Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits
September 5, 2018 - Final Days of the Lieutenant Governor Primary between Kathy Hochul & Jumaane Williams
Just eight days before their Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor will (most likely) be decided by voters, incumbent Kathy Hochul and challenger Jumaane Williams joined the show to discuss their candidacies and the race.
Listen to the conversation with the two candidates and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMax and @JarrettMurphy. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts, under "Max & Murphy," and listen to Max & Murphy live on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. on WBAI radio, 99.5FM or wbai.org
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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette
Blake Morris (photo: @BlakeMorris4NYS)
The race for control of the New York State Senate is again this year a key touchstone of a state election cycle, but before the November general election that will determine whether Democrats can win a majority from Republicans, and thus control both houses of the Legislature, there is a series of competitive primaries on the Democratic side that will be decided September 13.
Among them are eight races in which incumbents -- former members of the now-defunct Independent Democratic Conference -- are being challenged, mostly by young progressives, despite a “unity deal” fostered earlier this year by Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, whereby the rogue conference returned to the mainline Democratic fold, leaving the Democrats just one seat shy of a 32-member majority in the 63-seat chamber.
And while those eight races, including six in New York City districts, have offered immense intrigue and garnered a great deal of attention, it’s unlikely that any of them will actually affect which party controls the Senate at the start of the next legislative session in January (though the challengers and some other Democrats say they do not trust the former IDC members to stay true to their Democratic colleagues).
More clearly relevant to party control of the upper chamber (the Assembly is a Democratic stronghold and will remain such), is a primary in Brooklyn where an incumbent Democratic senator who has been part of the Republican conference, giving it a one-seat edge in recent years, is being challenged in the primary.
Senator Simcha Felder, who since 2012 has run as a Democrat but caucused with Republicans, while also running on the Republican line in 2016, has ensured the Republican majority, which was bolstered by the IDC. Felder ran in 2012 after that year’s redistricting made the 17th a heavily-Orthodox Jewish district essentially for Felder’s taking; that year, Felder, who had left the City Council in 2010, soundly defeated 21-year-old Abraham Tischler in the primary and then defeated Republican David Storobin, who briefly held the seat the year prior to the redistricting. Felder also ran on the Conservative Party line that year.
If he wins the Democratic primary, where he is being challenged by Blake Morris, Felder is likely to take the Republican nomination again this year. In the general election he would face Luis Rivera, who is running on the Reform Party ticket.
Felder has not faced any serious opposition since 2012.
But Morris, who is running to Felder’s left as a “real Democrat,” emphasizing Felder’s alliance with Republicans and its impact on New Yorkers, has significant backing from progressive groups, including the Working Families Party, Our Revolution, and Citizen Action, as well as 32BJ SEIU, the property services workers union.
Morris’ campaign has drawn much less media attention and funding, and fewer endorsements from Democratic elected officials, than most of the IDC challengers. Morris says this is because the party “establishment” is afraid of him.
“Elected Democrats are scared,” Morris told Gotham Gazette in an extensive interview covering his position on a wide variety of topics, including controversy over the education provided by Orthodox Jewish yeshivas, the fight for school speed cameras, Felder’s record, Republicans, Democrats, the State Senate, the diverse priorities of the district, and how Thomas Edison sued his family out of business a century ago.
Felder, an Orthodox Jew whose district, allegedly drawn for him in 2012, has a large Orthodox population, has been a lightning rod of controversy throughout his tenure in both the City Council and, since 2013, the State Senate. He has recently drawn Cuomo’s ire, though there is some evidence Cuomo has been happy with a Republican Senate majority, and that of the former members of the IDC. Senator Jeff Klein, the leader of the IDC, has stated repeatedly on the campaign trail and in debates that the Republican majority in the Senate was propped up only by Felder, and not by the IDC -- an argument that is only partially true.
In choosing to remain with the Republicans even after the IDC unity deal, Felder cast his decision as one made for the sake of bipartisanship and the institution of the Senate, while he has long insisted that his top priority is delivering for his constituents, even indicating that his party allegiance is available to the highest bidder.
“Political gamesmanship must not be allowed to jeopardize the leadership, committee structure and staff of the New York State Senate and push this institution into turmoil,” Felder said in April, according to the New York Times, just after Cuomo brokered the post-budget unity deal and there were questions about whether Felder might be persuaded to cross the aisle for the rest of the legislative session.
Prior to the April unity deal, Felder appeared ready to hold up the state budget in order to loosen oversight of yeshivas, the Jewish religious schools, many of which have been accused of failing to provide basic secular education to their students, by diluting state “equivalence” standards for non-public schools. This occurred amid a New York City investigation into the yeshivas that has been thrown into some uncertainty based on the new state laws that Felder achieved.
While Felder partially succeeded, the State Education Commissioner also gained new oversight capabilities over the schools. The yeshiva issue has continued to cause controversy throughout the political season. Felder, as chair of the Senate’s Cities Committee, has also shouldered much blame for the lapse of the city’s school speed camera program, which had been approved by the state, but after expiring was reinstated via an executive order from Governor Cuomo and new City Council legislation. Felder was also one of the loudest voices in opposition to implementing a plastic bag fee in New York City, pushing the state to supercede a city law, much to the consternation of his colleagues in city government.
While he’s better known outside the district for what he’s blocked than for what he’s passed, Felder’s politics have been described as “transactional” on behalf of his Orthodox voting base. In the City Council, he opposed same-sex marriage but voted for Christine Quinn, who is gay, as Speaker. In the Senate, Felder’s alliance with the Republicans has given him, and the community he represents, outsize power in Albany. One of his most notable legislative achievements was securing state-funded “door-to-door” private busing for yeshiva students, amounting to a $42 million community investment.
Felder (pictured) declined to be interviewed for this story; his spokesperson said he is not doing interviews.
Morris, a contract and property lawyer whose resume includes volunteer work with Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, a group opposed to the construction of the Atlantic Yards project, told Gotham Gazette that he never intended to run for office, much less Felder’s seat. In 2016, after four years of Felder’s alliance with Republicans and two consecutive elections where Felder was uncontested, Morris was an original member of a new activist group called “NYSD 17 for Progress,” which formed in early 2017 to push for progressive action in state and local government, educating district residents on civic matters and registering voters. Its members appeared interested in a candidate to oppose Felder.
Morris said that he is a “reluctant candidate” and that being a candidate was “absolutely not” his first choice; he said he spent considerable time trying to find someone else to run against Felder. He, and others in his orbit, were expecting Felder, who joined the Republican caucus immediately after his election, to face a Democratic primary challenge in 2014 and 2016. In neither election did Felder face one, however, and so Morris decided to run.
“The concept of actually being the horse was never in my mind,” Morris said. “If it was, I would’ve done this a long time ago.”
Morris captured the special impact his own victory would have, saying that, unlike the IDC races, he could decisively flip the State Senate to Democrats.
"On November 6, when I win the general election, I've already done the major thing,” Morris told Gotham Gazette, forecasting victory. “I hope to do a lot more, but the first big major thing I'm going to do is just by winning the election. Because once I win the election, the Senate gets flipped."
“My election would change everything in New York State,” he said, noting that it would solidify Democratic control. Morris’ analysis does not, of course, take into account that there are at least a handful of swing Senate districts that will be determined in November, potentially complicating the notion that the Felder seat is all-determinative.
“Everyone has a long story of what they’re gonna do for the public when they’re elected,” he said, referring to the reaction to his pitch that Democratic clubs have at endorsement meetings. “No one ever just says their election changes everything.”
Morris' take also does not acknowledge the likely long odds in unseating Felder, though there’s minimal data to assess the race other than the fact that incumbents have extremely high reelection rates. While there has clearly been an awakening among many Democrats, new activists who are backing the IDC challengers, Morris, and others, it is unclear how much power there is behind the Morris campaign.
Soon after Morris entered the race, Felder brought a lawsuit aiming to kick him off the ballot, on the grounds that Morris’s nomination papers, and his name on the ballot, appeared as his middle name Blake, instead of real first name Lawrence. Morris got the suit tossed, and connects the fairly common practice to a broader critique of Felder.
