Will Mayoral Candidates Disgorge Corrupt Real Estate Donations ?

From Crain's : Longshot Dem blasts rivals' real estate cash

Sal Albanese, a former City Councilman and longshot candidate for mayor, is calling on his fellow Democrats to return campaign contributions they've received from real estate firms being examined by a state anti-corruption panel.

The Moreland Commission, a group created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to investigate corruption in state government, recently issued subpoenas to five top developers in New York : Extell Development, Thor Equities, Silverstein Properties, Fisher Brothers and Friedman Management. The five firms have collectively donated tens of thousands of dollars to each of the top four candidates for mayor, Mr. Albanese notes.

"When you've sold your integrity to the highest bidder, how can we trust you to follow through on building affordable housing or holding developers accountable?" Mr. Albanese asked in a statement. "The simple truth is: we can't. That is why I have not accepted a single cent from developers or lobbyists."

But it is not clear if any developers or lobbyists have even offered to donate money to Mr. Albanese's campaign, which is barely registering in public polls. The former Bay Ridge councilman was out of public life for 15 years before launching his mayoral bid, and only 1% of likely Democratic primary voters polled by Quinnipiac in the last few days said they would vote for him.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn has accepted a total of $79,125 from employees of the five real estate firms subpoenaed by the Moreland Commission. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has received $42,100, former Comptroller Bill Thompson $30,660 and ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner $37,550, according to Mr. Albanese. None of the firms has been accused by authorities of doing anything wrong, and the amounts they donated represent 0.8% of the $22.2 million raised by the four leading Democratic candidates.

News of the subpoenas hit the papers in early August. The commission plans to investigate whether the five developers building luxury housing projects opened their wallets to curry favor among state legislators to secure millions in tax breaks. An explicit exchange of a donation for a tax break would be illegal. The Real Estate Board of New York, an industry association, did not comment Tuesday afternoon on Mr. Albanese's call.

None of Mr. Albanese's rivals responded to his call to return the campaign contributions. A debate scheduled for Tuesday night, hosted by WABC, the Daily News and the League of Women Voters, will exclude Mr. Albanese based on his low fundraising numbers. The New York Times editorial page has called for him to be included.

Do REBNY and PFNYC Act As Gatekeepers To Mayoral Debates ?

Do the Real Estate Board of New York and the Partnership for New York City act as gatekeepers to the mayoral debates ?

These developers have been subpoenaed by Moreland yet their donations helped get these candidates in tonight's debate pic.twitter.com/lg0A2enlMf

— Sal Albanese (@SalAlbanese2013) August 13, 2013

The problem with the broken political system is that the media takes advertising from developers, so there is no check. @SalAlbanese2013

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) August 13, 2013

Village Independent Democrats Endorse John Liu Over Christine Quinn

We waited a few days for confirmation about last Thursday night's endorsement meeting.

But The New York Post was the first newspaper to finally report that the Village Independent Democrats did not endorse New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's mayoral campaign. Instead, the Village Independent Democrats voted to endorse New York City Comptroller John Liu's mayoral campaign.

"The Village Independent Democrats, located in the heart of Quinn’s district, instead opted to back City Comptroller John Liu — the most liberal in the race," reported Sally Goldenberg in The Post.

Two other Manhattan Democratic Party clubs also did not endorse Speaker Quinn in this year's mayor's race.

The Broadway Democrats and CoDA (Coalition for a Democratic Alternative), both progressive clubs in Manhattan, also threw their support behind Liu, whose campaign has been marred by the guilty verdict of two aides in a federal campaign-finance fraud case.

A source close to the Village Independent Democrats said Quinn was “livid” over losing that group.

“I think they were shocked,” the source said of the speaker’s election team. “Quinn’s ground game in Manhattan is off.” Campaign aides for Quinn and Liu did not comment.

Read more : Quinn is ‘left’ out.

Christine Quinn Abandons LGBTQ Community In Quest For Mayor

Christine Quinn Was A No-Show At LGBTQ Rally

At Thursday's rally by LGBTQ groups outside the U.S. District Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street, where the Floyd v. City of New York class-action, stop-and-frisk trial was in progress, only one mayoral candidate showed up to express solidarity -- and to renew a call for an end to stop-and-frisk. And it wasn't Christine Quinn.

Thank you, John Liu, for showing leadership, courage, and solidarity with the LGBTQ community.

