Primary Day Tuesday Sep. 13

ANGRY 9/11 KIN BLAST FREDDY

By CARL CAMPANILE, FRANKIE EDOZIEN and DAN MANGAN

September 12, 2005 -- Fernando Ferrer was ripped by families of 9/11 victims and others yesterday when he broke from tradition — by becoming the only mayoral candidate to campaign on the somber fourth anniversary of the terror attacks.
On a day when the other candidates declined to talk about politics out of respect for those killed on Sept. 11, 2001, the Democratic primary front-runner not only publicly met with the Rev. Al Sharpton to crow about winning his endorsement, but blatantly criticized main foe Anthony Weiner.

With a media horde in tow, Ferrer and Sharpton appeared together at the popular Amy Ruth's restaurant in Harlem to discuss the minister's 11th-hour endorsement of Ferrer. The primary election is tomorrow.

But critics — including incensed relatives of 9/11 victims — blasted the politicking as disgraceful on a day when the nation honored the 3,000 people killed on 9/11.

"It's an inappropriate day for politics. It's a day for remembrance," said Herman Badillo, co-chairman of Mayor Bloomberg's re-election campaign and a former mayoral candidate.

Republican incumbent Bloomberg and other Democratic candidates for mayor did attend public events at Ground Zero and in churches — solemn events connected to 9/11.

But the mayor and the Dems suspended TV campaign ads for the day.



Staten Island Councilman Michael McMahon, who backs Democratic Council Speaker Gifford Miller for mayor, called the Sharpton-Ferrer endorsement announcement undignified.

"The horrific memories of that day are still so fresh in the minds of New Yorkers . . . It's almost shocking they wouldn't have respect for the tragedy," he said.

Vincent Ragusa, whose 29-year-old firefighter son, Michael Paul Ragusa, died on 9/11, said of Ferrer and Sharpton:

"I don't think they're in touch with the American people.

"My feelings are, this day should be set aside for remembering the loss. Our country was attacked that day. I personally was attacked. I lost my son. But people feel that they have to put forward their agenda," he said.

Ragusa's feelings were seconded by Bill Doyle, whose son, Joseph, died while working at Cantor Fitzgerald in the WTC.

"I don't see why you have politicking on 9/11," Doyle said. "The only people that should be known today are people that lost loved ones, or rescue workers . . . To try to make it a vote-getter is completely wrong."

Ferrer all but admitted the awkward situation in accepting Sharpton's backing yesterday.

"I'm extremely pleased getting Rev. Sharpton's endorsement and help. But this is not a day to talk about campaigns and tactics. It's a day to remember what the city endured four years ago," he said.

Sharpton said he and Ferrer were not ignoring the tragedy.

He noted that two of the young people who dined with them lost parents on 9/11, and other events they attended yesterday were in memory of the attacks.

But on the same day he handed Ferrer his endorsement, Sharpton also spent time roasting Ferrer's chief rival in the polls, U.S. Rep. Weiner, as a "right-wing" Democrat for voting for the war in Iraq.

Ferrer couldn't resist taking a jab at his opponent, either, saying that while Weiner and other Dems blame the Bush administration for duping them on whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, "The net effect is still the same.

"There are well over 1,000 fighting men and women killed [in Iraq]," he said.

Weiner did not respond to the attack against him.

"This is Sept 11. If there is one day on the calendar that we can suspend politics, it should be today," said Weiner, who attended a church in Harlem. "I don't think it's a day for politics."

Fellow Democratic hopefuls C. Virginia Fields and Miller also commemorated 9/11 by attending church services — and refusing to talk politics.

"I'm not here to campaign — I'm here to remember 9/11 victims," Miller said.

A recent New York 1-Newsday poll put Ferrer at 36 percent to Weiner's 26 percent. Fields and Miller had 11 percent each.

The polls are open tomorrow from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Additional reporting by Brigitte Williams



POLITICS AS USUAL: Fernando Ferrer has lunch with Al Sharpton at Amy Ruth's restaurant yesterday after winning the rev's support

On Freddy's heels

Weiner primed to force runoff, News poll finds

BY LISA L. COLANGELO and MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS


Ferrer may face Weiner in a runoff.

Democratic mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner appears on the verge of forcing a runoff with front-runner Fernando Ferrer, a Daily News poll revealed yesterday.
Ferrer, who formally notched the endorsement yesterday of the Rev. Al Sharpton, continued to dominate the Democratic pack, with 32% of likely voters.

But the former Bronx borough president remained far short of the 40% he needs in tomorrow's primary to avoid a runoff.

Weiner scored 22% of likely voters in The News' poll, giving him a seemingly solid lock on second place. After months of polling last, the congressman is the only candidate whose support is rising.

Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields trailed with 15% and City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, the candidate with the most campaign funds, was dead last, with 12%.

The impact of Sharpton's endorsement remains unmeasured. But The News' pollsters, Blum & Weprin Associates, said the activist minister's eleventh-hour backing may help Ferrer snag some fleeing Fields voters and some undecided black voters.

