Schumer Continues to 'Confuse' Warren Buffett With Mitt Romney
Mayor Bloomberg's Super Bowl Ad [Video]
Roundup: Looking at Tomorrow’s Nevada Vote
Three primary election dates could create some crazy electoral scenarios.
Mayor Bloomberg supports giving money to Komen too.
Governor Cuomo's getting the big money.
Another candidate mulls the race for Suzi Oppenheimer's seat.
And an interesting new candidate looks at Maurice Hinchey's (disappearing?) district.
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Krueger: Dead Politicians Shouldn’t Be Spending Campaign Cash
The Politicker recently noticed some amusing campaign committee spending, including former Rep. Eric Massa, who resigned under male-groping allegations, using his non-existent campaign to pay his wife, and former state senator who's spending campaign money despite the tiny fact he's been deceased since 2005.
Now at least one State Senator is renewing her call for Albany to end spending by so-called "ghost campaigns" belonging to retired or deceased elected officials by passing a bill requiring inactive campaign committees to give their cash to charity, the state's general fund, the State University of New York, another committee, or back to the original contributors.
“Everyone knows our campaign finance laws need an overhaul, but this issue is particularly obvious and the solution should be a matter of bipartisan agreement," Senator Liz Krueger said in a statement.
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Becker Says He Is The Front-runner To Take On Hayworth
Richard Becker, a Westchester cardiologist and county legislator sent out an email to supporters crowing that he is now the front-runner in the Democratic primary for the right to take on Nan Hayworth for the Hudson Valley congressional seat.
"Our campaign raised nearly $230,000 - four times as much as our nearest competitior, and it’s all thanks to you," Mr. Becker wrote. "Both the Journal News and the Times Herald Record were buzzing about our new front-runner status. I cannot thank you enough for your hard work and dedication that have gotten us this far." Read More
Fidler: I Never Said Storobin Was a Neo-Nazi
At a press conference announcing Senator Chuck Schumer's endorsement, Councilman Lew Fidler, who's campaigning for the New York State Senate, addressed the dust-up over his comments that his opponent, Republican David Storobin, has "ties to skinheads, and neo-Nazi groups and white supremacist group.”
"I want to answer that, and my campaign folks would probably tell me that I shouldn't," he began. "I never, ever, ever did, or would have, called David Storobin a neo-Nazi."
"I'm not so internet savvy ... I used the word 'ties' instead of 'links,'" he explained. Adding that he "never once raised it in public," while Mr. Storobin "continues to raise it in public."
However, his campaign appeared to be strongly, and publicly, doubling down on the comments after they were made at a Brooklyn Young Democrats gathering. They sent out a press release earlier this week entitled, "Councilman Fidler’s Campaign Calls on Mr. Storobin to Come Clean on Ties to White Supremacist Websites."
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Kirsten Gillibrand Is Glad Komen Reversed Plans To Cut Planned Parenthood Grants
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is pleased with the breast cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, reversing its controversial decision to stop giving Planned Parenthood grants for breast cancer screenings.
"While this has been a sad week for everyone that cares about women's health, I am glad that Susan G. Komen for the Cure has come to the right decision," Ms. Gillibrand said today. Read More
Eric Schneiderman Suing Three Major Banks For ‘Deceptive And Fraudulent Foreclosure Practices
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a suit today against Bank Of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo for creating and using a private national mortgage electronic registry system called MERS to bring " foreclosure proceedings en masse based on deceptive and fraudulent court submissions."
“The banks created the MERS system as an end-run around the property recording system, to facilitate the rapid securitization and sale of mortgages," Mr. Schneiderman said in a statement about the suit. Read More
Meet New York’s Biggest Political Pocket Books
Bill Mahoney at NYPIRG put together a list this morning of individuals and entities that have given over $50,000 to candidates or committees in New York State.
According to Mr. Mahoney, many of the people on the list use various loopholes to get around the state's limits on campaign giving.
In all, there are 127 entities that gave more than $50,000, chief among them Leonard Litwin, the retiring real estate executive that The Post profiled this week. Other big ticket givers include the state's teacher's union, who gave the bulk of their money to the Working Families Party, a trial lawyer's political action committee (who mostly fund Assembly Democrats) and Henry Sanders, who left over half-a-million dollars to the State Conservative Party in his will.
The full list is below:
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Adams: GOP Screwed With My District Because of My Progressive Agenda
Although Governor Andrew Cuomo has vowed to veto the current set of redistricting maps, Democratic State Senator Eric Adams let it be known this morning that he isn't happy with his new district. A number of Democratic incumbents were drawn into the same districts, including Mr. Adams and neighboring State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, something Mr. Adams felt was ideologically motivated.
"This year I am the poster child for removal. Many of the Upstate and Long Island Republican senators are angry with me because of my progressive agenda for New York City residents," Mr. Adams said in a statement. "In Albany, I am known as one of the lead voices that support social issues such as, but not limited to, tenant housing protections, fair funding in our schools, and ending the draconian practice of NYPD stop and frisk."
(The proposed map, which Politicker labeled "A Stork With a Big Surprise," is one of the most bizarre-looking ones in the state.)
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Fantasy Baseball Expert Lew Fidler Bemoans The State of The Mets
Councilman and State Senate hopeful Lew Fidler was a key player in the early days of fantasy baseball, but he's not happy with the state of his real-life favorite team--The Mets. In the wee hours of this morning, Mr. Fidler posted a note on Facebook lamenting the condition of the Mets heading into the upcoming baseball season.
"The team is going to be DISMAL this year. I lived through and grew up with the miserable yet lovable Mets of the 60's and have never been so sure of a last place finish in my life," Mr. Fidler wrote. Read More
Murphy Has 99 Problems With Grimm But Fundraising Allegations Ain’t One
Throughout New York's 13th Congressional District, Democrats are giddy and Republicans are defensive over the fundraising allegations against GOP Congressman Michael Grimm, where the New York Times' sources accused him of various crimes, including accepting envelopes full of cash.
However, after a thorough investigation, Politicker found the one person in the district who absolutely doesn't want to talk about it: Mr. Grimm's chief Democratic opponent, Mark Murphy.
"You know, I read the New York Times. I've read many of the different articles and I'm focused on my campaign. I'm focused on protecting Social Security and Medicare," Mr. Murphy forcefully stated in response to a question at an event.
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