Adolfo Carrion

This afternoon, Bronx Borough President and city comptroller candidate Adolfo Carrion will speak at a panel about Latino voters here in the Twin Cities.

An email to reporters from Carrion's office says he'll be "available to media throughout the convention."

Yesterday, Al Sharpton spoke at a panel about education--any other from New York Democrats here?

Here’s the advisory:

NALEO TO BRIEF RNC ON LATINO ELECTORATE AND 2008
VOTER MOBILIZATION EFFORTS
Analysis Highlights Growing Latino Political Influence as New Census Data Shows Nearly
One in Three Americans Will Be Hispanic by 2050

MINNEAPOLIS, MN -The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund (NALEO), the nation's premiere Latino leadership organization, announced today that it will brief participants at the Republican National Convention on the growing Latino electorate and its likely impact in Election 2008.  read more »

Hillary Clinton has released New York’s delegates from any obligation to vote for her and asked them to vote for Barack Obama instead, according to Representative Charlie Rangel.

Just a few moments ago, as Rangel left a gala thrown by Sheldon Silver welcoming the New York delegation, I asked him why so many officials in the delegation, of which he is dean, are still confused about what to do at the convention.

“Clinton told me to tell everybody that they are released and to vote for Obama,” said Rangel. When asked why so many in the delegation still didn’t know that, he responded, “Now that’s a stupid question.  read more »

Here’s Sheldon Silver playfully introducing Democratic County Leader Jose Rivera, also an assemblyman, at the Bronx Democratic County Dinner last night.

Silver told the crowd that Rivera was “in the Assembly for five years and he went to Albany Medical Center and the doctor told him to go on light duty. So, he went to the City Council for 13 years. And then he was all cured and he came back. Now he’s working again real hard.”

“I say that in jest,” said Silver to Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Guests also included Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, likely Republican mayoral candidate John Catisimatidis (who had brief chats with Silver and Cuomo); City Council members Eric Gioia, John Liu, and David Weprin; Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV; and former county leader Roberto Ramirez.

   read more »

Campaign finance filings for the city comptroller race show candidates getting ready for what looks like it will be one of the more competitive 2009 races. (The latest filing period is January 12 to July 11, 2008.)

According to a search of donations for those candidates between those dates:

David Yassky--$463,575

David Weprin--$334,499

Melinda Katz--$206,154

Jim Brennan--$84,577

Adolfo Carrion’s campaign finance numbers are not posted yet on the Campaign Finance Board’s Web site, but his campaign spokeswoman said he raised $600,000 this filing period.

Melinda Katz's numbers are lower than expected, but then she did just have a baby.

UPDATE: Here are the contribution numbers for the comptroller candidates:

Adolfo Carrion: $570,052
David Yassky: $452,075.00
David Weprin: $316,899.00
Melinda Katz: $192,938.00
Jim Brennan: $83,677.00

(These numbers take into account any refunded donations the candidates dealt with.)

Since campaign finance numbers for city candidates are due tomorrow, a few have begun releasing them, including two candidates in the competitive comptroller's race, David Yassky and Jim Brennan.

Yassky’s campaign said they raised almost $500,000 this period, from a total of 600 donors, bringing his cash-on-hand total to $1.25 million.

Jim Brennan’s campaign spokeswoman said he raised $104,000 this filing period, bringing his total raised to $507,000. The spokeswoman, Jill Harris, also said the campaign is eligible to receive more than $750,000 in matching funds.

Numbers for the other comptroller candidates--Melinda Katz, Adolfo Carrion and David Weprin--were not immediately available.

UPDATE: Weprin told me he raised $336,000 this filing period, bringing his cash on hand total to $1.7 million.

Somebody please join the Facebook group "Friends of Adolfo Carrion" -- because right now the Bronx Borough President and comptroller candidate is the only member of his group.

Now, I'm sure there will be plenty of people 'friending' Adolfo soon enough, but his lonely-seeming profile -- he's been his own best friend for more than a week now -- does provide a valuable lesson in Campaigning 101: If you're going to launch a social networking page for your favorite candidate, make sure you find him some friends right away. Otherwise, he might look kind of sad.

