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2012
Cuomo’s Got A Buddy In Roemer
Mar 2nd - 8:05 am
Independent presidential hopeful Buddy Roemer‘s pitch sounds very (to borrow a phrase from CapCon’s Jimmy Vielkind) Cuomonian:
The top priority of any candidate, according to the former Louisiana governor/congressman, should be to get the special interest influence out of politics – an endeavor he insists can only be achieved through dramatic campaign finance reform.
Cuomo, too, has talked about the importance of limiting big donors’ access to government by limiting political contributions and creating a public campaign finance system – although he has yet to formally propose any legislation to accomplish that.
Also, unlike Cuomo, who has refused to unilaterally disarm and continues to rake in campaign cash hand over foot, Roemer is already practicing what he preaches – removing the money from his own mouth, so to speak.
He’s restricting his fundraising to small-dollar donations, despite the fact that doing so dramatically reduced his ability to campaign on the national level as a viable presidential contender.
Roemer may turn out to be the only – and perhaps last – presidential candidate to receive federal matching funds, which isn’t much of an endorsement of the system.
Locked out of debates and frustrated by his lack of traction, Roemer, a Democrat-turned-Republican, ended his campaign for the GOP nod and is now running as an independent. He has his eye on the Americans Elect line and also is hopefully about getting the Reform Party nod.
Roemer was in NYC yesterday to do the national TV circuit. He hit Morning Joe, and in the afternoon sat down for a CapTon interview. He was full of praise for Cuomo, who he “absolutely” views as presidential material.
“I have followed him closely,” Roemer said of New York’s governor.
“I have great admiration for what he’s doing in a system that was frankly titled the other way, a system that was titled toward power, toward corruption in terms of an institutional vein. He hit it on the head, you need campaign reform first and then the other things will follow.”
Roemer, who, like any good politician, was very skilled at bringing the conversation back to himself and his own endeavors, recalled a conversation he once had with the late President Ronald Reagan about the importance of being a governor before one runs for the Oval Office.
He also said Reagan told him to switch parties, something I can’t see Cuomo doing anytime soon – no matter how fiscally conservative he may be.
Becker Looks For House In New NY-18
Mar 1st - 3:17 pm
Democratic Congressional Candidate and Cortlandt Town Board Member Rich Becker just sent out a statement saying he is committed to defeating Rep. Nan Haywroth this year. So committed that he is already planning on moving into the district if he needs to.
“As soon as we saw the maps at midnight last night, my wife and I began a search for a house in the any of the district’s proposed iterations. Even though no lines are yet finalized, we are fully prepared to see this through,” Becker said in a statement.
He goes on to blast “special interests groups” and Republicans for drawing him out of a competition with Hayworth – though doesn’t specify who the special interests are.
“I am in this campaign to win it despite any attempts by special interests groups or Republican power brokers in Albany to disenfranchise the voters of the Hudson Valley by drawing the strongest Democratic candidate by far out of the district. We are 100% committed to defeating Nan Hayworth and once again electing a Congressman who’ll fight for all of us and not just the political and financial elites,” Becker said.
As we mentioned earlier today, Becker is one of 5 Democrats who has announced that they are challenging Hayworth. The lines proposed separately by the Senate Republicans and Assembly Democrats leave only one of those candidates in the same seat as Hayworth – Wappingers Falls Mayor Matt Alexander.
Cohen Radio Ad: ‘It’s Time We Sent A Fresh Face To Albany’
Feb 29th - 7:42 pm
I’m not entirely sure how I missed this, but Republican Senate hopeful Bob Cohen is already out with a radio ad that’s playing in Westchester County.
I’m told the ad has been playing with some frequency over the last several days on Westchester radio.
What’s interesting is the ad, tweeted out by Cohen two weeks ago, comes as Democrats so far are yet to field an announced candidate to replace the seat currently held by the retiring Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer. And it comes a full eight months before Election Day, a sign that Cohen is already able to spend a good amount of cash in the campaign.
In addition, it could be a way of warding off potential Republican primary challenges. Eastchester Supervisor Anthony Colavita has indicated he’s interested in the seat as well.
But his campaign certainly seems to think that voters in Westchester and the district that appears to have been drawn with Cohen in mind (he had the stunning foresight to move to New Rochelle before the proposed district drew his old town, Scarsdale, off the map) are tired of incumbents.
“He’s not a politician, he’s a businessman,” one of the voices in the ad says. “He’s running to bring fiscal sanity back to Albany.”