“He doesn’t have any ideology, he doesn’t have any pragmatism. It’s just all extortion. He just holds things up and extorts people,” Morris said. “And so that’s what happened in court, and that’s they thought they were gonna do, they were gonna take my time and money, my campaign money, and extort me in court on a pointless lawsuit.”
As such, the State Democratic Party has abandoned Felder and has pinned its hopes on Morris, as has the Working Families Party, despite Morris’s assertion that those Democrats in power are “scared” of his victory, and a unified Democratic government.
Morris, 56, was born in Pennsylvania, the son of a traveling salesman, and has lived in Ditmas Park for 20 years, he said. He has practiced law for 30 years, and has recently become something of a political activist and good government advocate.
In April, Morris won a lawsuit ordering the State Senate to disclose its guidelines for how taxpayer-funded mailers were distributed, which Morris claimed were significantly weighted to favor certain members, such as Felder. Morris claimed that the disparity in discretionary mailer budgets among senators ranged from $500 to $100,000. The Senate appealed, and the matter is currently pending.
Morris described the mailer controversy as an “incumbency protection program” and “discreet corruption,” the latter referring to micro, “everyday” corruption occurring within the statehouse versus actions that can land politicians in prison.
Morris said that his several months of campaigning have left him optimistic.
“I’ve never met a Democratic-voter Felder-supporter,” he said. “I’ve met Republicans who are Felder supporters.”
Of the Democratic primary voters he meets, he splits them into two groups, but the end result is the same, he said.
“There’s groups who know me and there’s groups that don’t know me,” Morris said. “The groups that know me, those are the people who walk up to me and they say ‘thank you for running, you’re saving us.’ So that’s the level of support, people say ‘thank you, I have been waiting six years for someone to run, you’re saving me.” In contrast, the groups that don’t know Morris, according to him, give him their support essentially blindly when he says he’s running against Felder. “I don’t know who you are, you have my vote. I hope you’re a good guy, because I’m voting for you.”
The Morris campaign told Gotham Gazette that the district is “very diverse,” a statement contradicted by Steve Romalewski, Director of the CUNY Mapping Service at the Center for Urban Research. The data provided to Gotham Gazette by the Morris campaign, compiled on Statistical Atlas and based on U.S. Census data, showed the district at 65.5 percent white, but Romalewski noted that the share of the voting age population that’s white is nearly 73 percent.
“Based on the data I wouldn’t describe the district as ‘highly diverse,’” Romalewski said in an email. “It has some diversity, and I’m sure even within the white population there is diversity...But the core of the district is overwhelmingly white.”
While Morris’ assertion that the district is diverse may not hold up to scrutiny, he wants to change its composition regardless. In 2012, District 17 was gerrymandered, in his view, to specifically empower, and represent the interests of, Borough Park over neighboring communities such as Midwood, Bensonhurst, and Sunset Park.
“All the districts need to be redrawn,” Morris said, arguing that the 2012 redistricting had systematically benefitted Republicans by under-populating upstate districts and over-populating downstate ones; he said the average district upstate, which he defined as north of Bear Mountain Bridge in northwestern Westchester County, has 300,000 people, while the average downstate one, including District 17, has 325,000, a finding largely consistent with an analysis of the 2012 redistricting by the CUNY Center for Urban Research.
The 2012 redistricting process has been widely criticized as a questionable deal among Cuomo and legislative leaders that helped solidify the Democratic Assembly majority and the Republican Senate majority. A new redistricting process, approved by voters in 2014, will be in effect for the next redrawing, in 2022, after the upcoming Census.
The district also has a sizable Asian population, with 18.7 percent identifying as Asian according to U.S. Census data. The Asian sections of the district also contain high proportions of immigrants, according to a comparison of the district map with the City’s 2013 “Newest New Yorkers” report. The only sections of the district with sizable non-white populations, the ones overlapping Assembly Districts 49 and 51, saw very low voter turnout in the 2012 primary, with just 164 and 356 votes cast, respectively, according to the City Board of Elections. The Morris campaign described the district as 60 percent Jewish, with two-thirds of that 60 percent being Orthodox, with a significant ultra-Orthodox population.
Morris firmly believes that the diversity of the district can power him to victory, dispelling the image of the district as a homogenous Orthodox community.
To prevent himself from being two-faced in appealing to both liberal voters and to more conservative Orthodox voters in Borough Park, Morris says that he tries not to mince words.
“I tell them the truth. I say the 17th Senate District is much larger than Borough Park,” he said.
Perhaps the most salient issue in the district beyond Felder himself, that of the investigation into yeshivas accused of failing to educate students according to state law, is a sticking point for Morris, and one he believes distinguishes him from Felder. While Felder helped lead a watering down of the oversight laws, and New York City officials slow-walked an investigation into the yeshivas of whether they are providing the mandated “substantially equivalent” secular education to public schools, Morris called it a “yeshiva dog-and-pony show.”
Morris said Felder “worked mischief” but unintentionally provided the State Education Commissioner with new authority to unilaterally withhold state funds from yeshivas that are deemed to be inadequately educating children.
While yeshivas are classified under the constitutional category of “non-public” education, the state still provides resources to yeshiva students in the form of transportation, building maintenance, and textbooks. If a school is found to be deficiently educating students, the commissioner can recommend that the comptroller not disburse funds to those schools.
Morris believes that, per a letter from New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, the yeshivas that recently turned away city Department of Education inspectors should have their funds withheld, and that the new “status quo” of the commissioner, rather than district superintendents, being able to make recommendations to the comptroller should be maintained.
“I don’t think the district superintendent, which is the mayor, I don’t think the mayor ever asked the state superintendent, as a referral, to suspend payments to the schools that would not let them in,” Morris said. “And that is what should’ve happened. And my suspicion is, being a contract disputes attorney for over 30 years, my suspicion is that when these schools were ordered, got the letter saying that their payments from the state were gonna be suspended, they might’ve opened the door.”
Morris differentiated himself from Felder in yet another way, by pointing out the differences in their campaign contributions. According to the State Board of Elections, Morris has not taken any corporate donations, and has taken few non-individual donations. These include $5,000 from 32BJ, $3,500 in in-kind contributions from the State Democratic Committee, and $1,000 from the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats. He has raised $91,500 from 769 donations as of the September filing.
For Felder, meanwhile, 138 out of his 240 donations since January 2017 have been from non-individual donors, including several real estate LLCs, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), charter school advocates, and $11,000 from “Friends of John Flanagan,” the committee controlled by the Republican Senate majority leader. Only 12 donations were under $200, with a total of 40 of $250 or less.
“Felder runs around saying ‘oh, look at my community, you know, I support my community.’ He never uses the word ‘district,’ he never says the word ‘district,’” Morris said. “And he never uses the word ‘constituents,’ he always talks about ‘my community.’ And, for the longest time, I’ve been always saying, we don’t know what his community is because we can’t figure out who he’s representing. And then you look at his financial disclosure, and now you find out his community. His community’s REBNY, it’s John Flanagan, it’s the corrections union, troopers’ union, it’s the PBA. It’s nursing homes, it’s bus companies with state contracts -- basically special interests with loaded state contracts. And the real estate lobby.”
Though Morris has steered clear of corporate donations, he did not rule out accepting them, saying that if a “masochist” real estate company decided to donate to him, despite his policy preferences, he wouldn’t decline the donation.
Morris also said the school speed camera program and establishment of a single-payer healthcare system were key issues for the district he hopes to represent. On his website, Morris’ policy objectives include building the TriboroRX subway line connecting the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, passing GENDA, implementing early-voting and no-excuse absentee voting, building protected bike lanes, public financing of state elections, and expanding rent stabilization. Though Morris has embraced the mantle of “real” Democrat and is largely in-line with the IDC challengers, he told Gotham Gazette that he not a “handicapper” in saying that he would not publicly endorse either Cuomo or Cynthia Nixon for governor.
As for Morris’ family feud with Thomas Edison, it derives from events of a century ago. Morris’ mother’s family, “known for their steady hands,” was at the apex of the hand-cranked motion projector industry, contracting themselves out to New York City movie theaters to hand-crank the projectors.
