Mayor Bloomberg speaks at Kips Bay Showhouse President’s Dinner. April 21, 2011 (Photo Credit: Kristen Artz)

Taxes: Don't raise them on the rich; "deficits matter" says Bloomberg. [FoxNews.com]

Taxes: S&P's downgrading is a "warning" to America, says Bloomberg. [Glenn Thrush]

Taxes: There's a bipartisan failure to lead on deficit reduction. [Doug Schoen]

Bloomberg's Advice: Obama should schmooze GOP; Republicans should drop birthed talk. [Glenn Thrush]

Bloomberg's Advice: Obama "has to to go build friendships." [Taegan Goddard]

Bloomberg Property: NYC may unload underutilized office space; locations not specified.  [David Seifman]

Cuomo's Agenda: Editors want property tax cap; unhappy with closed-door negotiation on ethics. [Buffalo News]

Cuomo's Home: "Mr. Cuomo declined to be interviewed about what he identifies as his hometown." [Thomas Kaplan]

2012: "There is no one that excites me" says GOP Gov Nikki Haley of South Carolina. [Neil King and Jonathan Weisman]

Trump: McCain says the developer is having "the time of his life" with 2012. [Glenn Thrush]

Trump: He's a "New York icon" says Bloomberg. [NBC]

Trump: Oddo laughs at his candidacy; "statesman and polish" needed say Lanza. [Tom Wrobleski]

Trump:  His "companies have sought protection from creditors to avoid financial collapse at least three times." [Robert Gearty and Greg Smith]

Trump: Didn't vote in primaries for 21 years. [Michael Herzenberg]

Trump: Threatens reporter,"You're going to pay a big price because you're wrong." [Cynthia Fagen]

Gun Control: Good signs from incoming DNC chairwoman. [New York Times]

Changing Chancellors: "Walcott struggled to name any achievements for which he had been the driving force." [David Halbfinger]

Park 51: Development moving ahead. [Sharif el-Gamal]

Same-Sex Marriage: Support on the rise, in NY. [Mike Gormley]

Lobbyist:  Suri Kasirer hired by attorney connected to CityTime company. [David Seifman]

School Probe: 32BJ official wants full probe after 2 janitors with no-show jobs got good reviews from supervisor. [Rachel Monahan]

Teacher Layoffs: A teacher argues against them on HuffPo. [Arthur Goldstein]

Teacher Evaluations: State program "threatens to become the terrible teacher's protection guarantee." [Daily News]

Ticket Fixing: Cops found ways around computerized system, which Bloomberg said would cut down the problem. [Reuven Blau and Brad Hamilton]

Ticket Fixing: "[A]n accepted practice so long that no cop should have his career urinated over it." [Michael Daly]

Congestion Pricing: Nobody's s advocating for it today. [Jeremy Smerd and Shane Kavanaugh]

Hydrofracking: Green Party wants Cuomo to ban it. [Brian Nearing]

Medicaid Cuts: May drive dentists out of NY. [Cathleen Crowley]

Bike Lanes: Hardcore cyclists not in love with them. [Andrew Grossman]

Parking Placards: Hogging parking by ferry terminal."the Advance found that nearly all the parking spots on Stuyvesant were taken by cars with NYPD placards on their dashboards...Others vehicles had Patrolmen's Benevolent Association cards displayed, as if those were as good as a placard." [Tom Wrobleski] 

GOP Optimism: Reasons for hope, in Islip? [Rick Brand]

Cigarette Lawsuits: Bloomberg predicts kid will sue parents. [David Seifman]

Archives: NY Public Library won't return files donated by unhappy investigate journalist. [Michael Barbaro]

Here's more about Wal-Mart's newest addition, Phil Singer.

Singer's name popped up in Claire Atkinson's story today, noting he runs "a corporate consulting firm, which has worked with prominent Democrats, including Sen. Chuck Schumer."

Singer also worked on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and, most recently, on Andrew Cuomo's 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

The giant realtor is currently mounting a campaign-style campaign while it explores opening its first store in New York City. Other political operatives helping the Wal-Mart effort include Bloomberg's 2009 campaign manager, Bradley Tusk, and noted pollster Doug Schoen. 

