Hassan Nemazee | The New York Observer

Former Clinton Finance Chair Hassan Nemazee Defends His Kids' Political Contributions

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:30:16 -0400

On Sunday, Page Six Magazine published a piece about New York powerfuls using their children as "money mules" for political donations--which means that the parents are donating money under their kids' names when the parents have reached the limit for political contributions.

The implication is that these students and/or unemployed socialites have parents who refuse to abide by the political donation regulations, and are using their children's names to shovel money into selected campaigns....

Obama and Clinton Make Up, Sort of, But Why Now?

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:56:44 -0400

With just over two months to go before Election Day and after months of hard feelings, a handful of phone calls, and fitful, uncomfortable contact between respective staffs, Barack Obama paid a visit to Bill Clinton's Harlem office today, where the former president said he would hit the trail for the Democratic nominee.

"Would it would been more to Obama's advantage to have engaged more proactively earlier with President...

A Private Thank You for Clinton Backers, and an Appeal

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:40:43 -0400

Hillary Clinton held a private meeting for supporters last night at Cipriani's, thanking them for their help during the primary.

Introduced by Senator Chuck Schumer, who spoke about local issues in Mount Vernon and Westchester County, Clinton addressed key supporters, including Hassan Nemazee, Alan Patricof, and Fred Hochberg, and elected officials like Tom DiNapoli and Tom Suozzi.

According to one of the attendees, Clinton did not discuss her future plans.

The event...

Maybe Obama Needs the Big-Money Dems After All

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:39:17 -0400

Donors to Barack Obama expect his campaign to raise just over $30 million in June, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Even if that estimate is a tactial lowball, the number is well below the astronomical figures reported during the primary. And when contrasted with the $22 million June haul the McCain campaign reported yesterday, and the additional $95 million McCain campaign aides hope to raise by the end of the summer through the RNC...

Axelrod's Targeted Push for Clinton Donors

Mon, 12 May 2008 09:17:08 -0400

The Obama campaign is in town to rally its fund-raisers and create new ones. Obama senior strategist David Axelrod is here for two meetings with the campaign's fund-raisers, reported yesterday in the New York Post, at which the Obama finance people have been encouraged to show up with friends who are Clinton supporters.

But the push to recruit the opposition is a measured one. According to members of the Obama fund-raising team, Hillary Clinton’s elite...

Clinton Finance Chair Expects Nominee (Whoever That Is) to Be Welcoming

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:17:01 -0400

I just asked Hillary Clinton's finance chair Hassan Nemazee about accounts from other Clinton donors of Obama bundlers contacting them about the possibility of coming over to the campaign.

"There is only one instance that I know of in which a Clinton donor went over to the Obama campaign," said Nemazee. "I remain convinced, until shown otherwise, that donors, be they in New York or elsewhere, are sticking with Hillary and the campaign."

He...

Clinton Finance Chair Predicts a Game-Changing Tuesday

Mon, 05 May 2008 16:10:56 -0400

As a rule, the Clinton campaign tries to keep expectations down, but at least one of Hillary Clinton's top supporters is dispensing with the exercise as it applies to tomorrow's primary contests in North Carolina and Indiana.

"I think the momentum is very much in our direction and we are going to exceed expectations," said Hassan Nemazee, one of the campaign's finance chairs.

When asked if Tuesday would be the game-changer, Nemazee said, "You...

Clinton Finance Chair Says Defection Is No Big Deal

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:01:07 -0400

Hassan Nemazee, a finance chair for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, said he was not surprised by the defection of fund-raiser Gabriel Guerra-Mondragon to the Obama campaign.

"He came to me yesterday and gave me a heads-up," said Nemazee. "I like Gabriel and I consider him a friend. The reality is that as much as we don't want to see anybody leaving the fold and we are disappointed in his decision, from the standpoint of the...

Howard Dean Talks to Hassan Nemazee, Part 2

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:05:55 -0400

I followed up with Clinton campaign finance chair Hassan Nemazee about that summit of big Clinton and Obama donors last night, and he told me that there was a bit of an epilogue to the spirited exchange he had with DNC chairman Howard Dean.

"He did call me," Nemazee said. "We did have a lengthy and a productive and constructive conversation regarding the issues that I had raised and the role that he could...

