It's Official: Former MTA Boss Enters Mayoral Race

It's official: Republican Joe Lhota is running for mayor. Lhota filed the paperwork necessary to formalize his candidacy on Thursday. “It’s official. Joe Lhota is a candidate to be the 109th mayor of New York City,” Lhota tweeted about 10 a.m. 

“Since I left my position as chairman and CEO of the MTA just two weeks ago, I’ve been asked over and over, 'Joe, why do you want to be the mayor of New York City?,’” Lhota said in a “From Joe” message on his Web site. 

Politicker Profiles Candidates in Wide open Mayoral Race

As they always do, Hunter Walker and Colin Campbell from The Observer had a little fun putting together the never-ending list of candidates vying to succeed Mayor Bloomberg. Who is the front-runner, who are the favorites, who are the inclusive underdogs, and what about the assortment of protest candidates and oddballs who bring more color to the race? Will the packed primary pull out a winner, or a runoff?  

To G-d the answers. 

Nonetheless, Walker and Campbell left the steamy office in Manhattan to tour the forest, and came back with lots of nuts to crack. 

Mayoral Hopefuls Talk NYC Issues at Al Sharpton Forum

Rev. Al Sharpton hosted Tuesday night a panel of five Democratic mayoral hopefuls, a discussion about race, stop-and-frisk, social justice, gun control and Ray Kelly.

"The most charged moments were when Mr. Sharpton asked the candidates whether they would keep Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly," the NY Times reports. 

Poll: Dem Candidates Beat GOP Lhota: 31% Democratic primary Voters Remain Undecided

The three major Democratic candidates for mayor would beat Joe Lhota, the favored Republican mayoral candidate by a large margin, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.  

Former MTA Chair & CEO Joseph Lhota leads in the Republican primary with 23 percent of the vote, followed by businessman John Catsimatidis with 9 percent, newspaper publisher Tom Allon with 5 percent, former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion with 3 percent and Doe Fund founder George McDonald with 2 percent, while 53 percent remain undecided.