Race to City Hall 2013

An internal poll in the City Council race to replace Mike Nelson in Flatbush has district leader Ari Kagan and Shomrim founder Chaim Deutsch tied for first place, with two other Russian candidates trailing.

Kagan has 26 percent of the Russian majority district whichalso has a large Jewish population, with Deutsch, chief of staff to Nelson, at 25 percent, a statistical tie. Igor Oberman has 22 percent, but the real surprise was Theresa Scavo’s 9 percent. She has raised significant amounts of cash but the poll shows a low level of grassroots support.

Report Says Bloomberg Pushed Kelly Mayoral Bid

Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday wouldn’t confirm a published report that said he paid for a poll to convince police Commissioner Ray Kelly to run to replace him in City Hall.

The poll appears to be the latest sign of Bloomberg’s disenchantment with the field fighting to succeed him by using his longtime pollster in June to convince Kelly he could win. Kelly ultimately declined to enter the race.

“I don’t know where that came from, and we’re here to talk about guns,” a testy Bloomberg said on Monday. “Let’s get serious.”

Bloomberg, now an independent though he was first elected in 2001 as a Republican, has repeatedly criticized the Democratic mayoral candidates. Many political observers expect him to eventually back City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, but while Bloomberg frequently speaks highly of her, he has stopped short of giving an endorsement.

New Thompson Ad Summons Ghosts of Martin, Diallo

A flier by an ally of the Bill Thompson mayoral campaign continues his doubling down on his hard-line stance against stop and frisk by mentioning the killing last year of black teenager Trayvon Martin by a white auxiliary cop.

“Here in New York,” Thompson says in the literature produced by the teachers’ union, who has endorsed him, “we have institutionalized [George] Zimmerman’s suspicion with a policy that all but requires our police officers to treat young black and Latino men with suspicion. We know the Trayvon tragedy here in New York. We’ve lived it, over and over again, from Amadou Diallo to Patrick Dorismond to Ramarley Graham.”

The only African-American candidate in the Democratic primary initially took a moderate stance on the tactic, which garnered him criticism from some black officials. As recently as late July, Thompson was still defending stop and frisk as a misused but potentially “useful police tool.”

But following the Zimmerman ruling in June, Thompson has adopted a harsher tone, likening it to racial profiling.

Dante de Blasio Appears in Second Ad for Dad

Following a well received commercial featuring Bill de Blasio’s afro’ed son Dante, the campaign launched his second ad — again showcasing him.

In the new 30-second spot, de Blasio, whose wife is black, draws on his experience as a parent having to prepare his young son for the day he is stopped by police.

“There are hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who have never experienced stop and frisk,” de Blasio says. “Chirlane and I have talked to Dante many times about the fact that some day, he will be stopped. Parents all over the city are having that conversation with their kids.”

Three Major Dailies Endorse Stringer for Comptroller

The three major daily newspapers in New York City made it clear that come January they wanted to see Scott Stringer in the comptroller’s office.

With varying degrees of enthusiasm, the Daily News, the New York Post and The New York Times all threw their support to the Manhattan borough president, slamming former Gov. Eliot Spitzer for his performance while in office.

Despite wide labor and official support, Stringer trails Spitzer by as much as 19 points.

In a statement, the Spitzer campaign said that the endorsements proved whom he is fighting against.

“Eliot’s spent his entire career taking on powerful interests on behalf of working New Yorkers,” spokeswoman Liz Smith said. “So it’s not surprising that the establishment is lining up against him and propping up a candidate who has spent his entire career proving he wouldn’t challenge them.”

In other news, former Gov. David Paterson, who assumed the governorship when Spitzer resigned, campaigned with Stringer in Harlem Monday. But the appearance turned awkward as Paterson refused to criticize his former boss.

“I’m not going to answer the question of why they should choose Scott over Eliot. That’s your question. I didn’t ask that question and I’m not answering it,” said Paterson, who had endorsed Stringer long before Spitzer entered the race.

“When I endorsed Scott, Governor Spitzer wasn’t running,” he explained. “So he totally understands that there was no choice to be made between those two candidates. They’re both friends of mine.”

This article appeared in print on page 1 of the August 20th, 2013 edition of Hamodia.