More on Clinton Donors Versus Dean

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:12:23 -0400

Some more details of the heated exchange between Howard Dean and Clinton supporters during last evening's Obama-Clinton donor summit on Fifth Avenue, from yet another attendee:

After Dean's initial remarks, Bernard Bergreen, a Hillary bundler, rose and said that Dean's address left out any discussion of Michigan and Florida, which was the critical bone of contention between the two campaigns.

Dean said that in his view, the question could be settled only after the primaries had...

Nemazee Says Clinton Way Up in Ohio and Texas

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 12:57:03 -0500

Hassan Nemazee, one of Hillary Clinton's finance chairs, thinks that the punditocracy and media as a whole are getting way ahead of themselves in proclaiming Clinton sunk.

"The pundits are creating this impression that this is a foregone conclusion," said Nemazee, who thinks the Clinton campaign needs to do a better job of making clear that there is still a real path to victory for the candidate. "There needs...

Clinton Bundlers Dispute Donors' Defections, Predict Banner February

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:47:10 -0500

One of the Clinton campaign's finance chairs, Hassan Nemazee, called in to dispute Clinton fund-raiser John Catsimatidis' assertion that the number of Clinton donors moving to Obama were "too numerous to mention."

"We have seen no evidence whatsoever" of a defection, Nemazee said. "If anything we are delighted to still see so much enthusiasm."

Instead of an exodus, Nemazee said, his donors had actually rallied around their...

Hillary Bundlers Canvass, Humbly, in Iowa

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:30:11 -0500

The dreary work of campaign field operations—knocking on doors, chatting up old people and cold calling for a candidate—is often carried out by eager college students wanting to make their first inroads into politics.

That was not the case on Ridgewood Street in Ames on Dec. 15, when some of Hillary Clinton’s richest and most influential bundlers and donors—Hassan and Sheila Nemazee, Alan and Susan Patricof, and the former ambassador to Norway, Robin Duke—braved...

Hillary Donor on a Race Without Edwards, Biden, Dodd, Richardson

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:10:58 -0500

It's an old argument at this point, but one that hasn't become any less relevant: Whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama would benefit from the collapse of their primary opponents.

The Obama campaign articulated their case to me some months back as to why his candidate would benefit if John Edwards ceases to be a viable candidate before Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, for example.

A few minutes ago, I spoke to Hassan Nemazee, an influential...

Hillary Supporter: She's Really Competing In Iowa

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:45:46 -0400

Prominent Hillary Clinton supporter Hassan Nemazee says that the campaign's hiring today of Teresa Vilmain as the campaign's chief field operation official in Iowa (full memo from Clinton campaign after the jump) basically puts to rest any doubts a leaked campaign memo might have raised about Hillary's commitment to compete in the state.

Vilmain has worked on the 1992 and 1996 Clinton presidential campaigns and the 2000 Gore presidential campaign the campaigns. She also...

White Gathers the Democratic Families

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:00:00 -0400

For all the stuffy ladies’ lunches, and high-dollar dinners featuring this or that Presidential contender, the world of political fund-raising is hardly a genteel place. Factions form, egos clash, turf battles erupt. By the time a nominee has emerged from the primary process, some of the deepest-pocketed donors—like their candidates—are barely on speaking terms. But on the evening of Feb. 21, in a scene that guests jokingly compared to the gathering of the tribes...

Nemazee for Hillary

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:21:01 -0500

Hassan Nemazee, one of the most sought-after Democratic fund-raisers in the country -- and one of the highest profile fence-sitters in New York -- just told me that he has decided to back Hillary Clinton. "I found the best candidate out there," he said. Based on conversations with New York's big uncommitted donors in recent days, it seemed inevitable to me that the vast majority were going to fall into line after Hillary announced. Still, it's...

Gore Awakens Sleeping Booty Of '00 Donors

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 20:00:00 -0400

In suit pants too short and black boots too polished, Al Gore stepped haltingly to the podium of the Sheraton New York on Thursday afternoon and took credit for helping to solicit an enormous donation to fight global warming. Mr. Clinton patted him on the back and joked, “Al’s the enforcer.” Mr. Gore ignored the whiff of condescension as his puffy, aquiline face beamed in the direction of the adulation.

To the Democratic-leaning...

Gore Awakens Sleeping Booty Of ’00 Donors

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 20:00:00 -0400