Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Elections

Elections

  • Cuomo’s Fundraising Gives Him Strong Footing Ahead of Second Reelection Bid

    Cuomo Niagra Falls

    Gov. Cuomo (photo: The Governor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo’s campaign finance filings show he’s sitting on a considerable war chest as he heads into the final year of his second term.

    New York’s Democratic governor, up for re-election in Fall 2018, has $25.7 million in his campaign account, according to financial reports filed last week. And as he approaches the state election year,

    ...
  • Malliotakis Outlines Developing Campaign Platform in Quest to Unseat De Blasio

    malliotakis si lynch cop

    Nicole Malliotakis, middle (photo via @NMalliotakis)


    State Assembly member and mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis discussed her campaign Friday with Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max and City Limits executive editor Jarrett Murphy for their Max & Murphy podcast.

    The 36-year-old Republican lawmaker, who represents parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn, joined the race in late April and became the

    ...
  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Republican Mayoral Candidate Nicole Malliotakis

    mxm logo

    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    Max & Murphy is a podcast focused on New York City politics and policy hosted by Ben Max of Gotham Gazette and Jarrett Murphy of City Limits. Recent episodes of the podcast can be found here and can be dowloaded from iTunes and other podcast networks. The podcast began with a focus on

    ...
  • Democratic Challengers Fire Away at De Blasio. Is Anybody Listening?

     albanese club crop

    Mayoral candidate Sal Albanese (photo: @SalAlbaneseNYC)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio won the mayoralty in 2013 on a progressive platform deriding the “Tale of Two Cities” that had developed in New York. He identified an unsustainable level of income inequality and biased police department, and promised an activist government focused on creating more opportunity for all. In some respects, de Blasio has followed through. But the mayor has also dealt with criticism from various corners on what have been deemed the failures of his administration.

    As de Blasio

    ...
  • Crowded Field Competes to Represent Manhattan City Council District

    garodnick east midtown model

    City Council Member Dan Garodnick (photo: @DanGarodnick)


    Due to term limits, popular City Council Member Dan Garodnick is not allowed to run for reelection this year, leading to a crowded field of competitors vying to replace him representing the politically active Manhattan district that includes East Midtown, Gramercy Park, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

    Ten candidates, mostly Democrats like Garodnick, competed in a debate at Waterside Plaza on June 22. The event, hosted by news publication Town & Village and

    ...
  • Nicole Malliotakis on Trying to Become New York’s First Female Mayor

    malliotakis fearless girl nmalliotakis

    Assemblymember Malliotakis with Fearless Girl (via @NMalliotakis)


    In 2013, one storyline of the raucous and unpredictable Democratic mayoral primary was Christine Quinn’s bid to become the first woman elected Mayor of New York City. Then the City Council Speaker and the early frontrunner in the race, Quinn largely avoided talking about that history-making potential. Running as the continuity-with-change

    ...
  • High Participation in Campaign Matching Funds, But Several Big Name Opt-Outs

    kallos council street presser

    Council Member Kallos (photo: City Council)


    As the September 12 primary elections approach and campaigns kick into high gear, a vast majority of candidates for the city’s elected offices will have their coffers bolstered by the Campaign Finance Board’s (CFB) public matching funds program, which matches eligible donations at a 6-to-1 ratio.

    Most candidates, but not all. According to data provided by the CFB, 14 of 51 incumbents this cycle are not participating in the program, which was created by the city in 1988 in part to allow

    ...
  • Massey Drops from Mayoral Race, Clearing Path to GOP Nomination for Malliotakis

    crains massey malliotakis crop

    Massey & Malliotakis (photo via Crain's New York Business)


    In a move that sent shockwaves throughout the New York political world, Paul Massey, a real estate executive running for the Republican nomination for mayor, abruptly dropped out of the race just hours after a debate with his primary rival, Staten Island Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis. The move leaves Malliotakis as the clear frontrunner for the GOP nomination.

