At least in political circles. Tom Allon is the publisher of Manhattan Media, whose newspaper properties include the New York Press and City Hall (and which formerly published 02138, the magazine of all things Harvard). Like lots of people in journalism, Allon decided that he knew better than the elected officials running things; unlike most people in journalism, he decided to run for office. He’s a long-shot candidate for mayor in 2013, one who’s very low on name recognition compared with, say, Christine Quinn.
But Allon just added a surprisingly big New York City political name to his campaign. He’s hired Cynthia Darrison — who was crucial in both the Andrew Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer gubernatorial campaigns — to head up his fundraising efforts. Darrison, who heads up the consultancy Darrison Barrett & Associates, has also worked in recent years for Cyrus Vance, Bill de Blasio, failed mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, and … Manhattan Media, which is how she got to know Allon. Her challenge will be raising enough money to convince the city’s power brokers that he’s a legitimate candidate and bring up his name-recognition quotient.
Here’s a profile-raising idea for Allon, since he’s not worried about being overshadowed by his staff: Why not hire Alec Baldwin for the communications team? He’s a decent writer, has established relationships with the press, and is very serious about learning the ropes of city politics. He’d probably work for cheap.
