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.

Follow the Money : Tom Allon Analysis

Follow the Money analysis of Tom Allon's campaign finance disclosures :

Our first 2013 Mayoral candidate pops up quickly, thanks to the alphabet. Allon is a newspaper publisher and a Republican candidate for Mayor. He’s a big spender, and I had to recognize 11 different categories for his use of $309,980.50.

His campaign started in July of 2011, when he gave his first campaign consultant $7,250. He purchased NGP VAN the same day and was in an office space a week later. ...

Read more : Allon, Tom F Mayor (2013)

Quinn Retreats on NYC Version of Citizens United-Like Law

Christine Quinn Delays Hearing on Campaign Bill

From The New York Times :

Christine C. Quinn, the speaker of the City Council, has delayed action on a bill that would loosen regulations on spending by unions and advocacy groups in New York City elections, as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg denounced the measure as “a terrible idea” and “really not good for democracy.”

... The measure would allow advocacy groups like unions to work directly with candidates on political communications with their members, who often make up influential voting blocs in city races. The costs for those activities would not be counted against a candidate’s spending limit, leading critics to argue the bill would unleash a torrent of unchecked spending by outside groups. ...

Tom Allon, a candidate for the Republican mayoral primary, said he was opposed to Speaker Quinn's weakening of the city's campaign finance laws, and he sharply criticized Ms. Quinn in an interview with The New York Times.

Read more : Christine Quinn Delays Hearing on Campaign Spending Bill

Tom Allon : Mandate Foreign Language Education

The United States is falling behind in international education standards, and one area where we lack a clear advantage is in being able to communicate in languages spoken in foreign countries.

Tom Allon at education forum: Eliminate testing in grades 1 through 5, mandate foreign language and science instruction in elementary.

— Josh Greenman (@joshgreenman) November 21, 2012

For example, in France, all students are required to pick a foreign language in 6th grade, which each student will continue to learn until 12th grade. And then, in 8th grade, students against pick a second foreign language, which the student will learn concurrently with the first, all the way until 12th grade. In France, students graduate with proficiency in speaking three languages : French, and their two elective foreign languages.

Meanwhile, in the United States, we are lucky if students graduate with fluency in just one language. Leadership provided by Tom Allon's proposal would improve our education standards, not the least of which would also foster a truly global sensibility among America's youth.

Adolfo Carrion Pass Fake Candidacy ?

Former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr., is expected to enter the race for mayor in 2013 as a candidate for the Republican nomination, The New York Times reported.

Mr. Carrión joins an close political ally of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, George McDonald, the founder and president of the Doe Fund, in trying to draw votes away from Republican candidate Tom Allon.

Mayor Bloomberg used donations to the Doe Fund to buy "astroturf" support to overturn term limits. And The New York Times reported that Mr. Carrión has been a supporter of Mayor Bloomberg.

In similar fashion, it is being said that Mayor Bloomberg may be resorting to alternative strategies to thwart the candidacies of mayoral hopefuls, who are seeking to challenge New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn for higher office. Mayor Bloomberg is trying to personally install Speaker Quinn as his chosen successor.

Tom Allon NYC Marathon Postponement Statement

Mayoral Candidate Tom Allon Statement on the NYC Marathon

New York City 2013 mayoral candidate has just issued this statement on the controversy of using valuable city resources for the NYC Marathon in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy :

"We're living in a highly-charged and evolving crisis and the Mayor's leadership has been sound thus far. Second guessing the Mayor's decision on the scheduling of the Marathon is an easy way for the Democratic Mayoral candidates for 2013 to get attention and score points with outraged New Yorkers. The anger that is being expressed by the elected leaders of Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens reflects the concerns and frustrations being felt for the ongoing hardships of their constituents. For them, the Marathon symbolizes misplaced priorities.

"Personally, I would have delayed the Marathon for at least a week, like the Knicks-Nets game was postponed for four days, so that we can concentrate on helping all those in need and getting our electricity and mass transit back."

Allon Becomes Republican To Help Mayoral Bid

Tom Allon switches crosses over to the GOP in an effort to break through the strangle-hold that Christine Quinn's political machine has over the Democratic Party.

Christine Quinn Tainted Donations

Read Tom Allon's editorial in The New York Daily News :

"I used the database set up by the law — and Quinn’s public disclosures — to find at least $250,000 in campaign funds she has raised for this election cycle under the old rules. ... Straight away, the Council should amend Local Law 34 to make it retroactive."