    In a statement released to the press, Massey stated that his reason for dropping out was

    ...
  • 8%! New Report Shows Shockingly Low Voter Turnout in NYC

    30833378216 dde865964a z

    (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    A recent report by New York City’s Board of Elections details shockingly low voter turnout in the 2016 congressional and state primary elections. The new numbers come amid increased attention to New York’s suppressive voting laws but little action from state lawmakers who could implement reforms like early voting, same-day registration, automatic voter registration,

    ...
  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Democratic Mayoral Candidate Sal Albanese

    mxm logo

    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    Max & Murphy is a podcast focused on New York City politics and policy hosted by Ben Max of Gotham Gazette and Jarrett Murphy of City Limits. Past episodes of the podcast can be found here and can be dowloaded from iTunes and other podcast networks. The podcast began with a focus on housing in early 2016, but has expanded into other areas, now turning to the 2017 city elections,

    ...
  • New Jersey is About to Elect a New Governor. Why It Matters to New York

    Cuomo Christie NY NJ

    Governors Cuomo and Christie (photo: Governor Cuomo's Office)


    After competitive primaries, the New Jersey gubernatorial race is now between Republican Kim Guadagno and Democrat Phil Murphy. As the candidates head toward November's Election Day, New Yorkers may want to pay attention to the race and how each major party candidate might affect New York if elected.

    Given the proximity and relationship between the two states, particularly in relation to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the fact that New York's workforce includes many

    ...
  • Max Politics Podcast


    "Max Politics" is a podcast hosted by Ben Max, longtime Gotham Gazette Executive Editor, that features in-depth interviews about New York politics with elected and appointed officials, candidates, advocates, journalists, academics, and other guests.

    (Many episodes also aired, in part or in full, on WBAI radio, Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m. at 99.5 FM and wbai.org)

    Episodes of the show are posted to Max Politics podcast streams wherever you get podcasts and, until July 2023, to the Gotham Gazette website. 

    Find past episodes through the links below, but be sure to subscribe to

    ...
  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Republican Mayoral Candidate Paul Massey

    mxm logo

    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    Max & Murphy is a podcast focused on New York City politics and policy hosted by Ben Max of Gotham Gazette and Jarrett Murphy of City Limits. Past episodes of the podcast can be found here and can be dowloaded from iTunes and other podcast networks. The podcast began with a focus on housing in early 2016, but has expanded into other areas, now turning to the 2017 city elections, especially the race for

    ...
  • With Subways in Crisis, It’s Showtime for Mayoral Candidates

    Cuomo subway train

    (photo: The Governor's Office)


    Standing near a City Hall subway stop, Staten Island Assembly member and GOP mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis railed against Mayor Bill de Blasio’s handling of the city’s transit system and its state-controlled operator, the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

    At a podium set up just outside a 4 and 5 train entrance -- the same station that the mayor and his family emerged from for his inauguration on January 1, 2014 -- Malliotakis said last Friday that de Blasio has been ineffective and pledged that if she is elected

    ...
  • Planning to Lure Democrats, Polanco Jumps Into Public Advocate Race

    jc polanco ny1

    JC Polanco (screenshot via NY1)


     After receiving endorsements from several Republican clubs and organizations, J.C. Polanco, a Bronx native who is currently the New York City Regional Director for Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, officially jumped into the race for Public Advocate last week.

    “I had to travel the city and try to get enough support from my party to get the nomination,” Polanco said in an interview with Gotham Gazette. “Now I’m going to start moving from meeting party leaders, county leaders to talk with groups across the

    ...
  • Massey Makes A Campaign Stop on the Upper East Side

    massey subway stop

    Paul Massey meets voters (photo via @MasseyForMayor)


    Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey introduced himself to voters on the Upper East Side at a campaign event Monday, shaking hands outside the 86th Street and Lexington Avenue subway stop. Massey spoke with roughly three dozen people in the nearly half-hour he posted up near the street corner, sporting a dark blue suit and a broad smile on a stiflingly hot June day.

    “Want to meet the next mayor of New York?” members of Massey’s staff asked commuters, most of whom rushed past, trying to lure them in

    ...
  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Democratic Mayoral Candidate Bob Gangi

    mxm logo

    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    Max & Murphy is a podcast focused on New York City politics and policy hosted by Ben Max of Gotham Gazette and Jarrett Murphy of City Limits. Past episodes of the podcast can be found here and can be dowloaded from iTunes and other podcast networks. The podcast began with a focus on housing in early 2016, but has expanded into other areas, now

    ...
  • Southern Brooklyn Candidates Pitch Democratic Club

    gentile byd

    City Council Member Gentile (photo: Sam Raskin)


    Brooklyn Democratic office-seekers pitched their candidacies to the Brooklyn Young Democrats (BYD) club at a forum the group hosted in Bay Ridge Wednesday night.

