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By Hunter Walker 9/17/12 2:11pm

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Hakeem Jeffries Takes a Victory Lap

Last Thursday, Walter Mosley was elected to succeed Hakeem Jeffries in Brooklyn’s 57th Assembly District. Mr. Mosley was supported by Mr. Jeffries, who left the seat to run a successful congressional campaign, and the race was largely seen as a referendum on Mr. Jeffries’ ability to deliver for another candidate in his Central Brooklyn base. Politicker sat down with Mr. Jeffries yesterday to get his post-game analysis on Mr. Mosley’s campaign and the endorsements that didn’t go their way. Mr. Jeffries also talked about his plans for moving to Washington, his thoughts on the future of the Brooklyn Democratic Party in the wake of the Vito Lopez scandal and discussed ringing the opening bell at NASDAQ on the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Read More

By Colin Campbell 9/01/12 6:18pm

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Rodneyse Bichotte

TWU Bucks Establishment, Endorses Rodneyse Bichotte

There are a number of under-covered state legislative primaries happening on September 13th, and District Leader Rodneyse Bichotte’s effort to take on veteran Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs may very well be one of them. Ms. Jacobs’ district is only about 15% white, while Ms. Bichotte, who’s of Haitian descent, has a natural base of support in the Flatbush-based district’s Caribbean population. And although almost every other union has formally backed Ms. Jacobs, Transport Workers Union Local 100, who’s political director Marvin Holland said is heavily concentrated in the district, is going in the other direction. Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/23/12 1:20pm

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Laurie Cumbo (Photo: Facebook)

Laurie Cumbo Eyes Tish James’s Seat

Laurie Cumbo, the head of the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, is looking at potentially leaping into the race to replace Councilwoman Tish James. Ms. James is currently running for Public Advocate, leaving her Fort Greene- and Clinton Hill-based seat vacant behind her.

“First and foremost, I would say that the political arena is in need of totally new, different of types of thinkers,” Ms. Cumbo told Politicker earlier today, stressing that she is merely exploring a run and has yet to make a decision. “I feel that that the arts and cultural community has not had a voice in government and I feel that there are many voices and important voices in government, but there has never been that creative, imaginative new way of thinking, out-of-the-box thinking, that has been a major voice in the political arena. I’m looking to fill that void.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/21/12 11:44am

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(Photo: Getty)

Marty Golden Gets Teamsters

On the heels of Senator Marty Golden’s upset loss of the AFL-CIO endorsement yesterday, the Republican state senator is out with a prominent labor endorsement of his own: Teamsters Joint Council 16.

“Senator Golden has proven that he will fight for working families,” the union’s president, George Miranda, said in a statement. “In these tough times, we need leaders we can count on to fight for every job and opportunity possible. That’s why Teamsters Joint Council 16 is pleased to endorse State Senator Marty Golden for re-election. He is effective, forthright and diligent.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/15/12 3:04pm

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Rhoda Jacobs (Photo: Facebook)

Rhoda Jacobs Survives Tough Ballot Challenge

In a little-noticed development, Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs has been fighting for her political life in recent days as her main primary challenger, District Leader Rodneyse Bichotte, put in a very serious legal challenge to her presence on the ballot. As Mary Alice Miller reported yesterday, multiple candidates for county committee did not consent to having sharing petitions with Ms. Jacobs, which Ms. Bichotte’s attorney argued should invalidate all of the petitions.

“If two or more individuals did not give permission to have their name placed on the ballot, precedent dictates that the entire petition is invalid,” he explained. Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/02/12 1:17pm

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(Photo: Getty)

Candidates Jostle Over Who Opposes Cuomo’s Special Education Veto More

On Tuesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed legislation that would have provided public funding for special education students to attend private schools, a move he and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said was fiscally prudent yet also one that was condemned by politicians representing observant Jewish constituencies.

The bill’s chief sponsor in the State Assembly, Helene Weinstein, vowed to “continue the fight” in a statement, aiming to try and get enough votes in her chamber to override Mr. Cuomo’s veto. However, being the chief proponent of the bill is apparently not enough to avoid being attacked for not doing enough on the issue, and Ms. Weinstein’s Republican opponent Joseph Hayon sharply criticized her in a statement last night. Read More

By Colin Campbell 7/19/12 2:07pm

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(Photo: Facebook)

Marty Golden Posts Solid Fundraising Haul

GOP State Senator Marty Golden has never struggled with fundraising, and facing his first serious challenger in years, continued to do so in his semiannual filing that just went online earlier this afternoon. Taking in $270,000 in contributions, Mr. Golden now has over $455,000 on hand as he aims to thwart Democrat Andrew Gounardes on Election Day.

“Senator Golden has given a lifetime of service to our community, through serving as a member of the NYPD, to leading the charge of small businesses, to serving in both the New York City Council and New York State Senate,”Jeffrey Kraus, Mr. Golden’s campaign manager, said in a statement posted a couple days ago on the senator’s website. “We are honored by the outpouring of support from seniors, moms, dads, and middle class families that have taken whatever they could and donated to our campaign.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 6/25/12 9:07am

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Charles Barron (Photo: Facebook)

Charles Barron’s Campaign Pitch: ‘Excited…Unbossed, Unbought’

On Friday, Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron released a new online ad in his closely watched congressional campaign against Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries. Mr. Barron’s commercial features the candidate standing in the park talking up his achievements in the City Council and his plans for Washington as a soundtrack of drumming and chanting plays in the background.

“I’m Charles Barron and I’m running for Congress. Im excited,” Mr. Barrons says in the ad. “Unbossed, unbought Charles Barron for Congress.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 6/06/12 2:22pm

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Abraham Tischler (photo: ourcampaigns.com)

Abraham Tischler Moves Forward With State Senate Campaign

Abraham Tischler, who made headlines as an 18 year-old City Council candidate a couple years ago, is fully committed to running for the New York State Senate in a heavily Orthodox Jewish seat this year. Previously, he was somewhat vague about his intentions, telling us, “I can’t disclose anything yet but I am working on assembling this fast.”

According to a tipster in the district — often referred to as the “Super Jewish” seat — Mr. Tischler is “full force ahead” and has a complete set of volunteers hitting the streets and gathering signatures to get him on the ballot. Read More