"It certainly could happen, making Sharpton the kingmaker," pollster Mickey Blum said.

Still, Blum said, given the late hour of the endorsement, "there's some question about how many voters would have even read about it."

The poll showed Ferrer would crush Weiner 54% to 32% in a runoff, with Ferrer picking up the black vote and splitting the white vote.

But in a bad sign for all the challengers, nearly one-fifth of those polled said they were undecided or wouldn't vote.

And 27% of likely Democratic voters polled said they would vote for Republican Mayor Bloomberg, no matter who wins the Democratic race.

The poll also found that a leading 37% of respondents said that education - an area Bloomberg has invested huge political capital in - was the most important issue of the campaign.

The News' poll of 700 registered Democrats, conducted Wednesday through Saturday, included 359 likely voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The candidates spent most of the day attending church services and 9/11 memorial events. But, with the primary looming, politics was everywhere.

"Surprise!" Sharpton said as he hugged a beaming Ferrer on 116th St. in Harlem yesterday, marking the reverend's first meeting with Ferrer after publicly announcing his endorsement Saturday.

In interviews throughout the day, Sharpton said he remained disturbed by Ferrer's controversial remarks about the 1999 police shooting death of unarmed immigrant Amadou Diallo.

In March, Ferrer ignited a firestorm when he told a police group he didn't believe the shooting was a crime and that there was an attempt to "overindict" the officers involved. The four cops were acquitted.

Despite Ferrer's comments, Sharpton called him the mayoral candidate with the "best record" on Diallo.

During an event in the Bronx, Sharpton said, "If [Ferrer] makes a mistake, we'll correct him, but nobody else better correct him. This is our family business."

Still, when asked directly yesterday if he believes the Diallo slaying was a crime, Ferrer dodged the question.

Sharpton said the main factor driving his endorsement was Weiner's recent poll surge.

The minister said he disagreed with Weiner's vote for the Iraq war - and called the Brooklyn and Queens congressman a "right-wing" Democrat with little support in the black and Latino community.

Even Ferrer took an unusual swing at Weiner, saying, "I certainly do take issue with the vote" on the war.

Yesterday, Weiner worked hard to downplay Sharpton's endorsement and the criticism of his vote on the Iraq war. He has said that he feels he was misled on the war by President Bush and wouldn't vote the same way again.

"This election should be about how we move forward," he added.

With Rivka Bukowsky and David Saltonstall

Embodiment of long shots

Fringe players vie for big stage

BY MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

How does "Mayor Brodeur" sound?
How about "Mayor Piccolo"?

Tomorrow, when Democrats head to the polls, they may be surprised to see two unfamiliar candidates on the ballot: Christopher Brodeur and Arthur Piccolo. Both men aspire to become the 109th mayor of the City of New York.

Brodeur, a regular contributor to the New York Press and a self-styled watchdog on government and media corruption, is well-known at City Hall. He regularly leaves profanity-laced messages on reporters' voice mails and this year he was arrested on charges of making harassing phone calls to Mayor Bloomberg's press office.

In a recent rambling message left in the middle of the night on the Daily News' voice mail, Brodeur said, "According to every human being on Earth, I'm the best mayoral candidate ever." Later in the message he conceded, "I'm not going to win. Thank God I'm not going to win. I don't want to clean up your city. I want to get the [expletive deleted] out of this city. I want to be free."

Piccolo, the other unknown candidate for public office, is upset about the lack of attention to his candidacy. "If I get no exposure and I'm not in the polls and I'm not allowed in the debates, it really becomes pretty difficult to see how one can win under those circumstances," said Piccolo, chairman of a not-for-profit association in lower Manhattan.

Piccolo said he's running for mayor because the four major Democratic hopefuls are career politicians with unrealistic policy proposals. The biggest problem facing the city, he said, is the looming $4.5 billion budget deficit. But Piccolo said he hasn't developed any policy proposals of his own.

He said he'll do so - after he's elected.

***

In 1991, when Anthony Weiner was running for City Council, he distributed anonymous flyers that described an opponent as captive of an allegedly sinister David Dinkins-Jesse Jackson "agenda."

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who endorsed Fernando Ferrer over the weekend, said repeatedly yesterday that he remains troubled by that incident. At the time, Weiner took responsibility for distributing the anonymous flyers. "We didn't want the source to be confused with the message," Weiner said.

Anson Kaye, a Weiner spokesman, said yesterday he could not say whether Weiner apologizes. "Anthony loves this city, and he would rather lose than do anything to divide it," said Kaye, referring to this year's race. "He has a long record of fighting for all people in this city and this country."

***

The Working Families Party has launched a war of sorts on Manhattan borough president hopeful Eva Moskowitz. The party has sent two mailers and has made phone calls to voters bashing the Manhattan councilwoman.

"In a progressive city like New York, it's rare to find a politician with this bad a record on issues that matter to working families striving for such high office," said Alex Navarro, a party spokesman.

In response, the Moskowitz campaign has accused the Working Families Party and its candidate, Scott Stringer, of "committing the largest violation of the campaign finance program in its history."

