Free Republic

Earlier this week, Huntington Mayor Steve Updike held a press conference relaying information of coming citywide layoffs. The only position, at that date, to be announced in the layoff was the Mayor's secretary. He went on to say that six more layoffs were expected this week. Yesterday it was announce that......

A couple of weeks ago, the City of Huntington found that there was a 1.7 million dollar shortfall in tax revenues. After the failed .....

NBC reverses Bloomberg call Wow: This is looking to be a very long night for the billionaire-incumben-frontrunner in New York. With more than a third of the votes in, it's a one-point race. NBC called it for Bloomberg -- but just reversed that call. The New York Times continues to indicate that Bloomberg has won.

BNO News: Independent candidate Michael Bloomberg re-elected as Mayor of New York City, defeating Democrat Bill Thompson.

Raleigh, N.C. – John Lassiter has taken a 50-46 lead in Public Policy Polling’s final survey of the Charlotte Mayoral race, an outcome that is still within the poll’s margin of error. White undecideds moved in Lassiter’s direction over the final days, giving him a staggering 68-29 lead with that group. Foxx leads 86-12 with African Americans. Lassiter leads 51-40 with independents, continuing a double digit lead he’s shown with those voters in every poll of the race. He’s also winning 17% of the Democratic vote while Foxx is only getting 9% of Republicans to cross over. The primary reason...

Stockton Police Chief Heinz Kopp is keeping his distance from what has become a pretty big dustup in this tiny Tooele County town. "It wasn't my decision to suspend [Officer Josh Rowell]," the chief said Monday. "That was the mayor's doing. I was left out of the loop on that one." The chief was referring to the fallout after Rowell cited Mayor Dan Rydalch's son for driving without a license. The mayor could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. The City Council has scheduled a special Thursday evening session to discuss the matter, which has caused some of the...

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made a surprise announcement Friday afternoon that he was dropping out of the gubernatorial race, leaving the Democrats with no declared candidate for the top statewide office. Attorney General Jerry Brown has opened an exploratory committee for governor but has yet to formally announce his candidacy. Nonetheless, Brown has opened a wide lead over Newsom in both fund-raising and in polls. "It is with great regret I announce today that I am withdrawing from the race for governor of California," Newsom said in a statement. "With a young family and responsibilities at city hall, I...

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced this afternoon that he is withdrawing from the California governor's race. More to follow.

The mayor of Frederick, Md., says a controversial Halloween display featuring three faceless dummies hanging from a willow tree will remain at a city park, despite complaints from the NAACP. Guy Djoken, president of Frederick County's NAACP chapter, has called on Mayor Jeff Holtzinger to order parks officials to remove the display, which he calls "disturbing." "Something should be done right away," Djoken told FoxNews.com. "When you look from a distance, it doesn't look good. We should just remove it."

A farm in every Pittsburgh neighborhood would be one of the goals of a Franco Dok Harris administration, the independent mayoral candidate said today, as his campaign sounded its final notes before Tuesday's election. The novel proposal -- which would have the city assemble vacant lots and help gather the expertise needed to transform them into farms Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/09303/1009555-100.stm#ixzz0VRy1TKRj

Carole Smitherman is now the city's mayor following the conviction of Larry Langford. Smitherman, who had served as the City Council president, will meet with city employees Thursday morning. She's already been in contact with Langford Chief of Staff Deborah Vance-Bowie and also plans to talk to Langford. "I have a very heavy heart right now for the city of Birmingham, our employees and the people of the city of Birmingham," Smitherman said. "My heart goes out to Mayor Langford. History will certainly be kind to him as a progressive mayor who loved this city and its people."

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA--Larry Langford, Birmingham's mayor and a former Jefferson County commissioner, has been found guilty in his federal bribery trial. Langford was found guilty of taking about $236,000 in cash and gifts from Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre. Both pleaded guilty in the case and testified they made cash payments to Langford while he was the president of the Jefferson County Commission to ensure business for Blount's investment bank, Blount Parrish & Co.