As for Singer, who is 35, intense, and a marathon runner, he politely referred questions to Wal-Mart spokesman Steven Restivo.

Restivo said, Singer started "several months ago" and "is well-respected among the New York City media and he's helping us on the communication front."

I asked if Singer's connection to those notable Democrats was part of the reason he was hired.

Restivo paused briefly, and said, "He was brought on for his background and skills in the field of communications." (I sent an inquiry to Cuomo's office to see if the governor has any thoughts about Wal-Mart and will update when a response is available.)

On the broader point about the company's communication strategy in New York City, here's how Restivo described it:

"Wal-Mart has a good story to tell and so, we're putting the resources behind telling it in as many different ways as we can to as many different people as we can," he said.

One thing critics note is the company's refusal to attend City Council hearings on the matter.

Restivo said the Council hearings shouldn't be seen as platform where issues could be earnestly discussed.

"For months, we have been engaging with elected officials and community stakeholders across the city and we've been listening to concerns, answering questions and sharing information," he said. "Our decision not to attend those hearings had nothing to do with our willingness to answer questions. We do that every single day in New York City and had everything to do with hypothetical nature of the proceedings."

When asked what he would like to see different in order to attend those hearings, Restivo was not specific. 

"We don't have a store or announced project in New York City," he said. "It's no secret we're evaluating opportunities, but at the end of the day, we don't have a store or announced project here."

"A clear majority want Wal-Mart and a very large percentage will shop at Wal-Mart," Schoen told me in an interview this afternoon. "Our polling and Quinnipiac's polling show that."

Schoen's poll from December showed 71 percent of city residents favored opening a Wal-Mat store here. (Also, somewhat surprisingly, the poll said 73 percent of public sector union members and 76 percent of private sector union members supported bringing Wal-Mart to NYC.)

Today's Q poll said 57-36 percent of residents supported the store opening, with even more people -- 68-29 percent -- said they would shop there. Quinnipiac, whatever their flaws, is the polling arm of a major academic institution. It's unlikely their their results will be attacked the way Schoen's were.

When Schoen - an independent pollster in the private sector - released his poll, critics tried discrediting it, saying he somehow skewed the results in order to support the agenda of one of his best-known clients, Mayor Bloomberg.

When I asked Schoen about that criticism, he said, "it's sort of sad and disappointing to me that somebody would cast aspersions on the polling if they don't like the results."

"The numbers are the numbers," he said.

Indeed. But the Q poll does show some reservations about Wal-Mart's arrival here: 68-26 percent agreed that Wal-Mart's lower prices "hurt smaller nearby businesses." And by 47-19 percent, most agreed that "Wal-Mart doesn't pay enough."

"I think it is a truism that for businesses located near Wal-Mart, they will face competitive pressures," said Schoen. "I don't think that's an issue. But the poll basically says that the greater good is served by opening Wal-Mart and giving consumers access to the choice and value it presents."

"New York didn't become great because of Walmart," said Eric Koch, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Free NYC. "[I]t became great because of the thousands of small businesses owners who worked hard to make our mom and pops the engine of our economy- the  same neighborhood mom and pops that New Yorkers agree Walmart would destroy."

Last month, a poll of 300 small businesses found 56 percent opposed the giant retailer opening a store in NYC, compared to 32 percent that supported it.

It's not unreasonable, since he's considering running against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and has among his informal advisors Doug Schoen, a preeminent figure in the polling world. (Gillibrand counts among her key advisors Jef Pollock, a pollster who helps run things in New York.)

Mr. Ford might be trying to assess how sound was yesterday's Siena Poll, which had him trailling the incumbent senator, 42 percent to 16 percent among potential primary voters.

When asked if Mr. Ford's would-be campaign is polling, a spokeswoman for Ford, Tammy Sun, emailed to say “no comment.”

Which is not a no.

UPDATE: Michael Barbaro has more details.

For New York’s most prominent Democratic consultants and operatives, it’s been nothing less—an acquisition project so far-reaching that it actually threatens to dry up the market in experienced local campaign staff.

Yes, the mayor spent tens of millions of dollars in his past two campaigns, much of it on high-priced political talent. But there were still plenty of New York Democrats who simply wouldn’t go there. He was a Republican, and, well, they weren’t.

