1:17 pm May. 21, 2012
Chris Bragg confirmed something I'd been hearing today: The Liberal Party held its candidate-interview meetings inside the office of Manhattan Media, whose owner, Tom Allon, is running for mayor as their "nominee."
I use the scare-quotes because the nomination is somewhat academic; the Liberal Party no longer has a ballot line or any deliverable membership to speak of, so the only advantage Allon gains by having their support is that he can put the words "Liberal Party" on his literature, which perhaps will ring a bell for some older voters.
Bragg, reporting (perfectly fairly, as far as I can tell) on the guy who runs the company that owns his paper, City & State, notes the meeting was held in "the place where Allon’s weekly newspapers hold candidate interviews."
From Bragg's report:
In response, Allon said that Martin Hassner, the executive director of the Liberal Party, ran the entire process and that he was not involved in the meetings. Allon also said that Hassner rented out the Manhattan Media facilities and paid market rate for them. Hassner has not yet returned a request for comment.
Other media outlets with awkwardly close relationships to active campaigns: the Queens Tribune, which runs a consulting and printing business out of their offices, which are also used by local politicians; Manhattan Times, whose founder is also an adviser to Adriano Espaillat.
