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Super PAC Backs Espaillat vs. Rangel
May 8th - 7:23 am
After mulling the race for some time, the Campaign for Primary Accountability, a big-spending anti-incumbent super-PAC, has finally pulled the trigger on the 13th CD primary battle, opting to help Sen. Adriano Espaillat in his quest to oust veteran Rep. Charlie Rangel.
“Senator Espaillat’s solid record and proven popular support make him a strong, credible challenger who will work for the people of his district when he goes to Congress,” the Houston-based PAC declared in a press release that will be sent out this morning.
“Adriano Espaillat represents a new generation and brings a fresh perspective sorely needed in Washington.”
“Charlie Rangel has sadly become the model of how some long-term incumbents become too comfortable with the special interests that infest Washington.”
“As chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Rangel was responsible for extending the notorious tax break that allowed GE to pay zero taxes on billions of dollars of profits.”
The CPA has had success in ousting (or scaring off) incumbents in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois, routinely dropping six figures to assist its candidates of choice.
CPA is reportedly funded by a handful of Texas conservatives and at least one corporation with a rather shadowy history.
The PAC’s goal is to bring “fresh blood” to Congress, and it picks its targets based on their length of service and potential vulnerability, not party affiliation, according to CPA spokesman, Curtis Ellis, (whose name you might recall from his longtime association with perennial WNY candidate and millionaire businessman Jack Davis).
Ellis would not say how much CPA might spend to help Espaillat, but he did acknowledge the NYC media market tends to be more costly than elsewhere in the country.
In other words, expect ads on cable and targeted mailers, not massive air buys, which would likely be ineffective in a House race anyway.
Linares Going ‘All The Way’ In Senate Run
May 7th - 7:46 am
I spoke briefly last night to Assemblyman Guillermo Linares after he sent out a statement formally announcing his long-speculated run for Sen. Adriano Espaillat’s upper Manhattan seat.
When I asked if he planned to stay in the race regardless of the outcome of Espaillat’s primary challenge to Rep. Charlie Rangel, Linares assured me – twice – that he’s in “all the way” to the end of the campaign.
In other words, even if Espaillat fails to oust Rangel and takes advantage of the fact that the Legislature hasn’t changed the state primary date (Sept. 11) to coincide with the federal primary date (Jun 26) to seek re-election to his current seat, Linares plans to run.
That’s a gamble for Linares, because he could find himself out of a job come September if he fails to win the Senate primary.
Again, thanks to the Senate GOP’s unwillingness to go along with the Assembly Democrats’ desire to change the state primary date, Linares has no fallback and must give up his current seat to run for higher office.
Espaillat vs. Linares would surely be a grudge match between two longtime frenemies. (I believe they’re currently in an off cycle in their on-again/off-again relationship).
Espaillat hasn’t yet pledged not to exploit that primary loophole if he loses his bid against Rangel.
His 2010 rival, District Leader and Barack Obama Democratic Club founder Mark Levine, appears to be the senator’s pick to succeed him in the Senate should he move on to the House.
There is widespread speculation that Levine would step aside is Espaillat wants to run for his old seat. But if he didn’t, there would be a three-way battle for it between Levine, Espaillat and Linares – a potentially ugly situation that would likely benefit the incumbent.
Levine has a back-up plan. In February, he created a campaign committee to raise money for a 2013 potential bid for term-limited NYC Councilman Robert Jackson’s seat. (A number of people are apparently eyeing that seat, and Jackson is preparing for a Manhattan BP run that year).
I asked Linares if he plans to endorse Rangel. He side-stepped that question, saying he’s currently focused on his own race.
Brief history:
Linares, a former Bloomberg administration official, is currently holding Espaillat’s old Assembly seat. Espaillat is currently holding AG Eric Schneiderman’s old Senate seat. Linares challenged Schneiderman in 2002 when the district was redrawn to be more Latino, and lost.
Board Of Elections Giveth, Taketh Away
May 4th - 4:56 pm
Here’s the final decisions made by the Board of Elections commissioners yesterday on challenged congressional petitions.
Some developments of note: Dan Lamb, a top aide to retiring Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey who is challenging Republican Rep. Richard Hanna, has lost the Working Families Party line because he failed to faile an acceptance of the labor-backed party’s endorsement. That strikes me as a seriously amateurish error.
According to a reader, no Democrat has won the Binghamton or Utica congressional seats without WFP line in this century.
Hanna has troubles of his own, however. He submitted signatures to qualify for the Conservative line, but didn’t get the party’s nod (in the form of a Wilson Pakula authorization, which is required for all non-enrolled members), and so won’t be running on Row C in November.