But the mayor has since registered as an independent (the better to market the idea of a possible bid for president last year). And now, with the inconvenient party label removed from around his neck—and with the ability, as always, to deliver a massive payday to anyone who comes along for the ride—there’s no longer anything stopping even the most pure-pedigreed Democratic consultants from signing up.

Take Howard Wolfson, whose former bosses include Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, New York’s Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He’s on board. Hank Sheinkopf, the bare-knuckled Democratic consultant who helped elect New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson to citywide office in 2001 and was expected to rejoin him again this year, has just been acquired by Mr. Bloomberg too.

“He could just about put every consultant in the country on retainer,” said consultant Jerry Skurnik.

Scott Levenson, a Democratic consultant not currently dependent on Mr. Bloomberg for any portion of his income, said, “I guess he’s trying to assemble the best team money can buy.”

And it’s not just the people who will actually end up working for Mr. Bloomberg. It’s also the people who, because of the mayor’s stockpiling of talent, won’t end up working for any Democrat.
(One Democratic contender, Representative Anthony Weiner, is expected to rely on many of the same out-of-town consultants he used in his 2005 race, including media guy Jim Margolis of the Philadelphia-based firm GMMB. Another, Mr. Thompson, is also expected to bring in out-of-town talent, possibly to work alongside the Harlem-based Bill Lynch Associates.)

The consultants drawn into the Bloomberg orbit also have professional and personal relationships with other individuals and firms who will, essentially, be precluded from actively working against the mayor.

Mr. Wolfson’s colleagues at the Glover Park consulting firm, for example, will almost certainly be off-limits to the people challenging Mr. Bloomberg. The same goes for the small but capable staff at Mr. Sheinkopf’s firm.

As one prominent Democrat put it, “I think he wants to hire anyone with a pulse and totally clear the field.”

Here’s a list of accomplished connected Democratic operatives who have been taken off the market this year by Mr. Bloomberg.

Bradley Tusk: Now installed as the mayor’s campaign manager, he worked as a spokesman for Chuck Schumer and then became a top aide to the mayor during the first Bloomberg term.

Howard Wolfson: Another distinguished Schumer alumnus, his Democratic credentials are impeccable: Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, New York’s Democratic Party.

Josh Isay: He’s yet another Schumer guy, and a founding partner of Knickerbocker SKD and partner at Squier Knapp Dunn Communications, which did print, radio and television ads for Bloomberg’s 2005 mayoral campaign.

Basil Smikle: Just a few months ago, this former Hillary Clinton aide was working for Mr. Weiner. Now, the AP reports, he’s signed on with the incumbent.

Hank Sheinkopf: The colorful and unflinching operative who was the general consultant on Bill Thompson’s 2001 citywide campaign for comptroller is not signing on for Mr. Thompson’s 2009 mayoral campaign. Now he’s on the mayor’s campaign payroll.

Doug Schoen: A founding partner in the firm that helped define its most famous client, Bill Clinton, Mr. Schoen has worked on both of Mr. Bloomberg’s previous campaigns.

Ken Strasma: A number cruncher who worked on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, he will focus on analyzing poll numbers and targeting a message to a niche audience.

Maura Keaney: A top aide to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, she did field operations for the mayor’s reelection campaign in 2005 and is returning this year in a similar role. Ms. Keaney is married to Democratic consultant Mark Guma, who worked on the mayoral campaign of Alan Hevesi in 2001.

Patrick Brennan: He’s a former staffer in the Community Assistance Unit who traveled to various states to lay the groundwork for Mr. Bloomberg’s much-discussed hypothetical presidential race. He left City Hall to work at the Parkside Group.

Larry Scott Blackmon: He just left his job as chief of staff and deputy commissioner for intergovernmental affairs at the city’s Small Business Services Department to lead the campaign’s outreach to black voters.

Neil Giacobbi: A former chief of staff to Democratic City Councilman David Yassky of Brooklyn and aide to Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey, Mr. Giacobbi, 35, helped organize the Republican National Convention in 2004.

