The NY Times reports that Mayor Bloomberg has funneled "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to two groups in Brooklyn, violating city contracting rules.

According to the Times, the money comes from a mayoral discretionary fund, but can only be distributed at the request of a City Council member. The Mayor's office claims that Council member Simcha Felder requested the money, but he says he never did. Even a spokesperson for one of the groups says he had no idea that CM Felder had anything to do with it.

It's not just "he said, he said;" there is no record of CM Felder asking for anything -- in fact, records concerning the money itself don't seem to exist. The Mayor's office claims that they did an "audit" that consisted of asking mayoral officials what they remember (it sounds to me like they're the same people who ran audits on Enron).

But wait ... there's more! CM Felder isn't completely clean after all.  read more »

(Note: Cross-posted from my website)

One standard effect among magicians is misdirection. They make you look in one place while they’re busy fooling you somewhere else. The same practice is common among politicians.

As Mayor Bloomberg “holds a hearing” prior to signing his bill extending term limits, everyone’s attention – especially that of the press – will be focused on the Blue Room at City Hall. Meanwhile, something sinister will be happening down at 40 Rector Street; the Campaign Finance Board (CFB) will almost certainly be breaking the law.

Before the City Council voted to extend term limits, many Council members were planning to run for higher office. To that end, they had been spending a lot of money. If they decide instead to run for a third term, they will not be eligible for matching funds, because they will not be able to stay under the spending limits that come with matching funds.

That’s not really a problem. What is the problem? Read on...  read more »

Liz Benjamin reports that the Doe Fund, a nonprofit organization that is prohibited by their 501(c)3 status from engaging in political activities (such as supporting the mayor's power grab), may have been engaging in political ... well, you get the idea.

Putting two and two together, it is now obvious that the 50-60 people who filled the front rows at the term limits hearing on Thursday were Doe Fund people whom Mayor Bloomberg paid to sit there, holding preprinted signs, and claiming (as several did when I asked what group they belonged to) that they were only there as individuals.

This being the case, the leaders of the Doe Fund, especially President George McDonald, should be fired, and Mayor Bloomberg's activities should be investigated for possible criminal and conflict of interest violations.

I can only hope that Daily News reporters who have begun looking into this scandal finish the job, rather than giving up because it's not easy to get the facts.

As I walked in to the hearing just before noon (over an hour before its scheduled start), I noticed about 50-60 people filling the first few rows on the right side of the aisle, and just behind the two "reserved" rows on the left. They were all holding preprinted signs, and were clearly an organized group. I asked several of them which group they were with -- they all answered that they were there on their own, except one, who didn't answer at all.

When I questioned whether they were ashamed to admit which group they were with, one woman who also falsely claimed not to be with the group (or any group) tried to take me to task for it.

Seriously, it's bad enough for the mayor to try to shove a power grabbing bill down our throats, but to fill a significant portion of the overcrowded hearing room with a bunch of paid, lying lackeys is beyond the pale. Whatever one may think of his record to-date as mayor, this in my opinion disqualifies him from ever holding public office.

Shame on you, Michael Bloomberg.

(Note: Cross-posted from my website.)

In show business a standard phrase is, “Timing is everything.” The same goes for many other fields, including politics. The timing on Mayor Bloomberg’s quest for a third term must be questioned, because it is so easily questionable.

It may be considered merely convenient that the financial meltdown that led to all the speculation of a third Bloomberg term occurred when it did. But the meltdown didn’t happen overnight, and speculation has built for months – even years. The convenience of the timing is clearly not coincidental, but the result of careful planning.

How is the timing convenient? It is too late to put a referendum on the ballot for this year’s general election, when most New Yorkers will go to the polls. Waiting until next November would be too late for this mayor. Setting up a special election is possible under New York law, but it would be expensive, and the activists who are far more likely to vote, and far more likely to vote against the mayor’s proposal, might just have enough to defeat the proposal.  read more »