Despite the recent acquittal of the three police officers on trial for the death of Sean Bell, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly still leads the pack of potential mayoral contenders, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

That seems in part due to his name recognition and in part because most voters probably aren't thinking about a race that's still a year and a half away. Considering also that most candidates haven't even declared, the significance of the results are limited.  read more »

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum continues to be a pioneer, among local officials, in her use of YouTube.  read more »

A Quinnipiac poll released this morning finds that, among possible mayoral candidates, Ray Kelly is favored by 22 percent of respondents. He's followed, in order, by Anthony Weiner, Marty Markowitz, Christine Quinn, Betsy Gotbaum and Bill Thompson.

Polls at this stage in an election cycle should be taken with a massive grain of salt (as in, many of these candidates haven't officially declared they are going to run for mayor yet, and Betsy Gotbaum has said she won't run), but it seems to say something, at least, about Kelly's potential if he ever chose to get in. Also, although the poll was taken without listing party affiliations for the candidates, it is expected that Kelly would run as a Republican.

More of the release after the jump.  read more »

Another top aide is leaving Betsy Gotbaum’s office.

Gotbaum’s communication director, James Vlasto is leaving effective March 20, according to an email he sent to friends today.

“Now is the time to move on. I intend to stay active as a consultant to help those involved in public policy and to assist them in making their views known through the press,” he wrote.  read more »

Here is Betsy Gotbaum’s latest video, featuring herself, Eric Gioia, and others discussing access to public benefits—a little like a one-minute highlight tape of a press conference (if such things actually have highlights).  read more »

Adolfo Carrion's communications director, Mike Murphy, is leaving for a job with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

While it's a loss for Carrion, it's something of a win that Murphy wasn't hired by another city comptroller candidate.

That's more or less what happened with John Collins, who was hired by Anthony Weiner, a likely mayoral candidate.

Collins had recently worked for two possible mayoral candidates before going to Weiner: Christine Quinn and Betsy Gotbaum (who had been considered a longshot candidate until this interview put that notion to rest).

Murphy's email after the jump.  read more »

Months after joining her staff as press secretary, John Collins has abruptly departed from Betsy Gotbuam’s office only days after she said in an interview that she won't run for citywide office in 2009 (unless, of course, she inadvertanly winds up mayor if a certain mayor runs for President).

The two have always had different styles. Collins is a young campaign junkie and Gotbaum tends towards a more traditional, less flashy approach.

After receiving an automated response from Collins' legislative email account saying he is “no longer employed by this office,” I reached him by cell phone. He declined to discuss the matter publicly, other than to say that he left for personal reasons. He spoke positively of his former boss.

More after the jump.   read more »

Here's the latest in a line of three YouTube videos put out by Betsy Gotbaum's office , trumpeting her good work for the people of New York City.  read more »

At least two possible 2009 candidates are hiring, according to the following, somewhat random list of political jobs I turned up in a quick search yesterday:

Press Secretary for City Comptroller Bill Thompson

Communications Coordinator for Assemblyman Rory Lancman

Communications Director for a City Councilman

Policy and Research Intern for Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum

GOP-hating campaign workers for the Working Families Party

District Manager for Manhattan’s Community Board 8

Here's a picture from one of the Department of Education's registration centers in The Bronx, which, according to Betsy Gotbaum and some parents, has been a chaotic disaster.

"The DOE seems to have failed to provide its own staff with correct information, leading to chaos and frustration for Bronx families," Gotbaum said.

Fifteen temporary registration centers were opened citywide in order to place students into junior high and high schools. Among Gotbaum's suggestions for improving the situation: keeping the centers open past 3 p.m.

]]> http://www.observer.com/2007/school-problems-bronx#comments Politics Betsy Gotbaum Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:18:43 -0400 Azi Paybarah 57577 at http://www.observer.com