The Quest to Stop the Pantsuit: NYC mayoral election 2013

Weinerschwanz leads La Pantsuit in a WSJ/WNBC poll, 25-20%, for the Dem primary. That's big "news," apparently. Of course this is within the margin of error, but poll poll poll. God, how I hate politics.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Anthony-Weiner-Frontrunner-NYC-Mayoral-Race-Poll-Christine-Quinn-213008841.html

Would appreciate if anyone can make a case for any candidate in here, I'm legit undecided other than probably not gonna vote for Quinn.

p4reene recently tweeted the conclusion I came to at least 6 months ago: DeBlasio by default. He's the most non-corporatist (yes it's relative); Liu is a crook, Thompson is essentially a Republican ringer as he proved 4 years ago.

I will abstain from a Quinn-Weiner runoff. (I might actually vote for Liu if he could sneak into the next round. "Vote for the crook, it's important.")

Just listening to Quinn's or Weiner's voice daily for 4 years... God Almighty.

Yeah I think I have been feeling a bit that way too -- no interest in Thompson, some interest in Liu or even Weiner (don't hate him as much as you do) but they're both tainted. So maybe DeBlasio is the best bet, but otoh I don't find him that impressive, and I find his "HEY LOOK, I HAVE AN INTERRACIAL FAMILY!!!" schtick a little weird.

the selling of the mayor

son does have an awesome 'fro tho

deblasio apparently has 'evolved' on some issues recently

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2013/06/8531063/de-blasio-who-called-sadik-khan-radical-comes-around-expansion-bike?--bucket-headline

bike lanes are kind of a no-brainer for a guy trying to be the candidate of the left wing of the party. The wrong stance on that is going to turn off a huge chunk of your base.

it took him a while to realize that

UFT endorsed Thompson, but the CUNY union just came out for DeBlasio

But in spite of being married to a UFT member, I hardly give a fuck what their leadership thinks

bike lanes top gay marriage as an issue I don't give a flying fuck about

but apparently Weiner usta shout at Bloomberg a couple years ago "hey Mike, I'm gonna tear out all yer fucking bike lanes!" He has since 'evolved' to "There are good bike lanes and bad bike lanes."

Bike lanes are kind of a symbolic issue for me. I don't even ride a bike. I believe in them in principal, but I think we're a long way off from them actually having a major impact on reducing car usage in the city. Nonetheless, they seem emblematic of a broader way of thinking that I support. I guess I support a candidate that generally *gets* the idea that the city shouldn't be making itself more friendly to cars at this point, and that our long term approach needs to be to move in the other direction.

I just want the MTA to put the goddamn B67 bus back on overnights.

yeah well the mayor doesn't have much say in that

I'm guessing the bike thing is probably a matter of balancing the wants of a large base of young lefty new yorkers with a small group of old, moneyed, donatin' new yorkers.

or just ppl who don't wanna be run over

link to data showing that bike lanes make you even 1% more likely to "be run over"

links links links, the sole source of truth

Weiner vs reality!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/27/anthony-weiner-stands-by-claim-that-west-bank-isn-t-occupied-by-israel.html

I'm guessing the bike thing is probably a matter of balancing the wants of a large base of young lefty new yorkers with a small group of old, moneyed, donatin' new yorkers.

I think its more young lefty new Yorkers vs truck driving union outer borough left

ie deblasio sees himself as a man of the people because he *does* drive

that weiner israel shit is weiiiiird, did not know about that

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/nyc/nyc06272013.pdf/

50% of people 18-25 think bike lanes should be increased, 21% decreased
11% and 34 for people 65+

50/20 citibike approval, also

but also on my point above - 67% approval for people making 100k, 44% for under 40k

that's such a 21st century class weirdness when you think about it -- bikes for the elite, cars for the proles

interesting that mandatory food waste recycling is much more popular among hispanic and black voters than white voters, wonder what accounts for that

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/in-email-to-jta-quinn-says-west-bank-disputed-territory/2013/07/12/

lol "breaking"

controversial claim there

I mean, the article reads in "disputed" to mean something other than occupied. But I wouldn't really surmise that.

O, may this rescue us from a Schwanz-Quinn runoff

http://www.salon.com/2013/07/23/weiner_cops_to_carlos_danger_sexts/

i'm psyched for mayor quinn medicine woman

surely weiner's sexual pathology is not [just] that he gets off on sending around photos of his penis, but that he is really turned on by the subsequent shame of getting caught

I'm trying to resist playing armchair psychotherapist (a silly phrase, fwiw, since psychotherapists actually do work from armchairs), but there is definitely SOMETHING pathological about this beyond just blowing off steam, cheating, being horny etc.

Of course, someone was probably sitting on this, waiting for the right moment to use it. But that doesn't really make it look any better.

it's all probably a valve for self-loathing that comes from saying "Gaza is not occupied" in public.

you mean the west bank

hasn't he said both?

