Mitt "I'm The Only Sane One If You Discount Jon Huntsman" Romney is scheduled to visit Borough Park Brooklyn next month for a sit-down fundraiser with representatives from the Orthodox Jewish community. According to Gestetner Updates, Romney is due to pick up $100K from the visit, well shy of the $400K he earned from a September visit to Queens. Naturally, Bob Turner thinks that Romney is trying to pull a Bob Turner on a national level. "It’s an important recognition of what happened in my race. This is an awakening of a new political force," Turner tells the Post. "The Jewish community is a force to be reckoned with…They went to my side in a very large way.” more ›

Now that a Republican has won the Congressional District that had been held by Democrats for 88 years, after Anthony Weiner's social media idiocy, everyone is wondering if this means President Obama is screwed next year. Forget the Democratic candidate kinda sucked, didn't even live in the district and ran a stupid campaign. And ignore that Israel was a huge issue. Because political strategist James Carville thinks Obama better start firing people NOW. more ›

The 9th District's new representative in Congress, Bob Turner, will be sworn in today, and his fellow Republicans are interpreting his special election victory as A SIGN that Obama is a one term president. Former Mayor Ed Koch, whose endorsement of Turner was pivotal, is also reading the tea leaves, and says Obama would have to be "pretty blind" not to get the message that the Jewish vote is up for grabs. "Now the president knows he cannot take the Jewish vote for granted," Koch told the Post yesterday, suggesting that Democrat David Weprin lost because of Obama's Israel policy. Jon Stewart, on the other hand, blamed Anthony Weiner's "self portrait." more ›

Bob Turner, a Queens businessman, crushed the presumptive heir to Anthony Weiner's vacated House seat yesterday, winning the 9th Congressional District by a margin of more than eight percent (with 84 percent of districts counted just after midnight). Republicans are characterizing the special election victory as a stern rebuke of President Obama, and a sign that White House is theirs for the taking. Turner's opponent, David Weprin, has not yet formally conceded, but last night Turner told his exultant supporters: more ›

The special election to replace Anthony Weiner in Congress (for a year at least) is going on right now, which means the onslaught of robo-calls directed at potential Brooklyn and Queens voters in the ninth district is finally almost over. Soon enough we will find out if last minute automated messages from the likes of Andrew Cuomo and Bill Clinton will be enough to push Democratic Assemblyman David Weprin down to DC. In the last two polls Weprin was trailing Bob Turner, his nemesis in the GOP. Meanwhile, just in case you forgot about him, everybody's favorite bulging former representative with a Twitter habit, without whom none of this would be possible, is back in the news today! more ›

The special election for New York's ninth congressional district (a.k.a. Anthony Weiner's old seat) is tomorrow and children? It is shaping up to be a doozy. Because of the district's demographics—no Republican has ever been elected to the House in the largely Democratic stronghold that covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens—many thought this would be an easy victory for Democratic Assemblyman David Weprin. But with less than 24 hours till the polls open, Weprin is trailing Republican Bob Turner by six points in yet another poll. Luckily for Weprin, robo-Andrew Cuomo is ready to make some phone calls today! more ›

The race for Anthony's Weiner's old seat in Queens' solidly Democratic Ninth District has given voters a somewhat crappy choice in Tuesday's special election. Neither candidate knows much about their district, and while Republican candidate Bob Turner has indiscriminately picked up endorsements from Donald Trump, Ed Koch, and Rudy Giuliani, while mostly keeping his mouth shut, Democrat David Weprin has released an idiotic 9/11-invoking ad, stupidly cancelled a debate, and is hoping a video of him dancing in 2009 will make him seem less like a wet Saltine to voters. As of yesterday, Turner is up by six percentage points. more ›

The race to replace Anthony Weiner in Congress is getting busy as a bee as it heads into the final stretch before Tuesday's special election. Just as polls show Republican Bob Turner taking the lead in the race [PDF], we've got The Donald stepping in to support him, an attack ad from Democrat David Weprin being pulled almost immediately because it used imagery of a plane flying over lower Manhattan (which was "as dumb as President Obama sending Air Force One over the Statue of Liberty for publicity shots," according to a Turner spokesman), yet more anti-Turner ads and one last, relatively unexciting, debate for good measure. In the end, David Weprin's only hope may very well be his wicked dance moves: more ›

