Ip | The New York Observer

Phantom Members of the Independence Party

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:25:11 -0500

WARNING: If you find accounts of the perpetual feuding within the Independence Party to be boring and incomprehensible, do not read any further. The state Independence Party organization has taken the unusual step of forming a three-member panel (sound familiar?) to investigate the party's county organizations and see if their rosters contain phantom party members. (This, according to IP member Frank Morano, who is perhaps best known in NY political circles for an ostensibly earnest...

Elsewhere: The Pataki Tour

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 12:25:26 -0500

George Pataki will tour the capitol because, astonishingly, he hasn't seen enough of the place yet. When Pataki leaves, some transportation upgrades won't be finished. Ben challenges an aspect of today's Times story on Basil and David Paterson. A lot of tourists have come to New York. The lawyer monitoring the Independence Party's reorganization in Westchester will cost the IP $350 per hour. Mystery Pollster looks at President Ford's approval ratings. Amy Taylor on DMIblog wonders, purposefully, if workplace...

The Staten Island Race Next Year

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:40:02 -0500

One of only two special elections slated to take place next year will be for the Staten Island City Council seat being vacated by Republican Andrew Lanza, who is going to the state Senate. As it stands, the field is expected to include Assemblyman Vincent Ignizio, who ran on the Republican, Independence and Conservative Party lines, and his challenger from 2004, Democrat Manny Innamorato, who has the backing of the county organization. One possible wild...

Staten Island's Special Election

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:13:36 -0500

The race to fill the Staten Island City Council seat being vacated by Andrew Lanza, who is going to the state Senate, is shrinking before it really grows. Independence Party activist Frank Morano announced he will not be a candidate in next year's special election for that seat, saying the ongoing court battle over control of the IP is taking up too much time. In an email sent to supporters, Morano said, "First, I'm currently...

Independence Party and Term Limits

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 05:52:12 -0400

The state's Independence Party has had enough distractions and internal fighting this year to make them look more like a circus and less like the New York's largest minor party. They might be hard to take seriously at all -- if it weren't for term limits. It's an issue where their procedure-orientated agenda dovetails neatly with voter pessimism, giving them a weird relevance even as their other issues - internal fights, alleged anti-Semitism --...

Showtime with Fulani

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 12:45:00 -0400

Among the Bloomberg supporters headed for the Apollo tonight is none other than...Lenora Fulani. Ms. Fulani will hold an informational picket with members of the "Bloomberg on C" coalition (read: Independent Party types). For any of you hoping Mike could still make a surprise appearance at this debate...she's the last nail in the coffin. And Fulani is not the only IP'er rushing into the mayor's Apollo debacle. Azi writes in, sharing some snippets from an ad...

Hanging by the Telephone

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 05:40:00 -0400

Did the dog eat the Attorney General's homework? And his email? And his telephone, too? In this week's Observer, I wrote an article about Lenora Fulani's hold on local pols who are courting Independence Party endorsements. Ms. Fulani, a controversial lieutenant of the IP, has been accused of child abuse. Eliot Spitzer promised to look into the allegations, after an initial prodding from the Post. Then Virginia demanded that Mike investigate, too,...

Glutton for Punishment

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 05:16:00 -0400

Mike must take secret pride in those editorial scoldings he gets every time he doles out the praise for the Independence Party, whose storied history you must be familiar with by now. Independence Party spokeswoman Sarah Lyons tells us that the Mayor, along with one Jeanine Pirro, will be special guests at an IP event this Sunday. "Both will be speaking, along with a host of IP leaders, at a gathering of 150 party members and...