Are there any other pages like this out there?

Adolfo Carrion will host Barack Obama and John McCain at a national conference of Latino elected officials meeting in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, June 28.

Some Democratic officials, like Representative Nydia Velazquez, have said Obama has a problem connecting with Latino voters, and argued McCain's immigration policy is viewed so positively among Latinos that some may decide to vote Republican.

In a public statement, Carrion, who is president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, said, "Latino voters are going to play a decisive role in the general election and the community is ready to hear both candidates make their case."

Also attending the four-day event are Bill Richardson, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

Council member Melinda Katz, a candidate for city comptroller, is having a June 19 fund-raiser that will showcase strong support from black and Latino lawmakers.

The elected officials on the host committee for the event include Yvette Clarke, Jeff Aubry, Jose Peralta, Maria del Carmen Arroyo, Maria Baez, Helen Foster and Melissa Mark Viverito.

One of her strongest opponents is Adolfo Carrion, the only Latino in the race.

It’s worth noting that Arroyo, Baez and Foster are also, like Carrion, from the Bronx.

The invitation also includes a number of big real estate people who sit on Katz’s finance committee: Douglas Durst, Peter Kalikow and Richard Ravitch. Katz recently said that her connections to the real estate industry are an asset to her.

Here's an invitation for a David Yassky fund-raiser tonight on the Upper West Side.

One of the event's hosts is Andrew Tomback, a long-time Yassky contributor who has also given some money to Eric Gioia and, once, back in the day, to Alan Hevesi.

Other notable names include John Alschuler, who has contributed to progressive Democrats like Mark Green and Ruth Messinger. Alschuler has also given money to another comptroller candidate, Melinda Katz ($250 on July 7, 2007).

And there's also Charles Simon, who ran in a special election for an Assembly seat, but was defeated by Linda Rosenthal.  read more »

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, who helped turn out the Latino vote for Hillary Clinton, wasted no time getting to know the people around Barack Obama, now that the Democratic presidential contest is settled.

At yesterday’s Puerto Rican Day parade in Midtown, Carrion, who is running for comptroller, told me a little about the fund-raiser he had on Friday in Chicago.  read more »

A bunch of elected officials will be gathering at City Hall shortly to announce their support for Barack Obama, now that he has secured the Democratic presidential nomination.

One person missing will be Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, also a major supporter of Hillary Clinton.

According to a spokeswoman, Carrion, who is running for comptroller, is in Chicago at a fund-raiser.

Councilman Simcha Felder is not getting into the city comptroller race, but he will run for the Brooklyn State Senate seat currently held by fellow Democrat Kevin Parker, according to a source.  read more »

Since everyone is talking about the presidential primary today, it seemed like an opportunity to pull out one more thing David Paterson said at a Times forum this past weekend.  read more »

Assemblyman Jim Brennan of Brooklyn, who is also running for city comptroller, introduced his own congestion pricing bill today. A spokesman, when asked, did not say whether he will support the plan as it is currently presented to lawmakers.

Brennan's new bill would ensure the program comes up for renewal in three years, and wouldn't allow the state to issue bonds against the program's future earning. Critics say allowing the bonds means the current congestion pricing plan wouldn't be temporary enough because it would last for the life of the bonds.
 read more »

A reader sent along this invitation for a May 1 awards dinner hosted by the Independent Neighborhood Democrats, a political club in Brooklyn. Among the honorees is the organization's councilman, David Yassky, who is also a candidate for city comptroller.  read more »

Here’s a shot from the breakfast hosted Sunday morning by the Council of Orthodox Jewish Organizations on the West Side, which, as Grace Rauh noted, attracted nearly every 2009 candidate for citywide office.  read more »

During an interview on The Perez Notes last night, Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf delivered a hypothetical negative ad against Councilwoman Melinda Katz, one of the leading candidates for comptroller in 2009.

