NYC'13: Congrats to Mayor de Blasio

[Miles]

Weiner got into a shouting match with an Jewish voter.

[bedstuy]

The Quinnipiac poll also shows Stringer up 47-45 over Spitzer.

Really hope Spitzer pulls this one out.  Stringer is absolutely terrible.

I'm honestly still undecided on the Comptroller's race, largely due to not paying much attention to it (and a general impression that there's not much daylight between the two).  What makes Stringer so bad?

Think about what the comptroller does: Manages the city pension funds, audits city agencies and signs off on contracts.

Stringer is a pandering machine politician with no experience in finance.  He's never had a real job and he's just risen up the ranks by being a hack.  He owes favors to half the borough of Manhattan.

Spitzer, on the other hand, is extremely intelligent, willing to go after special interests and has relevant experience.  Spitzer actually knows about capital markets and ran the AG's office extremely well, which probably has more responsibility than the comptroller.

[traininthedistance]

The Quinnipiac poll also shows Stringer up 47-45 over Spitzer.

Really hope Spitzer pulls this one out.  Stringer is absolutely terrible.

I'm honestly still undecided on the Comptroller's race, largely due to not paying much attention to it (and a general impression that there's not much daylight between the two).  What makes Stringer so bad?

Think about what the comptroller does: Manages the city pension funds, audits city agencies and signs off on contracts.

Stringer is a pandering machine politician with no experience in finance.  He's never had a real job and he's just risen up the ranks by being a hack.  He owes favors to half the borough of Manhattan.

Spitzer, on the other hand, is extremely intelligent, willing to go after special interests and has relevant experience.  Spitzer actually knows about capital markets and ran the AG's office extremely well, which probably has more responsibility than the comptroller.

Eh, "pandering machine politician" is not really a charge that resonates much with me- all politicians pander to some extent, and "machine" strikes me as more of a stock term of abuse than something actually meaningful.

But you're certainly right that Spitzer's experience as AG is relevant, positive, and a solid reason to vote for him. 

[Eraserhead]

lol, Fox News is terrified of de Blasio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS7rH50gm-M

awesome.

Does Fox even try to find people who do their research and are well spoken to put on the air?

[Eraserhead]

I didn't see it but I guess Weiner actually defended de Blasio from some attacks by the other candidates at the debate. Heh.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Weiner gets angry.....again.

[Paul Kemp]

Weiner gets angry.....again.

Justifiably so this time.

[Maxwell]

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Talked to Simfan, he wanted his two cents, so I let him.

[bedstuy]

Is there any polling on the Public Advocate race? 

It would be hilarious/a potential train wreck if Letitia James won; if only because the Public Advocate becomes Mayor in the event of the Mayor's death, God forbid. 

[patrick1]

Nice post, Simfan but I disagree with your fundamental take on these things.  These constituencies that you seemingly deride are residents, voters and people who help the city run as it does. Many of these stakeholders have been left behind in the progress. One could take the exact opposite stance and malign the "faceless" business interests that have gained so much over the past decades. Many have no actual vested interest, other than profit of course, on the future of the city and its development.

I think you are right that in a city with competing interests the mayor cannot always be all things to all people. Difficult decisions about what type of city you want into the future have to be made. NYC has done a fantastic job on reducing crime and re-development in many once no-go zones. There were/are some top rate planners in "city hall". However, lost in the mix is the destruction of the character of many neighborhoods and overall affordability for the working classes. One should expect to pay a premium for living in a safe, vibrant city. Yet, the current course, if left unchecked, leaves the bulk of the populace lying on what used to be the margins- the wealthy and those in housing. For continued vibrancy and a balanced socio-economic development, the next mayor must address the housing issue.

[PolitiJunkie]

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So basically, what you're saying is...











































...

[badgate]

I'm confused. Was de Blasio the guy he worked for?

[traininthedistance]

Is there any polling on the Public Advocate race? 

It would be hilarious/a potential train wreck if Letitia James won; if only because the Public Advocate becomes Mayor in the event of the Mayor's death, God forbid. 

Not that I have seen.

I strongly support Daniel Squadron, by the way.

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This part of your rumination is spot-on, and I agree entirely.  I think you're way way off base on the idea that unions will bankrupt the city, or that stop and frisk hasn't been statistically proven to be discriminatory to the max, but credit where credit is due on this part.  I would love to see reactivation of Rockaway Branch service, and agree that the structure of interest groups and excessive localism is a major hurdle here, and in so many other cases.

Nice post, Simfan but I disagree with your fundamental take on these things.  These constituencies that you seemingly deride are residents, voters and people who help the city run as it does. Many of these stakeholders have been left behind in the progress. One could take the exact opposite stance and malign the "faceless" business interests that have gained so much over the past decades. Many have no actual vested interest, other than profit of course, on the future of the city and its development.

