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Liz Benjamin
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Posts by Liz Benjamin
PEF For Jeffries
May 21st - 2:22 pm
For those keeping score at home of the labor endorsements in the primary battle for retiring Rep. Ed Towns seat in the newly-configured NY-8, add PEF, New York’s second-largest state workers union, to Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries’ growing list of backers.
“Hakeem’s commitment to public-employee unions is not just lip service,” said PEF President Kenneth Brynien. “In Albany, he has supported job creation, fair contracts and training, and has also taken courageous votes against so-called “reform” efforts that would seriously undermine the labor movement.”
“We know that in Washington, Hakeem will continue his hard work to ensure that our members are prepared to continue serving the public.”
Landing PEF’s backing is particularly gratifying to Jeffries, a spokeswoman said, because his father, a retired social worker, is a member of the union.
“As the son of a PEF retiree, I understand personally the significance of the wage, health care and pension concerns that have been thoughtfully articulated by this union,” the assemblyman said.
“In Congress, I will fight to make sure that all workers, both public and private, enjoy fair wages, safe work conditions and a dignified retirement.”
Jeffries’ mother is a member of DC 37, the largest municipal public employee union in New York City.
That’s of note because DC 37′s executive committee recently unanimously voted to endorse Jeffries’ primary opponent, NYC Councilman Charles Barron. In fact, DC 37 would be the only union nod for Barron to date – if it holds when the delegates convene for a full vote tomorrow.
Queens Dems Back Iannece For Lancman Seat
May 21st - 9:30 am
The Queens Democratic Party met this morning to designate candidates for the fall Assembly and Senate races, selecting, among others, Queens Community Board 11 Chairman Jerry Iannece for the 25th AD seat being vacated by Assemblyman and congressional hopeful Rory Lancman.
The vote was unanimous, according to a Democratic source present for the meeting.
Iannece is also president of one of the largest civic associations in the newly-drawn district (Bayside Hills). He’s a former Bronx prosecutor who is currently in private practice in Flushing, Queens.
Although the new 25th is the district in which Lancman currently resides, it is drastically different from the one he currently represents.
Some 75 percent of the district is new territory, made up of portions of Assembly members David Weprin and Grace Meng (currently the party-backed candidate running for the same House seat Lancman is seeking).
The new 25th AD is ostensibly an Asian-majority district, but, according to a Queens Democratic insider, Asian-Americans make up less than 40 percent of Democratic primary voters.
Iannece’s selection by the party is no surprise. He received the party’s nod in 2009 in a crowded primary for the NYC Council seat formerly held by state Sen. Tony Avella.
Iannece ended up losing the five-way Democratic primary in a surprise upset election won by Kevin Kim, an aide to retiring Rep. Gary Ackerman.
Kim went on to lose the general election to Republican NYC Councilman Dan Halloran.
Highlighting the cyclical nature of NYC politics, Halloran is now the GOP candidate for Ackerman’s seat.
(He revealed last week he has to undergo surgery to remove a benign brain tumor, but has insisted he will remain a congressional candidate).
Lancman, meanwhile, is locked in a three-way Democratic primary battle for the post-redistricting version of Ackerman’s seat with Meng and NYC Councilwoman Liz Crowley.
The split calendar, with the federal primaries on June 26 and the state contests on Sept. 13, offers Lancman a Plan B should he lose his House bid.
But he has insisted he won’t be taking advantage of that loophole, so in essence, this is an open seat.
Iannece announced his candidacy in early April.
He was the first candidate to announce, but since then, Nily Rozic, chief of staff for Manhattan Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh, has also registered a campaign committee to run for the seat.
Here And Now
May 21st - 7:00 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in Albany with no public schedule as yet.
Mayor Bloomberg is receiving a lifetime achievement award at the Webbys. (Hammerstein Ballroom, Manhattan, 5:45 p.m.)
Some two dozen elected officials and Westchester County GOP leaders endorse Republican 37th SD hopeful Bob Cohen outside the party’s HQ (214 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains) at 2 p.m.
