By Jill Colvin 12:16am

he's In

Video

Anthony Weiner's launches his campaign. (http://www.anthonyweiner.com)

He’s In: Anthony Weiner Launches Run For Mayor With Video

He’s in. After weeks of speculation, disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner has officially thrown his hat into the mayor’s race, announcing he’s running with a new video posted on his revamped campaign website at midnight on Wednesday.

“Look, I made some big mistakes. And I know I let a lot of people down. But I’ve also learned some tough lessons,” he says in the video, which opens with a family scene of the former councilman and his wife, Huma Abedin, having breakfast in their kitchen with their young son.

“I’m running for mayor ’cause I’ve been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it my entire life. And I hope I get a second chance to work for you,”  he says into the camera in the 2-minute, slickly-shot reel. Read More

By Jill Colvin and Colin Campbell 5/21 3:56pm

alarms

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony. (Photo: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Helen Marshall Didn’t Know John Liu Was Running for Mayor

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall holds one of the most prominent elected offices in Queens. But the 83-year-old lawmaker was apparently unaware until yesterday that John Liu was running for mayor.

During the Queens Democratic Party’s endorsement event Monday, a reporter for a Chinese-language newspaper asked Ms. Marshall if she was disappointed the county hadn’t backed Mr. Liu, who lives in the borough and used to represent it on the City Council. (They backed City Council Speaker Christine Quinn instead.) Read More

By Jill Colvin 5/21 10:42am

Uptown guys

The Barack Obama Democrat Club of Upper Manhattan. (Photo: www.obamadems.org)

Upper Manhattan’s Barack Obama Democratic Club Endorses Bill de Blasio

Upper Manhattan’s Barack Obama Democratic Club voted last night on its endorsements, and the list might surprise you. The home club of City Councilman Robert Jackson and City Council candidate Mark Levine, a long-time ally of State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, gave its nods to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio for mayor and City Councilwoman Letitia James for public advocate.

It also voted to endorse Mr. Jackson for Manhattan borough president and–unsurprisingly–Mr. Levine for the 7th District council seat, currently held by the term-limited Mr. Jackson. Read More

By Jill Colvin and Colin Campbell 5/17 2:39pm

Chugging along

City Comptroller John Liu. (Photo: Getty Images)

Slew of Brooklyn District Leaders Endorse John Liu

City Comptroller John Liu will announce the endorsement of a slew of Democratic officials from across Brooklyn Friday in another effort by his mayoral campaign to show he’s gaining steam, despite the recent guilty verdicts against his former campaign treasurer and a fund-raiser.

The supporters include Assemblywoman Inez Barron, City Council candidate Ari Kagan, and Democratic district leaders Melba Brown, Betty Ann Canizio, Jeanette Givant,  Christopher Olechowski, Chris Owens, Corey Provost and Charles Ragusa. Read More

By Ross Barkan 5/16 1:12pm

Numbers Game

john-liu-getty

John Liu Pegs His ‘True Base of Support’ at 25 Percent

John Liu’s mayoral campaign may be hovering around ten percent in the polls, but according to the candidate himself, they understate his support by more than twofold. Indeed, a beaming Mr. Liu told a room full of teachers yesterday that if the surveys were accurate, he’d actually have the support of a quarter of the city’s Democratic primary electorate.

“My true base of support in the electorate is closer to 25 percent,” Mr. Liu, the city’s comptroller, exclaimed at a teacher’s union mayoral forum in Brooklyn. “You add on top of that the tremendous amount of labor support I’m going to have, that puts me very much in the running–much more so than other candidates who I don’t think have any piece of their base that is not being reflected in the public poll numbers.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 5/15 3:29pm

Moustache Momentum

Peter Abbate (Photo: NYS Assembly)

Assemblyman Peter Abbate to Endorse John Liu

Comptroller John Liu may be facing the scrutiny that comes with two associates being convicted of an attempted fraud scheme on his behalf, but his mayoral campaign is still plugging along. Indeed, Mr. Liu will be endorsed by Brooklyn Assemblyman Peter Abbate tomorrow morning, according to a Democratic operative with knowledge of the event. Read More

By Jill Colvin 5/15 2:49pm

Returns

City Comptroller John Liu. (Facebook.com/Liu.NYC)

John Liu Refunds Tainted Campaign Contributions

City Comptroller John Liu refunded more than $14,000 worth of contributions implicated in the straw donor scheme that has overshadowed his campaign, new campaign filings show.

Mr. Liu, whose former treasurer and a fund-raiser were found guilty earlier this month on federal campaign finance fraud charges, returned 29 contributions, which ranged from $50 to $1,000, the filings show. Read More

By Jill Colvin 5/14 10:57am

Cash Money

Bill Thomspon. (Photo: Facebook/Bill Thompson)

Bill Thompson Reports Significant Fund-Raising Haul

Bill Thompson raised more than $600,000 over the past two months for his mayoral bid–a haul his campaign touted as a “dramatic” uptick in their fund-raising pace.

The money, raised from March 12 through May 11, is nearly double what Mr. Thompson raised during the previous period–a sign, staffers said, that his campaign is gaining steam. Read More

By Jill Colvin 5/10 5:54pm

Florida

The Broadway Democrats. (Photo: broadwaydemocrats.org)

Skirmish Hits Upper West Side Political Club After Liu Endorsement

Members of the Broadway Democrats, one of the Upper West Side’s most influential political clubs, are at odds over their endorsement of John Liu for mayor.

The club’s endorsements process spun into minor chaos late last night when members were forced to complete their counting in the club’s president’s home. Then, early this morning, a member realized the club had miscounted the ballots because of a misinterpretation of the club’s run-off procedures–forcing a re-count that gave the city’s comptroller a victory. Read More

By Jill Colvin 5/09 9:15am

West Side Story

John Liu thanking the Three Parks Dems for their Endorsement. (Photo: Jill Colvin)

John Liu Receives First Endorsement After Guilty Verdicts

City Comptroller John Liu’s mayoral bid secured its first major endorsement last night following the convictions of his former campaign treasurer and a fund-raiser on fraud charges, giving him a symbolic victory as he seeks to soldier on in his electoral quest.

The Three Parks Independent Democrats, one of the Upper West Side’s major political clubs, delivered its support to Mr. Liu, who has defiantly campaigned since verdicts while insisting he can still win. Read More