The same thing happened to Iraq War vet David Bellavia, whose GOP primary opponent, former Erie County Executive Chris Collins, got the Conservative Party’s endorsement. Ditto Rep. Brian Higgins, who circulated petitions to get onto the Independence line, but failed to get the party’s permission to run on it.
Also notable, Rep. Tom Reed, a Republican who has three Democrats vying to take him on in November, lost the Independence line because he was 29 valid signatures short of the 764 required.
Democratic Rep. Nita Lowey, who’s facing a challenge from Republican Rye Town Supervisor Joe Carvin, had a similar problem, missing the 662 signature requirement to land the Indy line by 26 names.
Slaughter Out Of Hospital, Dr. Says Healing ‘Progressing Well’
May 4th - 3:36 pm
One month after she broke her leg in New York City, Rep. Louise Slaughter has been released from the hospital, although she will continue her intensive physical therapy schedule in Rochester for an undisclosed period before returning to Washington, D.C.
“I would like to thank everyone who has expressed their well wishes for my quick and complete recovery,” the 82-year-old Democrat said in a statement released by her office. “The outpouring of support has been truly humbling and has been a major motivation for me to work as hard as necessary to get back on my feet.”
“My service to the people of my District has continued during my rehabilitation. Over the course of the last week, I gave video remarks at a major manufacturing conference, introduced trade legislation to support local workers and secured nearly $500,000 in federal grants for Community Health Centers in Rochester.”
“I also cannot say enough about the wonderful care that I have received from the medical professionals at Strong Memorial Hospital. These dedicated men and women – doctors, nurses, physical therapists, rehab specialists and support staff – have provided me with a level of care that is unmatched anywhere else in the nation.”
“I am deeply grateful for their support and assistance and wish to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Thank goodness for the great staff at the rehabilitation center and my Blackberry – I couldn’t have done my job well without both!”
Slaughter gave a special shout-out to the nursing staff at URMC, where she was transferred several days after her accident, noting she is co-sponsoring a resolution recognizing May 6-12 as National Nurses Week.
The congresswoman’s orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Stephen I. Kates, said her recovery is going as planned. He did not provide a timeline for when Slaughter will have her cast removed and be able to walk unaided, but did suggest she will be able to maintain her pledge to hew to a rigorous re-election campaign schedule as she battles her Republican opponent, Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks.
“Congresswoman Slaughter has been progressing well with her healing,” Kates said. “She’s following the normal expected course for someone with this kind of fracture. I expect she will make a full recovery and be able to not only serve our country but campaign as she plans.”
Dems ‘Award’ Brooks For Ducking (Updated)
May 4th - 1:33 pm
Today’s Friday funsie comes compliment of the state Democratic Party, which awarded congressional candidate/Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, the first ever “Congressional Candidate Ducking Issues Award” for (as the press release puts it) “her 46-day crusade to keep voters in the dark revealing no solutions, plans or stances on issues.”
“Maggie Brooks really is a champion of not saying anything and today the New York State Democratic Party is awarding her with our first ever Congressional Candidate Ducking Issues Award for her outstanding service to silence,” said state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs.
“Yesterday, for the fifth time in a month and a half, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reprimanded Brooks for failing to take a position on the issues that matter to voters. Instead she’s decided to be responsive to DC lobbyists and contributors. If you want someone who won’t say anything on the issues you care about, voters should know, Maggie Brooks is the candidate for you.”
“…”Maggie Brooks is a champion of not telling voters how she feels about the issues they care about. She has really taken to heart that silence is golden.”
Brooks has refused to take a position on any federal issues – from the Ryan budget to the so-called war on women – insiting that Monroe County voters are more than familiar with her ideology and record.
Perhaps, but since she has never been pressed on anything national, like, say the debt ceiling or Social Security, voters (and reporters) could perhaps be forgiven for being curious about where Brooks stands on issues she would voting for (or against) when and if she manages to oust Democratic veteran Rep. Lousie Slaughter.
With Slaughter still recovering from a serious broken leg, Brooks hasn’t had to work terribly hard. But the congresswoman was released from Strong Memorial Hospital today, we’re told, and she has pledged to fight hard for her seat, so Brooks should really be hitting those briefing books.
Brooks might want to talk to her fellow Republican, Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, about the danger of ducking issues while seeking higher office. As you’ll recall, (I’m sure Tedisco certainly does), the assemblyman’s refusal to answer questions about how he would vote on the $780 billion federal stimulus bill played a large role in his loss to Democrat Scott Murphy in the 2009 special election for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s old House seat.
