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De Blasio, Cumbo Teams Mum on Campaign Aid


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Mayor de Blasio & Council Member Cumbo (arm raised) (photo: Rob Bennett/Mayor's Office)


As she seeks re-election, City Council Member Laurie Cumbo has key advantages that come with incumbency -- name recognition, access to donors, and a degree of institutional support. Included in that support is the backing of Mayor Bill de Blasio, a fellow Democrat also running for a second term this fall, though the mayor and his team appear to be helping Cumbo quietly, in part because of the complicated politics surrounding a key issue in her district, the redevelopment of the vacant Bedford Union Armory.

Politico New York recently reported that the mayor’s team has thrown its weight behind Cumbo’s campaign, aiming to ensure that the key rezoning effort in her district is successful. As reported, the effort raises questions about potential violations of the city’s Conflicts of Interest law and rules governing campaign activities by city officials, but both the de Blasio and Cumbo camps have been tight-lipped about the mutually beneficial arrangement.

In the August 10 report, Politico New York’s Sally Goldenberg, citing more than a dozen sources, detailed efforts by de Blasio’s close associates to bolster Cumbo, who is facing a tough primary challenge from Ede Fox. Goldenberg noted that the city's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, which is run by former de Blasio campaign operative Emma Wolfe, has organized volunteers for Cumbo’s campaign and arranged for them to hire an aide from the office of Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland. They also urged unions to back Cumbo and expressed the importance of the race to the Working Families Party, which has decided not to make an endorsement. “High-ranking de Blasio staffers have offered the Cumbo campaign operational advice,” Goldenberg wrote, “and are prepared to provide more assistance as the primary nears, the sources said.”

As Gotham Gazette sought to clarify what campaign help was being provided to Cumbo by City Hall, perhaps blurring or crossing lines meant to separate government and political work, the response was silence. Mayoral spokesperson Eric Phillips refused to comment, as did a spokesperson for Cumbo’s campaign. De Blasio’s own reelection campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Over the years, the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board has issued numerous advisory opinions on the restrictions on political activity by public servants. Perhaps one of the most pertinent, from 2012, prohibits city employees from working on political campaigns on city time or with city resources.

In the most recent advisory, issued August 17, the Board noted the general intent of the law as it pertains to political campaigns. “Certain principles run consistently through each of these Advisory Opinions: while public servants may engage in many political activities, they must keep those activities separate from their official City duties,” the advisory reads. “This means, most significantly, that public servants may not use their City positions to benefit a political campaign, and they may not use any City time or resources for campaign-related activities.”

The COIB does not comment on potential violations, each of which can carry a civil penalty of $25,000 for an erring public servant. Officials can also be fired, suspended, or lose vacation days if their employing agency deems it appropriate.

The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs interceding in a City Council election could violate that basic principle. “The real issue is, are they accounting for their time properly?” wondered Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, a government reform organization. “Are they using their powers responsibly?”

Horner said it wasn’t unusual or inappropriate for the mayor to wield his political clout in another elected official’s favor. “It’s not unheard of for an executive to use their political muscle to help legislative candidates,” he said. Indeed, the mayor has attempted to use his influence in the past to try to sway state Senate elections towards Democrats in 2014. “What would be inappropriate is using the public office for partisan advantage,” Horner said.

At the core of de Blasio’s support for Cumbo is the Bedford Union Armory project, a proposal to turn the 138,000-square-foot facility in Crown Heights into a mixed-use development with affordable and market-rate housing, condos, and a state-of-the-art recreation center. The project has become the burning issue of the District 35 race, creating space for Fox to challenge Cumbo in the primary and bringing increased attention to the de Blasio administration’s rezoning efforts that have been unpopular with communities fearing displacement and gentrification. Cumbo only came out against the project after months of delay, during which Fox painted her as a real-estate-friendly elected official who had betrayed her community. (De Blasio’s City Hall and Cumbo have also been largely aligned on other matters over the course of the term.)

Fox said she wasn’t perturbed by de Blasio’s unseen support for Cumbo. “I think that Laurie Cumbo is aware she’s in a very competitive race and is looking for all the support she can get,” Fox said in a phone interview.

