Blake Zeff

A pamphlet advertising the “National Center for Suburban Studies” was among the souvenirs Hofstra University distributed to reporters covering the final 2008 presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain on Oct. 15. The pamphlet’s back cover consisted of green-tinted cars commuting in heavy traffic. Travelers attending the debate from the city encountered a sign on the Northern State Parkway that read “Pres Debate at Hofstra U. Expect Delays.”

The most eventful and dramatic presidential campaign in living memory had its last confrontation in a part of the world known mostly for its traffic problems.

“It is odd when events like this come to Long Island,” said Dee Snider, a Long Island native and the former frontman of Twisted Sister.  read more »

Blake Zeff, a former spokesman for Hillary Clinton, will be the new director of communications in New York for Barack Obama, effective today.

Zeff, who confirmed the move, was part of the muscular press office Clinton assembled from veterans of Chuck Schumer's legendary communications operation, but unlike Howard Wolfson or Phil Singer, Zeff stayed mostly below the radar. Since Clinton dropped out of the race he he has remained well-liked and highly regarded by the Obama campaign.

He's especially valued for his knowledge of the New York press corps, an expertise he gained working for Schumer from 2002 to 2005 and then as the communications director state Democratic party in 2006. In the interim between the two campaigns he helped Schumer with his book about how to win back the middle class.

I just got off a somewhat contentious conference call with Hillary Clinton surrogates for New York reporters , who proved somewhat resistant to the pro-Hillary Clinton message coming from Chuck Schumer.

Referring to her primary win in New York yesterday, Schumer told reporters, “This was all Hillary. There was no big party machine in operation. There was no, you know, kind of things like that. It was Hillary.”

I asked him to explain that, given that virtually the entire party establishment was in her corner.  read more »

Hillary Clinton’s "national town hall" in New York on Monday will air on the Hallmark channel in the 22 states voting on February 5th.

On a conference call with reporters just now, campaign spokesman Blake Zeff said it was the “culmination” of the technological outreach they’ve employed since the campaign began.  read more »

So how is Hillary going to run up the score this year?

The spokesman for the State Democratic Party, Blake Zeff, confirmed to me that they're rolling out a nascent field program called "Neighborhood Network," under which volunteers around the state focus on bringing around their own communities in a kind of neighbor-to-neighbor, Amway-style political marketing most recently associated with, say, the Bush campaign in Ohio.

So far, the volunteers are on the phone to Democrats in their areas, asking about their concerns. But asking people to convince their neighbors is the new-new-thing in political organizing, after the whole college-kid-with-PDA thing didn't work out so well for the Democrats in 2004.

Running the program is a longtime organizer named Kenny Diggs, who ran the field operations for the labor-backed Voices for Working Families.

This Friday’s brief edition of this not-so-regular feature brings you Blake Zeff, a former Chuck Schumer press guy who is now the prolific spokesman for the New York State Democratic Party.

BENOBSERVER: So I theorized in the paper this week that you’re part of a plot to make John Spencer the GOP Senate nominee. Confess! ZEFF: yes, and john spencer theorized that we’re part of a plot to make KT McFarland the candidate ZEFF: so many plots, so little time ZEFF: what’s a man to do? BENOBSERVER: you got in a "million little pieces" reference the other day, amid the tide of press releases. BENOBSERVER: had you actually read the book? ZEFF: sadly no ZEFF: the original plan was to release a list of top ten things kt mcfarland did not write ZEFF: "a million little pieces" ZEFF: the SNL "lazy sunday" rap ZEFF: and of course, the "star wars" speech ZEFF: i think the seinfeld "puffy shirt" episode was in there, as well BENOBSERVER: did it get vetoed ZEFF: nah, i had to focus on a john sweeney corruption release and then bill weld flip-flopped again ZEFF: so i had to get on that BENOBSERVER: a hard life you have ZEFF: (i should specify that was rep. john sweeney, not the labor leader) BENOBSERVER: do you feel that having worked in Chuck Schumer’s press office, you’ve become his clone? ZEFF: physically? BENOBSERVER: mentally. there’s a theory that young chuck aides become chuck. You, Stu, Josh Isay, all the many others. All body-snatched. ZEFF: don’t forget rodney ZEFF: yeah there’s definitely a familial bond all schumer staffers share ZEFF: i still get mistaken for anthony weiner from time to time

The Politicker hears that Blake Zeff, formerly of Chuck's office, has started work as the new press secretary for the New York State Democratic Party.

A clear sign that the party is gearing up for ... one of these elections or the other.  read more »

UPDATE: Also, a reader notes that three of the communications staffers on the Mayor's race -- Zeff, Bloomberg aide Stu Loeser, and Ferrer press secretary Christy Setzer -- all worked together for the ubiquitous Chuck.