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: