Anthony Weiner
Cuomo Now Has No ‘Official Position’ On NYC Mayor’s Race
May 23rd - 3:55 pm
During his Tax-Free NY announcement at SUNY New Paltz earlier today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was asked to expand on his remarks to the Syracuse Post-Standard editorial board that if New Yorkers elect former Rep. Anthony Weiner for mayor than “shame on us.”
After the national media firestorm sparked by his comments in Central New York – even Matt Drudge picked up on it – the governor has apparently decided to revert to his tight-lipped approach when it comes to the scandal-scarred former congressman’s candidacy, saying only:
“I don’t have an official position on the mayor’s race, and I’m going to leave it at that.”
Cuomo has long said that he’s going to try to stay out of the crowded mayoral contest, but was goaded into giving his opinion on Weiner’s run during the following exchange with Stephen A. Rogers, chairman of the
Syracuse Media Group:
Cuomo: “It’s basically democracy. Those are grownups (in the Assembly) who are picking, who pick their leader.”
Rogers: “So if Anthony Weiner wants to run for mayor, he can run for mayor.”
Cuomo: “He runs? He runs.”
Rogers: “And if we elect him?”
Cuomo: “Shame on us.”
A Cuomo aide told the Daily News’ Ken Lovett that the governor’s poke at Weiner was just a joke.
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Why Cuomo Didn’t Want To Comment On Weiner
May 23rd - 12:51 pm
Yesterday in Buffalo, Gov. Andrew Cuomo really didn’t want to comment on former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s formal announcement that he’s running for mayor of New York.
“None,” Cuomo said when asked for his reaction. ”No reaction. Look, my face didn’t move. No reaction.”
But later in the day, the governor did respond to a question about Weiner in an interview with The Post-Standard in Syracuse.
Here’s the exchange, according Teri Weaver, between the governor and Syracuse Media Group Chairman Stephen Rogers:
Cuomo: “It’s basically democracy. Those are grownups (in the Assembly) who are picking, who pick their leader.”
Rogers: “So if Anthony Weiner wants to run for mayor, he can run for mayor.”
Cuomo: “He runs? He runs.”
Rogers: “And if we elect him?”
Cuomo: “Shame on us.”
That line has gotten some pickup today, with Drudge linking to it in, unsurprisingly, a double entendre-heavy headline.
Gennaro Calls For Weiner To Drop Mayoral Bid
May 22nd - 4:38 pm
Queens City Councilman Jim Gennaro is calling on fellow Democrat Anthony Weiner to drop his bid for New York City mayor just as it’s getting off the ground.
In a lengthy statement this afternoon, Gennaro acknowledged that Weiner, the disgraced former congressman who sent a picture of his crotch to a woman via Twitter, has the right to run.
But he questioned Weiner’s judgment and subsequent handling of the scandal, including several days of denying he sent the photo, even when it became patently obvious he had.
“…it is critical for a mayor to be able to manage a crisis. Mr. Weiner’s management of every aspect of the crisis of his own making in 2011 was, I believe, abysmal – from the first barefaced lie about being “hacked,” to his statement that he was the victim of an “illness,” to the conclusion of the crisis when he couldn’t even orchestrate his own resignation press conference and was heckled and jeered out of the room. In my opinion, his lies and victim mentality in this episode and his overall lack of crisis management skills more than disqualify him for the mayoralty,” Gennaro said in the statement.
Gennaro is a former state Senate candidate who nearly unseated Republican Sen. Frank Padavan in 2008, but lost in a closely contested race.
As far as I could tell, Gennaro is yet to officially endorse in the Democratic primary for mayor, but Weiner’s entry into the race is being seen as potentially harmful to the chances of Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who wants to avoid a runoff.
Gennaro in his statement says he’s more concerned about the chances of Weiner’s baggage distracting from the issues in the race. He questions whether Weiner is entering the contest in order to have a policy debate or seek some sort of redemption.
I believe his entry in the race would be a terrible distraction from the important issues that should be discussed in this campaign and from candidates who actually are qualified to be mayor. Worse, I don’t believe Mr. Weiner is even entering the race with the intention of winning and serving. Rather, instead of service to the city being his objective, I believe his entry into the race would, by his own admission in recent interviews I have read, be about him; his redemption; him being able to put the sexting scandal behind him.
