Press Coverage

Kallos raised a total of $28,453 in the last six months, bringing his campaign chest to $33,456, he said. “Our campaign is very excited about the 348 contributions that demonstrate more community support than we ever expected, and we hope to continue that trend, expanding the number of small contributions from residents all over the district and the city,” Kallos said, noting that his average contribution was $95.42 and that 22 percent of the contributions were $10, a threshold many candidates point to in showing their grassroots support.

A friend of TheMusic.FM is running for City Council and one of his many on-point positions is the need to reform New York’s ridiculous cabaret laws which make dancing illegal in most establishments.

At Upper East Side City Council candidate Benjamin Kallos’ unique redistricting-themed fundraiser last night, Mark Favors, the lead plaintiff in the redistricting lawsuit that led to court-drawn congressional lines in New York, was the guest of honor and had some interesting thoughts on the redistricting situation, especially from his perspective as an African-American resident of Harlem.

Watch Mr. Favor's specific remarks by clicking http://kallosforcouncil.com/media/redistricting-discussion-mark-favors

This all seems as obvious a lifestyle to Kallos as his decision to run for Jessica Lappin’s seat in the City Council in 2013. He’s positioning himself as a young voice, a progressive choice, someone who has worked tirelessly, frenetically even, on so many civic issues it makes the résumés of some sitting council members seem paltry by comparison.

Cynical pols deliver conventional wisdom that voters don’t care about redistricting, but don’t tell that to New York City Council candidate Benjamin Kallos, reports City & State.

* Cynical pols deliver conventional wisdom that voters don’t care about redistricting, but don’t tell that to New York City Council candidate Benjamin Kallos. The East Side aspirant for Councilwoman Jessica Lappin’s seat is holding a fundraiser next month featuring Mark Favors, lead plaintiff in the Favors v. Cuomo lawsuit challenging the state’s method of drawing new lines. It’s a natural issue for Kallos, executive director ofBill Samuels’ New Roosevelt Initiative, though he acknowledged it’s an unusual draw for an event with a top ticket price of $1,000. Kallos said he’s trying to run “a substantive campaign about the issues that not only affect the district but the city as a whole.”

* Cynical pols deliver conventional wisdom that voters don’t care about redistricting, but don’t tell that to New York City Council candidate Benjamin Kallos. The East Side aspirant for Councilwoman Jessica Lappin’s seat is holding a fundraiser next month featuring Mark Favors, lead plaintiff in the Favors v. Cuomo lawsuit challenging the state’s method of drawing new lines. It’s a natural issue for Kallos, executive director ofBill Samuels’ New Roosevelt Initiative, though he acknowledged it’s an unusual draw for an event with a top ticket price of $1,000. Kallos said he’s trying to run “a substantive campaign about the issues that not only affect the district but the city as a whole.”

I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a campaign fundraiser themed quite like this before, but New York City Council candidate Ben Kallos is holding a fundraiser (donation for co-chairs, $1,000) centered around a discussion of the redistricting lawsuit Cuomo v. Favors.

Speaking before a crowd in the back of the Off The Rails bar, Mr. Kallos particularly demonstrated some passion for government transparency in his speech. In addition to touting his efforts to get New York voting records online, he cheered the Council’s recently passed Open Data Bill and presented a “Suggest Your Own Solution for a Better City” worksheet for the crowd to fill out or submit online.

Kallos, a lawyer who is now the executive director at the New Roosevelt Initiative focusing on government-transparency projects, told DNAinfo that he hopes to bring his progressive bent to the council. A self-avowed wonk, Kallos has worked on open source and other campaigns to make government more responsive.

He, for instance, would like to see the city’s text message alert system not only send missing person notices, but also send reminders for Election Day.

He envisions using the office not only for passing legislation, but also, perhaps, like Bronx state Senator Gustavo Rivera, for conducting community civics classes.

“I’ve spent all this time asking for elected officials to do all these things,” Kallos, a former Community Board 8 member, said. “At a certain point, you have to put up or shut up,” he said of his rationale to run.

We’ve been hearing rumors that up-and-coming political consultant Ben Kallos was interested in running for City Council, and he just registered a campaign committee to do so ...

We’ve been hearing rumors that up-and-coming political consultant Ben Kallos was interested in running for City Council, and he just registered a campaign committee to do so ...