Top Dems collude to line Parkside's pockets

From City Hall:

According to the terms of a contract kept secret during the campaign, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee was prepared to sign over a full 80 percent of all money spent on political mailers, radio commercials and robo-calls for the 2010 campaign cycle to one firm: the Parkside Group.

Stunning several people involved and a number of outside campaign operatives, the contract—which was ultimately discarded amid internal disagreements about spending decisions—guaranteed that this massive percentage of campaign business was required of both the DSCC and all money transferred to individual campaigns by the DSCC. And it almost went even further: the original draft of the contract limited firms other than Parkside to 10 percent of mailers, radio commercials and robo-calls—in other words, guaranteeing the firm 90 percent of this business for the DSCC and candidates it was supporting.

The contract also contained a clause triggering repercussions: if any of the candidates running with the DSCC’s support had used another firm for mailers, radio ads or robo-calls, “the DSCC shall retain the Parkside Group to provide any television media buys made by the DSCC, or the supported candidate or political committee, in that district.”

The contract was signed by DSCC executive director Josh Cherwin after being vetted by the law firm of [Melinda Katz employer] Greenberg Traurig and emailed to Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson’s top aide Paul Rivera, apparently without the prior knowledge or approval of several key members, including DSCC chair Jeff Klein. However, when the contract was presented, there was such resistance that it was never ultimately acted on, and the DSCC instead contracted with a more diverse array of consultants for the remainder of the election season. This included shifting polling and several mail contracts to other firms.

The DSCC’s relationship with the Parkside Group has grown increasingly close over the course of the past year. Sampson was making fundraising calls out of Parkside's offices as far back as January. And though the firm was paid officially only as a vendor, Harry Giannoulis and Evan Stavisky, the two principals of the firm, were involved in internal planning and decisions with the DSCC and conducting polls which helped determine which races the Democrats would prioritize in terms of financial resources going into the November elections. This culminated in a two-week trip Giannoulis and Rivera took over the summer to visit various campaigns and candidates, followed by a memo they wrote and presented to the Democratic leadership in August about where to allocate resources.

Giannoulis, who was the one to sign the contract for Parkside, disputed that there was anything unusual either about Parkside’s contract or with the level of involvement he and Stavisky had with the DSCC.

In 2010 alone, the DSCC reported paying Parkside $2.2 million so far during a cycle that the campaign committee finished the cycle $2.4 million in debt while losing the majority. Parkside also billed a total of $500,000 to the individual campaigns of Democratic candidates David Carlucci, Tony Avella, Toby Stavisky, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, José Peralta, Mike Gianaris and Mike Kaplowitz. This does not include the nearly $200,000 the firm billed Peralta for working on his special election campaign in the spring, nor the $150,000 billed to State Sen. Bill Perkins for his primary campaign.

That amount would not include money which may have been spent out of the DSCC’s housekeeping account, as that committee does not have to file a report until January.

The firm also has a lobbying practice that deals extensively with state government.

Check out this mailer that was sent out during the Democratic primary pointing out Toby Stavisky's blatant conflict-of-interest:

Toby and Isaac are rolling in dough

From the Queens Courier:

Primary candidates in the 16th Senate District are poised to take the term deep pockets to a whole new level.

A three-way race in central and northeast Queens will feature a millionaire who is willing to spend “whatever it takes to win,” a small businessman who vowed to spend “several hundred thousand dollars” in the remaining 40 days before the primary and an incumbent who has more than $250,000 on hand.

Dr. Isaac Sasson, a community activist who worked for many years as a cancer researcher at Sloan Kettering before winning a $13 million lotto jackpot in 2007, and John Messer, an attorney and small business owner who previously worked in the city’s economic development corporation, are both challenging incumbent Toby Stavisky in the September 16 Democratic primary.

Ooh la la, Sasson!

From City Hall:

Isaac Sasson, who placed a very close third in last year’s Democratic primary race to succeed John Liu on the City Council, now has his eyes—and a promise of $1 million of his money—on a new target: Queens State Sen. Toby Stavisky.