Maybe New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has not been able to hear the pleas from the LGBTQ community, because her office is soundproofed ?

During Michael Bloomberg's three terms as mayor, over 5 million New Yorkers have been stopped and frisked. During the over-lapping time that Christine Quinn has been Speaker of the City Council, over 3.9 million New Yorkers have been stopped and frisked.

Many politicians act powerless in the face of the NYPD's use of brutality, discrimination, and excessive force, but the members of the City Council, which each year approve the NYPD budget, simply rubber stamp Mayor Michael Bloomberg's attack on due process, the Bill of Rights, other civil rights, and civil liberties. If the City Council actually stood up to the mayor in the budget process, then maybe the City Council could legislate change without having to use the court system, like what is happening right now in the Floyd trial, a lawsuit that is challenging the NYPD's unconstitutional stop-and-frisk practices.

The description at Thursday's rally by members of various LGBTQ groups of how the NYPD target, harass, and even falsely arrest LGBTQ New Yorkers was tragic, and the pleas for help were compelling. But one must wonder why Speaker Quinn was absent from the rally, why Speaker Quinn did not express solidarity with the LTGBQ community's efforts to end stop-and-frisk, and why the Floyd trial was being used as a backdrop for this demonstration ?

Because so many non-profits took part in Thursday's rally, one must wonder if an explanation of the lock-step could not be found in a demand for an election year political favour ? We know that how Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn manufacture political patronage support is by making private donations or distributing discretionary City Council funds, respectively. Were the members of the LGBTQ groups manipulated into showing up outside the Floyd trial in order to distract from the fact that Speaker Quinn supports stop-and-frisk and has expressed her desire to continue NYPD Commish Ray Kelly's policies of harassment, profiling, discrimination, and brutality ?

Indeed, last December, activists in Jackson Heights organised a demonstration to highlight Speaker Quinn's failure to end stop-and-frisk. Speaker Quinn is a high-profile LGBT leader, but she turns her back on LGBTQ New Yorkers, who are deliberately profiled and targeted for harassment and arrest by the NYPD, said activists during last December's demonstration.

Related : Christine Quinn Betrays The LGBTQ Community

John Liu Promises To End Stop-and-Frisk

New York City mayoral candidate John Liu is the "only candidate who has called for eliminating the Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practice, and increasing the minimum wage to $11.50 per hour, significantly higher than the $9 supported by President Obama. He is also the harshest critic of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg ; he describes Mr. Bloomberg as a 'grumpy' man who 'checked out a long time ago,' ” reported The New York Times.

Christine Quinn Takes More Heat Over Blocking Of Paid Sick Leave

Christine Quinn takes heat at mayoral forum for blocking vote on paid-sick-leave bill; Controller John Liu was consistently applauded by Harlem crowd.

From The New York Daily News :

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, seated next to Quinn during a lively forum in Harlem on poverty issues, also ripped into the Council Speaker for helping pass a “watered-down” living-wage bill.

Controller John Liu consistently drew the loudest cheers from the largely minority audience, as he went further on several issues than his Democratic rivals – Quinn, de Blasio, ex-City Controller William Thompson and former Councilman Sal Albanese. For one, he called for the minimum wage to be raised to $11.50 — the current rate is $7.25 in New York — while his opponents said they favored President Obama’s preferred figure of $9.

Liu also repeated a previous demand to have the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk policy halted. “It makes everybody less safe,” he said. The other candidates argued to keep the practice but reform the way it is applied.

Publisher Tom Allon was the only GOP candidate to attend ; three others, including former MTA boss Joe Lhota, declined invitations.

John Liu will deny any future contracts with Hewlett-Packard

With HP in charge, the ECTP 911 emergency technology project has gone almost $1 billion over budget. Hmmmmmmmmm...?

From The New York Daily News :

City Controller John Liu is vowing to reject any future city contracts with computer giant Hewlett-Packard until the company repays $163 million it overcharged the city for upgrading New York’s emergency 911 system.

An audit by the controller’s office last May concluded that HP, the lead contractor on the 911 upgrade, had repeatedly submitted inflated and questionable bills between 2005 and 2008.

In one outrageous example, a $279,000-a-year HP consultant hired as a software engineer was actually an administrative assistant whose daily timesheets were filled with such mundane tasks as “print and bind documents,” “called to kill a waterbug in the ladies’ room” and “open the door for 5 folks.”

