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2014
Dem Sources: Charlie King Is NOT Jay Jacobs’ Replacement
May 16th - 4:33 pm
The conventional wisdom since state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs’ abrupt resignation decision has been that Executive Director Charlie King move up to replace him in the No. 1 slot.
There’s logic to that assumption. After all, King goes waaaaaaay back with Cuomo, serving under him at HUD, running as his LG in his ill-fated 2002 gubernatorial campaign and then, at then candidate-Cuomo’s request, serving as the official party attack dog during the 2010 campaign.
(Of course, there was that little bump in the relationship road when King challenged Cuomo in the 2006 AG’s race, but he ended up dropping out and backing Cuomo, so that’s all water under the bridge now).
I’ve heard from two highly-placed Democratic sources, however, that King is NOT in fact Cuomo’s choice to lead the party.
One source tells me King actually asked not be to considered because he wants to return to the private sector “well before” Cuomo’s 2014 re-election bid because he has some college tuitions to start saving for, which means whoever does replace Jacobs – and I haven’t managed to get any names confirmed yet – is going to have the opportunity to pick his or her new executive director fairly soon after taking control of the party.
It has been clear for some time that Jacobs’ days were numbered. Even Jacobs himself admitted as much when I talked to him briefly last night after news of his imminent departure broke in the NYT.
Another source insists nothing in particular is behind the timing of Jacobs’ departure, the administration just happened to “get around to it” now after kicking around the idea of a party re-organization for several months.
“The notion is they need someone acceptable to the state committee and the county chairs, not just someone pulled out of nowhere, but also someone who will elevate the profile of the party, someone real,” this source said.
And, of course, the person in question has to be loyal as the day is long to Cuomo, AND be able to raise money – although the governor is no slouch in that department.
It’s kind of hard to find someone with all those qualities. It will be interesting to see who the governor picks – or rather, has picked, because it’s highly unlikely the news of Jacobs’ resignation would have leaked if Cuomo didn’t have a replacement chair already lined up.
A Campaign Finance Movement Turns Its Lonely Eyes To NY
May 3rd - 9:08 am
ICYMI: Filmmaker Steve Cowan joined me on CapTon last night prior to the screening of his documentary, “Pricele$$”, about the absolute power of money in national politics, and expressed confidence that Americans are finally sufficiently fed up to demand reform.
It would be extremely helpful, Cowan said, if New York would take a leadership position in this fight.
The Assembly Democrats have proposed a bill to establish a public campaign finance system, but so far, the Senate GOP isn’t interested and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, while in favor of the concept of taxpayer-funded campaigns, hasn’t put any muscle behind the measure.
“I think change is coming, and I don’t know when it’s coming for the state of New York,” Cowan told me. “But I think all eyes are actually on New York.”
“The whole national movement to mandate this kind of reform…if New York got into a position to really lead on this, I think it would help change in Washington, D.C.”
“Other states have done it already: Airzona, Maine, Connecticut. But New York is the Big Apple, so to speak.”
Cowan’s visit to the Capital Region from his home state of Oregon just so happened to fall on a day when Cuomo decried the power of money at the Capitol, calling it “unbelievable,” just hours before he headed to Buffalo for a $5,000-a-head fundraiser to benefit his 2014 re-election campaign.
The Buffalo News’ Bob McCarthy reported this morning that Cuomo’s take from the event was about $450,000, making it one of the most successful political fundraisers in WNY history.
That sum, according to McCarthy, is thought to be the most ever earned locally for a gubernatorial campaign.
On April 25, Cuomo, who made public campaign finance part of his 2010 campaign reform agenda and highlighted it in his 2012 State of the State address, had this to say on whether action might be taken this year:
“Campaign finance, which is going to be difficult to get an agreement, I think if you listen to the two sides of the issue on this, you’ll get a sense right away of the gap.”
The Senate Democrats held a press conference this week to declare their collective support for campaign finance reform, and insisted the popular governor could convince their Republican colleagues to move on this if he really wanted to.
Cuomo had just over $14 million on hand as of Jan. 15. He’s expected to have far more than that when the next filing is made public in mid-July.
More Liberal Cuomo On Tap?
Mar 12th - 12:57 pm
After meeting with Gov. Andrew Cuomo for about an hour, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and his fellow bishops held a brief press conference to review their closed-door chat, while the governor himself remains behind closed doors.
Dolan was his usual voluble and good-natured self, saying that the bishops had tried not just to dwell on the negative during their sit-down with Cuomo, and thanked him for restoring “trust” and a sense of fiscal responsibility to state government.
