Lt. Gov. Hochul, left, and Gov. Cuomo, right, on the Hudson (@NYGovCuomo)

On Monday, the highest ranking members of the Cuomo administration boarded a boat in the city of Hudson in Columbia County and embarked for New York City. The trip, according to Cuomo administration officials, was strictly work-related. There was a cabinet meeting; strategy sessions for the Governor’s 2017 State of the State address, and inspections of infrastructure projects like the “New New York Bridge,” which is replacing the Tappan Zee.

It was formally called a cabinet retreat, and all of the administration’s stated purposes for the journey were government related, separate from any strategizing for Cuomo’s 2018 re-election bid. And yet the administration says the cost of the boat trip was paid from Cuomo’s campaign funds.

The use of campaign funds to pay for government staff to take a working field trip appears to be completely legal under New York State campaign finance law, but critics of the system say the law is too loose, including around blurred lines like the cabinet retreat. Those who want to see campaign finance reform say the current system allows elected officials to take in significant donations, including from entities with government business, and enhance their lifestyles by paying for extravagant meals, cars, and trips; and even legal defense in criminal cases as former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, and several others have done.

Critics say Gov. Cuomo should set an example and use campaign funds strictly for campaign-related activities. “We are old fashioned in that we think campaign funds should be used for campaigns,” said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. “If the governor believes such a trip is useful then taxpayers should pay for it; if he doesn't think taxpayers want pay for it then he shouldn’t do it.”

The Cuomo administration did not respond to inquiries about why campaign funds were used to pay for the trip and whether any campaign-related activities took place. State of Politics first reported the use of the campaign money for the excursion.

Administration officials did note that attendees included Cuomo; Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul; the governor’s secretary, Bill Murrow; Director of State Operations Jim Malatras; Cuomo’s counsel, Alphonso David; Chief of Staff Melissa DeRosa; and Budget Director Robert Mujica; among others.

Cuomo’s official Twitter account was updated with pictures of the event but photos were not archived on the governor’s Flickr account, where almost all events Cuomo participates in are chronicled.

Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, said that he finds Cuomo’s use of campaign funds to make meetings “more pleasurable” for staff preferable to some of what others have spent campaign money on, like making car payments and pool improvements.

“I think it is an allowable expense, even though I haven't seen it before,” said Dadey. “Our position is that campaign funds should be used for conducting campaigns. But there are exceptions where there is a clear furtherance of governmental activities; where it serves a clear public interest, and what the governor did would fit into that rubric.”

While Cuomo’s use of campaign funds for a boat trip for his staff is permissible under state law; New York City campaign finance law - seen by some as a model for what the state should adopt - sets out strict restrictions for those who participate in the public matching system. The boat trip would likely not be permissible under city law, according to experts.

The city campaign finance law states: “Expenditures for non-campaign related travel, food, drink or entertainment; if a candidate uses campaign funds to pay expenses associated with travel that involves both personal activities and campaign activities, the incremental expenses that result from the personal activities shall be considered for personal use unless the candidate benefiting from the use reimburses the campaign account within thirty days for the full amount of the incremental expenses.”

Horner of NYPIRG said one of his concerns about using campaign funds in the way the governor did for the boat trip is that it can lead to staff seeing donors as having influence on their day-to-day work.

“Campaign laws do allow them to use cash to further governmental duties,” said Dadey. “So making work more pleasurable by holding a meeting on a boat rather than a stuffy room in Albany is far better than what others have used campaign cash on, like legal defenses for criminal activities.”

To that point, the Cuomo administration has also been spending significant sums of campaign money on legal services as United States Attorney Preet Bharara has opened investigations into several former and current administration officials and the governor’s major economic development programs. A July campaign finance filing shows the Cuomo campaign spent $230,000 in efforts to defend administration officials and Joe Percoco, a former top governmental aide to Cuomo, from an investigation into the premature closing of The Moreland Commission on Public Corruption.

The Cuomo campaign paid $150,000 to the firm Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello, which represented the administration in the Moreland investigation, which eventually resulted in Bharara announcing no charges would be brought. The campaign paid $80,000 to Schulte, Roth & Zabel, the firm that represented Percoco in the matter.

Percoco is now one focus of Bharara’s investigation into possible corruption and bid rigging in the state’s economic development initiatives. He also carries a reputation for pressuring Cuomo donors for more campaign donations.

“That is a much-less desirable use of campaign funds,” said Dadey of legal bills that relate to government work, “because it is unclear what greater government purpose is being served.”

New York City law, by comparison, does allow for the use of campaign funds for legal defense in non-criminal matters that arise during the conduct of a campaign. But, city elected officials who’ve used public matching funds are not allowed to use campaign cash for legal defense in criminal matters. These lines are being tested as Mayor Bill de Blasio faces investigations into his administration as well as campaign related activities.

inset photo via @melissadderosa

Note: Gotham Gazette is an independent publication of Citizens Union Foundation, sister organization of Citizens Union.

New York City Hall

What to watch for this week in New York politics:

August is hitting its stride and this week looks somewhat quiet on the surface, at least by New York politics standards. After a couple of weeks with no hearings, the City Council gets back into action, but only with a few committee hearings on Tuesday. The Council will have its lone full-body Stated Meeting of the month on August 18, Thursday of next week.

Mayor Bill de Blasio starts the week coming off a rather busy one - this past week the mayor celebrated students' gains on state tests, the planned building of a new YMCA in the Bronx, and continued positive trends in city crime numbers. He also announced the impending retirement of NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton and the promotion Chief of Department Jimmy O'Neill to the role. De Blasio also discussed policing during his weekly appearance on WNYC radio's The Brian Lehrer Show.

On Sunday, de Blasio and O'Neill marched in the Ecuadorian Parade in Queens. Then the mayor and O'Neill walked the Orchard Beach boardwalk and neighborhood and met with local residents and small business owners in the Bronx.

De Blasio starts this week with no public events Monday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo made several announcements last week in various parts of the state, including on expanding broadband internet service. He also defended his economic development programs when asked by reporters, just as his state economic development leader did so in front of an Assembly committee at a rare August hearing in Albany. Cuomo also has no public events Monday.

As always, there are several events to be aware of this week - 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
At 10 a.m. on Monday, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs is holding a public hearing on the “proposal to repeal and replace Chapter 6 of Title 6 of the Rules of the City of New York,” which will allow for the transfer of DCA adjudications to the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings as required by Executive Order No. 18.

At 11 a.m. at City Hall on Monday, there wil be a "where's our park?" rally, at which Public Advocate Letitia James will be among the speakers.

At 1 p.m. on Monday, the New York City Planning Commission will hold its bi-weekly review session.

At 5 p.m. Monday, Urban Youth Collaborative will hold a press conference on school discipline at High School for Fashion Industries in Manhattan. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is among those who will participate.

Tuesday
At 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday the New York Community Trust and Muslim-American leaders will host a breakfast briefing for journalists on a new effort to combat Islamophobia in New York City and throughout the country. The discussion at the briefing will be focused on counteracting negative images and rhetoric about Muslims and Islam in the media. Speakers include Shawn Morehead and Kerry McCarthy, Program Officers for the New York Community Trust; Linda Sarsour, Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York; Tazmin Uddin, Youth Coordinator at Turning Point for Women and Families; Josh Seftel, film director at Seftel Productions; and Jaclyn Bishop, associate producer at Seftel Productions.

At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, the New York City Campaign Finance Board will hold a public meeting.

At 10:30 a.m on Tuesday the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics will hold a meeting. The meeting will be made available to those who cannot attend in person over live webstream.

