Gloria Steinem via Wiki Commons.

2013 Mayoral Race

Gloria Steinem is pressuring Christine Quinn on the paid sick leave bill.

Bill de Blasio took in heavy donations from the taxi industry, which he has supported.

And Quinn took in quite a bit from a developer that was exempted from the living wage bill.

Manhattan

Voting machines in the Espaillat/Rangel primary didn’t count hundreds of votes.

The WFP is backing Adriano Espaillat’s Senate bid – after first backing Rangel over Espaillat in their congressional race.

Brooklyn

An anti-Vito Lopez faction of the Satmar community held a victory party for Nydia Velazquez.

Andrew Goundardes has $155K on hand for his challenge to Marty Golden.

Staten Island

Michael Grimm was cleared of charges by the House Office of Congressional Ethics.

State Senate

Mark Grisanti is already spending big on his re-election bid.

Elsewhere

The NYC Board of Elections will change its flawed vote-counting procedure.

To read more from City & State click here.

Alec Baldwin. Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons.

Manhattan

Despite the holiday, the Espaillat-Rangel race is still in full-tilt.

The dispute at the Board of Elections harkens back to a past race.

State Senate

How competitive will this year’s state Senate elections really be?

2013 Mayoral Race

Billy Baldwin says Alec Baldwin’s prospects of running for mayor are real.

Eva Moskowitz (who’s not running for mayor) panned Bill de Blasio (who is).

To read more from City & State click here.

Photo by John C Abell. Photo courtesy of Flickr Commons.

Could the board just be after a little fun and excitement? If there was a reliable count last week on election night, we’d have been certain whether or not Congressman Charlie Rangel staved off his strongest challenge in four decades by beating State Sen. Adriano Espaillat in the Democratic primary. We thought we were sure last Tuesday night that Rangel won handily, but we soon learned that many votes had not been counted in election districts where Espaillat had strong support.

Now we have the drama of Rangel, the former powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, declaring victory only to have it cast in doubt. If Rangel is certified the winner, his victory will be that much sweeter, and if Espaillat prevails in a recount, the heartache of Rangel’s fall would be compelling.

It’s stuff worthy of an HBO movie. Maybe the elections board figures a cliffhanger is needed to get more voters to come out in future elections.

Or maybe the BOE is feeling nostalgic for the not so olden days of the creaky voting machine levers. The machines were finally scrapped in 2010 in part because they increased the chances of human error.

At the end of the election night, often in dimly lit rooms, weary Board of Election workers would peer into the small boxes next to each name to look for the number of votes each candidate got at that machine. It was common for a number such as 150 for example, to be recorded as 50. So the election night return numbers typically were adjusted a week later when the machines were reexamined.

It all might be a little funny if there wasn’t the pesky problem that we may not be sure if the people of the 13^th Congressional District will end up getting the representative the voters chose last week.

Remember that old P. Diddy-led slogan, “Vote or Die”, the adage meant to influence the public and non-voters to voice their opinions and vote, or suffer a premature demise?

Well, when Nydia Velazquez (7^th district) and Charles Rangel (13^thdistrict) combat their opponents in Tuesday’s congressional primaries, this is what the rapper was talking about, and we, although without the threat, agree with him and encourage you to vote.

Know Your Maps - photo courtesy of Flickr Commons

We suspect much of the reason people don’t vote is because access to voting is, ironically, a bit inaccessible, and because sometimes the couch is a bit easier than standing in line and waiting to punch a hole. We don’t suspect that most people are just droning around without an opinion.

So, fortunately for you, we at NY Press are here to help, and are here, in an effort to make your voting as effortless as possible, to present to you a guide to some of the polling locations in the 7^th and 13^th districts. Find the location nearest you and go out and vote:

7^th district – Candidates: Nydia Velazquez, George Martinez, Dan O’Connor, Erik Dilan

• Ridgewood Presbyterian Church, 59-14 70 Ave. – Queens
• PS 108, 200 Linwood St. – Brooklyn
• St. Ann’s & The Holy Trinity Church, 157 Montague St. – Brooklyn
• PS 172, 825 4 Ave. – Brooklyn
• PS 155, 1355 Herkimer St. – Brooklyn
• University Neighborhood, 200 Monroe St. – Manhattan
• Rutgers House, 200 Madison St. – Manhattan

