TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS - Gaining Influence in Atlanta, Utah and NYC

Atlanta Mayoral candidates Mary Norwood and Kasim Reed fight for Tuesday's African American, gay and independent vote. Utah is 39% independent. And the New York "All-The News-That-Money-Sees-Fit-to-Print" Times chooses to report the NYC Independence Party's 150,000 vote in the mayoral race on Nov. 3 in a Sunday editorial yesterday about NY state campaign finance laws... Go figure! Oh - plus, NY press continues to go after the WFP...


ATLANTA MAYORAL

• Georgia Independent Voters Announces Support for Kasim Reed in Atalanta Mayoral Race (Press Release) Georgia Independent Voters (GIV) – a state-based association of independent voters will hold a press conference announcing endorsement of Atlanta mayoral candidate Kasim Reed. Monday, November 30, 2009 - 10:00 a.m., Atlanta City Hall, 68 Mitchell St SW, Atlanta, GA.
• Atlanta runoff neck and neck (By Errin Haines, Associated Press, Philadelphia Inquirer) "What it comes down to is if she gets more black votes than he gets white votes," said political strategist Tom Houck. "When people say race doesn't matter, obviously it does. There is no dominant issue that distinguishes these two other than she's a white woman and he's a black guy." While the folksy Norwood, 57, contrasts with the more serious and polished Reed, 40, both have focused in their campaigns on public safety, transparency, and accountability. Norwood, who says she is an independent, has been accused of being a closeted Republican, and Reed, a Democrat, has challenged her for the votes of another key minority, gay Atlantans.
• Black-white turnout key in Atlanta mayoral runoff (By ERRIN HAINES (AP)
• Debunking Some Runoff Myths As Atlanta Prepares For The Next Round (By Dr. Charles Bullock, Insider Advantage Georgia)
• Atlanta Mayoral Hopefuls in Dead Heat (By COREY DADE, Wall Street Journal) Meanwhile, Mr. Reed and his supporters have ratcheted up their attacks on Ms. Norwood, highlighting her inability to get a single of her proposals passed by the council in eight years as a member, challenging her record of supporting gay rights, and forcing her to defend her political affiliation as independent (and not Republican, as the Reed campaign and state Democrats have alleged).
• Atlanta mayoral candidates appeal to gay vote (By Richard Fausset, LA Times)

GOVERNORS RACES

• UTAH: Peter Corroon a step closer to race for governor (By Lisa Riley Roche, Deseret News) Only 13 percent of the respondents identified themselves as Democrats, while 39 percent said they were independent voters and another 39 percent, Republicans. 

NYC POLITICS

• It’s All About the Money (NY Times Editorial) Mr. Bloomberg won by a scant 50,000 votes, and he got at least 150,000 votes on that Independence line. That is very tidy housekeeping.
• Still Outnumbered, but Council Republicans Count on More Clout (By DAVID W. CHEN, NY Times) The new Council is expected to be more unpredictable, given the prospect of new, loosely fitting blocs like the Republicans and the candidates who opposed the rewriting of term limits and were powered by the Working Families Party.
• All In The Family Part 1 (By Edward-Isaac Dovere, City Hall) Using The Working Families Organization, The Working Families Draws Uncapped, Unrestricted Money And Lobbies The People It Helps Elect
• Oddo Still Top Dog (Strictly Political, By Tom Wrobleski, Staten Island Advance)