As the City Council reels from slush fund mess and other budget scandals, the NY Times found more 12 of the 51 City Council members, or approximately 25%, were using campaign funds to pay relatives or themselves. One aid to familial lining of pockets is the fact that taxpayers are filling campaign war chests with cash, even when Council Members are running unopposed or face barely credible challenges. For instance, Larry Seabrook, representing the Bronx,......

Sure, the 2008 election is exciting, but hundreds of candidates are expected to run for city office next year. Of the current City Council, 36 members out of 51 are up for reelection or getting the boot due to term limits. Former Bloomberg aide William Cunningham advised the Sun, "Put on your helmets and put on your seat belts: It's going to be like a demolition derby." It'll be a donation derby as candidates who......

A lawsuit filed Monday against the City Campaign Finance Board seeks to overturn a recently enacted funding law that opponents assert will just make the City Council richer - and whiter. The recently-enacted campaign finance restrictions reduces the contributions from companies who do business with the city by a whopping 92%. Translation: In a mayoral race, the individual limit on giving is now $400, versus $4,950; in City Council races, it's $250, down from $2,950.......

Andrea Schwartz, the Brazilian ex-pat who settled in Manhattan and became a madam with powerful clients, is back in the news. And she's as saucy as ever, this time denying that she's a lesbian. Tell us more! Schwartz, who was arrested in 2006 after the vice squad busted her Midtown prostitution ring from her apartment (where she also sold coke to customers), was sentenced to 18 months in jail, which she's already served, and probably......

Gothamist hopes that you'll take time to go and cast votes for Mayor, Public Advocate, other politicians, and various ballot measures. If you have time to read up on candidates and measures before you head out, read these to make informed decisions: The Campaign Finance Board's 2005 Voter Guide and Gotham Gazette's Guide for the Last Minute Voter. We were at the election center at 7AM, and a young child kept asking his father......

Tomorrow, there are four ballot proposals that New York City voters will be able to cast a "yes" or "no" on. Unfortunately, many people don't know about them. So, Gothamist recommend you spend a little time reading about these ballot proposals before you head out and vote. The Campaign Finance Board site has descriptions of what each ballot measure says, as well as pro and con arguments for them: - Ballot Measure 1, for NY......

Just five days until election, and it's like there's one of those grey, rainy clouds over Fernando Ferrer's head. Not that he or anyone from his campaign or his supporters will admit it, but even the trying-to-be-upbeat words are veiled with gloom. For instance, City Councilman Lewis Fidler tells the Times, "I'd be a moron to tell you I was confident. I'm a Met fan and I've been a Met fan since 1962, so I......

- We haven't even finished this years election and already we're seeing polls for next years. Anyway, and this shocked, shocked, us, it seems that Hillary Clinton and Eliot Spitzer are the clear crowd favorites to win in their respective elections. Which might mean something if the election weren't a year away. - But back to the present... Bloomberg has agreed to do two debates, but only one of the two debates sponsored by the......

And since this is the last weekend before the primaries, what kind of New York City group-blog would Gothamist be without yet another post on the current state of the election. A few highlights: -Anthony Weiner has jumped into a statistical dead heat with Fernando Ferrer, which could mean a runoff. -Al Sharpton is going to endorse Ferrer in an attempt to prevent said runoff. -District Attorney Robert Morgenthau got a bunch o' endorsements.......

The Campaign Finance Board's records show that Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields has not reimbursed her government drivers for driving her to campaign events. Newsday points out that Fields hasn't "paid for gas or parking used during those appearances" and that in the past week, only two of her many events were job-related. Fields' campaign manager, Chung Seto, claims that the drivers/city will be reimbursed, but she doesn't know why it's taking so long.......

- Newsday reports the Parks Department is considering various ways to kill the dangerous snakehead fish. Hilariously, one of the suggestion is "salting" it (okay, it's just raising the saline level of the lake, but still). - The Yankees fan who fell/jumped onto the net behind home plate is facing charges. Parents everywhere will be saying, "If your friend dared you to jump off the upper deck at Yankee Stadium, would you do it?" But......

Oh, Mayor Mike. The Campaign Finance Board has its Finance Summary online now and, surprise, Bloomberg is once again set to outspend his competition by leaps and bounds. Of the $57 million total raised for all the campaigns in the city besides the Brooklyn and Manhattan District Attorney races (thats more than 200 candidates) Bloomberg has 40%. That's $23.6 million bucks that Bloomberg has given his own campaign. That's a lot of money, but the......