“I haven’t written it yet," said Sheinkopf. "I’m going to write it write now. Somebody can steal this and do what they want with it:

"‘Melinda Katz wants to be comptroller of the city of New York. Her credentials? Well, she was the Land Use Chair of the City Council. Here are some facts. During her Land Use [Committee] chairmanship, New Yorkers lost more affordable housing than in any other time in history. Rents skyrocketed. She’s taken millions from land lords. Some of those landlords'--lets do it this way--

"'She’s taken hundreds of thousands from landlords, slumlords, the worst kind of people. Those who want to jack up our rents and throw us on the street. So there you have it. Melinda Katz, for the landlords. Think she ought to be comptroller? Ha. Absolutely not.'

Response from Katz's office after the jump.  read more »

Only after Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion named Elizabeth Holtzman a co-chair of his city comptroller campaign did I realize that she is an outspoken proponent of impeaching George W. Bush--a movement that hasn't gained much traction even in heavily Democratic New York State (although it's slightly more popular in Vermont).  read more »

Adolfo Carrion just announced two more co-chairs for his city comptroller campaign: former city comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman and Merryl H. Tisch, chairperson of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.

Last month, Carrion rolled out two others: former state comptroller Carl McCall and business executive Leo Hindrey Jr.

Locking up the support of two former comptrollers gives Carrion, at least, a distinction among a field that also includes Melinda Katz, David Yassky, David Weprin, Simcha Felder and James Brennan.

The official statement is after the jump.  read more »

Helen Foster, who is contemplating a run for Bronx Borough President, said the last two people who have held that job have divided the borough’s black and Puerto Rican communities.

A story in the Riverdale Review (still not online!) this week quoted Foster’s father, the former Councilman in the area, at a February 7 meeting saying, “The last two borough presidents we've had were not and are not sympathetic to the black community.”  read more »

The co-chairs for Adolfo Carrion’s comptroller campaign will be former state comptroller H. Carl McCall and business executive Leo Hindrey Jr. of InterMedia Partners, the campaign announced this morning.

Hindrey, the former C.E.O. of the YES Network (which broadcasts Yankees games) also helped raise money for another Bronx politician seeking citywide office: Fernando Ferrer, who ran for mayor in 2005.  read more »

Adolfo Carrion's communications director, Mike Murphy, is leaving for a job with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

While it's a loss for Carrion, it's something of a win that Murphy wasn't hired by another city comptroller candidate.

That's more or less what happened with John Collins, who was hired by Anthony Weiner, a likely mayoral candidate.

Collins had recently worked for two possible mayoral candidates before going to Weiner: Christine Quinn and Betsy Gotbaum (who had been considered a longshot candidate until this interview put that notion to rest).

Murphy's email after the jump.  read more »

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama weren’t in New York today, but their supporters were.

A rally for Obama at Columbus Circle this afternoon was billed as a show of strength among women, but the theme, judging from at least one speaker, was a changing of the guard in New York politics.

“County leaders don’t run me—other elected officials don’t run me," City Council member Helen Diane Foster of the Bronx told the crowd of about 500 people. "The people run me.”

Foster went on to say, “I say we get rid of Bushes. I say we get rid of the name we won't mention [because] this isn't her state."  read more »

Barack Obama’s campaign will hold a women’s rally at Columbus circle at noon tomorrow.

An hour later, Hillary Clinton supporters gather for a rally at Union Square.

And then there's the "Latinos for Hillary" rally tomorrow night, in Inwood, hosted by Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez.  read more »

To the fund-raising numbers for comptroller candidates Adolfo Carrion, Melinda Katz, David Yassky, and David Weprin -- all hovering around the million dollar mark -- add a total for one more candidate.

Jim Brennan’s campaign announced just now that he’s raised $144,000 in this most recent fund-raising period, bringing his total amount of contributions up to $405,000, they said. That leaves him with $280,000 on hand, according to spokeswoman Linda Gross.

Brennan’s campaign estimates they are also eligible for about $670,000 in matching funds from the city’s Campaign Finance Board.

Bronx borough president and one-time mayoral hopeful Adolfo Carrion Jr. said in his annual development report, released today, that $1.5 billion was invested in residential, commercial and institutional development projects in the Bronx from November 2006 through November 2007. During that period, 914 new addresses were added and over $1.3 billion invested in the borough, according to the report. A total of $453 million was invested in June, more than double the amount of any other month in 2007.  read more »

Adolfo Carrion's fellow comptroller candidate, David Weprin, welcomed Carrion to the race yesterday by way of some remarks on his own qualifications:

“I still stand on my financial credentials, and in the end, I think that‘ll be very significant," he told me. "I served as Deputy Superintendent of Banks under Cuomo. I was in senior positions in municipal finance on Wall Street. I chaired the Security Industry Association’s New York district. And I’ve been head of the Finance Committee in the City Council for the last six years. So, I think those credentials can stand on their own.”

He went on, “I think in the position of comptroller, there’s less ethnic politics involved than, say, the office of mayor where ethnicity plays a bigger role. So, I don’t think it’s going to breakdown along those lines.”

Also running for comptroller: Melinda Katz, David Yassky, Jim Brennan, and (all but announced) Simcha Felder. Other than Carrion, all of them are from Brooklyn or Queens and except for Brennan and Carrion, all are Jewish.

A reader pointed out that Adolfo Carrion’s absence from the mayor's race alters the landscape for Anthony Weiner's candidacy.

In the Democratic primary, a candidate must get 40 percent of the vote to win the nomination and prevent a run-off. Without Carrion in the race, it’s more likely that Bill Thompson, the only black candidate, will earn at least that number.

Assuming that if Carrion had run, Thompson and Carrion would have split support from the black and Latino communities, Weiner then would have been in a run-off with one of them, and earned a second chance at capturing the nomination.

More after the jump.  read more »

Not that long ago, Adolfo Carrion and his supporters were indulging speculation he would run for mayor, even sending out a video that looked a lot like a mayoral campaign ad.

Today a reader pointed me to this 2005 New York Times interview with Carrion, headlined “Another Bronx Borough President Weighs Mayoral Bid,” in which he says, “If I were to make a decision right now, today, I would say that the top job is the right job for a leader like me. For me, it's too early to get into those specifics."

What changed?

Here’s Bronx County Democratic Leader Jose Rivera talking about his effort to elect the city’s first Hispanic mayor. Despite today's announcement, he's optimistic.  read more »

Some reactions from the 2009 circuit to Adolfo Carrion’s entry into the comptroller’s race:

Fernando Ferrer, the most recent Hispanic candidate to run for mayor, told me via cell phone, “Well look, I think that he’s staked out for himself a race where he’s going to be a dominant figure.”

Asked if he was disappointed that Carrion would not be seeking the mayor's office, Ferrer replied, “I’ve just given you my comments.”

More after the jump.  read more »

Adolfo Carrion is entering the city comptroller's race, according to prepared remarks of his speech to ABNY, a business and civic group which is hosting a breakfast for Mr. Carrion in midtown this morning.

Money from Carrion's citywide 2009 committee will be eligible for his comptroller bid.

Today's announcement is great news for Bill Thompson, the current city comptroller and the only minority candidate seriously eyeing a mayoral bid. Thompson's presumed ethnic base of support could have been split by a Carrion candidacy.  read more »

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. endorses Hillary Clinton. [CNN]  read more »

Here's Adolfo Carrion at the Stonewall Democratic Club last night, leading a discussion about President Bush that drew laughs from the crowd when a woman suggested that the president is a "drunk, drug addict."

Carrion jokes, "She said it, not me."

The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development is hiring a director of operations to oversee tax programs.

The city Parks Department is looking for a program manager.

Adolfo Carrion is hiring a deputy director of policy.

Tony Avella is looking for a community liaison.

And 32BJ/SEIU is hiring a Latino media relations coordinator.

Scott Stringer is looking for interns to help with campaign fund-raising.

Adolfo Carrion is hiring a research analyst.

And an Assembly member in Queens is looking for a community liaison.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion (pictured above with Andrew McCarthy) will play himself in an episode of Law & Order, which was filming by the Bronx County Courthouse this morning.

In an emailed comment, his spokesman assured me that it's a temporary gig: "Contrary to popular demand the BP won’t be replacing Fred Thompson."

Another 2009 mayoral hopeful has weighed in on Eliot Spitzer's plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain a New York State driver's licenses.

Here's a statement the office of Representative Anthony Weiner just sent over to me:

 

“Governor Spitzer is right to try and solve the problem of thousands of drivers without documentation or insurance. While the opposition to the plan has often been hyperbolic and unnecessarily divisive, there are legitimate problems that the Governor’s plan presents. I’m going to work on the immigration subcommittee in Congress to solve them.”

More after the jump.  read more »

So, where do the 2009 mayoral candidates stand on Eliot Spitzer’s plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain a New York State driver’s license?

When asked for a position, a spokesman for Christine Quinn emailed me to say, “She supports it.”

A spokesman for Bill Thompson said he was "supportive" of the issue.

I'm not sure from his answer what Adolfo Carrion thinks:

“Pretending that a whole segment of the population does not exist lacks integrity of thought and response. However, this is not without risk, given the seriousness of a state sanctioned identification and how it can be used. Unfortunately, the burden of finding appropriate and reasonable solutions to this complex challenge has been transferred to the states once again, just as was recently done by Congressional failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform. On national issues of this nature, it is the federal government's solemn responsibility to act in the interest of all the states of the union. Anything less is an abrogation of that awesome responsibility.”

I’m still waiting to hear back from Anthony Weiner.

A spokesman for John Catsimatidis said he opposes the plan, explaining, “He agrees 100 percent with Mayor Bloomberg.” The mayor raised some questions about the plan but said it’s the governor’s call.

UDPATE: Marty Markowitz's office just sent me this statement: "Brooklyn and New York City's cultural and economic vibrancy is due in large part to our immigrant communities—therefore, as long as we ensure security loopholes are not inadvertently opened to our nation's real enemies, I believe the Governor's plan has great merit as a way to ensure more safety on the roads and get a much more reliable assessment of the hard work we know those in our immigrant community
are already doing every day."  read more »

During this relatively quiet time locally, some officials, at least, are in the political job market. A quick search over the weekend turned up the following openings:

Research analyst for Adolfo Carrion.

Constituent liaison for a Council member.

Chief of Staff to a Brooklyn Assemblyman.

Who else is hiring?  read more »

It's official: David Yassky is running for comptroller.

He filed paperwork with the Campaign Finance Board late last week and it just popped up on the CFB’s web site a few minutes ago.

Earlier, I noted the strategy will likely be to pick up support in his vote-rich section of Brooklyn and, since the race is full of outer borough candidates, scoop up the largely unclaimed votes in Manhattan. The other candidates in the race are David Weprin, Melinda Katz and possibly John Liu, all from Queens, plus Simcha Felder and James Brennan from Brooklyn. There's low-level grumbling about Adolfo Carrion getting into that race (although Carrion indicates he'd prefer to run for mayor).

When I spoke with Yassky on Friday, he didn’t confirm or deny he was entering the race. Instead, he said, “I still feel like it’s a long time away. And when given that we still have a city that is almost entirely reliant on diesel fuel to heat itself, when there is biofuels that would make so much of a difference, in terms of carbon emission, and we’re still spending all this money on tax breaks that would happen anyway, which we shouldn’t be doing. I feel like those are the things to be focusing on. Over and above atoning for my sins.”

He added, “It seems too far away to be talking about 2009.”

UPDATE: Just to clarify, Yassky's statement about atoning for sins was a eference was to Yom Kippur, which started on Friday, the day we spoke.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion is campaigning with Hillary Clinton this weekend in Manchester, New Hampshire, according to this item in the Union Leader [second from bottom].

Hillary and Carrion, who is president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, will be attending an event called "Latino Fest." A small bit of evidence, perhaps, in favor of the notion that the Clinton campaign will be ramping up outreach to Hispanic voters in order to "offset black defections." (Or maybe she's just campaigning. Your call.)

UPDATE: According to these Census figures, the Latino vote in New Hampshire has room to grow.