Adolfo Carrion: Triple Threat in (an otherwise despondent) NYC Mayoral Race 2013

Adolfo Carrion, the independent candidate for Mayor of New York City, is a triple threat:

1. He's independent
2. He cooks
3. He sings

I do think that Christine Quinn made a great effort on the Star Spangled Banner, but hey, good luck against Adolfo in November!

Let's get ready to rumble, rock, and rap...  have fun, and get your game on!!

See more about Adolfo Carrion's campaign here and here

Hankster News of the Day for Independent Voters - December 7

NYC INDEPENDENCE PARTY ORGANIZATIONS -- ANTI-CORRUPTION AWARDS

• MTA’s Lhota poised for GOP mayor run (By DAVID SEIFMAN City Hall Bureau Chief, NY POST) Independence Party strategist Jacqueline Salit said she has yet to hear from Lhota. A potential rival, former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, turned up at the party’s annual “anti-corruption awards” ceremony last weekend.
• Quinn: 'I've been independent for a long time' (By Azi Paybarah, Capital New York) The ceremony at the Tribeca Grill was the 13th Annual Anti-Corruption Awards, along with Carrion and Quinn, also included State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat who has met with local Republican chairmen about the possibility of running for mayor on that party's line. Pollster Doug Schoen, a Democrat who has done extensive work with Bloomberg and has carved out a niche doing surveys that find a public hunger for post-partisan centrism, was also in attendance…. Carrion said he had "declared my independence," and "it feels good."
• Mayoral hopefuls court city Independence Party (by Chris Bragg, Crain's New York/insider) Three mayoral hopefuls—Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Queens state Sen. Malcolm Smith and former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión—are expected to attend the New York City Independence Party’s “13th Annual Anti-Corruption Awards” ceremony this Sunday, a party spokeswoman said.
• 13th Annual Ant-Corruption Awards (Michael Drucker, The Independent View) WITH VIDEO - "A candidate's registration is not a deciding factor for us," Jacqueline Salit, a leader of the Independence Party said. "That's one of the great things about having fusion politics. But we're very gratified Carrion became an independent and we're very gratified that the three candidates came here today."
   NOTE: Michael Drucker is a Former Member, New York State Committee of the Independence Party (73rd AD - Eastside Manhattan) and 4th Term Member, New York City Independence Party Organizations - Manhattan Executive Committee and County Committee, representing the 73rd AD. He created his blog in April 2007.
• Christine Quinn Congratulates Jacqueline Salit (via @capitalnewyork) VIDEO
• Bill Thompson 'obviously' will talk with the Independence Party (By Azi Paybarah, Capital New York) In 2009, Bill Thompson received more votes for mayor on the Democratic line than Mayor Michael Bloomberg received on the Republican line, but Bloomberg prevailed in the unexpectedly close race thanks to the 150,073 votes he secured on the Independence Party line.

STORM SANDY
NY1 Blog: NY1's Bob Hardt Reports On Sandy From Rockaway Beach (NY1) There continues to be mounting frustration from other residents here. The Red Cross is quickly becoming the villain because it has been invisible. It's a bad sign for the world that Occupy Wall Street and a Sikh group from Queens are doing a better job at distributing hot food than the largest international relief group in the world. It was also bizarre to see Independence Party activist Lenora Fulani tour the area with State Senator Malcolm Smith -- but at least she's here.
NOTE: TO READ ONLINE, SCROLL MIDWAY DOWN THE PAGE

INTERVIEWS BY A BLACK INDEPENDENT

• 12/13: Interviews by a Black Independent (CRAIGSLIST AD)On Thursday December 13th, Dr. Lenora Fulani will be interview legendary jazz great, Roy Ayers.
• Imhotep’s guide to black events Dec. 6-12 (Amsterdam News) Dr. Lenora Fulani will interview Roy Ayers, a music legend and one of the most sampled artists in history.

NYC POLITICS

• Sharpton says Albany's new bipartisan power sharing deal leaves minorities out in the cold (By Kenneth Lovett / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) Sharpton said the deal prevents the black and Latino senators from chairing committees and setting an agenda that matters to their community — a right they should have earned when their party won 33 of 63 seats in the chamber.
• Rev. Al Sharpton to renegade New York State Senate Democrats: Don't form coalition with Republicans! (By Kenneth Lovett AND Glenn Blain / DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU) The powerful civil rights leader issued a statement warning renegade Democrats that they should play nice with their party.

LAST WORD
Election Results and Analysis (Pacific Dreams New York Life) Previous to Stein's historic success on Tuesday, the most votes ever received by a female presidential candidate were the nearly 220,000 votes won by Lenora Fulani, New Alliance Party candidate for president in 1988. (NOTE: The photo-montage on this blog by Gregory Rosenthal is worth a peek!)

Hankster News of the Day for Independent Voters May 17

CA TOP TWO

• Previous CA Election Rules Stacked Against Independent Voters (By Chad Peace, IVN) In California, the Democratic Party initially resisted but eventually chose to allow independents to participate in its primaries. The Republican Party refused to allow independent voters to participate in its primaries. Interestingly, in that time, the Republican Party shrunk precipitously, the Democrats held steady, and the percentage of voters choosing to join no party increased by approximately 30%.
• San Diego group pushes independent politics statewide - Architects of “top-two” primary system seek to organize unaffiliated voters (By Christopher Cadelago, UT San Diego) Co-chaired by former state lawmakers Steve Peace, a Democrat, and Jeff Marston, a Republican, the group has launched a $1.5 million campaign to increase turnout among voters declaring no party preference — about 3.6 million people accounting for a record 21.3 percent of the statewide electorate.

AMERICANS ELECT
Americans Elect Failure to Find Candidate Threatens Third-Party Dreams (by John Avlon, Daily Beast) Perhaps the biggest obstacle was the basic fact of this particular election cycle—when a president is running for reelection, it tends to be a referendum. Third-party candidacies do best when there is not an incumbent on the ballot or after an extended period of one-party rule with weak opposition.

NYC 2013 MAYORAL

• Kelly 2013 goes cold, but Catsimatidis isn't warming up (By Dana Rubinstein, Capital New York)
• Ray Kelly won't run for mayor, ex-Staten Island BP Guy Molinari says (Judy L. Randall, SI Advance) If Kelly's decision to absent himself from the run proves true, it will be good news for the Democrats poised to make the race, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, former mayoral candidate William Thompson, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
• So Many X Factors in Next Year's Race for NYC Mayor (Dominic Carter, Huffington Post) DeBlasio is someone who should not be underestimated. It is commendable how DeBlasio went from Hillary Clinton 2000 Senate campaign manager, to the City Council a year later, and now a citywide position from a crowded field of candidates, literally first in line to succeed the mayor should it be necessary.
• Ray Kelly’s Mayoral Dance Steps Back Toward ‘No’ (NY Mag/Daily Intel) Staten Island Borough President Ray Molinari, one of the biggest proponents of a Kelly run, came out of a lunch with the commissioner less than glowing yesterday.
• Quinn Confronts Banks in Bid to Become NYC’s First Gay Mayor (By Henry Goldman, Bloomberg) “She’s a throwback to the Irish-American political bosses in the history books,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute in Hamden, Connecticut. Its May 10 survey found that she led a five-candidate Democratic field with 26 percent approval, twice as much as her nearest rival. “She’s always thinking, ‘What do we need to win?’”

PEDRO ESPADA
Espada Guilty of Stealing Clinic's Funds (By TAMER EL-GHOBASHY, Wall Street Journal) It marked an ignominious turn for the elder Mr. Espada, who in 2009 became the state Senate president when he and three other senators defected from the majority Democrats and helped Republicans take over the chamber. The chaotic period helped solidify Albany's reputation for dysfunction.

EDUCATION REFORM
Suit seeks to overturn 'outdated' teacher job protections (LA Times) The founder of Students Matter is Silicon Valley entrepreneur David F. Welch, a research scientist who went on to co-found Infinera, a manufacturer of optical telecommunications systems based in Sunnyvale. “We are challenging a system that was fashioned by special interests and has burdened our schools with an inflexible environment for hiring and retaining the best teachers," said Welch.

Hankster News of the Day for Independents May 15

If you're independent, you won't be voting today in Idaho... Poor poor Michael Russnow, can't find Dianne Feinstein's name in the "clutter"! ... WI Gov Walker failing with indies... Americans Elect failing... Christine Quinn plays it safe to get the 2013 NYC Mayoral...

