Fernando Ferrer

Councilman Domenic Recchia has kept a low profile since the congressman he is trying to unseat, Vito Fossella, got arrested for driving drunk.

But when political consultant Jefrey Pollock prefaced remarks about Fossella on NY1 last night by saying he’s working for Recchia’s campaign, that was news.  read more »

 

Lew Fidler, a vocal critic of congestion pricing, spoke Wednesday night at the Stonewall Democratic Club in Manhattan, putting his objections to the plan in context with language borrowed from 2005 mayoral candidate Freddy Ferrer, who used to say during the campaign that New York was becoming two cities.

Fidler told Stonewall, “There is no doubt in my mind that the congestion pricing proposal, once you get past all the laudable goals that it attempts, unsuccessfully, to achieve, is just that kind of system.”

Helen Foster, who is contemplating a run for Bronx Borough President, said the last two people who have held that job have divided the borough’s black and Puerto Rican communities.

A story in the Riverdale Review (still not online!) this week quoted Foster’s father, the former Councilman in the area, at a February 7 meeting saying, “The last two borough presidents we've had were not and are not sympathetic to the black community.”  read more »

Adolfo Carrion's fellow comptroller candidate, David Weprin, welcomed Carrion to the race yesterday by way of some remarks on his own qualifications:

“I still stand on my financial credentials, and in the end, I think that‘ll be very significant," he told me. "I served as Deputy Superintendent of Banks under Cuomo. I was in senior positions in municipal finance on Wall Street. I chaired the Security Industry Association’s New York district. And I’ve been head of the Finance Committee in the City Council for the last six years. So, I think those credentials can stand on their own.”

He went on, “I think in the position of comptroller, there’s less ethnic politics involved than, say, the office of mayor where ethnicity plays a bigger role. So, I don’t think it’s going to breakdown along those lines.”

Also running for comptroller: Melinda Katz, David Yassky, Jim Brennan, and (all but announced) Simcha Felder. Other than Carrion, all of them are from Brooklyn or Queens and except for Brennan and Carrion, all are Jewish.

A reader pointed out that Adolfo Carrion’s absence from the mayor's race alters the landscape for Anthony Weiner's candidacy.

In the Democratic primary, a candidate must get 40 percent of the vote to win the nomination and prevent a run-off. Without Carrion in the race, it’s more likely that Bill Thompson, the only black candidate, will earn at least that number.

Assuming that if Carrion had run, Thompson and Carrion would have split support from the black and Latino communities, Weiner then would have been in a run-off with one of them, and earned a second chance at capturing the nomination.

More after the jump.  read more »

Some reactions from the 2009 circuit to Adolfo Carrion’s entry into the comptroller’s race:

Fernando Ferrer, the most recent Hispanic candidate to run for mayor, told me via cell phone, “Well look, I think that he’s staked out for himself a race where he’s going to be a dominant figure.”

Asked if he was disappointed that Carrion would not be seeking the mayor's office, Ferrer replied, “I’ve just given you my comments.”

More after the jump.  read more »

The rumor that Eliot Spitzer has approached Freddy Ferrer about an appointment as Secretary of State has been making the rounds for weeks now. We first heard about it on Oct 25th, and when I asked Ferrer in an email, he wrote back that day with a clear cut "no."

On the 29th, the New York Post ran a story suggesting otherwise. Ferrer wrote me to deny the story.

"With respect to today's story, the answer is still 'no,'" he wrote. "No one from the Post ever called or contacted me about this."

Today New York Magazine has David Paterson saying "it's still live" and adds some interesting backstory as to why the appointment is a plausible one.

This time, so far, Ferrer isn't responding to a request for comment.

--Jason Horowitz

Aside from providing a revealing look at the governor elect, this year's Somos el Futuro conference in Puerto Rico offered a glimpse into the psyche of the state'a Hispanic Democrats, who, unlike the attendees at the same event in 2005, are in the mood to celebrate.

"It wasn't the blood bath like it was last year because of what happened with Freddy Ferrer," said one person who was at the conference. "This year, there's not a lot of that shit. It's pretty quiet."

