IP

WARNING: If you find accounts of the perpetual feuding within the Independence Party to be boring and incomprehensible, do not read any further.

The state Independence Party organization has taken the unusual step of forming a three-member panel (sound familiar?) to investigate the party's county organizations and see if their rosters contain phantom party members. (This, according to IP member Frank Morano, who is perhaps best known in NY political circles for an ostensibly earnest effort to draft Lindsay Lohan into politics.)

State party rules require a certain number of active members to be on a county organization's committee in order for it to have the power to endorse candidates and function autonomously. Morano said that he and others suspect some organizations have on their committees people who never asked to be there, people who moved out of state and others who are ineligible to serve.

The members of this new panel include Tom Connolly, who chairs the Rensselaer County organization, state party secretary Bill Bogart and Morano.

All three are loyalists of state chairman, Frank MacKay, who is in a protracted fight with Lenora Fulani and others in the party.

For those of you who could benefit from a quick review: MacKay says that Fulani is a racist and her followers are under the spell of a cult led by pseudo-psychologist Fred Newman, while Fulani and her people say that MacKay is a racist and a pawn of the Democratic and Republican Parties.

Imagine those IP holiday parties!

-- Azi Paybarah

George Pataki will tour the capitol because, astonishingly, he hasn't seen enough of the place yet.

When Pataki leaves, some transportation upgrades won't be finished.

Ben challenges an aspect of today's Times story on Basil and David Paterson.

A lot of tourists have come to New York.

The lawyer monitoring the Independence Party's reorganization in Westchester will cost the IP $350 per hour.

Mystery Pollster looks at President Ford's approval ratings.

Amy Taylor on DMIblog wonders, purposefully, if workplace raids "are part of a larger conservative agenda aimed at creating a climate of fear to undermine union organizing efforts."

Greg Sargent sticks stubbornly to the notion that the war in Iraq doesn't help President Bush.

The Economist measures your happiness.

And pictured above is Mike Bloomberg with a very small bridge.

-- Azi Paybarah

One of only two special elections slated to take place next year will be for the Staten Island City Council seat being vacated by Republican Andrew Lanza, who is going to the state Senate.

As it stands, the field is expected to include Assemblyman Vincent Ignizio, who ran on the Republican, Independence and Conservative Party lines, and his challenger from 2004, Democrat Manny Innamorato, who has the backing of the county organization.

One possible wild card that could have benefited the Democrats has just been removed: Frank Morano, an Independence Party activist who is embroiled in a court battle with allies of Lenora Fulani, announced that he isn't running, which should clear the way for Ignizio to win the IP line.

So unless I'm mistaken, the only way this race gets competitive is if something wacky happens with the off-year turnout.

Anything I'm missing?

-- Azi Paybarah

UPDATE: As the comment section so helpfully reminded me, this special election will not be partisan. But, as this reader noted, party politics is still very much a factor:

"The only monkey-wrench in the race could be if SI BP Jim Molinaro chooses to support a Conservative Party member in the race due to a chasm between himself and the Fossella/Lanza/Ignizio group. One possible candidate is Anthony Liccardello who recently resigned from the Mayor's Community Assistance Unit to scope-out a run."

The race to fill the Staten Island City Council seat being vacated by Andrew Lanza, who is going to the state Senate, is shrinking before it really grows.

Independence Party activist Frank Morano announced he will not be a candidate in next year's special election for that seat, saying the ongoing court battle over control of the IP is taking up too much time.

In an email sent to supporters, Morano said, "First, I'm currently in the midst of a complicated court battle for the heart and soul of the Independence Party of Staten Island. If I were to run for any office at this point, it would be a distraction that could potentially lead to our borough's best hope for long-term political reform in the hands of divisive, controversial extremists who would undo the great work that so many of us have done."

He went on to endorse "Assemblyman Vincent Ignizio" who Morano called "a dear friend and someone who I trust enormously. "

"So, while I won't be a candidate for City Council this year, I'm incredibly excited about the upcoming election where I'll be campaigning hard for Vincent Ignizio."

Also running for that seat is Manny Innamorato, who announced his candidacy on Saturday.

Anybody else running for that seat?

