A group of organizers that wants to see a debate in Harlem between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton made a unmissable showing with these t-shirts last night at Obama's appearance at the Apollo. As one of the members, outspoken political activist and mayoral candidate Lenora Fulani told me, the group “wants to hear the distinction between [the two candidates], like where they stand on, not just particular issues, but the implementation of all the great things they’re planning to do.”

More after the jump.   read more »

Lenora Fulani, who ran for president and governor and is planning a bid for citywide office in 2009, is getting involved in the national stuff again, demanding a debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

From a public statement her supporters at the Independence Party of New York City sent out yesterday:

"Endorsers of the call for a Clinton/Obama forum at the Apollo Theatre will hold a press conference Friday outside the Apollo and preview their plans to march in the African-American Day Parade this Sunday. The contingent is organized by Lenora Fulani and members of The Committee for a Harlem Debate Between Clinton and Obama."

Odds, anyone? 

The city’s Independence Party, which is currently rallying around Lenora Fulani’s 2009 citywide race, is looking for fund-raisers. A reader passed on this help wanted ad from Craigslist, which says, “The New York City Independence Party is seeking energetic callers for 6 week fundraising drive, with possibility of long-term work.”

Other jobs on that zany electronic message board:

Policy analyst for Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Communications Coordinator for Rory Lancman.

Communications Director for the Working Families Party.

Constituent liasion for Diana Reyna.

Part-time legislative director for Darlene Mealy.

A “Press/Community Relations/Legislative Intern” for Darlene Mealy.

And campaign staff for the Working Families Party.  read more »

Never one to cut out early on a warm, sunny Friday, Azi sends along the news that the Lenora Fulani faction of the Independence Party has won back the right to control the selection of party candidates in New York City.

Fulani, who waged an independent bid for the presidency in 1988 and sought the Democratic nomination in 1992, and her New York City counterparts have been at odds with the state Independence Party, which in June seized control of the candidate selection process for New York City. But the Fulani-aligned Independence organizations in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island won a ruling from a state Supreme Court Judge yesterday that hands control back to them.

The upshot: Fulani, assuming the ruling holds, now has an open path to the 2009 general election ballot in New York City. Presumably, she’ll run for Mayor (although Azi notes that a “public advocate debate with her and Norman Siegel and Eric Gioia would be amazing!). The Republicans could be a loser in this, since – more so than the Democrats – they need extra ballot lines to compete in the fall; with the state Independence Party controlling the New York City line, an alliance with the G.O.P. would have been possible. But if Fulani wants the line for herself, the G.O.P. can forget that idea. (However, Azi also points out that anyone can start their own ballot line with relative ease – including, hypothetically I assume, “the Azi Paybarah First Party.”)

UPDATE: A reader suggests Fulani's legal victory might not amount to much and makes several points. One is that "invalidation of the state party rule was largely on technical grounds and it's my belief that if the state party passes a rules change making a special provision for the 2009 citywide races, that would be upheld." Also, the reader notes that Fulani, even if she prevails in court, would still need to endure a cumbersome petitioning process for her party to appear on the '09 ballot -- and also a  potential challenge in an IP primary, perhaps not a far-fetched idea given her negative ratings.   read more »

Okay. Barring extraordinary circumstances, this will be the last item here on Lenora Fulani this week.

Even as she capped off an announcement that she’s going to run for mayor and repudiate her anti-Semitic comments from 18 years, Fulani pointedly refused to retreat from another controversial position:

that it’s OK for therapists to sleep with their patients. It’s something that Fulani’s mentor, Fred Newman, had previously said was acceptable.

During an interview on New York 1 News last night, Fulani said the issue was too complex to be discussed accurately at that moment.

“There’s a whole dialogue in post-modern psychology that engages the problem with boundaries, the issues with boundaries," she said. "It’s an important discussion. It’s an intellectual discussion. To reduce it to whether or not whether the patient and, or Fred, and a patient sleeps together, it’s absurd.”

Another highlight of her appearance came when she attacked people who had previously asked her repudiate her anti-Semitic marks.

Fulani said she didn’t because “I thought the people who were making these demands were doing it for reasons that I didn’t support,” dismissing them as "political attacks."

The entire interview can be seen here.  read more »

"I am repudiating my remarks of 18 years ago."

That was from Lenora Fulani of the Independence Party earlier today as she announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a "city-wide" office. The chances are "very high" it will be mayor, she told me after the press conference.