Marist Poll: Weiner No. 2 In Democratic Mayoral Primary
Apr 16th - 11:30 pm
In the first poll released since Anthony Weiner confirmed he is mulling a potential entry into the New York City mayor’s race, the former congressman demonstrates he could still be a contender – or, at the very least, complicate things considerably for already-declared fellow Democrats.
Among registered Democrats questioned in the NBC New York-Marist poll, including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate, Weiner received 15 percent of the vote, placing his second to the Democratic frontrunner, NYC Council Speaker Chris Quinn, who gets 26 percent.
NYC Comptroller John Liu comes in third with 12 percent, with Bill Thompson and NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio hot on his heels with 11 percent each. That’s essentially a statistical dead heat for third place because the margin of error for the Democratic portion of the poll is 4.2 percent. Twenty-two percent of voters are undecided.
“Right now, a Weiner candidacy attracts double-digit support in the Democratic primary,” said Marist pollster Lee Miringoff. “He makes it even more difficult for any of the Democratic contenders to reach the needed forty percent to avoid a run-off.”
Without Weiner in the race, Quinn nets 30 percent of the vote, while de Blasio comes in second with 15 percent, following by Thompson at 14 percent and Liu at 11 percent. In this scenario, 26 percent of voters said they were undecided.
When Marist last reported this question in February, 37 percent of Democratic voters – including those who were undecided yet leaning toward a candidate – supported Quinn, while 13 percent backed Thompson, and 12 percent were for de Blasio. Nine percent supported Liu.
As Weiner continues mulling his options, 40 percent of registered Democrats say they want him to seek the mayoralty, while 46 percent do not want him to run and 14 percent are unsure. 14% are unsure. Citywide, only 37 percent want him to run, while 47 percent do not want to see him become a candidate for mayor this year.
These numbers have improved for Weiner since a Marist poll released last October. At that time, only 28 percent of registered Democrats wanted Weiner to throw his hat into the ring, while 57 percent did not, and 14 percent were unsure. Among all registered voters, only one in four – 25 percent – wanted Weiner to enter the contest for mayor and 58 percent did not want him torun.
Weiner’s favorability has also improved. He now has a net positive rating – 45-41 – among registered Democrats. Two months ago, his rating was upside down. Only 34 percent of Democrats viewed Weiner favorably at that time, and 43 percent had an unfavorable impression of him.
Of course, Weiner is the flavor of the month at the moment. And though the scrutiny of him has been high, thanks to lingering questions about the sexting scandal that forced him from office, it’s sure to become even more intense should he actually throw his hat into the ring, and then who knows what his numbers will do.
EMBARGOED_Complete April 16, 2013 NYC NBC New York_Marist Poll Release and Tables by liz_benjamin6490
Cuomo Not Going Near Weiner
Apr 16th - 5:12 pm
Gov. Andrew Cuomo declined to give his thoughts on the possible mayoral run of disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner, and used the question to jokingly end this afternoon’s Red Room news conference.
Ken Lovett of The Daily News couched the question in compliment, noting the governor has been “praised for your political acumen.”
“Oh, have you praised me for my political acumen? By who?” a skeptical Cuomo asked.
“Well, by New York magazine,” Lovett responded, referring to Chris Smith’s very good profile of the governor’s political deal making.
“I didn’t consider that praise, and I did not like that picture, I’ll tell you the truth,” Cuomo said of the giant-head characterture NY Mag used for art.
So what about a possible Mayor Weiner?
“I have no comment on that. This press conference is over, thank you very much!” Cuom exclaimed with a laugh.
Weiner 2013 Trial Balloon Aloft Again (Updated)
Jan 28th - 6:01 pm
A reader in Forest Hills, Queens wrote in to report that he received a polling call yesterday afternoon asking if he would be willing to consider scandal-scarred former Rep. Anthony Weiner for NYC comptroller this fall.
According to this reader, the questions compared Weiner and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who pretty much bigfooted the field when he dropped from the mayor’s race into the comptroller contest back in November, pushing out two term-limited NYC Council members – Domenic Recchia, of Brooklyn, and Dan Garodnick, of Manhattan - in the process.
