It’s a no-go for Bo in the Republican mayoral primary, as Bo Dietl tweeted this afternoon that he is giving up his renewed effort at obtaining a waiver which would allow him to run in the Republican mayoral primary.
Dietl unsuccessfully sought a Wilson-Pakula, a waiver from the Republican Party which allow him to run in the Republican primary, early in his campaign. He also brought a lawsuit, which failed, seeking a court order allowing him to run. Dietl recently renewed his effort at obtaining a Wilson-Pakula, with some success. Monday evening the Queens Republican Party endorsed Dietl over Nicole Malliotakis, providing a significant reenergizing of his effort. Although it appeared that he had a significant chance at receiving Bronx County Republican support, Dietl faced a difficult challenge in finding additional required support and has now ended his effort at running in the Republican primary. He continues his effort at running on a self-created ballot line in the November general election, however.
Queens County Republican Chairman Bob Turner, whose organization backed Dietl Monday night after initially backing Paul Massey, confirmed that Dietl’s effort at a Wilson-Pakula is over. Turner said that the “Party will unite behind Nicole”, but that he does not expect Queens will hold a formal vote and endorsement.
Calls to Dietl’s spokesman and campaign manager were not immediately returned.
Update – Statement from Bo Dietl:
Here is the full statement issued by Dietl.
“Bo Dietl is no longer seeking the endorsement of New York City’s Republican party and will not run on the GOP line in the mayoral primary. The candidate has become appalled by the backroom politics of the Republican party and believes his best chance of connecting with voters on the issues is to run as an Independent candidate in November.
“Earlier this week I overwhelmingly received the endorsement of the Queens County Republican Club,” says Dietl. “While I am grateful to Congressman Bob Turner and honored that he and his colleagues chose to support me based on my platform and policies, I’m learning that the Republican Machine in the other boroughs runs on dirty politics, and that is not something I want to be associated with.
“It’s a throwback to the days when Tammany Hall ruled the city with patronage and fear, and the crooked dealings of its leaders amount to less choice for city voters. This is not the party that will defeat Mayor de Blasio and enact real change in New York City, which is what I want to do. Republican operatives are bent on propping up a hateful and divisive candidate and our values are out of sync. Party leaders want Nicole Malliotakis to run unopposed and deny voters of the option of choosing a candidate like myself that actually supports the rights of gay people and minorities. She is a coward, and her minions are pathetic. I soundly defeated her by a vote of 16-3 at the Queens County Republican Club on Monday. I was seeking the party line to give myself the best chance of beating de Blasio, but I’m a registered Democrat and my politics are independent of party ideology. I’m socially inclusive and I want to reach out to everyone in this great diverse city.”
This comes as more and more New Yorkers on both sides of the aisle are identifying with with the former detective’s leadership and vision. In a Facebook poll conducted by Jump 450 Media over the weekend, 906 New York City social media users were asked who they’d vote for in a head to head match up between Bo Dietl and Bill de Blasio. 75% of the polling respondents chose Bo, who won the survey by the landslide margin of 680-226.”