Personality
Bochinche & Buzz: Can a Republican beat Bill de Blasio?
Now that “Lucky Bill” – aka New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio – will not face criminal charges and his potential credible challengers – aka “chickenshit Dems” – will likely sit out the 2017 race, we contacted four Republican bochincheros and asked: Is there any Republican that can take on the mayor in November?
“Nope,” one bochinchero responded. “If all the registered Republicans came out to vote and only 30 percent of the Democrats came out to vote and they voted for their respective candidate, BdB would win by 10 points. Game over.”
It ain’t over till it’s over, but suddenly the road to City Hall looks pretty clear for Teflon Bill.
RELATED: How an attorney's advice helped clear Bill de Blasio.
Political musical sillas in Da Bronx
This is the way it’s going down in the Boogie Down county: According to “el bochinchero major” in the borough, state Sen. Rubén Díaz Sr. will announce his candidacy in April for the New York City Council seat currently held by Annabel Palma, who is term-limited. Stay with me here. Assemblyman Luis Sepúlveda will then run for Díaz’s seat (assuming the polemic politico wins his Council race). If Sepúlveda wins – and he has the backing of Díaz – that will leave his Assembly seat open. Here’s where it gets tricky for Annabel Palma. She has to decide if she runs against Sepúlveda for state Senate, as is rumored, or backs him and, in turn, gets the support from the Bronx machine, including both Díaz and Sepúlveda, to run for Sepúlveda’s Assembly seat. I asked the bochinchero what will happen if she flips the bird to the machine and runs for state Senate? “It would be wise for Annabel to go with the flow. If she doesn’t she’ll have a lot of headaches.” Oh my!
Cuomo considering Barron for mayor?
Key supporters of Assemblyman Charles Barron are lukewarm on the notion that he should take a shot at challenging de Blasio in a Democratic primary. But, an insider bochinchero has told B&B that the outspoken Brooklyn activist político has piqued the interest of the state Democratic Party. At least one conversation has taken place between a top Cuomo operative and Barron about whether he will take the plunge. Could it be that the guv wants Barron off his case and on the ass of his City Hall nemesis? Tell me this doesn't make you salivate. Talk about political opposites joining forces. You never know ...
He’s gone, but doesn't know it ...
A bochinchero shared with me this info about CUNY Chancellor James Milliken about five weeks ago: “It’s a matter of the timing, but Milliken is gone. He just doesn’t know it.” The buzz about Milliken’s imminent sacking has only grown louder since then. In separate casual conversations with well-connected bochincheros, B&B has been told that the head of the country’s largest urban university system doesn’t fit Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s agenda. “Milliken’s not his guy. It’s as simple as that,” one of the bochincheros said. B&B was not able to get the exact timing of the forced adiós for the chancellor, but Bill Thompson, Cuomo’s handpicked chairman of the CUNY board of trustees, might already be on the lookout for Milliken’s replacement: “His days are numbered. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill already has a search committee chosen.”
Gerson Borrero's weekly column appears in the print edition of City & State. You can subscribe now to get it mailed directly to you.