Bloomberg always touts the idea of running the city like a business as his strength. Well, one can certainly argue whether running things like schools and hospitals on a business model makes any sense at all, but even if you buy into that premise, in what way is hiring someone with no experience for a job good business sense?

Bloomberg has always made it amply clear that he doesn't care at all about Public Education in NYC. All he has done is increased testing, often awarding the expensive contracts for this testing to out of state buddies, thus draining money from NYC itself, and has done nothing to improve class size. Objective test scores have shown that NYC has in no way improved more than surrounding districts which didn't "benefit" from Bloomberg's "reforms," thus showing Bloomberg's reforms have made NO IMPACT AT ALL on education in NYC, but rather have merely concentrated yet more power into Bloomberg's hands and allowed him more options for awarding paid positions to his cronies. And then he blames the problems on teachers rather than take responsibility for the failure of his own so-called reforms.  read more »

This was sent to me by Lambda Independent Democrats:

If you're curious about the future of grassroots organizing, down-ballot online politics, or the next crop of Brooklyn progressives - join us!

Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn is partnering with New Kings Democrats for a panel discussion about just how these Brooklyn street fighters took on machine boss Vito Lopez - and won.

Hear (newly elected) District Leader Lincoln Restler, Campaign Manager Sarah Baker and Field Director Chris McCreight. They will explain what precise mix of new media and old-school canvassing techniques worked - and what grassroots campaigners can learn from their experience.

When: Friday, Nov. 12th, 6pm

Where: Spike Hill, 184 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Take the L Train to Bedford Ave.
RSVP at www.actblue.com/page/newkings

In the aftermath of the election l almost forgot this was coming up!

The November meeting of Central Brooklyn Eating Liberally will be TODAY,
Tuesday, November 9th at 7 PM at Born Thai, 293 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn NY 11217, Phone: (347) 663-3674

The very first meeting of Central Brooklyn Eating Liberally was at
Born Thai and it was among our favorite restaurants. So we are happy
to get back to it. This month we can discuss the elections, including
the fact that it looks like Greens have now achieved ballot access
and presents an alternative to Working Families Party for progressives
who want to vote on a line other than Dem. We can also discuss if we
want to stick with the current cycle of restaurants in the Prospect
Heights area or if we want to expand our field (I am eying restaurants
in the Gowanus and South Slope areas which we can add on).

See you Tuesday! These Eating Liberally meetings have been proving
to be a valuable connection among Progressives in Brooklyn and the
more we get coming, the more we can collaborate.

Maybe the third time will be the charm: on Tuesday, New York City voters approved, again overwhelmingly, term limits for City elected officials.

The vote became necessary after not one but two prior referenda - in 1993 and 1996 - had been overturned by a vote of the City Council, goaded along by gentle prodding from the mayor's office. Conveniently enough, the law was changed just in time to allow said mayor to run for a third term.

It really was as if the political class had said to the voters 'yes, we know you wanted that thing, but are you sure you still want that thing?'

So, just to be clear: yes, we do want that thing.

To find your polling place, click here.

In New York City, once you've filled out the front of your paper ballot, turn it around and vote Yes or No on the two questions sneakily hidden on the back of the ballot. The Times has a rundown on what these questions are about here. Or check out Citizens Union's take here.

For last-minute volunteer opportunities, check out Organizing for America's page.

If you encounter problems at your polling place or suspect irregularities, call the DNC's voter protection hotline at 800-311-VOTE. If you're on Twitter, retweet that phone number here.

If you need to find your local Democratic Party office, click here.

Polls will be open statewide until 9 PM.

The weather forecast in the metropolitan area is sunny but chilly, so dress warmly.

Real-time election coverage, courtesy of The New York Times, here.

And when it's all done, have a drink with OFA, Drinking Liberally and ACT-NOW at Dewey's Flatiron, 210 5th Avenue (between 25th & 26th). RSVP on Facebook here. Not in New York City? No problem: post your after-party in comments.

Now go out and win this thing.

The National Jewish Democratic Committee sent out this notice asking EVERYONE to vote and, for the sake of Social Security, Medicare, Health Care, Job Creation, tolerance, etc.. to vote Democratic:

All the work that NJDC has been doing over the past year comes down to today's election.