(After weeks of being hounded by reporters, Tedisco finally said he would have voted “no” on the stimulus bill, which Murphy supported. The damage was already done, however, and Murphy won in a squeaker. Murphy was defeated by Republican Rep. Chris Gibson in 2010, and Gibson is now trying to win re-election in a district that has been dramatically redrawn).
UPDATE: Brooks spokesman Noah Lebowitz said the county executive’s opponents are wrong when they say she has been ducking important issues, and he provided two lengthy statements from her on the Ryan budget and the war on women.
Both appear after the jump.
Rangel: Conspiracy Theory On Early Retirement Is ‘Flattering’
Apr 30th - 4:25 pm
During an extended sit-down interview with Diana Williams that aired yesterday, Rep. Charlie Rangel said speculation that he’s running for another term with an eye toward retirement halfway through and hand-picking his successor is “flattering.”
The veteran Harlem pol insisted “anyone that knows me – which includes reporters – would know that I would not know how to do something immoral,” adding (at about the eight-minute mark):
“People who say this, in a sense it’s flattering, because there’s nothing else that they can create as to why I shouldn’t be running and winning except: I don’t think that as good as he is that he’s going to really share that time with us for two years.”
“And the truth of the matter is that if I have integrity, and that hasn’t been challenged, if I was to do something that immoral, where would I go? Nicaragua? Would I go to Europe? I mean, this is integrity that’s on the line. So, when they challenge it with no reason to do it, it’s so you would raise the question.”
“And I guess, in a sense, I’m glad you raised it…It would be in shame and disgrace that I would do that to people. And I wouldn’t do it. So, how many different ways do you say that’s not so? And there’s absoltuely no evidence from anybody.”
When Williams pressed Rangel, asking if he’s promising and guaranteeing to serve out the full term if he’s re-elected, Rangel replied:
“There is no question. If there’s anything within my power physically, and I have no reason to believe that there’s anything that would deter that, I am anxious to complete the work that I think the Obama administration has to do. And the opportunity to just let this go by, I think, would be unfair to my constituents.”
NRCC Slams Maloney As ‘Ultimate Insider’
Apr 30th - 12:53 pm
Now that state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs has made clear the party prefers Sean Patrick Maloney of the five Democratic hopefuls in NY-18, the Republicans have wasted no time in teeing off on him.
Within several hours of my post this morning highlighting a portion of my interview with Jacobs last Friday at the DRC meeting in Corning, NRCC spokesman Nathan Sillin sent out a statement accusing the Democrats of “annointing” Maloney instead of waiting to see who the voters chose in the June 26 primary.
Sillin seized on my characterization of Maloney as having long-standing Democratic connections as proof that he is “a party insider who will put partisan politics before voters” and a member of the “establishment.”
“It’s not shocking that the Democrat machine would try to rob voters of a real choice in June,” Sillin said.
“Independent minded folks in the Hudson Valley don’t want an insider anointed by party bosses who will put partisan politics ahead of voters’ interests, but that’s exactly what they will get with Sean Patrick Maloney.”
I’m sure there’s a lot more where this came from, assuming Maloney manages to defeat his fellow Democrats on primary day.
The Republicans clearly intend to expend some energy to defend Hayworth. How much they’ll spend in terms of resources remains to be seen, but former Gov. George Pataki, who helped Hayworth defeat Democratic former Rep. John Hall in 2010, can be counted on to help the congresswoman out again – this time through his new super PAC, Tipping Point.
State Dems Choose Sides In NY-18
Apr 30th - 7:10 am
Usually, the state parties don’t get involved in primaries, (at least not overtly), preferring to appear to let the candidates duke it on their own, and then swooping in to back the winner in the general election.
But, that’s not the case in NY-18, where no fewer than five Democrats are duking it out for the right to face Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth in November.
State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs was quite clear during a CapTon interview Friday (we caught up with him at the DRC meeting in Corning) that he’s backing Sean Patrick Maloney in the race.
“It just looks to me that that’s the candidate who’s raising the most money, out there most aggressively, and should do very well,” Jacobs told me, after recovering from a brief memory lapse on Maloney’s last name.
“He’s a great candidate.”
I asked Jacobs if the DCCC indeed feels the same way, (as I reported back on April 2), noting that he’s probably in regular contact with his fellow Long Islander, Rep. Steve Israel, who heads the House Democrats’ political arm. The chairman replied:
“…Obviously, in all cases, we want our strongest candidate, and we want our strongest candidate that we believe will do a great job. And (Maloney) fits the bill there.”
