John Liu | The New York Observer

Bloomberg Confident He'll Make Friends with Liu, City Council

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:01:35 -0500

Michael Bloomberg brushed aside questions about his apparently contentious relationships with incoming city comptroller John Liu, who declined to meet the mayor for coffee, and with a (presumably) emboldened City Council.

At a press conference this morning about expanding 311 to include the MTA, Bloomberg explained Liu's apparent snub, saying, “Well, he’s been very busy, but we’ll get together. You can rest assure that we will all work together.”

Later, when asked if he was expecting...

Unofficial Results: Liu and de Blasio Get More Votes Than Bloomberg

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:55:55 -0500

The person who got the most votes in yesterday’s election?

No, not Michael Bloomberg. It’s Comptroller-elect John Liu.

According to unofficial results, Liu got 696,330 votes, with 652,511 on the Democratic line, and 43,819 on the WFP line.

The second-highest total belonged to Bill de Blasio, in the public advocate’s race. He got 672,383 votes. 627,390 came on the Democratic line and 44,993 from the WFP line.

Michael Bloomberg got 557,059 votes in total. 414,242 came from the...

Paterson Misses Paterson Forum

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:41:11 -0400

ALBANY--A forum in Bedford-Stuyvesant billed as "A Community Conversation" with David Paterson took place last night without David Paterson.

About 400 people showed up at the First A.M.E. Zion Church on MacDonough Street for the forum, which included appearances by Bill Thompson, John Liu, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Councilmembers Al Vann and Letitia James. Assemblywoman Annette Robinson was one of the principle organizers.

"We had a very nice meeting," she said. "Basically...

Liu, Johnson Want Monserrate Out

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:07:27 -0400

ALBANY—Two more elected officials have weighed in calling for Hiram Monserrate's resignation in the wake of his conviction on a misdemeanor assault charge.

John Liu, a former colleague of Monserrate's in the City Council and the Democratic Party's comptroller candidate, said that elected officials "are also held to a higher standard of trust and responsibility" and "remaining in office at this time would be a remendous disservice to his district and his constituents." Liu...

Cyclists Go After John Liu Over Yassky's Bill

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:39:00 -0400

Tensions surfaced this week between members of the city's cycling community and Councilman John Liu over a piece of legislation—the Bicycle Access to Buildings Bill—that has yet to make it out of the City Council Transportation Committee, which Liu chairs. The bill, which was first introduced back in 2003 and has resurfaced in various incarnations since then, would require office buildings to let tenants store bikes in the buildings, hence encouraging more people to...

Speaking for Weprin, Sheinkopf Attacks Katz, Ignores Liu

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:38:00 -0400

Hank Sheinkopf is doing his bit to make a surprisingly lively comptroller's race a little livelier. Here's the response I got from Sheinkopf, who is working for candidate David Weprin, to yesterday’s Quinnipiac poll, which showed Weprin behind the three other Democratic candidates: "The road to city hall has never been paid for by landlords’ money. Landlord candidate Melinda katz, will be found out by the voters." This is not the first time Sheinkopf has made Katz,...

An Unexciting Man for an Unexciting Job

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:00:00 -0400

Councilman and city comptroller candidate David Weprin claims he wasn’t offended when his younger brother, Assemblyman Mark Weprin, said at a recent press conference that he wasn’t running as “Mr. Personality.” “I think I’m more exciting than he makes me out to be,” the older Weprin said. “I don’t take it seriously. He’s still a strong supporter.” Weprin, with his Inspector Clouseau moustache and awkward manner, was sitting toward the back of his campaign...

When Comptroller Candidates Attack

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:18:00 -0400

Early on the morning of June 16, Melinda Katz, John Liu, David Weprin and David Yassky, the four Democratic candidates hoping to succeed Bill Thompson as city comptroller, gathered in the CUNY Graduate Center in Midtown and attempted to add zest to talk about municipal finance. The forum was the candidates’ first and last chance to debate each other directly, and they wasted no time in setting themselves apart from their fellow candidates and scuffling...

A Club on Mark Green's Turf Goes for de Blasio (and Thompson and Yassky and Snyder)

Fri, 29 May 2009 09:25:00 -0400

The Lenox Hill Democratic Club on Manhattan's East Side voted last night to endorse city candidates. The club’s president, Caroline Mello, said the club endorsed Bill Thompson for mayor, Leslie Crocker Snyder for Manhattan district attorney, Bill de Blasio for public advocate and David Yassky for comptroller. Here are the vote totals: Snyder got 18 votes, Richard Aborn 10, and Cy Vance 2. De Blasio got 21, and...

Manhattan Dems Go with Yassky, Duck Public Advocate's Race; Weprin Gets S.I.

Fri, 22 May 2009 11:25:00 -0400

City Comptroller candidate David Yassky won the endorsement of the New York County Democratic Organization last night, while one of his rivals in the race, David Weprin, picked up the endorsement of the Democratic County organization on Staten Island. In Manhattan, Yassky edged out John Liu for the endorsement. The vote was 108 for Yassky, 96 for Liu, 6 for Melinda Katz and 0 for David Weprin, according to Arthur Greig, chairman of the law...

Not Ceding the Female Vote to Katz

Fri, 22 May 2009 09:50:00 -0400

City Comptroller candidate Melinda Katz has not been shy about reminding people that she is the only woman in the race. Yesterday afternoon, a rival supporter announced the formation of a “Women for Liu” group. Olanike Alabi, a Democratic district leader in Brooklyn, emailed friends and reporters announcing her support of comptroller candidate John Liu. In that email, Alabi also said she will rally women to support him, and that “we will organize women...

Tilden Club Backs Thompson, Liu, de Blasio, Aborn; Lambda Split on Comptrollers

Tue, 19 May 2009 09:00:00 -0400

After two rounds of voting, the Samuel J. Tilden Democratic Club in Manhattan voted to endorse Bill de Blasio for Public Advocate, according to an attendee there. The results after the second round of voting was 16 for de Blasio and 9 for the second-place finisher, Norman Siegel. In the comptroller’s race, the club voted to endorse John Liu. He got 20 votes, David Yassky got 13, Melinda Katz got 2 and David Weprin got 1. The...

Rangel's Slate: Thompson, Liu, de Blasio

Fri, 15 May 2009 14:07:00 -0400

At a big breakfast event tomorrow morning, Charlie Rangel will endorse Bill Thompson for mayor, John Liu for city comptroller and Bill de Blasio for public advocate. Above is a flier for the event, which starts at 7:45 a.m. (on a Saturday!?). A number of other elected officials from Harlem, like Assemblyman Keith Wright and City Councilwoman Inez Dickens, will also endorse this group at the event. UPDATE: A spokesman...

Who Hates John Liu?

Tue, 12 May 2009 14:09:00 -0400

Our John Liu coverage, like the Liu coverage elsewhere, draws an unusual level of commenter vitriol. Sometimes the commenters mention the fact that Liu's father was convicted for bank fraud. Usually the criticism of Liu, a councilmember from Queens who was born in Taiwan, is less specific, and amounts to name-calling. Many of the anti-Liu comments sound alike, and seem to stem from an ongoing conflict taking place far from City Hall. The criticisms are similar in...

The Katz Coalition

Wed, 06 May 2009 16:06:00 -0400

Here’s City Councilwoman Melinda with a bunch of City Council members who are endorsing her campaign for city comptroller. The Katz campaign gathered outside City Hall for a very public photo-op in an effort to offset the notion that John Liu is the only candidate in the race with diverse support. “I’m honored to have such a good relationship with the people I work with,” said Katz. Attendees include Maria Baez, Annabel...

Liu Campaign Returns Some Potentially Problematic Contributions, Keeps Some Others

Wed, 06 May 2009 11:45:00 -0400

So far, the comptroller campaign of City Councilman John Liu has returned a total of 42 contributions deemed potentially problematic, and has "flagged," but not refunded, a further 17 contributions from a bundler with a controversial past. Let's state right here what these kinds of stories often fail to state: The total amount of money at stake is not enormous, and there is no evidence of wrongdoing. But the way in which the campaign made these...

Hikind Endorses Weprin for Comptroller, de Blasio for Public Advocate

Mon, 04 May 2009 11:56:00 -0400

Assemblyman Dov Hikind of Brooklyn is not endorsing the only comptroller candidate from his borough, David Yassky, and instead backing David Weprin of Queens. Hikind made the announcement on his weekly radio show Saturday night. In a brief telephone interview this morning, Hikind elaborated. “I know he’s qualified based on his experience, going back to before he was an elected official,” Hikind said, referring to Weprin’s days working in the state's Banking Department under Mario Cuomo....

John Liu's Sweatshop Story

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:17:00 -0400

Here’s more from city comptroller candidate John Liu’s appearance at a forum last night, talking about how “at the age of seven” he joined his mother working in a sweatshop. “Me and my two younger brothers, we all went to the sweatshop. And I got my first job when I was seven. And I felt lucky because, hey, I got to do this and if I worked really, really fast, I got paid a dollar...

You Can't Handle John Liu

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:05:00 -0400

Here’s City Councilman and comptroller candidate John Liu at a candidate forum on Manhattan’s East Side last night explaining how he grilled the head of the M.T.A. during a council hearing once and achieved a little bit of a breakthrough. Liu compared the experience to that scene in a Few Good Men in which Tom Cruise questions Jack Nicholson. Then he reenacts the...

Broadway Democrats for Yassky

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:45:00 -0400

The Broadway Democrats voted last night to endorse David Yassky for City Comptroller. The vote, according to an interested reader, was 22 for Yassky, 12 for John Liu, 6 for Melinda Katz and 1 for David Weprin. In case you’re keeping track of this stuff. UPDATE: Liz has more numbers from the club's vote, including Manhattan DA candidate Richard Aborn getting 84 percent of the vote for his race, and mayoral candidate Billy Thompson getting nearly twice...

Liu Says He'll Run Even If He's Not the Democratic Nominee

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:25:00 -0400

I asked City Comptroller candidate John Liu, who was endorsed by the Working Families Party, if he'd run on that party’s line in the general election, even if he loses the four-way Democratic primary. "Yes," was Liu's one-word reply. He was at City Hall just now picking up the endorsement of City Councilman Larry Seabrook of the Bronx. Liu told me that despite some of their differences, like extending term limits (Liu opposed,...

Liu Gets the Working Families Party

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:10:00 -0400

The Working Families Party has endorsed City Comptroller candidate John Liu, citing the "coalition" he's put together and his advocacy for "living wages jobs, affordable housing, and responsible contracting." It's a major coup for Liu, who came into the race months after his opponents, Melinda Katz, David Yassky and David Weprin. According to a source familiar with the party's vote tonight, Liu got 65 votes, Katz got 18, Yassky got 2 and Weprin got none. Liu, it...