City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito with supporters at a birthday fundraiser. (Photo: Facebook/mmarkviverito)

At a birthday fundraiser last night in East Harlem, friends and supporters gathered to toast City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito’s re-election bid for a redrawn district. But for the two-term progressive rabble-rouser, there is far more at stake than keeping her seat.

“We want to see her Speaker!” shouted one supporter as the group crowded around Ms. Viverito at the cozy El Kallejon on East 117th Street to hear her remarks.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who is running for city comptroller, underscored the significance of the race, at a time when the speakership is up for grabs.

“I want you to know that I look forward to walking the streets of El Barrio with Melissa to make sure that she wins, that she has the mandate she needs for the next four years. Because you never know when her leadership skills will be called on to do some bigger things in city government,” Mr. Stringer said to applause, prompting calls of “Melissa for Speaker!” from the crowd.

Mr. Stringer has endorsed Ms. Mark-Viverito in her council race against a group of lesser-known challengers, but has not formally weighed in on the leadership contest.

Ms. Mark-Viverito is considered one of the leading contenders to succeed City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is running for mayor. The speakership won't be decided until a new class of council members takes office next year, but the wannabe speakers have nonetheless been busy jockeying behind the scenes, making appearances and supporting candidates who might deliver votes.

Harlem City Councilwoman Inez Dickens, a close ally of Ms. Quinn, is often introduced as "Speaker Inez Dickens" by supporters, while Ms. Mark-Viverito has made no secret that she, too, is interested in the race. Other names that have also been mentioned are Manhattan City Councilman Daniel Garodnick, Councilman Mark Weprin, from Queens and Jimmy Vacca from the Bronx.

Ms. Mark-Viverito's district was one of the most dramatically altered during this year's redistricting process, with a majority of its population now located in The Bronx. She has repeatedly accused Ms. Quinn of failing to reverse the changes for her own political gain--a charge that Quinn's office has denied.

But Ms. Viverito appeared Tuesday to be taking the new lines in stride.

“It has been an incredible honor and an incredible pleasure to serve district,” she told her supporters, who sipped on sangria and nibbled on passed Mexican hors d'oeuvres.

“It will be a very different district as of January,” she acknowledged. “We’re hoping the transition will be smooth and that we can ensure great representation.”

Mr. Stringer sounded a similar theme.

“Melissa has a primary and it's important that she not only win, but she win big. Because part of what she is about is about organizing and protecting and building coalitions to make sure her district is elevated in the public discourse," he said, after wishing her "feliz cumpleaños" in shaky Spanish. “Whether it’s Bronx or Manhattan , or a combination, the truth is that before she was elected, it wasn’t a lot of attention paid to this area. It wasn’t a lot of resources that came in."

Senator Adams addressing the crowd.

State Sen. Eric Adams launched his campaign for the Brooklyn borough presidency yesterday morning with almost the entirety of Brooklyn's Democratic establishment at his back.

"Brooklyn is the greatest place on Earth because of the strength and love that its people are willing to pour into it," said Mr. Adams as he stood on the steps of Brooklyn borough Hall. "It's no wonder, when you ask a person that is from Brooklyn and you say, 'Where you from?' They don't say New York City, they say, 'We're from Brooklyn, baby.'"

Mr. Adams also struck a more sober tone in his address to throngs of cheering supporters, calling for a more responsive government, affordable housing and better economic prospects for the borough's poorer residents.

"I know Brooklyn well. I know it not because I sat down and read about Brooklyn in a newspaper, but because I put on a bullet-proof vest for 22 years to serve this city," Mr. Adams, a former police officer, said. "And that desire to serve and protect stuck with me. The idea that government can be proactive and not reactive. The idea that there is more to improving safety and the quality of life than being simply a deterrent to violence and disorder. There's a better way, where government is not a punisher but an organizer."