At the City Council Tuesday:

• At 9:30 a.m. the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet to consider several land use applications.
• At 11:00 a.m. the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses will meet to consider three land use applications.
• At 11:30 a.m. the Committee on Land Use will meet to address applications and business considered by the the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses in their meetings earlier in the day.

At 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Tuesday the Department of Consumer Affairs will continue its Open House Training Series with sessions on New York City’s Paid Sick Leave Law and New York City’s Commuter Benefits Law.

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will visit a STEM Summer in the City program at P.S. 166 in Manhattan.

On Tuesday at 6 p.m., Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will host a Dominican Day Parade Launch Reception at United Palace Theater Lobby.

On Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Gracie Mansion, "Mayor de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray will attend and deliver remarks at the Annual ADA Sapolin Awards in honor of the 26th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act."

Wednesday
At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the New York City Planning Commission will hold its bi-weekly public meeting.

At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the Brooklyn Historical Society will host Crown Heights Encounters: Listening Back, Moving Forward, an evening of discussion, performance, and reflection on the Crown Heights riot of August 1991 and Crown Heights’ past, present, and future. Topics of discussion include racial justice and urban renewal, and panelists include Errol Louis, host of Inside City Hall; Mark Winston Griffith, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Movement Center; Rabbi Eli Cohen, Executive Director of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council; Natherlene Bolden, a Crown Heights Tenants Union member; and artist, Kameelah Rasheed.

At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the New York Urban League and the New York Urban League Young Professionals will host Black & Blue: A Struggle for Justice at John Jay College for Criminal Justice, a town hall meeting in which various New York City stakeholders will discuss plans for law enforcement reform. Speakers will include President and CEO of the New York Urban Justice League, Arva R. Rice; New York Urban League Young Professional, Stanley Fritz; Senior Campaign Director for the MomsRising.org Food Justice and Children’s Nutritution Campaign, Monifa Bandele; Senior Community Organizer at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., Lumumba Bandele; founder of NoEqualityNoEconomy.com, Tamika Malloy; New York State Senator, Kevin Parker; President of Brooklyn NAACP, L. Joy Williams; and New York City Council Member, Jumaane Williams.

Thursday
On Thursday at John Jay College, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., "Alphonso B. David, counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, chair of the State Assembly’s subcommittee on the oversight of minority and women owned businesses, and CUNY Chancellor James B. Milliken speak to more than 700 MWBE (Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise) and SDVOB (Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business) owners from New York State and the Tri-State region at the eighth annual MWBE and SDVOB Conference on Contract Opportunities with the City University of New York (CUNY) and with the City University Construction Fund (CUCF)." The panel is part of a one-day conference, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., which "includes workshops, boot camp sessions and – for those who have certification - exclusive meet-ups with procurement decision makers in various market sectors."

At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, the Civilian Complaint Review Board will hold a public board meeting.

Friday and the weekend
No events on the calendar as of now.

***
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).

***
by Libby Wetzler and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

Gov. Cuomo & MTA Chair Prendergast (photo: Philip Kamrass, Governor's Office)

Governor Andrew Cuomo has made mass transit a major focus of late, holding a series of events over the past year regarding airport redevelopment, railroad expansion, new transportation hubs and vehicles, and more. Early last month he described the Metropolitan Transit Administration (MTA) as a new “personal priority” and announced an effort to modernize the agency, beginning with the purchase of over 1,000 new subway cars.

This, with the accompanying significant funding allocation toward the MTA, is something of a change of course for Cuomo, who has a history of diverting money from the MTA. Now, the governor’s ambitious transit plan includes updating the MTA, repairing tunnels and bridges throughout the New York metropolitan area, building a new Tappan Zee bridge, rebuilding LaGuardia Airport and Penn Station, and creating a new tunnel under the Hudson river.

With federal corruption convictions having toppled two recent leaders in the state Legislature, among other former Albany lawmakers, and investigations into his own administration, Cuomo appears to have seized on a concrete, quality-of-life issue in mass transit that has also been brought into focus by the dire state of the state’s transportation infrastructure.

Cuomo’s commitment came after calls from transit advocates, business people, and lawmakers urging the governor to allocate funding to the MTA’s five-year Capital Program in the state’s budget to meet the staggering needs outlined by the authority. After spending $1 billion in the first year of the Capital Program last year, Cuomo agreed to provide an additional $7.3 billion last fall. New York City will provide $2.5 billion, and the MTA, a state body whose chair is appointed by the Governor, will itself provide $17 billion.

Cuomo did not finalize the spending plan for the Capital Program until late May, but has widely publicized his support of the program since. The state’s contribution to the Capital Program is included in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget, providing $2.9 billion in the coming year on top of the $1 billion provided in Fiscal Year 2016.

At a June event celebrating groundbreaking at “the new LaGuardia Airport,” Cuomo put the magnitude of his “$100 billion infrastructure program” on display, calling it “the largest reinvestment in New York’s infrastructure in modern history,” which, he said, was “long overdue.” A key part of it, the governor said, “is a $27 billion investment, largest capital investment in history in the MTA because that is going to be the future. Moving more and more people through mass transit rather than through cars and I am proud to be the governor who made the largest investment in the MTA’s history.”

While some transit advocates view the governor’s recent embrace of the MTA as a victory, not all are reassured by the promise of capital funding.

“It was a great win in many ways that the governor said he would allocate the necessary funding at least this year to the capital plan,” Masha Burina, an organizer for the advocacy group Riders Alliance, told Gotham Gazette. “But our major concern going forward that we still have and that we're going to be pushing for in our campaign is to get a sense of where this money is coming from.”

Burina said the push to secure budgetary funding for the Capital Program was aided by Assembly member James Brennan, a Democrat from Brooklyn, who penned a letter signed by 35 other Assembly members and sent to Cuomo in February. However, Burina added that Cuomo has not detailed how the state will pay for the capital program.

Without a new source of funding, the state—or the MTA—will have to borrow. The MTA is already over $35 billion in debt. Because one of the only revenue generators within the MTA’s control is passenger fares, Burina said she is worried going further in debt would make a looming fare hike to $3 even more likely (the current cost of a subway or bus ride is $2.75).

But the Fiscal Year 2017 budget stipulates that the state can only provide its share of the funding via a revenue stream or direct payments, which means no debt related to the state’s contribution to the Capital Program can be passed on to the fare-payer, according to Morris Peters, a spokesperson for the New York State Division of the Budget.

Peters also touted the $3.9 billion state contribution already signed into law as part of the past two years’ budget, pointing out that this places the state ahead of schedule in providing its $8.3 billion pledged contribution.

“Through the Enacted Budget, the state’s commitment of $8.3 billion in new funding for the MTA is now law. Anyone who thinks this isn't a priority clearly doesn't know what they're talking about,” Peters said in an email to Gotham Gazette.

Nonetheless, transportation advocates are likely to continue questioning where exactly the money is coming from and pressuring Cuomo as they have in the past, urging the governor to find ways to pay for the capital plan, according to Burina.

“It's great that he's come out and stepped up saying that these are his priorities, but we want to make sure that this doesn't translate into unsupported debt borrowing,” Burina said.

Several possible options for funding exist, but none have yet been embraced by the governor. One possibility is raising motor fuel taxes, which brought in $503 million for the state last year. But Nicole Gelinas, the Searle Freedom Trust Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, said raising the gas tax is unlikely to provide enough funding for the Capital Program.

“I don't think we'll get much from a higher gas tax,” Gelinas said in an email to Gotham Gazette. “We could double it, and take in another half billion [dollars], but that doesn't solve the MTA's problems.”

Increasing motor fuel taxes has not been endorsed by Riders Alliance and has drawn skepticism from elected officials who support increased transportation spending, especially since motor fuel tax revenue is expected to decrease by $9 million in the coming year.

