Tee-hee. Former Brooklyn Councilman Sal Albanese, a Democrat known for making long-shot bids for mayor some years ago, is apparently at it again. It remains to be seen if he has the organization in place to make the ballot and have an impact.
In an interesting article profiling Council Speaker Christine Quinn‘s status in the mayoral campaign next year, The New York Times referenced only one of her rivals while leaving Comptroller John Liu and former Comptroller Bill Thompson unmentioned. However, the four-candidate field does have its advantages for Ms. Quinn. As consultant Scott Levenson explained, “Part of the problem in a three-way race is the people who hurl the tomatoes rarely get the benefit of the tomato-hurling.”
The mentioned Quinn opponent, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, a Park Sloper who’s emphasizing the outer boroughs heavily in the campaign, just hired The Perez Notes’ Roberto Perez for his government staff. Mr. Perez, who hails from Woodside, Queens, joins four other higher-level staffers from that borough, and according to a source in the office, will be surrounded by folks like Deputy Chief of Staff Jahmila Joseph, from Crown Heights, and a healthy crew of fellow Brooklynites.
Meanwhile, Mr. de Blasio joined fellow mayoral candidates to schmooze at former Mayor Ed Koch‘s birthday party last night. And a number of 2013 candidates up and down the ballot, including Comptroller Liu, State Senator Eric Adams, Councilman Robert Jackson and Councilwoman Tish James were among those slated to powwow with former Mayor David Dinkins at consultant Bill Lynch’s Apollo Theater holiday party yesterday as well.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman touted his new efforts to regulate super PAC-esque nonprofits on at least two television programs last night. With both appearances, Mr. Schneiderman, a former Democratic State Senator, also faced inquiries about what he made of the brouhaha surrounding the breakaway Democratic conference. On Inside City Hall, Mr. Schneiderman mused, “I’m watching it with fascination. I have a lot of experience in thinking through what’s allowed and what’s not allowed in the State Senate.” While on Capital Tonight he mused again, “I await with interest to see what happens with no small amount of sympathies with my colleagues who are caught up in this confusion.”
Who would have thought the Riverdale Press would drop some sizable news in the State Senate drama? The new co-leader of the chamber, Senator Jeff Klein, reportedly accepted $150,000 in campaign contributions linked to convicts and other unsavory sources. In response, he announced he would donate the money to charity.
And Stephen Colbert didn’t take Fox News’ latest look at the “Ground Zero Mosque” especially seriously:
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