Frightening prospects

Just let me say up front that I'm no fan of Jannie Blackwell -- we've got obstructionism, flip-flopping, intimidation of foes, and opposing the smoking ban, not to mention her blase feelings about or opposition to ethics reform in times past -- and the prospect of her as President of City Council (or mayor, back when her name was among those being tossed around) is nontrivially chilling. She's clearly a capable player, but not necessarily the person to spearhead a new era of open discussion and fairness in City Hall.

However, Blackwell appears to be teaming up with Knox for mutual benefit (she'll make her official mayoral endorsement tomorrow).

Blackwell said if she does endorse Knox, she wants to run as a team.

Her choice comes with a heap of field troops for her favored candidate, and word on the street is that Knox deals with other candidates are being linked to their support for a Blackwell presidency. That's some powerful Outsider stuff, eh? Some tea leaves are read here, with Council contenders asked to forecast their leanings...

Update: oh! and I didn't even mention the nightmares induced by the Daily News cover depicting this match-made-in-[insert your favorite noun]. Humor and terror in a single image...