The group did broach some topics about which they are opposed, including a long-standing bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, a Queens Democrat, to extend the statute of limitations on certain crimes of sexual abuse – something Dolan said would “be devastating for the life of the church” and cause an “unjust” burden on people who rely on its services.
The church readily admits that it “did not handle this well at all,” Dolan said, adding:
“But we bristle sometimes in that the church doesn’t get the credit now in being in the vanguard of reform…It does bother us that the church continues to be a whipping boy, year after year after year, and this piece of legislation continues to be presented.”
Despite the fact that Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto had insisted on Twitter that the Women’s Health and Wellness Act would not be on the table during this meeting, Dolan said it was indeed a topic for discussion.
He said there seems to be a “paranoia that abortion license is being restrained or setback,” which he believes – much to his chagrin – is not the case.
Dolan backtracked a bit from comments he made to the DN’s Ken Lovett last Friday that the church felt “burned” by the Senate Republicans on gay marriage.
His eminence said this afternoon that the bishops “would have been more vigilant had we thought there was a distinct possibility of passage,” but also stressed that they don’t blame anyone in particular for the passage of the bill – at Cuomo’s behest – last summer.
Dolan said the bishops were comforted when Cuomo, a Catholic, said he is fervently supportive of religious freedom and committed to making sure the gay marriage law doesn’t infringe on that. The topics of gambling and pension reform, for which Dolan also expressed support in the DN interview, didn’t come up.
Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard, who accompanied Dolan into the Cuomo meeting, said a number of other topics came up, including farmworkers rights – a new one for the church, which is formally taking a position in support this year – and prisoners rights as well as low-income housing – all issues for which Cuomo was an outspoken advocate before he won the 2006 AG’s race.
I asked Hubbard if he was upset that the current gubernatorial Cuomo hasn’t been pushing the same liberal agenda as private citizen Cuomo.
Hubbard said Cuomo also expressed an openness to addressing over the next two years of his four-year term the “paucity” of the welfare grant, education and job training for prisoners and low-income New Yorkers, and access to transportation for rural communities.
So don’t be surprised to see the so-far fiscally conservative governor start moving back to the left at spending if and when the state’s financial situation improves.
Such a move would correspond with his preparation to seek re-election in 2014, and would no doubt help win back disaffected lefties for whom Cuomo’s gay-marriage push wasn’t sufficient to assuage their disappointment with his right-of-center approach to budgeting.
Labor’s Warning to ‘Cowboy’ Cuomo
Mar 7th - 9:11 am
ICYMI: DC37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts and AFSCME Council 82′s Gary Tavormina had some harsh words for Gov. Andrew Cuomo during a CapTon interview last night.
The two labor leaders were in town for a lobby day that drew thousands of union members to Albany to protest the governor’s proposal to create a sixth pension tier, which they insist will reduce retirees benefits by 40 percent.
Both Roberts and Tavormina seemed more than OK with the idea of the Legislature holding out against Cuomo’s pension plan, which he has included in his budget proposal – even if that means risking a government shutdown.
“Let’s understand one thing: There are six different plans in this state,” Roberts told me. “You don’t lump all the plans together and then start talking about a shutdown. Because he may very well get one.”
“That’s no way to negotiate or talk about anything. There hasn’t been a sound discussion with one pension plan that I know of. And so, if wants to play cowboy, then, hey, we’ll have a shootout.”
Echoed Tavormina:
“If this is what he wants to do, he wants to shut the government down just to get his way, then shut the government down.”
I also asked the labor duo about what impact the current battle between Cuomo and organized labor might have on the governor’s political aspirations, including his 2014 re-election campaign and potential 2016 White House run.
“When that time comes, the last man standing will win,” Roberts responded, rather enigmatically. Tavormina was more direct:
“If you want labor support, and then you want to cut the legs out from labor, don’t expect support. Plain and simple.”
DN columnist Juan Gonzalez wrote this morning that Cuomo’s pension reform plan might be in trouble because the governor gave NYC unions the upper hand by failing to include in his proposal a legally required fiscal impact analysis from the city’s chief actuary, Robert North.
The Cuomo administration also, according to Gonzalez, didn’t get a home rule vote from the NYC Council, but a Cuomo spokesman insists one isn’t needed – a claim backed up by the Bloomberg administration.
Gonzalez notes that Cuomo met last night with labor leaders, which the administration insisted was just a “routine” sit-down. Nothing to see here.
That didn’t stop Gonzalez from writing the following: “(F)or a Democratic governor with presidential dreams, Cuomo must now decide if he is ready for a nasty battle with the labor movement in his own state.”
Cuomo 2014 Mails On Teacher Evals
Feb 21st - 4:23 pm
In a sign of just how big a political and public relations victory the teacher evaluation deal was, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign committee sent a letter to supporters trumpeting ther news.