Christine Quinn, a potential 2009 mayoral candidate, held a reception for elected officials only, while her prospective rival Bill Thompson also made the rounds at the conference.

Eliot Spitzer hosted an event as well, although attendees hoping for some in-depth preview of his agenda were disappointed.

"It wasn't a reception that lent itself to dialogue," said one person who attended Spitzer's reception. "It was like a 'hi' and 'bye' thing -- a brief moment with him."

-- Azi Paybarah

Echoing what he said on NY1 News last night, former mayoral candidate Freddy Ferrer told me yesterday that he's voting for Hevesi "with the full expectation that he will not serve as comptroller. That he'll be replaced."

I asked him if that meant Hevesi will resign, or be removed by the state Senate.

"I don't have any specific expectation in that area," Ferrer, who is now working lobbyists [fixed], told me. He declined to name a possible replacement.

So a vote for Hevesi is a vote for who, exactly?

"Elections such as this," Ferrer said, are "a leap of faith. But I have a lot faith in Eliot Spitzer."  read more »

Whether Ferrer is carrying a message for Spitzer, or some higher being, who knows.

-- Azi Paybarah

Azi got a hold of this two-minute video sent out by Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion to supporters.

Short of actually containing the words "Vote for Adolfo Carrion for Mayor in 2009," it's about as close as you can get to an election-year mayoral ad.

Inspiring music. Claims of massive increases in investment (236 percent) and decreases in crime (18 percent) since he took over from Fernando Ferrer. And clips of him saying things like this: "What I want to do is I want to give leadership to this city."

And it closes with a logo that imposes the words "Carrion NYC" over the silhouette of a New York skyline.

It's never too soon. I guess.

-- Azi Paybarah

With Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons in City Hall right now to present a study on poverty in NYC with Mayor Bloomberg, it's worth noting that the study reads like a potential mayoral plan for Parsons, whose electability has been under discussion for some time now.

While there are some similarities between Parsons and Bloomberg (CEOs, self-made, Republican), there is one noticeable difference: Parsons seems more comfortable talking about poverty, a subject that received little enough conspicuous attention from Bloomberg during his first term that it became a central line of attack for Fernando Ferrer last year. The study's recommendations make reference to expanded affordable housing, public education and job training.

Noting that nearly 340,000 New Yorkers are employed and living below the poverty line, Parsons writes, "Playing by the rules and being rewarded for hard work must be the ticket to financial security for our city's families."

-- Azi Paybarah

Andrew Cuomo, Rep. Charlie Rangel and a few other Democrats may want Mark Green to drop out of the attorney general's race -- but not Freddy Ferrer.

When Ferrer and Green stood together this afternoon in Queens to endorse Hiram Monserrate for state senate, Ferrer was asked about the attorney general's race.

"I haven't made any endorsements in that race," is all Ferrer would say.

Will Ferrer endorse in the AG race?

"Eventually."

Before the primary?

To that, Freddy smiled, and finally said, "How else would I get you to another press conference? What else do I have going for me?"

-- Azi Paybarah

Speaking of unity, Freddy Ferrer and Mark Green are about to make their second joint campaign appearance ever.

Just hours after Andrew Cuomo held a "united for justice" rally with Charlie King, the presumably positive event is a boon for Green, who has come under increasing pressure to stop his "comparison campaign" against Cuomo.

Ferrer and Green will be in Jackson Heights endorsing City Councilman Hiram Monserrate for state senate against incumbent John Sabini. Ferrer practically swept up all the endorsements of the elected officials in that area when he ran for mayor. For Green, who has been contributing money to Monserrate, it's a way to get a foothold in Cuomo's home borough.

The last time Green and Ferrer held a joint appearance, there was a bomb scare. Can't wait to see what happens today.

-- Azi Paybarah

Political Arithmetik looks at poll numbers since British officials foiled the airline terror plot and finds not much has changed.

"In polls taken since the British terror plot against airlines, five of the seven polls have shown a reduced Democratic advantage...Interestingly, the post-plot polling does not show any evidence for an upturn in overall presidential approval."

Although Democrats gained ground in a number of Senate races, Republicans are on pace to retain their majority, according to Zogby poll numbers on WSJ.