13^th district – Candidates: Charles Rangel, Adriana Espaillat, Clyde Williams, Joyce Johnson, Craig Schley

• Vladeck Hall, 74 Van Cortlandt Pk. – Bronx
• Glad Tidings Assembly, 2 Van Cortlandt Ave. – Bronx
• PS 46, 279 Esat 196 St. – Bronx
• Dyckman Comm Center, 3782 10 Ave. – Manhattan
• Isabella Geriatric, 515 Audubon Ave. – Manhattan
• Bridge Apartments, 1370 St. Nicholas Ave. – Manhattan
• PS 173, 306 Ft Washing Ave. – Manhattan
• PS 43/PS 172, 509 West 129 St. – Manhattan
• Riverview Tower, 626 Riverside Dr. – Manhattan
• PS 7, 160 E 120 St. – Manhattan

Everyone should vote, but don’t worry—we aren’t threatening you if you don’t listen.

We support Nydia Velazquez and Clyde Williams in this year’s elections— see why here and here.

You can also get more details at NYC’s Poll Site Locator.

“I might just add that I do give a damn,” Espaillat said, “and I would look forward to working with Obama, and I certainly hope he will endorse me.”

At his own recent press conference to receive the backing of current Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., Rangel said he didn’t “give a damn” if he got Obama’s backing in the congressional race, though Rangel’s campaign later walked the statement back.

Espaillat was on hand at City Hall today to receive the endorsement of former Bronx borough president/White House director of the Office of Urban Affairs Adolfo Carrion, which was first reported this morning by City & State.

Carrion, for his part, said he does not believe Obama will get involved in a Democratic primary, simply because it’s a race between two Democrats. He also praised Rangel’s record in Congress, and did not take the bait when asked about Rangel’s ethics violations.

Meanwhile, Espaillat was put in an awkward situation during the press conference, when he was asked about a scandal several years ago involving Carrion getting free work on his Bronx house. In response, Espaillat said that he was entirely unaware of the well-publicized incident, which resulted in a $10,000 city fine.

“No, I’m not concerned about that, and I don’t think there is such things going on,” Espaillat said. “If you have information you can share with me, perhaps, you can give that to me after the press conference. Any other questions?”

Carrion declined to speak about his own political plans, which have included rumored interest in a run for comptroller, and even as a Republican candidate for mayor in 2013.

To read more from City & State click here.

Simcha Felder

2013 Mayoral Race

New York’s Republican County Chairmen Dan Isaacs, Phil Ragusa, Craig Eaton and Jay Savino discussed their plans to court Republican mayoral candidates with Errol Louis on NY1.

Adolfo Carrion, former Bronx Borough president, is telling friends he’s thinking of running for mayor and will decide by the fall of this year. 

Congressional Races

Former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer endorsed State Sen. Adriano Espaillat for Congress yesterday. 

Anti-incumbent Super PAC the Campaign for Primary Accountability is planning to help Adriano Espaillat against Rangel.

Current bronx Borough president Ruben Diaz, Jr., will endorse Charlie Rangel later this week.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says it’s too early for him to endorse either Sen. Espaillat or Rep. Rangel.

Bloomberg’s distance from the Rangel race is similar to President Barack Obama’s. The president hasn’t waded into the race yet either.

State Senate

Simcha Felder raised roughly $200,000 last week in his run for the new “Super-Jewish” State Senate district.

To read more from City & State click here.

The candidates got a thumbs-down on their tech prowess.

Might Kristin Davis run for mayor?

Brooklyn

Hakeem Jeffries may end up getting the endorsement of Andrew Cuomo.

More on Simcha Felder’s state Senate plans.

Manhattan

Rangel and Espailliat are fighting over the endorsement decision of Oscar de la Renta.

State Senate

John Sampson says the Senate Dems’ minimum wage push isn’t about politics.

Elsewhere

Green Party candidates could affect the outcome of several congressional races.

Sheldon Silver may push for public financing for the NY comptroller’s race.

To read more from City & State click here.

State Sen. Adriano Espaillat

Espaillat vs. Rangel Inches Closer to Reality
By Andrew J. Hawkins
When the state Legislature was battling over redistricting lines earlier this month, State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who represents parts of the Upper West Side and Northern Manhattan, was assuring reporters that he wasn’t planning to jump into a congressional race. Now it looks like he’s changed his tune.