(As per the comments section: Recchia is term-limited in his current post; Garodnick is not. Thanks for the correction).
The current comptroller, John Liu, is forging ahead with his mayoral campaign despite an ongoing federal investigation into his fund-raising practices.
I rustled up Weiner’s email address and sent him a note seeking comment. So far, I have not received a reply.
But this is not the first time it has been speculated that the former congressman is mulling a comeback after the on-line sex scandal that forced him from office in 2011.
The fact that he’s sitting on some $4 million, plus his high name recognition (perhaps not entirely for the sort of things for which a politician generally wishes to be known) make him a factor not easily dismissed – though a comeback would certainly be an uphill battle.
Weiner has kept people guessing about his plans by continuing to spend his political cash, maintain a website (though it hasn’t been updated since 2011) and grant selective interviews.
UPDATE: Shortly after I hit “publish” on this post, I received a fall from an Upper West Side Democrat who said he received a polling call tonight that appeared to gauge support for Weiner for mayor.
This poll respondent said the call came from Mountain West Research (which I believe is an Idaho-based call center), but with a 212 area code.
The questions included favorable/unfavorable feelings for Weiner as well as for the five Democrats already running or assumed to be running for mayor – NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, NYC Comptroller John Liu and former NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson.
Also, the pollster read a series of negative statements on each candidate, and then asked the “horserace” question. According to the UWS Dem, who took notes during the call, the negatives on each were as follows:
- Quinn: Rubber stamp for Mayor Bloomberg, voted to extend term limits, involved in a slugh fund scandal, known for “backroom” deals.
- de Blasio: Will say anything at any time, flip flops on key issues like term limits.
- Liu: Subject of a federal investigation, his campaign treasurer was arrested, he was subpoenaed to testify.
- Thompson: The NYC schools failed when he was in charge, ran a lackluster campaign for mayor in 2009, failed to pay his taxes for five years.
- Weiner: Was disgraced for sending lewd pictures and then lying about it, is a career politician who some say doesn’t have the temperament to be mayor.
Schneiderman: President Romney Would Kill Mortgage Fraud Probes
Aug 8th - 12:54 pm
ICYMI: Gov. Andrew Cuomo might be avoiding the Democratic National Convention until the last possible minute, but state AG Eric Schneiderman plans to be in North Carolina for several days and enthusiastically participate in supporting President Obama’s nomination for re-election.
Schneiderman said he has a personal stake in the contest between Obama and Mitt Romney, predicting that the national mortgage fraud investigations he is continuing to pursue at the national level after being tapped by Obama to serve as one of five co-chairs on a Justice Department task force would come to a rapid halt if the GOP takes control of the White House.
“I will attend the convention,” the AG told me during a CapTon interview last night. “I want to join the crew enthusiastically supporting our president for re-election.”
“I assure you that if President Obama is not re-elected that support for the kinds of investigations of corruption in financial services or problems in the mortgage market probably will die down pretty quickly. I don’t think President Romney is that interested in going after his colleagues in finance and financial manipulation in particular.”
“I’ll be there for several days, and I don’t know that I’m going to have a speaking role, but I’m certainly going to be there with my fellow New Yorkers to participate, and I’m very excited to be there and working to see that the president gets re-elected.”
Schneiderman’s convention comments came on the same day Gov. Andrew Cuomo explained that he’s just too busy taking care of things here in New York to attend more than the final day of the convention.
(He doesn’t have much of a choice, really, since his absence on Obama’s big day would certainly set tongues wagging that he doesn’t want the president to win in November because it would improve his own chances at winning the White House in 2016).
Cuomo and Schneiderman have had a rocky relationship. It’s no secret the former state senator wasn’t Cuomo’s first choice to succeed him in the AG’s office in 2010 (he reportedly preferred Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice, largely for the balance she would have brought to the nearly all male, downstate dominated statewide ticket).
And the governor has consistently sought to one-up the AG – consider yesterday’s big crackdown by Cuomo on synthetic drugs, something Schneiderman has been working on combatting for weeks now.
Cuomo’s reluctance to let go of the AG’s office was made clear in 2011 when he moved to create an uber-financial oversight agency – the Financial Services Department - and installed his longtime top aide Ben Lawsky at its head.