Recently endorsed by both the man he's vying to succeed, Marty Markowitz and his one-time prospective foe, Councilman Domenic Recchia, Mr. Adams now faces little opposition in his bid for the borough presidency. Only former Councilman John Gangemi, whom Kings County Democratic Party Chair Frank Seddio described as "not a credible candidate," currently stands between Mr. Adams and Borough Hall.

In addition to the black political establishment, leaders from the Jewish, Russian and Hispanic communities turned out to back Mr. Adams, possibly serving as a show of force to potential candidates who may still contemplate challenging him. If he wins, Mr. Adams would be Brooklyn's first black borough president.

"Eric Adams sees people for what they are. He knows that he has to work with people of all different backgrounds," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. "The rainbow that he's put together today is a rainbow that is about governing, it's about being thoughtful and it's about raising the level of debate in the city on crucial issues."

In another nod to his status as an overwhelming favorite, Mr. Adams was joined by a pair of rival mayoral candidates, Comptroller John Liu and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.

"First President Obama got a mandate from the American people," Mr. Liu told the cheering crowd. "Now Senator Eric Adams is going to get a mandate from the people of Brooklyn!"

(Photo: Getty)

“When it comes to fighting to make sure hard working New Yorkers have good paying jobs and access to quality healthcare, Scott has been in the corner of working families throughout his career," George Gresham, the union's president, said in a statement. “It is why we enthusiastically support him as the next New York City Comptroller.”

Although current Comptroller John Liu has yet to announce his electoral intentions, he is widely expected to run for mayor next year, leaving a vacant seat behind him. Normally, wide-open contests attract a plethora of candidates, but Mr. Stringer managed to muscle his main opponents out of the race. As establishment support coalesces around Mr. Stringer, the window for new potential rivals to emerge has been closing quickly.

A poll tested former Congressman Anthony Weiner's name for the race last month, but Mr. Weiner himself has given no hints that he's actually considering a run. Other than that one trial balloon, not even a third-tier contender has publicly mulled challenging the front-runner.

Per the Stringer campaign, here are his endorsements thus far:

UFT
CWA District 1
RWDSU
UFCW Local 1500
1199SEIU
32BJ
Uniformed Fire Officers Assoc.
UAW
Mason Tenders
Local 802
NYS Ironworkers
Teamsters
Hotel Trades
Building Trades
WFP
NYC Central Labor Council
Painters
Plumbers Local 1
COBA

Former Mayor Ed Koch
Former Comptroller Bill Thompson
Former Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin
Former Comptroller Liz Holtzman
Former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio
Speaker Christine Quinn
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz

Congressmember Jerry Nadler
Congressmember Carolyn Maloney
Congressmember Nydia Velazquez
Congressmember Hakeem Jeffries
Congressmember Yvette Clarke

Senator Daniel Squadron
Senator Eric Adams
Senator Kevin Parker

Assemblyman Micah Kellner
Assemblyman Bill Colton
Assemblyman Jim Brennan
Assemblyman Karim Camara
Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz
Assemblyman Dov Hikind
Assemblyman Felix Ortiz
Assemblyman Walter Mosely
Assemblyman Nick Perry
Assemblyman Joseph Lentol
Assemblyman Peter Abbate
Assemblyman Alan Maisel
Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny
Assemblywoman Joan Millman

Councilmember Dan Garodnick
Councilmember Jessica Lappin
Councilmember Brad Lander
Councilmember Stephen Levin
Councilmember Domenic Recchia
Councilmember Letitia James
Councilmember Jumaane Williams
Councilmember Vincent Gentile
Councilmember Diana Reyna

(Photo: Getty)

Scott Stringer may be unopposed so far in his bid to be the city's next comptroller, but that doesn't mean he's slowing down.

To wit, Mr. Stringer's campaign rolled out the endorsement of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO this afternoon, a labor body that represents 1.3 million members, placing a further marker down as he seeks to lock up the Democratic nomination and bash his eventual Republican opponent.

