Feed

ELECTION DAY!

By Colin Campbell 11/07/12 12:15am

ELECTION DAY!

Grace Meng and Michael Grimm (Photo: Meng Campaign/Getty)

In New York City, Michael Grimm and Grace Meng Win

New York State started off as a key battleground in the Democrats’ battle to retake control of the U.S. House, especially after the courts intervened in the redistricting plan and shook up a lot of traditional boundaries. However, most of these races were focused in areas further Upstate and the suburbs, leaving the heavily Democratic New York City with just two congressional elections of note.

In Queens, Democratic Assemblywoman Grace Meng faced off against GOP Councilman Dan Halloran for a seat crafted from the district remnants of outgoing Congressmen Bob Turner and Gary Ackerman. Despite Mr. Halloran’s polling showing the race a tie, those numbers did not pan out and Ms. Meng is currently ahead by roughly 2-to-1, which matches how Democrats have historically performed within the area. Read More

By Hunter Walker 11/06/12 3:42pm

ELECTION DAY!

jumaane cover

Councilman Says There is a ‘Complete Breakdown’ With Voting in Flatbush

Reports of chaotic situations at the polls around New York City this Election Day are mounting. The areas on the southwestern tip of Brooklyn that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy have experienced issues, but we’re also hearing about problems in neighborhoods that weren’t heavily impacted by the storm including Flatbush, Park Slope and parts of Manhattan. Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams, who has been touring the polling sites in the East Flatbush and Flatbush portions of his district described the situation as “complete disorganization” and had harsh words for the city Board of Elections. He also suggested the federal or city government may need to take action against the BOE to prevent a similar situation from happening again.

“I think on a non-Sandy day they have problems doing a good election,” Mr. Williams said of the BOE. “Combine that with Sandy and they’re completely unorganized. They’ve had four years to plan this. Their only job is to plan elections and they can’t get it right. And you should have conditional plans, you should have backup plans, you should have contingency plans. Where are those plans? This is getting worse and worse.” Read More

By dgrantobserver 11/05/12 6:00pm

ELECTION DAY!

New Jersey, where special early voting was allowed for Hurricane victims (Getty Images)

Update: Governor Cuomo Signs Executive Order Allowing Affidavit Ballots for Hurricane Victims

Tomorrow’s electoral process just got a little bit easier for people displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Governor Andrew Cuomo acquiesced to pressure from several elected officials and good government groups this evening and signed an executive order allowing anyone registered in a federally-declared disaster area to vote by affidavit ballot or choose from one of several other alternatives. Read More

By Drew Grant 11/05/12 4:05pm

ELECTION DAY!

A voting booth set up at a school in the East Village earlier today. (Photo: Getty)

With Board of Elections Scrambling After Sandy, Groups Push for Provisional Ballots

Trying to figure out where to vote tomorrow? You’re not alone: with the presidential elections and several local races being voted on tomorrow, the state is at a loss of how to deal with the thousands of displaced citizens who no longer have a place to cast their ballot–nor any information on how to do so. Several good government groups believe an expanded provisional ballot program could improve the chaotic situation, but Governor Andrew Cuomo has yet to approve the proposal.  Read More

By Colin Campbell 9/14/12 12:06am

ELECTION DAY!

(Photo: Facebook)

More Victors Declared, Including Twice-Indicted William Boyland Jr.

A number of other candidates have won tough races tonight. As the results come trickling in, here are some notable ones:

Assemblyman William Boyland Jr., currently facing federal charges that he solicited bribes to pay his legal bills in an unrelated federal corruption case, won against a slew of challengers. Six opponents split the anti-Boyland vote, allowing him to skate by with a weak plurality.

State Senator Shirley Huntley, indicted a couple weeks ago on charges that she helped deliver member items to a sham non-profit, lost to Councilman James Sanders, who waged an aggressive campaign and managed to turn out his base in a seat made less favorable to Ms. Huntley in redistricting. Read More

By Colin Campbell 9/11/12 11:59am

ELECTION DAY!

shirley huntley fb

There’s a Bunch of Elections Thursday, Which Ones Should You Care About?

It’s Election Day in New York next Thursday! But instead of a titanic battle between ideologies–your Mitt Romneys vs. Barack Obamas, if you will–the options on the ballot will be little-noticed state legislative contests between candidates of the same party, often with few policy differences.