From the letter:
As a result of his efforts, the leadership of the teachers’ unions and State Education Commissioner John King joined Governor Cuomo last Thursday to announce the creation of a groundbreaking teacher evaluation system that makes New York a national leader in education reform.
The letter includes links to editorials from The New York Times and Rochester Democrat and Chronicle offering kind words on the deal, which was announced last Thursday right up to the 30-day amendment deadline.
Using the teacher evaluation agreement as a campaign tool highlights how much the governor and his team consider the deal to be a fundamental victory, even if the so-called reforms are tweaks to an already established product: good headlines, tough talk with unions and a framing of the debate over education standards that focuses on quantifiable results.
The full letter is after the jump. More >
D’Amato: Astorino Won’t ‘Stick His Head In A Sausage Grinder’
Jan 30th - 11:41 am
Former U.S. Sen. Al D’Amato doubts County Executive Rob Astorino will run against popular Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014, if only because the campaign would be tough and apparently, painful.
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t think he wants to stick his head in a sausage grinder,” D’Amato told reporters this morning outside the Conservative Party Political Action Conference in Colonie.
D’Amato said Astorino is doing a good job in Westchester County, but he also singled out praise for Cuomo as well.
“I think he’s going after the sacred cows,” he said.
But given the $14 million in campaign cash Cuomo has on hand and his seemingly never-ending well of popularity, any Republican would face an uphill battle it would seem, at least more than two years away from the election.
D’Amato gave a well received speech before the conference, detailing his first campaign against Sen. Jacob Javits and the deployment of his mother in the now-famous “Mama D’Amato” ads.
D’Amato, now a registered lobbyist at the federal and state level, reiterated his criticism of ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, saying that while the GOP presidential candidate is smart and a good debater, he faced too many questions for his self-described work as a well-paid “historian” for Freddie Mac.
“If you were lobbying and claim you were a historian, you broke the law,” D’Amato said.
D’Amato added that he wished Mitt Romney “had more passion,” but the former Massachusetts governor would withstand scrutiny better than Gingrich.
“Understand one thing about the Obama campaign, they are brilliant political strategists,” he said.
Speaking with reporters after the largely off-the-cuff speech, D’Amato said he doubted the reports that GOP officials planned to send uncommitted delegates to the party’s national convention should Gingrich win Florida.
“I think that’s just a fantasy right now,” he said.
Coffey Recruited To Challenge Astorino, Doesn’t 100% Rule It Out
Jan 19th - 5:15 pm
Sean Coffey, who largely self-funded an unsuccessful bid for state attorney general in 2010, has been approached to challenge Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino when the incumbent Republican comes up for re-election in 2013.
During a brief telephone interview this afternoon, Coffey confirmed “there have been folks who approached me,” but denied to say who. He also said he has “no plans to re-enter politics at this point,” and later reiterated that sentiment, tacking on the qualifier “at the present time.”
Coffey was a political newcomer in 2010, but he clearly has learned that old standby of never saying never – because, hey, you never know.
“I relished the campaign in 2010 and really enjoyed the experience,” he said. “But that was a unique set of circumstances. It was the right job…At this point, I’m not thinking og another office, I’m thinking of building my new business.”
Coffey would be a serious contender for local office in his home county, having raised his name recognition significantly during the AG’s race by dropping $6.85 million, most of which was his own money. He finished a distant third behind Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice (who has been raising money like crazy of late, and is speculated to be eyeing another run for higher office) and the primary winner and current AG, Eric Schneiderman.
In the meantime, Coffey said he’s focused on setting up a venture capital firm, BlackRobe Capital Partners, and on “creating jobs.”
Sources tell Nick Reisman that Democratic support seems to be gathering behind Assemblywoman Amy Paulin as a potential challenger to Astorino, (the $428,732 she has on hand in her campaign account doesn’t hurt), although Westchester County Board Chairman Ken Jenkins has also been mentioned as a possible contender.
Since former Erie County Executive Chris Collins was ousted last November by Democrat Mark Poloncarz, Astorino has been viewed as a possible statewide contender in 2014 – perhaps even as a challenger to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Astorino has been critical of Cuomo lately, particularly when it comes to the rebuilding of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Interestingly, Astorino was not invited to Cuomo’s budget presentation in Yonkers yesterday, according to the county executive’s spokeswoman Jessica Proud.
Collins vs. Hochul? Ex-County Exec Won’t Rule It Out
Jan 6th - 1:17 pm
Former Erie County Executive Chris Collins, a Republican who was ousted by Democrat Mark Poloncarz in November, has officially been out of a job for just six days now, but already is mulling a potential return to the public sector.
