The two “Johns” of whom I write are John Liu and John Sampson. Liu is the NYC comptroller. Sampson is the state senator from Brooklyn’s 19th district. He is also the conference leader of the senate democrats. I want to believe he is actually the senate minority leader but some folks tell me that’s not official.

Anyway, both Liu and Sampson have come in for some serious ragging in mainstream media lately. I want to believe there is more to this than meets the unsuspecting naked eye.

A few columns aback I told you folks that the three major newspapers (Times, Daily News and N.Y. Post) are in the tank for NYC council speaker Christine Quinn: with the objective being to make her the next mayor of this city. They have been trying without subtlety to decimate those they perceive as her main opponents in the 2013 mayoral primary. Thus, over the last few years, they have been taking occasional pot shots at people like Marty Markowitz, Bill DiBlasio, Adolfo Carrion, Scott Stringer and Bill Thompson (don’t forget Anthony Wiener also). It is sad. These forces seem to believe that many aren’t observing all this. They are wrong in that assessment.  read more »

In the race to replace Alan Fleishman as the male district leader in the 52nd Assembly district in Brooklyn, Chris Owens just picked up an unexpected and impressive endorsement. From Chris Owens' campaign:

On Saturday, June 12, New York City Comptroller John C. Liu boldly stepped up to the plate for reform Democrats in Brooklyn and proclaimed his support of Chris Owens for Democratic State Committee in the 52nd Assembly District.

At a pre-Parade party during Brooklyn Pride weekend, while thanking members of the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn for their support, Liu declared "I am with Chris Owens."

Owens was surprised and very pleased with the unsolicited endorsement. "As a citywide elected official, John Liu did not have to get involved with a messy situation within the Democratic Party and go against the County Leader, but, understanding the need for change in New York, John Liu showed the courage that got him elected Comptroller and I appreciate that greatly," said Owens.  read more »

I posted a shorter version of this earlier, but let me add an updated version.

The September 29th runoff for NYC Comptroller pits John Liu, with a degree in mathematical physics and extensive financial experience, against David Yassky, a lawyer and career politician with no financial experience, whose financial abilities are so challenged that in 2006 he threw $15,000 of taxpayer money to a fake non-profit that did nothing but pay salaries to a former City Councilman's family...after that former City Councilman endorsed Yassky, of course. Yassky also made the same kind of corrupt deal with a Ratner front organization, exchanging an endorsement for taxpayer funding. And, of course, there is the fact that Yassky endorsed Sampson for Brooklyn DA four years ago even though Sampson's primary reason for running was to get machine boss Clarence Norman off the hook (Clarenace Norman is now in prison, of course, despite Sampson and Yassky's efforts). And remember that Yassky also voted to overturn term limits that the voters had approved TWICE, while John Liu voted to support the will of the voters.

But let's turn to a more pleasant subject: John Liu. Although, like Yassky, Liu is an ambitious politician and hence not always known for perfectly upfront speaking, my personal discussions with him and Yassky have shown that Liu is much more upfront and honest than Yassky. And I think this comes through in the endorsement competition since Liu is overwhelmingly getting the top endorsements (NY Times aside). Here is a sampling of people and organizations who have endorsed John Liu for Comptroller, with quotes where available. I should note I may have been the first person in the city to endorse Liu for Comptroller! Since then he has gathered a broad coalition of people supporting him, from firefighters to teachers to most of the LGBT organizations in the city to the UAW and Teansters, etc. etc. etc. He is also largely uniting the Asian, Hispanic and black votes. Here's just a sampling of endorsements:

Queens City Councilman David Weprin:

“I have decided to put my support behind John Liu’s candidacy, because we are similar in many ways. We both fought to protect the rights of New York City voters during the fight to extend term limits without a referendum; we felt that any change to term limits had to be done via referendum, as it had been the case in two prior referendums. More importantly, John and I both have comprehensive finance experience. We are in tough economic times, and this City needs someone managing and auditing the City’s finances with an understanding of both public and private sector finance. We need a Comptroller who is ready to hit the ground running – there is no room for a learning curve,” Councilman Weprin said.

