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All Eyes on Paterson
September 22nd, 2009

We’ve yet to reach the end of the 2009 political season, and yet for the past two days New York’s political world has been focused on the 2010 gubernatorial race.

President Barack Obama certainly helped fix all eyes on Gov. David Paterson, his sagging poll numbers and the possibility that he will still seek to keep his job next year.

But observers say the most important development may actually have happened this morning, when the Court of Appeals ruled that Paterson’s appointment of Richard Ravitch to be lieutenant governor was legal.

There is a buzz in Albany that the decision may allow Paterson the graceful exit from the governor’s mansion that some say he has been looking for. Read the rest of this entry »

By David King on September 22, 2009, 2:57 pm
In category: Albany, Eye on Albany | No Comments »

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Swipes from Yassky
September 22nd, 2009

Are things getting nasty in the comptroller’s race?

Nasty is most likely an overstatement, but they are definitely heating up.

This afternoon Councilmember David Yassky’s communications director released a statement (in full after the jump) berating Councilmember John Liu for skipping a debate scheduled to be taped Friday and aired Sunday on WABC. This, the Yassky campaign says, comes after a call to debate in all five boroughs (a similar line Bill de Blasio is taking in the public advocate race).

When I asked Sharon Lee of the Liu campaign about it earlier this afternoon, she laughed and said they had no idea what they were talking about. “There was never a debate scheduled for WABC,” said Lee. “I have no idea what they are talking about.”

Technically, the WABC discussion is being cast as a forum, and participation is not mandatory, unlike the Campaign Finance Board debate scheduled for Thursday evening at NY1.

“Were not calling it a debate since there will be commercial breaks,” said Seung Suh of WABC in an e-mail. “Its more like a candidates forum. We had asked both Yassky and Liu to appear together. Liu declined.”

They will be taping a similar forum for the public advocate’s race.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Courtney Gross on September 22, 2009, 2:17 pm
In category: City Hall, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, nextNY | 1 Comment »

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Police for Green
September 22nd, 2009

Score one for Mark Green.

The former public advocate turned candidate is scheduled to accept the endorsements of the Captains Endowment Association, Lieutenants Benevolent Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association and the Detectives Endowment Association this afternoon at City Hall. All of these unions had been in Councilmember Eric Gioia’s corner pre-primary.

These were some of the biggest wins for Gioia, and we will see if they pay off for Green.

Green and de Blasio are scheduled to face off in the final Campaign Finance Board debate tomorrow night at NY1.

Stay tuned.

By Courtney Gross on September 22, 2009, 1:23 pm
In category: City Hall, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, nextNY | No Comments »

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Court OKs Ravitch
September 22nd, 2009

The state’s highest court has ruled that Richard Ravitch’s appointment as lieutenant governor is legal after all. This makes Ravitch the first appointed lieutenant governor in state history and ends a legal battle that began this summer when Gov. David Paterson named Ravitch to the vacant post.

State Senate Republicans had claimed in court that Paterson lacked the constitutional authority to fill the vacancy and, in the ensuing months, lower courts had ruled in their favor. Today, though, Paterson got a victory.

In the 4-3 decision, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said, The issue on this appeal is whether the governor of the state of New York has the authority to fill a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor by appointment. We now hold that he does.”

Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos, named as the plaintiff in the case, sharply disagreed with the court’s conclusion, saying it raised the prospect of a chain of unelected officials since Ravitch could theoretically become governor and appoint another unelected lieutenant governor who could then become governor and so on and so on. Read the rest of this entry »

By Gail Robinson on September 22, 2009, 11:29 am
In category: Albany, Gotham City, Governing, Law | No Comments »

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Green Will Not Attend S.I. Debate
September 21st, 2009

Green campaign spokesperson Anne Strahle just got back to us on whether former public advocate Mark Green will attend the first public advocate outer borough debate tomorrow — the first in a series of debates proposed by councilmember and public advocate candidate Bill De Blasio.

The answer is no.

Strahle said the Green campaign just found out about the debate this afternoon, and the de Blasio camp “never included us in deciding when, where or the subject for the debates.”