Greg Sargent catches a Washington Post reporter wondering how exactly to cover people who constantly lie to him.

The Ethics Commission reports that there is no problem with the state attorney general sitting on the board of his family's trust fund.

A professor at Fordham thinks blacks in Brooklyn's 11th have to learn to vote strategically.

The Integrity Party hands in their petitions to the Suffolk Board of Elections.  read more »

And, as you can see from the picture above, Fernando Ferrer is back, and endorsing Hiram Monserrate.

-- Azi Paybarah

When is crime a campaign issue? Maybe when campaign aides have to file police reports.

"We don't have polling numbers, we have Compstat," said State Senator John Sabini of Jackson Heights after a third police report was filed by his campaign.

On August 14, computers from Sabini's campaign office was stolen. On August 17, a 17-year-old girl campaigning for Sabini on 99th Street reported to police that a man approached her, made a lewd/threatening remark, and fled. On August 23, an 18-year-old volunteer was confronted by three men and punched while putting up posters before a debate with his challenger, City Councilman Hiram Monserrate of Corona.

Monserrate, a former police officer, said of the last incident: "As far as I understand, there was provocation on both ends regarding the affixing of posters." Although not accused of any wrongdoing, Monserrate said he would not condone any inappropriate behavior by his campaign workers.

But Moserrate downplayed the significance of reported incidents, saying, "There have been a bunch of incidents. They have vandalized my campaign headquarters. We have pictures of it. We have video of it. I have never engaged in trying to report it." He added, "I think Mr. Sabini's camp has been very sensational in their press releasing." [more comments after the jump]

For some reason, this feels like deja vu all over again.  read more »

In non-criminal news from this race: Sabini is getting endorsed from David Paterson and African-American leaders today, and Monserrate is getting endorsed by Fernando Ferrer, whom many electeds in that district supported for mayor.

-- Azi Paybarah

Is Time Warner Chairman and CEO Richard Parsons, according to this item in New York Magazine.

In the past, most of Parsons's political contributions in the City have gone to Democrats like Mark Green and Freddy Ferrer, and potential '09 challenger, Bill Thompson. There was one notable Republican who got a donation from Parsons: Rudy Giuliani.

So, if this media mogul is anything like the one who ended up in City Hall, Parsons could run as a, uh...?

-- Azi Paybarah

Below is the full text of the letter Assemblyman Jose Rivera sent to Mark Green, which starts with the subtle line :

"Clearly you have learned nothing from the divisive and negative race you ran in 2001 against Fernando Ferrer which cost the New York City Democrats the mayor's office."

It ends with this equally emphatic kicker:

"The sad truth is, you run as a Democrat in name, but you once again do the dirty work for the Republicans."

Tomorrow, according to a source in City Hall, Rivera will endorse Cuomo in the Bronx, according to a source in City Hall.  read more »

The timing hardly seems like a coincidence.

-- Azi Paybarah

Dennis Rivera, president of the city’s hospital workers’ union, controls the most powerf  read more »

Dennis Rivera, president of the city’s hospital workers’ union, controls the most powerful and s  read more »

This week’s issue of Crain’s (subscription required) mentions that Larry Silverstein has hired Roberto Ramirez to “tell his side of the story on rebuilding at Ground Zero.” The item goes on to note that the Bronx politico “most recently advised Fernando Ferrer’s mayoral campaign”—failed mayoral campaign, one might say.

Well, he better work fast. Tomorrow is the deadline for Silverstein to strike a deal that may have him giving up some of his rights to develop all five buildings at World Trade Center in return for low-interest Liberty Bonds. That is, if the deadline is real. One theory holds that this morning’s distraction at Ground Zero was intended to show progress even if tomorrow’s deadline is delayed.

-Matthew Schuerman

Diane Cardwell, who covered the Ferrer campaign last cycle for the Times, has been named City Hall Bureau Chief. She succeeds Jim Rutenberg, who departs soon for the White House.