“All our public policy is, quite properly, aimed at saying ‘use fewer gallons of gasoline.’ We want to be more energy efficient, we want to have less fumes and we want to have more miles per gallon,” Jerrold Nadler, a Democratic congressman from Manhattan, said at “On Transportation,” a forum hosted by City & State NY at the New School on Tuesday. “So the amount of revenue in real terms from the gasoline tax is going down steadily, and we have to substitute for it.”

Riders Alliance has, however, endorsed the Move NY Fair Plan, which would increase tolls in areas of high transit availability like major East River bridges and decrease tolls in areas of low availability, including bridges over the Harlem River. But the plan would generate “only” one billion dollars per year for transit projects through 2019, as well as $375 million per year for road and bridge improvements during that time.

“The Move NY is a much better plan, except that even it is not a panacea,” Gelinas said by email. “It buys us the debt for one five-year capital plan, at most. But we're now two years into that five-year capital plan. So what do we do in three years' time?”

As advocates continue to push for a source of funding for the MTA, Riders Alliance hopes to use Cuomo’s “prioritization” of transit to gain momentum for more specific causes they’ve spearheaded in recent months, including compiling a plan to support commuters affected by the L Train’s upcoming closure, subsidizing fares for low-income New Yorkers, and updating the subway signaling system, which would allow for expanded countdown clocks and more trains per track.

And while some have been bolstered by Cuomo’s pledge to be an advocate for transportation, others are less satisfied. New York State Senator Leroy Comrie, a Democrat from Queens who serves on the Senate’s infrastructure committee, said that regardless of its sources of funding, the Capital Program neglects parts of his constituency.

“I represent Southeast Queens, which is a transportation desert. The MTA five-year capital plan addresses no solutions for Queens other than repair and maintenance of the existing bridges that are there,” Comrie said at the City & State forum on Tuesday. “The project for LaGuardia was necessary and important, there’s no access for our community to actually get to work.”

Green Party candidate Jill Stein (photo via Facebook)

With the Republican and Democratic parties having nominated presidential candidates with record-high unfavorability ratings, this election cycle is turning out to be a choice between a rock and a hard place for many voters. Some, though, are looking elsewhere and still-early polling shows that this November could yield near-record voting for so-called “third party” candidates.

Those who oppose Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton say she’s an untrustworthy, calculating politician with cozy ties to corporate interests and Washington insiders; opponents of Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, see him as a sexist, fear-mongering, racist xenophobe with authoritarian tendencies. Though the United States has a political system dominated by two parties, Clinton and Trump aren’t the only choices, much to the relief of a number of voters. What that number winds up being could determine the election, the next President, and much of the future of the country and the world.

The third-party candidates in the 2016 race for the White House are the Libertarian Party’s nominee Gary Johnson and the Green Party’s candidate Dr. Jill Stein, both of whom ran in 2012 and are now going all out to woo those disaffected voters who believe that neither Clinton nor Trump is a viable choice for President of the United States. While no expert would argue that either Johnson or Stein will be the next President, voters choosing one or the other on November 8 could determine whether the next President is Trump or Clinton.

This year’s presidential election is likely to once again come down to several key swing states, and polls in some of those states, like Ohio and Florida, show a close race between the two leading candidates. (In at least one national poll, Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, polled in double digits, but in other polls both he and Stein were in single digits - a candidate needs to hit an average of 15 percent in five national polls to be invited to a debate.) There is concern for some that one or both of the third-party candidates could be a spoiler for Clinton in a swing state or two and skew the election in Trump’s favor. While the likelihood is minimal, experts say, it not entirely implausible.

A Real Clear Politics poll average has Trump at 41.5 percent in Florida, against Clinton’s 41.3 percent while Johnson takes 4.5 percent and Stein takes 2.5 percent of the vote. In 2012, President Obama beat Mitt Romney by just 74,309 votes or 0.88 percentage points in Florida. In Ohio, Clinton bests Trump by 1.4 points on average thus far; Johnson gets 6.4 percent and Stein gets 3 percent. In 2012, Obama won by 2.98 points in the state. In New Hampshire, a four-way contest has Clinton and Trump tied at 37 percent according to a WMUR Granite State poll; with Johnson at 10 percent and Stein at 5 percent. Obama won the state in 2012 with 52 percent of the vote, against Romney’s 46.4 percent.

Both Stein and Johnson have been encouraged by the high unfavorable ratings of Clinton and Trump. A Gallup poll conducted July 18-25 found that Clinton and Trump had equal favorability marks: 37% favorable and 58% unfavorable. Some believe the 2016 dynamics could create a situation similar to the 2000 presidential election, when famous third-party candidate Ralph Nader took votes away from Al Gore in Florida, the state which gave George W. Bush the presidency with a razor thin margin.

Nader addressed those concerns in a recent interview with the New York Daily News, insisting that a third-party candidate shouldn’t unjustly be termed a “spoiler” and laying the blame instead on the media, the voters, and the candidates themselves. A Florida-like situation is exactly what former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was trying to avoid when he abandoned plans of running for president as an independent earlier this year. He didn’t want to run the risk of helping elect Trump, he said, something he affirmed by speaking at the Democratic National Convention in favor of Hillary Clinton and calling upon independents to vote for her.

The most recent CBS News poll had Clinton at 41 percent and Trump at 36 percent, with Johnson receiving 10 percent of the vote. Stein was not mentioned in the poll. Among independents, however, Clinton trailed Trump by 2 points, and Johnson received 15 percent of the vote.

A new CNN/ORC poll taken after the close of the Democratic National Convention shows independents favoring Clinton, with a 37% plurality, Trump with 33% of independents, Johnson wiht 16% of independents, and Stein with 8% of independents.  

Gallup polling shows that 42 percent of registered voters identify as independents. While at this juncture in the election cycle about one-third of independents may say they favor a ‘third-party’ candidate, support for such candidates tends to drop as the general election gets closer. (The latest Real Clear Politics polling data averages put Johnson at 7 percent and Stein at 3.2 percent.)

“One primary struggle in a year like this,” said John Hudak, senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, “is not that voters are in love with third-party candidates. They’ve fallen out of love with the major party candidates.” Hudak contrasted Ross Perot’s insurgent candidacy in 1992, when he ran as an independent. “Perot did quite well because people liked his message. He was inspiring people. Stein and Johnson are not providing any inspiration for voters.”

Hudak doesn’t expect that the third-party candidates will have a significant influence and that people disillusioned with Clinton and Trump will more likely stay home on Election Day than vote for Stein or Johnson. Even in swing states he said the effects of a third-party candidate would be difficult to attribute and would likely have minimal impact on the outcome.

No one discounts, however, the strong possibility that third-party candidates will get a higher vote share this year than past elections. Stein appeals to Democratic voters, particularly former Bernie Sanders supporters who felt betrayed when the Vermont senator dropped out of the race and endorsed Clinton. Last week, outside the Democratic National Convention, she made attempts to win over ‘Bernie or Bust’ protesters who had walked out of the main arena. She has proposed a “Green New Deal,” a platform that skews closely to Sanders’. It includes single-payer health care, forgiving student loan debt, transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable and sustainable energy, breaking up the big banks, and fighting income inequality, to name a few main planks. Stein has also built some name recognition. She ran in 2012 and received about 469,000 votes, which she’s hoping to build on this year. There were a few more than 129 million votes cast that year.

Although Libertarian Gary Johnson (pictured) has been seen as more of a threat to Trump, on social issues his policies correlate closely with Sanders, again perhaps offering a home for voters supportive of Sanders but not attracted to Clinton. Johnson, who also visited Philadelphia during the DNC, favors legalizing marijuana, is pro-choice on abortion, and supports marriage equality. In a recent interview with Politico’s Glenn Thrush, Johnson said of Sanders, “On the social side, we’re simpatico.” Johnson has also received more media attention than Stein and has a record as former (Republican) governor of New Mexico. When he ran for president in 2012, he received about 1.28 million votes.

