Mayoral candidate John Catsimaidis. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The Liberal Party endorsed Republican John Catsimatidis as its mayoral candidate, party heads announced at a press conference Tuesday.

"John Catsimatidis understands history and respects the power of a successful Republican-Liberal Party fusion in New York City electoral politic,” party chair  Jack Olchin said in a statement. “In addition, John also understands the concerns and aspirations of all New Yorkers and we feel he will be a people's Mayor just like the first Republican-Liberal Party fusion Mayor, Fiorello LaGuardia in the 1940's.”

"A member of the Liberal Party recently described John Catsimatidis as an 'uncommon common man,' an individual who will speak to all New Yorkers in a language they understand; with a genuine feeling and concern for their well-being that will be recognized in every neighborhood in the city and by all of us who care about New York's present and future," he said.

Mr. Catsimatidis has been making the case that his status as a former Democrat and major fund-raiser for the party will help him lure Democratic voters who wouldn't otherwise vote for a GOP candidate. The Liberal Party endorsement helps bolster his case, giving Democrats the chance to vote for him without having to vote on the GOP line.

The party, however, boasts limited power. It was stripped of its ballot-status years ago, meaning that Mr. Catsimatidis will have to collect enough signatures for the party to even appear on this fall's ballot.

The party had previously endorsed long-shot Democrat-turned-Republican Tom Allon, who quickly dropped out of the race amid tepid support and fundraising.

“John will fill the void left by Tom Allon who was our standard bearer until his recent withdrawal from the race,” Liberal Party Executive Director Martin I. Hassner said in a statement. “The only thing we ask of John is that like Mr. Allon, he works to ensure that the Liberal Party has the signatures necessary to qualify for the November ballot.”

The Independence Party's endorsement was critical to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2009 bid.

Mr. Catsimatidis said in a statement: "I am proud to accept the nomination of the Liberal Party and with their support and the support of the Republican Party create the coalition needed to win in November."

Mayoral candidates clash at an animal rights forum yesterday.

The candidates for mayor of New York City made their pitch to animal lovers yesterday, and needless to say, they repeatedly professed their love for various species that don't have a vote.

Republican John Catsimatidis--who likes to call himself "the cat man"--once begged the fire department to rescue his daughter's cockatiel, for example. Bill Thompson claimed that he had not one, but two rescued cats. And Sal Albanese insisted his mother-in-law lived a few years longer because of a chihuahua named Joey.

But, beyond highlighting animal rights issues, the Manhattan forum also served as yet another arena for rivals of the absent front-runner, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, to attack her and attempt to whittle away at her lead in the polls.

"Yes, the third term was wrong and undemocratic and we have the third term because of Christine Quinn. I don't think she's listening on this issue," Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said at one point, again blasting Ms. Quinn for extending term limits in 2008. "I think people have tried to say there are real alternatives available and she simply is not willing to entertain them."

The forum, which was hosted by the animal rights and anti-Quinn group New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets (NYCLASS) and moderated by former Republican mayoral candidate Tom Allon, also pitted candidates against each other and one candidate against the frenzied, animal-adoring audience. Notably, despite describing the elaborate rescue of his daughter's cockatiel and his wife's failed attempt to give their dying cat mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Mr. Catsimatidis clashed with the crowd when he reiterated his support of horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. Animal rights advocates argue the horses face harsh conditions in the city and want them replaced with antique cars.

"I believe the horses provide a king of ambiance--" Mr. Catsimatidis began before he was interrupted by boos. "Let me finish, please," he begged as the booing and hissing died down.

"And the city should provide farm space in Central Park to keep all the horses together and make sure they're safe, they're not on the streets, make sure they're given proper care and make sure they're not too old to work ... If those horses are ready to retire, you know what I would do? Build a small stable and have them as part of the zoo--" he continued, causing the crowd to again roar with disapproval, drowning out the candidates.

The Gracie Mansion hopefuls also found time to bash one another. When Mr. Allon asked the candidates why they thought Ms. Quinn backed horse-drawn carriages in Central Park, Mr. Liu took aim at Mr. de Blasio.

"I do want to just ask my friend Bill here a quick question, that bill that I conceded to voting for, how did you vote on that?" Mr. Liu asked, referring to a legislation that strengthened regulations of horse-drawn carriages but did not outright ban them. The bill, which they each supported, was first introduced when both men served in the City Council.

"John, the notion of having better conditions does not conflict with the notion that some of us came to--the conclusion that the whole thing was bankrupt and had to be ended," Mr. de Blasio shot back, receiving enthusiastic applause.

"So you voted no on that bill?" Mr. Liu asked.

