Rose Marie Belforti, the state clerk in tiny upstate Ledyard, New York who refuses to sign same-sex marriage licenses on religious grounds, has been re-elected and will serve another two years. more ›

President Barack Obama has kicked off his 2012 effort with a campaign video (see below) posted on his website that encourages people to help get out the vote, in hopes of recapturing the grassroots fervor that helped him get elected in 2008. Obama doesn't appear in the video, but many of his supporters do, and one says, "President Obama is one person...Plus he's got a job. We're paying to do a job so we can't ask him to take some time off to get us all energized so we better figure it out." more ›

Facing a primary challenge from a candidate who says he isn't conservative enough, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) trotted out his 2008 presidential ticket running mate Sarah Palin to adoring crowds in Tucson, AZ yesterday. And Palin rallied, "It was John McCain who warned us about this administration’s plan for growing government and digging us deeper into debt and spreading the wealth around. When all the votes are tallied, I think he’s going to win this one... Let's send the Maverick back to the Senate!" more ›

On Sunday the New York County Democratic Committee said it would wait to endorse Rep. Charles Rangel’s reelection campaign. Upon hearing the announcement, the long-running official, who’s currently under investigation for a slew of ethics violations, maintained his usual bravado. "This time I may get less than 90% of the vote," said Rangel, who's already in the middle of his 20th term. Still, all over the state Democrats are ripping up checks he wrote them, fearing criticism for taking contributions from the shamed congressman. more ›

What week it's been for Rep. Charles Rangel. He's gone from being found guilty of violating rules by the House Ethics panel and defiantly announcing he would run for a 21st term in Congress to "temporarily" stepping down from his position at House Ways and Means Committee chair. And now it seems that Rangel may not run for another term after all! more ›

In this week's issue of the New Yorker, reporter Ben McGrath looks at Mayor Bloomberg—headline, "THE UNTOUCHABLE," subhead, "Can a good mayor amass too much power?" While the article offers an image of Bloomberg with a crown hovering over his head, the caption says this, "Ambitious younger mayors around the country call him Papa Smurf." Indeed, further into the piece, McGrath writes, "[Newark mayor Cory] Booker and other ambitious younger mayors around the country, like Adrian Fenty, in Washington, D.C., call him Papa Smurf." more ›

A NY1/NY Times/Cornell University poll found that while voters think Mayor Bloomberg is fine, they're happy to vote for someone this fall. NY1 reports, "The poll shows that while 60 percent of New Yorkers approve of Bloomberg's job performance, 55 percent say the want "someone else" in City Hall next year." more ›

Since his tremendous wealth and good approval ratings make him seem like an inevitable winner, the Daily News asks experts "how can Mayor Bloomberg lose" the election. Baruch College School of Public Affairs' David Birdsell suggests a scandal could derail the incumbent mayor's bid, but "It would have to be something heinous, prurient or both - with photos." And "[barring that, a] detailed, high-profile conflicts disaster with Bloomberg LP" would also be very damaging. Another Democratic operative says it could be "something that eats away at his 'competence' factor, i.e., they really [screw] something up big-time" and also suggests "push[ing] his buttons... Voters don't see it, [but] he has a bit of a thin skin." In the meantime, Bloomberg's re-election staff does have some (possibly unintentionally) funny campaign signs in their office—PolitickerNY has the amusing slideshow. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg may be enjoying a comfortable lead in the polls, but that $80 million he plans to drop on his re-election campaign isn't going to spend itself. As Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause, tells the Times, "If you have too much money in your campaign, you don’t use it productively. He’s hired so many consultants who are looking for something to do." Like annoy New Yorkers with a telephone survey spreading innuendo about likely Democratic rival Anthony Weiner! The practice, known as "push-polling," is described by one of Weiner's advisers as, "one of the most discredited and dishonorable forms of negative campaigning." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg (aka "Mike Bloomberg" on Twitter) spent weekend all over the city, as he opened campaign offices for his third term bid. He told the crowd in the Bronx, "Do you remember life without 311? Neither do I. Do you remember when you had to breathe someone else's cigarette smoke? I remember that.... We've got an awful lot of work to do, but if we put New York ahead from partisan politics, if we go out and to explain to everybody, there may not be any easy, painless way, but there is a right way. The right way of hard work, and being accountable and being inclusive, of knowing that we can do it if we can just pull together." So that wooing of the Republican Party... more ›

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg's re-election campaign released its spending so far, which totals $2,920,977. While a big number, the Daily News and NY Times all point out that, by this time in 2005, Bloomberg's campaign spent $5 million. (He ultimately sank $84.5 million in 2005.) More details of the breakdown at the Times and News, which also quotes Baruch College's Doug Muzzio, "This isn't even pocket change. These are the pennies that fall through the holes in his pocket - nothing." Bloomberg campaign communications director Howard Wolfson (his firm is paid $40,000/month) said, "We agree with Bill Thompson— this isn’t about money. The race will come down to which candidate has the best record and vision to lead the city at this difficult time." Of course, Thompson, who is running for mayor, also said, "In the end, people will beat money... I believe I'm going to be the next mayor of the city of New York." more ›

After Rep. Anthony Weiner revealed his hesitance about running for mayor this fall, reporters asked Mayor Bloomberg if his wealth was intimidating to other potential candidates. The mayor, the 17th richest man in the world, is reportedly spending $80 million (or 0.5% of his wealth) on his campaign. Politicker NY, which has video of the extended answer, reports that Bloomberg said, "There’s no evidence to me that there are fewer candidates running... We don’t preclude you from running because you got a better education than I did or are better looking or more photogenic.” Related: The NY Times' Clyde Haberman explains Bloomberg's "we love rich people" remark by way of the Mayor's budget data that "show... people earning $500,000 or more a year make up 1 percent of New York taxpayers but account for nearly 50 percent of the income taxes that the city collects." more ›