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Lopez With Cuomo And Hasids In Brooklyn (Updatedx2)
Oct 3rd - 5:06 pm
A reader sent in this photo of Assemblyman/Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Vito Lopez’s car parked outside the Williamsburg home of Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, who was one of several Hasidic leaders meeting privately with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo today.
According to this reader, the AG held three brief meetings with key Hasidic leaders at which Lopez was present for at least two – the sit-down with Zalman and also, as Maggie Haberman reported earlier today, and another meet-and-greet with the Pupa Grand Rabbi.
There are conflicting reports as to whether Lopez was present for the third meeting with Zalman’s rival, Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum. (My reader, who was there, says no, but Maggie is reporting otherwise). Also with Lopez was his former staffer-turned-NYC Councilman Steve Levin.
UPDATE: A reader confirms Lopez was not at the Aron confab, which makes sense, since he’s allied with Zalman and the two brothers have long been at war. For more details check here and here.
A Cuomo source played down Lopez’ presence, insisting he merely showed up at the meetings and was not specifically invited to attend. UPDATE1: This is being described as a “community meeting” with some 50 people attending and Lopez was invited by the Hasidic leaders.
Elected officials at all levels of government are keeping their distance from the chairman ever since reports surfaced that he is at the center of investigations by the city and the feds in connection with a nonprofit that serves as the base of his power, the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council.
Cuomo said on Sept. 20 that his AG’s office is “reviewing” the material produced by the city’s investigation.
The Post, which has been leading the charge against Lopez, reported last week that Gov. David Paterson put a freeze on millions of dollars worth of state contracts with the Council pending the outcome of the multiple investigations.
The Bloomberg administration also has been holding up contracts to Lopez, saying it is waiting for a green light from the Charities Bureau in Cuomo’s office. So far, there’s been no indication when that approval would be forthcoming.
UPDATE2: Rabbi David Niederman, a Lopez ally, sent the following statement (unsolicited) to reporters: “Assemblyman Lopez was one of the local elected officials we invited to our community today to discuss issues of importance to us.”
‘No Fear, No Favor’
Oct 3rd - 3:51 pm
…that was the main message delivered by Sen. Eric Schneiderman and US Sen. Chuck Schumer at today’s endorsement event for the Manhattan state lawmaker’s AG bid.
This is the video footage released by the Schneiderman campaign. It doesn’t include the post-presser Q-and-A (sadly). But you do get to see Schumer saying:
“New York needs an attorney general who puts the people’s business above all others, who can vigorously pursue government fraud and Medicaid fraud and will zealously watchdog how our taxes are being spent, sand Eric is not afraid of a fight.”
Schumer For Schneiderman
Oct 3rd - 9:42 am
New York’s senior US senator is poised to announce state Sen. Eric Schneiderman at the state Democratic Party HQ this afternoon, sources familiar with the event confirm.
The press conference at 461 Park Avenue South will take place at 1 p.m.
Schumer hasn’t made any formal endorsements in other statewide races yet, but he has indicated he’ll be supporting AG Andrew Cuomo for governor, and, of course, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who counts Schumer among her most significant allies and protectors (much to her detriment in the eyes of detractors like the NY Post). No word on when and if he’ll be backing state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
Schumer did not weigh in on the five-way Democratic AG primary, and, of course, neither did Cuomo. The AG has since formally backed the Manhattan senator, whom he was widely seen as opposing prior to the Sept. 14 elections.
Schumer likes to say that he doesn’t pick favorites in primaries, but he has a history of deviating from that when it suits him.
For example, he backed then-state Comptroller H. Carl McCall over Cuomo in the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary, and did so just hours before a so-called party “unity” event, earning him the ire of then-junior US Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Schumer waited until after the primary in 2006 to back Cuomo for AG. The relationship between Schumer and the Cuomo family has been up and down over the years.
One angle is that Schumer long eyed a run for governor, including in 1994 when Mario Cuomo decided to give it one last shot – with, as we know know, disasterous results (that was the year he lost to then-GOP Sen. George Pataki).
Schumer was thinking of running for governor in 2006, too, but took a pass to rise up the leadership ranks in Washington, where he is now widely viewed as a contender for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s leadership post – that is, if Reid loses his re-election bid.
Schneiderman’s Sagamore Smackdown Humor
Oct 1st - 4:33 pm
This one needs no explanation, although it’s a little hard to hear.
Sen. Eric Schneiderman, the Democratic AG nominee, opened his remarks at the Business Council meeting this morning by saying: “I want to start by assuring all of you: You are on my Christmas list.”
What makes this even funnier is the fact that he’s a Jew.
GOP On Molinaro: Not One Of Us Anyway
Oct 1st - 1:00 pm
State GOP spokesman Alex Carey just sent over a statement in response to the news that Conservative Staten Island BP James Molinaro crossed party lines to endorse Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo this morning.
In short: Carey notes that Molinaro has a habit of bucking the Republican Party and also has been at odds for some time with his former aide, Staten Island DA Dan Donovan, against whom Cuomo is backing his fellow Democrat, Sen. Eric Schneiderman, for AG.
“Jim Molinaro is hardly someone the New York Republican Party embraces or calls one of our ‘our own,’” Carey said.
