As Quinn eyes paid sick leave, Bloomberg eyes Quinn

Briefing: Quinn and Bloomberg. Spencer T. Tucker via flickr

8:23 am Aug. 6, 20121Add a comment

A shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin coincided yesterday with a new ad from Michael Bloomberg's gun-control coalition that puts pressure on Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to articulate plans to fight the proliferation of illegal guns.

But the big topic in city politics at the moment is an ongoing fight over legislation requiring paid sick days. The measure has strong support from organized labor and is strongly opposed by the mayor and the city's business establishment.

In between, taking a characteristic non-position on the controversial issue, is Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has said she supports paid sick leave in principle but thinks it's too early to move the bill.

Activists are making a renewed push to pressure Quinn into bring it up for a vote.

The Times is the only major daily paper whose editorial page supports it; they urge Quinn to act, and to pressure Andrew Cuomo to do so on the state level.

Related: Sources tell Post City Hall bureau chief Dave Seifman that "there's been a bit of a cooling off" in Michael Bloomberg's enthusiasm for Quinn as his potential successor, which sounds both like a warning and a plausible statement of fact.

Quote

"Somebody needs to stand up to NYT"--@RupertMurdoch

Events

11 a.m. Governor Andrew Cuomo tours the ReEnergy Coal Plant at Euphrates River Valley Road and Oneida Street in Fort Drum.

11 a.m. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a Q&A after he opens a renovated Rockaway Park at Beach 30th Street between Seagirt Avenue and the beach.

2012

Michael Bloomberg's ad urging Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to detail their plan to curb gun violence debuted hours before a gunman opened fire and killed six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. [Sally Goldenberg]

Obama's burn rate is historic. [Nicholas Confessore and Jo Craven McGinty]

"Obama has gone so negative, there’s room to accentuate the positive, and run as the candidate of (right-of-center) hope and change." [Ross Douthat]

Harry Reid's unproven but repeated claim that Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes for a decade goes too far. [Frank Bruni]

Romney is playing catchup in Nevada. [Jack Healy]

Rudy Giuliani skipped a Southampton Hospital gala to campaign with Romney. [Page Six]

NY-26

The district is diverse demographically and socioeconomically. [Kathleen Ronayne]

SD-31

Guillermo Linares is not returning a $2,500 donation he got in 2009 from a man convicted of stealing prescription drugs since that particular Linares committee is no longer active. [Michael Gartland]

SD-62

Incumbent George Maziarz was accused of "corruption" by Tea Party critics and his Democratic opponent, Amy Hope Witryol. She goes to court tomorrow accusing Maziarz of using a stalking-horse candidate in the Working Families and Green Party primaries. [Thomas Prohaska]

Polls

Washington Post and Wall Street Journal poll-takers hang up if cell phone participants say they also have a landline. The Times and Pew Center do not. [John Harwood]

2013

City Council Speaker Christine is out of step with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and will now have to work harder for his endorsement. [David Seifman]

Quinn should not only pass the Paid Sick legislation, but urge Governor Andrew Cuomo to also. [New York Times]

"Somebody needs to stand up to NYT which today editorialises strongly for absurd city council actions which will truly hurt small businesses." [@RupertMurdoch]

The idea "sounds reasonable" but would be "horrible". [@RupertMurdoch]

More from Murdoch's tabloid editorial page: The Living Wage and Prevailing Wage bills in the City Council are a "war on jobs." [New York Post]

Mort Zuckerman's tabloid editorial page isn't far off: The compromised Paid Sick legislation "implicitly recognizes the truth that many small businesses haven't the wherewithal to bear the costs." [Daily News]

The Working Families Party and MoveOn.org plus others will "target half a million New Yorkers by email Monday asking them to push Quinn to allow a vote" on the Paid Sick legislation. More than 100,000 prime Dem voters will also get a knock on their door, alerting them to Quinn's position on the bill. [Erin Durkin]

City Comptroller John Liu pushed out a 2005 Bill Thompson holdover, Jeffrey Elmer, after Liu's office lost a wage fight in court. [Carl Campanile]

City Hall

The NYPD sent officers to Sikh temples after a gunman killed six in Sikh temple Wisconsin. The relative of a Richmond Hills, Queens man was among the fallen. [Kate Kowsh and Kevin Sheehan]

Forty years after Serpico, the head of the Knapp Commission said corruption in the NYPD isn't as bad as it used to be. [Phil Messing]

Albany

A former Pataki administration official owns AndrewCuomo2016.com, AndrewCuomo2014.com, Cuomo2014.com, AndrewCuomo2010.com, and Cuomo2010.com. [Annie Karni]

"Cuomo touts Adk land deal similar to 1 that outraged NYPost's Dicker in 2010." [@Sarbetter]

Cuomo and State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli are looking over plans to create a "super control board" to take over broke municipalities. [Fred Dicker]

More praise for State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's effort to crack down on prescription drug abuse. [Journal News]

State Senator Tom Libous owns rental homes in Florida with "a friend and campaign contributor Luciano Piccirilli" but he won't say where and the paperwork is hard to find. [Jacob Gershman]

A state senator who retired in 2010 spent $20,000 in leftover campaign cash this year. [Jessica Bakerman]

Did the State Senate find a way to fund $31 million in member items through the Dormitory Authority? State Senators Bill Perkins, Liz Kruger, Malcolm Smith Jeff Klein and John DeFrancisco got programs in their districts funded. [Candice Giove]

State Senator Michael Gianaris has a bill to limit handgun purchases to one per person per month. [Ken Lovett]

NYPIRG's Russ Haven speaks out against the check-cashing industry which wants to make loans "several times over the state usury cap." [Winnie Hu]

The Port Authority is sending undercover agents to bars in order to catch construction workers drinking on their lunch break. [Josh Margolin]

Local

A Harlem bowling alley whose 2006 ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Bill Clinton is closing. [Chris Palmer]

Rep. Nydia Velazquez tries getting revenge on Brooklyn Democratic leader Vito Lopez by working to oust his ally, State Senator Martin Dilan. [Carl Campanile]

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