Nosferatu thinks Bill de Blasio (D) needs to say "sorry" for hurting the NYPD's feelings:
http://politicker.com/...
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani returned to the campaign trail this afternoon with Joe Lhota, his protégé and candidate in the mayor’s race, and proclaimed that yesterday’s decision by a federal appeals court to halt the implementation of stop-and-frisk reform would fundamentally shake things up in Mr. Lhota’s favor.
“The whole rationale for Mr. de Blasio’s campaign is phony,” declared Mr. Giuliani, speaking to reporters this afternoon in Staten Island. “This has been the whole rationale for his campaign, his stop-and-frisk … ‘The police department’s terrible. The police department’s awful. They’re stopping all these people for no reason.’”
“The court of appeals has just basically said to him: that is a bunch of malarkey,” he later declared. “I hope it had a dramatic effect on the race.”
Mr. Giuliani, who hired Mr. Lhota as his budget director and later promoted him to become his “right-hand” man, went on to charge Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio misled the public and demanded an apology.
“For this man to campaign them the way he did, to suggest they were engaged in unconstitutional conduct … I would, as the former mayor of the city, demand that Mr. de Blasio apologize to the police department for falsely suggesting that they engage in unconstitutional conduct,” he said. (The appeals court, which stayed a lower court’s ruling, has not yet weighed in on the actual constitutionality of the city’s stop-and-frisk program.) - Politicker, 11/1/13
Giuliani is doing the fear mongering for Joe Lhota (R) because the fate of stop and frisk rests in de Blasio's hands:
http://www.thenation.com/...
The big question now for the future of stop-and-frisk is, what happens to the case and to the practice under a de Blasio administration? For now, none of Scheindlin’s remedies, including the involvement of the monitor she has already appointed, have any effect. The appeals court has scheduled submission of briefs for early in the new year, soon after the mayor is sworn in. It is so far unclear who will fill high level appointments, including the Corporation Counsel and the Police Commissioner, during the campaign de Blasio specifically said that neither the current head of the Law Department, Michael Cardozo, nor Police Commissioner Ray Kelly would be asked to join his administration.
In the meantime a legal team will have to be in place, but more important, so will a strategy. Consistent with the position of candidate de Blasio, motions for a stay and even an appeal might be withdrawn. To continue the appeal and therefore challenge Scheindlin’s decision would require a reversal of de Blasio’s platform and, presumably, his political philosophy—that is, it would mean agreeing with the Bloomberg-Cardozo-Kelly camp that there was no pattern of constitutional violations, and even agreeing that perhaps the judge was biased, and that the remedies should not be imposed.
That would be a schizophrenic and brutally cynical result. In January, then, Mayor de Blasio could direct his Corp Counsel, whoever that might be, to withdraw the appeal, leaving Judge Scheindlin’s decision and Order in place. Without a party appealing, there is no appeal. No appeal, no reversal. Liability for the unconstitutional conduct has already been established and is the law of the case. The Circuit court cannot, on its own, simply undo the trial and its results, and have a new trial without reversing the existing decision and order after an appeal. The role and powers of the newly assigned Judge Torres are unclear. - The Nation, 11/1/13
It's going to be interesting to see how de Blasio handles stop and frisk's fate:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
If Mr. de Blasio follows through on his vow in August to drop the appeal on Day 1, Judge Scheindlin’s orders would most likely go into effect. But Mr. de Blasio could also use the appeal as leverage with the plaintiffs, to persuade them to endorse a different set of changes in the police that would not include the court-appointed monitor. As Mr. Kovner noted, Mr. de Blasio could argue that the new position of inspector general for the police, which was approved this summer by the City Council over Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s veto, made a monitor redundant.
The next mayor “would want to make his own appointment for this oversight responsibility,” Mr. Kovner said. “He wants to appoint his own police commissioner, appoint his own investigations commissioner, appoint his own inspector general, and be held accountable to the public for what his administration does, rather than depending on the court.”
In reaching its decision to block Judge Scheindlin’s changes and not consider the case’s merits until next year, the appeals court itself seemed to leave the next mayor a range of options. - New York Times, 11/2/13
More below the fold.
Here are some more updates from the campaign. de Blasio continues to dominate in this race due to his platform:
http://www.rawstory.com/...
Analysts say de Blasio offers voters a package they relate to, leaving his Republican rival Joe Lhota trailing a distant second.
He has campaigned hard against the yawning gulf between rich and poor — “a tale of two cities” or “the 99 percent” against the one percent — and stands up for minority rights.
De Blasio promises to raise taxes on those earning more than $500,000 to fund universal pre-kindergarten education and after school programs.
He calls for reforms to the “stop and frisk” policy, which critics say unfairly targets black and Hispanic minorities, but which supporters say has driven down crime.
And he promises to build 200,000 new affordable housing units and grant two extra school days off for the main Muslim festivals. - Raw Story, 11/2/13
But he's been keeping active on the campaign trail:
http://www.ny1.com/...
Bill de Blasio is teaming up with the rest of the Democratic ticket to try and get voters to the polls on Election Day.
"I'm very proud of what is about to happen on Tuesday," said Scott Stringer, the Democratic candidate for city comptroller. "Think about what we're about to do. We're about to elect the most progressive mayor this country has ever seen."
At a rally on the Upper West Side Saturday, the Democratic nominee for mayor tried to energize his base. He also promoted some of the central proposals of his campaign.
"It is a bold idea to ask the wealthy to pay more so we can have full-day pre-k and after-school for middle-school kids, and it's the right idea," de Blasio said. - NY 1, 11/2/13
Some big names have also been helping out with GOTV efforts for de Blasio:
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
Actress Rosie Perez and salsa superstar Willie Colon showed up at City Hall on Sunday afternoon for a Latinos for de Blasio get out the vote rally.
