The death of New York native, Queens Congresswoman and groundbreaking 1984 vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro prompted local lawmakers to offer their thoughts about her. The Observer has a roundup of statements; Rep. Carolyn Maloney said, "She changed my life and she changed the course of history." more ›

First, former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro stepped down from Hillary Clinton's campaign over her remarks about Barack Obama. Now, with Obama's campaign facing an outcry over inflammatory remarks by his minister, Obama said, “I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue," and by evening, Wright had left the campaign (he had been on the African American Religious Leadership Committee). more ›

I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign. more ›

An interview that former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro made to a small California newspaper is causing a stir in the Barack Obama campaign. Ferraro, a supporter of Hillary Clinton, told a Daily Breeze reporter, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept." more ›

Yesterday, Senator - and official Presidential candidate - Hillary Clinton made her first public appearances. She went to Hell's Kitchen to discuss a health insurance program for children - and announced she would make health care a critical of her campaign:

"I want to have a conversation with our citizens about we want for our country, and one of the goals that I will be presenting is health insurance for every child and universal health care for every American. That will be a very major part of my campaign, and I want to hear people's ideas about how we can achieve that goal."

Is this a break? The police have questioned a bouncer at The Falls yesterday, as well as conducted more investigations at the 218 Lafayette Street bar and restaurant over the weekend, as they try to solve the murder of graduate student Imette St. Guillen. The NY Times calls the bouncer a "potential suspect," and the NY Post says that the bouncer is a "hardened criminal still on parole for a robbery rap." While the Post seems to be hyperbolic, they also claim that the 41 year old man's cellphone was traced to the Belt Parkway and packing tape and wires - similar to what St. Guillen was found tied with - were found on the basement of The Falls. The Daily News says that there's a "secret doorway" at the restaurant, and that may have been used in the crime. And get this: Geraldine Ferraro's family owns the building, and she tells the News, "[The police] went into the basement, they went on the roof, they went upstairs to the second floor. We allowed them total access to anything that they wanted to see." more ›

Every so often, Gothamist gets passionate emails from Christopher X. Brodeur, who is running for mayor, about Mayor Bloomberg being corrupt. And yesterday, Brodeur sent us something about how a flier that Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields put together had Asians Photoshopped into it. As Gothamist had trouble opening the attachment and needed to rest up for the bid anticlimax that was the 2012 Olympics announcement, we had to wait for today's Post story with Fields's chief consultant admitting the whole picture was doctored:

Fields' chief consultant Joseph Mercurio said that the photo in the handout — "Virginia Fields, Democrat, a Mayor for All New Yorkers" — is actually four separate pictures that were melded together into one. Mercurio said the fake photo was intended to represent Fields' "inclusiveness." more ›

Stupid is as stupid does, and for Democratic primary mayoral frontrunner C. Virginia Fields, stupid is spelled s-t-r-a-t-e-g-i-s-t. Yesterday, when the NY Times noted that Geraldine Ferraro, the first ever female vice presidential candidate, was throwing her support behind Fernando Ferrer, one of the Democratic mayoral candidates, a strategist for Fields said, "I had to spend a few minutes remembering who she was." Ouch, that is embarrassing. So Fields immediately apologized to Ferraro, offering her "strongest and sincerest apologies to Geraldine Ferraro for the off-handed comments" made by Joseph Mercurio. Gothamist would think that Mercurio would be snarking, if not for Ferraro's obvious place in history as both groundbreaker and Pepsi spokesperson. Downgrade! Honestly, man, you're a strategist, you're talking to the NY Times... while being witty and "dismissive" (that's what the Times called his remark) might serve some times, taking the high road don't hurt either. more ›