Exclusive scoops & insider gossip by Gerson Borrero

Ed Cox vs Andrew Cuomo?

“Let him run against Cuomo,” they're saying. Several Republican bochincheros are so upset at the bad job Ed Cox is doing running their party in the Empire State that they think the GOP Chairman should be their candidate in the November general election. “He’s done such a poor job at making our party great again [not very original] in New York that he should take on Cuomo.” That sentiment was expressed by a bochinchero who speaks with me occasionally. Other bochincheros I talked to agreed. “Look, if he’s already attacking the governor on a weekly basis via social media and in interviews, then he might as well just declare his candidacy.” The Republican bochincheros blame Cox for the fact that the Party does not have a serious candidate - among the current two and soon to be three - to take on the incumbent Governor who has amassed close to $35 million for his re-election to a third term. “Cox already has a publicity team in place that’s taking some real good jabs at Cuomo so he might as well just run.” But another bochinchero wasn’t so kind: “Cox has fucked it up for us. We don’t have a chance to beat that controlling lunatic. I hope he [Cox] runs and Cuomo beats him to the pulp. Maybe then we can get a new Republican leader.” Oh my! Cuomo is going to love this bochinche.

Blake getting a primary in the 79th AD

The very ambitious two-term legislator and one-time Obama political operative may be busy as one of three Vice-Chairs of the Democratic National Committee, but there’s also buzz that NYS Assemblyman Michael Blake will get at least one challenger in this year’s September 11 primary. A top bochinchero in Da’ Bronx tells me that “County has never warmed up to him and would welcome a credible candidate they could support.” The bochinchero, who is a very close ally of the current Democratic organization in the borough, went on to say, “at least one elected whose salivating at the chance to oppose Blake is Rubén Díaz.” We hear that Díaz is ready to throw his support behind George Alvarez, who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2015 against a then well-financed Blake. For Díaz, it would be a shot to get even for the time Blake took back his endorsement of the elder Díaz and requested a $1,000 donation be returned. And as we all know, el viejo Díaz likes to get even. But worse for Blake according to one bochinchera, “this time there’s an effort to get behind one candidate...and very few like Blake.” That guarantees nada. But dislike for Blake is real and that may be a strong motivator in a primary. ¡La pelea is on!

Now he wants a gig with de Blasio

Javier Nieves wants a city trabajo. There’s nada wrong with that, except that back in early 2014 the former one-term New York State Assemblyman from Brooklyn’s 51st AD vociferously denounced Mayor Bill deBlasio for not hiring enough Latinos. As Chairperson of the Campaign for Fair Latino Representation in NYC Government, Nieves was like black beans on arroz blanco with his onetime amigo. He was actively and eloquently denouncing the exclusionary ways of NYC government related to the hiring of Latinos. But de Blasio didn’t do un carajo. According to two bochincheros, Nieves is waiting to get a job in the administration. “He’s spoken to the Mayor directly,” said a bochinchero who confirmed that he saw Nieves talking to the Mayor at an event about a month ago. The bochinchero added, “Javier is practically on his knees.” Ouch!

None of the gente that we spoke to who were part of the Campaign for Fair Latino Representation were happy about this. “This looks bad for us in the group. It’s like we were just after a job for us.” Another commented, “it’s a bochorno, to have a person pose as an activist with a wide range of individuals from our community and pretend that he’s doing it for us.”