“The fact is, he endorsed McMahon against our Republican endorsed candidate already in 2008, so this behavior is nothing new, and send out a letter or endorsement for Dan Donovan’s opponent for DA because of Dan’s refusal NOT to indict Molinaro’s grandson.”
“It’s also worth pointing out the Mr. Molinaro now joins a club of individuals possessing questionable ethical behavior, having been involved in various scandals, to be picked up and paraded around as a supporter by Team Cuomo.”
‘Super DA!’
Oct 1st - 12:10 pm
I’m a little late to the party on this one, but Staten Island Dan Donovan’s campaign released this spoof Web video in which consultants chastise the candidate for refusing to “play the game”
The press release that accompanied the video, headlined “Dan Donovan: A Menance to the Albany Cesspool,” Donovan’s spokeswoman Virginia Lam called the candidate “the consultants’ annoyance”, adding:
“Frustrated political operatives on the Donovan Campaign for New York State Attorney General today released an online ad chastising its candidate for having too much integrity and independence to win a statewide race in New York State.”
“Citing his inability to bend to special interests and his refusal to put his political and personal aspirations first, Donovan campaign consultants vented their frustrations directly with the candidate, calling him a ‘menace’ to the politics as usual process.”
Menace from Dan Donovan on Vimeo.
‘Dodger Dan’
Sep 30th - 12:01 pm
Taking a page out of the Paladino campaign’s Photoshop playbook, Sen. Eric Schneiderman’s camp has come up with a new nickname for his GOP opponent, Staten Island DA Dan Donovan: Dodger Dan.
“We’ve been impressed by Dodger Dan Donovan’s ability to duck, dodge and weave when questioned on his record or stance on the issues,” said Schneiderman campaign spokesman James Freedland.
“And we’re thrilled to introduce the character Dodger Dan and its Facebook site to follow his next dodges. From his refusal to answer questions on public corruption in Staten Island to his refusal to denounce racist emails, this site will be a one-stop shop to ensure that, while Dodger Dan may try to run, he can’t hide from the facts.”
So, to recap, we now have Hedge Fund Harry (Wilson), Albany Tom (DiNapoli) and, compliments of the Donovan campaign, State Street Eric.
Indys Behind Schneiderman ’100 Percent’
Sep 29th - 2:41 pm
The state Independence Party executive committee met this afternoon and unanimously voted to put Democratic AG nominee Eric Schneiderman on Row C in the general election.
“We’re behind Eric Schniedemran 100 percent,” Indy Chairman Frank MacKay told me in a brief phone interview just now. “It’s certainly a pro-Schneiderman move, not an anti-Dan Donovan move. We like Dan Donovan very much…We liked all the candidates out there.”
I’m still awaiting comment from the Schneiderman campaign, but I assume the Manhattan senator will be accepting this nomination.
It makes sense for MacKay to try to stay on Donovan’s good side, since the Staten Island DA took his name out of consideration for the Indys’ nod at the end of July, citing an investigation into a loan paid to a MacKay’s wife former firm by a failed Staten Island NYC Council candidate.
Post: Donovan ‘Gets It’
Sep 29th - 8:13 am
The Post has made its second endorsement of a GOP/Conservative statewide contender in as many days, throwing its support to AG hopeful Dan Donovan over his “far-left Democratic foe, six-term state Sen. Eric Schneiderman.”
Schneiderman’s campaign has hit Donovan for saying he will reorient the AG’s office if elected to reduce the focus on policing Wall Street – the method Eliot Spitzer used to create a national profile. But the Post celebrates the DA for taking that stance, saying he’ll be better able to probe public corruption than a 12-year Senate incumbent ever could.
“(A)s Donovan rightly notes, rooting out corruption is a vital component in strengthening New York’s economy, by making the state more business-friendly – which means more jobs,” the editorial stated.
“Eric Schneiderman talks about fighting corruption, but he is enmeshed in it. Dan Donovan is squeaky clean and committed to reform. Like we said, the choice is clear.”
The Post takes Schneiderman to task for his support from some of the Democratic stalwarts it loves to hate: The Rev. Al Sharpton, George Soros, health care unions and the Working Families Party (although I don’t believe the labor-backed party has yet formally moved to put the senator on its line, it is expected to do so).
This isn’t any huge surprise.
Wilson Pounces
Sep 28th - 10:34 pm
So, as it turns out, Sen. Eric Schneiderman isn’t the only one trying to capitalize on the reports that AG Andrew Cuomo is negotiating with Alan Hevesi for a plea deal in which the former comptroller would cop to yet another felony corruption charge – and this time potentially go to jail.
GOP/Conservative state comptroller candidate Harry Wilson released a statement not long after Schneiderman did, seeking to tie his Democratic opponent, incumbent Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, ever more firmly to the Hevesi scandal.
As you’ll recall, Cuomo said earlier this year that a meeting that took place on DiNapoli’s watch was indeed part of his pay-to-play pension fund probe, even as DiNapoli has tried to portray the problem as something that predated him.
As recently as tonight during his CapTon interview, Cuomo has refused to say whether he’ll endorse DiNapoli, who is running statewide for the first time in hopes of holding onto the office he was given by his former Assembly colleagues after Hevesi resigned following his guilty plea in the Chauffeurgate scandal.
Here’s Wilson’s statement, which, unlike Schneiderman’s, doesn’t hedge on whether there’s actually a deal, which the AG insists there is not:
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