NY Observer > William Weld http://www.observer.com/taxonomy/term/25104/feed Articles from Observer.com en Kerry and McCain: Enemies, Friends, and Enemies Again http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/kerry-and-mccain-enemies-friends-and-enemies-again

John Kerry said over the weekend that John McCain lacks the judgment to be President, leading the Associated Press to note, quite appropriately, that “it’s probably a good thing McCain rejected overtures from Kerry…to form a bipartisan ticket” in 2004.

But the context of Kerry’s verbal attack is much broader than that.

The story of the McCain-Kerry used to be almost heartwarming, a tale of post-Vietnam reconciliation between two veterans whose experiences led them to remarkably different conclusions about the war and the government that sent them into it.  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/kerry-and-mccain-enemies-friends-and-enemies-again#comments Politics John Kerry John McCain Ray Shamie William Weld Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:39:59 -0400 Steve Kornacki 71579 at http://www.observer.com At Atlantic Party, Haves and Have-Nots http://www.observer.com/2007/atlantic-party-separates-haves-have-nots-i-can-get-new-york-magazine

Last night at a party for The Atlantic Monthly's 150th anniversary, held on the stage of the NYU student center auditorium, the aging cable-access porn star Robin Byrd was looking around the room. She saw Robert DeNiro, and locked in.

"Hello!" she said, touching his right arm.

"Hi" he replied.

"Hi," she said, curling a smile.

"Hi, hi," he replied, holding his look for an extra second and turned away.

"I guess he recognized me and doesn't wanna talk," Ms. Byrd concluded. "Look at him! He's got a clavicle problem, you know. A clavicle problem."

Mr. DeNiro's left arm and shoulder were in a sling.

"Because his arm is not in a cast, just a sling! He has a clavicle problem, poor guy."

"I don't really know what The Atlantic is," she continued. "Is it something political?"  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2007/atlantic-party-separates-haves-have-nots-i-can-get-new-york-magazine#comments Media Arianna Huffington Christopher Buckley Georgette Mosbacher Moby Ray Kelly Robert De Niro Robin Byrd William Weld Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:21:08 -0500 John Koblin 60100 at http://www.observer.com Mass Governors Inc. http://www.observer.com/2007/romney-and-weld

Bill Weld will be among the vice chairs for a June 27 fund-raiser in
NYC for Mitt Romney, according to an invitation sent over by a reader.

It’s $2,300 for a “photo reception” and $1,000 to attend the “general reception."
The full invitation is after the jump.  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2007/romney-and-weld#comments Politics Mitt Romney William Weld Thu, 14 Jun 2007 13:43:15 -0400 Azi Paybarah 55164 at http://www.observer.com Mitt's Modest NY Fund-Raiser http://www.observer.com/node/31820 romney

The Sheraton New York Hotel has been getting a lot of pre-Presidential action these last few days. First Rudy Giuliani threw a baseball-themed bash there last Wednesday, March 14. And just four days ago, Hillary Clinton hosted a big-ticket mega-fundraiser headlined by her famous husband, Bill. Last night it was Mitt Romney's turn. But while his competitors boasted 1000-person, ballroom-sized events, the former governor's money-raiser was somewhat more modest. Romney's New York Fundraising Kickoff, as the event was billed, took place in a long, rectangular conference room located 100 or so twisty feet from the hotel's second-floor ballroom. There was an open bar for drinks and a single table of cheese, crackers, and crudite for guests to nibble. (Hillary, by contrast, laid on a spead of sirloin and risotto.)  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/node/31820#comments Politics Mitt Romney Rudolph Giuliani Sheraton New York Hotel William Weld Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:00:00 -0400 Observer Staff 31820 at http://www.observer.com Pataki and Weld http://www.observer.com/2007/pataki-and-weld A reader in the city emailed to say the spotted former Governors George Pataki and Bill Weld having lunch together today at the Harvard Club.

In case you were wondering what they're up to.