“Scott Stringer’s commitment to progressive values and working men and women has never wavered,” the union's president, Vincent Alvarez, said in a statement. “With his nearly thirty years of public service, Scott has earned the support of working men and women. The Labor Movement – public sector, private sector, and building trades – is united behind Scott Stringer and his vision for New York City.”

The AFL-CIO is the latest to join the Manhattan borough president's growing pile of endorsements, including not only labor-backed entities like the Workings Families Party but a number of elected officials. Last Sunday, for example, a small army of Brooklyn pols backed the Stringer campaign.

In 2009, the comptroller race was hotly-contested, but since Mr. Stringer cleared the field by dropping down from the mayoral campaign, this year looks to be an entirely different affair. John Liu, the city's current comptroller, is expected to campaign for mayor but has yet to officially announce his intentions.

(Photo: Getty)

The race for Manhattan Borough President this year continued to heat up today, with former community board chairwoman Julie Menin rolling up endorsements from State Senator Adriano Espaillat and two other officials in his political orbit, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa. The current borough president, Scott Stringer, is leaving his post to run citywide for comptroller, and a competitive field of contenders has formed to replace him.

The backing is notable as of the four candidates in the running, none are Latino or hail from the Washington Heights turf represented by the three endorsers. Ms. Menin is from Lower Manhattan and her two announced rivals, East Side Councilwoman Jessica Lappin and Uptown Councilman Robert Jackson, have different political bases. Upper West Side Councilwoman Gale Brewer has previously indicated she would join the field, but has yet to launch her bid.

For what it's worth, Mr. Espaillat, who narrowly lost a primary to veteran Congressman Charlie Rangel last summer, has also had some electoral success since. He easily won reelection against a Rangel-backed challenge from Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, and the Espaillat-backed candidate for Mr. Linares' seat, Ms. Rosa, successfully won on the same day.

View Mr. Espaillat's, Ms. Rosa's, and Mr. Rodriguez's statements supporting Ms. Menin below:

Mr. Espaillat: “Julie Menin is a champion of affordable housing and good jobs for all New Yorkers. As Manhattan borough president, she will fight for working families living uptown, downtown, East Side and West Side. I am proud to support her. She is the best choice for Manhattan.”

Ms. Rosa: “I am supporting Julie Menin for Manhattan Borough President because of her proven commitment to great public schools for every child in our city. As chair of her community board, she successfully fought for three, much-needed new public schools for her neighborhood. When she is elected, she will do the same for all of us.”

Mr. Rodriguez: “Julie Menin has been a strong advocate for small businesses – especially immigrant-owned small businesses – helping them cut red tape and assisting them with government resources and insurance problems. She will be a great Manhattan Borough President."

The scene from today's press conference.

Julie Menin, the former Chair of Community Board 1, formally announced her campaign for Manhattan Borough President today on the steps of City Hall. And, in addition to touting Democratic staples like addressing economic inequality, Ms. Menin, who's hoping to replace outgoing Borough President Scott Stringer, made sure to point to her stances on controversies she's had to deal with in Lower Manhattan, including Occupy Wall Street and the so-called "9/11 Mosque."

"I led the charge for standing up freedom of religion for the Islamic cultural center and mosque, and I will tell you that there were not many people who would stand up with us at the time," she contended. "I'm proud I led our community board to a 29-to-1 vote in favor of that. For me it was very personal; my mother--I'm so happy--is here with me here today, lived through the Holocaust in Hungary."

While stressing her work to keep a "balance" between protesters and local residents, she added, "I also stood up for...the rights of Occupy Wall Street to say, 'Of course we have a First Amendment Right to keep protesting."

Ms. Menin's announcement doesn't exactly come as a surprise as she has been campaigning for some time and even maxed our her fundraising for next year's Democratic primary. But today's event appeared to be a show of strength; she stood before a packed crowd of supporters and reporters were handed a dozen-page press release filled with the endorsements of local leaders and activists from around the borough.

