Koppell Bucks Own Club, Backs Bloomberg for Mayor

On Monday, the Bloomberg campaign announced its eleventeenth millionth endorsement (anyone care who Bono wants to run the Big Apple?), this time from a "Senior Democrat" who turned out to be none other than Bronx City Council member Oliver Koppell.

This is far from surprising, given the kind words Koppell has often reserved for Mayor Mike and the Riverdalian's lead role in helping the mayor secure an extension on term limits.

But it's just a little bit ironic.

During the race for the Democratic nomination in the 11th Council District, Koppell repeatedly used Cassino's support for Bloomberg as a counter-weight to his attacks on Koppell's efforts to overturn the two-term limit (imposed after two citywide referendums) for the city's elected officials.

Makes you wonder if Cassino could have gained an edge if he would have been a little more, um, Democratic about the mayor's race. All we know now is that whoever won that race would have showed up as Bloomberg's eleventeenth millionth endorsement.

Nick Judd of the Riverdale Press also some fantastic stuff on the paper's blog about how others in the Benjamin Franklin Democratic Reform Club feel Koppell made a poor decision. And also how Koppell thinks his endorsement of the mayor might help him get some love in the Council during what will undoubtedly be his third term in office.

Prior 11th District Debate

BRONXTALK-MONDAY, JULY 27, 2009

If you haven't seen it yet, we thought Bronx News Network readers would, on the eve of our own debate tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 10) at the Mosholu Library, benefit from viewing this July BronxTalk 11th District Council debate between Oliver Koppell and Anthony Perez Cassino. The debate covers important issues including the Kingsbridge Armory and the filtration plant. If you have follow-up questions on the issues addressed here or other questions entirely, bring them to the debate tomorrow or leave them as comments here on the blog.

Gloves Come Off in 11th District Race

The candidates' mailers in the 11th District started filtering into local residents' mailboxes a few weeks ago. Neither candidate mentioned the other. Until now.

Yesterday, the two started mixing it up in the mail, with Koppell attacking Cassino for printing and mailing his mailers out 0f state, and Cassino reminding voters that Koppell was a prime mover behind the push to extend term limits. (You can expect more of this as the primary on Sept. 15 nears.)

This seems like a good time to remind our readers -- particularly those in Norwood and Bedford Park -- that the Bronx News Network and Norwood News are presenting a debate between these two candidates at the Mosholu branch of the New York Public Library (285 E. 208th St., between Perry and Bainbridge avenues.)

Campaign Copy Editor Needed

Notice anything wrong with this picture? It is the cover of City Council incumbent Oliver Koppell's (oops, just gave away the answer) glossy new campaign pamphlet that hit District 11 households this week. Ding, ding, ding. You guessed correctly: it's Koppell, not Koppel.

We all make mistakes, including, believe it or not, this blog and the newspapers of the Bronx News Network, but Koppell must wish he took a look at this before he sent it out. It's an otherwise beautiful looking mailer trumpeting all of the two-term Riverdalian's accomplishments as a city lawmaker. Too bad this is the first thing everyone will see. (It's spelled correctly several other times in the four-page pamphlet.

He's probably not the only one dealing with spelling issues. I'm sure his opponent's campaign has its own trouble. Remember, it's Anthony Cassino, not Casino.

The September primary is less than a month away (September 15) and, in tough races (which Cassino-Koppell might end up being), mistakes can prove costly. We'll see.

Check back here for more campaign coverage as the competitive Bronx races heat up.

Koppell and Cassino Square Off in 11th District Debate

This week, BronxTalk featured a debate between Councilman Oliver Koppell and Anthony Perez Cassino, the democratic candidates for the 11th City Council District. Moderated by host Gary Axelbank, the candidates debated politics, development, city planning, and a number of other issues.

Here's a link to view the entire program. http://bronxnet.fliggo.com/video/XwQYTtC5

BronxTalk, the borough's flagship talk show, will celebrate its 15th anniversary on October 5. It is seen live Monday nights at 9:00pm on channel 67 in the Bronx and streamed live on the web at http://bronxnet.org/home/live/webstreamtrial.html. It is hosted by Gary Axelbank and produced by Jane Folloro.

Viewers can see replays of BronxTalk at 9:30am, 3:30pm, and 9:00pm daily and the programs are archived at http://bronxnet.fliggo.com/category/bronxtalk .

Next week BronxTalk will feature an interview with Bronx County Democratic Chairman Carl Heastie.