We need your help. Republicans have nominated extremist candidates who, among other things, oppose Social Security and women's rights, question the validity of climate change, propose eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and reject unemployment benefits. Also in the mix is an eclectic group of opponents to the separation of church and state, conspiracy theorists, and even a Nazi reenactor.

There is too much at stake to sit this election out. No matter where you live, your vote can make a real difference in helping Democrats stay in power.

From New York to California and Washington to Florida, NJDC has been tracking key races all across the country. We've compiled information about right-wing antics, helped to dispel myths and worked to get the truth out about candidates' records. Before you head to the polls today, be sure to check out the information on NJDC's website including our:

* Fact sheets

* Latest ads

* Blog posts

We can't let these extremist Republican candidates succeed. Help us make a difference today

It's 5:00am. It's the first Tuesday in November: so even a grade school student should know that it's about elections today. All over the country we are going to witness the what is called the early “mid-term” elections. This is when a new president is in the middle of his first term, and voters get a chance to express their views in terms of the direction the president is taking the country. History shows that for the new president's party the congressional results are generally disappointing.

Lots of people have been asking me to make predictions on today's outcomes; so I will accommodate them: but only slightly. I don't expect much to change in New York's politics (in neither state nor city/local corridors of power). I predict that Democrats will retain control of both the senate and the assembly. Schumer and Gillibrand will both win; so too Andrew Cuomo (big). And Kevin Parker will be a state senator for at least another fortnight/lol. If Jimmy Macmillan gets more votes than “Chucky-Bee” (Charles Barron), then you can put a “certifiably crazy” stamp on the foreheads of many black voters.  read more »

I'm one of those people that almost always vote. President, check, off-year Congressional, check, statewide, check, City, most of the time, primaries, sometimes.

This year, with all due respect to those seeking or in office, has been a harder sell. Between the catastrophic governorship of David Paterson, the Senate coup - and subsequent buy-off of the putschists and all the other greater or lesser scandals instead of that era of reform we were all promised once the Democrats took that majority - and the ongoing debacle that is the Assembly, really, why bother?

Then, of course, there was the marriage vote, which neither myself nor many other LGBT New Yorkers are in any mood to forgive anytime soon.

But this year offers the chance of a new start.

In Andrew Cuomo, we have a very thoughtful and by all appearances hands-on candidate for governor. After the vacuum of the Paterson era, that's exactly what we need.  read more »

I did a post-primary election column last month that drew many inane comments from some of the anonymous jackasses who love to peregrinate these NYC blogs, essentially to torment those who are strong enough to put their thoughts in writing; and brave enough to have their views/opinions published. The thread was somewhat disconcerting, given what I think is the overall objective of this site: to educate the public politically. After viewing the official results released by the Board of Elections recently, I have decided to revisit two of the races on which I commented.

When I was first recruited to write political columns on these blogs, I envisaged many other local activists writing about their respective communities: bringing attention to local personalities, issues, races, events and the like. I have always been aware that mainstream media tends to ignore (somewhat understandably/given limited resources) many parts of the city, and as such there is a need for political-activist-writer-types operating on blogs like these. I enjoy political blogs like Queen's Crap, Daily Gotham, The Politicker, The Daily News Blog and Room Eight-New York Politics.  read more »

[Note: Dave was co-Chair of the NYSDC during the Spitzer administration and previously led DL21C, the well-regarded activist group. This landed in my inbox last night, and I think it's quite on point enough to share.]

An urgent appeal from Dave

Friends, there is a very important election Tuesday that could decide the path of our Country for years to come. There are many critical races here in New York, but there are two I want to highlight for you.

Two great Democrats, Tom DiNapoli and Eric Schneiderman are running for State Comptroller and Attorney General. If we allow these seats to fall into Republican hands, the new occupants – no matter how moderate they might seem, will be high-profile all-stars for the Republican Party nationally. The Republican Party will use these spots to raise money for Republican candidates for Congress and the RNC, to promote a right-wing agenda nationwide.

We must must MUST keep these seats in Democratic hands!  read more »