NEW YORK – With his campaign for city council going no place fast, Victor Bernace (search) felt he needed something special to spark interest in his next fund-raiser. How about exotic dancers?
The New York Democrat said Saturday he plans to have bikini-clad go-go dancers and men in nothing but briefs at a "Havana Night" campaign party next month at a Manhattan nightclub.
There will be no nudity at the $20-per-head event, Bernace said, but he promised "a sexy, erotic show."
"I'm throwing a fun event. Most politicians — I've been to their fund-raisers, and they are boring," he said. "People can go with a standard politician who will disappear into the woodwork. I'm trying to be part of the next generation."
Bernace, a Harvard-trained lawyer who makes a living representing cab drivers, is trying for the third time to unseat an incumbent in a working-class district in northern Manhattan.
Asked if he thought a risque event might offend some voters, Bernace said he wasn't concerned and suggested the event might help get young men interested in politics.
"I'm not running for mayor in a small, old-time religious town in Utah. I'm running in New York City," he said. "I might as well try to energize a different base."
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