Public Advocate Candidates Debate, On-Air and Off

In what is likely the only televised Public Advocate primary debate, five Democratic candidates jousted on-air last week.  (Video of the full debate is available here from NY1.)  The race remains both close and out of the public eye, with the most recent public poll (from NBC 4 NY/WSJ/Marist) reporting that 49% of “likely” Democratic primary voters are undecided.  Of the likely voters who have a preferred candidate, it’s 16% for Tish James, 12% for Cathy Guerriero, 12% for Daniel Squadron, 3% for Reshma Saujani and 2% for Sidique Wai.

We spoke with all five candidates after the debate.  Exclusive video, and a short account of each candidate, follows: Continue reading Public Advocate Candidates Debate, On-Air and Off

Stringer & The Campaign Finance Board: The 2005 Edition

In his last competitive primary, Scott Stringer was fined over $72,000 by the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) for exceeding the primary spending limit.  The CFB audit results are available on the CFB website.

One of Stringer’s main lines of attack in his comptroller race against Eliot Spitzer has been Spitzer’s decision to not participate in the NYC campaign finance system and to instead self-fund.  Stringer lauds the campaign finance program and publicly urges Spitzer to abide by the program’s spending limits. Continue reading Stringer & The Campaign Finance Board: The 2005 Edition

Rockaway Hospital Rally

1199SEIU held a rally this week to push for the continuing operation of St. John’s Hospital in Far Rockaway.  St. John’s is the sole hospital on the Rockaway peninsula, Peninsula Hospital having closed last year.

We’ll start our coverage with a brief clip of Dante de Blasio speaking at the rally.  (We’re unclear on why the MC referred to him as Jonathan … but we think it’s Dante.)

Spitzer in Flatbush (Updated)

We caught up with Eliot Spitzer last night, while he was campaigning in Flatbush.

I asked Spitzer about the recent Fred Dicker column in which Dicker reported that “[a]n increasingly nervous Gov. Cuomo” is considering acting to try to block a Spitzer victory, and whether there’s any reason that Governor Cuomo should worried about the prospect of a Spitzer victory.

Update:

Here’s a brief clip of Spitzer with people on the street.

Crown Heights Today

After a mayoral candidate forum on tolerance and cultural sensitivity, hosted by the New York Museum of Tolerance at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, we spoke with forum moderator Errol Louis about Crown Heights and the neighborhood perspective 22 years after racially driven rioting in the neighborhood.  Our discussion with Louis, a longtime Crown Heights resident, also included Chanina Sperlin of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council.

Stringer Spitzer Slugfest: Round 2

Scott Stringer and Eliot Spitzer slogged through Round 2 of their slugfest Monday night.  They participated in a debate organized by the New York City Campaign Finance Board and moderated by Errol Louis and Brian Lehrer.  As widely reported, the candidates were  notably aggressive, sparring the full length of the debate, and continuing to trade jabs afterwards.

Following the debate, the candidates separately spoke with the media.  We have the full availability for each candidate,

Eliot Spitzer:

Scott Stringer:

Dominican Day Parade – Candidates Edition (Updated x 3)

Mayoral candidates flocked to today’s Dominican Day Parade.

To start our coverage, here’s a short clip from Anthony Weiner’s parade visit.  It’s important to note that Anthony Weiner wore his special red pants to the parade.  To set the scene, during a momentary break in the parade I put my camera down on a very short tripod, with this clip as the result.

Update #1 – Eliot Spitzer:

We spoke briefly with comptroller candidate Eliot Spitzer.  (We also looked for Scott Stringer.  A group of his supporters marched past, but he was not with them.)

Update #2 – Erick Salgado:

We spoke with mayoral candidate Erick Salgado about his exclusion from an upcoming mayoral candidate debate to be televised on WABC-TV.

Update #3 – Anthony Weiner:

Here’s a montage of Anthony Weiner marching running through the parade.

Republican Lovefest (Updated)

The three Republican mayoral candidates faced off in a debate hosted by WABC-TV, and co-sponsored by Noticias 41 Univision, the Daily News and the League of Women Voters.  John Catsimatidis, Joe Lhota and George McDonald agreed on many issues and had a civil, friction-free debate.  (Some prior debates and forums, including a debate broadcast on NY1 on July 10th, have featured more fraught interactions.)  The debate was held on Friday, August 10th and will be broadcast on Sunday August 12th.

We spoke with each of the candidates immediately after the debate.  (Full video after the jump.) Continue reading Republican Lovefest (Updated)

Stringer Spitzer Slugfest (Updated)

The Democratic candidates for comptroller smiled and punched their way through their first debate yesterday.  Hosted by WABC-TV 7, along with co-hosts Noticias 41 Univision, the Daily News and the League of Women Voters of the City of New York, it was the first campaign encounter between Scott Stringer and Eliot Spitzer.  The race is essentially a referendum on Eliot Spitzer, both his past and his prospective suitability for the comptroller’s office, and both candidates approached the debate that way.  Stringer repeatedly raised Spitzer’s prostitution scandal, with additional attacks on his shortcomings as governor.  Spitzer countered by focusing on his record as attorney general, particularly his Wall Street cases.

At the conclusion of the debate, both candidates separately answered media questions.

Here is Eliot Spitzer’s full availability.  It begins with a little bit of a media rush, prompting Spitzer to remark that “this feels like Union Square again.”  Once things were sorted out (and our camera in place), Spitzer answered questions on topics such as Scott Stringer’s attacks, how much money Spitzer actually plans to spend on the campaign and criticism from Crain’s.

In this excerpt from Scott Stringer’s availability he answers questions from Josh Robin of NY1 and Marcia Kramer of WCBS-TV concerning Stringer’s initial pledge to not discuss Spitzer’s “personal life” and his more recent move to focus on Spitzer’s patronizing of prostitutes five years ago.  As Stringer notes, “maybe I have a different view of what constitutes personal life.”

Update:

Here is the full recording of Scott Stringer’s media availability.

Mayoral Forum: Laurelton Edition

Following a candidate forum hosted by the Concerned Citizens of Laurelton Civic Organization on August 1st, Anthony Weiner took questions from the press for a few minutes.  At times testy, he criticized the media’s focus on his sexting scandal.  He accurately noted that when a rival attacked him during the forum, the audience cheered not the attacking rival, but the moderator who demanded that the attacks cease.

Watch the full press availability.

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