She is joined in the race by Upper East Side Councilwoman Jessica Lappin and Uptown Councilman Robert Jackson. Potentially completing the election's geographic diversity, Upper West Side Councilwoman Gale Brewer has said she's running in the past, but has yet to ramp up her campaign efforts.

(Photo: Getty)

Veteran New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams has written quite a bit on New York City politics over the years, and last night, NY1's Inside City Hall invited her on to share her thoughts on next year's mayoral race, which she did in her own inimitable way.

Ms. Adams was particularly displeased with Comptroller John Liu's prospective candidacy. Mr. Liu, who majored in Mathematical Physics and went on to work at PricewaterhouseCoopers, is usually criticized for the fundraising scandal surrounding his campaign, but Ms. Adams chose to insult his intelligence.

"He's an imbiot (sic). Imbecile. He's an idiot. So we have to forget him because even he forgets him," she explained.

Ms. Adams next moved on to Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the frontrunner to replace term-limited Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  The columnist was entirely focused on Ms. Quinn's sexuality and wedding this year to another woman, Kim Catullo.

"But I went to Christine Quinn's wedding and I was standing there with Mayor Bloomberg, by the way, and we were trying to figure out what do you call Christine's husband or wife, if she were to becomes mayor? Is this the First Person? The First Whatever? What do you call her?...You can't call her the First Lady, I don't know, it doesn't seem right."

Asked to elaborate further on the mayoral field, Ms. Adams addressed two non-candidates, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Mr. Stringer dropped out of the race to run for Mr. Liu's comptroller position instead and Mr. Giuliani's spokesperson shot down a rumor that he was interested in a comeback campaign, an idea first raised by one of Ms. Adams' columns.

"The charter allows him to do it. He's not going to do it. He's not going to do it," Ms. Adams said of the former mayor. "Everybody else is running; everybody but my housekeeper is running. They've all been to my house. The only one I feel really badly about is Scott Stringer, because he came over for tea to my house. We gave him everything and the best cookies that I had, I gave him. Now he's not running and I've wasted the best cookies. What a total waste and he's not even running! I wouldn't give cookies to a comptroller!"

(Photo: Garodnick campaign)

As expected, Councilman Dan Garodnick, who had been firmly campaigning for comptroller until today, formally dropped out of the race and endorsed Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer for the position. Mr. Stringer, of course, had previously been campaigning for mayor until he dropped down to the comptroller's race himself.

"When I announced my candidacy for NYC Comptroller, I promised that New Yorkers wouldn’t get any drama with me," Mr. Garodnick wrote in an email to his supporters. "I’m keeping that promise, and want to let you know that I am ending my campaign today and supporting Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer for that position. Let me tell you why. Scott and I share the same values – a progressive commitment to reform, integrity, and sanity in city government. He has been my partner in many efforts to make New York a stronger, safer, more just city for all of its residents."

Since Mr. Garodnick had been his only rival openly campaigning for the same job, Mr. Stringer couldn't be more pleased with the situation. Indeed, the borough president appeared at the press conference where Mr. Garodnick announced the move. “Dan Garodnick is a crucial leader in our city with an important future. Running against him would have been hard for both of us,” Mr. Stringer said in a statement.

(Incumbent Comptroller John Liu is expected to run for mayor in 2013, and while Councilman Domenic Recchia is contemplating joining the race, he has yet to officially do so.)

It seems the campaign shuffling may have cleared the field for Mr. Garodnick's newly-announced reelection bid too, in case there was any doubt. Dara Adams, one of the two candidates vying to succeed him, told Politicker she was humbled by the "phenomenal experience"  of the campaign but wouldn't compete against the incumbent. Ms. Adams had actually quit her job at the Department of Education to pursue the campaign, in addition to a master's degree; now she will simply pursue the latter. "I'm disappointed to be unable to pursue my own ambitions," she said. "The City of New York is lucky to have him, and I support him in his reelection bid."

