Aug 6, 2005 4:24 pm US/Eastern
NEW YORK (AP) With his campaign for city council going no place fast, Victor Bernace felt he needed something special to spark interest in his next fundraiser. 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 fundraisers, 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 sm***, 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."