“But then Thomas Edison put them all out of business with the electric motor for motion picture projectors,” Morris said, noting that Edison invented a stable electric motor that wouldn’t spark and cause the highly flammable film stock to catch fire.
Afterwards, the family started selling light bulbs without a license; Edison sued them for patent infringement.
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by Ben Brachfeld, Gotham Gazette
@GothamGazette
Note: this article has been corrected to clarify Morris' role in SD17 for Progress and the organization's mission.
(Photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)
The primary election is next Thursday, September 13, and candidates for statewide office filed another round of campaign spending and fundraising reports this week, the final disclosures due before primary day.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, a two-term Democrat, has been, for the most part, publicly nonchalant about his primary challenger, actor and activist Cynthia Nixon. But his campaign finance filings show he is spending far more to beat back her insurgent bid than he did four years ago, when he faced a primary challenge from Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout (who is running for attorney general this year).
Cuomo’s campaign spent $8.5 million and raised $184,000 between August 9 and August 31, the latest filing period. But the governor began the campaign with a massive war chest and still has $16 million left to spend, though only some of it is eligible for spending during the primary due to campaign finance rules. In total, this election cycle, he has raised $35.6 million and spent $25.6 million, far outraising and outspending any other candidate for any race, including Nixon.
The governor’s campaign transferred more than $2.5 million to the New York State Democratic Committee, of which Cuomo is the de facto head. The state committee has been spending large amounts of its funding to run ads in favor of the governor’s reelection, even as Cuomo’s own campaign spent nearly $3 million to buy ads in this latest period through Jersey City-based firm Media Fortitude Partners. The Cuomo campaign also doled out nearly $1.2 million to Bully Pulpit Interactive, a communications firm.
Just Wednesday morning, the state committee released its latest ad featuring Cuomo, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who is running for reelection, and New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for attorney general and is the state party’s official designee for the post. “They are our team to take on Trump and win,” the ad states, in line with the governor’s tactic of making the race about the Republican president rather than his upstart opponent.
“The Governor has proudly delivered unprecedented support to elect the entire Democratic ticket – proven leaders Cuomo, Hochul, and James – on Thursday, Sept. 13 because he believes this is the strongest possible team to fight back against Trump’s destructive agenda," said a Cuomo campaign spokesperson in an email. "The governor will continue to lead the way with his aggressive coordinated campaign as we work to take back the U.S. House , State Senate and build the Party’s infrastructure moving forward." The spokesperson also noted that the governor has made a six-figure ad buy targeting Republican gubernatorial nominee Marc Molinaro in order to get a leg up on the general election (Molinaro sought to have the ads pulled, accusing the Cuomo campaign of disinformation.)
Nixon’s numbers are paltry in comparison to Cuomo’s, though her campaign is banking its longshot on a very different type of strategy than the incumbent’s. Over the course of the race, she has raised a total of $2 million and spent about $1.3 million. She has not yet run any television ads, insisting that her campaign’s digital and social media operation is far more effective to reach the voters she is targeting. On Wednesday, her campaign released a new ad dinging Cuomo on his mishandling of the crisis affecting the city’s subway system. The campaign told Gotham Gazette it will be pushed out on social media including a Facebook ad buy.
Nixon also said in an NY1 interview on Monday that she does not plan on infusing her own personal funds into her campaign. She raised about $475,000 in this filing and spent just over $450,000. She had about $467,000 in cash on hand for the final two weeks of the campaign. Having rejected corporate and LLC donations, Nixon’s fundraising came mostly from small donors who gave less than $200, a fact her campaign has repeatedly touted while pointing out Cuomo’s propensity for raising money from wealthy donors and through the LLC loophole (which allows obscured donors to circumvent contribution limits).
“We are seeing an unprecedented level of grassroots momentum from New Yorkers,” said Nixon’s campaign manager, Hayley Prim, in a statement Wednesday. “There is a real hunger in New York to elect a real progressive who is beholden to the people, not corporations and millionaires. And since the debate, we’re seeing that momentum build like never before.”
Nixon’s campaign paid the Working Families Party $58,800 from her campaign coffers. The WFP has endorsed Nixon and has been mobilizing volunteers to canvas on her behalf. In fact, the in-kind contributions from the WFP to Nixon’s campaign -- in the form of phone banking, texting and canvassing efforts -- amounted to nearly $86,000, according to filings.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat running for a second term, also faces a primary challenge, hers from New York City Council Member Jumaane Williams. Hochul’s filings show she raised $356,000 and spent more than $1.5 million in the latest disclosure period, leaving her with about $389,000 in cash on hand. Hochul also availed of the services of Media Fortitude Partners, using $1.4 million of that spending on television ads. So far, Hochul has raised a total of more than $2 million and spent about $1.9 million on her reelection.
Williams continues to struggle to raise funds for his campaign but has shown stiff competition to Hochul in a race that increasingly looks as if it could be close. Williams raised only $62,000 and spent about $38,000 in this latest filing, and filed just under $72,000 in cash on hand. In total, he has raised $270,000 -- he was forced to refund tens of thousands of dollars in over-the-limit contributions -- and spent $177,000. Williams said during a recent debate with Hochul, the only of the campaign, that he is still making payments to return the over-the-limit donations and pledged to be in full compliance by the end of the campaign.
There is no Republican primary in any of the statewide races. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run separately in a primary and on a joint ticket in the general election. The winners of the Democratic primary will face Republican gubernatorial nominee Marc Molinaro, the Dutchess county executive, and his running mate Julie Killian, a recent state Senate candidate.
Besides Letitia James and Zephyr Teachout, two other candidates -- Congressional Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney and Leecia Eve, a former Verizon executive who has been an aide to Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Cuomo -- are vying for the Democratic attorney general nomination. The winner will go on to face Republican Keith Wofford and others in the general. The four-way contest was triggered by the resignation of Eric Schneiderman after allegations reported in May by The New Yorker that he had physically abused several romantic partners. The race to replace him has turned into the most competitive on the statewide level, though James is backed by Cuomo and the state Democratic Party.
James raised $428,000 and spent $767,000 in the latest filing period, giving her just over $867,000 for the remainder of the race. She has raised more than $2 million over the course of the campaign and shelled out $1.1 million so far. Most of her latest expenditures went to the Hamilton Campaign Network, a consulting firm working for her campaign that has also been purchasing digital and television ads and sending out mailers to voters.
James’ campaign has been beset with criticism over her perceived lack of independence from the governor, and momentum has been building behind Teachout’s campaign, while Maloney remains a formidable opponent as a sitting member of Congress with significant funds. Teachout was endorsed last month by the New York Times editorial board and, just on Tuesday, by New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray, with the Daily News editorial board in between. Then, on Wednesday, New York City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer rescinded his earlier endorsement of James and backed Teachout instead, telling the New York Daily News, “I believe that her independence from all of the power brokers, including the governor, is something that we should all want in an attorney general.” This echoed a somewhat similar recent decision made by Council Member Ritchie Torres, who changed his endorsement of James to a co-endorsement with Teachout, while also declaring he prefers Teachout and plans to vote for her.
Teachout raised about $545,000 and spent $617,000 between August 9 and 31, and she had a balance of just under $500,000 left. She has raised $1.46 million for her campaign so far, spending a total of $981,000, and is the only candidate in the race refusing donations from corporations and LLCs.
Maloney has been flush with cash since the start of the race, and has raised a total of $2 million while spending nearly $3 million. He raised almost $1.7 million in the latest filing period -- $1.4 million came in transfers from his congressional campaign account -- and spent $1.9 million at the same time, leaving him about $490,000. A significant amount of money went to media buys through Canal Partners Media, a firm based in Atlanta. Maloney is also up for reelection to his current seat and has said he will drop his name from the November congressional ballot if he wins the attorney general primary.
Eve has trailed the pack in fundraising and name recognition, though she was recently endorsed by the Albany Times Union and was even the New York Times’ second pick in the race behind Teachout. She raised $139,000 and spent $255,000 in the latest filing, and had less than $43,000 left to spend. In total, she has raised $382,000 and spent $351,000 since entering the race. She also loaned herself $100,000 in personal funds in this filing.