Rep. Charlie Rangel

Since petitioning began two weeks ago, Espaillat has already collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in the June primary contest against long-serving Rep. Charlie Rangel, his spokesman said last Tuesday.
“There is tremendous enthusiasm for Senator Espaillat’s candidacy, which is demonstrated by the fact that he’s already surpassed the number of signatures necessary to get on the ballot,” said spokesman Ibrahim Khan.
Khan said that the campaign would continue to collect signatures in anticipation of ballot challenges. He estimated that 35-50 volunteers were out in the newly drawn 13th congressional district collecting petitions for the senator.
Rangel has said repeatedly in the past few weeks that he intends to run for re-election. The congressman was recently slapped with a $23,000 fine from the Federal Elections Commission for running his re-election campaign out of his rent-stabilized apartment. He has also reportedly been recovering from back surgery, which has kept him away from Washington and out of the public eye.
Espaillat has yet to officially announce his candidacy, but a post-redistricting increase in the district’s Latino population, as well as his option to run for re-election to the State Senate if he loses the June congressional primary, all but assure that he’ll eventually jump in the race.
But Rangel is hardly down for the count. He scored his first political club endorsement last week and has been endorsed for re-election by Queens Democratic Party boss Rep. Joseph Crowley and State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr.
In response to rumors floating around the political and media worlds that Rangel plans to win the seat and then retire in order to pave the way in a special election for his designated successor, Assemblyman Keith Wright, Rangel’s spokesman, Bob Liff, released a statement explicitly denying such motivations on behalf of the congressman.
“I am not in this race so I could politically manipulate the system. The constituents I have long served know, and those who I now seek to represent will learn, that I am a straight talker. Any rumors that say I’m not going to serve out a full term are false,” Rangel said in the statement.
“Again, I am absolutely running for re-election. I intend to serve my entire term. There is no wiggle room.”
Wright, the chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party, is overseeing Rangel’s petition gathering. He told City & State that the process was going “extremely well” and that he expected the congressman to have “quadruple the number” needed to qualify for the ballot. As for Espaillat’s challenge, Wright offered his best of luck.
“Let me just say this: Obviously he thinks he has a good chance of winning, and good luck to him,” Wright said. “That’s all I’m going to say.”
The race is setting up a potential clash between Harlem’s dwindling African American population and its growing Dominican one. If elected, Espaillat would be the first Dominican-American member of Congress from New York.

This story first appeared on the City & State website at cityandstateny.com.

A former aide to Rep. Charles Rangel is seeking the State Senate seat currently held by attorney general candidate Eric Schneiderman.

The aide, Miosotis Muñoz, was a community representative for the longtime Harlem Congressman between 2005 and 2007. Her career in government also includes stints as a Latino liaison in the offices of Manhattan borough presidents Ruth Messinger and C. Virginia Fields. Muñoz also served on Barack Obama’s National Latino Leadership Council during the 2008 presidential primary, organizing voter outreach in northern Manhattan.

Schneiderman is from the Upper West Side part of his sprawling district, which also covers the Dominican-heavy Washington Heights and Inwood, plus parts of the Bronx.

Muñoz sent out an invite for a May 28 fundraiser on West 150th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, announcing her candidacy. In the invite, Muñoz touts her 16 years in government and community service.

Washington Heights district leader Mark Levine is the only other candidate to formally announce a run for the seat. Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat of Washington Heights may also make a bid.

But Vince Morgan, Rangel’s former campaign director, says the timing of his Democratic primary campaign is purely coincidental.

“The first question people ask is, ‘Did you decide to run because he’s having these problems, or were you planning all along?’” Morgan said. “I was planning this all along. Almost three years now.”

Rangel, who chairs the powerful Ways and Means Committee that writes tax law, is still seeking re-election. He was first elected in 1971 as an insurgent candidate and is the dean of New York’s Congressional delegation.

Morgan, a community banker at TD Bank, wants to focus on constituent services and economic development in lieu of Rangel’s national stature.

“In order to create legislative responses to the needs of the people you represent, you’ve got to be tied to those people and their day-to-day issues and problems,” Morgan said. “The only way to do that is to effectively communicate with them the constituent work you do in your office.”