Top de Blasio backer mulling run against ‘anti-business, anti-cop socialist’

One of the nation’s wealthiest black business leaders is considering mounting a self-financed campaign to topple Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017 — saying he has lost faith in the candidate he once supported.

“I’m giving serious thought to running for mayor of New York City . . . I was a political supporter of Bill de Blasio,” real estate mogul Don Peebles told The Post on Tuesday.

Peebles and wife Katrina contributed $9,675 to de Blasio’s 2013 campaign and inaugural committees, records show.

But during an extensive interview, the lifelong Democrat — who is reportedly worth $700 million — delivered a withering attack on the mayor’s handling of taxes, charter schools, stewardship of the NYPD and chilly relations with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“I’ve lost confidence in him. It would be irresponsible of me to do nothing,” said Peebles, 55, who owns the largest African-American-run real estate company in the United States.

“He’s anti-business, he’s anti-wealth, he’s anti-accomplishment. His performance has not been up to par. He’s failed.”

Top de Blasio backer Don Peebles (right) says the mayor has failed the people of New York City, and that he would consider running against the candidate he once supported.

Peebles’ mulling of a mayoral run comes amid reports that some disaffected Democrats are looking for an alternative to the mayor in the next election.

Among the names being mentioned are city Comptroller Scott Stringer, Brooklyn Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Peebles said that if he runs, there’s a “90 percent chance” he would challenge de Blasio in a Democratic primary.

He added that he would self-finance a campaign and spend “whatever it takes” to win.

Describing himself as a “pro-business” Democrat, Peebles described de Blasio as a divisive “socialist” who wants to punish wealthy people with higher taxes.

“My approach is to expand opportunity by increasing the size of the pie, not taking away from others. The mayor is supposed to be the mayor of all the people, not be the mayor of the Socialist Party.”

He slammed de Blasio on numerous fronts, from his management skills to his chat with his son, Dante, about how to act if approached by cops.

“That was disrespectful,” Peebles said. “What he should have been saying is that the NYPD is the best police department in the country.”

Peebles argued that the mayor hurt himself by continuing to press for an income tax hike on the rich to fund his pre-K program even after Cuomo offered state money for it.

“It’s very frightening. His basic view is that all businesses and wealthy people are not paying their fair share. That’s not true. It’s wrong,” he said.

Peebles also took issue with the mayor’s handling of education, saying he’s siding with the teachers union instead of standing up for kids and charter schools.

Peebles said he and his wife have supported faith-based and alternative schools in Florida and his native Washington, DC.

Via: New York Post

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Mayor 'disturbed' by lack of diversity in CPD command staff

          Mayor John Cranley says he is disturbed by the lack of minorities in the city's police command staff. (FOX19 NOW/file)

(Cincinnati, OH) Mayor John Cranley and the Sentinel Police Association want to change testing procedures used to determine promotions in the city's police department.

"Mayor Cranley is disturbed by the lack of diversity in the police department's command staff," reads a prepared statement from the mayor's office. "Of the three assistant chiefs, none are African-American; and of the 12 police captains, only one is African-American."

U.S. Census statistics indicate the city of Cincinnati's population is 49.3 percent Caucasian and 44.8 percent African-American, the statement reads.

A police department should reflect the city it serves to effectively police the community and to develop a good relationship with residents.

“We clearly need some diversity in our command staff to foster trust and cooperation with the community,” Cranley said. “For years, the Sentinels have said the way we test and grade the examination process for promotions is unfair.”

An upcoming vacancy in the captains' ranks will create an opportunity to add diversity in the command staff of the police department. Last week, Assistant Chief Paul Humphries announced he is leaving later this month for an out-of-state job.

".... not only will an assistant chief's position be filled due to a retirement, but presumably a captain's position will be vacated if a captain is promoted to assistant chief," the mayor's statement reads.

The Sentinels say they believe the lack of diversity stems from promotional tests that were written and graded by the command staff. They are calling for a fair test that is “double blind” – written and graded by outsiders, and graded anonymously.

Cranley agrees and asked city officials a few months ago to begin implementing the change.