"John, I admire your debate technique," came the reply. "But I've been fighting to end horse carriages the last two years and I haven't seen you out there with us, so that's the bottom line here."

While Mr. de Blasio was repeatedly cheered, Ms. Quinn remained in the proverbial doghouse. Before the forum began, a lead NYCLASS organizer asked the crowd to dial Ms. Quinn's office to demand that she support legislation banning horse-drawn carriages in the city. Audience members dutifully whipped out their cell phones when the number was flashed onstage.

"Alright, I guess we jammed the phone line," the organizer, Allie Feldman said as she smiled.

Joe Lhota and Tom Allon dining together at Michael's.

About two hours after announcing he was ending his campaign for mayor, local media mogul Tom Allon had lunch with a man he would have faced off against in September's Republican mayoral primary, former MTA chairman Joe Lhota. Both men insisted their meal at Michael's in Midtown was already on the schedule and wasn't a sign Mr. Allon will be endorsing Mr. Lhota following his departure from the race.

"We had an appointment to meet a couple weeks ago and it's just by happenstance," Mr. Lhota said when asked about the timing of the meal. "It's the honest to god truth."

"Anybody that reads anything into it is coming up with their own conclusions," added Mr. Allon. "I'm happy to meet with any candidate who has interest in hearing my views on education, but I happen to agree with Joe on many things and I like him a lot."

Mr. Allon and Mr. Lhota spent over an hour together at the legendary power lunch spot. Mr. Lhota ate cobb salad while Mr. Allon had chicken. They did not enjoy any alcoholic beverages and split the check leaving a combined tip that was ever-so-slightly under twenty percent. At the conclusion of their meal, the two politicos ended up getting grilled by Politicker and Daily News reporter Celeste Katz who got wind of the meeting and showed up to see what the pair was discussing.

Mr. Allon said there were three factors behind his decision to drop out. He cited a desire to spend more time with his young daughters and the reasoning he described in his statement announcing the decision--that he had an opportunity to acquire City and State, the political newspaper formerly owned by the company he was CEO of, Manhattan Media. Mr. Allon also admitted his campaign didn't seem to be catching on with voters and had nearly emptied its war chest, most of which came from his own pocket. He said he does not expect to "see that money again."

"I wasn't getting traction, there's no doubt," said Mr. Allon.

Mr. Allon was a longtime Democrat, but he joined the Republican Party and launched what he described as a "fusion candidacy" on both the Liberal and Republican party lines about five months ago. He said Mr. Lhota and billionaire John Catsimatidis both prevented him from attracting more voters when they kicked off their own GOP mayoral campaigns soon after.

"Listen, when Joe and John entered the race, there was little room for someone like me on the Republican side," said Mr. Allon. "Joe is a true Republican. John is very wealthy."

Mr. Lhota chuckled when his dining companion described his as a "true Republican."

"My social issues get me kicked out of the room," explained Mr. Lhota about where he differs with the GOP.

According to Mr. Allon, in addition to making it harder for him to win, Mr. Lhota's entry into the mayoral race made it easier for him to drop out.

"I have an affection for Joe and, actually, I have to say, one of the reasons I felt comfortable jumping out of the race is because I knew Joe jumped in," said Mr. Allon. "I feel that voters have a good choice now."

Despite his praise for Mr. Lhota, Mr. Allon said he won't be endorsing because of his new role with City and State. As part of his acquisition of the paper, he said he relinquished his role with Manhattan Media and started a new, separate company, City and State NY LLC, last week.

"I'm going to be owning a majority stake in City and State. ... I'm going to be spending 100 percent of my time on it whereas I spent five percent of my time beforehand. And by the way, I was totally handcuffed editorially before, because I recused myself completely. Now I don't have to tiptoe around the editorial department," Mr. Allon said. "I'm not making any endorsements. ... I would love to make an endorsement ... City and State never makes [endorsements]. ... I said to my reporters and editors this morning, I apologize for the last year-and-a-half because I know I made your lives difficult. I am going to not do that anymore, so now I'm a publisher and a private citizen."

In his new capacity as a "private citizen," Mr. Allon said he will happy to meet with the mayoral candidates and "advise" them. He wouldn't rule out a potential run for office down the road, but if Mr. Lhota is victorious, Mr. Allon said he would not launch another mayoral bid until Mr. Lhota finishes his two terms.

When Politicker informed Mr. Catsimatidis about Mr. Allon's departure from the race, the billionaire said he would want to have Mr. Allon "running" the public education system in a hypothetical Catsimatidis administration. We asked Mr. Allon if he would be willing to leave his new, expanded role at City and State if he got that offer.