Congrats and, in case you didn't get the memo:

To: The Staff

From: [Metro Editor] Joe Sexton

Diane Cardwell's first byline in the paper a dozen years ago carried this headline: Rapwear. Soulwear. Hipwear. The story introduced a new and fresh voice to our pages, and it is a voice that over the years has shown itself to be wise as well as witty, authoritative as well as nuanced, tough as well as tender. She wrote, for instance, the obituaries of Onofrio Ottomanelli -- the famed Village butcher -- and Freddy Ferrer -- the Bronx pol who didn't quite, ahem, make the cut.

She profiled the assassin at City Hall and Mr. Bloomberg's more or less constant companion. She traveled the country and filed from the battleground states in 2004, then returned to Brooklyn and took up a different kind of turf fight at the Atlantic Yards.

Along the way, her coverage of the City Council earned her a reputation as a shrewd and sophisticated observer of one of the city's more curious institutions. It made you laugh and cry, which pretty much means she got it just right.

Starting next month, Diane will bring her voice -- and all the intelligence and instinct and rigor that informs it -- to her role as City Hall Bureau Chief. It's an appointment we make with enormous excitement and great satisfaction. Diane, who has a real feel for the landscape and its inhabitants, also has a host of bold ideas for chronicling the second term of the Bloomberg administration and taking a true measure of its arguable accomplishments and potentially lasting improvements. We are, too, quite confident she will serve as an artful manager of a very busy and very talented couple of accomplices in Room 9.

In short, Diane -- child of Harlem and lifelong lover of the city -- rocks. We can't wait to get the party started.

Greg Sargent has a long interview with Freddy Ferrer up on the site of The American Prospect, in which Ferrer pushes his criticism of the press a bit further, noting pieces he found outrageous, particularly in the Times. The specific stories clearly still rankle:

One he cites is a front-page New York Times piece headlined, "Clintons give Ferrer a hand while staying at arm's length." The piece, which reported that the Clintons were subtly distancing themselves from Ferrer's floundering candidacy, infuriated some in Hillary's camp who argued that she'd done far more for Ferrer than any other Dem. And Ferrer points out that not a single Ferrer adviser or supporter was quoted complaining about the Clintons' supposed distance-keeping -- either on or off the record.

"How a piece like that [which] doesn't cite one shred of credible evidence makes it to the front page -- that's strictly an editorial decision," Ferrer says. "It was incredible. Hillary called me about [the piece]. She says, ‘We're just amazed by this.'"

Another Times piece Ferrer denounces as grossly unfair was an August 2005 article that reported that investigators had looked into a former Ferrer associate who'd solicited contributions for Ferrer in exchange for promises of government contracts. Ferrer argues that a fair amount of the story was old news, that prosecutors had already concluded that none of the charges against the associate had anything to do with Ferrer, and that the supervising prosecutor gave a statement completely exonerating him, but The Times ran the nearly 2,000-word story anyway, creating an appearance of impropriety that Ferrer's rivals, Bloomberg included, quickly exploited. "It was a non-story," Ferrer fumes. "There was nothing there."

Ferrer also took issue with what he said looked like a constant effort by The Times to choose photos of him that made him look silly. "A good friend of mine who lives down the block wrote me a note during the campaign [saying], ‘Can the Times manage to get worse camera shots of you?'" Ferrer says.

A Times spokeswoman responds that the stories were fair. I think you can argue with those two stories; but they were two among many, and how many points were they worth? And the photos? The camera is not exactly Mike's friend either.

In retrospect, a few things seem clear. It was an almost hopeless race. Ferrer made a couple big mistakes, and never seemed to settle on a clear message or to galvanize a movement. He seems to think that campaign finance would be a central issue for editorial writers, which it turned out not to be. And the press, rather than treating him as a sympathetic underdog, never warmed to him. But it seems hard to argue that the most sympathetic coverage would have changed the underlying realities.

Over at Gawker, they've come across a Stockholm personal ad placed by Freddy Ferrer. The other Freddy Ferrer.  read more »

The business of politics has never been better for the people who make campaign advertisements.  read more »

The erudite professor of practical politics, Roberto Ramirez, wasn’t wrong when he told The Ne  read more »

The erudite professor of practical politics, Roberto Ramirez, wasn’t wrong when he told The New Yo  read more »

With the formal demise of Fernando Ferrer’s Mayoral candidacy, an era comes to an end in New Y  read more »

Here's a somewhat updated version of the section of analysis of the Pace "telephone exit poll" I posted last night.

