Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Elections

Elections

  • I’m with Cynthia Because She Stands for Schools, Not Jails

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    Antonio Reynoso, the author, endorses Cynthia Nixon (photo: @CMReynoso34)


    Last week, I endorsed Cynthia Nixon for Governor because her campaign is focused on making sure young people of color across New York thrive in school, rather than wither away in jail. As a City Council member from a predominantly black and brown community in Brooklyn, I constantly hear from young people who know what they need to succeed in school and what stands in their way.

    Right now, there are more police in New York City schools than there are guidance counselors

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  • New York Democrats’ Season of Choosing

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    Corey Johnson endorses IDC challengers (photo: Gotham Gazette)


    As progressives aggressively attempt to wrest control of the Democratic Party from the hands of those they call centrists and establishment politicians, elected Democrats across New York find themselves in an unenviable position. Abiding by their self-professed progressive values to support insurgent Democratic primary challengers could mean bucking the state party establishment and its leader, Governor Andrew Cuomo, while, on the

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Attorney General Candidate Zephyr Teachout

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    July 9, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Attorney General Candidate Zephyr Teachout

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    Zephyr Teachout is pursuing the Democratic nomination for Attorney General of the State of New York, part of a somewhat crowded group of candidates that also includes New York City Public Advocate Letitia James;

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  • EMILY’s List Backs Hochul for Reelection as Lieutenant Governor

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    Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (photo: Governor's Office)


    One of the country’s most powerful political organizations, EMILY’s List, has endorsed Kathy Hochul for reelection as lieutenant governor of New York.

    Hochul, a Democrat seeking a second term in the statewide position, is facing a primary challenge from New York City Council Member Jumaane Williams, with the vote just over two months away, on September 13.

    EMILY’s List is a national organization founded in 1985 to “elect pro-choice Democratic women to office” that helps recruit, train, and support female

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  • Running for State Senate, Julia Salazar Attempts Progressive Primary Upset

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    Julia Salazar, middle in black (photo: Salazar campaign website)


    The Harlem apartment where Julia Salazar lived in 2013 while completing her undergraduate work at Columbia, where she majored in Middle Eastern Studies, was falling apart.

    It was run “by a totally abusive management company, a neglectful landlord,” Salazar, 27, told Gotham Gazette. “They didn’t heat the building adequately in the winter, failed to make repairs that were really urgent. Some people had been waiting for well over a year

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  • Democratic Candidates for Attorney General Plant Campaign Flags

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    Tish James, Sean Patrick Maloney, Leecia Eve & Zephyr Teachout (l-r)


    The race for attorney general has quickly become one of the most competitive and intriguing of the 2018 election cycle in New York. After Democrat Eric Schneiderman resigned in May following revelations that he had physically and emotionally abused intimate partners, the question immediately arose of who would replace him. With a regularly-scheduled election -- that Schneiderman was expected to win handily -- just months away, potential candidates had a short

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  • A Closer Look at Voter Turnout in 2018 New York Congressional Primaries

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    Rep. Joe Crowley votes (photo: @JoeCrowleyNY)


    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s upset primary defeat of Representative Joe Crowley has sent shockwaves through both the New York and national political worlds.

    The 28-year-old Latina democratic-socialist who has never held elected office and refused money from corporate PACs stood in stark contrast to Crowley, a 56-year-old, ten-term Congressional representative who was a prolific Democratic Party fundraiser, served as the chair of the Queens Democratic Party, and was seen by some as the next Democratic Speaker of the

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  • New York General Election Congressional Matchups to Watch - End of June

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    Dan Donovan (center) & Max Rose (photos via @dandonovan_ny & @MaxRose4NY)


    The congressional primaries in New York on Tuesday saw a shocking defeat for a Democratic party giant in Queens while other Democratic incumbents in the city held on with close margins. And on Staten Island, a closely-watched Republican primary ended with a wider margin for the incumbent victor than expected.

