Allon and Stringer Spar Over ScarJo

Laura Nahmias in City and State's Heard Around Town, April 10, 2012: * Manhattan Media CEO and mayoral candidate Tom Allon took to Twitter yesterday to chastise Manhattan Borough president Scott Stringer over his deployment of actress Scarlett Johansson at two different fundraisers. "Let others get meaningless support of actresses; I've just been endorsed by Palestinian activist while I'm in Israel (see Huff Po)." he tweeted. But Allon has support from actors too, including one Jeremy Smith, who donated $1,300 to Allon's campaign this year and listed his occupation on campaign finance filings as "actor/fundraiser." Asked to explain the distinction between one kind of support and another, Allon responded, "I don't know Jeremy Smith well, or whether he's an actor or an artist. We are both on the board of Symphony Space and that's how I met him last year. But even if he were a well-known actor I would certainly not use him over and over again to attract people to campaign fundraisers. I'm sad that in this era of 'celebutantes' that there are those elected leaders who think that parading out a well-known actress again and again will impress voters. We need a campaign of ideas, not celebrities. We need a campaign of vision for the city's future, not a campaign of endless fundraisers." Asked to respond, Stringer's spokeswoman Audrey Gelman said, "Tom, you seem a little worked up. If you're looking for some smart ideas, I suggest you check out the 50 reports and over 200 ULURPs the Borough President has issued since 2006." Trackback from your site.