No wonder the 911 project — the most ambitious public safety initiative of the Bloomberg administration — ballooned from an original $1.2 billion price tag to more than $2 billion and is years behind schedule.

Read more : John Liu : Hewlett us down

John Liu Has No Problem Being ‘Embattled’

From Politicker :

Comptroller John Liu, a likely candidate for mayor this year, has been consistently tagged as “embattled” by media outlets due to the criminal indictments against his campaign treasurer and a top donor. Over time, however, the press has largely dropped the term, even as his campaign treasurer’s trial plows ahead.

However, in a brief email to reporters inviting them to attend his birthday party fundraiser tonight, Mr. Liu’s campaign embraced the term themselves with a tongue-in-cheek reference to the candidate as “embattled.”

“Embattled Comptroller John Liu would like to invite you as a guest to his birthday fundraiser tonight,” the invitation read.

This is not the first time Mr. Liu has addressed this “embattled” reputation. In May of last year, he held a campaign event and mocked the moniker while turning the it into a rallying cry.

“I have a new nickname: ‘The embattled comptroller,’” he said. “Well let me say this: I am ready, willing and able to go into battle for what I think is right for the City of New York.”

Tonight’s fundraiser for Mr. Liu will take place at Jing Fong dim sum restaurant in Chinatown.

Bloomberg Quinn Impose Illegal Campaign Sign Fines On Thompson But Not On Hoylman

The New York Post hounds Bill Thompson over suspiciously large fines being imposed by the Bloomberg administration in what has all the appearances of a politically-motivated effort to suck the funding out of any competitors that are challenging City Council Speaker Christine Quinn for the Democratic Party primary in the 2013 mayoral election. Meanwhile, here is evidence that political allies of Speaker Quinn break the law, too. But do the Bloomberg-Quinn administration likewise fine Brad Hoylman out the ass to the tune of $600,000, too ?

Were Wire Taps on John Liu Politically-Motivated ?

From : Was John Liu Wire Tapped as part of a Political Hit Job ? by Suzannah B. Troy :

"John Liu exposed CityTime and ECTP 911 tech corruption -- bigger than CityTime. Liu called for criminal investigation on ECTP based on audits. Where are the investigations ? Liu killed major deals, but leading billionaires as well as SAIC that gets bail-outs -- oops contracts from Pentagon -- and are connected to The White House."

David Seifman Examines Christine Quinn's Campaign

Political journalist and author, Dominic Carter, talks with The New York Post City Hall Bureau Chief, David Seifman, in this interview on Richard French Live.

Mr. Seifman spoke to Christine Quinn's campaign to be mayor, Bill Thompson's candidacy, the possibility of a run-off, and investigation of John Liu's campaign, and other political issues.

Growing NYCHA Scandal

The Board of NYCHA sits on perhaps $1 billion dollars, while tenants live in moldy, rodent-infested flop houses. Let them eat cake !

Thanks to an investigative series by a Daily News team that exposed nearly $1 billion in funds going unused while tenants lived plagued by mold, rats and more, NYCHA is slated to undergo serious reforms. (DailyNews DailyPolitics)

BCG-report-NYCHA-Key-Findings-and-Recommendations-8-15-12vFinal

Too bad there are no housing activists, amongst the mayoral candidates, other than Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

“We commend City Council Committee Chairperson Rosie Mendez for convening today’s hearing on the lack of security cameras at NYCHA housing developments, which is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the agency’s failures. Today’s hearing should be the first of many to get an understanding of why NYCHA’s buildings are deteriorating and its housing developments are overrun by rodents, all while NYCHA sits on a pile of unspent money. We have serious questions about NYCHA’s operations [which] demand comprehensive answers,” said Controller John Liu.

Under pressure to overhaul the New York City Housing Authority, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has decided to remove two highly paid appointees from the agency’s board and replace them with volunteers, including one who lives in public housing, city officials said on Thursday. (NYTimes)

Borough President Stringer has claimed victory over Thursday's announcement that two board members of the New York City Housing Authority would step down after a scandal broke over the flop houses that NYCHA operated (Politicker).

Campaign Poster Fines Strategy ?

Is Mayor Bloomberg deliberately trying to drain the campaign funds of the competitors that are challenging Christine Quinn for the 2013 mayoral Democratic primary ?

