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By Azi Paybarah 8/24/11 9:49am

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Can't 'Tolerate His Growing Ego'; Former Council Staffer Trashes Boss

Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield fired a long-time staffer yesterday, who, in return, emailed colleagues saying she was “relieved” to be let go, because “I was no longer able to support David’s agenda, nor willing to tolerate his growing ego.”

“I staffed him at nearly every event imaginable,” Stefanie Fedak wrote in an email sent to friends last night, and forwarded to me by a couple of readers. “Yet, this morning, he decided that there was no longer a place for me in his office and he terminated my employment. I was not given an explanation beyond ‘this is no longer working out.’”

Fedak went on to say  ”I wouldn’t vote for David again, let alone work for him.”

In a brief email correspondence, Fedak confirmed she wrote the email but declined to discuss it further.

Her full email is after the jump. Read More

By Azi Paybarah 8/04/11 3:59pm

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Mayor Bloomberg today appointed Stephen Goldsmith, the nation’s premier expert on innovation in government and the former Mayor of Indianapolis, as Deputy Mayor for Operations. April 30, 2010 (Photo Credit: Edward Reed)

After Quick Departure, Some Question Goldsmith's Role in Bloomberg's Admin

Republican City Councilman Jimmy Oddo is sad to see Deputy Mayor Goldsmith leave the administration.

But he’s not surprised.

“I don’t think he was cast in a position to succeed,” Oddo said, calling from his cell phone after pulling his car over to the side of the road. (He was on his way home to Staten Island to  get softball equipment for tonight’s game against the mayor’s office.)

“I believe a deputy mayor for operations needs to be a tactician,” said Oddo, who called Goldsmith’s replacement, Cas Halloway, “the perfect selection” because “he learned at the knee of Ed Skyler, who was running 4/5 of the city for all intents and purposes.” Read More

By Azi Paybarah 7/27/11 10:26am

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Replacing Mattingly: Ronald Richter

The Bloomberg administration announced this morning that Judge Ronald Richter will replace John Mattingly as the head of ACS.

Richter was an interim Civil Court judge and served as New York City Family Services Coordinator for the mayor’s office. He was also a deputy commissioner for the agency under Mattingly, putting a new face on what will otherwise be an extension of Mattingly’s stewardship.

Richter, I’m told, recently began recusing himself from cases in his court that may involve the agency, quietly signaling his move.

By Azi Paybarah 7/26/11 2:41pm

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Public Advocate Bill de Blasio (photo credit: william alatriste)

De Blasio Staffs Up, Hunting for Hidden Donations Behind Citizens United

An organization created by Bill de Blasio has hired its first executive director whose job will be to publicize “undisclosed” political spending allowed by the Citizen’s United ruling, the public advocate’s office announced.

Leading the Coalition for Accountability in Public Spending will be Kate Coyne-McCoy, who previously was the regional director for Emily’s List. CAPS is getting funding from a $400,000, 2-year grant from the Open Society Foundations.  Read More

By Azi Paybarah 5/27/11 8:41am

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New Bloomberg Spokeswoman: Samantha Levine

One more addition to Mayor Bloomberg’s press office: Samantha Levine is coming over from NARAL. She’ll be handling the mayor’s press for health and human services agencies. She starts June 13.

On May 6, they picked up Julie Wood, who came over from the EDC. Last month, Marc LaVorgna was promoted to first deputy after the departure of veteran spokesman Jason Post, who went to the private sector.

By Azi Paybarah 5/25/11 3:33pm

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Behind Hochul’s Victory, A Team of Operatives

Global Strategy Group takes a congratulatory bow after yesterday’s Democratic victory in NY26.

In an email sent out just now, they wrote “this win marks our fifth victory in a Congressional special election in row” and “GSG is now 11 for 11 in elections held in 2011.”

But they are quick to note many other people deserve credit for Hochul’s victory too:

“While the victory was stunning, one thing that has gotten a bit lost in the political punditry is the quality of the candidate and her campaign on the ground in Western New York. Kathy Hochul ran a brilliant campaign and thrived with the national spotlight upon her throughout. Campaign Manager Adam Sullivan was a steady hand who ran a tough, disciplined race against two self-funding opponents and outside groups who poured millions of dollars of advertising into this campaign. We’re proud of the work we did on this race, but we didn’t do it alone. This was a great team effort with Steve Murphy, Jon Vogel, and Mike Reilly at MVAR who produced great ads, and Ed Peavy and Adnaan Muslim at Mission Control who developed persuasive mail. At GSG, Jef Pollock and Nick Gourevitch served as pollsters and strategists on the race.”

Here’s the email: Read More