Although Fox recognizes that she’s at a disadvantage running against an incumbent, she said she isn’t deterred. “I knew going in that I was not going to get much institutional support so this is no surprise,” she said. “I knew the power of incumbency. I was expecting and preparing for it.”

She has been particularly skeptical about Cumbo’s opposition to the Bedford Armory project, and worries that Cumbo may give in to the administration’s preferences if she wins the primary election on September 12. “I think that is a very real question,” she said, “and I think voters are weighing whether they can trust their representative given her long-standing support for the project. The language I’ve heard from her has not made it very clear that she’s standing against the project as a whole.”

Come primary election day, in a district where some residents are up in arms about the de Blasio administration’s housing and economic development policies, Cumbo’s ties to the mayor and his team may be her undoing. “Ultimately, the voters will decide if it’s a good or bad idea,” said NYPIRG’s Horner.

***
by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, August 21


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

Mayor de Blasio was back in town this weekend after a four-day vacation in Rhode Island. The mayor participated in several weekend evetns. He's not only returning this week to work at City Hall, but he's facing former City Council Member Sal Albanese in the first Democratic mayoral primary election debate on Wednesday night. It will be must-see TV on NY1 or must-hear radio on WNYC -- along with those two networks, the debate is also being sponsored by Citizens Union, Politico New York, and others.

That's the main event of the week, but that's certianly not all that's happening -- there are City Council candidate debates, City Council hearings, and more -- see our day-by-day rundown below, including de Blasio's Monday morning press conference.

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***

The run of the week in detail:

Monday
At 9:15 a.m. Monday, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will deliver brief remarks at New Teacher Week at UFT headquarters.

At 9:30 a.m. Monday at Brooklyn Public Library in Grand Army Plaza, "Mayor de Blasio, Commissioner O'Neill and Brooklyn Borough President Adams will hold a media availability regarding new security measures for the upcoming J'Ouvert celebration." The press conference will include Q&A with reporters.

On Monday, presumptive GOP mayoral nominee Nicole Malliotakis "will conduct a listening tour of NYCHA housing on Monday accompanied by community activist Tony Herbert." She's visiting developments in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, including nine different stops.

At the City Council on Monday:
--The Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet at 9:30 a.m.
--The Subcommittee on Planning, Dispositions, and Concessions will meet at 1 p.m.

“In the wake of the surge in hate rhetoric nationwide, New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, elected officials, and community leaders will rally outside the J. Marion Sims Monument in Central Park on Monday [at 11 a.m. at 103rd Street and 5th Ave.] to renew their demand for the NYC Parks Department to remove an offensive statue honoring a physician [J. Marion Sims] who conducted medical experiments on non-anaesthetized enslaved Black women.” Mark-Viverito will be joined by City Council Members Bill Perkins, Robert Cornegy, and Mark Levine; Congressional Rep. Adriano Espaillat; State Senator Brian Benjamin; other elected officials and community members.

At noon Monday, “the upper Manhattan community will gather with Amanda Morales-Guerra, a young mother of three, who is currently in sanctuary in a Washington Heights church to avoid deportation by the Trump Administration. Elected officials, community organizations and residents will join Amanda and her children before heading downtown to deliver letters of support and an I589 form, a request for asylum, after facing death threats in her native Guatemala.At 1pm, there will be a rally and press conference in support of Amanda, after which elected officials and Amanda's lawyer will deliver the letters to officials at 26 Federal Plaza.” The events are being led by City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, joined by others.

At noon Monday outside City Hall, “Mayoral candidate Mike Tolkin to hold press conference calling on media sponsors to include him in mayoral debate in wake of Campaign Finance Board ruling Friday.”

Tuesday
At the City Council on Tuesday
--The Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss proposed laws relating to “requiring agencies to notify a food rescue organization before disposing of food” and “facilitating food donations.”
--The Committee on Oversight and Investigations will meet at 10:30 a.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “the evaluation of civil actions, claims, complaints, and investigations alleging improper police conduct.”
--The Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Maritime Uses will meet at 10:30 a.m.
--The Committee on Land Use will meet at 11 a.m.
--The Committee on Consumer Affairs will meet at 11 a.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “establishing an office of nightlife and a nightlife advisory board.”

