FYI: Lhota Does Return Every Phone Call to His Cellphone

In a WNYC interview this morning, 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. 

Adolfo Carrion Counting on 'The Silent Majority'

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.

“Part of this candidacy is to awaken that sleeping giant.” Mr. Carrión told David Chen for the New York Times.

Follow Up: What You Didn't Know about Ceceilia Berkowitz

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.

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.

Ceceilia Rocks NYC Mayoral Race with Bathrobe Lookalike and Pink Laced Sneakers

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. 

'Angry' Sal Albanese Wants To Redistribute Toll Prices Between V-Z and BK-MH Bridges

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. 

Bill de Blasio 'A Little Sick' of Bloomberg’s ‘Royal’ Reign

“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).

Republican George McDonald Violates Law To Reform City Finance Rules

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 is In 'With or Without' GOP Line

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.” 

Sal Albanese Discovers 'Out of Touch' Bloomberg

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.

de Blasio Returns $15K Contributions From Homeless Shelter Operator

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. 

Catsimatidis Splashes Feb. Robo-Call To 400K City Republicans

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.

Video: Erick Salgado Touts Pro-Israel Creds and Conservative Values in Russian Radio Interview

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.

Brooklyn Tea Party Leader Backs Conservative Democrat Candidate Over Republican Favorite

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.

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.

SI Powerbroker Drops Support of Lhota for Ignoring Phonecalls

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.

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. 

Catsimatidis Directs Job Creation at Dropouts: Simplify Education System

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.