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By Ross Barkan 5/01 1:15pm

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The Empire State Pride Agenda's 15th Annual Fall Dinner

Eliot Spitzer Does Not Think Highly of Governor Cuomo’s Hiring Practices

Former Governor Eliot Spitzer, never a fan of the current governor, yesterday blasted his hiring and spending practices at the Empire State Development Corporation. A recent front-page New York Times story suggested Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration prefers politically connected hires, an implication Mr. Spitzer wholly agreed with.

“There has been a problem at ESDC,” Mr. Spitzer told Road to City Hall host Errol Louis during last night’s program. “I think that The New York Times article was very clear in that is merely the top layer of the onion in terms of politics being pervasive in hiring, leaving and pushing substance to the side.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 2/25 11:26pm

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Anger Persists After Dov Hikind Addresses His Purim Costume Controversy

Assemblyman Dov Hikind held a press conference in front of his home this afternoon responding to the uproar over a story that first appeared on Politicker today about his “black basketball player” Purim costume. In front of a small crowd of reporters, Mr. Hikind apologized that people were “offended” and reiterated his initial defense that the getup, which consisted of an orange jersey, brown face paint, an afro wig and sunglasses was merely a costume to celebrate the Jewish Purim holiday. However, even after Mr. Hikind addressed the firestorm, several members of the City Council sent letters to the Assemblyman arguing his apology did not go far enough.

“Anyone who was offended by the outfit that I was wearing on Purim yesterday … it was not meant to offend anyone or hurt anyone in any fashion,” Mr. Hikind began. “That is not what I am all about for the past 31 years in pub office and before that.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 2/15 12:34pm

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There Is No Love Lost Between Senator Ruben Diaz and Gerson Borrero

The latest edition of State Senator Ruben Diaz’s periodic “What You Should Know” email columns contained an attack against Gerson Borrero, a NY1 contributor and columnist for the Spanish-language newspaper El Diario. In his email, Mr. Diaz accused Mr. Borrero of lying about him, having a “deep obsession” with him and even “trying to imitate my dressing style.”

“There are some people who, when they fall in love or feel envious, may easily feel rejected. Any real or perceived rejection could bring them to the edge of absurdity. Sometimes they even become liars,” Mr. Diaz wrote. “This seems to be true in the case of Mr. Gerson Borrero, a reporter, who has issues with me. If you read or hear Mr. Borrero’s writings or commentaries about me, you might think this individual has a deep obsession with me.”

Mr. Borrero had some harsh words of his own for Mr. Diaz when Politicker called him to discuss the column this morning.

“I’m not particularly obsessed with him like he suggests,” said Mr. Borrero. “I’m definitely not enamored with him. I don’t like him, I’ve never had such bad taste. I think he’s an ugly person, not physically, he is an ugly human being. I think he is Lucifer personified.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 2/11 3:14pm

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Bill de Blasio's Twitter criticism included a photo of a child he said would be harmed by Speaker Quinn's agenda. (Photo: @deBlasioNYC)

Bill de Blasio Blasts Christine Quinn’s ‘Lofty’ Rhetoric

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has stepped up his criticism of Council Speaker Christine Quinn, one of his all-but-officially announced rivals in the mayor’s race. Following Ms. Quinn’s policy-laden State of the City address earlier today, Mr. de Blasio blasted out one of his most aggressive statements to date against her policies.

“Strengthening and expanding the middle class requires more than lofty words and playing an assigned role in the annual kabuki theater that our city budget process has become,” Mr. de Blasio said. “From paid sick leave to early childhood and after-school program expansion to small business advocacy, Speaker Quinn has partnered with Mayor Bloomberg in blocking programs that would make a real difference to the lives of working families. If the next four years at City Hall are simply a continuation of the last 12, we will have failed millions of forgotten New Yorkers who deserve a mayor who speaks for them.” Read More

By Ross Barkan 1/30 1:30pm

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A Democratic Club in Chelsea Continues Its War on Christine Quinn

In the heart of Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s Chelsea base, the boisterous Democratic club named for late gay rights activist Jim Owles met last night for their first meeting of the year where they reiterated their current mission: ensuring Ms. Quinn, who could become the first lesbian to lead New York City, never, ever, ever leads New York City.

