Clinton Said to Rent Brooklyn Space for Campaign Headquarters
By Maggie Haberman

Hillary Rodham Clinton has leased two floors of office space at 1 Pierrepont Plaza in Brooklyn for her presidential campaign headquarters, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The agreement will put Mrs. Clinton’s political hub on the edge of Brooklyn Heights and the borough’s civic center, and just a short subway ride from Manhattan.

The person who described the lease did so on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss it publicly. Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton, declined to comment.

Signing the lease, which was first reported by Politico, effectively starts the clock on when Mrs. Clinton will have to file candidacy papers with the Federal Election Commission. Prospective office-holders have 15 days from engaging in campaign activities to register a committee. It was not immediately clear when the lease agreement had been signed, or who or what entity was listed as the tenant, but Mrs. Clinton is expected to announce her candidacy in the coming days.

Among the other tenants in 1 Pierrepont Plaza are Morgan Stanley and the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Loretta E. Lynch, President Obama’s nominee for attorney general.

The office building, like many others in the area, is owned by Forest City Ratner Companies, whose chairman, Bruce C. Ratner, is a prolific Democratic donor. Mr. Ratner developed the Barclays Center, an arena that was the centerpiece of New York’s unsuccessful bid to be the host of the Democratic National Convention in 2016.

Mrs. Clinton had also considered another Forest City Ratner property a few blocks away, at the Metro Tech complex. But the building she chose may have had an unfair advantage: It is bounded on the west by Clinton Street.

希拉蕊租競選總部 預料月中宣布選總統

美國前第一夫人、前國務卿希拉蕊．柯林頓已在紐約市布魯克林區一棟大廈租下兩層樓當作競選總部，預料十五天內會宣布參與2016年總統大選。此外，第一夫人蜜雪兒．歐巴馬的前助理克莉絲汀娜．雪克將負責在最短時間內，為近來負面新聞連環爆的希拉蕊重塑形象。

美國聯邦選舉委員會規定，參選人展開競選相關活動後，必須十五天內向選委會申報；希拉蕊本月一日簽競選總部租約，因此應該會在十六日之前宣布參選。

Politico網站率先報導希拉蕊敲定競選總部的消息，它位於布魯克林高地的Pierrepont一號大廈，樓高十九層，希拉蕊租下的是十樓與十一樓，面積逾八萬平方英尺（約兩千兩百五十坪），大樓內擁有現代化辦公設備，交通便利，鄰近十二條地鐵線和十二條巴士線，競選團隊成員通勤方便。

紐約時報報導，希拉蕊曾考慮幾條街外另一棟大樓，最後決定選擇Pierrepont，是因為它西側臨柯林頓街。大樓廿四小時有保全，可俯看曼哈頓河景。

現居紐約的希拉蕊，近來負面新聞纏身，先是被爆以私人電郵處理國務卿四年的公務，違反聯邦檔案法，繼而不理會傳票，將伺服器內的私人電郵悉數刪除。希拉蕊在美國陸軍中士伯格達爾重獲自由事件中也發表了不當意見，表示他是否為逃兵並不重要。伯格達爾去年在美國與阿富汗神學士換俘交易中獲釋；國防部三月底時宣布他是因開小差才遭神學士俘虜。

克莉絲汀娜．雪克必須以最快速度，為希拉蕊再造形象。希拉蕊的支持度因負面新聞而陡降。在參選總統上，希拉蕊原本勝券在握，現在卻僅略微領先或甚至落後可能對手。雪克成功將蜜雪兒．歐巴馬打造成和譪可親的平凡女性，如今她除了須讓希拉蕊重受歡迎，還須說服選民，那些負面新聞不值一顧。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/04/03/clinton-is-no-longer-seeking-office-shes-rented-one/

2015-04-05．聯合報．A1．要聞．編譯王麗娟