Read More : "This campaign cash is tainted — Quinn must give it back : Fundraising rules from 2008 should apply retroactively"

Tom Allon Education Reform Speech

Yesterday, mayoral candidate Tom Allon delivered a major speech about reforming New York City's education system. His common sense approach is refreshing, given Mayor Michael Bloomberg's top-down approach to mayoral control.

Video will be posted soon. Keep coming back.

2012-05-23 Tom Allon Education Speech-2013 NYC Mayoral Candidate

Tom Allon Criticises Quinn

Tom Allon Criticises Christine Quinn and Rudin Project Hearing for St. Vincent's Hospital

New York City mayoral candidate in the 2013 election, Tom Allon, offers his commentary about the logistics and the restrictions of the final hearing, where voters and residents could provide public testimony, about the Rudin family's controversial plans to convert St. Vincent's Hospital into luxury condominiums.

Mayoral Candidate Tom Allon Pledges to Open City Hall to Bloggers, Citizen Journalists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 17, 2012
Press Contact: Evan Burr (917-686-8554)

Mayoral Candidate Tom Allon Pledges to Open City Hall to Bloggers, Citizen Journalists

Allon Vows His Administration Will Be Most Transparent in NYC History

NYC mayoral candidate Tom Allon pledged today that when he is elected mayor he will open up the City Hall press corps to include bloggers and citizen journalists to an unprecedented extent.

Allon, who is the publisher of a family of community newspapers and a former journalist, vowed to make his administration the most open and transparent in the city's history.

"Why is it that right now City Hall gets to decide who gets credentialed to cover it? That’s like the fox guarding the henhouse. When I am mayor I am going to invite questions from anyone who dedicates themselves to the free and open exchange of information, be it through political blogs like Room Eight, True News, and The Perez Notes, or neighborhood blogs like Boogie Downer in the Bronx, Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, Queens Crap, Washington Square Park Blog in Manhattan or the Staten Island Treasure Blog," said Allon.

"Citizen journalists like Katia Kelly, Rafael Martinez Alequin, Rock Hackshaw, and Heather Letzkus have become one of the great bulwarks against corruption and incompetence we have in this city. In this age of media consolidation and newsroom layoffs, the Mayor owes it to the public to empower our tremendous community newspapers, ethnic media, bloggers and citizen journalists to ask the questions that matter most to their readers. If sunlight is the best disinfectant, it's time that we let the sun shine in to City Hall."

Allon said that rather than the current system of City Hall and the NYPD making the determination who is a legitimate reporter that he would appoint a nonpartisan, blue-ribbon independent commission of journalists, publishers, civil rights attorneys, and bloggers to determine the criteria for who is eligible for press credentials. He emphasized that public safety and security concerns would not be discounted from the new criteria, but that they would not be used as an excuse to curb the freedom of the press.

* * * *

Christine Quinn Described As "Standard Political Flimflam"

In Exchange of Tweets Last Night, Talking Points Memo editor casts New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in dark light.

Josh Marshall, the editor and publisher of Talking Points Memo, called Christine Quinn "standard political flimflam," describing his experience with her as "very negative."

The exchange of Tweets was in regards to 2013 mayoral candidate Tom Allon's full-page newspaper advertisement criticising Speaker Quinn over the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital.

Tom Allon Releases Fierce St. Vincent's Campaign Ad

Tom Allon Shows Courage In Confronting Christine Quinn On St. Vincent's Hospital Closing.

In a fierce new campaign ad, New York City mayoral candidate Tom Allon asks, "Did Christine Quinn Bet Your Life To Become Mayor ?" The headline appears above a screenshot of City Council Speaker Quinn kissing billionaire real estate developer Bill Rudin at an October 18, 2011, speech sponsored by Mr. Rudin's lobbying group, the Association for a Bitter New York.

In the ad, Mr. Allon said :

The cynical backroom deal that led to the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital demonstrates clearly how much New Yorkers have riding on who we elect as our next Mayor.

As long as we have a government that allows the rich and powerful to use their influence to close down desperately needed hospitals and build luxury condominiums, we are all at risk.

I am running for Mayor to bring an end to the era of pay-to-play politics. It’s about time we had a Mayor who put the people’s interests first.