Quinn sitting pretty for early primary

From the Daily News:

THE 2013 mayoral primary race is under a cloud of uncertainty — and it’s not just who will win but also when.

Albany is mulling the prospect of moving the crucial Democratic primary from September to June, and the possibility of a switch has thrown fund-raising, campaign strategy — not to mention vacation plans — for a loop.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has a dim view of plans to move the Democratic primary from September to June. He said the possibility of the change makes it hard to plan mailings, hiring and other campaign efforts. “If it’s a crapshoot, you can’t really put a plan together,” he said.

New York has traditionally held September primaries, but the Board of Elections asked the state to move the election up three months because of complicated new voting machines and to consolidate primaries for state and federal races.

Federal primaries for presidential and congressional elections have already been moved to the summer because of a new law that claimed the short window between September primaries and November general elections didn’t leave enough time for oversees and military voters to get their ballots.

J.C. Polanco, the Bronx commissioner for the Board of Elections, said the board also needs more time between the primary and the general because it takes too long to reset the city’s new voting machines between elections. He called a September citywide primary “a practical and legal impossibility.”

Moving the election to June would be a boon for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, said campaign consultant Hank Sheinkopf. Not only has she largely completed fund-raising for her mayoral run, she also has the advantage of controlling millions of dollars in the city budget that could flow to people and groups that might be in positions to offer key endorsements.