NYC Councilman Oliver Koppell will endorse Sen. Adriano Espaillat’s congressional run at the Kigsbridge Armory in the Bronx at 10 a.m.
“The race is about the American dream, and I believe in it,” Espaillat said. “I’m a country boy from Santiago running for Congress. That says a lot about the US in terms of opportunity.”
A two-week seatbelt crackdown starts today and lasts through June 3.
The MTA is expected to again announce a new completion date for the $8.1 billion East Side Access project – the largest, most expensive mass-transit project in the U.S.
Students may soon be able to count classes in construction, culinary arts and engineering toward their graduation requirements, as the Board of Regents considers a plan that would allow them to forgo some of the traditional subjects. The plan will be discussed in Rochester today and tomorrow.
Cuomo has had two unusual face-to-face meetings with NYRA trustees – so private his office won’t even acknowledge them – and laid out a one-week schedule for an overhaul plan.
According to Cindy Adams, Cuomo is “never scared” and former Pataki administration Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro is joining former Gov. David Paterson on WOR to see if the “duo concept” works.
Liberals would like to see Cuomo pushing harder for the minimum wage increase he says he supports – at least in theory.
The Weekend That Was
May 20th - 2:50 pm
Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the 1988 bombing of an American jetliner over Lockerbie, has died in Libya three years after he was released by Scotland on humanitarian grounds.
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn wed her longtime partner, Kim Catullo, before a 275-person crowd of family and political luminaries that included Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both of NY’s US senators and various and sundry legislators and Council members.
The wedding provided Quinn “an opportunity to soften her sometimes tough image and to remind New Yorkers that she would be both the first female and the first openly gay New York City mayor,” the NYT’s Kate Taylor writes.
The NAACP passed a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage as a civil right and opposing any efforts “to codify discrimination or hatred into the law.”
Quinn and Catullo aren’t the weekend’s only newly-minted high-profile married couple. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wed his girlfriend of 10 years, Priscilla Chan.
Speaking of weddings, the NYT’s Vows Column is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
An aide to Rep. Charlie Rangel readily admitted he threatened to run against Sen. Bill Perkins if Perkins followed through with his plan to back his colleague, Sen. Adriano Espaillat, over Rangel.
Soon-to-be-former state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs is staying active in politics and hosted a fundraiser for Rangel at his Nassau County home.
Former Sen. George Winner said he sees no similarities between the JCOPE leak about Sen. Tom Libous and Troopergate, but also believes Albany County DA David Soares should investigate. Soares’ office had no comment.
Lloyd Constantine, a former top aide to ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, writes: “For many people of a certain age, the real Cuomo family signature moment involved the manner in which Andrew assisted Republicans in their effort to maintain control of the state Senate, despite their rapidly shrinking popularity with New York’s voters.”
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle calls on Cuomo to “shed his penchant for backroom deal-making” for “the sake of accountability, the success of future legislation, and the respect of voters” who backed his calls for reform.
Extras
May 18th - 5:07 pm
After all that, Facebook shares ended their first day of trading on the stock exchange just over where they started – $38.
POLITICO looks back on the worst political gaffes made on Facebook.
Sen. Tim Kennedy will avoiding putting WNY Conservatives in the “touchy situation” of considering his candidacy after he voted “yes” on gay marriage last summer by not seeking their endorsement.
Sen. Kevin Parker said it would be a “step up” for his Democratic conference if Cuomo is simply “not involved” instead of actively opposing issues they deem important.
The US Justice Department gave preclearance to the Assembly’s redistricting plan.
Former VP Al Gore is dating.
Bill Clinton will not be endorsing Rep. Charlie Rangel – or anyone else – in the upcoming primary.
…which makes former Clinton aide – and current Rangel primary opponent – Clyde Williams very happy.
Someone should inform Google that Rangel is not, in fact, dead.
Asked about his support from an anti-incumbent Super PAC, Sen. Adriano Espaillat said: ”I’m not going to say no.”