Multiple sources said Collins has been talking himself up as a potential challenger to Democratic freshman Rep. Kathy Hochul, who stunned the political world at both the state and national levels last year when she defeated Republican Assemblywoman Jane Corwin in a special election for the GOP-dominated 26th Congressional District seat held ex-Rep. Chris Lee (felled by Craigslist sex scandal).
During a brief phone interview this afternoon, Collins insisted that he isn’t spreading this rumor and doesn’t know who is, although he’s flattered to be mentioned as a potential Hochul opponent. He also didn’t rule out the possibility that he might indeed run this fall, but said he wants to wait and see what the new district lines look like before making a final decision.
“Any discussions like that are very premature,” Collins said. “…I’ll never say never. I think any political person that would is probably lying to you.”
“I’ve enjoyed being in public service, and obviously I wanted four more years…But right now, I am stepping back into private businesses and helping out where I can. I’m looking at different options, since I’ve only been out of office for a week.”
“I had 24 bad hours after the election, but I recovered pretty quickly after I looked at the results and that with the exception of the City of Buffalo and Lackawana, the voters of Erie County wanted to continue along the same path.”
NY-26 currently includes portions of seven counties – all of Genesee, Livingston, and Wyoming and parts of Erie, Monroe, Niagara and Orleans. Until the 2002 redistricting, most of this area was in the 27th District, which is currently represented by Democrat Rep. Brian Higgins.
In Year-End Assessment, GOP Touts Bench
Dec 27th - 4:01 pm
With the major exception of one upset election, it was not a banner year for the New York State Republican Party.
In an off-year cycle with no state offices up for grabs, Republicans lost county executive races in Erie and Suffolk. A seat in western New York, once firmly in Republican hands, went Democratic.
The Erie County executive race was especially bruising for the GOP, since incumbent Chris Collins was considered a possible statewide candidate.
Oh, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, has adopted much of the Republicans’ fiscally conservative agenda and has cornered the market when it comes to support from the state’s business interests.
His approval rating is sky-high.
The big exception, of course, was Republican Bob Turner reversing the circumstances and winning a special election in Brooklyn, facing the hapless David Weprin.
In their year-end assessment, the party that hasn’t held a statewide office since 2006 insisted they were grooming talent.
A strong pro-growth NYGOP is a strong pro-growth force for less government spending, lower taxes and creating more jobs and repairing the infrastructure in New York. At the same time we have continued to build the Republican bench for future legislative, congressional and statewide races. With strong established, and promising new, major office holders, the NYGOP has created a substantial foundation for not just the Party’s future but for New York’s future.
Among their dividends:
Republicans poured millions into Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino’s effort to dislodge a Democratic supermajority on the Board of Legislators.
Marc Molinaro won the Dutchess County executive post.
And Maggie Brooks was elected to an unprecedented third term as Monroe County executive.
All have been touted as future faces of a party.
Astorino Will Dissent If Necessary
Nov 11th - 2:48 pm
ICYMI: Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who’s being talked up a lot since outgoing Erie County Executive Chris Collins’ loss, as a potential challenger to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014, ruled a statewide run neither out nor in during a CapTon interview last night, but did say he’ll be more than willing to be critical of the governor – and, perhaps more so, the Legislature – if promises are not delivered on, particularly when it comes to mandate relief.
Astorino told me he’s focused right now on fixing the “mess” in Westchester, a task he hopes will be easier going forward if the apparent GOP victories in two county legislature races hold, breaking the Democrats’ super majority.
He also said he definitely plans on seeking re-election in 2013, would not mind returning to the private sector (radio and televison) to “make some money” if this public service thing doesn’t work out, and very much hopes Cuomo succeeds in Albany – a sentiment he assumes the governor reciprocates, since he’s a Westchester County resident.
“I will stand with him, as I have in the past if he does what I think it right, and he’s tried to have some fiscal conservatism,” Astorino added. “I think he’s taken some right steps.”
” He’s trying to change the mindset, as am I, whether it’s in Westchester or statewide that we’ve got to stop some of this crazy spending of the past. We can’t keep taxing people out of their homes. And so I have said I would stand with him. And I have. I think he’s done a pretty decent job. So, if he succeeds, I succeed and the state succeeds. And I want to continue to stand with him, until he does something that I completley disagree with. I don’t agree with him on everything.”
Astorino warned that “everything’s going to fail, everything’s going to come tumbling down” if hard decisions aren’t made – and soon – on things like Medicaid, pensions and, generally speaking, mandate relief. If the governor and the Legislature fail to do that, Astorino warned, he will not be shy about calling them on their failings. But if they do, he will happily “stand with them and say, ‘congratulations.’”
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