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Note - This article has been updated with comment from the Cuomo campaign.
Alessandra Biaggi, right (photo: @Biaggi4NY)
Though the entire New York State Legislature -- 150 Assembly seats and 63 Senate seats -- is on the ballot this year, there is a small number of competitive races to be decided during next week’s primary election on Thursday, September 13. In several key districts, mostly in New York City, insurgent challengers are attempting to unseat sitting Democrats in a sweeping effort to shake up state government, prompting the incumbents to raise and spend money accordingly. All the candidates filed the last round of pre-primary campaign finance disclosures this week with the state Board of Elections, showing their activity between August 9 and 31.
In eight Senate districts, six covering parts of the five boroughs, Democrats who once represented the now-defunct Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a rogue faction that shared power with Republicans for seven years, are fending off spirited challenges. The former IDC Senators are Tony Avella of District 11 in Queens, Jose Peralta of District 13 in Queens, Jesse Hamilton of District 20 in Brooklyn, Diane Savino of District 23 in Staten Island and Brooklyn, Marisol Alcantara of District 31 in Manhattan, Jeff Klein of District 34 in the Bronx and Westchester, and David Carlucci of District 38 and David Valesky of District 53, both of which are outside New York City.
A few of the senators received new contributions from the Senate Independence Campaign Committee (SICC), which was set up by the Independence Party and the IDC but was recently ruled to have violated state law. Based on a judge’s ruling, the leadership of the SICC altered its registration, getting into compliance. But, the Board of Elections enforcement counsel, Risa Sugarman, insisted that earlier donations that were over the legal limit should be refunded, but the former IDC members have refused. A deadline set by Sugarman came and went and it remains unclear if the committee or the senators themselves could face any legal action. Their opponents did vow to sue if the BOE did nothing, but have not made any moves either.
The SICC raised $50,000 in the latest filing from the Real Estate Board PAC, aligned with the Real Estate Board of New York. It transferred $345,000 in total to five former IDC members. The committee still has about $328,000 in the bank. See details of the fundraising and spending in the eight IDC races below.
There are a few other races as well where incumbent Democratic Senators Simcha Felder of District 17 and Martin Dilan of District 20, who weren’t members of the IDC, face similar primary challenges. And in Brooklyn’s District 22, two Democrats are competing in the primary to eventually challenge Senator Marty Golden, a Republican, in the general.
Senate District 11
Senator Avella raised $94,000, including $42,000 from the SICC, and spent $111,000 in the latest filing, leaving him just over $104,000 for the rest of the election. Avella has, in total, raised more than $209,000 and spent nearly $281,000 on his race.
Avella’s opponent, John Liu, the former New York City Comptroller who is challenging him for the second time, raised more than $53,000 and spent nearly $95,000 in the same time. He has $148,000 in cash on hand. His total fundraising for the race amounts to $255,000 and total spending is about $118,000.
Senate District 13
Senator Peralta raised just over $102,000 and spent about $112,000, and has $101,000 in his campaign account. He received a $39,000 bump from the SICC. He has raised nearly $490,000 for his reelection and spent more than $612,000.
Jessica Ramos, a former aide to Mayor Bill de Blasio, is Peralta’s challenger. Ramos only raised about $37,000 and spent just under $32,000 in this filing, but has about $108,000 in cash on hand for the rest of the race, slightly higher than Peralta. She has raised a total of $273,000 and spent about $160,000 on her insurgent bid for office.
Senate District 20
Senator Hamilton raised about $64,000 and spent $156,000 in this period, and has a balance of about $43,000. The SICC gave him $39,000 as well. Over the course of the race, he has raised more than $400,000 and spent $544,000.
Hamilton’s challenger, Zellnor Myrie, a Brooklyn-based attorney, has been close to keeping up with the incumbent in recent filings. The latest disclosures show he raised $47,000 and spent $106,000, and has a balance of about $86,000. He has raised a total of $355,000 and spent $254,000 so far.
Senate District 23
Senator Savino continues to far outpace her opponent, Jasmine Robinson, a community activist. Savino raised $27,000 and spent about $94,000, leaving her with about $142,000 in the bank. Over the election cycle, she has raised $331,000 and spent $247,000.
Robinson, on the other hand, has raised little, raising questions about her ability to run an effective challenge. She has raised barely $5,400 and spent just under $1,600 since entering the race. She has also failed to file the last two required campaign finance disclosures.
Senate District 31
Senator Alcantara is facing former City Council Member Robert Jackson, who was among the candidates that she beat in the primary for her seat two years ago in a very tight finish. Alcantara raised $172,000 and spent $148,000 in the latest filing period, and has about $61,000 in cash on hand. She too received a massive SICC donation of $125,000. So far, she has raised a total of nearly $342,000 and spent about $623,000 on her reelection.
Jackson raised $43,000 and spent $84,000 in the latest filing. He has about $111,000 left to spend. In total, he has raised more than $367,000 and spent about $246,000 to defeat Alcantara.
Senate District 34
Senator Klein, who headed the IDC until its dissolution and is now the deputy leader of the Senate Democratic conference, faces a tough primary challenge from Alessandra Biaggi. Klein once controlled the SICC, which sent him $100,000 in the latest filing period.
Klein raised $138,000 and spent a whopping $836,000, and still has $958,000 in cash on hand. In total, the senator has raised $1.66 million and has spent nearly $2.4 million to get reelected, apparently attempting to leave little to chance.
Though Biaggi is not nearly as well funded, she has the backing of several progressive activist groups, elected officials, and 32BJ, the prominent labor union, all of whom have been actively hitting the ground in the district to build groundswell support.
Biaggi raised about $76,000 and spent about $88,000 in this latest filing. She has about $263,000 left to spend. Over the course of her campaign, she has raised more than $504,000 and spent about $184,000.
Senate District 38
Senator Carlucci raised about $34,000, spent $96,000 and has $305,000 in cash on hand. In total, he has raised $374,000 and spent $494,000 on reelection.
Carlucci’s opponent, Julie Goldberg, has less than $13,000 in her campaign account after raising about $17,000 and spending $21,000 in this filing period. She has raised a total of just under $50,000 and spent under $19,000.
Senate District 53
Senator Valesky raised $47,000 and spent $286,000, giving him a balance of about $397,000 as he heads into the primary. In total, Valesky has raised $274,000 for his reelection and spent about $448,000.
Rachel May, Valesky’s primary opponent, only raised $9,600 and spent about $36,000. She has just over $40,000 left to spend. In total, she has raised $154,000 and spent about $113,000.
Other Races To Watch
Senate District 17
Senator Felder is a conservative Democrat who votes with Republicans and has refused to join the mainline Democratic conference. Elected from a district with a large Orthodox Jewish population, Felder is widely expected to coast to reelection. He only raised $6,600 and spent a little less than $13,000 in this filing, and has $606,000 in cash on hand. In total, he has raised $511,000 and spent $189,000 for his reelection.
Felder’s opponent, Blake Morris, raised about $29,000, spent about $19,000 and has roughly $28,000 left. So far, he has raised a total of $91,000 and spent $64,000 to challenge Felder.
Senate District 18
Senator Dilan, an eight-term incumbent, raised about $73,000 and spent $63,000 in the latest filing period, leaving him with $110,000 in his account. In total, he has raised $211,000 and spent about $124,000.
Dilan’s challenger is Julia Salazar, a young card-carrying democratic socialist who has recently courted controversy over her conflicting statements about her personal history. Salazar raised nearly $43,000 and spent $64,000 in this filing, and has $72,000 in cash on hand. In total, she has raised about $226,000 and spent $142,000.
Senate District 22
Two Democrats -- Andrew Gounardes, general counsel to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, and Ross Barkan, a journalist -- are competing in next week’s primary in southern Brooklyn.
Gounardes raised about $14,000, spent about $32,000, and has $153,000 in cash on hand as of the new filing. In total, he has raised $277,000 for the race and spent $101,000.