I think you are right that in a city with competing interests the mayor cannot always be all things to all people. Difficult decisions about what type of city you want into the future have to be made. NYC has done a fantastic job on reducing crime and re-development in many once no-go zones. There were/are some top rate planners in "city hall". However, lost in the mix is the destruction of the character of many neighborhoods and overall affordability for the working classes. One should expect to pay a premium for living in a safe, vibrant city. Yet, the current course, if left unchecked, leaves the bulk of the populace lying on what used to be the margins- the wealthy and those in housing. For continued vibrancy and a balanced socio-economic development, the next mayor must address the housing issue.

Well, the best way to fix the housing issue is to engage in wholesale upzoning- massively increase supply.  I understand that this might be hard in areas that are poorly served by transit (which remain affordable, though) and in historic districts (which is mainly an argument that historic preservation is directly at odds with housing affordability); at the very least we should be lifting restrictions on accessory apartments, "granny flats", and the like.  True story: my SO, before we moved in together, lived with her roomate in an apartment that was technically illegal- it was a 2 BR floor of a three-story house, but the zoning code only allowed for single family occupancy, or two units at most.  It wasn't in any way unsafe or cramped- there was a fire escape and everything, it was actually quite spacious for NY- it was just illegal.  And there was no reason for it to be.  Those sorts of things should not just be brought out of the shadows, but encouraged, along with building taller and denser along transit hubs and major corridors.

[Miles]

Ugh.

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[PolitiJunkie]

I'm confused. Was de Blasio the guy he worked for?

No, I was dicking around. His whole silly little essay was blasting De Blasio, hence my sarcastic response.

[Maxwell]

Bloomberg, the man who so escalated Stop and Frisk, is now accusing someone else of racism. Oh boy.

[Morning in Atlas]

I'm thinking this puts De Blasio over 40%.

[Badger]

I'm thinking this puts De Blasio over 40%.

Just came here to post this.

Bloomberg must have a truly tin ear for politics these days if he doesn't see exactly how this'll kind of statement will play out the weekend before the Democratic primary.

[RogueBeaver]

He really is the best self-parody, isn't he?

[Kitteh]

NYT has some interesting infographics about fundraising

[traininthedistance]

Is there any polling on the Public Advocate race?  

It would be hilarious/a potential train wreck if Letitia James won; if only because the Public Advocate becomes Mayor in the event of the Mayor's death, God forbid.  

Not that I have seen.

I strongly support Daniel Squadron, by the way.

Most recent polling I can find for Likely Voters:

Letitia James - 16%
Catherine Guerriero - 12%
Daniel Squadron - 12%
Reshma Saujani - 3%
Sidique Wai - 2%
Other - 6%
Undecided - 49%

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/WSJPoll0816.pdf

The only political mailer our household has received this season is for Reshma Saujani, actually.  She seems good but I'm super familiar with Squadron and basically agree with him on everything.

Letitia James is local, but she has campaign finance problems and is generally not that great.

[Morning in Atlas]

I'm thinking this puts De Blasio over 40%.

Just came here to post this.

Bloomberg must have a truly tin ear for politics these days if he doesn't see exactly how this'll kind of statement will play out the weekend before the Democratic primary.

He's a lock now. Game, set, match.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Is there any polling on the Public Advocate race?  

It would be hilarious/a potential train wreck if Letitia James won; if only because the Public Advocate becomes Mayor in the event of the Mayor's death, God forbid.  

Not that I have seen.

I strongly support Daniel Squadron, by the way.

Most recent polling I can find for Likely Voters:

Letitia James - 16%
Catherine Guerriero - 12%
Daniel Squadron - 12%
Reshma Saujani - 3%
Sidique Wai - 2%
Other - 6%
Undecided - 49%

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/WSJPoll0816.pdf

The only political mailer our household has received this season is for Reshma Saujani, actually.  She seems good but I'm super familiar with Squadron and basically agree with him on everything.

Letitia James is local, but she has campaign finance problems and is generally not that great.

Saujani is a pretty blatant wall street shill, don't be fooled by her mailers.  When she tried to primary Maloney, her campaign consisted almost entirely of promises to be a better friend to hedge fund managers and calling for greater deregulation of the banking industry.  Not surprisingly she lost badly, but (IIRC) raised quite a bit of money.  As powerless as Public Advocate may be, the mere optics of having someone like Saujani in the position is reason enough to vote against her, IMO at least.

[Kitteh]

lol I didn't realize Reshma Saujani was still around. Good to see she's still not going anywhere despite all the money she raises.

[Eraserhead]

So yeah, I'm thinking Mike Bloomberg probably unintentionally sealed the deal between de Blasio and black voters. Thanks, Mike!