Johnson’s other policies are far flung for Democrats. As a Libertarian, he wants smaller government that has a minimal role in people’s lives, not just on social issues like marriage and abortion. He wants to get rid of the entire tax code and institute a consumption tax nationwide. He wants to cut the Department of Education.

Nicholas Sarwark, chair of the Libertarian National Committee, told Gotham Gazette that Johnson is an easy choice for voters as the “honest guy” running against a “bigot” (Trump) and a “liar” (Clinton) who are historically unpopular. He’s not concerned that Johnson could pull votes from Clinton and hand Trump swing states. Although if that should happen, he said it falls at the feet of the voters and not the third-party candidate. “You’re supposed to vote for who is best for the office,” he said. “Not who you hate more or less.”

Part of the struggle for both Johnson and Stein, neither of whom was made available for an interview for this article, will be getting on the debate stage, which is crucial for third-party candidates to build name recognition and get media attention. The Commission on Presidential Debates, however, only allows candidates polling 15 percent in national polls to participate in the debates. So far, Johnson seems more likely to hit the mark. “They’re going to have a very hard time getting sufficient attention to register with voters,” said Micah Sifry, executive director of Civic Hall and an expert on third-party candidacies, in a phone interview.

Sifry doesn’t think the election will be as close as the 2000 race and doesn’t see a high likelihood that a third-party candidate could give the election to either Trump or Clinton. At best, he said, Stein and Johnson will split 6 percent of the vote between them. He does see Johnson receiving votes from disaffected Republicans and from the 10 percent of Sanders supporters who “were probably never Democrats in the first place.” He also said Stein could do better in strong “blue” states, which are overwhelmingly Democratic and “where people feel it’s a safe protest vote.”

Gene Healy, vice president of the Cato Institute, echoed Sifry’s views on the debates. “The name recognition on the national stage that access to the debates provides can be transformative,” he said, pointing out that Ross Perot in 1992 had only 7 percent of the vote in the polls before the debates and jumped to nearly 19 percent. Perot was added to the debate roster because George H.W. Bush’s campaign insisted on it, which Healy said was in hopes of tilting votes in Bush’s favor. “It can really rocket a former unknown into contender territory,” Healy said.

Healy said it was “certainly plausible” that third-party candidates could affect swing states since Trump and Clinton, “are the most widely reviled major party candidates in the history of polling.”

Should Johnson and Stein make themselves better known between now and November, they may at least drive voter turnout and encourage alternative discussion of issues on the campaign trail. “That’s part of a healthy phenomenon,” said Sifry. “You want people to have more choices. You want the major parties to fight for their votes. They shouldn’t take people for granted.”

New York City Hall

What to watch for this week in New York politics:

With both the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention now over, the presidential race hits the final three-month stretch to Election Day, November 8. The first debate in scheduled for September 26. While New York was front-and-center at both conventions because the two presidential candidates call the state home, a great deal of attention will now shift to the most consequential swing states, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Still, Republicans are saying that they think Democratic strongholds like New York could be in play this year due to the unique nature of the Donald Trump candidacy.

As for New York city and state politics, Mayor Bill de Blasio begins August with work to do in terms of the popular narrative around his leadership of the city and with several investigations hanging over his administration and campaigns. De Blasio has been out of town for most of the past two weeks - on vacation in Italy and then at the DNC in Philadelphia - and will now dig back into the community outreach and promotion efforts he'll need in order to improve his standing among New Yorkers. De Blasio starts the week with a press conference celebrating gains New York City students made on this past school year's standardized tests for grades 3-8 (scores were released Friday afternoon) - see below for details.

De Blasio is continuing to deal with fallout and criticism around the removal of deed restrictions on a property on the Lower East Side, which is becoming high-end condos after it had been previously restricted to a non-profit health-care facility. Last week saw more information released after the city's Law Department relented to the city's Department of Investigation, which had said that the Law Department had withheld key documents from the DOI. This week starts with Comptroller Scott Stringer releasing the results of his own investigation - see below for details.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has no public events on his Monday schedule.

Overall, it looks like another relatively slow summer week - the City Council has no public hearings again (committee hearings will resume next week, with a full-body Stated Meeting scheduled for August 18) - but there are several events to be aware of. 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
On Monday at 10:30 a.m., Gotham Gazette's Ben Max will appear on WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show to discuss the New York angles to the Republican and Democratic conventions.

Also at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Assembly Member Michael Blake and community leaders will hold a press conference at 1 Police Plaza: "On Saturday, July 30, 2016, Assemblymember Michael Blake of the 79th District in the Bronx was involved in a confrontation with New York Police Department officers. Assemblymember Blake states that officers used excessive force against him while he was trying to diffuse a tense situation between police and members of the community. Assemblymember Blake wants to provide his account of the unjust incident and demand transparency and action from the police department."

At 11 a.m. Monday, Mayor de Blasio and schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will host a press conference at Tweed Courthouse to discuss New York City students' scores on the most recent state tests, for the 2015-2016 school year.

"On Monday, August 1, at 12:30 PM, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer will hold a press conference at the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building in Lower Manhattan to release an investigative report on the sale of two deed restrictions governing the property located at 45 Rivington Street in Manhattan."

Tuesday
On Tuesday at 8 a.m. at the New School, City and State will present “On Transportation,” a forum bringing together industry professionals to discuss the future of New York transportation policy and infrastructure. Key speakers will include Matthew J. Driscoll, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Transportation, Senator Leroy Comrie, and State Assembly Members Robert Rodriguez and David I. Weprin.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday at Brooklyn Borough Hall, BP Eric Adams will host the New York City Smart Gun Symposium, “the largest-to-date gathering on advancing smart gun technology.” The event is co-sponsored by Washington Ceasefire and New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, and will include New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) officer David Chipman. Discussion will center around the latest advancements in smart gun technology and their potential role in reducing gun violence nationwide. Public Advocate Letitia James will give remarks.

At 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in Manhattan, Gov. Cuomo will make an announcement.

On Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Manhattan, "Chancellor Fariña will attend a professional development session for “SEP Jr.,” which is the first school-wide elementary school computer science program in New York City and will launch in schools this fall."

At 2 p.m. Tuesday in Manhattan, "Mayor de Blasio will deliver remarks at the annual New York State Financial Control Board meeting."

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Brooklyn Borough Board will hold its monthly meeting.

Events will be held all around the city Tuesday to mark America’s National Night Out Against Crime. Elected officials all over the city will be participating in community events involving local precincts.

Wednesday
A At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Queens, Borough President Melinda Katz and District Attorney Richard Brown will host a forum on hate crimes in partnership with the NYC Commission on Human Rights and NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force. Discussion will center around “the role of law enforcement when a hate crime occurs and how we work to protect the community.”

At 10 a.m. Wednesday in Albany, the state Assembly Committee on Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry will hold an oversight hearing to review the implementation of the FY17 budget and its impact on the state’s economic development agencies and programs.

Thursday
On Thursday evening Brooklyn, Comptroller Scott Stringer will host a town hall meeting, according to Brooklyn Eagle, which reports the event will be "at the New York Aquarium Education Hall at Surf Avenue and West Eighth Street in Coney Island," that Stringer is holding it "in partnership with U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, state Sen. Diane Savino, Assemblymember Pamela Harris and Councilmembers Chaim Deutsch and Mark Treyger," and that it "is open to all, but will focus on issues of concern to residents of Southern Brooklyn, according to the Comptroller’s Office." Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Friday and the weekend
Nothing on the calendar as of the start of the week for the end of the week.