Mayor Michael Bloomberg seems to be engaged in a public relations campaign to turn public opinion against, and to drain the campaign funds (aka clear the primaries) of, the leading primary challengers that are competing with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to be the Democratic Party's candidate in next year's mayoral election. * "Mayor Bloomberg Friday blasted mayoral candidate John Liu as a hypocrite for grumbling about companies that owe the city money — while failing to pay his own city debts." (NY Daily News) * Now that he has finally collected $444,000 in public matching funds from his 2009 campaign, Bill Thompson should return the money to the city to help cover the fines he owes for illegal posters, Mayor Bloomberg suggested yesterday. (NYPost)

John Liu Treasurer Arrested

And now, we see how far Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Quinn will go to knock off each of Speaker Quinn's competitors for the Democratic primary.

From The New York Times :

City Comptroller’s Campaign Treasurer Arrested on Fraud Charges
By DAVID W. CHEN and BENJAMIN WEISER
Published: February 28, 2012

The campaign treasurer for John C. Liu, the city comptroller, was charged with fraud and obstruction of justice on Tuesday as an expanding federal investigation of the comptroller’s fund-raising reached inside Mr. Liu’s inner circle for the first time.
Enlarge This Image

Mr. Liu speaking to reporters on Tuesday in Lower Manhattan. He said he was “stunned” by Ms. Hou's arrest.

The treasurer, Jia Hou, 25, is accused of helping to funnel illegal campaign money to Mr. Liu by using straw donors and impeding investigators’ efforts to gather information about the fund-raising.

And, in a troubling development for Mr. Liu, the charges filed on Tuesday suggested that Ms. Hou was taking instructions from Mr. Liu as she was carrying out the fraudulent fund-raising scheme.

Mr. Liu said on Tuesday evening that he was “stunned” by Ms. Hou’s arrest.

“These allegations against Jia Hou are uncharacteristic and unexpected of this intelligent, hardworking person that I’ve come to know and depend upon,” Mr. Liu told reporters outside the office of his campaign consultant, George Arzt. “And I sincerely hope she will be treated fairly.” ....

He added that he would review the charges and “we’ll figure out how to move forward from here.”

Read the rest of the article here : City Comptroller’s Campaign Treasurer Arrested on Fraud Charges

Third Term Protest Chinese Article

似乎受占領華爾街抗議運動啟發，抗議市府官員任期制更改的示威者們也喊出「占領市府」的口號。（記者孟芳/攝影)

WorldJournal.com writes news article about The Day Democracy Died Third Anniversary Protest of the Term Limits Extension in New York City Hall Park.

More articles like these might help John Liu :

抗議者們高喊，「越來越多的人失業，越來越多的人無家可歸，我們要將彭博和柯魁英選下台」，抗議者們似乎得到占領華爾街抗議運動的啟發，不斷高呼要占領市府。活動發起人之一佛羅瑞斯(Louis Flores)表示，抗議由民間發起，希望選民能重視手中的選票，2013年等彭博任期滿時能選出真正代表民意、為民發聲的民選官員。

Early NY1/Marist College Mayoral Poll Shows Weiner Leads Pack

Poll on 2013 Mayoral Race Puts Weiner in First Place

From The New York Post :

By DAVID SEIFMAN City Hall Bureau Chief
Last Updated: 7:52 AM, April 2, 2011
Posted: 12:53 AM, April 2, 2011

Just about any of the candidates hoping to succeed Mayor Bloomberg in 2013 has a shot at the job -- except Eliot Spitzer.

A NY1/Marist College poll reported yesterday that the six most-mentioned contenders are tightly bunched as of now, with Rep. Anthony Weiner slightly ahead at 18 percent and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer bringing up the rear at 4 percent.

In between are former Comptroller Bill Thompson, 15 percent; City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Comptroller John Liu, both at 13 percent; and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, 9 percent. Most voters -- 27 percent -- are undecided.

"I think [the numbers] mean very little. At this state, it's primarily name recognition," said veteran consultant Jerry Skurnik. "Candidates who haven't even been listed in the polls have been elected two years later."

Spitzer, who left the governor's job after admitting liasons with hookers, remains a long shot for elective office.

Sixty-two percent of voters said they'd prefer he not run for mayor, compared to 29 percent who suggested he go for it.

The poll of 772 adults in the city was conducted March 22-24. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.