The West Bank is the one that's especially weird to claim it's not occupied. Israel removed its soldiers stationed in Gaza and forced out the few thousand Israeli settlers that lived there in 2005, so there's at least a plausible argument that it's no longer officially "occupied" (even though Israel controls its borders and imposes harsh conditions on its economy).

why is "the pantsuit" allowed to be used a shorthand for quinn? (nb: I dislike quinn intensely) that's not a good look for this thread right?

anyway, weiner has no chance now right? and is there even a remote possibility that de blasio could become viable as the non-quinn candidate? or is it too late for that?

and a la 2nd ave sagas, why the endless talk about ferries??
http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/07/23/as-triboro-rx-looms-a-mayoral-race-on-ferries-emerges/

Weiner's campaign has hours left, if has a brain in his... well.

The Pantsuit was the nicest moniker I could come up with, that's the kind of pig I am. Deal.

One would presume CQ is not going to get the 40% needed to avoid a runoff, so whoever finishes second becomes the non-Quinn candidate. All deBlasio has to do is edge out the Crook and the Empty Suit.

Liu was campaigning outside of my subway stop yesterday morning. I helped throw away some flyers I guess. Don't understand what would make someone choose him of all people as a candidate-of-choice. Does he have some compelling platform I'm unaware of?

I like Liu on a good number of issues -- he has some of the "shareholder activism" interests of Spitzer, and he's at least partly on my side of things on education. The fundraising scandal may hurt him a bit. But honestly I'm not too happy with my choices right now and I'm not ruling him out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/25/nyregion/among-new-york-women-bafflement-at-the-loyalty-shown-by-weiners-wife.html

maybe she's into it. maybe it's a part of their sex life.

Marist poll, post-Carlos

Quinn 25, Weiner 16, de Blasio 14, Thompson 14, Liu 7

http://www.salon.com/2013/07/25/quinn_pulls_ahead_of_weiner/

de Blasio on the rise...

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2013/jul/29/poll-weiner-slumps-de-blasio-rises/

accept no imitations

I was secretly cheering, also I just loved watching them being stymied.

oh yeah, Hynes has the GOP line in November, so I guess Markowitz robocalls on his behalf are less likely then. Maybe the Hasidim will turn out to reelect him anyway.

de Blasio, such a LEFTY, w/ the big donations from Ratner and the wife who worked for Citigroup.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, tho. Oh, Students First takes a break from complaining about UFT for long enough to complain about BDB and repeat those "racist campaign" bullet points? Consider my interest piqued.

If there's a runoff I just hope Bill T hits the trail with Senator Fonzie Tomato every day.

Anyone have any thoughts on Squadron vs. Tish James? I met Squadron and he seemed like a really nice guy, but I don't know much about either.

I got a mailer from Squadron w/ Chuck Schumer's mug all over it, so I immediately dismissed him.

The only reason I'm not paranoid about the rich buying Lhota the mayoralty is BdB is not the kind of tin-eared goofball Mark Green was 12 years ago. NYT front page today quotes a banker: "I'm terrified."

I have thoughts about the Foy/Cornegy race but they are...not fully formed. Cornegy's another charter person btw.

I really keep having paranoid delusions that the fix is in and that, in a runoff, Thompson will climb steadily in the polls a la Stringer and overtake BdB right at the end

Anyone have any thoughts on Squadron vs. Tish James? I met Squadron and he seemed like a really nice guy, but I don't know much about either.

― #fomo that's the motto (Hurting 2), Wednesday, September 11, 2013 11:12 AM (50 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

James' work against Atlantic Yards seems to me exactly what a public advocate shuold do, if they do anything.
i also liked that she represented the broken angel house

I really keep having paranoid delusions that the fix is in and that, in a runoff, Thompson will climb steadily in the polls a la Stringer and overtake BdB right at the end

― Iago Galdston, Wednesday, September 11, 2013 11:58 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Don't worry, that would only happen if DeBlasio were a real progressive

Brazen Voting Fraud Alleged Among Ultra-Orthodox In Williamsburg

The source, who declined to be named for fear of retribution, told us the fraud operation is run out of an ultra-Orthodox wedding hall at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Flushing Avenue in Williamsburg. Volunteers are allegedly given free food and then "driven to four or five places" to vote under false names. "They have copies of the voter rolls, I don't know how they get them, but they get the names and the signatures," the source alleged.

Approached by a reporter this afternoon, a group of men inside the wedding hall denied any involvement with a voting fraud operation....

A spokesman for the Brooklyn DA's office confirmed that they haven't received any complaints of voter fraud referred from the BOE yet, and pointed out that the polls hadn't closed when we called. Long-serving Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes has faced an unusually stiff challenge for reelection this year, in part due to criticism that he's failed to aggressively prosecute sex-offenders in the ultra-Orthodox community.

http://gothamist.com/2013/09/11/voter_fraud_attempts.php

ha ha, good one, hurting--so true. sad, but true. still, i'll take bdb over thompson or quinn any day

Being a "real" progressive is almost irrelevant -- our lords and masters can't tolerate even a rhetorical challenge to their rule, which is why OWS had to be smashed.

from the NYT blog:

Even as Mr. Thompson was expressing confidence in public, some of his campaign’s closet advisers seemed to be moving away from his candidacy.