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/2007/pataki-and-weld#comments Politics George Pataki William Weld Tue, 13 Feb 2007 09:59:44 -0500 Observer Staff 31448 at http://www.observer.com Spitzer Forum Notes http://www.observer.com/node/30925 Random mini-highlights from a New School forum today about the incoming Spitzer administration:

NYPIRG's Albany man Blair Horner said the new governor "has to have a big reform victory that people understand" quickly, because the longer he's there, and the more Spitzer works with lawmakers, the harder it'll be to leverage public support for major changes.

Lobbyist and consultant Norman Adler criticized the much-discussed Brennan Center report about how to reform the state legislature for shoddy methodology. They "should be embarrassed to put that report out," he said.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld said that one major mistake he made as governor was to have been "too savage" with legislative leaders from the other party. Which makes it all the more intriguing to think about what might have happened if he ever made it to Albany.

And former New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio, who lost his seat because he passed a huge tax increase, partly in order to fund a CFE-like lawsuit, said his situation was made so difficult because, unlike governors in New York, he couldn't borrow money to pay for operating expenses. -- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30925#comments Politics Albany Blair Horner Norman Adler William Weld Tue, 12 Dec 2006 08:02:14 -0500 Observer Staff 30925 at http://www.observer.com Events for Tuesday, December 12, 2006 http://www.observer.com/node/30919 At 8 a.m., the Campaign for Fiscal Equity has a breakfast forum at the Yale Club.

Starting at 8:20 a.m., former governors Bill Weld and Jim Florio join incoming state budget director Paul Francis at a panel discussion on "Governing Change: Policy, Politics and the Spitzer Administration" at The New School.

At 9 a.m., the Board of Directors for the NYC Industrial Development Agency will meet at 110 William Street.

At 10 a.m., the Governance and Audit Committee of the NYC Center Operating Corporation will meet at the Javits Center.

At 11 a.m., Assemblyman Mike Gianaris calls for the creation of the Innocence Commission, with members of the Innocence Project, in his Astoria office.

At noon, there's a protest outside the Iranian mission to the U.N.

The City Council's Civil Service and the Housing Committees will hold meetings.

And the holiday parties of DL21C, Queens DA Richard Brown, and The New York County Lawyers' Association will be taking place.

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30919#comments Politics Jim Florio New York City Paul Francis William Weld Mon, 11 Dec 2006 13:00:00 -0500 Observer Staff 30919 at http://www.observer.com Elsewhere: Moses Out, Kerry Down, Mulrow In? http://www.observer.com/node/30814 holiday-party-222.JPG

State GOP Executive Director Ryan Moses, who backed Bill Weld over party-nominee John Faso, will leave his job Dec. 1 to become the director of government relations at a Syracuse-based law firm.

August 11 is the day to be in Iowa if you're a GOP White House hopeful.

A Q poll today measuring the popularity of national leaders finds John Kerry wanting.

Ben sees Hillary's ghost writer as something of a metaphor.

Greg Sargent condemns the tendency of reporters "to let McCain off the hook for pandering, usually to the right, because he supposedly doesn't actually mean what he says when he's doing it," and calls it something dirty.

Iraq is in a civil war, according to Matt Lauer.

Republicans are dangerous to your health, according to Daily Gotham.

Karol Sheinin wants to "spit on Charles Barron."

Health care in the US gets low marks in a recent Gallup poll.

The families of Eliot Spitzer and Bill Mulrow vacationed together last year, adding an element of personal intrigue to the incoming governor's decisions on a) whether to install Mulrow to replace Alan Hevesi as comptroller, if it comes to that, and b) whether to approve the takeover of New York's race tracks by a syndicate in which Mulrow is a principal.

And above is the invitation to Bloomberg's holiday party for the press corps.

