Here's video Azi shot of Representative Anthony Weiner, a likely mayoral candidate, speaking at a rally for 1199, one of the most powerful unions in the state.

"I want to be as comfortable as I can," Weiner said, taking the stage, pulling a union t-shirt from his back pocket, and putting it on.

"You can either be on the 1199 bandwagon, or under the 1199 bandwagon," he told the crowd.

Bill Thompson and Christine Quinn, Weiner's main rivals in the mayoral race, also spoke at the Madison Square Garden event.

UPDATE: More from Azi:

In addition to the three likely mayoral candidates, the event drew Senator Chuck Schumer, Al Sharpton and Governor David Paterson, whose unannounced visit surprised organizers.  read more »

Andrew Grossman, a top-tier Democratic operative who founded an anti-Wal-Mart group is on board with Bill Thompson’s 2009 campaign. (Thompson is widely expected to run for mayor).

Grossman was described as a “political strategist” in this story about the comptroller's campaign spending, and a Thompson campaign aide explained Grossman’s role as “a general consultant", adding, "He’s helping put together the infrastructure of the campaign.” Grossman was paid $39,500 between March and July of this year, according to records with the city Campaign Finance Board.

Grossman comes to the campaign with considerable skills as an organizer. According to the bio on his company’s web site, Grossman worked at the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee from 1999 to 2003.  read more »

Here’s a video Bill Thompson's office released today to accompany his latest audit, which found that the city Department of Education didn’t adhere to their own cost-control measures when it came to traveling expenses for teachers.

Among Thompson’s findings is an $11,970 expenditure for 30 teachers to attend a retreat in the Catskills, even though only 18 teachers attended.

Also: “[A]t a multiple day retreat, the per-person cost for breakfast was $32.344 (including a charge of $7.50 per person for coffee).” 

David Paterson was on his way into his Midtown office just now for a meeting of the financial control board when a hoard of reporters asked him how the economy is doing.

"Not good," he said, walking in.

Also expected to speak here are Michael Bloomberg--who has recently made increasingly loud calls for the state to tax cigarettes sold on Indian reservations--and Comptroller Bill Thompson.

Here’s Sheldon Silver playfully introducing Democratic County Leader Jose Rivera, also an assemblyman, at the Bronx Democratic County Dinner last night.

Silver told the crowd that Rivera was “in the Assembly for five years and he went to Albany Medical Center and the doctor told him to go on light duty. So, he went to the City Council for 13 years. And then he was all cured and he came back. Now he’s working again real hard.”

“I say that in jest,” said Silver to Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Guests also included Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, likely Republican mayoral candidate John Catisimatidis (who had brief chats with Silver and Cuomo); City Council members Eric Gioia, John Liu, and David Weprin; Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV; and former county leader Roberto Ramirez.

   read more »

At the Crain's business breakfast breakfast this morning Representative Anthony Weiner spoke about "saving" New York's middle class, a theme that is likely to be at the center of his mayoral campaign.

The crux of Weiner’s speech, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, focused on job development. He did not rule out raising taxes, but did say that high taxes stymie job development. He defended the policy that prevents Wal-Mart (but not other big box stores), from coming into the city because it does not pay adequate wages. And he said that the city has to do a better job of offering incentives to keep business in New York City, since New Jersey has lower business taxes and can still access the city's workforce.  read more »

Thirty-eight percent of New Yorkers polled by Quinnipiac want to see Michael Bloomberg elected mayor again in 2009.

Which will help fuel rumors that he may somehow work to overturn the term limits that currently prevent him from seeking the position a third time.

Since it's fairly unlikely Bloomberg could do that, here's how the other 2009 mayoral candidates did.

Overall:
12% Ray Kelly
11% Marty Markowitz
10 % Anthony Weiner
7% Bill Thompson and Christine Quinn
4% Betsy Gotbaum

Among Democrats only:

12% Markowitz
11% Weiner
10% Quinn
8% Thompson

Among independent voters, Markowitz, Kelly and Weiner each took 12 percent.

Comptroller Bill Thompson, also a likely mayoral candidate, announced the findings of yet another audit this morning--his office reports that the city sanitation department paid workers to remove garbage from vacant lots owned by the city, but that those lots were already clean.

‘In the end, I hope we’re not dealing with fraud here,” he said at a press conference. “Oversight [of this program] is practically nonexistent."

Thompson said he doesn’t accept the department’s explanation that, in some cases, there was garbage around the lots that his auditors missed.

It's starting to look like Martha Taylor, who is running for the Queens City Council seat currently held by Jim Gennaro, has some unusually early (if unofficial) support from a couple of big names in New York politics--Bill Thompson and Malcolm Smith.

As Liz noted, Taylor currently works for Bill Thompson, and her consultant, Hank Sheinkopf, has ties to Malcolm Smith. Later, Crain’s reported that Thompson and Smith “support Taylor.”

And today, a local paper in Queens quotes one of Taylor’s consultants, Austin Shafran, saying Thompson and Smith are “very supportive of her candidacy.”

When I e-mailed Shafran, he explained, "No specific endorsements have been made as of this time.  read more »

Yesterday, I reported that Suri Kasirer, who used to do Bill Thompson's fund-raising, no longer works for him in that capacity. According to people I spoke with, Kasirer is winding down her fund-raising operations and focusing more on the lobbying part of her business.

But that doesn't mean she's stopped helping people raise money.

She helped organize a fund-raiser for David Paterson last week, according to a reader who attended the event and two people I contacted who were familiar with it. (When I called Kasirer's office, a receptionist there said she is on vacation for the week and declined to comment.)

This gets at the interesting question of when a person who raises money for candidates is not, officially speaking, a fund-raiser.  read more »