De Blasio introduced the petite Perez by praising her advocacy for AIDS and HIV research.
"She may not be tall, but she stood tall," he said.
Speaking of Colon, de Blasio said, "I always appreciate his activism."
Colon had backed Bill Thompson in the primary, but when the ex-controller bowed out after coming in second, he switched to de Blasio.
De Blasio urged the more than 200 people who attended the City Hall rally to vote on Tuesday. - New York Daily News, 11/3/13
But one of de Blasio's supporters really pissed off Lhota:
http://politicker.com/...
Less than an hour after he called Caribbean singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte’s comparison of the Koch brothers to the KKK “hateful” and “race-baiting,” Republican mayoral hopeful Joe Lhota released a statement today taking more direct aim at his electoral rival, Bill de Blasio.
“It’s reprehensible that a candidate for mayor of the City of New York would closely associate himself with an individual who has equated the American government to Al Qaida and the 9/11 hijackers and has a long history of hateful, racist remarks,” Mr. Lhota declared.
Mr. de Blasio told reporters the KKK comparison was “the wrong way to talk about” the brothers after the church event today where Mr. Belafonte made the remarks while introducing the candidate, but declined to show any signs of disapproval to the congregation when he took the stage–which Mr. Lhota found unacceptable.
“What’s worse, when Bill de Blasio had an opportunity to speak out against his hate speech today, he was silent and instead called Mr. Belafonte ‘a treasure to our nation,’” he said. - Politicker, 11/3/13
By the way, David Koch is trying to dupe Latino voters into voting for Lhota:
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
A new Spanish-language ad boosting Joe Lhota's longshot mayoral bid is on the air thanks to David Koch's largesse to a PAC that sued to jack up donation limits.
The New York Progress And Protection PAC, armed with a $200,000 gift from Koch, is running an eleventh-hour, :30 spot boosting Lhota as the candidate of "school choice," safe streets, and "a respect for the growing Hispanic population in New York and their needs."
Koch, who, along with his wife, previously donated to a different pro-Lhota group, New Yorkers For Proven Leadership, made the gift Wednesday -- about a week after the Second Circuit ruled in favor of NY3P's push to take donations over the state's $150,000 per person cutoff.
The federal appeals court overruled Judge Paul Crotty, who had denied NY3P's request for an injunction in a scathing Oct. 17 ruling. - New York Daily News, 11/1/13
But it won't matter. Even the New York Daily News, which has been very critical of de Blasio, is manning up and endorsing de Blasio:
http://www.nydailynews.com/...
Although lacking management experience, he has a nimble mind and is versed in city govenment. He has also been willing to reverse course to suit political needs. While this is not the most attractive quality, de Blasio must apply the same pragmatism to governing.
He has convinced most New Yorkers that his heart is in the right place; now he must prove that his mind and gut are there, too. With the public’s allegiance, he has the backing to making the hardheaded, pragmatic decisions that undergird a successful mayoralty and vibrant city.
De Blasio’s potential to rise to that challenge is the critical factor for an endorsement extended with trepidation. Great good luck to all. - New York Daily News, 11/2/13
Even this guy thinks de Blasio will do a good job as mayor:
http://www.politico.com/...
Business mogul Donald Trump is optimistic about the future of New York City if Democratic candidate Bill de Blasio wins the mayoral election.
“I think pretty strongly that he’ll end up being a good mayor, maybe a very good mayor and I don’t think he’s going to want to kill the golden goose,” Trump told an Albany radio station Thursday, according to the New York Daily News.
Trump, who has been openly critical of President Barack Obama, Democrats and the rollout of Obamacare, praised de Blasio. Trump’s enthusiasm might seem unlikely amid reports that the business and finance sectors of the city worry what a de Blasio tenure might mean for their industries. - Politico, 10/31/13
Plus de Blasio's win on Tuesday was written in the stars:
http://abcnews.go.com/...
More than any of his rivals for the Democratic nomination, de Blasio positioned himself as the cleanest break from the Bloomberg years, an argument that resonated with many suffering from what has become known as Bloomberg fatigue.
"An awful lot of what has happened can be traced to that decision to give Bloomberg another four years," said Jeanne Zaino, a New York University political science professor. "The third term is widely viewed as not as successful, but no matter how wonderful a mayor you are, people get tired of seeing you in their living room every night."
Beyond bolstering de Blasio, the term-limit extension crippled three seemingly strong Democratic candidates.
Bill Thompson, a former comptroller, was the party's 2009 nominee and while he nearly upset Bloomberg then, his lackluster campaign raised questions about his ambition and convictions that continued to dog him in 2013.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn entered this year as the favorite, but as Bloomberg grew more unpopular among Democrats, she couldn't shake her links to him or her role in overturning term limits.
And then-congressman Anthony Weiner decided to table his 2009 mayoral ambitions until 2013. Instead, he resigned from Congress in 2011 amid a sexting scandal, an issue that resurfaced this past summer and devastated his comeback candidacy.
Weiner's implosion most directly benefited de Blasio, who had been stuck in a distant fourth in the polls. But the Brooklyn Democrat also made several shrewd political calculations to surge at precisely the right moment.
De Blasio had the clearest message of any candidate, repeatedly describing the city's income inequality as "a tale of two cities" while proposing a tax hike on the wealthy to fund universal prekindergarten. He also was the loudest voice calling to reform the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk practice just as a judge in August ruled that it discriminated against minorities. - ABC News, 11/3/13
The election is Tuesday, November 5th. If you would like to find your polling place, you can do so here:
https://secure.billdeblasio.com/...
You can click here to commit to vote:
http://my.billdeblasio.com/...
And if you would like to help the de Blasio campaign with GOTV efforts, you can do so here:
http://www.billdeblasio.com/