The Green campaign also released this statement: Since when is Bill de Blasio a unilateral Campaign Finance Board dictating time, location and topics for debate? A pitcher doesnt get to call balls and strikes. Well talk about more debates if theyre open-ended and before unbiased audiences so that reporters, for example, can ask about womens issues and de Blasios ethics problems.

The two candidates will officially meet for a Campaign Finance Board debate at NY1 on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

By Courtney Gross on September 21, 2009, 4:46 pm
In category: City Hall, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing, nextNY | No Comments »

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Council Candidates Wait it Out
September 21st, 2009

While some focus on the two runoff elections for comptroller and public advocate, there are still a number of City Council races that could turn around once the official vote tally is in.

Initially the city Board of Elections expected official returns tomorrow. Earlier this morning, Valerie Vazquez-Rivera of the Board of Elections said they could have some results tomorrow, but it wasn’t looking as likely.

That leaves a number of candidates, like Maria Baez and Fernando Cabrera in the Bronx, on the edge of their seats.

Lynn Nunes, a candidate who says he is five votes shy of kicking out incumbent Councilmember Thomas White Jr. in Queens, is also one of those candidates.

“Now there is a five vote spread with ballots still coming in,” said Nunes via phone this morning. “We’re following still very closely, and I guess we’ll see what happens.”

Stay tuned for updates.

By Courtney Gross on September 21, 2009, 3:16 pm
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Comptroller Candidates on Lehrer
September 21st, 2009

Council members David Yassky and John Liu appeared on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer show this morning for a wonkish discussion on the management of the city’s pension funds.

The candidates talk about the current state of the pension fund system, responsible investing, and whether we need a new pension tier.

“I think when you look at the broad section of business leaders that say David Yassky is the most responsible person to steward the city’s pension funds, I think that should give New Yorkers some confidence that I am the right person for this job,” said Yassky.

Yassky landed former Mayor Ed Koch’s endorsement today, who had endorsed Melinda Katz during the primary. Liu, on the other hand, received the endorsement of former Bronx Borough President Freddy Ferrer today, who had co-chaired David Weprin’s campaign.

“I am running for city comptroller to do a range of things, and one of them, which would be to more prudently invest the pension funds,” said Liu this morning. “I have advocated for more of a return to basic, traditional investments and less of the newfangled financial instruments that led to the collapse on Wall Street in the first place.”

For more on our comptroller coverage, check out our look at the runoff and more here.

By Courtney Gross on September 21, 2009, 12:56 pm
In category: City Hall, Gotham City | No Comments »

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Staten Island Here They Come
September 21st, 2009

Mark your calendars, the public advocate candidates are coming to Staten Island.

A response to councilmember and public advocate candidate Bill de Blasio’s call for a series of debates in all five boroughs, the two candidates, including former public advocate Mark Green, are scheduled to appear before the North Shore Democratic Club tomorrow from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The debate will focus on jobs and the economy.

The candidates will officially appear for a televised debate on Wednesday at NY1 at 7 p.m in Manhattan. That debate is also sponsored by the Campaign Finance Board, NY1 Noticias, WNYC Radio, New York Daily News and Time Warner Cable.

Were thrilled to be able to host a debate that focuses on what matters most to Staten Islanders during this difficult economic time, said North Shore Democratic Club President Michael Arvanites in a prepared statement. Its important for a position as critical as public advocate and during a runoff election as abbreviated as this one, that we spark a serious dialogue about how the candidates will address our top concerns in a substantial way, and were proud to be a part of that process.

So far, de Blasio has picked up the most endorsements post-primary, including from the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, who had been in Eric Gioia’s corner. With de Blasio carrying momentum from his surprising lead in the primary, some have questioned whether Green’s name recognition has been capped out.

Today, we take a look at the runoff match ups here. And you can see all of our public advocate coverage here.