"Apparently, Fernando Ferrer's "lose with dignity" strategy paid dividends: he was spared the 30+ point defeat that several polls had predicted; he appears to have carried The Bronx (59% to 39%)1, Blacks (51% to 47%), and Latinos (62% to 36%). A majority of the electorate (53%) has a favorable impression of Ferrer while only 34% have an unfavorable impression of him."

Full results, and the pollsters discussion of their methodology, will be on their site later today. I'll link it then.  read more »

Here's a snippet from Pace pollsters Jonathan Trichter's and Chris Paige's analysis of their "telephone exit poll" discussed earlier. A couple of people who do this stuff for a living have expressed their doubts about the methodology, which seems a reasonable subject for debate.

In the meantime, here's some of the key demographic analysis:

"Apparently, Fernando Ferrer's "lose with dignity" strategy paid dividends: he was spared the 30+ point defeat that several polls had predicted; he appears to have carried The Bronx (51% to 47%),1 Blacks (51% to 47%), and Latinos (62% to 36%). A majority of the electorate (53%) has a favorable impression of Ferrer while only 34% have an unfavorable impression of him."

More sometime Wednesday, as The Politicker tries to catch its breath and return to a more sustainable pace.  read more »

Fernando Ferrer sought to turn the contest for New York City Mayor into a brawl last weekend.  read more »

Like Cambridge and Hollywood, New York is considered a hotbed of left-wing, blue-state ideology, the  read more »

Unsurprisingly, Evangelical Christian conservatives are having a bit of a hard time figuring out whom to support this year.

One who thinks about city politics quite a bit is Joe Mattera, a Sunset Park Minister who runs the City Action Coalition, and whom I profiled here.

"The upcoming mayoral election in New York City has many in the Evangelical camp in a quandary because neither Mayor Bloomberg nor opponent Fernando Ferrer espouses the core moral ethos of Biblical Christianity," he wrote in an email to supporters yesterday. "Indeed, when it comes to salient issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion rights, or even the foundation for human rights and law, the views of both candidates cause us concern.

"Recently, Ferrer said that he was confident he was going to be elected because 'God was on his side.' Immediately, one wonders to what god is Ferrer speaking? Mayor Bloomberg has left us no doubt that he is as "blue" as Ferrer."  read more »

What's an Evangelical to do?

Speaking a few minutes after Freddy at a raucous mixer of young people from the Republican Jewish Coalition and the National Jewish Democratic Council, Mike seemed awash in memories inspired by the disco beats playing in the church-come-club that played host to the event.

"I just want to know one thing. How many of you remember when this was Limelight?" asked the Mayor. His eyes sparkled as he reminisced about the time "before the press started following me around and I could have a little more fun."  read more »

Afterwards a comedian joked that "Mike Bloomberg and I are both Jewish and Freddy Ferrer and I both don't have any money" but the roused crowd seemed more taken with the Mayor than the entertainment.

"That was the best speech he's ever made," said Jewish shock jock Aaron Braunstein.

New York Press proudly announces itself as "the largest English-language paper to endorse Freddy" and promptly spoils it: "To ensure that we no longer have two New Yorks, but one grand city to rival Newark, we need Freddy Ferrer."  read more »

“I stand now at the threshold of having fulfilled a commitment that I made somewhere in 1987,  read more »

New York enjoys a reputation as a union town, where brawny firefighters demonstrate for better pay o  read more »

New York City is more populous than 100 of the world’s countries, and yet our Mayor’s race next  read more »

New York City is more populous than 100 of the world’s countries, and yet our Mayor’s ra  read more »

“I stand now at the threshold of having fulfilled a commitment that I made somewhere in 1987, that  read more »

There's certainly something to the Ferrer campaign's contention that they're at a disadvantage when it comes to the media, one backed by Bill Lynch. Setting aside the political stances of newspaper proprietors (which shouldn't always be set aside), the delight we take in campaign follies hits Freddy harder because his staff is stretched thinner, more likely to err. Mike can afford a huge staff; others, like Anthony, work with a small staff but keep a very simple focus. Freddy is trying to do a lot with a little money, and so of course they're sloppier.