"We just want a fair testing system. We believe that if we have a fair testing system, it will lead to greater diversity,” Mayor John Cranley said on Monday.

City Manager Harry Black – who is not related to the Sentinel president – is in the process of making changes to the promotional exam process. The new procedures will be used in the next round of captain's exams that will be administered soon.

“I want to thank the administration for listening to the Sentinels and me to develop a fairer method of testing,” Cranley said.

Cranley wants the city manager and Human Resources Director Georgetta Kelly to meet with the Sentinel's president again to discuss the new process and ensure the Sentinels' concerns are being adequately addressed.

Via: Fox19 Now

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Millionaire Obama: I Hate Income Inequality

 Back from his $4 million Hawaii vacation, President Barack Obama seems poised to sound the populist trumpet in an effort to turn the page on 2013’s disastrous Obamacare rollout.

Many pundits are speculating that Obama, seeing the popularity of liberal populists like New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, will use the current debate over unemployment insurance to engage in more divisive rhetoric:

The Obama administration has set the stage for a push that could rekindle cries of class warfare -- calling for renewed long-term unemployment benefits, a minimum wage increase and a campaign against what Democrats call "income inequality."

Ahead of his multi-week, holiday vacation in Hawaii, President Obama pushed Congress to move forward on extending federal unemployment benefits that weren't included in the budget deal Senate Democrats and House Republicans struck to fund the federal government for the next two years. The White House has scheduled an East Room event on Tuesday in which the president will appear with people who lost that insurance.

On Tuesday, that's precisely what Obama did, trotting out unemployed people to push for another boost to unemployment benefits, and citing income inequality as the rationale.

One potential challenge for the President’s prospective populist push is his own family’s affluence. Despite the President’s public lowering of his own salary, the Obamas' tax returns show a family whose incomes would routinely place them in the highest bracket, with lucrative income streams outside of the White House. Last year, however, the Obama family paid an effective tax rate of only 18 percent.

Via: Truth Revolt

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A Curious Form of ‘Populism’ - Bill de Blasio and Wall Street.

First, a matter of numbers and nomenclature: Bill de Blasio, who is being hailed like Eliot Spitzer before him as the new face of American liberalism, won his race to be New York City’s next mayor with a near-record victory margin but also record low turnouts in both the primary and the general elections. There was no “populist” surge as reported in the press. De Blasio won 40 percent of the 22 percent who showed up for the Democratic party primary. And he won not only because he has a beautiful interracial family; more important, he was backed strongly by 1199, the hospital workers’ union, which has the best get-out-the-vote operation in Gotham. 

DE BLASIO HUGS HIS CHILDREN NOVEMBER 5.

NEWSCOM

In a city of well over half a million government employees—city, state, and federal—in which the largest source of “private sector” employment is government-subsidized health care providers, as well as numerous, often government-funded, “nonprofit” organizations, de Blasio’s “populist” vote came heavily from those with a direct personal stake in the outcome.

Populism in America has been traditionally associated with self-employed farmers and miners fighting the great railroads and agricultural combines, looking to get a fair shake from government. Gotham’s “populists,” better described as “statists,” are people looking for a greater transfer of wealth from the private to the public sector. And therein lie the limits of de Blasio’s agenda.

Via: Weekly Standard

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DE BLASIO MAY BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE RIDES IN NYC

In scenic Central Park, horse-drawn carriage rides have long served as an iconic attraction for many residents and visitors in the Big Apple. That era may be coming to an end, however. During his campaign for mayor, Bill De Blasio promised to endhorse-drawn carriage rides in New York City on his first day as mayor. He wants to replace them with “old-timey” electric cars.

It’s another example of animal rights activists run wild. The pending ban will destroy several, generations-old, family carriage businesses. To radical animal rights advocates and leftists like De Blasio, these businesses are nessecary collateral damage in their quest to re-order our lives.

The horses live a pampered existence, working no more than 9 hours per day under the care from trained equestrian experts, who undergo a rigorous licensing process that involves a 3 day test, 80 hours of apprenticeship, and a 6 month probationary period. 

