Results tagged “democrat”

Both Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will formally endorse City Comptroller William Thompson for mayor today in Union Square. However, City Room wonders, "But will Chuck or Kirsten actually say anything bad about Mike?"

Adam Sullivan had big plans to take down Congressman Jerry Nadler, who, as chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, refuses to hold hearings to investigate the impeachment of President Bush. Last month Sullivan, a director and actor, announced his bid to oust the incumbent, and impeachment activists began rallying to the cause. Just one problem – Sullivan had registered as a Democrat far too late to run in November. He formally quit the race today but still has Nadler in his crosshairs, saying, “His outright contempt for the process of impeachment makes him… complicit in our nation’s current suffering and the assaults on our freedoms.”

Activists pushing for the impeachment of President Bush were dealt a blow this week in their quest to unseat West side Democratic congressman Jerry Nadler. His opponent Adam Sullivan – whose nascent campaign arose out of outrage at Nadler’s refusal to hold hearings to investigate impeaching Bush – has run into a little snag. In the rush to launch his campaign, Sullivan, who previously had no political affiliation, didn't understand that it was too late to register as a Democrat and run in November! Sharon Lynch from the Sullivan camp tells us he’s having a meeting tonight to decide the future of the campaign: “We're grassroots activists with full time jobs outside politics; in the rush to field a challenger we missed this.”

Barack Obama and his erstwhile Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton will be in New York City this week to host three fundraisers, with the joint purposes of getting Obama elected President and paying off Clinton's campaign debts. Get out those checkbooks because both will be pricey endeavors.

State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell 4th, Democrat and son of the trailblazing Harlem politician Adam Clayton Powell Jr., was arrested for drunk driving on the upper West Side at 2:30 a.m. this morning. According to the Daily News, an unidentified woman passed out in the back of the car was so intoxicated she had to be taken to a local hospital. Powell failed a breath test at the scene by a small margin and, while at the station house, refused to take a chemical sobriety test. He faces charges punishable by up to a year in jail.

William F. Buckley died in his Connecticut home today, at age 82. Some consider him the founder of modern conservatism, as he authored the seminal book in 1951 God and Man at Yale, in response to what he saw was an encroaching secularism at one of the nation's top universities, during what was considered one of the nation's most buttoned-down eras.

Doug Schoen, the pollster who has worked with Bill Clinton on his 1996 reelection and Mayor Bloomberg, is stirring the Bloomberg for President pot again. He tells the Sun that Ralph Nader's decision to enter the 2008 presidential race could help Bloomberg.

Your Super Tuesday primary vote did count, although it may not have initially. The NY Times did some digging around after noticing, according to the unofficial results the media relies on, 80 NYC voting districts recorded no votes for Obama, even in neighborhoods with large black populations. The city has now "confirmed some major discrepancies between the vote totals reported publicly — and unofficially — on primary night and the actual tally on hundreds of voting machines across the city."

Charles F. Luce, who was Con Ed's chairman and chief executive between 1967 and 1982, died last week at the age of 90 in California. The Bronxville, NY resident died of prostate cancer.

That just happened! Senator Barack Obama won the Democratic Iowa Caucus with at least 37% of the vote (projections are changing). Former Senator John Edwards got 30% of the vote while Senator Hillary Clinton got 29%. The media is playing this as a huge failure for the Senator from New York, given how powerful the Clinton machine has seemed. Also stunning: There were 82% more Democratic voters in this year's caucus compared with 2004, which pundits suggest means Iowa, which President Bush won in 2004, is certainly in play for the Democrats.

With news that Mayor Bloomberg is planning to attend a meeting about a possible third party bid for the White House, the mayor's possible presidential aspirations finally enter 2008. If he does plan on running, he's lucky he has his billions to get the hundreds of thousands of petition signatures to get onto ballots across the country.

Mayor Bloomberg may deny any desire to run for president in 2008, but his non-NYC homework seems to suggest otherwise. According to the Huffington Post, he has regular foreign policy briefing session "on a wide variety of topics...from non-proliferation to the defense budget, with a specific focus on the war in Iraq." Who has been briefing him? Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and an adviser during the Clinton administration Nancy Soderberg: "One source...

Former Westchester County District Attorney - and one-time Attorney General candidate and potential Senate candidate - Jeanine Pirro and her husband Al Pirro have announced they are separating. Their statement to the press: "We have agreed to amicably separate. As always, our priority remains our two wonderful children. We ask that people respect our privacy. There will be no further comment." The couple has been married 32 years and have weathered through many years of...

Mayor Michael Bloomberg hasn't totally eschewed the Republican party. According to the NY Sun, the Democrat-turned- Republican-turned- independent will be "entertaining" Nancy Reagan "as well as hosting a fund-raiser for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library." Like the former First Lady, Bloomberg has progressive views on health and science issues (like stem cells). And Bloomberg has been known to host many fund-raisers for various people and causes. But some suspect that Bloomberg might be looking for...

For an avowed non-presidential candidate, Mayor Bloomberg certainly gets more attention than some of the actual candidates. Newsweek devotes its cover story to "Mike" Bloomberg, "The Billion Dollar Wild Card," a reference to the billion dollars Mayor B has at his disposal, should be decide to run for president next year. That is so much more flattering than the "Lazy Like a Fox" cover Newsweek had of Fred Thompson! Newsweek editor-in-chief Jon Meacham got to...

