Publisher Runs for Mayor
July 12th, 2011
With Mayor Michael Bloomberg set to exit the city’s political scene in 2013, another wealthy albeit not nearly that wealthy — publisher has started eying his job.
Tom Allon, publisher of Manhattan Media, which owns neighborhood weekly, City Hall and the New York Press, among other publications, has told Crain’s he wants to run for mayor.
Whatever else Allon’s candidacy might or might not do, it raises interesting campaign finance questions, Azi Paybarah of the Observer reports. While the papers can continue to cover the news , including politicking by their boss, they could raise questions, Eric Friedman of the Campaign Finance Board, told Paybarah “if they put him on the front page and say, Here’s why this guy is going to be a great mayor.”
In their morning email, City Hall and the Capitol, its sister publication said, “We’re putting up a wall between Allon’s aspirations and our coverage of New York politics, and well cover him like any other candidate — which means well wait to see if he’s taken seriously before we do.”
Expressing skepticism on that very point, the email said, “What seems like a vanity run to push his pet issue of improving city schools is a long shot at best.”
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