“The harshest dictatorship I’ve ever seen has been under Christine Quinn,” said Allen Roskoff, a notorious antagonist of Ms. Quinn’s and president of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club.  Read More

By Colin Campbell 11/02/12 3:19pm

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Staten Island in a photograph taken yesterday. (Photo: Getty)

Assemblyman Calls for Boycott of Marathon Sponsors if Race Isn’t Canceled

As city politicians at all levels of government slam Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s decision to continue its plans for the New York City Marathon, an elected official in one of the hardest-hit communities is taking the fight to the next level. Assemblyman Lou Tobacco, representing the South Shore of Staten Island, has called for a nationwide boycott of the marathon’s sponsors if they do not push to end the race.

“I urge the sponsors to do the right thing and join me in calling for the postponement of the race,” Mr. Tobacco said in a statement. “If they fail to do what is right, I urge a nationwide boycott of their products. These sponsors have the power to stop this race, they need to do what is right.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 9/11/12 3:49pm

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Dueling Mailers Attack Candidates in Final Days of Bronx Assembly Race

Primaries across the city are reaching heating up, and Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera’s reelection campaign is no exception. Over the past few weeks, Ms. Rivera took constant hits about alleged unethical conduct from the New York Post and other outlets. Her main primary rival, Mark Gjonaj, gleefully used the flaps in campaign mailings slamming the incumbent. However, Ms. Rivera is capable of firing off shots too and a source in the district provided a copy of her campaign mailer attacking Mr. Gjonaj for living in a neighboring assembly district, which you can view below.

“Mark Gjonaj is spending big bucks too try and become our assemblyman, but the truth is, he doesn’t know our community at all,” a campaign mailing declares. “Truth is Mark Gjonaj is raking in the big bucks as a wealthy landlord while actually living on exclusive City Island. Mark Gjonaj wants to go to Albany to help his rich landlord friends get more money out of our pockets.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/22/12 4:06pm

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Manny Tavarez Pens ‘Open Letter to Azi Paybarah’

Manny Tavarez, who’s running a bit of an uphill campaign against freshman State Senator Gustavo Rivera, appreciates attention in the press, but not all of it.

Notably, yesterday morning, Capital New York’s Azi Paybarah published campaign literature from Mr. Tavarez telling voters to vote for him in the Democratic primary on September 11th. However, as Mr. Paybarah pointed out, this might confuse some voters, as Election Day was moved to September 13th to avoid conflicting with the anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. This was done several months ago. Read More

By Hunter Walker 8/09/12 5:29pm

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President Obama (Photo: Getty)

Romney Campaign Says Team Obama Has ‘Hit A New Low’

According to Mitt Romney’s campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, “this week, the Obama campaign hit a new low.” In an email to supporters, Mr. Rhoades said the Obama campaign hit bottom with an ad run by the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action that featured Joe Soptic, a steelworker whose wife died without health insurance after he was laid off from a company owned by Bain Capital. Multiple members of President Barack Obama’s campaign staff subsequently claimed not to have any knowledge of Mr. Soptic’s story in spite of the fact he previously was featured in a campaign commercial and conference call.

“This week, the Obama campaign hit a new low. Obama allies released a desperate and dishonest ad that tried to falsely link Mitt to a family tragedy. As if the disgusting and disgraceful ad wasn’t enough, President Obama’s top campaign advisers repeatedly lied, claiming they had no knowledge about the content of the ad,” Mr. Rhoades wrote.

Mr. Rhoades went on to describe the ad as an attempt to distract voters from the president’s “failed economic record.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 8/07/12 4:37pm

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President Obama (Photo: Getty)

Obama Campaign Calls Team Romney’s Welfare Reform Attack ‘Completely False’

This morning, the Romney campaign began what they described as a weeklong offensive accusing President Barack Obama of trying to “gut” President Bill Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform plan. Team Obama fired back this afternoon by bringing out Obama For America Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter and President Clinton’s former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta for a press conference call in which they described the Romney campaign’s welfare attack as “completely false.” Mr. Podesta also said he spoke to President Clinton about the situation and they were both in agreement that President Obama’s policies are “consistent” with the original vision for welfare reform. Read More