With 5 weeks of mandatory vacation, the horses enjoy a level of workplace regulation that would put a French union worker to shame.  The stables housing these animals are lavish, granting the horses a standard of living that outperforms most human residents of NYC.  Still, nothing is good enough for the radical animal rights activists who have been scheming to abolish these stables for over a decade. 

Activists, who claim the carriage rides are unethical, base their case on the deaths of two horses in 2006 and 2007 that resulted from traffic accidents.  Nearly 300 people die every year due to traffic accidents in New York City.  Meanwhile, carriages have seen less than three horse fatalities total in the past three decades, despite giving countless thousands of rides every year.  The care and safety provided to these horses is extraordinary, yet with big money, animal rights activists have been able to blow isolated incidents way out of proportion. 

Via: Breitbart

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De Blasio vs. the market

Business leaders in the city are scratching their heads over recent remarks by Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio.

Describing how he plans to govern once he takes office next year, the mayor-elect declared flatly that he doesn’t believe in the free-market system.

At least Comrade Bill was being honest.

“Everything you heard about me is true. . . I am not a free-marketeer. . . I believe in the heavy hand of government,” de Blasio stated matter-of-factly during an hour-long presentation to some of the city’s biggest real-estate developers.

The meeting occurred several weeks before the election with de Blasio way ahead in the polls and New York’s business elite hoping and praying he wasn’t as much of a leftist as he said he was on the campaign trail.

Now that de Blasio’s been elected mayor with a resounding 73 percent of the vote, his comments have become a hot topic for business people trying to digest what life will be like with Comrade Bill in charge.

Attendees of the gathering with de Blasio included Jared Kushner of Kushner Properties, Stephen Green of SL Green Realty, Douglas Durst of the Durst Organization and Jeff Blau, chief executive of the Related Companies. Scott Rechler of RXR Realty, who hosted the event at his offices, served as moderator (that is, to the extent it’s possible to moderate de Blasio).

“It was startling to hear someone in this day and age boldly proclaim he’s not a ‘free marketeer,’ ” said one person in ­attendance.

“To be fair, [de Blasio] also said he knows that the economy must grow in order to help poor people. But he did not back off his principles.”

Via: NY Post

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California: In LA, It’s Back to Basics

Despite record revenues that are expected to exceed $5 billion, the City Council is considering a $4.5 billion tax increase over the next 30 years to fund the repair of our lunar cratered streets because of its inability to control ever escalating salaries, benefits, and pension contributions.

But the failure of the City Council to balance the budget despite record revenues is compounded by its unwillingness to endorse Mayor Garcetti’s “Back to Basics” priorities by “making government more efficient and effective.”

For example, if the City were to sell the Convention Center, it would eliminate over $400 million in debt and increase the City’s cash flow by $60 to $80 million a year.  More than likely, the sale price of this 870,000 square foot white elephant would be considerably more than the debt, generating additional cash to reduce the City’s outstanding debt, fund the repair of a portion of our streets, or finance the revitalization of the Los Angeles River.

As part of any sale, the buyer would be required to develop a world class facility that would attract top of the line conventions to the City, generating huge increases in hotel and sales tax revenues for the City’s treasury.

Furthermore, the development of the 54 acre Convention Center site by a well healed buyer would create a boat load of additional revenue for the City through development fees and higher property taxes, and, at the same time, create thousands of construction and full time jobs that would revitalize DTLA and stimulate our lack luster economy.

The City has also given lip service to “performance based budgeting.” However, the administration has not made any effort to “benchmark” its operations or any of it compensation and benefit policies with those of other governments or alternative providers.  This was a key recommendation to our Department of Water and Power by PA Consulting in its August 2012 report.  The City should also consider “outsourcing” noncore services to more efficient vendors, another common sense recommendation of PA Consulting.

Via: California Political Review

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Mayor with Ties to Fla. Gov. Guilty of Corruption

A south Florida mayor with close ties to Governor Rick Scott haspleaded guilty to public corruption for participating in a scheme involving the theft of federal grants earmarked for his tiny working class city.

The plot involves a small-town mayor, Manuel Maroño, with big-time political ties to prominent Republicans. In fact, Maroño was a rising star in the party and played a key role in Scott’s transition team in 2011. The disgraced politician even launched a “business development” firm called 7 Strategies after the governor’s 7-step plan to create 700,000 jobs in 7 years.

But everything went downhill in early August when the feds indicted Maroño and a longtime mayor pal of a neighboring city for operating a brazen scheme to steal federal grants that were supposed to help their respective towns. The mayors teamed up with two prominent lobbyists, one of whom worked for U.S. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart when the Republican lawmaker was a state legislator.

Large sums of cash were exchanged in envelopes and hidden in notebooks during covert meetings in cars and at local eateries, according to federal prosecutors, who claimed in separate complaints that the lobbyists went around recruiting corrupt politicians to participate in the scheme. In all, tens of thousands of dollars were exchanged with hefty cash bonuses for making introductions to other public officials willing to participate in the kickback and bribery operation.

Both mayors abused their power to enact measures to help fake companies get federal grants made available only upon the official request of local municipalities, authorities say. Maroño collaborated with both lobbyists and pocketed more than $40,000 in bribes, according to his federal complaint. The money was supposed to help the 13,000 constituents in his working-class town of Sweetwater, which barely spans a square mile.

Upon getting indicted Maroño paraded around town confidently guaranteeing that his innocence would quickly vindicate him. At his side was his mother, a Sweetwater councilwoman, who led a media campaign professing her son’s innocence. This week, however, the former mayor marched into a federal court in Miami and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January and faces five years in prison.

Via: Judicial Watch

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Rand Paul Warns: FDA Is ‘Coming After Your Doughnuts’

In some of Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) first non-plagiarism news in a while, the Kentucky senator warned on Monday that the Federal Drug Administration’s new ban on trans fats was another intrusion by the nanny state, this one aimed at your morning indulgences.

“They’re coming after your doughnuts!” Paul told a crowd at The Charleston Meeting in South Carolina, in addition to taking a shot at New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s attempted soda ban.

“Some unelected bureaucrat has banned trans fat,” he continued. “So I say, we need to line every one of them up. I want to see how skinny or how fat the FDA agents are that are making the rules on this. Not only that, any of them with a BMI over 16, or whatever the number you’re supposed to have, I want to see them on the treadmill, and I want to see someone from OSHA lashing them while they’re working on the treadmill.”

“If we’re going to have a nanny state, and everybody’s gotta eat the right thing, and you can’t eat a doughnut, maybe we ought to enforce it on the government workers first,” Paul said.

New York Magazine columnist Jonathan Chait was quick to rebut Paul’s charges:

They are not, in fact, coming after your doughnuts. Trans fats are not essential to make doughnuts or, really, anything. Some restaurants still use trans fats because, even though they’re incredibly bad for you, they’re longer-lasting and slightly cheaper than other oils, and very few customers would ever know the difference.

Via: Mediaite.com

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Vice President Biden congratulates the wrong Marty Walsh

Just minutes after the election returns arrived in Boston Tuesday night, Martin Walsh’s cellphone rang. It was the vice president of the United States, Joseph R. Biden, offering his congratulations.

“You son of a gun, Marty!” he thundered. “You did it!”

The only problem was, it was the wrong Marty Walsh.

Biden had called the cellphone of Marty Walsh, a former aide to US Senator Edward M. Kennedy who is now the president of Gateway Public Solutions, a government relations firm in Boston.

At the time, this Marty Walsh said, he was sitting on the couch with his wife at their home in Natick, watching the election results on television. Meanwhile, the other Marty Walsh, the one who had just been elected mayor of Boston, was at the Park Plaza Hotel, celebrating his victory.

The less-famous Marty Walsh said he thanked Biden for his kind words, but told him that he reached the wrong Marty. He offered to help the vice president track down the right one, the one who had just been elected mayor.

Marty Walsh said he also got jubilant voicemail messages from R.T. Rybak, the mayor of Minneapolis and vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and from US Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the chairwoman of the committee.

Walsh said his wife was amused to see national power players showering her husband with praise. “She was laughing,” he said.

Via: Boston Globe

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