Mayoral candidate Bo Dietl spoke with the press today following an appearance at District Council 1707/AFSCME. Labor Press and AM 970 The Answer hosted a “Labor Appreciation Day” which included a panel on the future of Rikers Island. Dietl, along with Michael Palladino of the Detectives Endowment Association, Elias Husamadeen of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association and Gregory Floyd of Teamsters Local 237 were panelists and former police and corrections commissioner Bernard Kerik moderated.
Although Dietl’s press advisory promised a joint press conference with Kerik, Kerik departed immediately after the panel and did not participate in the press Q&A.
Topics included Kerik and how Dietl reconciles his criticism of Mayor de Blasio’s “corruption”, Kerik’s comment that children should be specifically taught how to safely interact with police, the continuing possibility of Dietl running in the Republican primary and possible union support, the “raise the age” initiative and mayoral control of schools. Here’s the wide ranging post-panel Q&A with Dietl:
Mayoral candidate Bo Dietl continues his effort at seeking a Wilson-Pakula, which would enable him to run in the Republican primary.
Under New York election law candidates may seek to run on the line of a party that they’re not registered in only with the permission of the party, granted via a “Wilson-Pakula” waiver. Dietl, who initially wanted to challenge Mayor de Blasio in the Democratic primary, ended up as a man without a party after the Board of Elections rejected the form he submitted seeking to change his registration from Republican to Democratic as improperly completed. Dietl now plans to run on a self-created ballot line, “NYC Cares” while also seeking the Reform Party and Conservative Party lines. (Prior reports are here and here.)
Speaking after a panel discussion on Rikers Island at a “Labor Appreciation Day” at D.C. 1707/AFSCME Dietl didn’t offer much detail but he did make clear that he continues to seek a Republican Wilson-Pakula. He also distances himself from political parties, however, calling himself a “moderate conservative Democrat” who has “evolved” away from the GOP. Today he said that he envisions himself in a position “where I don’t have to kiss Democrats or the Republicans butts, you know what I’m saying, I wanna kiss the peoples butts.”
Here are excerpts of Dietl’s comments to me and Laura Nahmias of Politico:
Mayoral candidate Bo Dietl continues seeking a Wilson-Pakula and the ability to run in the Republican primary. (Background is here.) I asked Dietl about his ongoing effort during a press conference on Thursday. He made clear that he’s still seeking one, but offered little on how he’s progressed in obtaining the support of at least three of the five Republican county committees.
Ain’t got enough. That was mayoral candidate Bo Dietl’s succinct assessment of rival candidate Paul Massey. Dietl is hoping to receive a Wilson-Pakula, a waiver from three of the five county Republican committees, to run in the Republican primary. Should he receive a Wilson-Pakula, Dietl would face Massey in a Republican primary.
Mayoral candidate Bo Dietl held his third press conference Thursday, appearing outside Governor Andrew Cuomo’s New York City office. The press conference featured Dietl reading a letter to Governor Cuomo in which Dietl urged Cuomo to initiate a NYS Board of Elections investigation into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s fundraising practices. Dietl read the letter at a previous press conference, but seemingly and inexplicably hoping for more a press conference with more cameras than just NYTrue.com’s camera, held an additional press conference for a second reading.
Dietl continued his attacks on Mayor de Blasio, with interwoven denunciations of de Blasio as lazy, corrupt and from Boston. Dietl touted his native-born status and his time as an NYPD detective as foundational to his qualifications for the mayoralty.
The Reform Party hosted a mayoral candidate forum Tuesday, with six candidates appearing and seeking the 2017 Reform Party nomination for New York City mayor. The participating candidates included Democrats Sal Albanese, Michael Tolkin and Kevin Coenen, Republicans Michel Faulkner and Rocky De La Fuente and currently man-without-a-party-but-hoping-to-run-as-a-Republican Bo Dietl. All expressed a desire to run on the Reform Party line in addition to that of their respective party.
The Reform Party was created in 2014 by Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino as the “Stop Common Core” ballot line. Winning more than 50,000 votes in that election brought a four year ballot existence for the party, which changed its name to the Reform Party. Astorino and his allies lost control of the party, however, with Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa taking control. (There’s a separate and unaffiliated Reform Party that is part of the national Reform Party of the United States.) According to Sliwa, the Reform Party’s 18 committee members will select the party’s mayoral nominee, likely in late April or May.
Video – Here are the six candidates giving short introductions:
John Catsimatidis is not yet a 2017 mayoral candidate, having neither formally declared himself to be one nor having created a campaign account with the NYC Campaign Finance Board, but he’s acting like one with frequent political appearances. Among his recent political appearances was a brief speech to kick-off a Reform Party mayoral candidate forum held last Tuesday.
Catsimatidis, who finished second to Joe Lhota in the 2013 mayoral primary, played a mixed role of potential candidate and elder statesman. He praised the six candidates seated in front of him for engaging in politics while criticizing “professional politicians” who “glom.” Catsimatidis, a prolific contributor to politicians, also spoke critically of political pay to play. He closed with a pep talk to the six candidates and possible Catsimatidis rivals, only one of whom has held elective office.
NYTrue.com was offline for a few days, in the aftermath of a cyber attack on the server hosting our site. We’re back, fully restored and ready to make up for lost time. We’ll be posting a few items from last week to catch up.
Insight, analysis and reporting on New York and national politics