14 C R Y D E R P O I N T FEBRUARY H H H POLITICS H H H BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA It’s official. Joe Lhota, former CEO and chair of the MTA, is a mayoral candidate. On January 17, Lhota filed papers with the Board of Elections to become the 109th mayor of New York City. That morning, on his newly-created campaign website and Facebook page as well as on both his personal and campaign Twitter accounts, he made the announcement. He also tweeted an image with the slogan “A mayor for all of New York, proven leadership” and a Photoshopped picture of Grand Central’s Mercury clock with “Joe Lhota for Mayor” written below it. The ex-transit head stepped down from his MTA position at the end of 2012. Lhota, a former deputy mayor for operations during the Rudy Giuliani administration, will reportedly run as a Republican. Among his own party Lhota is a top contender, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released last week. Twenty-three percent of New York City voters said they would vote for Lhota in a Republican primary for mayor. Coming in second was supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis with nine percent, followed by newspaper publisher Tom Allon with five percent, former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion with three percent and Doe Fund founder George McDonald with two percent. But 53 percent of those surveyed were still undecided. The same Quinnipiac poll also found that voters would back several potential Democratic candidates, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and City Comptroller William Thompson, over Lhota by a 3-1 margin or more. FROM RED APPLE TO BIG APPLE Photo courtesy THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS John A. Catsimatidis Catsimatidis announces run for mayor BY TERENCE M. CULLEN It’s getting crowded. The Republican race for the mayor’s office tallied another candidate on Tuesday, January 29 when John A. Catsimatidis announced he was running for the hotly contested position. Catsimatidis, owner, president and CEO of grocery chain Red Apple Group, parent company of Gristedes, announced his candidacy on the steps of City Hall and promised to represent all New Yorkers, in every borough, if elected. His platform is based on strengthening the school system, better public safety and tax relief for the middle class. “I want to be a mayor for all the neighborhoods of our great city,” he said in a campaign statement. “For Richmond Hill and Flushing, for Canarsie and Williamsbridge, for Harlem and for Wall Street for Riverdale and Throgs Neck and for Tottenville and New Dorp. I want to be a mayor who fairly represents all New Yorkers whether you are a cab driver from South Asia, a bodega owner from the Caribbean or an aspiring actor from the Midwest.” The produce magnate is one of the few candidates from either party who has not spent the bulk of his career in public service. His main Republican opponent, former MTA chair Joe Lhota, was a budget director and then deputy mayor for former Mayor Rudoplh Guiliani. He’s also facing philanthropist George McDonald, chair of the homeless aid group, The Doe Fund. “Unlike many of my opponents are who professional politicians and products of the cronyism of the political club house,” Catsimatidis said, “I come to this race as an independent businessman who will offer commonsense solutions to the problems that affect New York.” Catsimatidis, 64, has a net worth of $3 billion as of last September, according to Forbes, and is ranked 132 in the magazine’s list of the 400 richest Americans. Queens Republican chair Phil Ragusa said while the party has not officially endorsed a candidate, Catsimatidis has had support in the party based on his initiative to create jobs and fight for residents’ rights. De Blasio declares for mayor 14 cryder point courier |FEBRUARY 2013 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM LHOTA ENTERS MAYORAL RACE Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has officially placed his name in the running to be the next mayor. “We deserve a city government that actually believes in our neighborhoods and sees things the way we do,” said de Blasio at his announcement on Sunday, January 27 outside his Park Slope home. “I stand before this city today as someone seeking to be a mayor of our neighborhoods — good, clean, strong, safe neighborhoods,” said the Democratic candidate, flanked by his wife and son. Throughout his career, de Blasio has fought to expand early childhood education, tenants’ rights and job opportunities, according to his campaign website. “We can only get to a better place by declaring, ‘this is our city and this government works for us,’” he said. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF BILL DE BLASIO Public Advocate Bill de Blasio stood outside of his Park Slope home with his wife and son on Sunday, January 27 to announce his candidacy for mayor. Photo courtesy of MTA New York City Transit/Marc Hermann
CP022013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above