The final battle for Anthony Weiner's vacated ninth district seat will come to a head next Tuesday—Democratic candidate David Weprin seemed to have the hometurf advantage, but Republican candidate Bob Turner has netted himself some big-name backers, including Ed Koch and The Mayor Of 9/11 Town. But none of that matters now, because Big Poppa Donald Trump has entered the building. more ›

The special election to take Anthony Weiner's seat in Congress is coming up fast (next Tuesday!) and the race is a tight one. Despite being in a heavily Democratic area the Republican nominee, Bob Turner, has picked up a strong string of endorsements (not just former mayors Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani but also the editorial boards at the Post and the News) and is nipping at the heels of Democratic candidate David Weprin, who is fighting back with a quarter-million in television ads. But Dems are starting to get antsy that this race is way too close for comfort. "The idea that this race is so close is a humiliation for the Democratic Party," a New York Democratic official told the Post. Also? Jerry Springer is a relavent character in this whole thing! No, really. more ›

The race to fill Anthony Weiner's congressional seat just gets stranger. After last week's packed debate and knowledge-based gaffes on the parts of both candidates, today brings a new twist on the road to the September 13 special election. Citing the weather, Democrat David Weprin has dropped out of tonight's planned debate against Republican Bob Turner. Even though Bob Turner was the candidate who was forced to evacuate this weekend. more ›

The race to replace Anthony Weiner in New York's ninth congressional district has now moved into the "wait, really?" phase. While Republican candidate Bob Turner is really trying to make it all about Obama and the Democratic candidate David Weprin is working on getting some cross-party support (Republican Queens councilman Peter Koo just endorsed him) it appears that maybe both candidates probably ought to brush up on the district they are looking to represent before anything else? more ›

Bob Turner, the Republican candidate to fill Anthony Weiner's seat in Congress, continues to use 9/11 as a campaign tactic as if he were Rudy Giuliani (who, incidently, endorsed him). Turner's newest tactic? Complain about how the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act went too far. And he's still against the "Ground Zero Mosque." more ›

So, the Ninth District election in September could come down to gay marriage? The candidates in the increasingly tight special election for Anthony Weiner's likely-lame duck seat have been racking up unsurprising endorsements (Giuliani for Bob Turner! Schumer for David Weprin!), and that is all well and good. However it seems that the Orthodox Jews in the area are grinding their teeth over the logic Weprin used when he voted to support marriage equality in the state Assembly earlier this year. more ›

Bob Turner, the Republican running against Assemblyman David Weprin for Anthony Weiner's old seat in 9th Congressional District seat, can now boast the endorsements of two former mayors of the greatest city in the world. Along with his earlier endorsement from Ed Koch, Turner now has the backing of "America's Mayor" (and still maybe 2012 hopeful) Rudy Giuliani. But will this give Turner the bump he needs to beat Weprin come September 13th's special election? more ›

Republican Bob Turner is running for Anthony Weiner's Congressional seat in a special election against Democrat David Weprin this September 13. He has former mayor Ed Koch's endorsement (Koch is trying to get back at President Obama over Obama's stance on Israel) but now he's venturing into Rudy Giuliani territory—by opposing the so-called "Ground Zero" mosque. Check out this Turner ad attacking Weprin for supporting the Park 51 community center (which would include a mosque) proposed for blocks from Ground Zero, calling the mosque "a purposeful and confrontational act of provocation": more ›

As promised, former NYC mayor Ed Koch endorsed Republican Bob Turner yesterday for Anthony Weiner's seat in the 9th District special election on September 13, but it probably didn't go down as Turner wanted it to. According to the Daily News, Koch blasted the GOP for their handling of the debt ceiling crisis: "I think the Republicans are scoundrels in the way they're handling the matter." Turner tried to put on a happy face: "That's vintage Ed." He's a great man. I'm not going to take issue with a couple of political shots in the grand scheme of things." Presumably Turner then said, "Haha! 'Scoundrels!' Ed can I talk to you in private for a second?" more ›

Former NYC mayor Ed Koch is pissed that President Obama suggested this spring that a Palestinian state should be created from the 1967 borders. So much so that he's written, "If President Obama does not change his position, I cannot vote for his reelection." Nevermind that what the president actually meant was that negotiations would start from those borders and work outward, Koch wants to "put a shot across Obama's bow," and is doing so by endorsing GOP candidate Bob Turner over Democrat David Weprin for the special election in former Congressman Anthony Weiner's Ninth District. Orthodox Jew and New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is not happy about this, calling Koch's behavior "totally inappropriate." more ›