Merryl H. Tisch, the chairwoman of Mr. Thompson’s campaign, said Mr. de Blasio’s broad support suggested a “clear victory.”

“I don’t think there’s much appetite within the Democratic Party to have a fight here,” Dr. Tisch, chancellor of the State Board of Regents, said in a telephone interview. She declined to say whether she had urged Mr. Thompson to concede, but said he was spending the day reaching out to donors and party leaders. “I’m sure he will make a good decision,” she said.

*Tisch elbow*

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BT2fggVCEAAECFg.jpg

De Blasio's criticism of charter schools is one of the things that won me over. How serious he is about it remains to be seen, but most of the others are openly pro-charter.

― #fomo that's the motto (Hurting 2), Wednesday, September 11, 2013 9:45 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I get the feeling he's not terribly serious about anything. he seems like a poseur, honestly. liu seemed like a guy who might get a few things done, but he didn't have a chance and I don't think it's clear how close to the campaign-finance fraud he was.

on the other hand, if BdB's making those corporate "school reform" dolts mad, he cannot be all bad. he'll probably cozy up to them in due time, though.

that weiner image is oddly poignant

("that's what she said!" amirite?)

but dude has no right to be mad. He was the one crazy enough to enter the fray. Had a nice little consulting business going too iirc, no need to get back into politics. Was pulling in mid six figures, putting his marriage back together, etc. Running for mayor seems like another self-destructive move, really.

real 1000-yard zombie stare to go with it

i love this picture

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/09/13/nyregion/13nycmayor-2/13nycmayor-2-popup.jpg

to the mitzvah mobile!

Just saw Bill on ny1. He will not be seeking Weiner's endorsement.

BREAKING

Thompson withdrawing today. Our elections are over when the Tisches say they are over.

btw de Blasio, in his primary night speech, called Cynthia Nixon "one of the architects of this campaign"! Which is funny since Robert Altman gave CN her start in politics.

http://img2-2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/080902/Tanner-88-Nixon_l.jpg

de Blasio, in his primary night speech, called Cynthia Nixon "one of the architects of this campaign"!

I missed that line but in the shots of the primary night party crowd my wife recognized Cynthia Nixon's partner (wife? not sure) as being right in the front row of supporters behind the podium

Sandinista! (of course Bill & Hil were once McGoverniks)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/nyregion/a-mayoral-hopeful-now-de-blasio-was-once-a-young-leftist.html

so who else read the VV cover expose on de Blasio FIXING PARKING TICKETS for his CC constituents?

the horror

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO6waZDHBqA

http://politicker.com/2013/10/joe-lhota-releases-scariest-ad-yet/

god these guys are awful

if u listen to em, sure.

still it's quite possible I'll vote minor-party for mayor now, have to look who's on.

def a good election for that

i only skimmed the Times today, what was awful about BDB?

as a motorist he believes the 'jury's out' about pedestrian plazas

np, last thing i wanna do is sit down on West 39th Street.

won't have to sit down in park slope either, bdb and chuck need those extra lanes

My office overlooks this "transition center" George Soros is building, will try to check out what can be done on Wednesday:

http://www.wnyc.org/story/billionaire-financier-soros-backs-mayoral-transition-project/

I gen find the Working Families Party to be a meaningless dodge for liberals who think they're 'sending a message' to mediocre-and-worse Dem candidates, but can someone explain who those 3 judge candidates were running against the unified Dem-Rep field?

morbs did you really not vote for BDB

lol at this pic btw

http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_rebeccaf/110513_bloombergbill.jpg

I was completely on the fence til the last minute, but yes I voted Green for mayor, w/ about 4000 others. (iatee?) BdB got my vote in the real election in Sept. (and I voted for Tish James and Ken Thompson both times, that's enough Dems)

not a bad John Liu post-election interview, basically a rundown of city challenges:

http://gothamist.com/2013/10/23/john_liu_feature.php

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2013/12/bill_bratton_de_blasio_nypd_commisioner.php

actually seems promising...

Dude has a soca song? Did anybody ever write a soca about Bloomy? Hmmm?

http://m.animalnewyork.com/2013/bill-de-blasios-soca-anthem-incredible/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-defies-national-trends-23-cut-traffic-deaths-3-years-article-1.2980888

pretty big accomplishment

too bad about the pedestrians

and the cyclists

14 -> 18 is not a big deal. 299 -> 230 is

p4reene w/ some tips, links, laments

http://splinternews.com/a-guide-to-new-york-citys-municipal-primary-elections-f-1803740414

went with Swern over Fliedner for Brooklyn DA