"I'm going to be focusing on a private business for the next couple years," said Mr. Allon. "Maybe in a Lhota or Catsimatidis second term I could be chancellor."

Mr. Allon also said he would be willing to take a position in the administration of Democrat Bill Thompson if he secures himself a second term.

Since Mr. Allon seemed willing to work with Mr. Lhota in 2017, we asked Mr. Lhota if he would be willing to promise Mr. Allon a spot in his administration as Mr. Catsimatidis had. 

"It's illegal to do that," Mr. Lhota said.

Tom Allon (Photo: Facebook)

A little over five months after he announced a "fusion candidacy" for mayor on the Liberal and Republican party lines, Tom Allon, CEO of the local newspaper chain Manhattan Media, is ending his bid for City Hall. Mr. Allon announced his decision in a statement that attributed the decision to his direct acquisition of Manhattan Media's political news organization, City and State Media.

"When I decided to enter the mayoral race in July, 2011, I had a deep desire to lead this wonderful and unique city and to finally fix our crumbling public education system, the single greatest cause of New York City’s jobs crisis and increasing inequality in the five boroughs," Mr. Allon said.

Mr. Allon's candidacy was widely considered a long shot, but he initially maintained he would use his position as the Liberal Party candidate to guarantee a spot in the general election even if he was unable to defeat his better-known and funded rivals in September's Republican primary--former MTA Commissioner Joe Lhota, billionaire John Catsimatidis and former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. He focused his campaign on his experience as a former public school teacher and his idea's for the city's educational system.

"While no longer a candidate, I will continue to passionately and relentlessly pursue a reform agenda as an education activist, a columnist and blogger, and parent of three teenagers," said Mr. Allon.

Mr. Allon did not respond to multiple requests for comment about his pending decision this morning. As of this writing, it is unclear whether Mr. Allon will endorse any of the other mayoral candidates. Prior to Mr. Allon's announcement, Mr. Catsimatidis, who describes Mr. Allon as a close friend, said he was unaware of Mr. Allon's plans, but would gladly give him a position in a hypothetical Catsimatidis administration.

"Tom Allon is a friend of mine for 25 years and whatever he does, he has to do his own soul searching, you know, I always support my friends," Mr. Catsimatidis said. "Under a Catsimatidis administration, I'd love to have him in our education system running things."

(Updated 10:39 a.m.) 

Among all public officials, the mayor is the one who shapes our day-to-day lives the most: not just our subways, schools and streets, but our ethos and identity as a city. This mayoral election, New York City’s first with no incumbent in more than a decade, has attracted a slew of hopefuls eager to remake the city in their own images. And what images they are. Assembled at the starting line are a quartet of formidable Democrats, alongside a 9/11 conspiracy theorist, a man with his own catchphrase and action figure, and a vibrator-wielding, marijuana smoking, alligator-hugging YouTube ranter.

With no clear front-runner and an intriguing underdog sideshow, the next 11 months promise to bring some of the best political theater in the boroughs, maybe even the country, in years.

Any discussion of the election must begin with the four major Democrats: Bill de Blasio, John Liu, Christine Quinn and Bill Thompson. Though they are the odds-on favorites, they face a packed primary and a probable runoff.

Except for Mr. Thompson, who was the runner-up in the 2009 mayoral election and declared his intention to try again almost immediately afterward, none of the other three has officially declared. Though it’s practically a lock that they’ll all run, it’s not easy to predict where the smart money lies.

Thus far, Mr. Thompson has had a relatively low profile, while his presumed opponents have pursued headlines more aggressively. Will slow and steady win him this race?

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn would seem to have plum positioning. If elected, she would be the first woman and the first openly gay occupant of City Hall. She also backed a term-limits extension for Mayor Bloomberg and has been a strong ally of his, so his support is expected to swing her way. But the speaker will have to prove that she’s more than the mayor’s right hand.

John Liu also has a decent shot. As an Asian-American, Mr. Liu would be another barrier-breaking first, and he enjoys strong support among the city’s sizeable Chinese community. But there’s the little matter of an upcoming trial featuring his former campaign treasurer and one of his donors, who stand accused of scheming to illegally line his campaign coffers.

Then there’s Mr. de Blasio, whose pulpit as the public advocate is perfect for casting himself as the labor-friendly alternative to what he hopes to paint as a Bloomberg-slash-Quinn administration. But his anti-Bloomberg branding and progressive approach could hurt him by alienating influencers in the business community as well as conservatives in the outer boroughs.