More than three decades after Maynard H. Jackson Jr. became the first African-American mayor of a major Southern city here, the era of uncontested black leadership in the cradle of the civil-rights movement is facing its first true test: A white city councilwoman leads the mayoral race by a wide margin just days before the Nov. 3 election. Recent polls show Mary Norwood, a fiscal conservative who lives in a heavily white, wealthy section of Atlanta, with support ranging from 39% to 46% of likely voters. That puts her potentially within striking distance of winning outright next week or heading...

Ala. Mayor Accused Of Taking Rolex, Bribes Jury selection to begin in corruption trial against Mayor Larry Langford BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Mayor Larry Langford, who could be tossed out of office and go to prison if convicted of federal bribery charges, recently offered some advice to a new Birmingham City Council member. "The illusion of power is the most dangerous drug on the planet," Langford said. "A little bit of power — nothing intoxicates like it." Last week's comment may sound a lot like the government's opening argument against Langford, 61, the most recent in a long line of prominent...

New Orleans, Louisiana, Mayor Ray Nagin arrived in Cuba late Friday on a mission to learn about how to deal with storms, a spokeswoman said. "We understand we may have a lot to learn from the Cubans in terms of disaster preparedness and how they have dealt with hurricanes," spokeswoman Ceeon Quiett said. Cuba is internationally applauded for exceptional disaster management, according to a news release from Nagin's office. In the Cuban capital, Havana, Nagin plans to meet with several officials, including some from the Latin American Medical Centers for Disaster. He will also learn about preparations the Cuba Defense...

Who will win the special Mayoral election today? King Willie Herenton is out after a 17 year reign and the candidates have all made their case to take his place. Who will it be? A C Wharton (who ran two of Willie Herenton's campaigns and seems to dodge questions posed during debates, Carol Chumney, Mayor Pro tem Myron Lowrey, Charles Carpenter, Jerry "The King" Lawler or one of the other 25 on the ballot?

The mayor of Hendersonville, N.C., says he is ready to challenge Rep. Health Shuler in 2010. Republican Greg Newman told local news outlets of his decision on Monday. Newman has been mayor of Hendersonville since 2005. In 2008,Shuler won a second term in the House by beating Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower by 26 points in a race that national Republicans did not target. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., carried the district by 5 points in the presidential race, Questions about a real estate development could make Shuler more of a target in 2010. CQ Politics currently rates the general election...

...I didn't expect to be a crime victim on the streets of San Francisco. ... But it happened, on a beautiful evening this past weekend near Union Square. As crimes go, it could have been much worse. I was helping an elderly man when somebody sneaked up behind me and stole my garment bag. I lost a nice suit, a nice pair of shoes and overnight toiletries. Not the end of the world, but frustrating. The real crime was the vulnerability of it all....

Unidentified assailants kidnapped and killed the top official of the border town of Palomas, across from New Mexico, on Thursday. Town Mayor Estanislao Garcia Santelis had long complained about the drug traffickers and migrant smugglers active around Palomas. Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office in northern Chihuahua state, said Garcia Santelis' bullet-riddled body was found near a burned-out pickup truck and bore signs of torture. Palomas made headlines in 2008 when its police chief sought asylum in the U.S. after his deputies abandoned him and he received death threats. The Mexican army subsequently took over law enforcement in...

Richard “RJ” Berry appears to be winning a plurality of the absentee votes posted to the Bernalillo county Web site moments ago. Berry now has 41.62 percent of the vote compared to 36.03 percent for incumbent mayor Martin Chavez and 22.18 percent for former state Pro Tem Richard Romero.

Not only was Republican Richard J. Berry elected mayor of Albuquerque yesterday, but the G.O.P. also took control of the Albuquerque City Council, as the New Mexico Independent reports: GOP challenger Richard Berry surprised even himself Tuesday, knocking off longtime Democratic Mayor Martin Chavez and avoiding a two-man runoff while doing it. Berry, a two-term Republican state legislator, bested Chavez in convincing fashion, collecting nearly 44 percent of votes to Chavez’s 35 percent. Richard Romero received nearly 21 percent of the vote. Only provisional ballots remained to be counted early Wednesday. ... City Councilor Michael Cadigan lost a bid Tuesday...