By Courtney Gross on September 21, 2009, 12:20 pm
In category: City Hall, Electoral Politics, Gotham City | No Comments »

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Weekly Web Wrap
September 18th, 2009

  • High Line Uses Wood from Rainforests
    (The Indypendent)
  • New Public School to have Video Game-Based Curriculum
    (Metropolis)
  • City Prepares for Rising Seas
    (Yale Environment 360)
  • New York Second Biggest Hub for Tech Innovators
    (InformationWeek via NYConvergence)
  • Why Charter Schools are Proliferating
    (The Chalkboard)
  • Atlantic Yards Rendering, Featuring Congestion
    (Atlantic Yards Report)
  • Smoke-Free Planet
    (Slate)
  • Conflux Festival Begins
    (WNYC Culture)
  • Working Families Party Builds Progressive Power
    (The Nation)
  • Councilmember-elect Lander Criticizes Atlantic Yards Approval
    (No Land Grab)
  • Council Targets Roaming Tour Buses
    (Streetsblog)
  • Albany Tax Receipts Continue to Shrink
    (NY Fiscal Watch)
  • ‘Make History’ Gathers 9/11 Stories
    (Core77)
  • By Mike Muller on September 18, 2009, 11:21 am
    In category: Gotham City | 1 Comment »

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    Breathing vs. Smoking in the Park
    September 17th, 2009

    Anne Schwartz, Gotham Gazette’s parks writer, filed this post.

    People interviewed in a New York Times article about the citys proposed ban on smoking in the parks (and commenting about it online) derided the idea as an extension of the nanny state, an intrusion on individual freedom, harassment of smokers and ridiculous considering the much greater threat posed by car exhaust, among other things.

    But if youve ever been on a crowded beach or at an outdoor concert next to people continually lighting up, you may be applauding the citys latest move to force New Yorkers to be healthier — although probably more because of a concern for your own health than for that of the smokers.

    As one commenter noted, “Its not just a preference for me; cigarette smoke is the most powerful trigger of my asthma there is.”
    Read the rest of this entry »

    By Gail Robinson on September 17, 2009, 3:31 pm
    In category: Environment, Gotham City, Health, Parks | 14 Comments »

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    de Blasio Snags Betsy
    September 17th, 2009

    This morning Betsy Gotbaum named a successor. She wants Bill de Blasio.

    Just two days after the primary, the seat’s current occupant said she wants to see de Blasio as the next public advocate, because of his record fighting for regular new workers (his role in the term limits fight, homelessness and food stamps), and his ability to stand up to the all-powerful executive branch.

    “He knows when to be critical and when to back off,” Gotbaum said this morning in front of the municipal building.

    Though Gotbaum has a mixed reputation amongst New York’s politicos — many say she remained under the radar during her tenure as public advocate — the endorsement is of note. Whether it will sway voters in the Sept. 29 runoff between Mark Green and de Blasio, which is sure to be a nasty race, we will have to wait and see.

    Gotbaum worked closely with de Blasio during the fight to extend term limits, but also worked closely with Eric Gioia on the fight to get food stamps to New Yorkers who are eligible. Now that Gioia is out of the pack, it makes sense she is going for de Blasio.

    A Gotbaum staffer said the timing of the endorsement had nothing to do with Gioia now being out of the race. Before this, the office had been working on fixing its budget woes, he said.

    By Courtney Gross on September 17, 2009, 12:52 pm
    In category: City Hall, Gotham City | No Comments »

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    The Times and Clyde Vanel
    September 16th, 2009

    We know we’re not a blog of mediai criticism (and that people who live in glass houses…), but, readers, can any of you explain the amount of ink the Times has spilled on Clyde Vanel’s challenge to incumbent Leroy Comrie in the 27th council district in Queens? (They have done two long articles about him, here and here.)

    No offense intended toward Clyde Vanel but this never seemed to be shaping up a one of Tuesday’s hottest cotests — and, indeed, Comrie won with a 24 percent edge.

    On the other hand, as far as we could tell, aside from a roundup on the role of term limits in the primary campaign, the Times in its news pages did not cover, for example, Jumaane Williams’ successful campaign against incumbent Kendall Stewart. We could find no detailed reporting on Mark Winston Griffith, who though he lost, came far closer to ousting Albert Vann than Vanel did to ejecting Comrie; Daniel Dromm, who took on and beat establishment candidate Helen Sears; or any of the candidateswho ended Alan Gerson’s time on the council.