Might Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s failure to further the Middle East peace process spur her to return to government work in some capacity after she gives up her current post?
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn will be wearing a bridal gown when she weds her longtime partner, Kim Catullo, tomorrow.
Mayor Bloomberg continued to defend the NYPD’s controversial (and changing) stop-and-frisk policy, saying it saves lives.
Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef took his sales tax beef with Sen. David Carlucci to the airwaves.
Carlucci’s response: “What’s next – a tax on breathing?”
About 30 county employees who are CSEA members picketed outside Carlucci’s Nanuet office today.
Congressional hopeful Chris Collins has hit the campaign trail, visiting two farms in Wyoming County this week.
Conesus Town Attorney Gregory J. McCaffrey is the new Livingston County DA.
Camille Rivera writes of the fight for the rights of low-wage workers beyond May Day.
Sarah Jessica Parker is the latest A-lister to host a fundraiser for President Obama.
The state Health Department is moving to close Soundview in the wake of former Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr.’s conviction on theft charges this week.
Congressional hopeful/NYC Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley needed some prompting from Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch when asked for her position on stop-and-frisk.
In a a move seen as retaliation for her decision to run against her county party chairman cousin’s hand-picked candidate, Crowley will likely be left off party petitions when she seeks re-election as a district leader this fall.
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has invested $12.9 million worth of pension fund cash in the Hicksville headquarters of Sleepy’s, one of the nation’s largest mattress retailers.
Ex-US Sen. Ted Kaufman, VP Joe Biden’s former chief of staff, says he will encourage his longtime friend to run for president in 2016.
Prodded By Democrats, Brooks Breaks With GOP Leadership On Violence Against Women Act (Updated)
May 18th - 4:18 pm
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, a Republican congressional candidate who has come under fire in the past for being slow to make clear her positions on various federal issues, just released a statement on a topic that sparked controversy in Washington this week: The Violence Against Women Act.
“I’ve spent a career fighting for the issues that matter most to women and families all across our community,” Brooks said. “That’s why I stand in opposition to the recent passage of H.R. 4970, commonly known as the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012, which places unnecessary restrictions on access to domestic violence services for victims who desperately need help.”
“As a former member of the Board of Directors at Alternatives for Battered Women, I know how important it is to make support services widely available, so all women can remain safe and secure in their own homes. The House legislation must be fixed immediately to provide every woman with equal access to protection from despicable acts of domestic violence.”
The vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act was taken Wednesday, and the measure passed 222-205 with 23 Republicans in opposition and six Democrats in favor. A Brooks spokesman said the candidate did not release a statement until today because she wasn’t asked for her position on the matter until this morning.
The act provides some $660 million in funding over five years for programs ranging from protecting victims of domestic violence and community violence prevention to legal aid for survivors of violence. It has been reauthorized twice before without incident in Congress.
But this time around, a bipartisan version of the act passed by the US Senate was blocked by the House GOP leadership, which put forward a version that removed provisions relating to extending protections to Native Americans, lesbian, gay, and transgender Americans and illegal immigrants. The Democrats – unsurprisingly – cried foul, but so did a number of GOP congresswomen.
The House bill also does not include a Senate provision that would allow Native American women to take US citizens who abuse them to court within the tribal legal system, and rejects a path to citizenship for undocumented women who have been abused and agree to cooperate with police investigations.
Brooks’ Democratic target, Rep. Louise Slaughter, did not vote on the act. (It appears she hasn’t yet returned to work after breaking her leg in NYC last month, even though she had hoped to do so in early May).
Only one of New York’s GOP House members – Richard Hanna – joined all the delegation’s Democrats in voting “no.”
UPDATE: I just located an email in my spam folder that was sent out earlier today from Eleanor’s Legacy, a Democratic organization that focuses on getting more women into elected office, that chastised Brooks for being “silent” on this issue, which explains the timing of the country executive’s statement.
“If you can’t count on a woman to stand up on this issue, what can you count on?,” asked Eleanor’s Legacy Executive Director Brette McSweeney.