In the latest filing period, Barkan raised about $33,000 and spent about $46,000. He has about $10,000 left to spend. Barkan has raised more than $163,000 since entering the race and has spent about $155,000.
Golden, who is not required to file a primary disclosure since he does not have an opponent, had $485,000 in cash on hand according to his most recent disclosure in July. He has raised a total of $782,000 and spent $707,000 already this election cycle.
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
New York City Hall
What to watch for this week in New York politics:
Thursday will mark one week until primary election day, which is Thursday September 13. After “debate week” last week -- featuring the second televised debate in the Democratic attorney general primary, and the lone televised debates in the Democratic primaries for governor and lieutenant governor -- those three statewide races and a variety of other local legislative races are in their home stretches.
The four Democrats vying for the party’s attorney general nomination will participate in a series of public forums this week -- see below for details, while challengers Cynthia Nixon and Jumaane Williams continue to push for Governor Andrew Cuomo and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul to agree to at least one more televised debate. No one should expect the incumbents to agree, despite the fact that Hochul had previously said she would debate Williams on NY1, but hasn’t [Watch the Hochul-Williams debate here].
Debates in contentious legislative primaries -- especially those for state Senate seats, particularly in races involving former members of the Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference -- will continue this week. (NY1 has hosted several debates so far and will host others this week. The Max & Murphy podcast/WBAI radio show has hosted a series of appearances by competing candidates in some of the Senate races, as well as all four Democrats running for attorney general.)
In the final frenzy before primary day, we’re watching for additional endorsements, such as whether Mayor Bill de Blasio will endorse Cynthia Nixon in the gubernatorial primary or stay out of it, and what he might do in the other statewide primaries and local races. Thus far, he’s endorsed in two state Senate races, backing Jessica Ramos over Senator Jose Peralta and Zellnor Myrie over Senator Jesse Hamilton. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand jumped into several races over the weekend, backing challengers to former members of the IDC. She endorsed Ramos and Myrie, as well as Robert Jackson over Senator Marisol Alcantara and Alessandra Biaggi over Senator Jeff Klein.
Along with debates and endorsements, we’re watching the final pre-primary campaign finance filings, which are due by midnight Tuesday, and the pre-primary ads, statements, and other campaign activity that will be coming fast and furious through primary day: Thursday, September 13.
Beyond the elections, there are some other things happening, including City Council hearings, panel events, and the start of the New York City school year -- see our day-by-day rundown below.
***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***
The run of the week in detail:
Monday
Monday is Labor Day.
Tuesday
On Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at City Hall, "Mayor de Blasio will hold a public hearing on and sign Intro. 1089 that authorizes and expands a speed camera program in school zones. This event is open press. There will be no Q-and-A." City Council Speaker Corey Johnson will deliver remarks at the bill-signing. At 3 p.m., "the Mayor and Police Commissioner O’Neill will hold a media availability on crime statistics. This event is open press. There will be Q-and-A."
On Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., Comptroller Scott Stringer will appear live on Fox 5 “Good Day New York." At 3:30 p.m., Stinger will tour "Delayed Middle Village Sewer Upgrade Project with State Senator Addabbo, Assemblymember Barnwell, Council Member Holden and Local Residents" in Queens.
On Tuesday at 9 a.m. at City Hall, the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform empaneled by Mayor de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson will convene in order to discuss reforming the city’s property tax system while also ensuring that there are no reductions in revenues that fund city services.
On Tuesday at noon, “Councilman Chaim Deutsch, Councilman Rafael Espinal, Councilman Justin Brannan, Assemblyman David Weprin, and advocates will be holding a press conference on the steps of City Hall to announce a $1 million pilot program to launch kosher and halal lunches in New York City public and nonpublic schools.” City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Comptroller Scott Stringer will deliver remarks.
On Tuesday at noon, "Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, State Senator Kevin S. Parker, and community advocates will hold a press conference to call on the MTA and Department of Transportation to address community opposition to the B82 SBS line in development and to highlight the need for the agencies to collaborate with communities on transportation solutions." The press conference will take place at "4154 Kings Highway, at the intersection with Avenue K."
At 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will make an announcement at Farmingdale State College.
The New York City Planning Commission will hold a review session and special meeting at 1 p.m.
On Tuesday, "following Labor Day, Council Member Francisco Moya, Assemblywoman Ari Espinal, organized labor groups and worker's rights organizations will call on the New York State Department of Labor to eliminate the tipped credit and raise all tipped workers up to the full state minimum wage." Members of the Retail Workers union will also participate.
At 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Governor Cuomo will tour the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge and make an announcement.
On Tuesday afternoon in Albany, "Reinvent Albany and Citizens Budget Commission to Testify in Support of Authorities Budget Office’s (ABO) Rule Increasing Transparency of IDA Projects and Describing How Subsidies Clawed Back or Revoked."
At 6 p.m., the New York City Charter Revision Commission empaneled by Mayor de Blasio will hold a public meeting at the New York Historical Society. The commission plans to discuss ballot questions that may potentially appear during the November general election, if the commission chooses to adopt the proposals.
At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the New York City Bar Association will host a forum with Democratic attorney general candidates Letitia James, Zephyr Teachout, Sean Patrick Maloney, and Leecia Eve.
There will be a rally at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in City Hall park to celebrate the new city speed camera law. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson is among those who will speak.
On Tuesday evening’s Inside City Hall on NY1, there will be a debate between state Senator Jose Peralta and challenger Jessica Ramos, who are competing for the Democratic nomination in Senate District 13 in Queens.
Wednesday
Wednesday is the first day of school for most New York City public schools.
On Wednesday, various City Council subcommittees will be holding meetings inside the Committee Room at City Hall. The Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet at 9:30 a.m., the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses will meet at noon and the Subcommittee on Planning Dispositions and Concessions will meet at 2 p.m.
At 10 a.m., the City Planning Commission will also hold a public meeting in the New York City Planning Commission Hearing Room.
From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., catch the latest episode of Max & Murphy, hosted by Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max and City Limits’ Jarrett Murphy, on WBAI radio at 99.5FM or wbai.org.
On Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., the four Democratic candidates for attorney general will appear at a criminal-justice-reform-focused forum at National Action Network, Reverend Al Sharpton’s organization, which is being co-sponsored by several reform organizations, including JustLeadershipUSA, Communities United for Police Reform, and the NAACP.
In Albany, the Cuomo administration will hold its first listening session for input about marijuana legalization and regulation from community members and stakeholders. This event, which will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Albany Capital Center, is devised as part of a series of statewide listening sessions. The input amassed at these sessions are to aid the Regulated Marijuana Workshop in the development of comprehensive adult-use marijuana legislation, which would then be reviewed by the Legislature in the next session.
During Wednesday evening’s Inside City Hall on NY1, there will be a debate between state Senator Tony Avella and former city Comptroller John Liu, who are competing for Democratic nomination in Senate District 11 in Queens.
At 7 p.m. Wednesday, there will be a debate between the two candidates running for the Democratic nomination in Assembly District 46 in Brooklyn, Mathylde Frontus and Ethan Lustig-Elgrably. The debate is being hosted by Bklyner and moderated by Kadia Goba, and held at Trump Village Community Room, 2928 West 5th Street, Brooklyn.
Thursday
Thursday is one week until primary day, and the last day to postmark an application for an absentee ballot for the primary election. More information on absentee voting is available on the New York City Board of Elections website. You can also check your eligibility to vote and your polling place.
At the City Council on Thursday:
--The Committee on Women, Committee on Criminal Justice and Committee on Justice System will hold a joint meeting at 10 a.m.
--The Committee on Land Use will hold a meeting at 11 a.m.
--The Committee on Immigration will hold a meeting at 1 p.m.
At 10 a.m. Thursday, the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business and the Senate Standing Committee on Labor will jointly meet to discuss New York’s Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises program at the Village of Mineola Community Room. They will also deliberate over potential legislative solutions to enhance the program.
From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, the next round of regulated marijuana listening sessions, led by the Cuomo administration, will take place in Glens Falls at SUNY Adirondack. In an effort to develop comprehensive adult-use marijuana legislation, community members and stakeholders will discuss the implementation of a regulated marijuana program in New York.
