DeFrancisco is NOT Running for Mayor

At a fundraiser the other day, State Senator John DeFrancisco announced to supporters that he will not be a candidate for Mayor of Syracuse this year. If he had decided to run, he would have been the biggest name in the race and likely would have run away with the nomination. It is likely that other potential Republican candidates have been holding their breath to see if the Senator would run before deciding whether or not to run themselves. Only one Republican so far has announced that they intend to run (that would be Otis Jennings), but TheCNYWatch is hearing rumors that a local media figure may enter the race on the Republican side. Without more information, the identity of said potential candidate will remain under wraps until further notice. Let the speculation begin.

Playing Catch-Up in NY-20

Things are moving quickly in the special election in New York’s 20th Congressional District. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland stopped by Poughkeepsie to meet with Democrat Scott Murphy and local union leaders. Not to be outdone, Republican candidate Jim Tedisco plans to bring in some special guests of his own to stump for him, including House Minority Leader John Boehner and potential gubernatorial candidate Rudy Giuliani, plus a second visit from Michael Steele, the National Republican Party Chairman.

The national parties have been waging war over the seat. The Republicans have been attacking Murphy for being a registered lobbyist in Missouri. Democrats have been attacking Tedisco for drawing a six-figure salary for his leadership post in the New York State Assembly. (I wonder how much money venture capitalist Scott Murphy makes.)

Murphy picked up the endorsement of the Working Families Party to match Tedisco’s Conservative Party endorsement. The Independence Party, which has a history of backing Tedisco in his races for State Assembly, has yet to decide on a candidate.

In other related news, both candidates have agreed on at least one debate and Tedisco has his first TV commercial:

DeFrancisco Slams Valesky

In an editorial this morning, State Senator John DeFrancisco decided to attack his colleague, Senator Dave Valesky. He condemns Valesky as being hypocritical, encouraging readers to “judge legislators’ actions, not their words.” He rightly laments that the “three people in a room” running New York State are all from New York City. He calls on Valesky to “open the process, give time for review and debate and, in good faith, at least get your New York City colleagues to consider opposing points of view.” Being in the minority certainly changes things, doesn’t it, John?

In a related note, Senator DeFrancisco will be deciding in a few weeks whether to seek the Republican nomination for Mayor of Syracuse. Fellow Republican Otis Jennings entered the race this morning.

Otis Jennings to Run for Mayor

As the “Draft Otis Jennings for Mayor” Facebook group nears 600 members, news has leaked out that Otis Jennings does indeed intend to run for mayor this year. A formal announcement is planned for Tuesday, February 17 at 10:00 AM in the Eastwood Plaza on James Street. TheCNYWatch has obtained a letter from Mr. Jennings to the members of the Syracuse Republican Committee, excerpted below:

“I am asking for your support to be the Republican Party nominee for Mayor of Syracuse in the November 2009 elections. I promise I will wage an aggressive, issue-oriented campaign. I believe the future of the city of Syracuse can be bright if we make bold and innovative changes targeting education, economic development, and crime. I have started putting together a strong team with a plan to raise the necessary funding to make the community aware of our Republican values that can put the City of Syracuse back on the right track.

. . .

I believe WE can win the office of Mayor if WE unite quickly, welcome support wherever it comes from, and offer concrete forward-thinking solutions to our major challenges. Again, I ask for your support.”

Mr. Jennings will become the first announced Republican candidate in the race for mayor. The next question is whether he will receive a primary challenge or be allowed to run an eight-month general election campaign while the Democrats engage in a late-season primary.

Gillibrand Endorses Murphy for Congress

New York’s newest senator stopped by her old district this weekend to endorse the man seeking to replace her in a March 31st special election. The visit by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was a needed boost for congressional hopeful Scott Murphy, who has been dogged with questions over unpaid back taxes.

Walsh Begins Post-Congressional Career

As the Post-Standard reported on Friday, former Congressman Jim Walsh began a new career at the Washington D.C. law firm, K & L Gates, one of the largest law firms in the world. He will be working as a government affairs counselor. Walsh says he will be one of only three former congressmen on staff. He must observe a one-year ban on lobbying his former colleagues in the House, but he is allowed to lobby the executive branch, along with state and local governments. He does not plan on retuning to politics. We wish him well and thank him for his service.

National GOP On the Attack in CNY

The National Republican Congressional Committee released a set of radio ads attacking House Democrats for voting in support of the trillion-dollar “stimulus” package. The ad targets two members of Central New York’s congressional delegation, Reps. Eric Massa (NY-19) and Dan Maffei (NY-25). You can listen to the ad that targets Massa below.



What is interesting to note is that the NRCC did not target Rep. Mike Arcuri (NY-24), who just barely survived re-election last year. The fact that political newcomer Richard Hanna nearly defeated Arcuri last year should be a sign of vulnerability. Apparently, the NRCC acts in mysterious ways.

The NRCC has also created a webpage that highlights NY-20 candidate Scott Murphy’s tax problems. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee responds with its own webpage blasting Republican candidate Jim Tedisco.

That Was Fast

Now that the date for the special election in New York’s 20th Congressional District is known, the candidates have wasted no time getting into campaign mode. The governor announced the date of the special election this morning, and by this afternoon, both candidates have ads on the web. Jim Tedisco’s ad is a five minute web ad and Scott Murphy’s ad is a 60-second spot that will reportedly hit the airwaves tomorrow, making it the first campaign commercial of the race. You can watch both ads below.

And They're Off!

Governor Paterson announced today that the special election for the 20th congressional district will take place on Tuesday, March 31. The Democrat is venture capitalist Scott Murphy. The Republican is State Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco. We’ve got a race on our hands, folks.

Draft Otis Jennings "Movement" Grows

With Joe Nicoletti’s announcement that he is running for mayor, there are now four Democrats officially in the race, with a few others likely to jump in as well. Despite this, there are still no Republicans who have announced that they are running. With such a large number of Democrats interested in the seat, there is a lot of pressure to announce their intentions early and begin raising money for a primary. The Republicans have a smaller pool of candidates and are likely working behind the scenes in order to avoid a primary like the one the Democrats are facing, so they can afford to wait a little longer before any candidate announces their intentions. Of course, this does not put an end to speculation.

Currently, a lot of speculation has centered around Republican Otis Jennings, and for good reason. Though he lost his race for Common Council President four years ago, the former Syracuse Parks and Recreation Commissioner may be in the process of staging a comeback. I mentioned yesterday that Joe Nicoletti was the only candidate that had official Facebook and YouTube accounts. Something that has been overlooked is the unofficial presence of Otis Jennings on Facebook. There currently exists a “Draft Otis Jennings for Mayor” Facebook group, with over 300 members. As an unofficial group for an unannounced candidate, this is rather impressive. Mr. Jennings was Special Program Director for the city schools and he continues to work with area schools as a lecturer and motivational speaker, so this likely explains the level of support he has from the Facebook generation. If he does decide to run and can turn some of his online support into volunteer support, he could be a force to be reckoned with, especially if the eventual Democrat candidate emerges from the late primary bruised and bloodied. Keep an eye on Otis.

It's Going to Be a Long Primary Season

Former Syracuse Common Councilor and Assemblyman Joe Nicoletti joined the race for Mayor as expected. He made his announcement earlier today in Eastwood and has already raised over $100,000 for the race. He appears to be the only candidate with a Facebook account and a YouTube page. You can watch his intro video below.

He is the most recent (but certainly not the last) official entry into the race for the nomination of the Democrat Party. An epic primary battle is slowly taking shape that will last through the end of the summer. The primary election takes place on Tuesday, September 8th, only eight weeks before the general election on Tuesday, November 3rd. There are already several Democrats officially in the race, with a few others expected to join. No Republicans have announced their intentions yet.

Dan Maffei is "Deeply Saddened"

After the announcement that the New Process Gear plant in Dewitt will soon be closing, Congressman Dan Maffei issued a statement declaring that he is “deeply saddened and disappointed by the news.” The fate of the facility, which opened in 1888 and employs 1,400 people, was determined during a vote on Tuesday. The members of the United Autoworkers Union, which supported Maffei and raised huge sums of money for his campaign, voted overwhelmingly against a plan that would have saved the plant from closure until at least the end of the summer while an agreement could be reached between the plant management and the unions. Apparently the workers decided it was better to not have a job at all than to temporarily give up inflated union wages to keep the factory operational. Maffei’s strong alliances with Big Labor are worrisome, as mentioned in an earlier post.

Maffei was in the news again this week, relating to a question he asked during a House Financial Services Committee hearing relating to the Bernie Madoff scam. I bet you can’t guess what his question was about. If you picked ‘local union finances,’ you win!

Luckily for Maffei, he can take some time off from his work for Big Labor. Today begins the House Democratic Caucus Retreat at a luxury resort and spa in Virginia, courtesy of the U.S taxpayer for the special price of about $100,000 annually. I hope his “deep sadness” about the condition of the economy in Central New York doesn’t ruin his getaway weekend.

Joanie Gives Herself Good Marks

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney released a "report card" scoring her first year in office. Not surprisingly, she thought she did pretty well.

Murphy Under Fire Over Tax Issues

Scott Murphy, the Democrat candidate for former Rep. Gillibrand’s vacated House seat has come under fire by the National Republican Congressional Committee for tax liens on Small World Sports, a company he founded (h/t Matt Lewis). In other news, two of President Obama’s nominees to top positions have removed themselves from consideration this morning due to unpaid back taxes. Not a good time to be a Democrat with tax issues.

Dems Pick Murphy to Run in NY-20

It’s official. Democrat party leaders in the ten counties that make up the 20th Congressional District met today and selected venture capitalist Scott Murphy as their candidate. Though he is not well-known (certainly not as well-known as his Republican opponent, Jim Tedisco), the Democrats believe he has certain a$$ets that will help him keep the race competitive. Murphy, who has only lived in the region for three years, is a wealthy Wall Streeter who has founded a few online businesses, including Baazee.com, based in India, an eBay clone which was purchased by the online auction giant for $50 million. Murphy knows that he will have to face questions about Baazee.com, as it was scrubbed from his bio page for Advantage Capital (where Murphy is a managing director) as soon as he announced his candidacy for the congressional seat. View the bio before and after (h/t Brian Faughnan). On his campaign website, Murphy highlights his work for two Democrat governors . . . of Missouri - where he was a political operative and fundraiser. The Democrats certainly made an interesting pick, obviously banking on the fact that Scott Murphy can self-fund his campaign if necessary in a race where the GOP has the enrollment advantage, and Republican Jim Tedisco is favored.