I have been following NYC politics from a Brooklyn point of view for some years now. So this year I am looking closely at the mayoral race. I look based on key progressive stands and the results are very interesting.
First off all, stop and frisk. Only one candidate in the mayoral race has CONSISTENTLY opposed stop and frisk. All other candidates have tried to balance their view with Bloomberg's stand, but only john Liu opposed it consistently from the beginning.
Those who praise Bill De Blasio for his stand on this ignore the fact that he was for Stop and Frisk before it was against it. John Liu was always against it, consistently, logically and articulately.
Minimum wage...several mayoral candidates on the Dem side are for raising the minimum wage. Which is great. But again, John Liu was one of the first and most explicit candidates:
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I have personally heard Sal Albanese say equally good things about the minimum wage, but I can't find a video of it. But I want him to get credit for it. The other candidates seem to come in second on this issue, though not opposed.
John Liu on pot legalization:
I know most of the mayoral candidates personally. The ONLY two I can support are John Liu and Sal Albanese. The rest are basically corporate, developer funded shills. Fine. That is NYC. We have had corporate, developer funded shills running our city for more than a decade. But don't try to tell me that a corporate, developer funded shill is somehow progressive and wonderful. If you want a real progressive there are ONLY two candidates: Sal Albanese and John Liu. The rest are what I refer to as LLC candidates...they mainly get their funding from LLC's...and are basically corporate candidates.
Doesn't mean I won't vote for them over a Republican. But I don't want anyone to thing Quinn, Weiner, Thompson or de Blasio are anything but a Wall Street candidate. I personally know all of them except Quinn. I campaigned for Thompson last mayoral run.They are all about as corporate as you can get. Actually pretty consistently. I look at record not rhetoric and I have gotten to know these folks over some years.
You want progressive? Sal Albanese is the MOST progressive with John Liu coming in a very close second. John Liu has also been the MOST effective Comptroller this city has ever have so also has a clear record of effectiveness. No other candidate can come close to the progressive credentials of Sal Albanese or John Liu and no other candidate can come close to the effectiveness of John Liu except probably for Christine Quinn whose record of effectiveness is far more conservative than John Liu.
There are really clear records of where the NYC mayoral candidates have stood. Quinn, Weiner, de Blasio and Thompson all have their scandals and a basically pro-corporate default. John Liu has a scandal and a strong progressive default. Sal Albanese has no scandal and a strong progressive default. Knowing these folk personally I have sided with Liu and Albanese. Liu has a proven record and both Liu and Albanese are solidly progressive. NO other candidate has any record of anything but support of corporate interests. Doesn't mean I may not vote for them over a Repub, but it certainly means I only see two real progressives in the primary!
John Liu has been endorsed by:
Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens (LGDCQ)
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The National Organization for Women (NOW) Brooklyn-Queens Chapter
Muslim Democratic Club of New York
Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID)
Village Independent Democrats
United Progressive Democratic Club
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO New York Chapter
South Shore Democratic Club (Staten Island)
New Visions Democratic Club
National Latino Officers Association
Staten Island Democratic Association (SIDA)
Coalition for a District Alternative (CoDA)
The Democratic Organization of Richmond County
Three Parks Independent Democrats
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Downtown Independent Democrats (D.I.D.)
Broadway Democrats
Gramercy Stuyvesant Independent Democrats
United Democratic Organization
Lower East Side Democratic Club
Civil Service Bar Association (CSBA)
Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association (OPCMIA)
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 5
International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators & Allied Workers Local 12
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3
District Council 37
The New York Metropolitan Area Joint Board of Workers United/SEIU
Communications Workers of America Local 1180
The Organization of Staff Analysts (OSA)
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1056
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 14-14B
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 15
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 94
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 211
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 891
Individuals
I can't find any official endorsements for Sal ALbanese (though I know some pretty active individuals who have endorsed him) so I will highlight some info he has put out:
Sal against Fracking:
Sal on Libraries: