I have decided to run for the New York City Council in the General Election on November 3.  I will be running as a Democrat on the Working Families Party ballot line.

By now, you probably know the results of the recent Primary Election held on September 15th.  I lost the Democratic nomination by a mere 600 votes to Al Vann -- a 35-year incumbent elected official -- and earned anywhere from two to five times the number of votes received by any other challenger.  

Most strikingly, more than 70% of the electorate voted AGAINST the incumbent.

We have to act fast. Five Democratic Members of Congress from New York are putting the brakes on President Obama’s historic campaign to reform our broken healthcare system.

Legislation that would expand healthcare coverage for tens of millions of Americans is gaining steam in Congress. But these five New York Representatives are stalling the bill because it pays for reform with a modest tax on the rich.

Accusations are flying that Mayor Bloomberg’s big contributions to the Republican and Independence parties may have had a hand in helping the Mayor win those two ballot lines. From the Daily News:

The going rate for a ballot line in New York City appears to be $250,000.

That’s how much it cost Mayor Bloomberg to win over the initially recalcitrant city Republican committees and earn the right to run a third time on their ballot line.
Four of the five county GOPs have filed their July 15 campaign finance reports, and each has received $50,000 apiece from the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned independent mayor.
…
It just so happens that $250,000 is the same amount the mayor contributed to the city Independence Party on May 15 - about a month after the minor party gave Bloomberg the nod to run again on its line, too.

[Cross posted over at The Party Line, the WFP blog.]

Talk about third parties in most places and folks will either snicker or rail about Ralph Nader helping to elect Bush. Talk about the Working Families Party in New York, and you get “Kingmaker.” At least that’s what the New York Post, the mouthpiece of Rupert Murdoch has to say.

The WFP is backing progressive champion Richard Aborn in the hotly contested race to replace legendary Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who’s retiring after 35 years in office. That has the right-wing Post’s editorial page worried:

I'm no fan of Working Family Party since they endorsed Slush Fund Deputy Mayor Christine Quinn.  However, I thank them for not endorsing king Blooomberg since these weekend would have been filled with mailings, emails, tweeters, phone calls, ads, canvasing etc on this endorsement. This mean one weekend without any contact from Bloomberg's campaign or any....., wait a second, I have to go, Bloomberg campaign office is on phone to inform me of Queens Chronicle endorsement, fck!!!!!

Michael J. Fox has endorsed Craig Johnson (D-WFP) in the upcoming Feb 6 special election for an open State Senate seat in northwestern Nassau County.

Why the national interest in a State Senate race? Stem cell research. Fox supports it, and endorses candidates who support all forms of stem cell research, like Craig Johnson, and are running against opponents of stem cell research like Maureen O'Connell.

Here's what Fox had to say:

"As a nation, we are about hope, about promise, about always moving forward, and we deserve elected officials - like Craig Johnson - who are willing to deliver that hope to their constituents. As New York State looks to embark on a significant state-financed stem cell research initiative, we need to elect State legislators who will fully support legislation to advance stem cell research.