-- Azi Paybarah

The state's Independence Party has had enough distractions and internal fighting this year to make them look more like a circus and less like the New York's largest minor party.

They might be hard to take seriously at all -- if it weren't for term limits. It's an issue where their procedure-orientated agenda dovetails neatly with voter pessimism, giving them a weird relevance even as their other issues - internal fights, alleged anti-Semitism -- turn people away.

Yesterday, the IP chairman of Staten Island, Frank Morano, sent Christine Quinn a lengthy letter asking her not to yield to the growing pressure from her constituents on the city council by changing term limits.

"It's been such a disappointment to scores of New Yorkers all over the city that you seem to be entertaining the idea of tinkering with our city's Term Limits law. I'd like to urge you not to do so."

It's only an early shot across the bow, and nothing compared to what billionaire term-limits advocate Ron Lauder (or Mike Bloomberg, for that matter) may do if and when Quinn tries to pass new legislation on the matter or put it on the ballot. But still, it's worth marking an occasion where the Independence Party may be more in tune with average voters than the elected council.

-- Azi Paybarah

Among the Bloomberg supporters headed for the Apollo tonight is none other than...Lenora Fulani. Ms. Fulani will hold an informational picket with members of the "Bloomberg on C" coalition (read: Independent Party types).

For any of you hoping Mike could still make a surprise appearance at this debate...she's the last nail in the coffin.

And Fulani is not the only IP'er rushing into the mayor's Apollo debacle. Azi writes in, sharing some snippets from an ad on page 11 of The Amsterdam News. The text is attributed to Jesse Fields, IP candidate for Manhattan BP:

"I don't care whether there's a debate in Harlem or not. I don't care whether Democrat Freddy Ferrer and Conservative Tom Ognibene debate without the mayor," the ad reads. "I do care whether those who claim to represent our interests are really doing something to help the people."

And it continues...

"[Mike Bloomberg] even gave a personal gift to support the Apollo, which the Democrats spent years running into the ground."  read more »

Three cheers for personal gifts!

Did the dog eat the Attorney General's homework? And his email? And his telephone, too?

In this week's Observer, I wrote an article about Lenora Fulani's hold on local pols who are courting Independence Party endorsements. Ms. Fulani, a controversial lieutenant of the IP, has been accused of child abuse. Eliot Spitzer promised to look into the allegations, after an initial prodding from the Post. Then Virginia demanded that Mike investigate, too, and Mike fired back, saying that Eliot was perfectly capable of handling the matter.

Meanwhile, no one has even bothered to contact Ms. Fulani's accuser. Molly Hardy, a Los Angeles playwright, filed her complaint over the winter, and she still hasn't heard a peep in response.

According to an automated email receipt, the AG's office received Molly's missive on Monday, January 17th at 02:32:13 (24-hour clock, EST).

"It was a little bit awkward in that Molly sent an email to our office back in January. That email sort of got misplaced, waylaid, lost, whatever. I don't know what happened," explained Darren Dopp, an AG spokesman, last week. "Long story short, her email found its way to us again just recently. We have it now and we are trying to follow up."

But it's tough to call California. They're three hours behind us, for crying out loud!  read more »

"Not a word," Molly reported yesterday, via email. "And I even sent another email to them a couple of weeks ago saying, 'I understand you want to contact me but don't know how...here's my email and info.' Nothing."

As of this posting, Molly has been waiting by the phone for 5 months, 21 days, 7 hours, 7 minutes, and 47 seconds. Let's see how long it takes.

Mike must take secret pride in those editorial scoldings he gets every time he doles out the praise for the Independence Party, whose storied history you must be familiar with by now.

Independence Party spokeswoman Sarah Lyons tells us that the Mayor, along with one Jeanine Pirro, will be special guests at an IP event this Sunday.  read more »

"Both will be speaking, along with a host of IP leaders, at a gathering of 150 party members and activists at City Hall Restaurant for the party's Annual Spring Chair Reception, Sunday June 5th from 2:00 - 4:00 pm," she emails.

This is also a footnote to the developing GOP Senate nomination fight: Pirro's beleaguered husband, Al, recently told a Westchester reporter that he is joining the Independence Party, while her rival, Ed Cox, seems to have a better shot with the Conservatives.