CA TOP TWO

• California Primary Ballot Hodgepodge: We Need a Return to Voting By Party Members Only (Michael Russnow, Screenwriter, former Member WGAW Board of Directors, former U.S. Senate aide, Huffington Post) Remembering that this was the year long-time incumbent Dianne Feinstein was running for re-election, I was hard pressed to find her in the ensuing clutter. Nor was it easier to find her opponents, none of whom I had ever heard of.
• “No Party Preference” Voters To Sway Senate District 15 (by Jane Susskind, IVN) Almost 28% of voters in Senate District 15 have opted out of the two-party system and are registered as “No Party Preference,” placing this district on our radar of races to watch.
• California focus - Feinstein strength exposes primary weakness (By THOMAS D. ELIAS, Ukiah Daily Journal) The top-two, or "jungle primary" system voters adopted for themselves and will use for the first time next month, will put the two leading finishers in every legislative and congressional race into November runoffs, regardless of their party affiliation. But U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein appears about to expose one wasteful difference between the new primary system and the way special elections have long operated: In special elections, if one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the first-round vote, there's no runoff. That candidate simply wins. Not so with the new primary setup. No one running for Congress will win outright next month.

IDAHO CLOSED PRIMARY

• 8 Things You Need To Know To Vote In Idaho’s Primary (Samantha Wright / Boise State Public Radio) Closed Primary:  This year, Idaho made the switch to a closed primary system.  The Idaho Republican Party sued the state to make this happen, as Party Executive Director Jonathan Parker explains. “We do believe that it is our right to essentially let Republicans chose Republican candidates, Democrats choose Democrat candidates, as these are the candidates who will be our standard bearers, carrying the torch for the Republican Party in November.
• Idaho Primary: Why The GOP Closed Its Ballot (By Samantha Wright, Boise State Public Radio) Grant says there was never a Democratic mandate to cross over and vote for someone in the GOP primary.  But he does say, in local races, a tiny fraction of Democrats have done this.  “And in many areas those races are decided in the Republican Primary.  So there are folks, I’m sure there are folks now, folks that are good Democrats that have registered as Republicans so they can vote in those local races.”… That could be a challenge for the 37 percent of Idahoans who label themselves Independent, according to a 2011 Public Policy Survey by Boise State University.

WISCONSIN RECALL
Poll: Wis. Gov. Walker leads Dem opponent by 9 points in recall (By Justin Sink, The Hill/ Blog Briefing Room) But Walker's lead shrinks among independent voters, among whom the incumbent governor holds just a three-point advantage. That's an encouraging sign for Barrett, who must make inroads among swing voters as well as rally his Democratic base.

AMERICANS ELECT
Americans Elect vote deadline hours away (Jonathan Tilove, The Times-Picayune) "Yes, the deadline is 11:59:59 tonight," Americans Elect spokesman Ileana Wachtel said in an email this morning, referring to the requirement that, in order to compete in the Americans Elect voting a candidate must first gain 1,000 clicks from supporters in each of 10 states. The leading declared candidate, by a mile, is former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, but as of today he had only 5,618 clicks, and the most from any single state is 583 from California.

NYC 2013 MAYORAL

• Speaker Christine Quinn primary sponsor of just two of 827 bills submitted to City Council since 2010 - Exclusive: Council sources say she avoids lending name to legislation so it won't hurt mayoral run (By Reuven Blau / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) The News’ review found that the most active Council member in terms of introducing legislation was Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan), who submitted 62 bills. They ranged from a measure requiring the city to post more statistical data online to one to force the city to purchase locally grown vegetables. Most of Brewer’s bills stalled in committee, but the mayor signed seven into law, including the measure to disclose city data. Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) was second, with 49 bills, followed by Councilman Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan), with 44.
• New York Voters Support Minimum Wage Increase, Poll Says (By THOMAS KAPLAN, NY Times/ City Room) Democrats and independent voters were strongly supportive of raising the minimum wage, the poll found, with 88 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents in support.

NYC 2013: The Search for a Post-Bloomberg Mayor

2013 NYC MAYORAL

• Union Contract Battle May Be On Horizon For Next Mayor (By: Courtney Gross, NY1) "It is not likely that there is going to be extra money to do that and I think most of the unions understand that," Bloomberg said. "No adminstration is going to have the money to give pay in the past."
• Irish Americans Christine Quinn and Ray Kelly lead race for mayor of New York (By HILDA HIGGINS, Irish Central) Kelly, a registered independent, showed a lot of support from GOP voters with 82 to 84 percent support in the survey but trails with Democrats by margins of 51 to 55 points.
• May 10, 2012 - Dems Top Kelly Big Time In New York City Mayoral Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Like Kelly As Top Cop, Not As Mayor (Quinnipiac) City Council Speaker Christine Quinn tops Kelly 48 - 33 percent; Former City Comptroller and 2009 Democratic candidate William Thompson leads Kelly 46 - 34 percent; Public Advocate Bill de Blasio beats Kelly 46 - 34 percent.   