Cohen lost to Oppenheimer in a nail-bitter in 2010. After Oppenheimer announced she was retiring, Cohen confirmed he was going to make another run for the seat.
Carvin Pledges $1 Million To Get Campaign Off Ground
Feb 29th - 5:21 pm
Rye Town Supervisor and hedge fund manager Joe Carvin, who launched his campaign for US Senate against Sen. Gillibrand today, is pledging to put $1 million of his own money into the campaign. After that he does not intend to put in any more money saying he “does not want to buy the campaign.” He did indicat that he has already started lining up campaign donors as well.
In a phone interview, he told us that his motivation for running is the growing deficit and debt the nation is facing. “Basically I don’t think the politicians are addressing the issues that need to be addressed,” he said. When asked for specifics he talked about his concern that the debt to gross domestic product ratio is 100%, and went further to decry the unfunded liabilities debt that is currently at closer to $117 trillion.
“If the United States was a private company we would be insolvent,” Carvin said.
Carvin also says the country needs tax reform. He said he would have adopted tax code put forth in the Bowles/Simpson debt reduction plan which calls for a simpler tax code with reduced rates on personal and corporate taxes. He also criticized President Obama for not doing more to get it passed.
Carvin is also pro-choice. He says he is primarily because he believes Roe v. Wade is settled law. On same-sex marriage, he says he is for civil unions and says his position is basically in line with President Obama’s.
More >
National Organization For Marriage Backing Swanick
Feb 27th - 4:05 pm
Here’s an interesting quandry for Senate Democrats: Do you support a candidate who has the backing of an anti-gay marriage group?
The National Organization for Marriage is throwing its support to Democratic Senate candidate Chuck Swanick, announcing this afternoon it will give the challenger $5,000 in an effort to unseat Republican Sen. Mark Grisanti, one of the four Republican yes votes on same-sex marriage.
“Mark Grisanti betrayed us and the people of his district when he broke his word and voted to redefine marriage last year,” said Brian Brown, NOM’s president. “Four years ago Grisanti promised us he would defend marriage in the Senate, and we gave him a $4,000 contribution in response to his personal solicitation. Today we are endorsing Chuck Swanick, who truly will fight for marriage, and our $5,000 contribution to Mr. Swanick begins in earnest our quest to drive Grisanti from elected office.”
Swanick, a longtime player in Erie County politics, was picked to be the local Conservative Party’s candidate, denying Grisanti the needed line in Novemeber. Chairman Ralph Lorigo told me this afternoon in an interview set to air tonight on the show that it wasn’t just Grisanti’s yes vote on same-sex marriage the led to yanking the endorsement, but a variety of factors.
Democrats are yet to swing their support to any of the candidates running out in the 60th Senate District. In an interview with YNN Buffalo, Swanick would not take a position on gay marriage, saying only that it was settled law. Still, it remains to be seen if Senate Democrats would openly embrace a candidate supported by the National Organization for Marriage.
NOM said in a statement that they didn’t care if a Swanick victory translated to Republicans falling into the minority.
“In response to those who say that electing Mr. Swanick could cost Dean Skelos his majority in the Senate we say, ‘we don’t care,’” Brown said. “Mark Grisanti’s political career will be ended over same-sex marriage, and he might take Dean Skelos with him. But that is Skelos’ own doing for having allowed the same-sex marriage bill to come to a vote in the Senate. We are committed to electing a pro-marriage majority, not protecting Republicans like Mark Grisanti who betray our core values.”
Kerrey Joining Campaign Finance, Just As He’s Getting Back Into Politics
Feb 27th - 3:27 pm
Just as he joins an effort here in New York to overhaul campaign finance laws, former Nebraska Gov. and Sen. Bob Kerrey is reportedly making another the U.S. Senate.
It was announced today that Kerrey, the former president of the New School in New York City, had signed on to the effort to tighten campaign finance laws by introducing a voluntary public matching system similar to New York City and lower contribution limits.
Kerrey is joining a monied coalition of former politicians and business leaders (many of whom are major campaign donors themselves) called NY-LEAD. The coalition seems strikingly similar to other efforts that backed Gov. Andrew Cuomo like New Yorkers United for Marriage and the Committee to Save New York.
“The unfortunate reality of modern American politics is that financing a campaign for office has become a growing barrier that prevents non-wealthy Americans from becoming a candidate for State and Federal office,” Kerrey said in a statement. “And for those who succeed in raising the money there is at best the perception and at worse the reality of corruption of the local and national agendas. The consequence is that voters are increasingly distrustful of the intentions of candidates and left with the feeling that they have no influence. At the moment there is little hope that Congress will enact a Federal law that provides a voluntary system of public financing. In New York – thanks to the leadership of Governor Cuomo – it could happen. By doing so New York would give power back to small donors in State campaigns and set an example for the U.S. Congress.”
