I’ve been hearing a rumor all day that John Liu was dropping out of the public advocate’s race and going to announce on on Sunday that he’s running for comptroller instead. He was going to announce it on the City Hall steps, the rumor went.
In a brief exchange of messages, Chung Seto, Liu’s campaign manager, denied the rumor, saying their original plans hadn’t changed. Then, City Hall News reported it (saying the announcement was coming Saturday). The story also quoted Kevin Wardally, a consultant on the campaign, saying, “I have nothing to say about that right now but check back in a day or so. Right now John Liu is running for public advocate—but that could change.”
In a brief telephone conversation after the story appeared, Seto maintained her position. And while she called into the question the accuracy of some quotes and context in the story, she never explicitly ruled out the rumor.
Minutes later, she emailed to say that in fact, Liu was scheduled to make an announcement at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, on the City Hall steps, with campaign supporters.
This is just the latest in the public confusion about Liu’s career path. Initially, the New York Times reported he was “leaning towards” the comptroller race. Then, he publiclly declared he was entering the public advocate’s race.
UPDATE: Liu contacted the city’s Campaign Finance Board to change the office he’s seeking, from public advocate to “undetermined.”