To all you would-be politicians hoping to jump start a career in the public spotlight at the local level, be fore-warned: Local politics can be a pretty cut-throat business. And you'd be well served to not provide your political opponents with any ammunition to help them bring you down East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer blasted a local television station Thursday, one day after it aired photographs that purported to show the mayor wearing a wig and lingerie. The news conference came less than a week before voters decide if he should be re-elected. You see, that guy didn't think ahead....

I’m not kidding, and she certainly seems determined. The mayor of Wellford, S.C. has instituted a policy banning law enforcement from chasing criminal suspects. She’s not just eliminating vehicle chases, but has banned foot pursuits as well. Maybe the mayor of Wellford has a line on a new tractor beam? Watch the video and you may get the impression she can order one online.

As he considers a run for governor next year, Mayor Chris Doherty says he supports a woman's right to choose an abortion. Mr. Doherty acknowledged his previously undeclared position when a Times-Tribune reporter asked, following a tip that the mayor was expressing his support for abortion rights to Democrats he met with across the state. "I just believe it's a woman's right to choose," Mr. Doherty said. "It's a private matter what they want to do with their lives, and I don't think government or anybody else should interfere with that." Mr. Doherty said he favors reducing the number of...

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has recommended that non-Muslims take the opportunity of the month of Ramadan to fast, along with their Muslim neighbors, in order to promote "understanding between cultures."

The mayor of Mount Vernon has made it official. Mayor Bud Norris says he will give the key to his city to conservative talk show host Glenn Beck on September 26. Norris says Beck will deliver a short talk that night and become the first person to receive a key to the city in the six years Norris has been mayor. Protesters from the Skagit County Young Democrats walked outside city hall Tuesday with protest signs, one reading "Change the locks!"

The recently elected mayor of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, has infuriated Britain's politically powerful homosexualist lobby by attempting to withhold local funding for this year's Gay Pride celebrations. The funding for this year's event in June went through, but Mayor Peter Davies, a member of the English Democrat party and the father of Tory MP Philip Davies, has scrapped all future funding for the annual Gay Pride event.... Davies is only the second mayor of Doncaster to have been elected directly by a popular vote rather than by council members. He campaigned on a popular platform, that has reportedly alarmed...

The mayor of Hartford, Conn., says a judge has signed a warrant for his arrest in connection with corruption charges surrounding a key supporter. Neither Democratic Mayor Eddie Perez nor his attorney has detailed the charges, which are expected to involve a no-bid contract to former Democratic state Rep. Abraham Giles. State investigators have been looking into a parking lot deal between the city and Giles since 2007. The deal included a $100,000 lease termination fee for Giles to vacate a city lot.

The memo that’s about to shake the Atlanta mayor’s race 12:39 pm August 27, 2009, by Jim Galloway A memo arguing that African-Americans should unite behind a single black candidate in the race for mayor of Atlanta is about to become a prime topic of debate. The material, which we include below, is said to be distributed by Aaron Turpeau, a long-time City Hall figure, on behalf of something called the Black Leadership Forum. Turpeau argues that Council President Lisa Borders is the only candidate who can prevent the election of Councilwoman Mary Norwood as the first white mayor since...

PRESS RELEASE  For Immediate Release August 25, 2009 Hampstead to Fly Protest Flag In an act of protest, Hampstead Mayor Haven N. Shoemaker has ordered the Town’s municipal flag to be replaced by the historic Gadsen “Don’t Tread On Me” flag. Mayor Shoemaker will raise the flag after a brief ceremony at the War Memorial in Hampstead at 6 p.m., September 1. The timing of the ceremony coincides with anticipated cuts in state funding to local governments including Hampstead. “We have the so-called stimulus which is nothing more than an unprecedented issuance of debt. We have ObamaCare. In Maryland, we...

The campaign for mayor of this city, which has long promoted its racial tolerance, veered into controversy Thursday with the release of a memo urging black voters to unite around an African-American candidate and block the election of a white mayor. A local group known as the Black Leadership Forum called for African-Americans to consolidate their support around Lisa Borders, president of the Atlanta City Council and one of several African-American candidates, according to a memo circulated on the Web and to local media. The group said Ms. Borders had the best chance of winning support from white business leaders...