But the media story has a flip-side: The press likes and underdog, and tacitly sees itself, often, as having the responsibility of leveling the playing field. What's more, there's a squeamishness about kicking Freddy while he's down.

This sentiment seems to have kept unwritten a central story about Freddy's media campaign: How explicitly ethnic some of his appeals are. As I understand it, the Villaraigosa campaign, for example, generally avoided anything that could suggest that his first priority would be Hispanics. Freddy's Spanish-language television began with an emotional spot on the theme "we made history." Now they end with him thanking his "familia." Are others not family?

The most striking one of these, though, if Freddy's recent radio spot, which features a country music love song, an African-American voice linking Mike and Bush, and this tag line: "Elect Freddy Ferrer Mayor. He's not like Mike. He's more like you."

Two Democratic campaign veterans I spoke to when it was released had the same instant reaction: Um, I hope that's not for black radio. It was.

The problem?

Well, how about this spot: Salsa music in the background, and the words "mi amor" and "mi corazon" floating through. The text says Freddy's "married" to the Bronx political machine, or something like that. And the tag-line: "Re-elect Mike Bloomberg. He's not like Freddy. He's more like you." Run it on WABC, or make the narrator African-American and run it on black radio.

I asked Roberto Ramirez about this when we interviewed him for this week's profile, and he dismissed the comparison. "This is about Bush," he said of the Ferrer spot. It's a catchy, unconventional spot -- another attempt to break through without much money. Ramirez also said the "familia" tag rings differently in Spanish, and has a less exclusive feel.

But the salsa ad could be making a legitimate point. And any spot that ends "He's more like you" has to raise the question of why, exactly, people are being asked to vote for the candidate.

This hasn't gotten any press at all, though the Times touches today on Freddy pushing a Hispanic line more aggressively than he has before, in the debate trap set for Mike by the Freddy-allied Hispanic Federation. (Hard to beat up on Freddy for having allied non-profits, since half the non-profits in town take money from Mike, and the other half are holding their hands out.)  read more »

But the real story is in the media buys, and the fact that it hasn't been written about the underdog is the flip-side of the Ferrer campaign's complaints about the press.

The clearest statement yet of Freddy Ferrer’s feelings on Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards: “As mayor, I want to scale that project down dramatically.” But the Daily News sure buries the news. If this were the Mayor saying something about Ground Zero….  read more »

...on Mike's campaign staff?

Over on the Voice's site, the inimitable Tom Robbins reports on a bit of partial disclosure from the Bloomberg campaign that makes the IHOP brigade look like amateurs, as it were:

"Ask anyone answering the phone at the Bloomberg campaign office in the Throgg's Neck section of the Bronx who's in charge there, and they'll direct you to a political operative named John Greaney.

"But if you try to ask Greaney... whether or not he's the same guy who was featured as the hero/victim in a recent Times story about an embarassing legal episode in the life of Freddy Ferrer and he gets all shy on you."

(Sorry about the lack of embedded links -- I'm posting remotely and my HTML skills are, um, limited. The Voice piece is at: http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/powerplays/archives/001991.php.)

UPDATE: The city's law department tells The Politicker that the Times reporter, Mike McIntire, actually filed the FOIL request for the documents back in August, which is before Greaney was working for Mike. So it looks like the IHOP brigade may still do him one better.  read more »

For you poll-heads, some more details on that Pace Poll, done with the Observer, WNYC, and WCBS, which isn't yet online, but will be soon here.

The poll surveyed 538 "prime" voters, those the pollsters figured were likeliest to vote on November 8.

Here's from the analysis, by Pace's Jon Trichter and Chris Paige:

"Mayor Michael Bloomberg is poised to trounce his Democratic challenger, former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, in this year's mayoral election. At the moment, he is leading by a margin of more than 2 to 1 (58% to 27%). Bloomberg leads Ferrer in every demographic group, save one (The Young - or voters under the age of 34). He's even leading among Latinos (53% to 35%), Bronx Residents (52% to 36%), The Working Poor (50% to 37%), and Blacks (44% to 29%). Ferrer may well be correct when he says there are two New Yorks, but they both want to vote for Bloomberg.