• Republican chairs: Kelly hasn't started yet, and the Democrats aren't exactly running away with it (Briefing: Ray Kelly. Azi Paybarah, By Azi Paybarah, Capital New York) "To be polling under 50 percent," Isaacs said of the Democrats, "I think that sends red flags out and I think it firmly supports our contention that this will be a competitive race."
• G.O.P. chairs shift, bluntly, from Ray Kelly to John Catsimatidis (By Dana Rubinstein, Capital New York) "John Catsimatidis is again very high on everyone’s radar, as he has himself has said, he’s in the bullpen," said Isaacs. "And he’s indicated that if Commissioner Kelly does not run, then he’s inclined to do so, and we will be blessed as a party and as citizens of this city to have someone like John Catsimatidis as our mayor." Ragusa said Catsimatidis is "the type of person that I think we need at City Hall." Savino described former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion approvingly as "a conservative Democrat, and he, much like many other people, do not or cannot see the city of New York taking a step back to what it was pre-Rudy Giuliani,” said Savino.
• Dems betray the NYPD (By MICHAEL GOODWIN, NY Post) To hear the mob, you’d never know the NYPD has driven crime to historic lows and kept the city safe from another terrorist attack. Instead, its accusers — all Democrats — paint it as an army of jackbooted thugs trampling civil rights. They have no facts, only prejudices. And maybe the goal of preventing Kelly from running for mayor.

Mike Bloomberg at a June 2009 Independence Party Spring Chair Reception

Independent News of the Day, April 26

INDEPENDENTS RISING

• Book review: Independents Rising, by Jacqueline Salit (Ken Bingenheimer, National Common Ground Examiner) Buchanan was also warned that, "if you attempt to turn this party into a right-wing party, we will destroy your campaign." He did and they did.

NYC CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

• Money Is Corrupting Our Elections -- It Can Be Stopped (Ed Koch, Huffington Post) The committee should know that while it would be very helpful to have limits on campaign contributions and expenditures in New York State and elsewhere, as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in this area of election spending limitations, a program of limitations cannot be imposed on anyone. Those covered and bound by any such laws must voluntarily agree to be bound.

CA TOP TWO

• Brad Breithaupt: Independent voters won't be on the sidelines in this primary (By Brad Breithaupt, Marin Independent Journal) VOTERS WHO decline to join any of the political parties have mostly been bystanders in picking party nominees for state and federal offices. But this year, thanks to reforms passed by voters in 2010, they're important players in selecting the candidates who will be on the ballot in November.
• 'No party preference' is new political flavor in California (By Torey Van Oot, Sac Bee) Congressional candidate Linda Parks isn't one for conventional choices. As she tells voters in a recent television ad, her favorite ice cream flavor is not chocolate or vanilla, but the nuts-and-marshmallow-loaded Rocky Road. And her chosen party preference on the June 5 ballot? "None."

IL ELECTION LAW

• Our View: Illinois, where political independents go to die (PEORIA Journal Star) House Bill 2009 quietly became law on March 30, preventing anyone who votes in a partisan primary from running for public office as an independent in the following general election (or from running under a traditional party's banner if different than the ballot pulled in the primary). Even though passage of the bill and the governor's signature came after the March 20 primary, the law is being retroactively enforced so that it impacts this year's general election.

AZ REDISTRICTING

• Supreme Court shrugs off logic - Justices' reinstatement of map-panel head was a transparent arrogation of power (by Robert Robb, The Republic) Instead, the decision is disturbing because of the arrogation of power by the court and the slippery reasoning used to justify it.

NYC MAYORAL 2013

• A controlled disagreement between Christine Quinn and Michael Bloomberg (By Azi Paybarah, Capital New York) City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has taken pains to show that she acts independently of her ally, Michael Bloomberg. But sometimes Bloomberg says things that convey the opposite impression.
• NYDN Poll: Ray Kelly For Mayor? (BY Celeste Katz, NY Daily News/ Daily Politics) “He could be a contender,” said pollster Doug Schoen, who surveyed 600 city voters for The News. “He clearly is the last, best hope of the Republican Party at this point.”
• Ray Kelly for mayor? Nonsense (by Greg David, Crain's New York) The Kelly obsession keeps returning because there is a need for an alternative to the obvious Democrat choices. But if Mr. Kelly ever says yes, it will be quickly apparent that the emperor has no clothes. And then what will the instigators of this idea do?
• Scott Stringer Goes After Stop-and-Frisk, Does Not Criticize Ray Kelly In The Process (By Sam Levin, Village Voice/Runnin Scared) At the same time, though, it seems that Stringer tries to avoid using confrontational language when referring to Kelly, and today, he repeatedly found opportunities to praise the police commissioner and the NYPD's efforts at reducing crime.

