By Colin Campbell 1/10 6:17pm

Longshots

(Photo: YouTube)

Alligator Enthusiast Mulling Mayoral Campaign

As the field of mayoral candidates competing for Gracie Mansion continues to grow, Politicker stumbled upon a contender who has, thus far, flown under the radar of local political insiders.

Amid the candidates listed on the Wikipedia page for the 2013 New York City race is “Cen Alligator,” who is described as an “alligator enthusiast from Astoria.” His inclusion on the page is supported by a link to a YouTube video where Mr. Alligator announces his potential mayoral bid and explains that getting added to Wikipedia’s potential list of candidates is actually the raison d’etre for his campaign.

“The main reason I made this video is that I can prove a point on Wikipedia that I can just make up a YouTube video and record myself and then  put myself on the potential list of candidates for Mayor of New York City, you know,” he said. “Because this is straight from the horse’s mouth, it’s a real citation. It’s a real thing. It’s not a fake thing at all. It’s a genuine, real thing. It’s true. Straight from the horse’s mouth.” Read More

By David Freedlander 1/18/12 8:50am

suggested reading

Morning Read: Schumer’s Power; GOP Establishment for Paul; Bloomberg Works Blue

Wikipedia, Craigslist and other websites are going black today to protest impending anti-piracy legislation. The DN has a good explainer here.

At his annual budget address, Andrew Cuomo proposed a new teacher evaluation system. pension reform and the consolidation of some government agencies.

The Times-Union says  Cuomo needs to do more for mandate relief for  cash-strapped counties and municipalities.

The leader of the state’s largest public sector union called Cuomo’s pension reforms “an assault on the middle class.”

State education commissioner John King kept up the heat on teacher evaluations in a conference call immediately after the speech.

The four GOP Senators who voted to legalize same-sex marriage received a big bump in campaign donations, which gay rights activists hope sends a signal to lawmakers across the country that they will back supporters of marriage equality, regardless of party. Read More