Salon.com > Beth Fouhy

NY, NJ officials help displaced residents vote

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:22:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Officials in New York and New Jersey plan to go to considerable lengths Tuesday to ensure victims of Superstorm Sandy can still vote, in some cases shuttling voters to polling stations and allowing residents to cast provisional ballots.

Authorities in both states were guardedly optimistic that most polling places would be open in all but the worst-hit areas. In New Jersey, officials said fewer than 100 polling places in the state were without power compared with 800 sites a few days ago. In New York City, just 60 of the city's 1,350 polling sites remained unusable.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, quote, "compared to what we have had to deal with in the past week, this will be a walk in the park when it comes to voting."

Presidential election hits $2B fundraising mark

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:15:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) — The 2012 presidential campaign passed the $2 billion mark in fundraising Thursday, fueled by an outpouring of cash from both ordinary citizens and the wealthiest Americans hoping to influence the selection of the country's next leader.

The eye-popping figure puts the election on track to be the costliest in modern U.S. history. It comes amid a campaign finance system vastly altered by the proliferation of outside groups and "super" political committees that are bankrolling a barrage of TV ads in battleground states.

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have brought in about $1.7 billion so far this election, according to fundraising reports submitted Thursday night.

Added to that: nearly $300 million in donations involving super PACs since early 2011, as well as tens of millions more in donations to nonprofit groups that run election-related ads but don't have to disclose their donors.

Obama, the Democratic Party and related fundraising committees raised a combined $88.8 million for the first 15 days of October, reports showed, while Romney's fundraising apparatus reaped $111.8 million during the same period.

Jon Huntsman joins GOP presidential scrum

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:50:00 +0000

Calling the condition of America "totally unacceptable," former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is formally entering the 2012 Republican presidential sweepstakes, promising new jobs, energy independence and a simpler tax code.

"For the first time in our history, we are about to pass down to the next generation a country that is less powerful, less compassionate, less competitive and less confident than the one we got," Huntsman says in excerpts of a speech he's giving Tuesday morning as he declares he's joining the race to make Barack Obama a one-term president.

Huntsman is the eighth candidate to officially enter the race, joining former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., former pizza company entrepreneur Herman Cain, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

There has been speculation that Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani might also jump in.

In the excerpts of the announcement speech Huntsman was giving at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, he said he respects Obama, whom he served as ambassador to China, but added that he and the president have "a difference of opinion on how to help the country we both love."

Giuliani visiting New Hampshire next week

Fri, 27 May 2011 20:49:04 +0000

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is heading to New Hampshire next week, stirring further speculation that he may jump into the 2012 Republican presidential field.

Giuliani will spend Thursday in the state, which is scheduled to host the first presidential primary next February. He'll headline a fundraiser for the state Republican Party and have lunch with several GOP activists. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will formally kick off his campaign in New Hampshire the same day.

Giuliani was widely praised for steering New York through the tumultuous days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. He sought the GOP nomination in 2008 but placed a distant fourth the New Hampshire primary that year.

A CNN poll released Friday found Giuliani topping the field of potential GOP candidates.

Sarah Palin holds unscripted interview in New York

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:15:00 +0000

Sarah Palin is still thinking about running for president in 2012. She said there should be no new gun control measures enacted because of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' shooting.

She stood firm in her claim that President Barack Obama's health care reform effort could lead to "death panels." And she poked at first lady Michelle Obama for urging new mothers to breast feed.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska's ex-governor sat for a wide ranging interview Thursday at the annual meeting of the Long Island Association, a business group outside New York.

Palin agreed to an unscripted question and answer session with the association's president, Kevin Law, who pressed her on gun rights, her potential presidential aspirations, her propensity for communicating through Facebook and her role as a contributor on Fox News.

Reporters were permitted inside to cover the New York event, unlike many Palin speaking engagements where reporters have been banned.

It was Palin's first major public appearance since Giffords was critically wounded and six people were killed at an event in her Tucson, Ariz., congressional district. Palin came under withering criticism following the shootings because she had published campaign literature advocating the ouster of Giffords and other House Democrats by placing their districts in the crosshairs of a gun.

Officials fight unlimited campaign spending

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:59:00 +0000

Elected officials from five states who are alarmed by the explosion of campaign spending by corporations, unions and independent groups have formed a coalition aimed at mitigating their influence on elections.

In a conference call Monday, New York City Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio announced the formation of the Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is a founding member, as are Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord; North Carolina Treasurer Janet Cowell; New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli; and Los Angeles Controller Wendy Greuel.

All are Democrats, except Greuel, whose office is officially nonpartisan. Both Quinn and DiNapoli are seeking re-election this year.

The group was formed in response to the Supreme Court ruling in January last allowed corporations, unions and other groups to spend freely on campaign ads, often without disclosing the source of their donations. Campaign spending by outside groups has surged since then, with money favoring Republicans over Democrats by a margin of 6-to-1.

In June, the House passed legislation that would have required such groups to disclose donor names and to personally approve of the content of their advertising, just as candidates are required to do. But the measure failed to advance in the Senate.

Charlie Rangel survives his primary scare

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 05:07:00 +0000

Embattled Rep. Charles Rangel prevailed in a crowded Democratic primary Tuesday, with voters in his New York City district signaling they are willing to stand by the 40-year House veteran despite more than a dozen ethics charges pending against him.

Rangel beat back five challengers including Adam Clayton Powell IV, a state assemblyman and son of the legendary Harlem figure Rangel defeated in 1970. Rangel is all but guaranteed re-election in November in this heavily Democratic district.

With 83 percent of precincts reporting, Rangel had 52 percent to 24 percent for Powell, his nearest competitor.

"I'm going back to Washington with such pride," Rangel told supporters at a gathering in Harlem as returns came in and it appeared he was on his way to winning. "This isn't a win for Charlie Rangel. This is our community's win."

It was the first time Rangel, 80, has faced voters since a House ethics panel charged him with 13 violations last summer. Rangel has vigorously fought the charges despite pleas from some Democrats, including President Barack Obama, that he consider stepping aside.

Protesters support Park51 on 9/11

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:05:00 +0000

Demonstrators have begun to gather in support of an Islamic center that's generating controversy because it's two blocks from ground zero.

The names of all the people killed at the World Trade Center site were read aloud at a three-hour ceremony Saturday on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

There were no protests at the ceremony, but some readers alluded to the emotional debate about the planned Islamic center and mosque.

Another rally is planned nearby, where organizers say they will speak out against the project. They believe it is insensitive to build a mosque so close to where Islamic extremists attacked the city.

Supporters say it is a matter of religious freedom and bridging understanding.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Family members of Sept. 11 victims recited loved ones' names through tears on the ninth anniversary of the attacks Saturday, avoiding direct mention of the political furor centered two blocks from ground zero. The city braced for protests over the mosque planned there as elected officials pleaded for religious tolerance.

NYC panel clears way for prayer center near ground zero

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:56:00 +0000

A city panel Tuesday cleared the way for the construction near ground zero of a mosque that has caused a political uproar over religious freedom and Sept. 11 even as opponents vowed to press their case in court.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to deny landmark status to a building two blocks from the World Trade Center site that developers want to tear down and convert into an Islamic community center and mosque. The panel said the 152-year-old lower Manhattan building isn't distinctive enough to be considered a landmark.

The decision drew praise from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who stepped before cameras on Governor's Island with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop shortly after the panel voted and called the mosque project a key test of Americans' commitment to religious freedom.

"The World Trade Center site will forever hold a special place in our city, in our hearts," said Bloomberg, a Republican turned independent. "But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves, and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans, if we said no to a mosque in lower Manhattan."