Results tagged “jeanninepirro”

Yet another intriguing chapter in the life of former police commissioner Bernard Kerik: WNBC reports that he rejected a plea deal from the feds. The deal would have allowed Kerik to plead guilty to tax fraud and illegal eavesdropping - plus serve jail time - and in return, the feds would have dropped their criminal probe. And the probe includes quite a laundry list: "allegations of mortgage fraud, tax fraud, conspiracy to eavesdrop and making false statements on his application to become U.S. Homeland Security Secretary."

Here is part two of our semi-chronological look back at the top stories this past year (here is part one):

The polls in New York close in a half hour, so the media won't be reporting returns until then. But it's still exciting and heartbreaking to watch the other states' elections returns. For starters, Bob Casey ousting Rick Santorum for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania? That's exciting. Heartbreaking would be reports of bugs and intimidation at the polls.

With Election Day in a little more than two weeks, candidates are pushing into the home stretch by rallying their supporters and looking for undecided voters. The NY Times made some more big endorsements. The Gray Lady threw support behind Eliot Spitzer for Governor and Andrew Cuomo for Attorney General. The Spitzer endorsement was enthusiastic and hopeful, while the Cuomo one...well, here's a bit from it which contrasts Cuomo with the embattled Republican Jeannine Pirro:

The race to succeed Eliot Spitzer as New York’s attorney general has come down to a riveting if uninspiring brawl between two flawed candidates, the Republican Jeanine Pirro and her Democratic opponent, Andrew Cuomo. Both candidates have strengths. Their records also contain glaring weaknesses, making either seem an uncomfortable fit for the state’s top law enforcement job...

Continue reading "Election Day Coming Soon"

With just 55 days left, the dance cards are set for the general election. As expected, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Senator Hillary Clinton won their respectives primaries for governor and Senate. The NY Times noted that Clinton's reosounding win showed that her support of the Iraq war did not affect voter sentiment:

“Clinton’s work ethic, her lack of enemies, and her fund-raising help for other Democrats have insulated her from party criticism, including on Iraq,” said Ken Sherrill, a political scientist at Hunter College. “I got a taped phone call from Susan Sarandon urging support for Tasini, but that’s all I really heard about him.”

If there's a city parade, you bet it's an opportunity for politicians to get out to press the flesh. And yesterday's West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn was no different, with the primary showdown over the Congressional seat being vacated by Major Owens coming up next week. As it happens, the crowd in the Wyckoff Gardens Houses weren't too happy to hear Mayor Bloomberg and candidate-City Councilman David Yassky announce that $600,000 worth of security cameras would be installed. Someone ended up throwing a frosted doughnut near the Mayor, causing his girlfriend Diana Taylor to take "cover beneath a concrete overhang," as the Times puts it. Which only made the Mayor joke, "Well, just another reason why we need cameras." Newsday reports that another man was loudly murmuring in the back of the crowd, prompting the mayor to say, "If we could have some quiet back there, sir, it would be appreciated, thank you; we can't hear." Of course, the NYPD investigated the tasty treat toss, but came to the conclusion, "Nothing was ascertained with certainty, but there is no indication it was directed at the mayor. It may have just been tossed out the window or dropped."

To no one's surprise, Senator Hillary Clinton won the NY State Democratic nomination for this fall's Senate race. Which means she got to use her acceptance speech as a possible preview into a run for the presidency someday. The NY Times said that President Bill Clinton kept talking and talking (about Hillary), "until finally, perhaps realizing he was the only politician left in the room, he turned to go." That Bubba - what an operator!

Ah, Jeannine Pirro. She's finally finally abandoned her plans to run against Hillary Clinton for the junior Senate seat, after much turmoil within her campaign. Pirro's statement said, "Today, after consultation with the leaders of my party, particularly Gov. Pataki, Sen. [Joe] Bruno and Chairman [Stephen] Minarik, and leaders of the Conservative and independent parties, I have decided that my law-enforcement background better qualifies me for a race for attorney general than a race for U.S. Senate." In other words, "The boys are making me run for the booby prize!" But she'll probably do much better in that race (we can't even remember who we've heard is running for the Democratic side, as Eliot Spitzer is going to run for Governor), if her husband doesn't try to sabotage her campaign from the inside again. What's hilarious is that the NY State GOP now has to figure out who should run against La Clinton; one of the early challengers, Ed Cox, dropped out because Pataki was supporting Pirro, but now Cox might have to be convinced to come back in.

- The Transport Workers Union says the strike will end if the MTA gives up their pension demands

With the start of the 2006 calendar year weeks away, the wrangling for governor will be more earnest, but right now, the troubles are within the state's Republican party. New York magazine has a fun guide to GOP rivalries and backstabbing that helps elucidate the situation, though Ed Cox is nowhere to be seen (Cox is rumored to be another GOP choice, instead of Westchester DA Jeannine Pirro, to run against Hillary Clinton). The NY Times has a feature about Pataki's problems, with one anonymous Democrat suggesting that the state will be controlled by Democratic Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (a Republican!), which sounds scary to us.

- NYC still gets to sue gunmakers, making Mayor Bloomberg the bane of the NRA

More trouble for Westchester DA Jeannine Pirro's four month bid to run against Hillary Clinton in 2006: She has to chat with Governor Pataki to "weigh her options." Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said Pirro should get out of hte race and run for Attorney General instead. Scuttlebutt is that Ed Cox, Richard Nixon's son-in-law, will return to the Senate race, after having been shushed out by Pataki earlier this year. What's hilarious is that Pirro's own advisers may be the ones trying to move her to the Attorney General's case, since she'd probably get thrashed by Clinton.

Clinton has a better chance, by virtue of name recognition and the desperate hope that Bubba could make things interesting at 1600 Pennsylvania once again. And while it would be interesting to see an all-female Senate election, Pirro will be facing other Republican opposition, including a son-in-law of Richard Nixon. Pirro is also a moderate Republican - she's pro-choice, pro-gay rights, and pro-death penalty. The two women are similar: They're smart, tough lawyers; they have husbands who've been in trouble (Pirro's husband Albert was jailed for tax evasion); and they both sport sleekly styled hairdos for women of a certain age. Pundits are expecting a Clinton-Pirro showdown to be pricey, so, kids, now's the time to jump into political consulting.