    So, what is with Clyde Vanel?

    By Gail Robinson on September 16, 2009, 5:36 pm
    In category: Gotham City | 3 Comments »

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    Quinn's Vulnerability
    September 16th, 2009

    Perhaps one of the most surprising elements of yesterday’s primary was Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s showing, which was disappointing by most accounts.

    Quinn received a little more than 52 percent of the vote (6,868 total votes), while her two competitors, Yetta Kurland (with 4,108) and Maria Passannante-Derr (with 2,117) broke up the rest.

    Interestingly, Quinn did worse than when she first ran for office in 1999 – also a four-way, February special election. Then, according to the city Board of Elections, Quinn walked away with 9,155 votes — far ahead of her closest opponent, Carlos A. Manzano who had 3,237 votes. The 1999 election had about 4,000 more total votes than yesterday’s primary.

    Her showing yesterday follows her support for the mayor’s proposal to extend term limits and the council slush fund scandal. Her slim majority has raised questions today on whether her speakership is vulnerable, especially after she irritated members last year by proposing reforms to address the slush fund scandal and when she called a vote on the mayor’s congestion pricing plan (we all know what happened there).

    With a rush of new members in January, a coup could be possible, even though it’s not exactly clear now who would lead it.

    “Even though there is grumbling in the body, somebody has to be able to step up and put together a coalition,” said Baruch College Professor Doug Muzzio. Even though yesterday was surprising, for now, Muzzio added, it’s hard to see who that person would be.

    By Courtney Gross on September 16, 2009, 1:51 pm
    In category: City Hall, Gotham City | 1 Comment »

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    Who Will Katz Support?
    September 16th, 2009

    katz_m_29

    So far, Melinda Katz, the third-runner up for comptroller, isn’t endorsing anyone in the runoff.

    But in a letter to supporters we just got in our inbox, she isn’t ruling it out.

    The text below:

    Dear Friend,

    I had hoped to be thanking you under different circumstances today, but last night we came up short of qualifying for the runoff in the race for City Comptroller.

    Nobody likes to lose, and Im certainly no exception to that. As Ive said throughout the entire campaign, its not enough to just pick fights whether its with the Mayor, special interests, Wall Street or developers once in a while, you need to win.

    But though we didnt win last night, I dont feel like a loser. Your support and the support of tens of thousands of people throughout this great city carried me through this campaign, and it continues to sustain and inspire me as we move forward. I am eternally grateful for everything you did for this incredible effort of ours, and I will not soon forget your generosity. Thank you.

    I also hope youll join me in congratulating my two opponents who are in the runoff: Councilmembers David Yassky and John Liu, who ran good campaigns and who in turn made me a stronger candidate. If I choose to support one of them in the days ahead, I will be sure to let you know.

    In the meantime, I hope you take a minute to reflect on what we were able to accomplish and the issues we were able to bring attention to throughout this campaign, from stronger fiscal oversight of the Department of Education to standing up to Wall Streets bad habits to making smarter investments with our pension dollars and leveraging those investments for greater social and economic returns.

    I am proud of you, and I am proud of the work we did together. I thank the staff, volunteers, donors and friends who made this campaign such a wonderful experience. It was a privilege to run.

    Sincerely,

    Melinda

    By Courtney Gross on September 16, 2009, 12:39 pm
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    Every Vote Counts
    September 16th, 2009

    They really mean it when they say every vote counts.

    Incumbents and soon to be newly-minted council members are repeating that over and over again this morning — some are elated, others disappointed.

    In one case in particular — Lynn Nunes in the 28th district in Queens — six votes could keep him out of the City Council and Councilmember Thomas White, Jr. in. Elsewhere, the margins are wider, but certainly not yawning. Just a hundred people in some cases have brought one candidate to victory and another to defeat.

    Take Councilmember Darlene Mealy. Just 133 votes have kept her in office instead of former councilmember Tracy Boyland. Or Councilmember Diana Reyna. She is probably calling about 220 people today — thanking them for being the deciding factor in her defeat of Maritza Davila.