    [Read: Ocasio-Cortez Upsets Crowley, Donovan

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  • Ocasio-Cortez Upsets Crowley, Donovan Defeats Grimm & Other 2018 New York Congressional Primary Results

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    Ocasio-Cortez campaign buttons (image via @Ocasio2018)


    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old self-identified democratic socialist, unseated 10-term Congressional representative and Queens Democratic Party leader Joe Crowley in a dramatic upset quickly having ripple effects both locally and nationally. And she won handily, by about 4,000 votes and a 57.5 to 42.5 percent margin.

    Crowley entered the House in 1999 and maintained a largely center-left voting record; he was seen as a strong contender to become the next Democratic Speaker of the House,

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  • Molinaro Starts Campaign on Attack, Policy Plans to Come

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    Marc Molinaro, left (photo via @marcmolinaro)


    Nearly three months after launching his campaign for governor, presumptive Republican nominee Marc Molinaro has spent most of his time hammering incumbent Andrew Cuomo, a two-term Democrat, on ethics scandals, economic development spending, and other issues. But key questions remain about Molinaro’s own policy stances.

    “I know that campaigns are marathons, not sprints,” he recently told Gotham Gazette, after

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  • Hochul: Divided Democratic Party Only Benefits Republicans

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    Gov. Cuomo and Lt. Gov. Hochul (photo: Governor's Office)


    With the September primaries for New York state elections fast approaching, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, both Democratic incumbents, are being forced to defend their records in challenges from the left. While many other elected officials and labor unions are supporting the incumbents, a wide swath of activists that form part of the party’s base is supporting challengers to Cuomo, Hochul, and a group of state senators who, until recently, made up the rogue Democratic faction

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  • Donovan, Grimm in Final Days of Contentious Congressional Primary

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    Rep. Donovan, left, and former Rep. Grimm on NY1


    Perhaps the most-watched congressional primary in New York ahead of Tuesday’s vote is the Republican contest centered on Staten Island, where former Congressional Representative Michael Grimm is attempting to unseat incumbent Representative Dan Donovan in what has been a nasty, hard-fought race with a heavy focus on President Donald Trump.

    The district, which includes all of Staten Island and a sliver of southern Brooklyn, is home to many Trump supporters, especially in the Republican primary, and both

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  • Democratic Campaign Chief: Even a ‘Blue Trickle’ Will Flip State Senate

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    Senator Gianaris and colleagues (photo via Gianaris Facebook)


    Predictions of a nationwide “blue wave” of anti-Trump sentiment resulting in major Democratic gains have been tempered as the president maintains strong support among Republicans and the economy, broadly speaking, is going strong.

    But even if the blue wave ends up being more like a trickle, that would be good news to state Senator Michael Gianaris of Queens, who chairs the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) and needs to net just one seat this fall to take control of the

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  • Andrea Stewart-Cousins on Democratic Unity and the ‘Value’ of Primaries

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    Andrea Stewart-Cousins at the state party convention (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    While policies to prevent and punish sexual harassment were being decided in Albany during state budget negotiations earlier this year, four men led the closed-door talks: Governor Andrew Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, and the leader of the now-defunct Independent Democratic Conference Jeff Klein. Even as female aides had some level of participation, there was a great deal of scrutiny of the absence

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  • Citing Broken Cuomo Promises, Nixon Unveils Campaign Finance Reform Plan

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    Cynthia Nixon outside Tweed Courthouse (photo: Gotham Gazette)


    Standing on the steps of the Tweed Courthouse in Manhattan, a symbol of corruption in New York government, Andrew Cuomo launched his run for governor eight years ago last month, vowing to clean up the rot in Albany. On Monday -- as the corruption trial of a close ally to the two-term governor began in federal court -- Cynthia Nixon, the actor and activist and Democratic primary challenger to Cuomo, stood at the same spot to criticize the governor’s broken promise and to

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  • On Taxes, the MTA and More, Molinaro Discusses Developing Campaign Platform

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    Marc Molinaro (photo: Ben Max/Gotham Gazette)


    Ask Marc Molinaro about nearly anything, and the Republican nominee for governor will likely bring the conversation back to property taxes and affordability.