While they certainly spent time criticizing each other, the Republican presidential hopefuls devoted much time to criticize the Democratic frontrunner Senator Hillary Clinton. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said, "she hasn't run a corner store. She hasn't run a state. She hasn't run a city. She has never run anything. And the idea that she could learn to be President, you know, as an internship just doesn't make any sense." And Senator John McCain got a big round of applause for blasting Clinton and Senator Chuck Schumer's $1 million funding of a Woodstock memorial:

"Now, my friends, I wasn't there. I'm sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. (LAUGHTER) I was tied up at the time."

Did you happen to catch Stephen Colbert announce his candidacy for President of the United States of America? The NY Times reports he's planning to run in South Carolina primaries, and that he's "serious enough about the stunt that his staff reached out to the state’s Democratic and Republican committees in advance of his declaration." The S.C. Democratic committee says they'd have no problems with him running.

Former District Attorney Arthur Branch - a.k.a. former Senator Fred Thompson - came back to New York City to speak at a NY State Conservative Party event. He made clear he's really conservative, saying, "Some think the way to beat the Democrats next year is to be more like them. I could not disagree more. My friends, I suggest it's not time for psychological flexibilities in terms of our principles. That's the surefire way of making sure we don't win."

John Catsimatidis is hoping to follow in Mayor Bloomberg's footsteps by becoming a Democrat who follows the path of least resistance into Gracie Mansion. The owner of the Gristedes supermarket chain has millions of dollars to burn and would like to become the Mayor of New York City. Even for a lifelong Democrat like Catsimatidis, the easiest road to City Hall is to bypass the scrum of party politics and simply get oneself elected as a Republican in a heavily Democratic city. Green apparently beats both red and blue in the media center of the world, and it's possible for enough cash to overcome many obstacles.

Sen. Clinton proposed awarding every newborn American with a $5,000 bond that could be invested and allowed to grow to a sum that could be redeemed for educational or home buying needs when they reached adulthood. It became a point of widespread criticism for the Senator for New York, even among those who are politically sympathetic. The Daily News quotes a professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University saying "Oh, what a blunder, big time." Republicans piled on, seeking to paint Clinton as a traditional tax-and-spend Democrat. With approximately four million Americans born every year, Clinton's plan could cost upwards of $20 billion annually.

A huge crowd fathering in Washington Square Park last night to hear Senator Barack Obama speak. He mentioned that he "used to hang out in Washington Square Park" and that he knew "a little something about Greenwich Village." His speech touched upon issues like making college more affordable and how his relative lack of experience didn't matter, "Longevity does not guarantee good judgment. A long resume says nothing about your character.”

Governor Spitzer can rest a bit easier now: The Albany County DA found that the governor's aides broke no laws when they tried to use the state police to discredit a rival, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. DA David Soares will release a report today, but in the meantime, his spokeswoman's statement said, "This office found no illegal conduct. To the contrary, we found that the governor, his staff, and the New York State Police were acting within their authority in compiling and releasing documents to the media concerning the use of state aircraft."

A look at some noteworthy television this week:

(con-ed, by huckfunn at flickr)

New York's senior Senator Chuck Schumer is known for his ubiquity on the talk show circuit, fighting for New York's share of federal dollars and the occasional tour de Brooklyn. He is also credited with helping the Democrats win back the Senate last year. So it's all very interesting that he told NY1's Inside City Hall that he'd be open to serving in a cabinet position, if a Democrat wins the presidency in 2008. But he clarified:

"Well I really focus on what I am doing. I enjoy being senator. I hope more importantly than that, I am effective for the people of New York and the people of this country. I've been a legislator my whole life and I've never really been looking for the next job."

A federal judge dismissed defamation charges against City Councilman John Liu related to an incident last year when Liu called radio personality DJ Star a "sick, racist pedophile." The characterization was a reaction to an on-air taunt at a rival DJ, when DJ Star (Troi Torain), solicited information on where DJ Envy of Hot 97 lived so he could sexually defile his four-year-old daughter. DJ Star also called DJ Envy's wife, who is Asian, several racist epithets. Torain was arrested following the incident and eventually fired from Power 105.

Yesterday, Albany lawmakers failed to decide on the proposed congestion pricing program for New York City, missing the deadline for NYC to qualify for $537 million in federal funding. Congestion pricing revenue, as well as federal funding to enact the plan, would go towards mass transit and road improvements.

The city is moving forward with its "Ring of Steel"-style security camera initiative to fight terror attacks, and it looks like another ring may implemented. Newsday reports officials from Homeland Security as well as the state and local level have been discussing a plan to put radiation sensors "in a 50-mile radius around the city".

We've had half a day to absorb the news, but it's still kind of crazy that Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to drop his 6-years-old Republican coat for an unaffiliated one. Here's his official statement:

“I have filed papers with the New York City Board of Elections to change my status as a voter and register as unaffiliated with any political party. Although my plans for the future haven’t changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our City.

Continue reading "Michael Bloomberg, the Ulitmate Party Hopper"