    Or Fernando Cabrera, a candidate for the 14 district in the Bronx, where just 90 votes divide him and the incumbent, Maria Baez.

    Others have wider leads, like Daniel Dromm over Councilmember Helen Sears, which has a gap of about 600 votes. Or Margaret Chin over Councilmember Alan Gerson — about 1,000 votes divide them.

    While many of these races you can safely say are determined (Chin-Gerson for one), some could still sway either way. Valerie Vazquez-Rivera, communications director at the Board of Elections, emphasized any numbers are very preliminary and un-official. They are based on the figures taken from poll workers to the supervising police officer, who then gives them to someone else to input in the computer system, she said. Hence, there is a lot of room for human error.

    So now, the official vote is being extracted from the machines, paper ballots are being cracked open, and a bipartisan group will do the official count. All of this, said Vazquez-Rivera, is supervised by the candidates and the Board of Elections staff.

    They expect to complete the official count by September 21, so the board can certify the results on the 22nd and officially declare the runoff election for public advocate and comptroller for the 29th. If results are still disputed in council races — which is possible in some of these very close contests — the candidates could go to court.

    The runoff will cost the city $13 million, Vazquez-Rivera added.

    By Courtney Gross on September 16, 2009, 12:04 pm
    In category: City Hall, Gotham City, Governing, nextNY | No Comments »

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    Did Term Limits Test the Voters' Limits?
    September 16th, 2009

    At least four and as many as six City Council members lost their jobs yesterday. That may not sound like many — there are, after all, 51 council members and at least 37 of them got four more years. But given that 97 or 98 percent of incumbents generally get re-elected, yesterday’s election seemed akin to bloodletting — “not quite a revolution but a revolt,” as the Daily News put it.

    In the last 12 years, according to the News, only three incumbents have lost. Yesterday, four — Alan Gerson, Helen Sears, Kendall Stewart and Kenneth Mitchell — went down to defeat. Maria Baez remains 90 votes behind Fernando Cabrera, and Thomas White is holding on to his seat by a six-vote edge. Some other members just managed to hang on to their posts. Darlene Mealy, for example beat out her closest competition by 133 votes, while Diana Reyna won with a 273-vote edge. Even Christine Quinn, the council speaker who has never faced a primary in her Manhattan district, encountered heavy competition, though she bested two challengers with 52 percent of the vote.

    So what happened? It depends on who you ask, but many believe the council’s extension of term limits played a key role.
    Read the rest of this entry »

    By Gail Robinson on September 16, 2009, 11:04 am
    In category: Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing | No Comments »

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    Yesterday's General Election
    September 16th, 2009

    In the one election Tuesday in which everyone — not just registered Democrats or Republicans — could vote, Democrat Michael Miller defeated Republican Donna Marie Caltabiano to win the State Assembly seat from the 38th district in Queens. The post — representing Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, Glendale, Maspeth, Ridgewood and Middle Village — became vacant when State Assemblymember Anthony Seminerio pleaded guilty to bribery charges.

    Gov. David Paterson paved the way for Miller’s victory when he called a special election for Sept. 15. Under New York laws, that ruled out a primary, letting the party leaders — not voters — pick the nominees. Originally five Democrats, including Miller, had been preparing for a primary.

    With the primary off and with Democrats having an edge in the city — an edge increased yesterday because, with three citywide primaries in their party, Democrats were more likely to vote than Republicans — Miller had a decisive advantage. He will go into future elections as an incumbent, if the usual pattern holds, he can look forward to a long tenure in Albany.

    Miller’s road to the capital is nothing unusual. According to figures compiled in 2007 by Citizens Union Foundation (which publishes Gotham Gazette), 32 percent of the current members of the State Assembly and 29 percent of state senators first won their seats in a special election.

    By Gail Robinson on September 16, 2009, 7:40 am
    In category: Albany, Electoral Politics, Eye on Albany, Gotham City, Governing | No Comments »

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    Endangered Incumbents?
    September 15th, 2009

    Incumbency has long been a virtual guarantee of re-election in New York City. In 2005, only one incumbent, the ever-quirky Allan Jennings of Queens, tried for another term and lost.