Republican Bob Turner, who got 40 percent of the vote in the last election, is making a second stab at Anthony Weiner's old seat. He will be representing the Republican party against democratic rival, Assemblyman David Weprin, in a special election on September 13. more ›

Since Anthony Weiner resigned there has been much murmuring about who would take his probably lame-duck Ninth District seat come the special election on September 13. And today we are a little closer to the answer. The Democratic nominee for the seat will be...Assemblyman David Weprin, brother of City Council Member Mark Weprin and son of the late former State Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin. more ›

A Queens Democrat has sent out mailings illustrated with a swastika that label his rival for an open Assembly seat as an "extremist" who is "out of touch with our community's values." Just days before a special election for a northeastern Queens seat, former Councilman David Weprin attacked Republican and Conservative party candidate Bob Friedrich with literature showing the Nazi symbol and text accusing his foe of not taking a tough enough stance against hate crimes. more ›

Last night, the four Democratic candidates for City Comptroller met for a debate to show why he or she should be in charge of ensuring the city's financial health. The Daily News explains, "With just days to go before Tuesday's primary, the race to become the city's top financial official is still a nail-biter, with three of the four candidates tied in the polls. Only two would be eligible for a runoff if no one takes at least 40% of the vote." more ›

The Daily News noticed that there were three of the four City Comptroller candidates, John Liu, David Weprin and David Yassky, trying to bring their cases to commuters at the 72nd Street and Broadway subway station on the Upper West Side—and it wasn't pretty: "'Doesn't he look like a used car salesman?' asked a Liu worker of a straphanger who'd just finished talking to Weprin. When Weprin volunteer Luther Eason loudly urged voters to support 'the honest controller' - a reference to allegations that Liu embellished a story about working in a sweatshop as a child - Liu's team told commuters that Weprin flubbed a Daily News quiz about the size of the controller's office budget." Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, a Liu endorser, explained the appeal of the West 72nd Street subway station, "Texas has oil and the upper West Side has Democrats. It's a rite of passage. Like you go to Nathan's hot dogs out in Brooklyn, you've got to go the 72nd St. subway station." Or Fairway—we've seen Mark Green, Cyrus Vance, and countless others there on weekends! more ›

After much hullabaloo and veiled threats from Mayor Bloomberg that property tax rebate checks would not be sent out due to the city's budget struggles, it appears that city homeowners will in fact receive them--possibly in time for the holiday season. After being called out on the idea of withholding the checks, the Bloomberg administration said that they did not have to mail them until June. more ›

How far will Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn go in order to get term limits legislation passed through City Council? One source tells the Post that next year Quinn is considering "significant reorganizing of everything, including the Finance Comittee." Such a reshuffling might give the Speaker a convenient way give a push out the door to Finance Committee Chairman David Weprin, one of the most vocal critics of the term limit bill. That would cost Weprin $18,000 of annual salary he receives from his chairmanship. more ›

In order to counter an expected bill from Oliver Koppell to extend term limits, Councilman David Weprin says that he will introduce legislation that only a referendum by voters should change the city's term limits law. Weprin, like Koppell, is among the majority of Council members that will be forced out of office next year, but plans to run for city comptroller. Koppell calls Weprin's proposal “a largely cosmetic attempt at publicity.” While Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Christine Quinn have remained relatively mum as developments in the term limits saga have continued to unfold in recent weeks, yesterday former Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Mark Green wrote an op-ed for the Daily News calling his allowance of Mayor Giuliani to stay in office for 90 days following 9/11 "a mistake" and wonders why Bloomberg is "imitating Giuliani" in his play to stay in power for four more years. more ›

You would think things couldn't get worse for Jim Dolan. After all, the Knicks stink and it seems like Isiah Thomas isn't going anywhere quick (perhaps due to Dolan's own doing). But the City Council started to look into Madison Square Garden's $11 million/year property tax exemption today. David Weprin of Queens sponsored the resolution opposing the exemption saying that "It's very unusual that you have a profitable institution like Madison Square Garden that's been profitable for quite a few years to have an exemption." If the resolution is approved by the City Council, the state legislature (and Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver) would also have to approve the change in status. more ›

Just because the 2009 elections are over 22 months away doesn't mean some interesting moves can't happen. Adolfo Carrion Jr. (pictured, on left), the Bronx Borough President, has decided to run for City Comptroller in 2009, making it a tough field and shedding light on the mayoral contest. more ›