At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the Brooklyn Historical Society will host a discussion featuring President and CEO of Planned Parenthood NYC Laura McQuade, State Senator Liz Krueger, journalist Irin Carmon, and CUNY School of Public Health assistant professor Lynn Roberts on what the midterm elections might mean for the state of reproductive rights in New York and across the country.
On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Queens, "The Douglaston Civic Association will hold a Candidates Forum...with the four candidates for the District 11 Senate seat from Northeast Queens: Democrats Tony Avella and John Liu and Republicans Vickie Paladino and Simon Minching. Each candidate will make 5-minute opening statements followed by 40 minutes of audience questions and then 2-minute closing statements."
From 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, the four Democratic candidates for attorney general will debate at Cooper Union’s Great Hall. This public debate, which will be broadcast live on WNYC radio, 93.9 FM and AM820, and livestreamed by Cafe.com, will be co-hosted by WNYC and the Cooper Union. Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and WNYC’s Brian Lehrer will moderate.
During Thursday night’s Inside City Hall on NY1, Democratic state Senate candidates Ross Barkan and Andrew Gounardes will debate. The two are competing to see who will face Republican Senator Marty Golden in the general election of Senate District 22, in Brooklyn.
Friday and the weekend
Friday morning, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson will participate in a CityLaw Breakfast to discuss the city’s transit system and congestion pricing. The event will take place at New York Law School from 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show Friday at 10 a.m.
***
Have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).
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by Ben Brachfeld and Ben Max
@GothamGazette
Jumaane Williams and Kathy Hochul (Photo: MNN)
Watch the Lieutenant Governor Democratic primary debate between incumbent Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and her challenger, City Council Member Jumaane Williams. The debate was hosted by Manhattan Neighborhood Network and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max ahead of the September 13 primary vote.
Screenshot of Cuomo campaign ad
In two advertisements issued this week, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s campaign went after Republican gubernatorial nominee Marc Molinaro, comparing the Dutchess county executive to President Donald Trump and alleging that he has participated in pay-to-play politics, with both ads full of accusations that Molinaro and his campaign vehemently denied.
Molinaro’s campaign aimed to disprove Cuomo’s accusations, which came just a few weeks before the state primary election, in which Cuomo is being challenged by Cynthia Nixon, and hardly a week after Molinaro released his own TV ad disparaging the governor for corruption scandals shrouding his administration. Nixon and Molinaro have been levying some of the same attacks against Cuomo.
In an email to members of the media, the Molinaro campaign confronted Cuomo’s allegations, comparing the “fabricated” nature of the first advertisement, which ran on Facebook and New York television networks, to being “as egregious as Russian disinformation campaigns.”
The first ad, which ran last week, juxtaposes pictures of Molinaro to those of Trump while a voice narrates, “Donald Trump is attacking New York, our values and rights. And now his puppet Marc Molinaro is running for Governor.” As the video ticks off Molinaro’s alleged opposition to women’s reproductive rights and marriage equality, his “A” rating from the NRA, his support of Trump’s new tax plan, and his refusal to release his own tax returns, it also checks off boxes for both Trump and Molinaro on being, among other things, “Anti-Choice” and “Anti-LGBTQ Rights.”
But, Molinaro’s campaign holds that this information is largely inaccurate, and well beyond the norms of forgivable political messaging that may bend the truth.
Molinaro argues he is no “Trump mini-me” as he has repeatedly said he did not vote for him in the 2016 presidential election, as Gotham Gazette and other news outlets have previously reported (Molinaro says he wrote in former Rep. Chris Gibson). On the other hand, the Molinaro campaign raised the point that Cuomo has accepted over $60,000 in past donations from Trump while Molinaro has received no donations from the president in this campaign. Yet, Molinaro does appear to share a number of broader principles with the president of his own party, and when asked he has provided few specifics in terms of differences with Trump or reasons why he did not vote for him.
On the issues of reproductive rights and marriage equality, Molinaro has repeatedly said that he sees both as settled law and he would not be looking to overturn or repeal anything. For example, in a prior interview with Gotham Gazette, Molinaro said on abortion that he believes in “preserving life [...] but I accept that there are certain situations where individuals need to be able to make that decision, but I also accept that this is settled law in the state.” And, although he voted against same-sex marriage during his time in the state Assembly, Molinaro has said that his position “evolved,” as did the positions of heralded Democratic politicians such as President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and even Andrew Cuomo.
“If the language in the ad were accurate,” the Molinaro campaign email states, “Andrew Cuomo opposes marriage equality.” Additionally, while Molinaro has previously received “A” ratings from the NRA, his campaign alleges that he doesn’t have a current rating and that he also refuses to take NRA campaign contributions. At the same time, Molinaro has continued to criticize Cuomo’s gun-control SAFE Act, and appears open to tweaking it if elected. He does not regularly bring it up as a campaign issue, however.
When it comes to the accusations of acting as a “Trump mini-me” and supporting Trump’s tax overhaul that Cuomo has vehemently opposed, Molinaro’s campaign cited reports in which he criticized the recent federal tax changes and that recognize his own tax returns release. “I for one won’t support a tax plan that finances a tax cut for Roy Moore’s Alabama on the back of middle class New Yorkers,” wrote Molinaro in Hudson Valley Press. Although Cuomo’s ad accuses Molinaro of refusing to release his tax returns, the ad itself references a WXXI story that acknowledges that Molinaro and his wife released their tax returns for 2017, although Cuomo challenged Molinaro to release his tax returns for the past 10 years, a gesture the governor called “basic transparency” and that Molinaro seemingly eschewed.
“Andrew Cuomo’s ad is every bit as dishonest as what the Russians ran on Facebook’s networks in 2016 and beyond,” said Katherine Delgado, a spokesperson for Molinaro’s campaign, in an emailed statement. “Facebook’s credibility is on the line here; it needs to check the false Cuomo smear ad against the actual facts of Mr. Molinaro’s record and make a determination on whether to keep Mr. Cuomo’s misinformation on its platform.”
The Molinaro campaign officially filed a complaint with Facebook on the Cuomo ad, citing it as a false news story, according to Delgado. Facebook did not respond to Gotham Gazette for comment on any review of the ad that might be underway.
The second Cuomo advertisement, which aired on Tuesday, paints the Dutchess county executive as a participant in pay-to-play politics by highlighting more than $5,000 in campaign contributions from county contractor Tinkelman Brothers Development Corporations, which subsequently received hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax breaks from the county and hired Molinaro’s wife, Corinne Adams, as the company’s director of marketing. The ad also reiterated that Molinaro has yet to release his tax returns for the time he was a state Assembly member.
“Return the dirty money and come clean. What are you really hiding?” the ad asks of Molinaro.
In response to the most recent advertisement, which has an ad buy in the six figures according to the Cuomo campaign, Molinaro called Cuomo “a classless buffoon who chooses to attack a woman who is six-months pregnant and no longer works at the company he is referring to,” in a phone interview with the Daily News. “I really suggest to Andrew that he stick with me, because my wife is way out of his league,” he said.
“Hello, kettle? It’s the pot,” Molinaro told the Daily News in response to the pay-to-play allegations, attempting to remind anyone interested that Cuomo has been the subject of a number of pay-to-play allegations.
“Like Donald Trump, Molinaro is the king of cheap shots — but when it comes to any scrutiny of his record, he has a full-blown meltdown,” said Cuomo campaign spokesperson Abbey Fashouer in an emailed statement. “These are the facts: Molinaro has been busy taking the nepotism page from Trump’s playbook and giving tax breaks to companies with county contracts. New Yorkers already rejected one Donald Trump – and they won’t be played for fools by his mini-me.”
Both of these advertisements come a week after the Molinaro campaign put out its own 30-second TV ad that framed the governor in the context of recent corruption scandals, which saw federal corruption convictions of Joseph Percoco and Alain Kaloyeros, two former top associates of Cuomo, as well as a guilty plea from former Cuomo ally Todd Howe and multiple Cuomo donors.