Micah Lasher: He’s not yet 30, but Mr. Lasher is among the most capable political operators in the city. He worked for Mark Green’s mayoral campaign in 2001 and worked until 2007 with Mr. Isay at Knickerbocker. He just left his most recent job, as an aide to Representative Jerry Nadler, to work for the city’s Department of Education. Which would seem to rule out a role on any Democratic mayoral campaign against his new boss.

He went on to tell the audience  it will focus on “how can government itself respond to the changes in the electorate to further open up the system to allow independence and people of good will to participate to broaden our government.”

Schoen, who worked on Bloomberg’s mayoral campaigns, said he had participated in two prior Independence Party conventions.

This would be his third book. His second, Declaring Independence, was released last year Super Tuesday.

Also at the conference, the emcee briefly got the crowd to chant “Independent Power.”

Many former Koch aides crammed into the main room on the first floor, where Bloomberg and Koch were joined by Koch’s old rival Mario Cuomo, and Koch’s former chief of staff Diane Coffey.

Coffey thanked Bloomberg for hosting the Koch birthday bash again, and said she and others “stand ready to canvass again, in Queens. Send us to Weiner territory,” referring to Representative Anthony Weiner, one Bloomberg's likely challengers. Then, for effect, Coffey added, “Yes we can.”

Everyone laughed and applauded.

Also running are City Comptroller Bill Thompson and City Councilman Tony Avella of Queens.

A number of political observers, including Weiner but not Koch, see numerous similarities between the two. (This was apparently, at least at one time, something Weiner considered to be a good thing.) One guest at this very party told me Weiner was the “second coming of Koch.”

Later, as Koch was walking out, he told me that Weiner “is probably the leading opponent to Mike.” Koch went on, “I think he’s a very able guy. I’m not going to compare anybody, but he’s an able guy. But Mike is much better.”

Other highlights from the party:

Hearing Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey greeting former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr., saying loudly, "Here's my guy!"; walking by Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs as one party-goer asked her, "Are you ready for another four years?"

In the Wall Street Journal, center-right Democrat Doug Schoen, former polling partner of Mark Penn, cautions Obama and the Democratic leadership in Washington against interpreting victory, even a “landslide of historic proportions,” as a mandate for progressive policies. Such a landslide would be, he acknowledges somewhat grudgingly, a massive repudiation of the Bush administration and the Republican Party. But having just dislodged the wingers from power with a blast of electoral scorn, Schoen argues, what voters will really want the Democrats to do is seek "consensus" with those same rejected figures and their discredited ideology.

Expect more of the same from all the usual suspects (and although he will certainly not be alone, I certainly do mean David Broder, who attributes McCain’s impending defeat to poor management skills and touts the “post-partisan politics” for which we all supposedly yearn).

I wish these founts of conventional wisdom would listen to Obama’s closing argument. I wish they had paid close attention to McCain’s ranting attacks during the final weeks, too. If Obama and the Democrats win an overwhelming victory across borders of red and blue, then they will assuredly possess a mandate for the policies that the president-elect has described with great specificity in every speech since the Denver convention. Yes, they’ll have a mandate for the traditions of fairness that represent their political legacy, too—the same traditions that were so loudly and angrily mocked as “socialism” by McCain and his pit bull.

Should the Democrats return to Washington in glory, the majority of voters will expect them to uphold their commitments—and not sell out in the name of post-partisanship or any other gauzy fantasy.

Grossman was described as a “political strategist” in this story about the comptroller's campaign spending, and a Thompson campaign aide explained Grossman’s role as “a general consultant", adding, "He’s helping put together the infrastructure of the campaign.” Grossman was paid $39,500 between March and July of this year, according to records with the city Campaign Finance Board.

Grossman comes to the campaign with considerable skills as an organizer. According to the bio on his company’s web site, Grossman worked at the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee from 1999 to 2003. In 2004, he was the director of Polling and Targeting for the George Soros-funded group, America Coming Together. In 2005, he founded Wal-Mart Watch. Calls to Grossman’s Connecticut office were not returned, nor was an email.
 
Other national figures officially signed up to work on city races here next year include Joel Benenson, Doug Schoen, and Geoff Garin.

Perry Bacon of the Washington Post said, according to a transcript:

Chris Matthews said, "Mike Bloomberg gets so much echo out of New York. I hear it all the time from New Yorkers."

Then Jeanne Cummings of The Politico added: