By Stephen Stirling
It was a tough crowd.
The Yippie Museum in Manhattan played host Monday night to what was easily the most bizarre, uncomfortable, yet endearing fund-raising event of the political season.
In a bid to spice up his personal image, the typically strait-laced City Councilman David Weprin (D-Hollis) tried his hand at stand-up comedy, yukking it up for a brief five minutes as the marquee event at the Bleecker Street club.
“A few years ago I told my twins, who were 14 at the time, that I was running for comptroller,” Weprin said to open his set. “They said, ‘Daddy, are you running for controller of the housei’ I told them, ‘No, I’m running for an office I can actually win.’”
Weprin was warmly received, but the Democratic comptroller candidate didn’t exactly have the setup of the century for his comedic debut.
The event was sparsely attended, and those who did come crowded the rear of the dank club.Professional comedians Vanessa Hollingshead and A. Whitney Brown opened the night by riffing on drugs and religion, which prompted little more than nervous laughter from the audience.
Hollingshead’s brief performance was punctuated when she joked that a woman in the front row (really, she was the front row) was anorexic, quickly prompting her to stand up and walk out.
“David, good luck,” Hollingshead said. “I’ve only been doing this for 17 years and I’ve gotten nothing from these guys. I tried to warm them up for you, but now I’m freezing.”
Elsewhere in the comptroller race, City Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills) and Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) each announced endorsements 90 minutes apart on the steps of City Hall Friday.
Katz picked up the backing of the New York City District Council of Carpenters, while Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz came out in support of Yassky.
Endorsements have been coming fast and furious in the comptroller race as Katz, Yassky and Councilmen John Liu (D-Flushing) and Weprin fight for position in what is expected to be a highly competitive race.
In a Quinnipiac poll released this week, none of the four polled higher than 20 percent among likely voters and 50 percent remained undecided.
Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at sstirling@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