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Advocates outside Gov. Cuomo's office Wednesday (photo via Coalition for the Homeless)

Housing advocates have done a job shirked by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders this session and crafted a plan for how the state should spend $1.9 billion on affordable and supportive housing over the next five years.

The governor and Legislature agreed to dedicate $1.9 billion in the April 1 budget, but negotiations on how to actually fully allocate the funds fell apart at the close of the legislative session in June. The details of the spending was to be determined through “memorandum of understanding,” or MOU, among Cuomo and legislative leaders. By the end of the session, they outlined $150 million in spending through two narrow MOUs, leaving a lot of money on the table and many people frustrated, including housing advocates and providers, local elected officials, and others.

Advocates, lenders, and developers now say the affordable housing pipeline has begun to dry up due to uncertainty about what the state’s priorities will be once a larger MOU is negotiated. This is one big reason that they crafted their newly-released blueprint for how to spend the money and why they organized another rally outside the governor’s office on Wednesday morning.

“We hope this will kickstart negotiations,” said Rachel Fee, executive director of The New York Housing Conference, a group involved in putting forward the suggested MOU. “All they have to do is sign this,” she said of the proposal. Other groups of the ten involved in putting forward the MOU proposal include the AARP, the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, the Community Preservation Corporation, Enterprise Community Partners, and the Supportive Housing Network of New York.

Advocates say that the state is missing out on 1,000 units of new affordable, senior, and supportive housing every month that the MOU goes unsigned. “People don't know what the state wants so the pipeline isn't moving,” said Fee. “Do they want elder housing and if so how much and where do they want it? So, it is very important they agree and get the money out the door.”

State cash will be used to subsidize the building and maintainence of affordable and supportive housing across the state. Exactly how it does that will be determined by the MOU. Supportive housing is designed to give homeless people, especially those dealing with mental illness or substance abuse, affordable housing paired with the services they need to maintain to live healthy lives. Some funds will go to maintaining existing affordable housing stock and neighborhood revitalization. Other funds will be used to assist the construction buildings of various sizes. Until the state actually lays out which initiatives will be funded and how much is to be spend on each, those interested in utilizing the subsidies either have to guess or wait.

Cuomo administration spokesperson Rich Azzopardi indicated that the governor is waiting for the Legislature to negotiate.

“It was the governor who advanced this unprecedented state commitment to affordable housing and, like these advocates, we’re seeking to get this MOU signed and this much-needed funding out the door as soon as possible. We urge the Legislature to join us in this effort,” Azzopardi told Gotham Gazette.

During a briefing on Tuesday at City Hall, New York City Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, who heads the city’s housing efforts, said that it was “a tragedy” that the state failed to agree on a complete MOU during this past session. “I would be thrilled if they came to an agreement on what projects they wanted to fund,” Glen said, adding, “It would be a big tragedy for New Yorkers if the state wasn't able to put together a fully-funded affordable housing plan.”

Advocates say they are trying to avoid such an outcome long-term by presenting a plan that takes into account the major concerns aired by all sides during negotiations over the MOU. New York City, meanwhile, continues with its own affordable housing plan - the Tuesday briefing was called to inform reporters and the public that the administration is on track with its 200,000 unit, ten-year affordable housing plan.

Fee said that the proposal includes all of the priorities put forward by Cuomo and legislative leaders. The plan has a framework to provide parity in investments in housing upstate as was pressed for by Senate Republicans, including $9 million for main street revitalization projects and a measure allocating $100 million for roof replacements for aging New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) housing stock as pushed for by Assembly Democrats.

The administration was able to push $150 million in funding for supportive housing out the door before the end of session but advocates say it does very little to provide certainty for developers about the state’s future plans.

Fee said that her group is hopeful the Legislature could use the suggested MOU as a quick, ready-to-use starting point for negotiations to get a deal signed before “everyone goes on vacation in August.”

The groups’ MOU may not be the catalyst needed to move negotiations forward. Three legislators familiar with negotiations told Gotham Gazette that discussions have been tied to separate deal making on the expired 421-a tax abatement meant to spur rental housing that includes a set percentage of affordable units. Many legislators expect the housing funds will continue to be held hostage until a deal can be reached to replace or renew 421-a. Developers are anxious to see the incentive return to play, they say. On Tuesday, Glen and other city housing officials said that the lack of 421-a is hampering affordable and market-rate rental housing development in the city.

“Negotiations over 421-a got in the way,” said Fee. “They love to package things in Albany. We support a tax credit to boost the private market but we can't wait for a deal on that. They need to sign the MOU now.”

The coalition's proposed spending plan looks like this:

Sen. Jeff Klein (photo: John Nilsen/Governor's Office)

The five-member Independent Democratic Conference was under siege. Mainstream Democrats, liberal activists, and the Working Families Party were out to punish IDC members for having empowered Senate Republicans and for preventing a progressive agenda from advancing in the New York State Senate. In 2014, the groups fielded candidates to challenge Bronx Senator Jeff Klein, head of the IDC, and newly-minted IDC member Tony Avella, senator of Queens, in party primaries. It began as an aggressive attempt to oust two of the five members of the IDC, including its leader.

Leading up to the September elections, pressure mounted as former City Council Member Oliver Koppell raised cash in his bid to defeat Klein and former city Comptroller John Liu lashed into Avella for his “betrayal.”

“Let’s help a real Democrat defeat a fake one,” read the Daily Kos’ June 2014 endorsement of Liu.

But on June 26 of that year, Klein issued a joint statement with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat dealing with his own challenge from the left, pledging that the IDC - made up of Sens. Klein, Avella, Diane Savino, David Valesky, and David Carlucci - would partner with mainline Democrats for a new governing coalition.

“Therefore all IDC members are united and agree to work together to form a new majority coalition between the Independent Democratic Conference and the Senate Democratic Conference after the November elections in order to deliver the results that working families across this state still need and deserve,” Klein said in the statement.

Dean Skelos, the Republican Senate majority leader at the time, didn’t buy it. He issued a statement saying, “This ‘agreement’ is nothing more than a short-term political deal designed to make threatened primaries go away.”

The Working Families Party and mainline Democrats dropped their support for Koppell and both he and Liu were defeated.

In 2015, Klein and the IDC continued their deal to empower Senate Republicans and carve out as much power for themselves as possible. In the following months the IDC pushed its agenda more forcefully, inserting issues like paid family leave into the Senate Republican budget proposal and advocating for a larger minimum wage increase. In the waning months of the 2015 legislative session in Albany, Klein’s push for those issues seemed to irk Cuomo, but, in retrospect, may have helped him evolve his position on the issues.

In 2016, paid family leave and a $15 minimum wage seemed to suddenly become Cuomo’s top priorities despite his having dismissed them the year before. Both issues passed with bipartisan support with the new state budget on April 1.

Now, Klein and the IDC face a strikingly different election year than in the previous cycle, even while control of the state Senate - and with it, full control of state government by Democrats - remains at stake.

The 63-seat Senate is currently made up of 32 Democrats and 31 Republicans. However, Republicans maintain control and are able to appoint Sen. John Flanagan as majority leader thanks to the support of Simcha Felder, a Democrat from Brooklyn who caucuses with Republicans, and the five members of the IDC, who have a coalition agreement with the GOP.

Heading toward this year’s elections, The Working Families Party has not made much noise in opposition to the IDC. Senate Democrats, even those with the most resentment toward the IDC, admit relations with the IDC have improved drastically and hold out hope that Klein will switch sides in 2017. The general perception of the IDC as obstructionists has all but dissipated. Bad feelings still fester and trust is hard to come by, but this year two IDC members may face challenges only from Republican candidates.