Noting that John Liu has had a distinguished career in the City Council, Councilman Weprin continued that Liu’s “finance experience and innovative ideas combined will pave the road to a prosperous City as we move on to economic recovery.”

(Note: David Weprin was the only other Comptroller candidate other than John Liu who had financial experiencea)

Uniformed Firefighters Association

Steve Cassidy, UFA President said, “John Liu has demonstrated his leadership as a member of the City Council, supporting firefighter and public safety issues and has a background in finance as an actuary. He fought to halt the efforts in 2003 and 2009 to close our community firehouses and reduce fire company staffing to unsafe levels. John Liu fully understands that while budgetary priorities must be made in the city, public safety must be at the forefront.”

“We are here today because we believe that John Liu is the candidate that fills the duties of Comptroller of the City of New York and can be an advocate for all New Yorkers,” concluded Mr. Cassidy.

Gay City News

We are impressed by the commitment of one candidate to go further. “I don’t see the comptroller as a bureaucratic position,” Liu said in a recent Gay City News interview. “It absolutely can be and should be an office as agent of change." That posture is what leads us to endorse John Liu, who has amply demonstrated his follow-through in his eight years on the City Council. Last year, as the Council acquiesced to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s request to extend term limits, Liu took a principled stand in opposition. In a body where bucking the powerful office of speaker carries political risks, he bit the bullet, and says, “I haven’t felt any changes in my role in the budget process.”

“It would be fair to say that my background is one of being excluded, whether blatantly or de facto,” he said of his childhood in Flushing as an immigrant from Taiwan. The first Asian American elected to any legislative position in New York City, Liu has been a stalwart friend and highly visible ally of the LGBT community. That record lends substantial credibility to his pledge to “shatter all the records” in using New York City’s substantial pension investments as a tool to nudge corporate America toward fair workplace and marketplace practices for the LGBT community.  read more »

In the hurried runoff between John Liu and David Yassky for Comptroller, the Teamsters have joined the already long list of Liu endorsements.

“It is my pleasure to announce on behalf of the more than 120,000 working men and women in the Teamsters Joint Council 16, our endorsement of Councilman John Liu for New York City Comptroller," said Teamsters President George Miranda. “Over the past eight years, as a Councilman and Chair of the Transportation Committee, he has consistently backed the interests of working people. John’s financial experience will make him a fine Comptroller, but his passion for public service will make him the people’s watchdog in an era of economic uncertainty. We look forward to doing all we can to make sure that John becomes New York’s next Comptroller."

The Teamsters join an already formidable coalition of supporters including most of the LGBT organizations in the city (including Lambda Independent Democrats, Stonewall Democrats and Gay City News), labor unions including the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Uniformed Firefighters Association and Unite Auto Workers), the Amsterdam News, most of the Democratic Clubs in Queens (of course), and Manhattan (including Village Reform Democratic Club, Village Independent Democrats, West Harlem Independent Democrats, East Harlem United Democrats, El Nuevo Caribe Democratic Club of El Barrio/East Harlem, Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan, and Gramercy Stuyvesant Independent Democrats), Staten Island (including Staten Island Democratic Association and Democratic Organization of Richmond County) and even some in Brooklyn (including Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats and the American Heritage Democratic Club) among many others.

The September 29th runoff for NYC Comptroller pits John Liu (with a degree in mathematical physics and extensive financial experience) against David Yassky (a lawyer and career politician with no financial experience, whose financial abilities are so challeneged he threw $15,000 of taxpayer money to a fake non-profit that did nothing but pay salaries to a former City Councilman's family). Here is a sampling of people and organizations who have endorsed John Liu for Comptroller, with quotes where available. I should note I may have been the first person in the city to endorse Liu for Comptroller! Since then he has a broad coalition of people supporting him, from firefighters to teachers to most of the LGBT organizations in the city to the UAW, etc. etc. etc. Here's just a sampling:

Uniformed Firefighters Association  read more »