“Andrew Cuomo’s top advisers are going to jail for stealing your tax dollars, and, now, he’s under investigation again in another pay-to-play scam,” a voice narrates in the ad, referencing an ongoing investigation of Crystal Run Healthcare, a healthcare company based in the Hudson Valley that donated $400,000 in campaign contributions to Cuomo and later received millions in state grants.
After its airing, the Cuomo campaign filed a cease-and-desist letter to the subsequent broadcast stations in an effort to have the ad, which the campaign reportedly called “false, cheap and nasty,” pulled from the air. The Cuomo campaign alleged that it is false because Cuomo himself is not said to be under investigation. However, the ad concluded its initial run on August 22, according to the Daily News.
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by Chelsey Sanchez, Gotham Gazette
@chelseynsanchez @GothamGazette>
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (photo: The Governor's Office)
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday said she was “very much involved” in the recently signed laws aimed at combating sexual harassment in the workplace — a claim that comes in stark contrast to all prior indications that the legislation had been determined exclusively by four elected men and no elected women.
“I was used as a resource, as someone who has lived this experience personally, which is why I’m so passionate about standing up for women,” Hochul said while debating her Democratic primary challenger, City Council Member Jumaane Williams.
“I was there helping chart the course that the state ended up adopting,” she added, responding to a question from Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max, who moderated the debate hosted by Manhattan Neighborhood Network.
Following the debate, Hochul told a group of reporters that her “views were taken into consideration” in the legislation, adding context to the apparent debate revelation, which came after months of criticism aimed at Governor Andrew Cuomo, Hochul’s running-mate, and legislative leaders, over a lack of public hearings and female input on the legislation.
Throughout the race and the debate, Hochul has fended off criticism from Williams — an insurgent running to the lieutenant governor’s left on most issues while promising to reinvent the position if elected — who argues her role has in practice been merely a ceremonial ribbon-cutting one. She said Wednesday that not only has she had a hand in a variety of policy work, but that ribbon-cuttings should not be denigrated, given that they show something positive happening that benefits constituents.
Although the state’s new anti-sexual harassment laws have been heavily touted by Cuomo, Hochul and their allies, there has been ongoing criticism that they were passed without the direct input of elected women or harassment victims. Instead, the behind-closed-doors negotiations involved four elected men: Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, and Senator Jeff Klein, then-leader of the now-defunct Senate Independent Democratic Conference, who has been accused by a former staffer of forcibly kissing her.
In the lead-up to those final negotiations before the larger state budget deal of which the anti-harassment bills were a part, Cuomo’s office had said that Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat and the only woman leader of a legislative conference, would be included in the talks on harassment prevention. But she was not. Amid criticism, neither the governor nor anyone from his team publicly indicated that Hochul had been involved.
Chief among the critics of the process and product was the Sexual Harassment Working Group — a new coalition of seven women who have alleged facing sexual harassment or abuse while working in state government. One of the women, Rita Pasarell, told Gotham Gazette on Thursday that she had “not heard of Lieutenant Governor Hochul's involvement until her recent statements.” Pasarell said she “would like to hear more about what specific parts of the law she advocated for and how she believes these will help workers.”
“I would also like to know if she has spoken to any victims who have reported sexual harassment at work, including government workers,” she added. “While the 2018 laws make some progress, there is much room for improvement.”
She said, extent of Hochul’s role in the process aside, it would be no substitute for a “transparent public vetting for legislation.”
“We need to create victim-informed laws by listening to workers across industries, in public hearings,” Pasarell said.
For her part, Senator Stewart-Cousins, who was briefed on discussions but not included in them, said in June on the Max & Murphy podcast that it was “strange” to her that she did not have a seat at the table when the legislation was being drafted.
“As the only elected woman leader, and the only elected woman leader that has led a conference in the history of New York State, during this #MeToo moment, you would have thought you would have been able to get in a room and at least let her say something,” she continued. “Never happened.”
This line of criticism prompted pushback from some in the governor’s office, who noted that there were female aides who had a hand in crafting the sexual harassment legislation.
“Actually, I am in the room-along w other top female aides to the Senate & Assembly,” Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s top aide, tweeted in late March, attempting to throw cold water on the assertion that no women were involved in the legislative process. “It’s sad, though not entirely surprising, that even when a woman like me is in the room helping to lead the charge, some only see a room full of men.”
There was no mention of Hochul.
Asked for more explanation the day after the Hochul-Williams debate, Haley Viccaro, a spokesperson for Hochul, described the lieutenant governor’s role in informing the anti-sexual harassment legislation.
"The Lieutenant Governor often meets with women across New York and discusses issues important to them. Of course in the #MeToo era, sexual harassment is a topic that's unavoidable,” she said Thursday in a statement. “As she said, she was used as a resource as someone who has lived with this experience personally, which is why she is so passionate about standing up for women all across this country who have been silenced by men who have abused their power.”
Viccaro went on to say that Hochul was “most focused” on ensuring that the sexual harassment policy applied to both public and private employers.
“The Lieutenant Governor feels strongly that all New Yorkers deserve to have a safe and harassment-free workplace, and she has been very vocal that there must be a standard that reflects our seismic societal shift to a culture that treats men and women equally," she said.
In a statement, Dani Lever, a spokesperson for Governor Cuomo, echoed the sentiment expressed by the lieutenant governor during Wednesday’s debate.
“The Lieutenant Governor’s leadership and partnership in advocating for causes important to women across the state has been indispensable,” she said, “including her strong advocacy for extending the state’s sexual harassment model policies to private employers which will make workplaces safer for all New Yorkers.”
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by Sam Raskin
@samraskinz @GothamGazette
Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits
August 29, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: An Intense Queens Senate Primary with Jessica Ramos and Senator Jose Peralta
Jessica Ramos is challenging state Senator Jose Peralta in the Democratic primary, in a Queens district with a large immigrant population. Ramos, then Peralta joined the program to discuss their candidacies and to take questions from the hosts and listeners. At the center of the race are issues like the Dream Act, subway service, small business survival, and more. Also at play is Peralta's membership in the now-defunct Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway group of eight senators that formed a ruling coalition with Republicans in the Senate.
Listen to the conversation with the two candidates and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMax and @JarrettMurphy. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts, under "Max & Murphy," and listen to Max & Murphy live on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. on WBAI radio, 99.5FM or wbai.org
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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette
Marc Molinaro on the subway (photo: @marcmolinaro)
Republican gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaro said that his plan to fix the state’s ailing subway system is “not sexy,” but argued Tuesday that he will fix the MTA by doing away with what he said is Governor Andrew Cuomo’s approach, marked by uncontrolled spending, prioritizing “vanity projects” over key improvements and frequent fighting with Mayor Bill de Blasio.
For Molinaro, the chief problem facing the subway system is not lack of funding, but out-of-control costs allowed by bad management. His “Back on Track” plan, released late Monday, diagnoses the problems and puts forward solutions, emphasizing reducing costs and putting an end to what the campaign says are inefficient work rules that slow repairs.
“The MTA is falling victim to waste, fraud and abuse, and we as a state must confront the high cost of labor,” he said at a Tuesday news conference outside City Hall, citing among others the Manhattan Institute and the Regional Plan Association as sources for ideas in the 30-page plan, which also supports the recently-released “Fast Forward” plan put forth by New York City Transit Authority President Andy Byford. “If spending more money on the MTA was the answer, we'd have the best transit system in the world,” Molinaro said.
To cut costs, Molinaro is proposing lengthening work windows, which would mean longer subway service closures, with the aim of allowing for more efficient, less costly repairs.
And should Molinaro, a former New York Assembly member and currently the Dutchess county executive, be elected governor in November, the days of the state’s governor and its largest city’s mayor fighting over funding would be over, he said.
“I'm not going to argue with the mayor of New York, because the state's responsible for the MTA,” said Molinaro, adding that he would work “hand-in-hand” with de Blasio to do what it takes to fix the subway.
Asked by Gotham Gazette to break down how his plan would fill the over $30 billion in funding needs for subway system repairs, Molinaro declined to discuss specifics, instead pointing to the written plan. In it, Molinaro calls for using value capture — a mechanism that captures the increased tax revenue from rising property prices as a result of new government investment, such as a new nearby subway station.