Initially, the administration tried to give the Financial Services Department the authority to use the Martin Act, which former AG Eliot Spitzer infamously employed to go after Wall Street. Cuomo quickly backed off that effort after pressue from the press, the business community and the AG’s office.
According to this morning’s NY Post, Lawsky is “stealing the spotlight away” from Schneiderman with his Wall Street enforcement actions. His latest move was to allege that alleged that UK banking titan Standard Chartered violated US law by going business with Iranian banks for nearly 10 years.
Lawsky called Standard a “rogue institution.” But some observers have suggested it’s Lawsky himself who’s a ”regulator gone rogue.”
Apparently, the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve are none too pleased with him, either.
The Time Andrew Breitbart Crashed The Weiner Press Conference
Mar 1st - 2:21 pm
From the archives, here’s the late Andrew Breitbart’s performance after he comandeered Rep. Anthony Weiner’s news conference for a full 14 minutes.
A website run by Breitbart, who died last night unexpectedly, had broken the story that Weiner had sent a racy picture to a woman in Seattle. Weiner initially claimed his twitter account was hacked, but the conservative grenade thrower was later vindicated.
Turner Spokesman: Weiner’s A ‘Mensche’
Sep 30th - 12:39 pm
Bill O’Reilly, the GOP consultant who served as spokesman for Rep. Bob Turner’s surprisingly successful campaign in NY-9, blogged in praise of Turner’s predecessor, ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, calling the former congressman a “mensche” for keeping secret a meeting with his replacement that took place at a Kew Gardens diner earlier this week.
While it was Weiner’s “Twitter indiscretions” that cost him his Brooklyn/Queens seat, he was the picture of discretion when it came to the meeting, according to O’Reilly.
The get-together, called so Weiner could update Turner on the projects he had been working on for his former constituents, was held in “strict confidence,” O’Reilly noted, but could very easily have been leaked with a single well-placed anonymous phone call.
“He traveled out to his former district from Manhattan, where he now lives, because he cared enough to do it,” O’Reilly wrote. “There could be no other reason for his action, and it showed character.”
“I have a laundry list of philosophical disagreements with Mr. Weiner, but I am struck by his graciousness in meeting with Mr. Turner – a man from the opposite political party who ran against him in 2010 – to help Congressman Turner better hit the ground running.”
Call Mr. Weiner what you want, but I call him a mensche today for what was supposed to be a quiet, unnoticed gesture. So now it’s leaked. Whoops!
In my eyes, this shows class on two sides here. Yes, Weiner took the time to help the man who now holds the seat he was forced to give up in disgrace, keeping the meeting on the down-low even though it would have helped improve his image.
But O’Reilly, a loyal Republican, gets points, too, for giving credit to a guy the GOP really had no use for – until he provided them with a chance to show up President Obama and his fellow Democrats.
NOTE: In case you’re unfamiliar with this Yiddish term, a “mensche” is “a person of integrity and honor.”
Another NY-9 Theory
Sep 13th - 5:00 pm
I’m just going to put this one out there without judgement and let you decide.
Teamsters Local 237 President Greg Floyd joined me for a CapTon interview that will air this evening (8 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.). The main topic of discussion was the potential investment by pension funds into infrastructure projects – something the unions are pushing. But, of course, I had to ask him about NY-9 special election and whether it’s a referendum on President Obama.
“When we have a financial crisis, people look to make a change,” Floyd replied. “Sometimes the change is for the worse. We don’t know. But people are angry, and this is just another district that is angry.”
“We had Anthony Weiner there, and he was very popular in his district. How do we know this is not a vote against the Democrats for throwing Anthony Weiner under the bus? We’ve got to look at that also.”
“In Anthony Weiner’s district, Anthony Weiner was very popular, and people wanted him to remain the congressman there. It was the rest of the country that decided that they didn’t want him to be a congressman.”
As you’ll recall, several polls conducted before Weiner resigned – but after his bombshell press conference at which he revealed (ahem) the bulk of his on-line transgressions – found a majority of New Yorkers felt Weiner could keep his House seat, but would have to kiss his mayoral aspirations goodbye.
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