Thursday, March 27, 2008

Congressman attracts attention in '09 mayor's race

Job hunters often hear it's better to look for their next position while they're already holding down a job. The same goes for politicians: It's better to seek an elected office while holding an elected office. Just ask Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Sheepshead Bay) is another follower of that adage. Although the congressman's up for re-election this year, he's been making headlines this month as a candidate for the 2009 mayoral race, including placing second in two polls.

It's hard to blame Weiner for technically running for two offices at the same time. Like 33 other House incumbents, he ran unopposed in 2006. With no one running against him thus far, it looks like Weiner will be able to win a fifth term without breaking a sweat. (New Yorkers have until July 10 to file for candidacy, according to National Journal.)

However, running for New York's next hizzoner will make plenty of beads drop from Weiner's brow. The race has a crowded field of potential candidates, and the congressman isn't leading the pack.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll shows Weiner tied with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz for second place in the mayor's race. (Markowitz received the top spot in a February WNBC/Marist poll (PDF) among Democrats.)

In the Quinnipiac poll, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly topped the Brooklyn pols for first, even though Kelly hasn't officially decided whether he's running. (Full results of both polls are listed below.)

Given a recent scuffle Weiner got into with Mayor Michael Bloomberg over his congestion-pricing proposal, it's unlikely the congressman can count on any help from the outgoing mayor.

Via Gothamist (bold not mine):
At a Crain's business breakfast, Bloomberg said, regarding Representative Anthony Weiner's suggestion that congestion pricing would mean less federal funding (did Weiner forget the feds are offering $354 million), "That is one of the stupider things I’ve ever heard said."
To which the congressman responded (via the Daily News' The Daily Politics):
"I'm interested in solutions, not name calling. I respect the Mayor, but I don't think the evidence supports trusting President Bush and his cabinet here. In Washington the Administration tries to cut money to roads and to cut mass transit, and then they come to New York City and say they won't. I'm concerned that New Yorkers will get the short end of the stick."
Weiner recently got some mayoral experience by temporarily filling in for Bloomberg on WABC (770 AM). Morning host Curtis Sliwa interviewed Weiner March 7, teasing the congressman by playing the famous jingle for Oscar Mayer weiners. It wasn't the first time Weiner heard that song.

Via the Staten Island Advance's City Hall Insider:
"Curtis I have heard the last original weiner joke when I was in fifth grade in PS39," Weiner shot back. "You have got to come up with new material."

Quinnipiac University non-partisan poll
Survey of 1,427 registered New York City voters conducted between March 4 and March 10
WNBC/Marist Democratic poll (PDF)
Survey of 649 registered New York City voters conducted between Feb. 18 and Feb. 20
Photo of Rep. Anthony Weiner
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Saturday, March 8, 2008

UPDATED: Explainer: Who's up for re-election; which pols represent Brooklyn neighborhoods

With the presidential campaign dominating political coverage across the country, it's easy to forget that plenty of local officeholders will also be on the ballot. Although there aren't yet any candidates on the city Board of Elections list for the Sept. 9 primary, Brooklyn voters will have a lot of decisions to make this fall.

Like members of the U.S. House of Representatives, New York's state legislators serve terms of two years and are up for re-election this year. But matching lawmakers with the neighborhoods in their districts isn't easy. Sites maintained by the Congress and the state legislature (linked below) use Zip codes to help voters identify their legislators.

Zip codes and Assembly, congressional and state Senate districts don't often match up, sometimes with a single Zip code producing a laundry list of lawmakers. And maps of the various districts in New York City aren't much help. For example, the site for the state Senate features an interactive map that only helps voters who know their district's number.

Below is a list of Brooklyn neighborhoods and their representatives. I paired legislators with the locations of their district offices, with some exceptions. For example, state Sen. Diane Savino's district office is located on Staten Island, but her district includes Coney Island, Seagate and parts of Sunset Park. Some lawmakers appear multiple times below because they have more than one district office.

To pair legislators with their neighborhoods, I plotted each district office's street address on onNYTurf's subway map and matched the location with the neighborhoods listed on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Brooklyn bus map. I realize this is an inexact method and leaves out many neighborhoods. I welcome arguments for neighborhood corrections in the comments.

House of Representatives (6 members of Congress; 5 Democrats, 1 Republican)
New York State Senate (7 senators; 6 Democrats, 1 Republican)New York State Assembly (21 Assembly members; all Democrats)
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