Molinaro’s plan vaguely suggests improving the state’s economic development programs to raise revenue with “pro-growth” initiatives. Underscoring his attention to driving down costs, one of the planks under “potential revenue streams” is cutting costs of what he labels Cuomo’s “vanity projects.” At the news conference, as in his plan, Molinaro said he supports congestion pricing, though “certain boroughs need consideration” on costs of driving into the city, he said. In the plan, Molinaro says that while a version of congestion pricing, which would add a fee to cars entering the core of Manhattan, is “part of the future of the MTA,” it would need to be coupled with “major reform efforts to decrease operations and construction costs.”
Among those cost-cutting reforms are reining in health care costs, overtime pay and pensions for construction workers on MTA projects. On construction costs, Molinaro said he would welcome new technology and crack down on overstaffing on projects.
While he focused his attention during the news conference on what he views as mismanagement of MTA-related matters by Cuomo, he also embraced the fundamentals of the city’s newly passed effort to give discounted Metrocards to low-income New Yorkers. Specifically, Molinaro proposed using state funds to expand the city’s new “Fair Fares” policy to make eligible for the program individuals who earn incomes of less than 200 percent of the federal poverty line. The current policy will give half-price metrocards to the 800,000 New Yorkers below the federal poverty line — which is roughly $25,000 for a family of four.
He also proposed assessing transit desserts and expanding subway lines to underserved areas, though he did not specify which areas are most in need of service.
Molinaro on Tuesday took several shots at the governor, likening him to “some sort of deranged Wizard of Oz” due to what he said is the governor’s habit of misdirection from the core issues at hand facing the beleaguered subway system. The governor has continued to claim that the city is responsible for the MTA, even though he appoints most of the members on the MTA board — six of 14 — and its top leadership. And though the state typically contributes billions of dollars toward MTA capital plans, most of the funding that goes to the MTA comes from city residents who use its railways, subways and buses.
Abbey Collins, a spokesperson for Cuomo’s campaign, in a statement called Molinaro’s campaign a “joke,” said he lacked credibility, and conflated Molinaro’s criticism of the governor’s MTA management with attacks on its employees.
“While Trump mini-me Molinaro has been busy copying and pasting the MTA’s own plan into his policy book, it is Governor Cuomo who has appointed world-class senior leadership, secured a dedicated revenue stream, enacted the first phase of congestion pricing and charged the MTA to undertake the Fast Forward plan,” she said. “It’s clear Molinaro has exactly zero ideas of his own and instead is resorting to Trumpian assaults on the hardworking men and women who make the subways run.” The president of the state AFL-CIO, which has endorsed Cuomo for re-election, sent out a statement also criticizing Molinaro for “vilify[ing] working people and their unions.”
“He would rather blame workers for subway repair costs than recognize New York's highly trained and skilled workforce is the only thing that keeps our state moving forward,” said New York AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento of Molinaro.
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by Sam Raskin
@samraskinz @GothamGazette
(photo: @CynthiaNixon)
As she attempts an insurgent challenge against a two-term Democratic governor with broad establishment support and deep campaign coffers, actor and activist Cynthia Nixon believes her path to victory, admittedly a “narrow” one, lies among new voters, the mostly progressive and informed New Yorkers who have registered with the Democratic Party in the last four years. The new pool of voters is massive, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, but the question is how many will come out to vote on September 13, a Thursday, and for Nixon at that.
“If you look at four years ago when Zephyr Teachout ran [in the Democratic primary for governor], she got 34 percent of the vote, despite the fact that a lot of people had never heard of her, a lot of people didn’t even know she was running, she couldn’t get on TV until the last two weeks,” Nixon said at a gubernatorial forum in Sunset Park last week, which her opponent, Governor Andrew Cuomo, declined to attend.
In certain ways, Nixon could’ve been talking about her own swing-for-the-fences run that parallels Teachout’s 2014 challenge to Cuomo. Both candidates ran with no prior government experience and from the governor’s left, pushing him to adopt more progressive positions. (Teachout was Nixon’s campaign treasurer earlier this year until she launched her own campaign for the Democratic nomination for attorney general. They have endorsed each other.)
[Read: At Brooklyn Forum, Nixon Pitches Policy, Criticizes Cuomo and Distances from De Blasio]
“The people who turn out in a Democratic primary in an off-presidential year are the most informed and the most left-leaning voters,” Nixon continued at the forum. “To be informed about Andrew Cuomo, I believe, is to want to change.”
New York is indeed a low turnout state, if not a low registration one, and in local and state elections participation is often anaemic. Only 574,350 Democratic voters cast a ballot in the 2014 primary for governor -- 192,210 for Teachout and 361,380 for Cuomo, and the rest for Randy Credico, a radio host, comedian, and perennial protest candidate -- even though, prior to the primary, there were 5,873,844 registered Democrats statewide (as of April 1, 2014). By the November general election, in fact, there were 34,585 fewer registered Democrats but Cuomo and his running mate, now-Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, would go on to win by more than 2 million votes.
Two years later, the presidential primary election between former former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders shook the Democratic base and also motivated independent voters to turnout -- though many were disappointed when they showed up to the polls and ran up against New York’s closed primary system which only allows a party’s registered voters to cast a ballot or were stymied by New York’s rules around changing party registration a year in advance of a primary.
As of April 1, 2016, barely three weeks before the Democratic presidential primary, there were 5,792,497 registered Democrats across the state, lower than in previous years. By November 1, that number jumped to 6,179,734, an increase of 387,237 Democratic voters in just seven months. By April of this year, the number of registered Democrats has increased again, to 6,201,033, of which 3,401,637 are in New York City alone (NY1’s Zack Fink first crunched some of these numbers).
Between April 2016 and April 2018, 330,478 new Democrats registered in the city. Some portion of them, it is believed, changed party registration from unaffiliated in an attempt to vote in the presidential primary, but did so too late for that election.
It’s on those new Democratic voters -- more than 408,000 of them since the last gubernatorial race -- that Nixon is pinning her hopes of victory. “I think what the polls are really not capturing is that, both inspired by Bernie Sanders and horrified by Donald Trump,” hundreds of thousands of Democrats have registered to vote in New York in the last two years, Nixon said. “And I would argue that the vast majority of those are progressive voters.”
But according to an actual pollster, public polling doesn’t back Nixon’s claim, though the election will likely depend on turnout, which is tough to predict, said Siena College’s Steven Greenberg in a phone interview. In a July 31 Siena College poll, the latest in the governor’s race, Cuomo received 60 percent of the vote from likely Democratic primary voters, compared to Nixon’s 29 percent, with the rest undecided.
“I don’t believe it’s true,” that polls aren’t capturing progressive voters, Greenberg said. He noted that eight out of nine registered Democrats didn’t vote in the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary, though he assumed turnout may be higher this year.
“We certainly talk to new voters,” he added, insisting that Siena had polled Democratic voters who had registered as recently as June. The polling methodology also accounts for voting history to determine who will be a likely primary voter, he said. “We think we’re talking to those new voters in an appropriate way.”
Though Nixon believes the progressive groundswell in the wake of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign will continue to show in this year’s election, Greenberg said that notion doesn’t match up with the past. “We have seen historically that a lot of new voters register to vote in the presidential primary but don’t continue to vote after that,” he said.
And perhaps most daunting for Nixon, Greenberg pointed out, was the fact that voters who identified as liberals in Siena’s July poll overwhelmingly chose Cuomo, who beat Nixon 57-35 in that category (Nixon’s campaign has said that far left voters now identify as “progressive,” which was not an option in the poll, not liberal). Even among younger voters, below the age of 35, Cuomo won by double digits. “Andrew Cuomo has a problem with liberal and progressive leadership,” Greenberg said. “He doesn’t have a problem with rank and file liberals and progressives. They like him and they support him.”
The Cuomo campaign did not provide comment for this article.
“Nixon can make an argument, and it’s a legitimate argument, that Cuomo’s been dragged kicking and screaming to take liberal positions,” he continued. “But the voters don’t know that.”
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette