Category Archives: 2013 Mayoral Race

Mayoral Mashup



In our Mayoral Mashup we talk with voters, as well as political and policy leaders, about what they see as the most important issue facing New York City’s next mayor.

For this Mayoral Mashup we spoke with voters attending a mayoral candidate forum co-sponsored by the Daily News and Metro IAF, focused on crime and public safety, asking one simple question:  What do you see as the most important issue that our next mayor will face upon taking office?  Watch to find out what they had to say.

Republican Primary Voters – Where to Find Them #2



As part of our continuing coverage of the Republican mayoral primary, we look at Republican voter registration by council district.*

The most basic challenge for all of the Republican candidates is finding and reaching their potential primary voters.  Those potential primary voters are a small minority in the city, comprising 10% of all registered voters and only 6% of the total population.  They are outnumbered by registered Democrats by more than 6 to 1. Continue reading Republican Primary Voters – Where to Find Them #2

Democratic Mayoral Candidates – All In, For Now



With John Liu’s expected formal campaign kickoff on Sunday, the Democratic mayoral field appears to be set.  Four “major” candidates, Christine Quinn, Bill de Blasio, John Liu and Bill Thompson, and a couple of lesser candidates, are in.

The next big change in the field will likely come when one, or both, of the citywide officeholders in the race faces a reality check.  Bill de Blasio and, presumably as of Sunday, John Liu have declared that they are giving up their current citywide office and running for mayor.  Presently, public polling shows both significantly trailing Christine Quinn, and with only modest recent gains for de Blasio and little change for Liu.  Both are in their first term, and term limits do not apply to them in this cycle.  Both would likely be readily re-elected, although John Liu would face the somewhat tricky circumstance of dealing with Scott Stringer’s candidacy.  (The four Democratic candidates for Public Advocate would not present such a problem for de Blasio.)

Will one, or both, rethink their target office when petitioning begins in early June?  Absent significant poll movement, it seems likely.  Stay tuned as they each try to emerge as the clear alternative to Christine Quinn.

~     John Kenny

Calling All Republican Candidates for Public Advocate …



That list appears to be shorter than the list of Democratic council members calling for a 4th Bloomberg term.

As far as NYTrue.com can determine, there are not yet any Republican candidates for Public Advocate.  (There are four, recently down from five, active Democratic candidates.)

At the Republican mayoral candidate forum hosted by Crain’s today, I briefly spoke about this with two Republican county chairs.  Dan Isaacs of Manhattan and Craig Eaton of Brooklyn both confirmed that they do not know of any publicly declared Republican candidates for Public Advocate.  They also, however, said that they hope to make a unified choice of a candidate, suggesting that they hope that one of the current mayoral candidates ends up as the Republican Public Advocate candidate.  They both added that they think the office of Public Advocate should be abolished.

If you are, or plan to be, a Republican candidate for Public Advocate, please let us know – we would like to talk with you.

Update:  You can find our coverage of the Democratic candidates here.

Catsimatidis v. MTA (Round 1)



Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis and Assembly Member Nicole Malliotakis held a press conference today to criticize the MTA and it’s scheduled increase of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge toll.

In this report, we cover what Catsimatidis had to say about some of his rivals, including one who was chairman of the MTA, and his suggestion as to how two of those rivals could help the Republican Party.

We’ll have more about their press conference in a later report.

Mayoral Mashup: 31st CD Special Election Edition



In our Mayoral Mashup we talk with voters, as well as political and policy leaders, about what they see as the most important issue facing New York City’s next mayor.

For this Mayoral Mashup we spoke with Rockaway voters participating in the 31st Council District special election and asked one simple question:  What do you see as the most important issue that our next mayor will face upon taking office?  Watch to find out what they had to say.

You can watch previous Mayoral Mashups here (with voters at a mayoral candidate forum) and here (with Dick Ravitch).

Republican Primary Voters: Where to find them



As the Republican mayoral primary heats up, the candidates face a fundamental challenge: finding their primary voters in overwhelmingly Democratic New York City.  To develop a more detailed understanding of the Republican search for primary voters, we’ve been doing some analysis of voter registration and voter activity (as well as answering candidate robocalls).  This first step in our analysis focuses on registered voters.  We will discuss voting patterns, likely voters and turnout in a later post.

Continue reading Republican Primary Voters: Where to find them

The Cat Man (Updated x 2)



As he was about to begin a press conference this morning (focused on expanding vocational education programs), John Catsimatidis previewed a possible new campaign slogan.  Perhaps he was responding to a critical review of other mayoral candidates campaign logo’s.  Or, perhaps he just likes campaigning.

As we noted last week here at NYTrue.com, he has already adapted well to the new 140 character universe.

Update #2:  I received an email this evening from the Catsimatidis campaign advising that the twitter handle I referenced in item 1) below “is not affiliated” with the Catsimatidis campaign.  I’ve therefor deleted item 1).  I understand that @Jcats2013 remains as the campaign’s twitter handle.  My apologies for any confusion.

Updates:

1)  [deleted]

2)  It is interesting that the candidate formerly known as John Catsimatidis chose to reveal his new persona to leading political reporter Azi Paybarah.  Both of them have recently undergone life changing Twitter-shortenings Twitter-trimmings.  They also crossed paths in a previous NYTrue.com special feature.

Republican Primary Rundown: The @Jcats2013 Edition



The Republican mayoral race has burst into public view, with at least seven candidates and hope-to-be candidates.   My prediction?  It’s Catsimatidis and Lhota, with the wildcard of A.R. Bernard.  Here’s a quick rundown on the Republican primary field:

1.  John Catsimatidis:  Which recent Republican nominee will he most resemble?  A schlubby version of Michael Bloomberg, a self-made, self-financing successful businessman and effective CEO focused on serious campaign issues and governing, albeit with a thick New York accent, $100 suits and a messy haircut?  Or the New York City version of the Carl Paladino Clown Show?

Continue reading Republican Primary Rundown: The @Jcats2013 Edition

Mayoral Mashup: The Mayoral Forum Edition



In our Mayoral Mashup, we talk with political and policy leaders about what they see as the most important issue facing New York City’s next mayor.

On January 24th, the New York Daily News and Metro IAF hosted a mayoral candidate forum, with Errol Louis moderating the six-candidate discussion.  We conducted our own Mayoral Mashup with audience members after the forum, in which we asked one simple question:  What do you see as the most important issue that our next mayor will face upon taking office?  Watch to find out what they had to say.

“Outer” Boroughs No More: May the Major Boroughs Prevail



 

Let us shed the term “outer boroughs” and enable the Major Boroughs to proclaim their rightful dominance in city politics.

“Outer Boroughs” has long been used as a shorthand reference to everything non-Manhattan.  Implicit in the moniker is their lesser status, away from the true center of all things worthy, and dependent on the “inner” borough for support.  Like workers in the field, they are expected to wait for beneficence to be sent out from inside the castle wall.

The four “outer” Boroughs are, however, anything but.  They are the majority in number, the majority in population, the majority in land area, the majority in the number of elected representatives, the majority in, well, just about everything.  In short, as the majority in everything except media company headquarters and hot air, they are truly the Major Boroughs.

Continue reading “Outer” Boroughs No More: May the Major Boroughs Prevail