Liu, Yassky Fight For Comptrol

Besides a run-off for Public Advocate, yesterday's primary election also resulted in a run-off for City Comptroller, with City Council member John Liu (D-Queens) getting 38% of the vote and fellow Council member David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) getting 30%. Two other Council members from Queens ran— Melinda Katz got 20% and David Weprin 11%.

The NY Times noted the differences between Liu's and Yassky's campaigns, "Liu, a former actuary and an immigrant from Taiwan, struck a populist tone, from his home neighborhood of Flushing to Chinatown, where voters embraced him as a trailblazer, and Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, where several black leaders endorsed him," while "Yassky, a former law professor, focused on Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn, and touted his accomplishments on the City Council, where he closed a tax loophole for developers and encouraged film companies to shoot in the city, with tax incentives for production." Liu won endorsements of major unions (and groups like the Working Families Party and the Citizens Union) while Yassky was armed with endorsements from the NY Times, Daily News and former boss Senator Chuck Schumer.

Runnin' Scared points out Yassky did better than expected, since one poll had him getting 22%, and wonders if he was aided by his "Election Day barnstorming of the Upper West Side" where people don't know him though, "Obviously some in the neighborhood -- like the man who heckled Yassky for five minutes at 72nd and Broadway over his vote in the city council to extend term limits -- knew him well enough already." The run-off election is on September 29.

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By Jen Chung in News on September 16, 2009 3:30 PM

Comments [rss]

verbal

Hopefully this is the very last we'll hear of that fucking twat melinda katz, she sold us out to Bloomberg and the thought of her handling our cash is frightening.

Liu voted against him and flushing is bustling; the only problem is that every sign is in chinese or korean.

Manitoba2

The battle to decide who is the biggest douchebag?

Aesop

Yassky is like the little nerdy kid in class who no one liks because he is always ready to show how much smarter he is than you (or thinks he's smarter).

csk

Liu is the Al Sharpton for Asians (in a good way).

babyhitler

Schumer endoresed Yassky? I always thought of John Liu as the asian Chuck Schumer so that is surprising. I also mean it in a bad way.

FJF

I find the idea of Liu handling the city's money terrifying. Look what happened to Flushing under his watch.

pencap75

What happened to Flushing?

Flushing looks like it has a bustling economy whenever I visit, but then again I live in Brooklyn so I only see the surface.

nomnomnom

Blue shirts and gold ties, the new uniform for a politician.

Jen S

If you don't look too closely, it's the same guy!

etypical

He was campaigning near my office yesterday which reminded me to specifically go vote for someone who didn't asskiss Bloomie into a 3rd term. I too saw him at 72nd street, when he asked if he had my vote I laughed and reminded him that he doesn't care about the voters desire otherwise he would have included us in the 3rd term debate. I hope he falls on his face and loses. If you take away vote you've made your feelings clear and yesterday I made my feelings clear.