    Could this year be different? While most New Yorkers are not closing following the city primary — and those who are watching the citywide contests and the Manhattan district attorney race — the defeat of incumbents could be the other story of this election.

    As Courtney Gross reported in Gotham Gazette early this year, many challengers, who planned to run before the extension of term limits, expecting a race for an open seat, have stayed in their races, challenging the incumbent. “Term limits may not have truncated the 09 race, but provided ammunition for it,” Courtney wrote.

    Some eight seats are open, with the winner uncertain in most of them. On top of that, in 24 districts, one or more candidates hope to pull off that rare feat in New York and knock off an incumbent.

    Undoubtedly most will fail. And some dont seem very serious. (in keeping with GG policy, we’re not going to name names here), but looking at lists of incumbents who have lost backing from some unions, the Working Families Party, Citizens Union, the New York Times and the Daily News, among other, we would not be surprised to see four to eight incumbents go down. (To find out if this happens, go to Gotham Gazette’s election results page.)

    Some could be brought down by ties to the slush fund scandal, some by anger over the extension of term limits, some by ineptitude. Some might even deserve to keep their jobs.

    Whatever the reason, if this comes to pass, it could mean that New Yorkers have finally found a way, along with term limits, to get rid of politicians they don’t like — the voting booth.

    By Gail Robinson on September 15, 2009, 5:37 pm
    In category: City Hall, Electoral Politics, Gotham City, Governing | No Comments »

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    An Election Day Schedule
    September 15th, 2009

    voting made easy
    Image (c) ShooterD

    Citywide candidates are running about the five boroughs, scrambling for those last minute undecided voters making their way into their polling locations.

    That said, the last minutes and hours of a candidate’s pre-election results schedule can be telling. Are they targeting their home turf, loyal voters, a certain neighborhood, a demographic? Here is smattering of schedules from some of the citywide candidates. See if you see any trends.

    And don’t forget to check out our Guide to the Last Minute (Primary) Voter, where you can find in-depth coverage on every competitive race. If you’re looking for who is in running in your district, see Who’s Running for What. And if you are interested in which candidates are the most intricately tied to real estate interests, see our feature: Real Estate’s Last Stand.

    Public Advocate Candidate Bill de Blasio’s Schedule:

    Event 1
    7:15am — BDB at PS 270 with Tish James, 241 Emerson Place (between
    Classon Avenue & Steuben Street), Brooklyn, NY

    Event 2
    9:30am — Bill & Chirlane go VOTE, Camp Friendship, Corner of 6th
    Avenue & 8th Street

    Event 3
    10:30a.m. — Fulton Mall, Brooklyn greeting voters till 12:15.

    Read the rest of this entry »

    By Courtney Gross on September 15, 2009, 10:30 am
    In category: City Hall, Gotham City, Governing, nextNY | No Comments »

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    Paterson Calls for Budget Talks
    September 14th, 2009

    Gov. David Paterson doesn’t want to keep all the fun of trying to plug the state’s growing budget deficit to himself. Paterson has called for a five-way public leaders meeting for Wednesday Sept. 23 to discuss ways to plug the state’s $2.1 billion gap.

    In recent weeks legislators have shrugged off invitations from Paterson to deal with the budget during a legislative session and have indicated that they are waiting for Paterson to come up with a plan.

    The longer we wait to deal with this problem, the harder the decision-making becomes,” Paterson said in his statement. “Every state in the nation is confronting the same historic economic crisis, and many states that have passed their budgets have been or will be forced to take additional action. States that have failed to address their budget problems in a timely manner have been forced to deal with cash flow difficulties, delayed payments on critical obligations, employee furloughs, and diminished credit ratings. I will do everything I can to ensure that this does not happen in New York.

    We must do everything we can to come together in the spirit of cooperation to address our fiscal difficulties in a responsible and timely manner. I look forward to working with the Legislature to enact a comprehensive approach to eliminating New Yorks budget gap, Paterson concluded.

    By David King on September 14, 2009, 4:00 pm
    In category: Albany, Eye on Albany | No Comments »

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