“Last time I was approached a year before by Senator [Michael] Gianaris and the Working Families Party, but both pulled their support along with the mayor and governor after Klein pledged he'd go back to the Democrats,” Koppell told Gotham Gazette in a recent interview, referring to the head of the mainline Democrats’ Senate campaign committee, Gianaris, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo. “No one approached me this time,” Koppell added, noting that he would not have run anyway.

Asked about their relationship with the IDC, the WFP sent Gotham Gazette a statement from state director Bill Lipton. "Given that the IDC and [mainline] Dems share views on so many issues, it's always been our hope that Democrats could unite to better represent working families in the State Senate,” it says.

The Senate Democratic Conference did not respond to a request for comment.

Sen. Savino, an IDC member who represents parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island, said she thinks advocates and Senate Democrats “took a step back and asked ‘what are they trying to accomplish, and what did they accomplish? What was the IDC advocating?’ and they saw it is for things like medical marijuana, dealing with the foreclosure crisis, paid family leave, and increasing the minimum wage.”

Klein told Gotham Gazette that the last two years have proven out his rationale for the IDC as it successfully achieved major progressive victories through bipartisan negotiation.

“I think I said all along since we formed six years ago that we wanted to use the IDC as a vehicle for change and the only way we would be able to achieve it is in a bipartisan fashion,” Klein said in an interview. He pointed to the gridlock in Washington and noted that there are “sit-ins” in Congress over gun control while “We passed the SAFE Act here in New York with bipartisan support.”

Klein noted that it took time and consistent advocacy to move not only the $15 minimum wage increase and paid family leave but other IDC priorities like the zombie properties bill, which gives homeowners more rights to fight foreclosure while expediting the foreclosure process on abandoned properties, and legislation to stop the sale of synthetic drugs.

Koppell said he thinks the passage of the minimum wage and family leave changed perceptions of the IDC. “I think it reduces blame the IDC faces for being obstructionists. The Republicans stopped blocking some things and it helps the IDC,” he said.

Just before the primary election in September 2014, Koppell, reeling from the loss of WFP and mainline Democratic support, told Gotham Gazette that if he was victorious it would mean the IDC was “dead.”

"I will tell them they can come back as full-fledged Democrats and if not, I will tell them: 'as far as I am concerned, you will have a primary opponent and I will finance it,’” Koppell said at the time.

Five members and staffers of the mainline Senate Democratic Conference told Gotham Gazette that relations between their conference and the IDC are significantly better now and that lines of communication have been established ahead of possible Democratic victories in the fall elections. Democrats are hoping that a presidential election year surge in voter turnout will help them retake the chamber.

Asked about an improving relationship, Klein was quick to praise Republican Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan. “I said early on that the IDC is not an exclusive club and it isn’t about us, it is about governing. It is hard to say we didn’t get things done this year. It’s been fantastic working with Senator Flanagan. He has been more focused on policy than any other Republican leader.”

Klein also noted that he worked well with Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins in efforts to pass the $15 minimum wage, paid family leave, and other priorities. “I worked extremely well this year with Senator John Flanagan and yes, this session we were able to work well with Andrea Stewart-Cousins - it is a much better relationship, but I think the Republican Conference has been even better and a lot of credit has to go to the relationship with Senator Flanagan, again.”

Asked to comment on Flanagan’s relationship with Klein, a spokesperson for Flanagan, Scott Reif, said, “People want Democrats and Republicans to work together to get results, and that's exactly what Senate Republicans and the IDC have been able to achieve for the citizens of New York. Senator Flanagan enjoys a strong working relationship with Senator Klein, and he has tremendous respect for him as a legislator and as a leader."

Doug Muzzio, professor of political science at Baruch College, said Democrats should temper their hopes that Klein will bring the IDC in their direction. “I’d be very wary about any deal. This is politics, don’t assume anything is based on principle, it’s based on ‘What am I gonna get?’,” Muzzio said.

Savino agreed that relationships with Senate Democrats have improved. “The rhetoric between the IDC and Senate Democrats has been toned down,” she said. “You don't see the same nasty comments. There’s been a softening of hardline stances across the board. But tell me who would have predicted that a $15 minimum wage increase and paid family leave would have gotten done while Senate Republicans control the Senate?”

With all the successes and warm feelings toward Flanagan, Klein did note that one of the IDC’s top priorities for last session and next, campaign finance reform, was blocked by Senate Republicans. Klein said he is “optimistic” that Republicans might be willing to move campaign finance legislation next year.

Earlier this month, the IDC worked with the Independence Party to create a campaign committee that will allow the IDC to funnel cash to their candidates. Klein said that this year the focus will be on defending IDC members Avella and Carlucci from general election challenges, but in the future it could be used to advance new IDC members and political positions. “I really want to try to use this campaign committee as a vehicle for change,” Klein said, adding that he may create a ten-point litmus test for candidates who seek the IDC’s support. He said backing campaign finance reform would be a part of any test.

As the battle for control of the Senate plays out, Democrats say they will continue to keep open lines of communication with Klein and the rest of the IDC in hopes that they will be inclined to rejoin the fold. There is no doubt that major resentment still exists - it appears Minority Leader Stewart-Cousins has led the communications with the IDC while Sen. Gianaris, chair of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, has remained on the sidelines. Gianaris and Klein have a notoriously bad relationship.

Savino said she isn’t sure how things will play out in November. “A week is a lifetime in politics. I think the Democrats will win some seats, but I don’t think anyone can predict what is going to happen this election cycle,” she told Gotham Gazette. “I think the things that happened nationally during this election cycle have made experts throw out what they think they know about politics. There is a lot of middle class anger and I’m not sure how that trickles down into local races.”

New York City Hall

What to watch for this week in New York politics:

All eyes are on Philadelphia this week as the Democratic National Convention takes place there, Monday through Thursday. Last week saw the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where Donald Trump was formally nominated for President, and Mike Pence for Vice President. This week, Hillary Clinton will be officially named the Democrats' presidential nominee, with her recently-announced running mate Tim Kaine for Vice President.

Though there was some drama (a minor push by anti-Trump delegates to have a roll call vote; host-state delegates from Ohio showing their displeasure with Trump; the Melania Trump plagiarism uproar; and the Ted Cruz non-endorsement debacle), proceedings went fairly smoothly at the RNC, and things were surprisingly peaceful outside, with some protest, little violence, and relatively few arrests. Trump gave a long, angry acceptance speech on Thursday night, diagnosing and promising to fix America's wounds, and quickly, and to thus "Make America Great Again."

In Philadelphia, both New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will speak. Cuomo is the head of the New York delegation to the DNC. Other New York speakers - along with the nominee herself, Clinton, a former Senator from the state calls New York home - will be Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Reps. Joe Crowley and Nita Lowey. On Sunday, The New York Times reported that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg will speak at the DNC on Wednesday, endorsing Clinton and warning of the dangers of electing Trump. [Read our preview of the DNC here]

Before leaving for Philadelphia, de Blasio will hold a press conference Monday morning with NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton "to make a law enforcement announcement." It will be at 10:30 a.m. at the 84th Precinct in Brooklyn.

Because most prominent New York officials are Democrats and they'll be at the DNC, it will be another fairly quiet week in New York City and around the state in terms of political events - but there are several to be aware of - see our day-by-day rundown of those and DNC proceedings below.

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The run of the week in detail:

Monday
On Monday at 10:30 a.m. at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City Council Members Helen Rosenthal and Inez Dickens and the New York City Economic Development Corporation will host a Request for Proposal (RFP) access workshop; “We are expanding our outreach efforts to make sure that emerging and established developers like you - including M/WBE firms - know about the opportunities at NYCEDC and how to submit an RFP.” A second workshop will be held on Thursday.