Governor Cuomo is in Erie County, Monroe County, and New York City on Tuesday. He'll make two announcements: at 10:30 a.m. at Fisherman's Landing in Grand Island and at 12:30 p.m. at 133 Calkins Road in Rochester.

At 11 am Tuesday, at John Paul Jones Park in Brooklyn, U.S. Representatives Yvette Clarke, Hakeem Jeffries, and Nydia Velazquez will lead a protest against Confederate memorials within Fort Hamilton.

"NYC Council Member Andy King will speak at a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 22, at 11 a.m., Manhattan Criminal Court , 100 Centre St, New York, to demand that Cy Vance and other local prosecutors change their restrictive discovery practices and support efforts to reform New York’s broken criminal discovery statute."

On Tuesday at noon at Tweed Courthouse, "Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Fariña will make an education announcement."

On Tuesday at noon at City Hall, "In the wake of the tragedy in Charlottesville and the increased visibility of white supremacy nationwide, dozens of NYC public school parents will stand with the NYC Department of Education to announce anti-bias trainings for over 600 teachers in the 2017-18 school year."

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Food Bank for New York City and Gotham Gazette/Citizens Union Foundation will host a debate in the 8th City Council District, which includes East Harlem and parts of the South Bronx. Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max will moderate the debate among Democratic candidates seeking to replace term-limited City Council Member and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. The event will take place at LSA Family Health Services on 115th Street.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, the Queens Tribune and the Press of Southeast Queens will hold a forum for candidates for mayor, public advocate, and comptroller. Confirm participants include mayoral candidates Nicole Malliotakis, Sal Albanese, and Richard Bashner, Comptroller Scott Stringer, and comptroller candidate Michel Faulkner. The forum will take place at the Little Theater at St. John’s University, in Jamaica.

Wednesday
At the City Council on Wednesday:
--The Committee on Women’s Issues will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss several proposed laws related to promoting, assessing, measuring, and addressing various forms of inequity.
--The Committee on Juvenile Justice will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss several proposed laws relating to recordkeeping and visitation rights for juvenile inmates.
--The Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services will meet at 11 a.m. to discuss proposed laws relating to “discharge planning for inmates in city correctional facilities” as well as educational and vocational programming for inmates and educational programming for young adults and adolescents.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the City Planning Commission will hold a public meeting at Spector Hall.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Panel for Education Policy will hold a public meeting at Murry Bergtraum High School in Lower Manhattan.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Mayor de Blasio and primary challenger Sal Albanese will square off in a Democratic mayoral primary debate on NY1 and WNYC, moderated by Errol Louis, with questions also coming from NY1’s Grace Rauh and Juan Manuel Benitez, WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, and Politico’s Laura Nahmias. The debate will take place at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side.

Thursday
The full City Council will have a stated meeting at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, prefaced by a press conference led by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

Also at the City Council on Thursday: the Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss a resolution “approving the new designation and changes in the designation of certain organizations to receive funding in the Expense Budget.”

At 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the New York City Democratic Socialists will rally in front of the City Council offices at 250 Broadway to “demand action” on the Right to Know Act.

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the Civilian Complaint Review Board will hold a public board meeting at 100 Church Street in Manhattan.

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, City & State will bring its Borough Series to the Bronx, honoring “The Influentials: 25 prominent individuals who live or work in the Bronx in five key sectors.” Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will speak.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Mayor de Blasio will host a town hall meeting in Coney Island, co-hosted by City Council Member Mark Treyger. Joining the mayor and Treyger will be Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Congressional Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, State Senator Diane Savino, and Assemblymember Pamela Harris.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Food Bank for New York City and Gotham Gazette/Citizens Union Foundation will host a debate in the 41st City Council District. Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max will moderate the debate among Democratic candidates seeking to replace term-limited City Council Member Darlene Mealy. The debate will take place at Neighbors Together on Fulton Street in Brooklyn.

At 5:45 p.m. Thursday at Baruch College, "AARP New York will host a candidate forum for open seats in Manhattan, featuring candidates running in City Council Districts 2, 4 and 8. The forum will be moderated by a panel of reporters, who will ask the candidates about topics including livability and affordability, which are priorities of New Yorkers 50+. Moderators include: Brigid Bergin, WNYC City Hall and politics reporter; Mark Chiusano, editorial board member for AM New York and Newsday; and Michael Scotto, NY1 reporter."

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Faith in New York will hold candidate forums for candidates in City Council Districts 40 and 45 at Our Lady of Refuge in Brooklyn, as part of its “Faith Over Fear” campaign.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Food & Water Watch will hold a public meeting at the New York Society for Ethical Culture on the Upper West Side to discuss their “plan to move New York - and the whole country - OFF fossil fuels.”

Friday and the weekend
The first part of the new Tappan Zee Bridge, now named after former Governor Mario Cuomo, will open on Friday. Traffic bound for Rockland County will be rerouted to the new bridge, while Westchester-bound traffic will remain on the old bridge for a few months.

On Friday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will hold a press conference for Women’s Equality Day.

At 8:15 a.m. Friday, the Center for New York City Law will host Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña as part of its CityLaw Breakfast Series.

***
Have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).

***
by Ben Brachfeld and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

10 Great NYC Debate Moments


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Quinn, Liu, de Blasio, Albanese (from 2013)


Debates have been an invaluable part of political discourse and elections for centuries. The face-to-face interactions between candidates reveal a lot about their character, policies, and ability to perform under pressure.

Debates for citywide races in New York -- for Mayor, Comptroller, and Public Advocate -- have played no small part in helping New Yorkers decide which candidates best represent their interests. Ahead of the 2017 debates, which begin Wednesday with the first Democratic mayoral primary debate between Mayor Bill de Blasio and former City Council Member Sal Albanese, Gotham Gazette presents 10 great moments from New York City debates of the last few decades.

1. Giuliani declines debate, spurs matching funds/must debate law
1993 General Mayoral Debate; 10/17/93
Candidates: David Dinkins (D); Rudy Giuliani (R); George Marlin (Conservative)

A non-debate on a debate list belongs because of the importance of the decision, both during the contentious 1993 rematch between Dinkins and Giuliani, which Giuliani would win, and the long-term implications of the subsequent change in law.

Mayor Dinkins wanted to include the Conservative Party candidate in any debate between himself and Giuliani, but Giuliani would only agree to a one-on-one debate, and so the two major party candidates did not have a single debate before the election that year. In response, the City Council voted on legislation that forced any candidate taking public matching funds (as both Giuliani and Dinkins did) to participate in two debates before both the primary and general elections, given certain criteria.

At the debate that Dinkins and Marlin did have, they both attacked Giuliani for not participating, and on other grounds. In his closing statement, Dinkins, who had bested Giuliani in 1989, said, “It takes a certain kind of temperament and personality to deal with the various legislative bodies in order to achieve [my accomplishments], I suggest to you that Rudolph Giuliani does not have the temperament to get the kind of consensus necessary to achieve the things that we’ve done.”

For his part, Giuliani explained, “I have a letter from April of this year, where I had a firm commitment for a one-on-one debate with Mayor Dinkins, which NBC has now allowed him to sneak out of, because he rolled over for them. He shouldn’t do that, it’s wrong. And I know why David Dinkins won’t face me. On 12 occasions in 1989, he ducked out of one-on-one debates with me. On 7 occasions, he has ducked out of one-on-one debates with me in this election. They shouldn’t allow him to do it, because I’ll ask him the questions that some of you won’t ask him about how he’s cheating.”

Watch the October 17, 1993 debate between Dinkins and Marlin here.

