City Hall Horse Race: Republican Conundrum Edition

It’s time for the latest installment of our weekly scorecard rating how the past seven days treated next year’s likely mayoral

It’s time for the latest installment of our weekly scorecard rating how the past seven days treated next year’s likely mayoral candidates. Although most insiders believe Democrats are favored to take back City Hall for the first time in two decades, a lot of the action recently has been on the Republican side of the aisle. Notably, former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión announced his intentions to seek the GOP line, while billionaire John Catsimatidis declared he’d be forming a campaign committee for the party’s nomination himself. And Doe Fund Founder George McDonald is in the mix as well. But, for simplicity’s sake, we’ll wait to see if they’re active on a weekly basis before they’re added to the list.

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Without further ado:



Christine Quinn made it easy for us this week. As Mayor Bloomberg poo-poohed large infrastructure projects to protect the city from storms, Ms. Quinn promoted a $20 billion plan. Demonstrating vision on the issue of the day is always a good move and stuff.




Billy Thompson also stepped forward this week and, although it came in the form a press release instead of a rousing speech, criticizing Mr. Bloomberg's handling of the storm was a relatively bold move for the often-cautious Mr. Thompson. Keep it up, firebug!




Bill de Blasio has been busy firing off more than a few press releases of his own, especially calling attention to powerless public housing residents. With the Jewish vote being key to his potential coalition, staying on the ball with Israeli security can't hurt either.




John Liu had another mixed news cycle. On one hand, he was front-and-center at a Howard Beach press conference announcing emergency capital investments, but on the other, his former campaign treasurer and campaign donor were in trial at the same time.




Scott Stringer seems like he might drop off this list in the near future. Indeed, two days ago, the Post reported he's telling supporters of his intention to exit the mayor's race. His staff vaguely questioned the article, but without a direct denial, does anybody outright disbelieve it?




Tom Allon's path in the Republican field was always easiest when his opponents were few and he could earn a pass on his more liberal beliefs through a side-by-side comparison. But Mr. Catsimatidis' dollar bills loom while some GOP leaders lined up behind Mr. Carrión.


City Hall Horse Race: Republican Conundrum Edition