The Washington Post reported today that Kerrey is thinking about making a run for the seat held by the retiring Sen. Ben Campbell Nelson. Kerrey has been out of politics since 2001 and moved to New York and one time even considered running for mayor.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said twice in his last two State of the State addresses that he favors campaign-finance reform laws, but has not proposed or embraced any so far.
Swanick: Lorigo Approached Me
Feb 26th - 9:56 pm
Democratic Senate hopeful Chuck Swanick told our colleagues at YNN Buffalo that Erie County Conservative Party Chairman Ralph Lorigo approached him about running for the seat held by Republican Sen. Mark Grisanti about 10 days prior to receiving the executive committee’s formal backing.
Lorigo told YNN that evening that picking Swanick over the incumbent Grisanti was a “difficult decision.”
But Swanick, a former member of the Erie County Board of Legislators, says he was thinking about running in the 60th Senate District for a while now.
“I have had the itch for a long time,” Swanick said. “I like serving in government.”
The Conservative Party’s endorsement of Swanick over the freshman Republican Grisanti caused a major stir, considering the line was necessary for him defeat Sen. Antoine Thompson in a close race in 2010. Grisanti is believed to be the most vulnerable of the 32 Republican senators, who are fighting to keep and expand their 3-seat majority.
Swanick formally announced his candidacy on Friday via news release, a day after receiving the party’s endorsement.
Grisanti’s position was tenuous after his “yes” vote for same-sex marriage and state Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long’s decree that any votes cast in favor would translate to a loss of the line. But Grisanti’s new proposed district under redistricting was drawn entirely within Erie County, throwing the decision to the local county committee.
In the interview, Swanick refused to take a position on same-sex marriage.
“That is a state law, that was done before I would get there,” he said. “What happened last year happened last year and you would have to talk to the people who were there last year.”
Instead, Swanick said he wanted to focus on economic issues such as job creation, taxation and streamlining state government. In fact, his lengthy discourse on the economic woes of western New York sounded strikingly similar to several planks in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s platform.
Still, it’s not entirely clear how well his social positions will play with his potential colleagues in the Democratic conference. More importantly, his position on abortion and reproductive issues has not been fully spelled out yet, either. The conference has taken a firm stand on supporting abortion and reproductive rights. Of course, Sen. Ruben Diaz, D-Bronx, remains a holdout on both gay marriage and abortion.
“I’m going to bring a very different perspective to what many people think is a liberal caucus,” Swanick said.
Swanick Makes It Official
Feb 24th - 5:19 pm
The state Democratic Party is yet to officially endorse, but Chuck Swanick, the former chairman of the Erie County Board of Legislators, is formally challenging Buffalo Republican Mark Grisanti with the backing of the local Conservative Party.
In a news release sent over this afternoon, Swanick puts the word “Democrat” in the headline.
There’s no mention of his stance on abortion, but it is said to be more nuanced than simply pro-choice or pro-life.
“I am a Democrat, I am a fiscal conservative and have always believed that cutting government comes before raising taxes, that deficits are a drag on the economy and at the end of the day government’s role needs to be limited to providing the services we need and that we wouldn’t get from the private sector,” Swanick said.
Onondaga County Republicans Host Wendy Long
Feb 24th - 5:03 pm
Republican Senate hopeful Wendy Long is kicking off her nascent campaign with a visit to Onondaga County on Tuesday.
The local Republican Committee will host Long at its 2012 Executive Leadership Council Luncheon, with tickets ranging from $250 to $1,500. Long, a conservative activist and lawyer, is billed as the “special guest.”
She is one of two Republicans so far seeking the nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the fall. The other candidate, Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, has spent the better of the year traveling to seeminlgy every corner of the state.
Grisanti Defiant After Losing Conservative Party Backing
Feb 24th - 12:18 pm
Republican Sen. Mark Grisanti is “not surprised” that he lost the support of the Erie County Conservative Party last night, saying in a statement that a “political deal was cut.”
“We are not surprised or shocked that a political deal was cut. It is my intention to continue to focus all my efforts on creating jobs and opportunities here in Western New York. We will continue to put people first and not politics.”
There’s no explicit pledge here that he’s running for a second term.
Grisanti received 4,368 votes from the Conservative line in 2010. Grisanti would have lost to Sen. Antoine Thompson by roughly 2,000 votes without the line.
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