On Monday at 1 p.m. in Manhattan, the City Planning Commission will host a Review Session meeting.

At 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Museum of the City of New York, the Museum and the Municipal Art Society will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the city’s Zoning Law with an event focusing on the law’s impact “with an eye towards the future.” Carl Weisbrod, Director of the New York City Department of City Planning and Chairman of the New York City Planning Commission will give remarks, and a panel of experts will discuss “the hurdles and potential improvements to zoning for the century to come.”

After his Brooklyn press conference Monday morning, Mayor de Blasio will leave for Philadelphia, where he will be until Friday. De Blasio will deliver remarks at the "Democratic National Convention Immigration Forum" at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia Monday afternoon. He'll then attend a welcome reception held by the DNC. In the evening, de Blasio will appear on NY1 in the 7 o'clock hour before attending the evening session of the DNC -- The Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. [Read more about the DNC here]

Tuesday
At 8:30 a.m. at the Greene Space at WNYC & WQXR, the Center for an Urban Future will hold a symposium on “the power and potential of women entrepreneurs in New York City.” The forum will feature a keynote speech from Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen and two panel discussions focusing on the challenges women entrepreneurs face in the five boroughs and how to boost their success, specifically in the technology sector. The event will build upon the Center's March 2016 report, "Breaking Through: The Economic Impact of Women Entrepreneurs."

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, the Commission on Legislative, Judicial & Executive Compensation will hold a public meeting at the New York City Bar Association in Manhattan. [Read about the commission's work toward making recommendations about pay for state officials here]

The Democratic National Convention continues Tuesday in Philadelphia. Mid-day, Mayor de Blasio is scheduled to participate in a National League of Cities panel discussion at Philadelphia City Hall.

Wednesday
Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Manhattan, the City Planning Commission will host a public meeting.

On Wednesday at 6 p.m., the city Panel for Education Policy will hold a public meeting at M.S. 131.

The Democratic National Convention continues Wednesday in Philadelphia. On Wednesday afternoon, Mayor de Blasio is scheduled to deliver remarks at a Democratic National Committee Labor Council Panel discussion at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Thursday
On Thursday morning in Philadelphia, Mayor de Blasio is scheduled to participate in "City Solutions: Income Inequality" panel discussion.

At 8 a.m. Thursday, City and State Reports will host Awards in Sustainability, honoring "outstanding corporate citizens for their work in sustainability - from the construction, energy, transportation and food industries and beyond." The event will feature keynote remarks by Daniel A. Zarrilli, Senior Director of Climate Policy and Programs and Chief Resilience Officer, Office of the Mayor.

At 1 p.m. Thursday in Queens, the offices of Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, City Council Members Ferreras-Copeland, Miller, and Richards, and the New York Economic Development Corporation will host a second Request for Proposal (RFP) access workshop.

Thursday At 5 p.m in Queens, the Department of Consumer Affairs and Queens Chamber of Commerce will host a seminar for employees on their rights regarding New York City’s Paid Sick Leave and Commuter Benefits Laws.

Hillary Clinton will accept the Democratic nomination for President Thursday evening as the Democratic National Convention concludes in Philadelphia.

Friday and the weekend
Nothing on the political calendar as of now.

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by Amanda Sherwin and Ben Max
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A March Clinton rally in NYC (photo: Barbara Kinney for Hillary for America)

New York is heavily Democratic and the state will have a major presence at this week's Democratic National Convention, not least because its delegation will be seated front and center in the Philadelphia arena because the presumptive presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, calls the Empire State home. It's a similar dynamic, at least in that last regard, to last week's Republican National Convention, where lifelong New Yorker Donald Trump was formally nominated for President.

One key difference between the two conventions is that New York's elected officials are overwhelmingly Democrats, so the political star power from the state at the DNC will be greater than it was at the RNC. While former Mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke passionately at the RNC in primetime, current Mayor Bill de Blasio is on the speakers' list for the DNC, though it has not yet been announced when he will speak, and The New York Times reported on Sunday that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg will endorse Clinton during a primte-time speech on Wednesday at the DNC. Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned Republican-turned independent, had announced earlier this year that he was not pursuing an independent run for the White House in part because he didn't want to risk taking votes from Clinton and giving the presidency to Trump.

Governor Andrew Cuomo and Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York will also speak at the DNC, along with Congressional Reps. Joe Crowley and Nita Lowey. State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who recently won the Democratic primary to replace Charles Rangel in Congress and is expected to easily win the general election, will also speak - Espaillat is poised to become the first person of Dominican descent to join Congress. They lead a large -- 345-member -- New York delegation to Philadelphia that includes other elected officials from Congress to the City Council, party operatives, and others.

While the RNC did feature a number of prominent Republicans from across the country like House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senator Ted Cruz (who was booed by the crowd for refusing to endorse Trump during his remarks), there were many notable Republicans missing, which fit with Trump's reputation as an anti-establishment political outsider. The Bush family was absent, meaning neither former President George H.W. Bush nor former President George W. Bush (nor former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who was a main target of Trump during the Republican primary). Neither 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney nor 2008 Republican nominee John McCain was present either.

Unlike Trump’s convention, Clinton’s will feature a "who’s who" of major party names - Democratic National Convention speakers will include President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and others. Bloomberg will take clear aim at independents and even some moderate Republicans in explaining his support for Clinton over Trump.

One clear theme of the RNC was party unity and while that will be much less of an issue during the DNC, newly leaked emails have led to the resignation of Democratic National Committee head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who will have a very limited role at the DNC and step down thereafter. The emails showed the DNC favoring Clinton over Sanders during their primary contest. When Sanders speaks Monday night, though, much of the division in the party may be put to rest.

Trump's vice presidential running mate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence accepted his nomination and spoke on Wednesday night of the RNC - this week, newly named Democratic vice presidential nominee Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine will do likewise on the third of the four convention nights. As the Republicans did last week, this week the Democrats will adopt their party policy platform.

As the DNC kicks off there is much to know and to watch for - read more below. The close of the convention will also set off the final three-and-a-half months of the campaign, leading to Election Day on November 8: the final stretch of speeches, platforms, polls, ads, debates, and more.

When and Where is the DNC?
The Democratic National Convention will take place Monday through Thursday, July 25-28, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Wells Fargo Center. Though Brooklyn was seriously considered to host the convention amid a strong push from Mayor Bill de Blasio and others, Philadelphia won the honor.

The Delegates
There are three types of delegates for the Democrats: pledged delegates, who petitioned in order to get on the ballot and become a delegate, and are legally bound to support a particular candidate; at-large delegates, chosen by the state Democratic Party, who pledge to vote for a particular candidate; and unpledged delegates, otherwise known as superdelegates, who are prominent party leaders not bound to any candidate.

There is no drama expected at the Democratic convention in terms of delegate allocation as Bernie Sanders has conceded and endorsed Hillary Clinton, so the types of delegates are unlikely to be a factor. Sanders supporters are making noise in the streets of Philadelphia already, and are likely to continue doing so all week, inside and outside the convention hall.

As more signs were pointing to a Clinton win by a solid margin, she won her home state of New York on April 19. Throughout the race, Clinton accumulated an overwhelming majority of the superdelegates, known party insiders always supportive of her over Sanders, who has not been an establishment Democrat. This led to some of the calls from Sanders and his supporters of a ‘rigged system.’ Leading up to the DNC, the conventions rules committee did vote to keep the superdelegate system in place, but also to study that system and very likely adjust it.