The 1989 remarks in question - in which she described Jews as "mass murderers of people of color" - were a big part of the reason the Michael Bloomberg, and other mainstream politicians who have accepted support from her Independence Party, have been careful to maintain their distance from her in public.

During the press conference, Fulani vowed to emphasize community policing, education reform and nonpartisan elections.

Several of her supporters were apparently expecting the old Fulani, saying afterwards that they were surprised by her comments that all the people of the Middle East -- Israeli and Palestinian alike -- are victims, which is a distinct change from her previous statements.

"Much has happened since the time I wrote those words,” Fulani said. "My views have changed as part of that process. I do not view Israel as an aggressor. The tragedy is a tragedy for Jew and Arab alike."

Tonight, Lenora Fulani, her lawyer Harry Kresky and strategist Jackie Salit will appear on NY1’s Inside City Hall - a network that Fulani said earlier this year treated her like a “nappy-headed ho.”

A written statement from Fulani is after the jump.  read more »

While the Republican state Senate majority was holding a hearing about the Spitzer administration's ethics issues, Eliot Spitzer was in Chelsea with Michael Bloomberg and others talking about expanding health care coverage.

During a Q&A, I tried to ask the mayor why ads for his quasi-campaign web site now appear on Google alongside searches for certain phrases like “education,” “climate change” and “nonpartisan.”

His somewhat unsatisfying response: “I have absolutely no idea. You’ll have to ask Google. They’re the ones that run the software.".

“Probably so they can increase the ad rates they charge the mayor,” Spitzer added.

Bloomberg then deflected a question about whether he would support Lenroa Fulani’s run for mayor, since she supported him twice.

Spitzer was also asked about the Albany hearings into whether his aides acted improperly in trying to discredit Joe Bruno.

"Guys, look, I have said all I’m going to say. I’m not going to pass judgment of what others do. I’ve answered questions. Been absolutely open. Traveled the state to answer all those questions. Now we’re on back to the business of the people. What others do is up to them," he said.  read more »

There’s a new player in the ongoing fight between the Independence Party of New York City and their own state party organization: the National Action Network.

A lawyer for NAN, which is run by Al Sharpton, joined the city organization of the Independence Party, which is controlled by Lenora Fulani supporters, in Brooklyn state Supreme Court yesterday. They were arguing against the the state party's efforts to take control of the nominating process within New York City.

“I’m here and NAN is here because whenever the voting rights of minorities are threatened, we have to be on the front lines and do what’s right and what’s right in this situation is very clear,” NAN’s attorney, Michael Hardy, said in a public statement.

Hardy's presence is significant because it shows a willingness to side with Fulani, who is considering a run for mayor. With the support of NAN, and Sharpton, Fulani’s candidacy could get a lot harder to ignore.

I’m waiting to hear back from NAN for further comment.

The press release from Independence Party in New York City about the case is after the jump.  read more »

I asked Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf what he thought about the prospect of Independence Party activist Lenora Fulani getting into into the 2009 mayor's race.

His assessment: she would be "great fodder for any negative campaign."

UPDATE: Cathy Stewart, New York County Independence Party Chair emailed just now to say, “Negative campaigning is what voters rejected when they elected Mike Bloomberg twice. The issue in 2009  is whether we can keep the Bloomberg era of nonpartisanship going or whether the city is going to revert back to the days of clubhouse politics.” 

Controversial Independence Party activist (and Bloomberg supporter) Lenora Fulani may be running for mayor in 2009.

When asked about the possibility, Sarah Lyons, an Independence Party functionary and Fulani supporter, said, “We’re not in a position to say anything about it, but I can tell you this, though: that she is planning on holding a press conference next week.”

About?

“It’s about the 2009 citywide elections.”

A source I spoke with claimed to heard directly from Fulani that she would enter the 2009 mayoral race.

Fulani is best known as an outspoken member of the Independence Party who, like Michael Bloomberg, bemoans the two-party system that dominates city politics. She helped lead the Bloomberg on Row C campaign, which sought to get Democrats to vote for the newly registered Republican without pulling the Republican lever.

Bloomberg accepted the group’s support in 2001, which provided him with a crucial margin of victory, but tried distancing himself from Fulani in 2005.

For years, she’s been dogged by accusations of anti-Semitism stemming from remarks she made in the 1980s and hasn’t fully disavowed. (Lots more about all that here.)  read more »