayor of the City of New York!’

Restless Weiner Waves Comeback Trial for Mayor or Comptroller

A reader in Forest Hills, Queens and an Upper West Side Democrat, both notified Liz Benjamin form Capital Tonight about receiving a polling call yesterday afternoon asking if they would be willing to consider scandal-scarred former Rep. Anthony Weiner for either Mayor of NYC or NYC comptroller this fall.

The Queens resident was asked about a possible matchup between Weiner and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in the race for City Comptroller.

Mayoral Candidates Visit Boro Park Jewish Community

Council Speaker Christine Quinn visited the house of Ezra Friedlander in Borough Park Sunday evening to attend a new tradition of celebrating the Jewish Holiday of Tu Bshvat, attended by Community leaders and politicos, described by VINNEWS as "highly influential group of Orthodox and Hasidic movers and shakers."

 

At the “seder” table (I guess a new definition to a non-political oriented occasion) yesterday featuring special readings "Ms. Quinn, with a fully loaded campaign war chest and reportedly a commanding lead in the polls in the 2013 race for Mayor of NYC, was honored in reading ancient rabbinic texts about the importance of preserving fruits trees and meaning of planting a seed for future generations to enjoy, according to VIN.

In Crowded Field, WSJ Barely Finds a Handful of Mayoral Candidates

Though most of the potential mayoral candidates havens officially declared their candidacy for mayor of NYC, the field has filled up on both sides of the aisle, with various candidates just waiting for the right timing to do so.

Following Bill de Blasio's official entry to the race on Sunday outside his home in Park Slope, the WSJ made note that the Democratic primary also included Christine Quinn and Bill Thompson, facing Joe Lhota from the Republican side. In an updated version, the WSJ with the help of AP listed City Comptroller John Liu who is also running for mayor, as a potential 'Republican' candidate.

de Blasio Officially Declares Candidacy for Mayor of NYC

Flanked by a diverse crowd, enthusiastic supporters and local Park Slope and Brooklyn residents, introduced by his by his wife Chirlane and son Dante in front of the family home, Bill de Blasio declared his candidacy for Mayor of New York City. 

Received by chants of 'Yes We Can', de Blasio promised to be a mayor "of and for our neighborhoods."