The City Council has some questions for the Board of Elections
Briefing: Espaillat. Marisol Diaz via Riverdale Press
9:10 am Aug. 8, 2012
The oversight hearing in the Council Chambers this afternoon should be an unusually passionate one, as City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and others ask New York City Board of Elections officials how they recorded exactly zero votes in dozens of election districts in Northern Manhattan during the NY-13 congressional primary.
The Daily News editorial board, in addressing the flawed system, cites the example of Rep. Eliot Engel losing an electoral district 31-0, most likely because the board inaccurately printed the ballot, causing votes cast for him to be counted for his little-known opponent.
The meeting will be streamed live and will devolve, at some point, into a very technical conversation. But not before the board's position--that it's impossible to count votes quickly and accurately--is challenged.
Also: Former mayor Ed Koch, a supporter of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, said he supports the Paid Sick legislation in the New York City Council. [NY1]
Quote
"My son voted absentee, and his ballot was probably counted against me."-- Rep. Eliot Engel
Events
Andrew Cuomo is "in the New York City area."
Noon. City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, State Senator Adriano Espaillat and others discuss vote-counting reforms, on the steps of City Hall.
1 p.m. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Councilwoman Gale Brewer, Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh, State Senator Adriano Espaillat and others host an oversight hearing on the New York City Board of Elections' vote-counting procedures in the Council Chambers at City Hall. [Live streaming here.]
1:30 p.m. Michael Bloomberg has a Q&A after making an announcement at 55 Broadway at Exchange Place in Manhattan.
3 p.m. Bloomberg signs a bill related to the plumbing code at City Hall.
8 p.m. Reshma Saujani and others host a candlelight vigil in honor of the victims in the Sikh temple shooting at Union Square North in Manhattan.
2012
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will attend the Alfred E. Smith dinner this October. [Sharon Otterman]
Taxpayer-funded White House videographers make videos that look campaign-y. [Phillip Swarts]
There's a problem with Romney's mailing list, as a letter to D.N.C. committeeman Robert Zimmerman demonstrates. [Page Six]
There was a 17 percent spike in gun sales in Virginia after the state got rid of their limit on the number of firearms that can be purchased. [Steve Contorno]
NY-06
Republican Dan Halloran is looking to get on the Libertarian Party line. Democrat Grace Meng's spokesman pounces. [Lisa Colangelo]
SD-27
"[David] Storobin is looking for a scapegoat," said the Republican Party chairman of Brooklyn. [Oren Yanv and Celeste Katz]
2013
Supporters of the Paid Sick legislation are considering asking prominent LGBT activists--a core constituency of Council Speaker Christine Quinn--to pressure her into moving the legislation. [Sally Goldenberg]
More on why the Paid Sick bill, which has 36 sponsors, is not yet being voted on. [Michael Howard Saul]
"Quinn is no Bill Clinton when it comes to triangulation." [Michael Goodwin]
City Council
City Council members Brad Lander, Steven Levin and Margaret Chin aim to expand the Brooklyn Bridge walkway. [Jennifer Fermino]
Albany
Headline: "Investigator may have been intimidated by District Attorney Janet DiFiore." [Jorge Fitz-Gibbon and Jonathan Bandler]
Cuomo will only attend the last day of the Democratic National Convention. [Thomas Kaplan]
As Cuomo crafts a control board plan for ailing municipalities, he needs to make better use of Robert Duffy, the former Rochester mayor and current lieutenant governor. [Democrat and Chronicle]
Cuomo is cheered for cracking down on synthetic pot and bath salts. [Daily News]
Republican state senate leader Dean Skelos said he agreed with Cuomo about the need to pass tougher gun control laws. [Carl Campanile]
Cuomo is seeking a "consensus" on gun legislation. [Erin Durkin and Ken Lovett]
Fraud uncovered by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli in pre-school special education should prompt action by the state legislature. [New York Times]
Former governor David Paterson will provide advice about investigations and risk management to construction companies, now that he's chairman of Icon Group Compliance Services. His pay is unknown. [Ken Lovett]
Media
A longtime CBS reporter complains about media conglomerates. [Dan Rather]
"King Lee," a comedy based on the real life of a corrupt former Syracuse mayor, is now being filmed. [John O'Brien]
From Capital
What's the difference between Harry Reid and a birther, actually? [Blake Zeff]
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