Though the Democrats are heavily favored, New York City hasn’t elected a mayor from its dominant party since 1989, and there’s much talk among pundits that a Republican dark horse might emerge to take advantage of the crammed Democratic field. So far, there’s Joe Lhota, former MTA chairman and Giuliani administration deputy mayor for operations. A plainspoken self-described libertarian, Mr. Lhota may be simultaneously blessed and cursed by his association with the divisive Mr. Giuliani and with the MTA, an agency praised for its handling of last year’s hurricane despite being a magnet for the wrath of commuters.

These five key players will be joined by a host of underdogs and an assortment of protest candidates and oddballs who bring more color to the race than political horsepower.

Place your bets and pass the popcorn. They’re coming around the bend.

Click through our slideshow to see photos of Messrs. Thompson, Liu and Allon as high school seniors. We were unable to find yearbooks for two of the probable mayoral candidates; Bill de Blasio, who went to Cambridge Rindge & Latin School in Massachusetts, and Christine Quinn, who went to Holy Child Academy on Long Island. To hopefully make up for these omissions, we included a yearbook photo of the current mayor, Michael Bloomberg.

Tom Allon

Tom Allon wants you to know he doesn’t have an Independence streak.

The Manhattan Media CEO, recent Republican and long-shot mayoral candidate released a statement blasting the controversial Independence Party and his rivals in the wake of an opinionated Daily News investigation into the party’s origins. The piece, which quoted party leader Lenora Fulani asserting that Jews “do the dirtiest work of capitalism, to function as mass murderers of people of color,” enraged Mr. Allon.

As the New York Times has noted, Mr. Allon is currently the only Jewish candidate running for mayor and he is hoping the city's many Jewish voters will rally around him. According to the Daily News, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Queens State Sen. Malcolm Smith and former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion--all potential rivals of Allon’s--recently schmoozed with various Independence Party leaders.

"Christine Quinn, Malcolm Smith and Adolfo Carrion should be ashamed that they are pictured with Fulani at a recent event,” Mr. Allon said in a statement. "They, and all other candidates for office in New York, should reject the Independence Party line as long as Lenora Fulani is associated with it and as long as  the party continues to deceive those voters in New York who really just want to be Independent, not Independence Party members.”

Mr. Allon also took the opportunity to remind everyone that he is the descendant of Holocaust survivors.

"As the son of Holocaust survivors, I find people like Newman and Fulani the vilest of anti-Semites and anyone who associates with them should be judged accordingly,” he said.

"Chicks With Steve Buscemeyes" debuted in April 2011 and instantly became a viral hit. The site features images of attractive female celebrities with Mr. Buscemi's eyes photoshopped over their famous faces.

Since Mr. Buscemi's fundraiser for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio next month inspired this post we obviously started with him for our take on the meme. Click on the Buscemeyed version of Mr. de Blasio to see a slideshow with the rest of the mayoral hopefuls getting the Buscemi treatment.

While there were numerous reviews of the event, in case you wished to view the full forum in all its glory, we filmed it with the assistance of Capital New York's Azi Paybarah:

The five candidates and two moderators on the stage.

Only two candidates for mayor of New York City have officially announced their campaigns so far: 2009's Democratic nominee Bill Thompson and Manhattan Media C.E.O. Tom Allon, a newly-minted Republican contender. Nevertheless, earlier this evening, the three unannounced Democratic candidates joined Mr. Thompson and Mr. Allon under the conspicuous banner "2013 Mayoral Candidate Forum" to discuss the city's educational policies at a Fordham Law School auditorium.

As the moderators ticked through topic after topic, at least several candidates received what they wanted: opportunities to promote their pet policy proposals. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio touted his plan to increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for universal early education, Comptroller John Liu stressed the importance of increasing the number of guidance counselors and on down the list. A good chunk of the city's voters have children in local public schools--or are otherwise concerned with the topic--so all of the candidates understandably felt the need to burnish their credentials on the issue.

Some differences did emerge over the course of the evening. Council Speaker Christine Quinn, for example, took a slightly more nuanced approach to controversial issues like charter schools co-locations, and declined to absolutely commit herself to hiring an educator as chancellor should she be elected, a sticking point for some public school advocates still bitter over the temporary tenure of Chancellor Cathie Black. These deviations from activists' orthodoxy have their price, however, possibly evidenced by a small slew of protesters on the street declaring Ms. Quinn to be part of the "1%" and accusing her of corruption.

But Ms. Quinn, who previously differentiated herself from her Democratic counterparts by openly accepting money from an education reform group vilified by some advocates, simply urged the heated discussions take themselves down a notch.

"We also have to find a way to dial done the tone of the rhetoric and high volume as it relates to the discussion with the teacher's union," she said in her opening remarks. "That isn't serving anyone well, it's only separating us. We can't focus on a whole child if we're separating ourselves."