LAST WORD(S)
NOTE: I usually reserve "Last Word" for the punditocracy of the left, however, I couldn't resist this Michael Goodwin piece in Fox News…

• Don't be fooled by third party scenarios as 2012 presidential race heats up (By Michael Goodwin, New York Post, in Fox News) They’re political locusts, noisy and bothersome as they emerge like clockwork from their hidey holes. We’re talking “third partiers,” and they find presidential elections irresistible, so brace yourself, America. You are about to be swarmed by those much holier than thou.
• Independent Voter or Independent Poser? Take the Test (Howard Steven Friedman, Statistician/Economist for International Organization, Columbia University, Huffington Post) Americans take pride in being individualistic. We often look down on the herd mentality of others, yet rarely identify it in ourselves. As with many things in life, when it comes to being an independent voter, actions speak much louder than words. If your actions show that you are a party loyalist, then embrace it. If your actions show that you are an independent voter, then embrace it.

NYC Mayor Bloomberg Charter Revision Commission: Nonpartisan Elections? Harry Kresky Sees a New Opening

Partisan gridlock... Political corruption.... Scandal...  Can a nonpartisan election system help?



NYC Independence Party attorney Harry Kresky attended the Baruch College forum on Charter Revision last month and raised the issue of nonpartisan elections as an issue that the Mayor appointed commission might want to take up.

Since then, the Commission has been constituted and City Council isn't happy about it...

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Mayor taps CUNY head to chair commission on charter revision (BY ADAM LISBERG, DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF)
• Island has just 1 representative on panel to revise City Charter (SI Advance, By Tom Wrobleski)
• Two Bronxites Named to City Charter Revision Commission (Bronx News Network)
• Bloomberg taps Marty's chief of staff for charter commission (By RICH CALDER, NY Post)
• Mike names reform panel for term limits (By DAVID SEIFMAN, NY Post)
• Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Charter Revision Commission has a bit of Brooklyn moxie. (YourNabe Brooklyn Hts)
• Goldstein: Charter change proposals will be on November ballot (BY ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Daily News/Daily Politics)
• RPA's Hope Cohen to serve on NYC Charter Revision Commission (Regional Plan Association)
• County Clerk Stephen Fiala to sit on charter commission charged with complete review of city government (By Peter N. Spencer, SI Advance)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OPEN PRIMARIES

• OR: Measure opens Ore. primaries to all voters (KTVZ Central Oregon)
• PA: Bill Would Let Independents Vote In The State Primaries (The Bulletin)

CAMPAIGN

• Independents split evenly between Obama and McCain (Associated Press) A recent Associated Press-GfK Poll showed them divided about evenly, 44 percent for Obama and 41 percent for McCain.
• Obama has four-point lead on McCain (Reuters) Zogby said that while Obama still had a 17-point lead among independent voters, this was down from 21 points on Sunday and showed that some independents remain to be persuaded.
• Race For the White House: Independents grow in numbers, clout (Omaha WORLD-HERALD) Since the 2004 presidential election, the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District has become less Republican and more independent.
• Graham: Obama Is Not A Centrist (CBS Face the Nation) Gov. Bill Ritter, D-Colo., said that the election "is going to be decided by independent voters, and independent voters care about the economy."
• In this race, all roads lead to Ohio (Lexington KY Herald Leader) Ohio doesn’t track voter registration numbers for each party because it has an open primary system in which people show up at the polls and choose which party’s primary to vote in.

THIRD PARTIES
Associated Press Story on McCain Endorsement by Reform Party is Misleading (Ballot Access News) None of the ballot-qualified Reform Parties have any connection with the meeting in Hicksville, New York, that endorsed McCain. Nevertheless, the Associated Press naively reported that “The” Reform Party had endorsed McCain.

NYC MAYOR MIKE AND TERM LIMITS
Christine Quinn is gambling for her political life (NY Daily News/Daily Politics) "She wants to stay in office, the Council wants to stay in office and the mayor wants to stay in office - after that, all bets are off," said political consultant Hank Sheinkopf. "It's a risky gamble for everyone."