The Moskowitz campaign has called for an investigation, claiming the party is working on Stringer's behalf and that the party's spending should not be considered independent of Stringer's.

A Stringer spokesman denied any wrongdoing.

Originally published on September 12, 2005

Brooklyn: A Black-Jewish Coalition?

If state Sen. John Sampson manages to unseat incumbent District Attorney Charles (Joe) Hynes today, we'll be seeing the value of a new style of crossover campaigning.

Sampson has been stumping nonstop in black neighborhoods and even aired ads on Black Entertainment Television, but also went to great lengths to build alliances with Jewish voters. Instead of invoking the old crossover formula of appealing to liberal whites, Sampson has been diligently courting votes in conservative Hasidic enclaves like Borough Park and Crown Heights. This is not your father's black-Jewish coalition.

In addition to accompanying Assemblyman Dov Hikind on a trip to Gaza, Sampson made a trip Sunday to the gravesite of Menachem Schneerson, who led the Crown Heights-based Lubavitcher movement.
We'll know by tomorrow whether the gambit pays off.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/345745p-295154c.html

Dear Mikvah_Yid,

Please pass on the following important message.

To all Far Rockaway and Bayswater Residents:

If you are a registered Democrat, please go out and vote for David Hooks for City Council, he is running against the incumbent James Sanders but endorsed by all party leaders. James Sanders is playing the "race card" saying that its to "Jews against the blacks" this can't be tolerated (ironicaly, David Hooks is also black) , if we have a strong turnout from the Jewish Communities, David Hooks will most likely be victorious.

Please don't take it for granted, Again, David Hooks for City Council

I spoke to an insider before and he told me that Jhon Sampson could win the seat for District Attorney.

Mayor

Fernando Ferrer [Dem] 182273 39.95%
Anthony Weiner [Dem] 131476 28.82%
C. Virginia Fields [Dem] 72640 15.92%
Gifford Miller [Dem] 46480 10.19%
Christopher X. Brodeur [Dem] 17185 3.77%
Arthur Piccolo [Dem] 6209 1.36%
Reporting: 6033 of 6033 precincts - 100.00 percent


Public Advocate

Betsy F. Gotbaum [Dem] 181359 48.05%
Norman Siegel [Dem] 114600 30.36%
Michael E. Brown [Dem] 34284 9.08%
Andrew Rasiej [Dem] 19501 5.17%
Jay Golub [Dem] 18039 4.78%
Damon L. Cabbagestalk [Dem] 9648 2.56%
Reporting: 6033 of 6033 precincts - 100.00 percent


Brooklyn Civil Court
Countywide

Sylvia Ash [Dem] 39605 43.12%
Norma J. Jennings [Dem] 32405 35.28%
Sandra E. Roper [Dem] 19840 21.60%
Reporting: 2016 of 2016 precincts - 100.00 percent


Surrogate - Brooklyn

Diana A. Johnson [Dem] 39407 38.97%
Margarita Lopez Torres [Dem] 39327 38.89%
Lawrence Knipel [Dem] 22377 22.13%
Reporting: 2016 of 2016 precincts - 100.00 percent

Anthony Weiner will concede the Democratic mayoral primary to Fernando Ferrer at noon.

Save Monroe fails to take major party ballot lines

By Chris McKenna
Times Herald-Record
cmckenna@th-record.com

Monroe – Two Republican councilmen and a Democratic supervisor candidate won primaries in Monroe yesterday, defeating three Save Monroe candidates who challenged them for their major-party ballot lines in the Nov. 8 election.
Councilmen Don Weeks and Peter Martin beat Theresa Budich and Kathy Parrella of Save Monroe in a Republican primary, while Alicia Vaccaro – chosen by the Democrats to run for supervisor – trounced Save Monroe leader Bob Purdy in a contest for the Democratic slot.
Weeks and Martin won despite unusually low turnout in Kiryas Joel, a bloc-voting village with enough electoral muscle to have thrown well over 2,000 votes behind the incumbents.
Indeed, turnout was low throughout town: Roughly 1,460, or 20 percent, of the town's 7,400 Republicans took part in that primary, while almost 1,020, or 20 percent, of Monroe's 5,100 registered Democrats voted.
Since all six primary candidates had minor-party ballot lines to fall back on, what was at stake yesterday was the stature and party-line votes that come with running on a major-party line in November.
The Save Monroe candidates will be on the Nov. 8 ballot on the Conservative Party line.

Fernando Ferrer is ready

to take on Mike Bloomberg!


Freddy wants you to join him when supporters and New York City political and community leaders come together for a Unity Rally tomorrow at 1:00 pm at City Hall.


Come celebrate what unites us as New Yorkers and Democrats as we prepare to take on Republican Mayor Mike Bloomberg in the general election!


WHEN: Thursday, September 15, 2005, 1:00 pm

WHERE: City Hall Steps, Manhattan

WHO: Everyone who shares Freddy Ferrer's vision of a City that works better for ALL New Yorkers