Nutter's Tax Increase Makes Him A Joke BY CHRIS FREIND It was a rainy, warm March back in 1936, and the snow in the hills around Johnstown began to melt. This caused the unfortunate city to be leveled by yet another flood. To help rebuild Johnstown, Pennsylvanians were forced to pay a temporary 10 percent tax on all wine and spirits. The key word being “temporary.” Even though the town was back on its feet in a few years, the tax remains. And it now stands at a whopping 18 percent. About the only joke bigger than a politician telling...

The mayor of the North Jersey town where Libyan leader Muammar al-Qadhafi might stay next month during a diplomatic visit to nearby New York City blasted federal officials on Tuesday, from members of Congress all the way up to President Barack Obama, for not doing enough to stop the visit. “The truth is that it seems like they’re just going through the motions and it’s a fait accompli,” Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes told POLITICO. “I’m disappointed that nobody’s got moxie.” “If this is the change that our president has endorsed and is directing our country where we’re reaching out to...

The mayor of a New Jersey town where Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi plans to stay when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly next month says the "terrorist" should reconsider. "This is an affront to the 33 families who live in New Jersey and lost their relatives because of him when they blew up Pan Am 103," Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes told FOXNews.com. "You can't buy that back. You can't give them their lives and memories back." -snip-

After two terms as mayor of Seattle, Greg Nickels is now conceding.

Seattle (AP) - Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has been hailed as a visionary and a leader on environmental issues, helping persuade nearly 1,000 mayors around the country to abide by the standards of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. But an environmental issue of a more basic sort — the city's inability to clear streets during paralyzing snowstorms last winter — might have set the stage for his political undoing. Nickels narrowly trails two challengers following Tuesday's primary and is at serious risk of not advancing to the general election in November, potentially ending his eight-year run at City Hall....

Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale won't reveal who paid for his recent trip to Kosovo, but when asked about the junket on Monday, he said the company doesn't do business with the county. Before and after a meeting of the Halls Republican Club at the Mandarin House on Maynardville Highway, the mayor briefly addressed a reporter's questions about the trip. He also faced a couple of tough questions from audience members during the meeting itself...... The eight-day trip to several cities in Kosovo was part of sister-city program, according to the mayor's office, paid for by an unnamed business. Ragsdale...

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will make his first public appearance Wednesday since being severely injured in an attack in West Allis. Barrett will make several brief remarks and take a limited number of questions at an 11:30 a.m. news conference at his home in Washington Heights, according to a statement from his chief of staff, Patrick Curley. Barrett was attacked Saturday night after leaving the Wisconsin State Fair with two of his daughters, sister and niece and answering a woman's call for help in the 8800 block of W. Orchard St. Police have identified the alleged attacker as Anthony J....

Call him the new Moses -- Robert Moses, that is. Mayor Bloomberg says that since 9/11 he has tried to transform the city on a scale not seen since the days of the legendary and controversial master builder of highways, bridges and parks that changed the metropolitan landscape. "I think if you look we've done more in the last seven years than -- I don't know if it's fair to say more than Moses did -- but I hope history will show the things we did made a lot more sense," Bloomberg tells The New Yorker.

A 20-year-old Wisconsin man accused of attacking the mayor of Milwaukee with a metal pipe has been arrested, police said Sunday. Mayor Tom Barrett was in stable condition Sunday at a Milwaukee-area hospital after he was attacked the night before at the Wisconsin State Fair in nearby West Allis, police said. Barrett was leaving the event with his family when he heard a woman crying for help, police said. When Barrett began calling 911, the man who had been attacking the woman charged at him and began battering him with a metal pipe, police said. "He not only risked serious...

Dear Friends, Our dear friend Dr. Jerry Prevo, pastor of Anchorage Baptist Temple, has asked for our help in stopping an ordinance from becoming law. The Anchorage (Alaska) City Assembly passed an ordinance that would add "sexual orientation" to the city's non-discrimination and civil rights law. If signed into law by the Mayor, this ordinance will force individuals and small businesses to accept and accommodate all forms of "sexual orientation" including homosexuals, transgenders, and cross dressing. We have seen in other cities where, due to these laws, a Christian photographer was fined for not photographing a lesbian commitment ceremony, the...

Portland Police this morning arrested Lee Perlman, the reporter for the Hollywood Star News who allegedly defaced a petition to recall Mayor Sam Adams last week. The charge Perlman faces is criminal mischief (PDF) in the third degree, a misdemeanor. Reached by phone last week, Perlman offered no clear explanation for his actions, saying over and over again that he had “sloppy handwriting.” He did, however, offer a story about goats.

The Silverton, Oregon, city council has censured its transgender mayor. Mayor Stu Rasmussen admitted to wearing an open-back bathing suit, mini skirt, and high heels when he spoke before a group of children at a non-profit organization. A person attending the speech was displeased and filed a complaint. Andrea Lafferty is with the Traditional Values Coalition. "This is a man who's dressing like a woman. He was born a man. He has male DNA. That cannot change," she believes. Lafferty says the idea of making the appearance in front of children is an affront to parents who do not want...

AG Jim Hood nowhere to be found (again) This morning, the US Attorney’s office in the Southern District of Mississippi handed down a 16 count indictment accusing Republican Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr and his wife Laura Warr of illegally obtaining grant monies for personal use. If convicted on all counts, they each face a total of 210 years in federal prison and up to $4 million in fines. This has been a cooperative investigation between the FBI, HUD, Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General, the US Attorneys Office and State Auditor Stacey Pickering’s office. Brent Warr has been a...

Obama is coming to Bozeman next week, sources familiar with the event say, but the White House is staying tightlipped about the reported visit. “He’s definitely coming, that much is clear,” Mayor Kaaren Jacobson Josh Holland, with Avis Rent a Car in Belgrade, told the Chronicle that Secret Service had reservations for more than 30 cars for Aug. 13 and 14.

Mayor Chesapeake Alan Krasnoff Chesapeake, Va., Aug 5, 2009 / 06:30 am (CNA).- Following complaints from a Wisconsin-based atheist group against a Virginia city that opens public meetings with prayer, the Alliance Defense Fund and the Family Foundation of Virginia have offered to provide pro bono legal assistance if the city adopts a prayer policy that is challenged in court.The 14,000-member Freedom From Religion Foundation had sent letters of complaint to the city of Chesapeake, Virginia because of what the group called its “illegal practice” of routine opening prayers at its public meetings.ADF Senior Legal Council Mike Johnson, speaking...

HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) - Mayor Peter Cammarano III resigned Friday, just three weeks after taking office and a week after vowing to stay in office and fight federal corruption charges against him. Cammarano, who won a June runoff election, was snared last week in a sweeping federal corruption probe that resulted in the arrests of 44 people, including rabbis and dozens of public officials. The 32-year-old—Hoboken's youngest mayor—sent a letter to the city clerk on Friday saying his resignation was effective at noon. City Council President Dawn Zimmer entered the city council chamber to a standing ovation and was sworn...

On a three-day junket to Washington, D.C., to lobby for recovery money, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was spotted Wednesday evening at the posh downtown bistro, The Caucus Room, along with a flock of Republican notables, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Fred Thompson, the 2008 GOP presidential also-ran and former headliner of TV's Law and Order. Also keeping reservations last night at the white-tablecloth eatery were former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, who served eight years in President Bush's cabinet before becoming a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, and singer, songwriter and producer John Rich.

NEWARK, N.J. - The mayors of two New Jersey cities, a state legislator and several rabbis were arrested Thursday in connection with a major corruption and international money-laundering conspiracy probe. Some of the suspects were also allegedly involved in an illegal human organ-selling ring. Among about 30 people arrested Thursday were Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano III, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, former Jersey City Council President L. Harvey Smith and state Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt. Van Pelt is accused of accepting $10,000 from a government witness posing as a developer seeking permit help. Story continues...

NEW YORK – Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has pushed an ambitious green agenda and cast himself as a national environmental leader, routinely runs afoul of his own anti-pollution policy by letting his official SUVs idle, sometimes for more than an hour. In spot checks over the past week, The Associated Press timed idling periods for the mayor's city-owned SUVs, which shuttle him around the city or trail him when he takes the subway. The parked vehicles idled at least eight times for periods of 10 minutes to over an hour. The mayor earlier this year strengthened the city's anti-idling law...