NY Observer > Ray Kelly

Kelly 'Deeply Flattered' By Mayoral Speculation

Katharine Jose — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:22:20 -0400

From superintern Bharat Ayyar:

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was a guest on last night's Nachum Segal Show, which was hosted by Zalman "ZK" Koppel and Councilman Simcha Felder, who is also running for State Senate. When Felder brought up the recent Quinnipiac poll that showed Kelly was the most popular candidate for mayor (that is, aside from term-limited Michael Bloomberg), Kelly called the result "flattering," but said he was too focused on his job to think about a run for office.
Felder also brought some of his staff, who he said had all acquired a taste for Jewish music, along to the show. read more »

Poll: Mayor Tops 2009 Mayoral Field

Azi Paybarah — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:26:47 -0400

Thirty-eight percent of New Yorkers polled by Quinnipiac want to see Michael Bloomberg elected mayor again in 2009.

Which will help fuel rumors that he may somehow work to overturn the term limits that currently prevent him from seeking the position a third time.

Since it's fairly unlikely Bloomberg could do that, here's how the other 2009 mayoral candidates did.

Overall:
12% Ray Kelly
11% Marty Markowitz
10 % Anthony Weiner
7% Bill Thompson and Christine Quinn
4% Betsy Gotbaum

Among Democrats only:

12% Markowitz
11% Weiner
10% Quinn
8% Thompson

Among independent voters, Markowitz, Kelly and Weiner each took 12 percent.

Ray Kelly Makes the Rounds Some More

Azi Paybarah — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:32:51 -0400

This Thursday, Ray Kelly will be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Jewish Community Relations Council, a major citywide nonprofit that holds events considered 'must attends' for elected officials and those aspiring to be elected.

Kelly has a made a habit out of appearing in front of politically minded groups and rubbing elbows at fancy political events, fueling speculation that he is thinking about running for mayor in 2009. (It's a little Sheekey-esque).

As the reader who forwarded the invitation to me asked, "Is he running?"

Read the email after the jump. read more »

Molinari on Giuliani for Governor (Yes), Mayor (No)

Azi Paybarah — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:58:19 -0400

The speculation that Rudy Giuliani might try to run for governor in 2010 has one of his earliest supporters pretty excited. read more »

Kelly Makes the Rounds

Azi Paybarah — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:05:45 -0400

Ray Kelly, who tops today’s Quinnipiac poll of possible mayoral candidates, is pictured here during a visit yesterday with Jewish leaders in Williamsburg—something that many who are pondering elected office do at some point.

The picture was e-mailed to reporters by Yoel Lefkowitz, a political operative and member of the Jewish community who seems pleased to be among the courted. read more »

Kelly Narrowly Leads Field of Mayoral Candidates

Azi Paybarah — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:04:57 -0400

Despite the recent acquittal of the three police officers on trial for the death of Sean Bell, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly still leads the pack of potential mayoral contenders, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

That seems in part due to his name recognition and in part because most voters probably aren't thinking about a race that's still a year and a half away. Considering also that most candidates haven't even declared, the significance of the results are limited. read more »

Obama's Interest in Rail Travel

Jason Horowitz — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:30:38 -0400

Today, Barack Obama decided to meet with an Amtrak worker and talk about expanding and improving rail service. The timing is not an accident.

He is alone among the presidential candidates in not advocating a cut in gas taxes over the summer, a stance for which he received an extremely rare bit of (conditional) praise from Paul Krugman, but for which he was attacked by his opponents. read more »

Ruben Diaz on Sean Bell Verdict

Azi Paybarah — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:25:35 -0400

Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, Jr. told me just now, "Once again it's a travesty of the judicial system where it seems like this verdict is going to have black and Latino communities feel like the system works for some but not for all."

"What do we do now? What do we do now? What now?" Diaz asked rhetorically. read more »

Ray Kelly to Steve Roth, James Dolan: Put Up That Wall!

Lysandra Ohrstrom — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:45:05 -0400

WNBC.com got hold of a March 25 letter from Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to Madison Square Garden Chairman James Dolan, Vornado Realty chief executive Steve Roth, and the heads of the M.T.A. and Amtrak, faulting the parties for holding up the installation of a security perimeter around Penn Station to protect what he called “the single most critical transit hub in the United States” from terrorist attacks. read more »

Poll: Ray Kelly Favored Among Likely Mayoral Candidates

Katharine Jose — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:43:02 -0400

A Quinnipiac poll released this morning finds that, among possible mayoral candidates, Ray Kelly is favored by 22 percent of respondents. He's followed, in order, by Anthony Weiner, Marty Markowitz, Christine Quinn, Betsy Gotbaum and Bill Thompson.

Polls at this stage in an election cycle should be taken with a massive grain of salt (as in, many of these candidates haven't officially declared they are going to run for mayor yet, and Betsy Gotbaum has said she won't run), but it seems to say something, at least, about Kelly's potential if he ever chose to get in. Also, although the poll was taken without listing party affiliations for the candidates, it is expected that Kelly would run as a Republican.

More of the release after the jump. read more »