“Amazon said on Thursday that it was canceling plans to build a corporate campus in New York City. The company had planned to build a sprawling complex in Long Island City, Queens, in exchange for nearly $3 billion in state and city incentives,” the New York Times reports.
“But the deal had run into fierce opposition from local lawmakers who criticized providing subsidies to one of the world’s most valuable companies. Amazon said the deal would have created more than 25,000 jobs.”
Plans for a party celebrating the 25-year anniversary of Rudy Giuliani becoming the mayor of New York City are “fizzling out” because he is “too toxic,” the New York Daily News reports.
Said the source: “Rudy wanted it to appear to come together organically.”
“A District of Columbia clerk and a supervisor refused to accept a New Mexico man’s state driver’s license as he sought a marriage license because she and her supervisor believed New Mexico was a foreign country,” the AP reports.
You're reading the free version of Political Wire
Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.
“Federal agents showed up unannounced at the City Hall office of Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke, kicked everyone out and papered over the windows Thursday morning,” the Chicago Sun Times reports.
“The nature of their visit was not known, but Ald. Burke has dodged dozens of federal investigations over five decades in Chicago politics.”
Burke once worked as a tax lawyer for Donald Trump.
“In a stunning decision, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday morning that he will no longer seek a third term in office, signaling the end to what has been a tumultuous – and at times transformative – eight years in office,” the Chicago Tribune reports.
Said Emanuel: “I’ve decided not to seek re-election. This has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime.”
One candidate in the Hilton Head, South Carolina mayoral race denies that the mass genocide of Jews by the Nazis ever happened, the Charleston Post & Courier reports.
Another candidate praised the leadership style of Adolf Hitler: “He did what he had to do. He got that many people to follow him. He must have been doing something right.”
“Despite the national headlines stemming from Paul Manafort’s tax fraud trial, New Britain has no plans to change the name of Paul Manafort Drive. After all, city leaders say, it’s not named after him. The street along the southern end of Central Connecticut State University was named in 1994 to honor Paul Manafort Sr., a former mayor and business executive,” the Hartford Courant reports.
Said Mayor Erin Stewart: “The street is named after the father. Mr. Manafort served the city for a long time, he was a war veteran. You can’t control what your kids do and what they don’t — that doesn’t take away from the service that the father gave to the city.”
Jason Kander (D), the former Missouri secretary of state whose growing nationwide profile as a Democrat led to speculation about his presidential ambitions, confirmed his unexpected decision to run for mayor of Kansas City, the Kansas City Star reports.
Jonathan Swan: “On election night 2016, shortly after Donald Trump’s team realized he would win the presidency, Michael Cohen told a handful of people on the 14th floor of Trump Tower about his own dreams for the future — to be mayor of New York.”
Said Cohen: “This is the beginning of a dynasty.”
He added: “I’ve already got the bug. Nobody’s going to be able to fuck with us. I think I’m going to run for mayor.”
It’s New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s last day in office. He spoke to Chris Riback while he was still packing up his office. They talked about why he removed statues from his city that honored the Confederacy, his new book, and of course the question many have for him: Are you running for president?
Sign up for Chris’s free newsletter for great back stories from the podcast.
Subscribe via iTunes or Google Play to get new episodes automatically downloaded to your phone.
Thanks to the Cook Political Report for sponsoring this podcast.
New York Times: “The idea of Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo ever collaborating on anything seems almost unfathomable nearly 16 years later. The two Democrats are now engaged in a feud so nasty, petty and prolonged that even in the cutthroat politics of New York, few can remember ever seeing anything quite like it. The two men have sparred over substance, silliness and everything in between: public housing and private workout routines, homelessness and topless women in Times Square, taxing millionaires and euthanizing a deer, a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak and state troop deployments, schools, snowstorms and the subways — even naps.”
“Mayor Eric Garcetti, fresh off a trip to Iowa to test the waters for a presidential run, delivered a State of the City address Monday that billed Los Angeles as a thriving, progressive metropolis that has hiked the minimum wage, snagged the Olympics, invested in its subway system and is tackling big issues such as climate change and gun violence,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Said Garcetti: “‘I want to say to anyone who wants to understand who Americans are: Don’t look to D.C. — come to L.A.”
“Turnout in Anchorage’s first vote-by-mail election was the highest in the city’s history, buoyed by a wave of last-minute votes,” the Alaska Dispatch News reports.
“About 80,000 ballots had been received by elections officials at the end of the day Wednesday. More were still on the way. Until now, the most ballots the city had ever received in a local race was 71,099 votes in 2012.”
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry (D) “resigned and pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge, a month after the rising Democratic star admitted to an affair with her bodyguard,” the AP reports.
“In court, Barry didn’t say how she stole money from the city, but an investigation found that she was engaged in her relationship with her bodyguard while on city-paid trips. Authorities also found a nude photo and partially nude photo of a woman that were taken while her bodyguard, Sgt. Robert Forrest, was on duty.”
Tennessean: “As part of her plea deal, Barry was sentenced to three years of probation and has agreed to reimburse the city $11,000 in unlawful expenses. “
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry (D) is expected to announce her resignation at a press conference Tuesday morning, the Tennessean reports.
“The resignation comes amid an investigation of an affair with her former bodyguard Metro police Sgt. Robert Forrest.”
A new Vanderbilt University poll in Nashville finds that 61% of residents approve of the job Mayor Megan Barry (D) is doing, while 33% disapprove.
That’s a fall from 72% who approved in March 2017 but remarkably high considering the scandal surrounding her extramarital affair with her bodyguard.
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry (D) and her police bodyguard, with whom she was having an affair, made regular early-morning visits to the City Cemetery, as recently as early January, WTVF reports.
“And the security video shows the pair left on one occasion after just 12 minutes. In other cases, it’s as long as 24 minutes.”
“The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says it has obtained nude photos of a woman taken on the phone of former Sgt. Rob Forrest, evidence that investigators believe shows Nashville Mayor Megan Barry (D) engaged in an affair with her former bodyguard while he was on duty,” the Tennessean reports.
“The photos are referenced in an affidavit in support of a search warrant that Nashville Judge Steve Dozier signed Tuesday seeking access to the contents of Barry’s cellphone… Documents show the TBI obtained a search warrant and took possession of Barry’s phone Friday. The mayor and her attorney have refused to share the passcode to unlock it.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.