“In Washington, national Republicans are stomping on the rights of women every chance they get. This week was no exception when they took one of the most common-sense, bipartisan pieces of legislation that expands protections to victims of domestic violence and turned it into a political game.”
“So who would Maggie Brooks side with: the women of Monroe County and New York State or the national Republican leadership so intent on electing her? We have no idea because she’s predictably ducking the issue.”
“Louise Slaughter helped write the original Violence Against Women Act. At every step in her career, Louise has worked tirelessly to provide more life-saving protections for women. Louise is our champion. Maggie’s nowhere to be seen.”
Grisanti’s 2nd TV Ad: UB2020 = Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
May 18th - 2:03 pm
More campaign news from Sen. Mark Grisanti, who is arguably the Republicans’ most vulnerable member this fall, thanks to a confluence of factors that include his “yes” vote on same-sex marriage, his fist-fight at the Seneca Niagara Casino in February and the general craziness of Western New York politics.
Grisanti just released this ad – the second of this election cycle to date, with November still six months out – indicating just how worried the senator and his allies are about defending his seat this fall. (As Nick noted earlier today, Grisanti also has mailers out).
Much like ad No. 1, this spot focuses on UB2020, a key issue for Buffalo and a majority victory for the freshman Republican, and the jobs it will generate, although the first spot also highlighted ethics reform, which this one does not.
The Buffalo News’ Bob McCarthy reported yesterday that the Senate Democrats are still trying to decide who they’ll back against Gristanti, and continue to consider former Erie County Legislator Chuck Swanick, a Democrat-turned-Republican who has already received the Conservative Party’s endorsement.
As far as I know, no other senators – not even those facing primary challengers – are already on the air.
Kaye Wants To Make Cuomo’s 1st Appeals Court Pick ‘Really Hard’ (Updated)
May 18th - 1:25 pm
ICYMI: Former Chief Judge Judith Kaye joined me on CapTon last night to discuss the Commission on Judicial Nomination’s novel new approach to finding a replacement for retiring Court of Appeals Court Justice Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, who is hitting the state’s constitutionally mandated retirement age of 70.
The imminent departure of Ciparick, who, like Kaye, was appointed by former Gov. Mario Cuomo, will present Gov. Andrew Cuomo with his first opportunity to make his own appointment to New York’s highest bench.
This is the first time Kaye is heading up the commission, which is charged with coming up of a list of three to seven names from which Cuomo is required to pick. The judge noted that in the past, “there have been a lot of complaints that there’s not a wide enough process, there are just too few applicants. She is determined that will not occur again on her watch.
“It’s a really, really serious responsibility, and we have decided to travel around the state – the commission – and raise consciousness about the court, about the vacancy, about the application process, because at the end of this we’re not going to hear any complaint that our search was too narrow,” Kaye explained.
“We want to know that we have really searched out, scoped out the state. We need a New York lawyer with a minimum of 10 years experience. We want to be sure that the message reaches every person who would like to apply, and all of the very most qualified people so that the governor, in the end, has a great choice. And we want to make his choice really hard.”
The commission has until Dec. 1 to complile its list. That date happens to fall on a Saturday, but Kaye insisted it’s a hard and fast deadline that will be met.
The first of the commission’s three scheduled information sessions was held this week in Rochester. There will also be one in Albany, and another in New York City. Kaye did not rule out the possibility of additional dates and locations.
During our chat, I noted that 70 seems awfully abitrary for a forced retirement age – particularly these days when many people opt to, and are able to, work well into the 80s or even their 90s. At the state Supreme Court level, justices who hit the 70 mark may be certified to continue serving for a two year period, but cannot serve past the age of 76.
The US Supreme Court has no retirement age, justices are appointed for life – or until they decide to take themselves out of the game, whichever comes first.
Kaye said there’s a bill in the Legislature that would increase the Court of Appeals retirement age to 80. Apparently, a number of other states have tackled this issue in recent years, but New York hasn’t gotten around to it yet.
