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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Eric Ulrich Calls On Catsimatidis To Drop Out of Mayoral Race

An enraged Eric Ulrich, an outspoken critic of the Queens County GOP leadership, seized on the allegations to step up his attacks on Tabone, the borough’s party committee vice chair, as well as Queens GOP chair Phil Ragusa and John Catsimatidis, according to City and State NY. 

“As far as Tabone and the county is concerned, this confirms what I’ve known all along: These are some of the most corrupt political hacks in all of New York City,” Ulrich said. “They have no place in politics, and as an elected official I have an obligation, a sworn duty, to root out corruption anywhere it rears its ugly head, in government, in a city agency and even in a political party, especially when it happens to be my own party.” 

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

City GOP Chairmen Come Clean on Disturbing Nomination Process

In conversations with the Daily News, three of the Republican City Party Chairs - Phil Ragusa of Queens, Craig Eaton of Brooklyn and former Staten Island chief Robert Scamardella - said they knew nothing of the investigation and were never contacted by the feds, but they had nothing to comment about Halloran role in the process.

Ragusa told Celeste Katz he first heard about the arrests on the radio this morning and "almost jumped out of bed." "Every time I spoke to Malcolm, anybody, even Carrion, I always made it clear to them that I was in John Catsimatidis' corner (and) I wouldn't be backing anybody else. I was the first one to back John -- Queens County was -- and that's where I stood," Ragusa said.

Catsimatidis Believes Smith/GOP Bribery Scheme "Helps' His Mayoral Campaign.

Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis immediately removed his campaign aide Vince Tabone, a top political operative in the Queens County Republican Committee who was arrested this morning, from his campaign payroll.


"The arrests this morning point to a culture of corruption that permeates the politics of our city and state. Corruption that is fueled by career politicians who put personal advancement before public service," said a statement from the billionaire candidate's campaign. 

Democratic Senator and GOP Power Brokers Caught In Mayoral Bribe Twist

As Bizarre as the NYc 2013 race for mayor would get, the 'Wilson Pakula Gate' that involved Democratic senator Malcolm Smith, Queen Republican council member Dan Halloran and other GOP officials are the hype of the political process doomed to failure.

State Sen. Malcolm Smith and City Councilman Dan Halloran were both arrested by federal officials Tuesday morning after they were indicted on corruption and conspiracy charges to pave the way for Smith to run in the Republican primary, or as a sole candidate, for mayor. Four other officials, including the Republican Party chairman in the Bronx Jay Savino, were also charged with bribery.

Friday, March 29, 2013

NYC Reporters Sharing the Burden On Paid Sick Leave Deal With Bill de Blasio

A lot has been said about Christine Quinn's dominating the political discourse now that she has compromised and taken a lead on passing the sick pay leave bill, especially after Mike Bloomberg vowed to veto it. 

There is also no doubt that no one lost more from this deal than it's main advocate: Bill de Blasio. As Chris Bragg writes: "Now, he has to make a very complicated argument to voters—that the deal didn't go far enough—even as both advocates and opponents have largely been co-opted into supporting the final agreement. Who in the media is going to pay attention to his attacks against Ms. Quinn on the issue now? And what other clear points of policy difference are there between Mr. de Blasio and Ms. Quinn that could animate the progressive base Mr. de Blasio is counting on? And with 32BJ likely going into Ms. Quinn's camp, his chances of landing the key Working Families Party endorsement are looking slimmer."

McDonald and Thompson Among The Losers of the Week

Two of the mayoral candidates managed to get into City and Stae NY's list of losers of the week.

George McDonald - for failing to match ground with his two rivals in the Republican primary. And Bill Thompson - for siding with Kelly on the Inspector General issue, which didnt play out too well and appealing to his Democratic party base of voters, and for violating the City's campaign finance board's campaign contribution laws. 

Quinn Deflates de Blasio's Campaign Theme With Paid Sick Deal

“It protects people, protects small businesses and I’m incredibly proud with this final piece of legislation,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn as she stood with her fellow lawmakers on the steps of City Hall to officially announce the 'Paid Sick Leave' agreement, which was reached Thursday night. 

Under the bill proposed, businesses with 20 or more employees would be required to provide five paid sick days to their workers beginning April 1, 2014 and to businesses with 15 or more employees by October 1, 2015. Quinn called it a “good, strong, and sensible piece of legislation that recognizes the needs of everyday New Yorkers and the realities that our struggling small businesses face.”

Thursday, March 28, 2013

In 1999 Profile, Joe Lhota Is Described as 'Calm, Easy Going and Quirky' In City Hall

While Mayor Giuliani was known for his temper, Joe Lhota, who served as his deputy mayor and is now a Republican candidate for mayor of NYC, was described in a NY Times profile in 1999 "as the most easygoing member of the Mayor's tightly knit, tightly wound inner circle. While he can bluster as expertly as any other Giuliani aide, Mr. Lhota is better known for what sets him apart: his willingness to talk openly and his insouciant humor, which make him one of the quirkiest personalities in City Hall."

Unlike his Democratic counterpart, City Council speaker Christine Quinn, who was described in an extensive NY times piece by Mike Grynbaum and David Chen this week as "controlling, temperamental and surprisingly volatile," Joe Lhota's work at City Hall was described as totally the opposite: A calm voice for a combative mayor.

'If I Was A Democrat' Giuliani Likes Quinn and Thompson For Mayor

Rudy Giuliani, known currently as the backbone behind Joe Lhota’s bid for mayor, offered his reference to Michael Howard Saul of the WSJ, were he a Democratic primary voter. During an interview discussing Quinn's push for an inspector general, Giuliani said he would have difficulty choosing between Quinn and Thompson.

“I worked with Billy and I found him to be a very honorable man and a very level-headed man,” Giuliani said. “A lot of the stuff he thinks, I don’t agree with. But if you’re asking me which one would be the better chief executive, it would be between the two of them.”

Asked by the WSJ if he is frustrated about Bloomberg’s apparent support for Quinn instead of Lhota, the former mayor replied: “Well, let’s see how long that lasts, right?”

Joe Lhota's Museum Controversy That Might Haunt Him as A Candidate To Handle A Diverse City

Joe Lhota's handling of 1999 Museum controversy may come to haunt him shall he become the Republican nominee for mayor, raising questions about how he would operate in a diverse city whose current mayor champions unpleasant speech from every quarter.

In 1999, Lhota, as deputy mayor in the Giuliani administration threatened to cut funding and evict the Brooklyn Museum over a controversial piece of art that incorporated elephant feces in a depiction of the Virgin Mary. "The mayor and Mr. Lhota decided this exhibition offended their sensibilities. O.K. Then they said that if the museum did not kill it, they might evict it," Michael Powell recalled in a December article. Mr. Lhota offered his “8-year-old rule”: “I would not want my daughter to see a naked man, a statue or a caricature or a painting.”