    The event was part of the candidate and club endorsement circuit leading up to the September primary elections for City Council and other offices, including Mayor.

    The BYD meeting featured candidates for several offices, but was centered around the race for City Council in District 43, which includes parts of Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, along with Bath

    ...
  • The 2017 City Election Debate Schedule Is Here

    cfb debates presser via nyccfb

    Debate announcement press conference (photo: @NYCCFB)


    The New York City Campaign Finance Board announced the debate schedule and sponsors for the 2017 citywide elections on Thursday afternoon. Debates will take place, given more than one qualifying candidate, for the primaries and general elections for Comptroller, Public Advocate, and Mayor.

    This year’s two “sponsor groups” are large and varied, with the first group including

    ...
  • Candidates for Brooklyn District Attorney Seek to Set Themselves Apart

    bk da gonzalez via ericgonzalez4da crop

    Acting Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez (photo: @EricGonzalez4DA)


    Seven Democratic candidates seeking to be Brooklyn’s District Attorney participated in a forum Monday night at the First Unitarian Church, hosted by the The Reform Coalition, made up of 14 groups. It marks an unofficial start to a sprint toward September’s primary vote. Because Brooklyn voters are so heavily Democratic, the winner of the primary is all but assured general election victory as the borough’s leading prosecutor and law enforcement

    ...
  • The Issues Likely to Dominate The 2017 Mayoral Race

    de blasio children schools

    (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Candidates running for mayor have begun to gather signatures to get on the ballot, bringing election season into full swing. Mayor Bill de Blasio is in a relatively comfortable position and polls show that he is likely to sail to reelection, but it is still relatively early, with September primary and November general elections on the horizon. Anything can happen in a political campaign.

    As the mayor prepares to spend the next six months asking New Yorkers to give him another four years, he will also have to

    ...
  • Candidates Want Your Vote. They Need Your Signature First

    cats petitions

    John Catsimatidis with his petitions in 2013 (photo: @JCats2013)


    “Almost petitioning time!!!” tweeted Bill de Blasio’s re-election campaign communications director, Monica Klein, on Friday afternoon. Klein isn’t the only one excited and ready to go, as a key period begins Tuesday in the path toward September’s primary elections and November’s Election Day.

    On Tuesday, June 6, New York City residents will start seeing more than the usual number of

    ...
  • Max & Murphy on Politics: Election Season is Here!

    Max & Murphy

    Jarrett Murphy, left, of City Limits, and Ben Max, right, of Gotham Gazette


    June 1, 2017: Election Season is Here!

    For the 2017 city election season, the Max & Murphy podcast is focusing on the races and candidates of the election cycle. In this episode, hosts Ben Max of Gotham Gazette and Jarrett Murphy of City Limits set the stage for the summer campaign months, especially with the regard to the mayoral race, and discuss what other races are worth keeping an eye on as we head toward the September primary and the November general

    ...
  • De Blasio Receives Reelection Support from Three Democratic County Committees

     bill de blasio mayor march

    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    The Democratic county organizations of Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island have endorsed Mayor Bill de Blasio for reelection. The three borough party committees, formal local affiliates of the larger Democratic Party, will officially announce their endorsements on Thursday, joining Brooklyn county, which has already announced its support of de Blasio’s candidacy for a second term.

    A Democrat who took office in 2014 after a contentious 2013 primary and landslide general

    ...
  • Michel Faulkner Attempts Outsider Republican Run for Comptroller

    Faulkner Massey

    Michel Faulkner, left (photo: Samar Khurshid)


    Michel Faulkner is tired of career politicians and he doesn’t believe elected experience is necessary to run for one of New York’s citywide offices. Faulkner, the pastor at the New Horizon Church in Harlem and once a defensive lineman for the New York Jets, is running as a Republican for the office of Comptroller, the city’s chief financial officer.

    In an hour-long interview at City Diner on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Faulkner, 60, explained his decision to run for Comptroller and how he believes

    ...