The Democratic Party Platform and Speakers
Sanders and his supporters, plus the national Democratic tilt leftward, have had a significant influence on the party platform being adopted this year -- progressive influence throughout the primary season as well as recent, more explicit demands. Three issues are emblematic: calling for a $15 per hour minimum wage, standing against capital punishment in all circumstances, and a vision for debt-free college for all students from families earning under $120,000 annually. The party platform has stepped to the ideological left of Clinton, who has spoken in favor of a $12 federal minimum wage (with states going higher per their judgement) and capital punishment for certain crimes.

Dr. David Birdsell, a professor and dean at Baruch College, does not believe that Sanders’ endorsement of Clinton is enough to dissipate all of the tension within the Democratic Party - and that was before the recent leak, by Wikileaks, of many Democratic National Committee emails, which show that the committee was indeed biased toward Clinton and against Sanders. DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz will have a very limited role at the convention and has announced she is resigning as chair as of week's end.

“The Sanders endorsement – and he did use the word ‘endorse’ – of Clinton will go a long way toward reducing contention and controversy in Philadelphia,” Birdsell said in an interview. “[However,] there will still be some tension; Hillary Clinton is too polarizing a figure to expect an entirely smooth process. But chances are good at this point that Democrats will come together and unite for the fall campaign - barring further repercussions from the FBI’s decision not to prosecute [Clinton, regarding her email scandal], but that’s a general election problem, not a convention problem.”

Sanders will address the convention in prime-time on Monday night, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, and others. Sanders has been saying that his main goal is to make sure that Donald Trump does not become President, and while he has had some kind words for Hillary Clinton, he is likely to focus his remarks more on the dangers that Trump poses to the country and the key issues that he and his supporters have been fighting for.

While Sanders and Michelle Obama are the featured Monday evening speakers, Tuesday evening's big name is former President Bill Clinton. But Tuesday evening will also have a very New York-centric feel, with other speakers including students from Eagle Academy; Joe Sweeney, who was an NYPD detective on September 11, 2001; Lauren Manning, a severely wounded survivor of the September 11, 2001 attacks; and the "Mothers of the Movement" - mothers of men killed in police encounters, which will include Eric Garner's mother, Gwen Carr.

Wednesday's top speakers will be former Mayor Bloomberg, President Obama and Vice President Biden; and Tim Kaine will accept his VP nomination and speak. On Thursday, Chelsea Clinton and Hillary Clinton will speak.

It is not yet clear when Mayor de Blasio, Gov. Cuomo, or Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand will speak.

The New York Angle
Basil Smikle, executive director of the New York State Democratic Committee, is excited about the amendments to the party’s platform. Smikle sees them as an expansion of New York values to the rest of the nation. “I think New York has been in this conversation and led it for a long time,” he said.

“I think the state and the party has had a tremendous impact on the platform itself, and going to the convention with the leadership of the governor is certainly carrying the work that Hillary Clinton has done for New York and the Senate, and what she's been able to accomplish and discuss on the campaign trail,” Smikle continued. “Those are New York values, and we are thankful that they've been able to influence other states, other delegates, and certainly the platform itself."

Cuomo has been selected to chair New York state’s delegation at the DNC - a choice that caused Sanders supporters to protest.

Other notable New York Democratic superdelegates include former President Bill Clinton, Schumer and Gillibrand, and Mayor de Blasio. While Cuomo and de Blasio are set to speak at the convention, it does not look like the same will be true for City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who has been a frequent Clinton surrogate and campaigner this election season and will be part of the delegation to Philadelphia. Mark-Viverito will be active in Philadelphia this week, including an event on Wednesday afternoon with the Latino Victory Project. She is also expected to be on the campaign trail on Clinton's behalf this fall, especially in states like Florida with large Hispanic populations (Mark-Viverito is Puerto Rican and the first Latina to be Speaker of the City Council).

Other members of the New York Democratic delegation to the DNC include Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and a variety of Democratic Assembly members and state Senators; much of the state’s Democratic House delegation; city Public Advocate Letitia James; city Comptroller Scott Stringer; Queens Borough President Melinda Katz; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.; and City Council Members Jumaane Williams, Vanessa Gibson, Corey Johnson, Richie Torres, Ydanis Rodriguez, and others. (A complete list of the 345 New York DNC delegation is available here, courtesy of the State Democratic Committee.)

According to Smikle, this year’s delegation “brings a tremendous sense of pride for us as New Yorkers.” He cited work New York leaders have done to move progressive policy and their impact on national politics.

“I think what New York broadly and the delegation specifically brings is that a lot of what's in the platform has been discussed and implemented in New York for quite some time, so I do think members of our delegation have had an incredible impact,” he said.

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by Amanda Sherwin, Rebecca Oh, and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

A super PAC has started to blanket the 33rd Senate District in the Bronx with mailers attacking incumbent Democratic state Senator Gustavo Rivera and praising his challenger, Democratic City Council Member Fernando Cabrera. A flyer sent to voters last week praises Cabrera for standing up for family values and for knowing that “single women, mothers and our wives need protection.”

Flyers sent this week accuse Rivera of “Playing Us For Fools” and excerpts heavily from the June 21 New York Times editorial, “The Old Albany Hustle,” which criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders for failing to enact any meaningful ethics reforms this year.

Rivera has advocated for the very ethics reforms the editorial accuses the governor and majority leaders of avoiding and Rivera is part of the Democratic minority in the Senate that has no power at the negotiating table. Cabrera and Rivera will face off for the second consecutive cycle during the September 13 primary.

“I think it's ridiculous and laughable on its face,” Rivera told Gotham Gazette. “But it is a deceiving piece. The New York Times article does not have my name in it, but it is an editorial I agree with 100 percent. We should have done more on ethics. Ethics reform is the reason I came to the Senate, it is the reason I ran against a corrupt senator. I’ve been fighting for reform since the second I got to Albany.”

New Yorkers For Independent Action, the PAC paying for the mailers, is advocating for the education tax credit that would see the state give tax rebates to individuals and companies who donate to private, religious, and charter schools. Teachers unions say the measure basically acts as a backdoor to vouchers and will be taken advantage of by companies and the wealthy; while proponents say it boosts educational choice.

Cabrera lost his primary challenge to Rivera two years ago by 20 points and according to a number of sources he promised members of the Bronx Democratic Committee not to run again and to work with Rivera. However, many Democrats see the financial backing of NYIA as the impetus for the repeat challenge.

The PAC has reported taking in $2.7 million since its creation and has spent over $1 million on polls and research on different races. The New York Daily News reported earlier this month that the PAC is targeting Rivera as well as Assembly Democratic incumbents Pamela Harris of Brooklyn, Phil Ramos of Suffolk County, and Latrice Harris of Brooklyn.

Major donors include Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, who gave $450,000, and Peter Grauer of Bloomberg L.P., who gave $75,000. The PAC also has major support from Catholic activists.

Cabrera has proven a controversial figure in the City Council for his support of Ugandan anti-gay laws and his association with anti-gay group The Family Research Council. Cabrera’s run is not insignificant in a year when Senate Democrats are banking on the presidential election to help them seize the majority from Senate Republicans. Rivera, who would have otherwise spent the summer campaigning for other Democrats, is now forced into a costly primary.

Cabrera reported raising $72,015 in his July filing with the state campaign finance board and spending $47,549 -- he now has $24,315 to spend. Many of his donations came from the real estate industry. Rivera reported raising $139,486, while spending $79,299; he has $114,012 to spend. Rivera took a significant number of contributions from beer distributors.

Rivera said he expects to see mailers every week from the PAC until the September primary. “He wouldn’t have been able to afford this kind of campaign on his own,” Rivera said of Cabrera, questioning whether Cabrera knew of the PAC’s involvement in advance. Cabrera's office did not return requests for comment for this story.

“Knowing you are going to have this kind of money behind you gives you a pretty good reason to run,” Rivera said.