Sasson will run as a self-financed Democrat and framed his candidacy around complaints with the budget and frustration with the current “circus” in Albany, stating that Stavisky is part of the problem.

“Stavisky’s been there for years,” Sasson said, during a break from petitioning on Wednesday afternoon. “I want to do the job she’s not doing.”

Sasson has already lined up the support of the State Independence's Party executive committee member from Queens, Michael Niebauer, though whether the state leadership of the Independence Party, which sometime overrules local executive committee members on candidate endorsements, remains unclear. Tom Connolly, vice chairman of the party, said no decisions have yet been made about an endorsement in the race.

Also running is local business owner John A. Messner, a relative political newcomer who spent time working as a speechwriter for former Mayor David Dinkins. Both are up against a woman with deep connections within the Democratic Party and established connections.

Sasson, who won a $13 million lottery jackpot in 2007, said he is willing to spend his own money liberally in the race.

“I will spend whatever is necessary to win,” he said. “Maybe close to $1 million dollars if necessary. Whatever it is, I will do it.”

He is, however, hoping not to fully self-finance, with fundraising events expected as the race unfolds.

Does Chou hate Koo for befriending a Jew?

From City Hall News:

Isaac Sasson, a Sephardic Jewish leader who placed a close third in the primary, has crossed party lines and endorsed Koo. In part, the decision appears motivated by events during the primary.

Last spring, Chou sparked controversy when her campaign stated in a Chinese language newspaper that, according to one translation, “voting for Peter Koo in the General Election instead of voting in [the] Democratic Primary Election is equivalent to indirectly giving the throne to the Jews,” appearing to allude to Sasson.

Chou’s campaign manager, Michael Olmeda, attributed the divisive sound of the statement to translation issues between Chinese and English.

But Terence Park, an influential Democratic leader in the Korean-American community, remains unconvinced. He is also supporting Koo.

“I’m a diehard Democrat and I will be for the rest of my life. But this race is between a competent candidate versus an incompetent candidate,” Park said. “Yen Chou is not seen in the community as a good woman—and that is spreading around the Chinese community like wildfire.”

Council District 20 debate video

From BoroPolitics:

The six Democratic candidates running for the seat — John Choe, Yen Chou, S.J. Jung, Constantine Kavadas, Isaac Sasson and James Wu — duked it out during a forum sponsored by TimesLedger Newspapers, part of the Community Newspaper Group, last Thursday.
Michael Bloomberg for Mayor

An otherwise civil discussion on District 20 issues turned ugly when the candidates were asked about the role of ethnic politics in the race, briefly descending into a screaming match between Kavadas and Sasson, who have each been accused of racism during the campaign.

For more about the elections, visit the Queens Campaigner.

District 20 debate turns into Royal Rumble

From the Queens Campaigner:

It was billed as a debate, but it turned into an airing of dirty laundry.

The six Democratic candidates running for the seat of City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) participated in a candidates’ forum in Flushing Monday night, but what started as a cordial discourse on issues affecting District 20 quickly devolved into a fracas replete with allegations of everything from racism to planted questions.

During the course of the forum, held at Korea Village by Terence Park’s Our Political Coalition, candidates Yen Chou and Isaac Sasson were openly called racists, John Choe was criticized for calling the United States imperialist in a 2006 speech, S.J. Jung was accused of living in another state and Constantine Kavadas erupted against forum panelists whom he accused of asking questions planted by opposing campaigns.

Tomorrow night is round 2 at the Flushing Library! Don't miss it!

A challenging time in the 20th Council District

From the Queens Campaigner:

In the race to replace City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), even getting on the ballot is a battle.

With just under two months until the Democratic primary, 46 objections to candidates’ ballot petitions had been filed with the city Elections Board in the race for Liu’s seat — easily the most for any city race in Queens.

According to board records, as of 3 p.m. Monday all six Democrats and the lone Republican registered for the race had at least four challenges filed against them.

Constantine Kavadas received 10 challenges, S.J. Jung and Isaac Sasson each received seven, James Wu received five and John Choe and Yen Chou each received four. Peter Koo, a Republican, received nine challenges.