2. Mayor Bloomberg tries to speak Spanish
2009 General Mayoral Debate; 10/13/2009
Candidates: Michael Bloomberg (i); Bill Thompson (D)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s attempts to speak Spanish are well-known and much-skewered, most famously by the @ElBloombito Twitter account. Bloomberg used to end each news conference by summarizing his statements in Spanish, and he occasionally gave entire interviews in his second tongue. In a 2009 general election mayoral debate, Bloomberg tried responding to a question about diversity in his cabinet from Juan Manuel Benitez, host of Pura Política on NY1 Noticias, in Spanish. Although the mayor received applause, the moderator had to ask him to repeat his answer in English, as many in the room and at home had no idea what he had said.

Watch the moment here and watch the entire October 13, 2009 debate between Bloomberg and Democrat Bill Thompson here.

3. David Yassky sings Beyonce
2009 Comptroller Debate, Democratic Primary; 9/10/2009
Candidates: David Yassky (D); Melinda Katz (D); John Liu (D); David Weprin (D)

A crowded Democratic primary for Comptroller in 2009 included a lightning round of questions during the September 10 debate. When candidates were asked if they had listened to Beyoncé, all candidates said yes, and Melinda Katz even quietly said, “To the left.” But only David Yassky actually sang, to the amusement of the audience, especially the moderators. Yassky sang the chorus to Beyonce’s 2006 mega-hit, “Irreplaceable.”

Yassky’s singing prowess did not carry him to victory, however, as John Liu won the primary and became Comptroller.

Watch the moment here, and watch the entire September 10, 2009 Democratic Primary Comptroller debate here.

4. Giuliani calls out Henry Hewes for not even being his party’s official candidate
1989 General Mayoral Debate; 11/5/89
Candidates: David Dinkins (D); Rudy Giuliani (R); Henry Hewes (Right to Life)

Before he refused to debate with a third-party candidate present in 1993, Republican mayoral candidate Rudy Giuliani showed his distaste for them in this surreal moment from the second of two general election debates that took place the week before the 1989 election, which Giuliani narrowly lost to Dinkins. Eight minutes into the hour-long debate, Giuliani claimed that Right to Life candidate Henry Hewes didn’t deserve to be there. He then explained Hewes was not even the officially registered candidate of the Right to Life Party, as he pulled out a letter from the Board of Elections confirming that, indeed, Henry Hewes was a registered Republican and had not filed any declaration of his candidacy on the Right to Life ticket.

Watch the November 5, 1989 debate here. The moment is at 7:50.

5. Donald Trump’s influence on New York City
2005 General Mayoral Debate; 10/6/05
Candidates: Fernando Ferrer (D); Thomas V. Ognibene (Conservative)

During the lightning round of this 2005 general mayoral debate, the moderator asked Democrat Fernando Ferrer and Conservative Thomas Ognibene (Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not attend as he was addressing a potential threat in the city), “Is Donald Trump a positive influence on the city?”

At the time, this was a throwaway question about an infamous New York celebrity. Before Twitter, before the presidential run, Trump was a local tabloid legend, real estate baron, and TV personality to most New Yorkers. The candidates agreed in their initial response: “I could care less.”

Listen to the lightning round that included the question here, or watch the entire October 6, 2005 debate here.

6. Scott Stringer goes for Spitzer's jugular
2013 Democratic Primary Comptroller Debate; 8/12/13
Candidates: Eliot Spitzer (D); Scott Stringer (D)

The 2013 Democratic primary for Comptroller was defined by consistent antagonism between the two candidates, then-Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and former Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Five years earlier, Spitzer had resigned while under federal investigation, and during a section of the debate in which the candidates could ask each other a question, Stringer seized. “So Eliot, if you were the chairman of a large company, and you hired a CEO, and they engaged in money laundering, illegal wiring of funds to shell corporations, and if the CEO was under federal investigation - criminal investigation - and that CEO was fired, would you hire that CEO again?”

Listen to highlights from the debate, including this moment, here, or watch the entire August 12, 2013 debate here.