    “My focus, ultimately, will be to drive down costs on middle class New Yorkers,” he said in a Wednesday interview with Gotham Gazette. “That focus, again, has to be on property taxes because New York, unlike every other state in America, forces more of its state spending on property taxpayers. Property taxpayers -- small tax base; large, acute burden on

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    June 14, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul

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    Kathy Hochul is in the fourth year of her first term as lieutenant governor, and, running alongside Governor Andrew Cuomo, seeking another term this fall. She's facing a primary challenge, however, from City Council Member Jumaane

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  • New York Congressional Primaries to Watch Ahead of June 26 Vote

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    Rep. Dan Donovan with President Trump (photo: @DanDonovanSI)


    New Yorkers will head to the polls on Tuesday, June 26 to vote in Democratic and Republican congressional primary elections, determining which candidates will appear on the parties’ ballots in November’s general election. Not every one of New York’s 27 congressional districts is home to one or two primaries, but some districts are in the midst of competitive primary campaigns.

    In New York City, where just one seat in the House of Representatives delegation is held by a Republican, there are several

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  • Teachout Launches Attorney General Campaign with Focus on Trump

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    Zephyr Teachout at her campaign launch (photo: Ben Brachfeld)


    Zephyr Teachout, Fordham Law professor and 2014 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, officially launched her campaign for New York State Attorney General on Tuesday near Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, promising to take a hard line on the “unconstitutional” policies of President Donald Trump while also taking on corruption in Albany and on Wall Street.

    The announcement capped off nearly a month of exploration and initial campaigning by Teachout after the post was

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    June 1, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins

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    State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins is the leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, but has high hopes that come January, after this fall's elections, she will be the first woman and

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  • Inside Cynthia Nixon’s Developing Campaign Infrastructure

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    Nixon in New Paltz (photo: Cynthia for New York Facebook)


    If elected governor, Cynthia Nixon is promising to “transform New York" into a state “for the many” but her campaign for governor is already rapidly transforming the landscape of New York politics. She is putting pressure on incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo, whom she hopes to defeat in the Democratic primary, and broadening her supporter base by linking up with the Working Families Party and other liberal groups that have endorsed her.

    Three-and-a-half months from the September 13 primary,

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  • Stephanie Miner Diagnoses What’s Wrong with New York Politics

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    Stephanie Miner (photo: Ben Max/Gotham Gazette)


    She describes herself as a “romantic about government,” but former Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner sees a lot wrong with how it is currently being practiced in New York.

    “When I think about what motivates me to be in government, it’s making change and impacting public policy,” Miner said on a recent episode of the Max & Murphy podcast from Gotham Gazette and City Limits, adding

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: State Party Conventions & Nominations

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    May 25, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: State Party Conventions and Nominations

    It's state party convention and nomination season as we head toward the fall elections, with state-level primaries in September and the general election in November. Political parties are holding their nominating conventions and deciding which candidates to formally back. The parties that have dedicated ballot lines -- Democratic, Republican, Independence, Conservative, Green, Working

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  • Rallying Volunteers, Nixon Responds to Democratic Convention Result

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    Cynthia Nixon (photo: @CynthiaNixon)


    Cynthia Nixon is “unsurprised” by the result of the state Democratic party convention held this past week on Long Island, where she received less than five percent of the party committee members’ vote ahead of the gubernatorial primary election in September, much less than the 25 percent she needed to have her name automatically included on the ballot.

    The result means Nixon will have to petition thousands of people across the state to appear on the primary ballot against two-term incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo, an endeavor she

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  • Three Themes to Watch at State Democratic Convention

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    New York Democrats at the 2016 DNC (photo: New York Democratic Party)


    This year’s statewide election campaigns are in full swing, with the Democrats and Republicans hosting their nominating conventions this week. While Republicans are set to back a unified slate of candidates to avoid contested primaries, the Democratic Party finds itself in a degree of turmoil with multiple incumbents facing primary challenges from the left and a progressive base increasingly disillusioned with the state party machinery.

    As the September primary and

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