However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some exciting races happening. From “Who Gets Arrested for Raping a Grandmother?” to “Assemblywoman Caught Up in Sex Scandal with Two Young Men,” there’s been no shortage of nasty drama and mud slinging as voters head to the polls.

Here’s a breakdown of who’s running and why it might matter who wins. The list below focuses on Democratic races because the few Republican primaries in this staunchly blue city tend to have clear favorites or are taking place in such Democratic territory that the victor is reasonably likely to be irrelevant. Read More

By Colin Campbell 6/27/12 8:49am

ELECTION DAY!

How many elected officials can you spot? Ms. Meng is somewhere in the middle.

Queens Democrats Triumphantly Celebrate Grace Meng’s Victory

In the packed Plum Restaurant in the Bayside neighborhood of Queens, Assemblywoman Grace Meng entered the room to the Black Eye Peas’ “Let’s get it started in here” (Let’s get into it! Yeah! Get stupid! Come on!) just after ten o’clock and was simply a rock star. Ms. Meng is beloved in Queens Democratic circles and those circles certainly turned out for her clamorous and joyous victory party. Declaring her congressional campaign’s success before the Associated Press did, she spent most of her speech thanking all of her volunteers, family members, supporters, opponents, and probably a few others tossed in there as well.

“It has been about we, certainly not me,” Ms. Meng said to begin her speech. “We. We, in this room. We in the neighborhoods won this important race. We won this victory together.”

And win the race she did, surprising expectations and securing an outright majority of the vote, a tough act considering her multiple credible primary opponents with strong labor support and electoral bases. And while Ms. Meng received very strong support in her own base in Flushing’s sizable Asian community, supporters and elected officials also constantly pointed to her impressively strong performance in other areas as well, a tribute to the forces that mobilized behind her candidacy. Read More

By Colin Campbell 6/26/12 9:37pm

ELECTION DAY!

Grace Meng and other pols banter on the corner.

In Final Minutes, Grace Meng Screens Bayside for Stray Voters

With the sun setting and almost every voter having cast their ballots, Assemblywoman Grace Meng chose to make her final push in the Bayside neighborhood of Queens, blocks from the location of her her victory party.

“Everybody and their brother is here,” as Assemblyman David Weprin put it when Councilman Mark Weprin strolled up.

Of course, there weren’t too many voters left to persuade, so the group of elected officials were mostly focused on bantering with one another and musing on turnout as the the 9 p.m. poll closing time approached. Read More

By David Freedlander 6/26/12 7:38pm

ELECTION DAY!

hakeem-jeffries-announces-for-congress2

In Ft. Greene, Opinion Is Mixed, But Hakeem Jeffries Guarantees: ‘We Are Going To Win’ The Neighborhood

At a church up the street from the primary school where Hakeem Jeffries was due to make a last minute campaign stop, a volunteer handing out literature for Charles Barron explained why he favored the fiery City Councilman Barron over the establishment’s pick, Mr. Jeffries.

“Sometimes you need someone who can shake things up in City Hall, in Albany, and in Washington,” he said, making note of Mr. Barron’s penchant for over-the-top statements. “There  has been a media onslaught. But sometimes when The Post comes after you, you know you are doing something good.” Read More

By David Freedlander 6/26/12 2:47pm

ELECTION DAY!

photo (9)

Shelly Silver Says There Has Been A ‘Deceitful’ Campaign Run Against Nydia Velazquez

At a senior center on the Lower East Side, Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver slammed the campaign ran against Congressman Nydia Velasquez.

With Ms. Velazquez at her side in a roomful of approximately 200 seniors, Mr. Silver said that she has been in “a very bitter, deceitful campaign,” and added that “the reality is…for 20 years she has been a real performer in Congress,” citing Ms. Velazquez’s commitment to affordable housing and small business.

Ms. Velazquez’s main challenger this primary season is Erik Dilan, a City Councilman and a protege of Vito Lopez, the head of the Kings County Democratic Party and a colleague of Mr. Silver’s in the Assembly.  Two other lesser-known candidates are also in the race. Asked to clarify what he meant, Mr. Silver told The Politicker, “I think there is some anonymous literature that is not identified in any way that takes some quotes or things and just throws them totally out of context.” Read More