UPDATE: Assembly majority spokesman Michael Whyland writes:
“The age requirement needs a constitutional amendment (since the retirement age is in the constitution) which is amended by resolution. The Legislature (both houses) passed the resolution last year and we are required to wait until next year before we can give the resolution second passage.”
Gillibrand For Clarke
May 18th - 12:58 pm
Rep. Yvette Clarke, a Brooklyn Democrat who is facing a primary challenge from Sylvia Kinard, ex-wife of former NYC Comptroller/2013 mayoral hopeful Bill Thompson, has picked up the endorsement (via press release) of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
“Yvette Clarke is a strong leader and a vital voice for all New Yorkers,” Gillibrand said in a statement released by the congresswoman’s campaign. “From her time on the City Council to her current tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, Yvette has been a fighter to improve the lives of her constituents.”
“For the last six years, Yvette has been a tireless advocate for the middle class throughout the New York City area. I have great confidence that Congresswoman Clarke will continue to serve the best interests of New Yorkers and I am proud to strongly support her campaign for re-election to the U.S. Congress.”
Clarke said she is “honored to receive the endorsement and kind words” of Gillibrand, whom she called a “tireless advocate for all New Yorkers.”
Clarke and Gillibrand were elected to Congress in the same year – 2006.
Clarke won a hotly contested four-way Democratic primary for retiring Rep. Major Owens’ seat that year, squeezing out a victory with just with just over 31 percent of the vote. (Also in the running were former NYC Councilman/current Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky, who was the only white candidate in the race and drew fire by moving into the district to take advantage of the split black vote; former Sen. Carl Andrews, and Owens’ son, Chris).
Gillibrand also won a tough race, surprising political observers by ousting scandal-scarred Republican Rep. John Sweeney in what was then the GOP-dominated 20th Congressional District.
The former upstate congresswoman was subsequently tapped by former Gov. David Paterson to serve out the remainder of Hillary Clinton’s US Senate term after she became President Obama’s secretarty of state.
Interesting point of history: Clarke refused to endorse Clinton’s 2008 presidential run for months because Clinton’s then-top spokesman, Howard Wolfson, had advised Yassky during the 2006 primary. Clarke eventually relented and joined the majority of her fellow Democratic elected officials, backing Clinton against Obama in the presidential primary.
Here And Now
May 18th - 6:52 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in New York City with no public schedule.
LG Bob Duffy is in NYC, too. At 10 a.m., he delivers remarks thanking members of the NY National Guard for their service after the 9/11 attacks. (Tribute WTC Visitor Center).
At noon, Duffy will be at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he’ll join fellow elected officials for a “jobs and investment announcement.”
Today’s Facebook IPO is likely to result in 1,000 new millionaires, most making in the $2 million to $5 million range. But conspicuous consumption is not considered cool at the company.
Even though he had nothing but kind words for his estranged wife, Mary, RFK Jr. was waging an intense custody battle for the couple’s four kids that friends said contributed to her suicide.
RFK Jr. said Mary Kennedy suffered from depression and “was in a lot of agony for a lot of her life.”
There will be a wake for Mary Kennedy today, with funeral services planned for Saturday morning at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Bedford. Burial will follow in Hyannisport, Mass., where the Kennedy family has a compound.
JCOPE is developing agency rules that could end up forcing the Committee to Save NY to name at least some of its donors.
The federal government paid New York $700 million more in 2009 than the state needed to care for residents with developmental disabilities who lived in its institutions, according to the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The governor’s decision to end NYC’s fingerprinting for foodstamps policy takes effect in 45 days.
“Poverty and hunger are not crimes,” said Cuomo. “So we shouldn’t treat the poor or the hungry as criminals.”
The state still requires fingerprints from applicants for welfare, a practice started by Cuomo’s father, Mario Cuomo, when he was governor.
…The NYT would like to see Cuomo push the Legislature to end that, too.
Somehow, the NYT’s Thomas Kaplan honored Nik Wallenda’s request to be interviewed while walking on his 1,200-foot long practice wire in Niagara Falls.
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