7. Democrats try to tie each other to Mayor Bloomberg
2013 Public Advocate Democratic Primary Run-off Debate; 9/24/13
Candidates: Letitia James (D); Daniel Squadron (D)

The end of Mayor Bloomberg’s third term was a time when many New Yorkers were seeking change in city leadership. Candidates capitalized on this desire, and in few places was this more apparent than the 2013 Public Advocate Democratic primary. Candidates Letitia James and Daniel Squadron -- locked in a run-off for the nomination -- traded the usual barbs about each other’s backgrounds, but they often simply used any kind of tie the other candidate had to Bloomberg as an attack.

James stated that Squadron had stayed silent when Bloomberg’s third term was being debated, while Squadron claimed that it was not right that James had “stood with the mayor over 98 percent of the time.”

Listen to highlights from the debate, including this moment, here, or watch the entire September 24, 2013 debate here.

8. Bloomberg pressed by moderator and opponent about book of jokes he allegedly made
2001 Republican Primary for Mayor; 9/9/01
Candidates: Michael Bloomberg (R); Herman Badillo (R)

During his initial run for mayor, Michael Bloomberg was repeatedly questioned at a primary debate about an article in New York Magazine in which columnist Michael Wolff described a gift given to the future mayor at a company party in 1990. The gift was a booklet of quotations supposedly said by Bloomberg, some of which were blatantly misogynistic and homophobic.

During one of the 2001 Republican primary debates, both moderator Gabe Pressman and rival Herman Badillo pressed Bloomberg on whether or not he said what was written in the booklet. Bloomberg repeatedly claimed he did not remember saying any of those things, and in the end, he attempted to move the debate along, claiming, “It was in a book written by somebody else. Let's go on to the issues. Come on…”

Read a transcript of debate highlights, including this moment, here, or watch the entire September 9, 2001 debate here.

9. Candidates debate prevalence of racial profiling in NYPD
2001 Mayoral General Election Debate; 11/1/2001
Candidates: Michael Bloomberg (R); Mark Green (D) 

Michael Bloomberg’s implementation of widespread “stop-and-frisk,” a police tactic criticized for disproportionately targeting African-American and Hispanic men, is perhaps the least popular aspect of his legacy. During a 2001 general election mayoral debate between first-time candidate Bloomberg and Democrat Mark Green, one exchange reveals Bloomberg’s early views on racial profiling in the NYPD. When asked, Bloomberg agreed that racial profiling must be combated because “the perception is widespread.”

Watch the moment here, or watch the entire November 1, 2001 debate here.

10. Bill de Blasio targeted as Democratic frontrunner
2013 Democratic Primary Debates; 8/14/13 & 8/21/2013
Candidates: 8/14/13: Christine Quinn (D); Bill de Blasio (D); John Liu (D); Anthony Weiner (D); Bill Thompson (D)
Candidates 8/21/13: Sal Albanese (D), Christine Quinn (D); Bill de Blasio (D); John Liu (D); Anthony Weiner (D); Bill Thompson (D), Erik Salgado (D)

As the fast-moving 2013 Democratic primary moved to within a month of a vote, Bill de Blasio made a surprise leap into the lead of the polls. Just after a new poll showed de Blasio in the lead for the first time, the leading Democratic candidates showed for a debate, and the other candidates clearly recognized the new order by attacking de Blasio more than they previously had, when it appeared that Christine Quinn, Anthony Weiner and Bill Thompson were all likelier nominees.

Quinn said de Blasio “was in the Council for eight years, he didn’t pass one bill to create a good paying job, not one bill to help our schools, not one bill to keep our city safe. That’s not a record of results,” according to The Daily News.

“The only difference between Speaker Quinn and Bill de Blasio is Speaker Quinn has been more successful. They made the same promises to the same people. She got elected speaker and he’s never gotten over it,” Weiner said.

A week later, for the first of two official, Campaign Finance Board-sanctioned primary debates, those same leading Democrats, along with Sal Albanese and Erik Salgado, took the stage in prime-time. De Blasio was again the focus of many attacks. He would go on to win the primary less three weeks later, even securing the 40 percent of the vote needed to avoid a runoff.

***
by Thomas Duda
with reporting by Ben Weiss
@GothamGazette



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