View Mr. Garodnick's letter below:

When I announced my candidacy for NYC Comptroller, I promised that New Yorkers wouldn’t get any drama with me. I’m keeping that promise, and want to let you know that I am ending my campaign today and supporting Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer for that position.

Let me tell you why. Scott and I share the same values – a progressive commitment to reform, integrity, and sanity in city government. He has been my partner in many efforts to make New York a stronger, safer, more just city for all of its residents.

And we need to remain partners as our City faces unique challenges. We have a structural deficit in our budget; we are relying too much on one-shots; we have growing non-controllable expenditures; we have a changing landscape in City Hall. These challenges are significant, and they are real, and rather than distract from those issues with a contentious campaign for Comptroller, I am resolved to work together with Scott and all other willing colleagues to address them.

I need to thank so many people who have been part of my campaign – I can’t name all of them, but just a few: State Senator Liz Krueger, State Assemblyman Dan Quart, and two of the greatest members of the City Council – Diana Reyna and Rosie Mendez. I am so grateful for their support.

As for me, I will be running for re-election to the City Council in the 4th District. City government will be changing in many ways in 2014, and I am committed to making sure those changes reflect the principles that have been the hallmark of my career in public service – keeping the city affordable for all those who live here, creating opportunity for those working toward the middle class, and creating the transparency that real democracy demands.

Thank you again for all of your support.

Sincerely,

Dan

Dan Garodnick (photo: council.nyc.gov)

Councilman Dan Garodnick's advisors insisted he was confident about his campaign to be City comptroller after Manhattan  Borough President Scott Stringer entered the race earlier this month. However, according to a report in Capital New York, which was subsequently echoed by several other outlets, Mr. Garodnick has decided to end his comptroller campaign and focus on getting re-elected to his Council seat.

As rumors of his imminent exit from the race mount, Mr. Garodnick's campaign announced they will be holding an unspecified "important announcement regarding Garodnick’s 2013 campaign for City Comptroller" at 1 p.m. today on the steps of City Hall. Though this seems to be a clear sign the news about Mr. Garodnick ending the bid he began in April is true, a spokesman for Mr. Garodnick's campaign declined to comment when asked by Politicker about the reports and whether they were connected to the event.

"Neither Dan nor his advisers have confirmed any reports," they said.

If Mr. Garodnick is re-elected, he is rumored to be interested in a run for City Council Speaker.

Dan Garodnick

When Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer announced his intention to run for City Comptroller this evening it may have made things easier for the 2013 mayoral candidates, but it created a tough race for another Democrat who is running for comptroller--Councilman Dan Garodnick. However, Mr. Garodnick's campaign spokesman Dan Levitan released a statement saying Mr. Garodnick is ready for the fight.

"Dan Garodnick said when he announced his campaign for NYC comptroller that he was a candidate – regardless of the field. Nothing has happened to change that," Mr. Levitan said. "Dan didn’t choose to run for comptroller because he thought it would be the easiest race. He chose to run for comptroller because it was the job that best suited his talents and experience–fluent with the city’s finances, trained at internal investigations and with the record of integrity the office needs."

When Mr. Stringer announced his comptroller campaign, he also rolled out a slew of endorsements. Initially, after the news broke, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio issued a statement saying he'd be "proud to endorse" Mr. Stringer. However, Mr. Garodnick's backers; Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, State Senator Liz Krueger, Assemblyman Dan Quart and Councilwoman Diana Reyna, all released statements in the wake of Mr. Stringer's announcement saying their support hasn't wavered.

Sources with Mr. Garodnick's campaign said they aren't worried about Mr. Stringer's campaign war chest, because they expect both candidates to max out under the city's campaign finance laws. While Mr. Stringer is seen as having a strong base on the Upper West Side, they said Mr. Garodnick has strong Manhattan support as well in his East Side district and they are confident he will be able to "out-hustle Stringer, and any other candidates, in the outer boroughs."