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30814#comments Politics John Faso Syracuse The White House William Weld Mon, 27 Nov 2006 11:45:00 -0500 Observer Staff 30814 at http://www.observer.com But Pirro Soldiered On http://www.observer.com/node/30210 Standing under a chandelier that looked like an exploding atom particle, a smiling Jeanine Pirro told LGBT activists and donors at a Manhattan fundraiser that "When I got out of law school 150 years ago, I was taught that equal rights and equal justice applied to all of us. And then, I got into the real world..."

This was last night, about three hours after Pirro publicly confirmed that her attempt to verify her husband's infidelity is now the subject of a federal investigation, which she called "a smear campaign."

For the Log Cabin Republicans who organized the event, the goal was to $60,000 to donate to candidates who support gay rights. [President of the NYC Log Cabin Republicans, Chris Taylor, notes "our long-term goal is civil marriage equality, but in this election cycle, 'legal recognition of same-sex relationships' (such as we have in CN, VT, NY and CAL) is our main criteria."]

Pirro arrived quietly during a speech by another onetime GOP Great Hope of 2006, Bill Weld. Pirro, sitting in a chair with a wine glass in her hand, nodded along. From time to time, she glanced down at the seat cushion where her left hand was resting: five French manicured finger nails and one gold wedding band.

KT McFarland -- another woman who knows a thing or two about family tribulation on the campaign trail -- walked up and placed two hands on Pirro's shoulder.

When Pirro was introduced to speak, the group's president Christopher Taylor said, "We love you and we'll always be there for you." He talked about how he and Pirro had "bonded" while marching in a gay pride parade where "only one of us was sensible because only one of us wore sneakers. The other wore three-inch high heels." [corrected]

Pirro, standing in the middle of the room, smiled and quietly corrected him by holding up four fingers.

She got up and delivered her speech about supporting gay rights, accepted the sympathetic applause of the crowd, and it was time to go. Before she left, she asked: "And by the way, how was your day today?"

(An audio clip of Pirro's remarks from last night is here.) -- Azi Paybarah

NOTE: This post originally said, incorrectly, that the fundraiser was for candidates who specifically support gay marriage.

]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30210#comments Politics Jeanine Pirro Manhattan New York William Weld Thu, 28 Sep 2006 06:15:00 -0400 Observer Staff 30210 at http://www.observer.com Pirro: How Was Your Day? http://www.observer.com/node/30207 Standing under a chandeleer that looked like an exploding atom particle, a smiling Jeanine Pirro told LGBT activists and donors at a Manhattan fundraiser that "When I got out of law school 150 years ago, I was taught that equal rights and equal justice applied to all of us. And then, I got into the real world..."

This was about three hours after Pirro said her attempt to verify her husband's infidelity is now the subject of a federal investigation, which she called "a smear campaign."

The night's spoken and unspoken theme was marriage. For the Log Cabin Republicans, who organized the event, the goal was to $60,000 to donate to candidates who support gay marriage. For Pirro, it was about ignoring a marriage: her own.

She arrived quietly just as Bill Weld was speaking to the crowd. Pirro, sitting in a chair with a wine glass in her hand, nodded along. At other times, she glanced down at the seat cushion, where her left hand was resting: five French manicured finger nails and one golden wedding band.

Another woman who knows a thing or two about family tribulation on the campaign trail walked up and placed two hands on Pirro's shoulder. KT McFarland.

When Pirro was introduced to speak, the group's president Christopher Taylor said, "We love you and we'll always be there for you." Then, he explained how they "bonded" while marching in a gay pride parade where "only one of us was sensitive because only one of us wore sneakers. The other wore three-inch high heels."

Pirro, standing in the middle of the room, smiled and quietly corrected him by holding up four fingers.

After speaking about supporting gay rights, and after the crowd applauded, it was time to go. Before she left, she asked: "And by the way, how was your day today?"

Hoots and cheers was the reply, and her camera-ready smile was back in place.

An audio clip of Pirro's remarks from last night is here.

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30207#comments Politics Google Inc. Jeanine Pirro Manhattan William Weld Wed, 27 Sep 2006 21:44:40 -0400 Observer Staff 30207 at http://www.observer.com