"The Pace Poll modeled several turnout scenarios, depending on the number of voters who actually make it to their polling places come Election Day, and we found the Mayor's performance improves as turnout declines; in a high-turnout election, Bloomberg wins 56% to 27%; in a moderate turnout election, he wins 63% to 28%, and in a low-turnout election, he wins 67% to 21%.

"Ferrer's collapse and the concomitant lack of suspense surrounding the race's outcome might keep enough minority voters at home to prevent 2005 from becoming the first mayoral election in which minorities cast a majority of the votes.

"Although identity politics has always been a central fact of city politics, Ferrer's chance to become the first Latino mayor of New York generates only mild excitement among voters: 20% consider it either a strong (12%) or somewhat strong (8%) reason to vote for him while just 4% admit to thinking it is a reason to vote against him. Strikingly, three in four voters (75%) think Ferrer's chance to become the first Latino mayor makes no difference to their vote. Of course, this variable is more important to Latinos, 28% of whom describe it as a reason to vote for him. But if one wants to truly appreciate the utter lack of interest in Ferrer's bid to become New York's first Latino mayor, one needs look no further than this fact: two-thirds (66%) of Latinos say his ethnicity makes no difference in their vote.

"Generally speaking, these numbers call into question that fundamental assumption of local politics: the potential for a Black-Brown coalition. It's difficult to imagine a Black-Brown coalition succeeding when half of that potential partnership doesn't care one way or the other."  read more »

We'll see.

Freddy has a statement out: "It is time for Mike Bloomberg to come clean on Iraq," said Fernando Ferrer. "Does he still support President Bush and his phony Iraq War? Mike Bloomberg believes the War in Iraq is not a local issue. After the deaths of 2,000 American soldiers, including more than 30 from our own city, the Mayor can't have it both ways. He can't stand with Bush's party and then hide when the results of Bush's disastrous policies come to light."  read more »

It’s a bad sign for a candidate when his campaign gaffes are better known than his agenda.  read more »

It’s a bad sign for a candidate when his campaign gaffes are better known than his agenda.  read more »

"Bloomberg has some financial skills, which is how he got his sweet moolah. But you know what? He doesn't have other skills."

That's the word at VoteForFernando.com, a kitschy, homespun website that makes you wonder if Team Ferrer has enlisted writers from the The Onion to bolster their cause.

"Fernando Ferrer is from the Bronx, so he's probably skilled with num-chucks [sic]. He's also the only one who grew a moustache (well, Tom has a beard). Fernando has really great skills."

There's also a picture of meatloaf, and the lovely pencil sketch I've posted on the left. [A Politicker reader writes in to note that the site is actually knocking off Napoleon Dynamite, which, since I live in a box and barely every go to the movies, I missed!]  read more »

Some simple cyber-sleuthing reveals that VoteForFernando.com was registered anonymously at the end of last month. Like TruthOnBloomberg.org, this site has much of its content warehoused over at BloombergFacts.com, a blank, placeholder site, which leads me to believe they're owned by the same folks. Who could the mystery registrants be?

The immediate threat of a bomb attack on the city’s subway system is apparently over, and may have  read more »

A new Quinnipiac poll bolsters Bloomberg's big lead, with Mike ahead of Freddy by 28 points. The poll's margin of error was plus/minus 2.6 points, and pollsters noted a big spike for Mike after the subway terrorism alert. During the first three days of the survey, Mike held a 19-point lead; after he announced the terror threat, the lead soared to 34 points.

"Now that the threat has been lifted, we'll see if the Mayor's numbers come back down to earth," wrote Maurice Carroll, director of the Q-Poll.  read more »

Meanwhile, back on earth -- and at least for now -- it is raining on Fernando Ferrer.

Flanking Freddy this afternoon in Union Square, Howard Dean took the latest dig at Steve Rattner when, seizing a bullhorn, he bit back at the Democrats for Bloomberg.