New Mexico mayoral candidate Gerardo Hernandez “says he has no intention of ending his bid for office despite an El Paso television station’s broadcast Wednesday evening of a video clip showing him getting a lap dance from a topless, unidentified woman,” the Albuquerque Journal reports.

Said Hernandez: “I’m still in the race, and I’m going to be here until the 6th of March. Sunland Park needs a change, and I’m going to give them a change.”

“Indulging in a tale of make-believe” is rare for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but the New York Times notes he actually recommended two spy mysteries this week by John LeCarre: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy.

Of the latter, he said, “It’s 600 pages, it’s mostly description, there is almost nothing that happens. But it’s fascinating!”

“Virtually the only other work of fiction publicly endorsed by the mayor has been Johnny Tremain, the 1943 patriotic children’s story that Mr. Bloomberg frequently cites as a favorite. His personal library now has several first editions, gifts from friends.”

When East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo (R) was asked by WPIX-TV what he would do for the Latino community in the aftermath of four police officers being charged with violating the civil rights of Latino residents he said that he might go home and eat tacos.

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“No, not, not interested… Done… What part of it am I not getting across?”

— Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), in an interview on NBC’s Rock Center, repeatedly denying any interest in running for higher office.

Former Mike Bloomberg aide Kevin Sheekey hints to Newsweek that big things are planned for the New York mayor once he leaves office.

Said Sheekey: “City Hall holds him back. He stands to become something much larger after he leaves office. Mike Bloomberg has the ability to be the best parts of Bill Clinton, Rupert Murdoch, and Bill Gates all rolled up into one.”

Sheekey, of course, was behind the effort to quietly explore a Bloomberg independent bid for president in 2008.

West Valley City, UT Mayor Mike Winder (R) admitted writing articles about his own city for several media outlets under a pen name, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

“Winder said that four articles he submitted earlier this year under the name Richard Burwash were published in either the Deseret News or on KSL.com. The mayor said he was frustrated that the newspaper had drastically reduced its city government coverage after layoffs last year but not its crime coverage and wanted to ‘try to restore balance.'”

The Deseret News reports Winder “even pretended to be the fictional Burwash when he spoke with editors over the phone and in emails.”

Jefferson County, Alabama, filed the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy after an agreement among elected officials and investors to refinance $3.1 billion in sewer bonds fell apart, Bloomberg reports.

Matt Taibbi, from earlier this year: “The genesis of the whole affair was a sewer project that crooked local
pols turned into a $3 billion money pit; when they turned to Wall Street
to help finance their way out of the cost overruns, the banks leaned on
the County to take on a series of swap deals that essentially pushed
the debt into the future, but at geometrically increasing cost. Among
other things, the banks worked through middlemen who bribed the local
commissioners into taking the toxic deals. As a result of all of this,
Jefferson County not only ended up saddled with an astronomical debt
service on its sewer project, it also saw a downgrade in its overall
credit rating, which left it paralyzed in its attempts to borrow money
to pay for general expenditures.”

The Birmingham News notes that since 1981, 35 cities, towns, villages and counties nationwide have filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, including five in Alabama.