This isn’t going to come as welcome news to Maloney’s primary opponents, including Wappingers Falls Mayor Matt Alexander, who I believe I spotted in at the DRC opening reception in Corning on Friday night.
It’s not a big surprise, though, especially after Maloney’s report that he had $310,000 on hand after the first three months of fundraising this year, and his endorsement by several labor unions.
Also, as a former Clinton White House aide, and staffer in both the Spitzer and Paterson administrations, Maloney is nothing if not well connected.
Shakeup In NY-18 Alexander Campaign
Apr 26th - 8:31 am
Wappingers Falls Mayor Matt Alexander, one of five Democrats vying to challenge Republican freshman Rep. Nan Hayworth, who started out strong in the race, but has lost momentum recently thanks to the late entry of Sean Patrick Maloney, has lost his campaign manager.
I received an early-morning statement from TJ Helmstetter, confirming that he is no longer working full-time for Alexander’s campaign.
Helmstetter stressed that he remains “fervently in (Alexander’s) corner as an advisor and supporter,” saying the mayor is “exactly the congressman that the Hudson Valley needs” and “absolutely the best Democrat” to beat Hayworth in the November general election.
Helmstetter did not mention Maloney by name, but alluded to his recent endorsement by several powerful labor unions, including 1199 SEIU and 32 BJ.”
“It’s a shame that institutions – even so-called progressive institutions – are tipping the scales against the true candidate of the 99% in favor of the candidate with the most money in the race,” Helmstetter, a former spokesman for the labor-backed Working Families Party, wrote.
He also referenced the fact that Alexander and the rest of the Democratic field, which includes Tuxedo Park Mayor Tom Wilson, cardiologist and Cortlandt Town Board Member Richard Becker, and Times Square street vendor Duane Jackson, have been out-fundraised by Maloney.
“It’s obvious we need campaign finance reform,” Helmstetter said. “But in the meantime, I remain certain that Matt will win with a grassroots field campaign focused on voters of the 99%, and I will continue on in my support of Matt’s efforts to reform the system and win.”
“A proven and dedicated public servant, Matt is exactly the type of person we need in elected office. The fact that he accepts the medium income of his village – $40,000 – as a salary, compared to his millionaire opponents, speaks volumes about his sincerity in representing the people of his community, where he has lived for decades.
We need more Matt Alexander’s running for office, and we need more progressive institutions getting behind candidates of the 99% like him.”
Maloney, a former Spitzer/Paterson administration aide, announced early this month he had raised about $320,000 in the first quarter of 2012 and has about $310,000 on hand.
(According to the FEC, he has $322,413 on hand and $6,200 in debt).
Maloney didn’t formally announce his candidacy until the end of March. By contrast, Becker announced last summer and was quickly followed by Alexander.
He also didn’t live in the district until very recently, although he did maintain a second home in Sullivan County with his longtime partner, Randy Florke. The couple, who live in New York City, recently purchased a home in Beacon and plan to relocate there full-time, according to Maloney’s campaign.
Rangel Fundraises Off Obama Student Loan Push
Apr 25th - 4:05 pm
Rep. Charlie Rangel emailed supporters today to tout his role in reducing federal student loan interest rates when he was Ways and Means chairman and lauding President Obama’s push to prevent that law from expiring this July.
The veteran Harlem Democrat, who is facing mulitple primary challengers for the second year in a row, took his “Republican colleagues” to task for refusing to heed Obama’s call for the so-called Buffett Rule to help pay for extending the measure that reduced the interest rate from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent.
“My Republican colleagues need to prioritize the future of America’s students instead of tax breaks for the wealthy,” Rangel wrote. “Average American families should not be forced to choose between their children’s education and their own financial well-being.”
“I would not be where I am today if I didn’t have the opportunity to get an education. I have co-sponsored both the Student Loan Forgiveness Act, H.R. 4170, and The American College Tax Relief Act, H.R. 3826, which would take large steps towards making college affordable. These bills would forgive loans and reduce some interest rates for millions of Americans. I hope that I can count on your support as I continue to fight to expand access to education for all Americans. “
Rangel’s email includes a link to Obama’s appearance on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” last night, during which the president joined the host in “slow jamming” the student loan news – a continuation of Obama’s obvious effort to bolster his support among young voters who were key to his election in 2008.
There’s also a link to the fundraising page on Rangel’s campaign website.
Not mentioned is the fact that Rangel hasn’t been Ways and Means chairman since the spring of 2010, when he stepped down following after an ethics panel found he had violated House gift rules by accepting corporate funding for trips to the Caribbean.
At the time, Rangel was still the subject of other ethics probes focused on his misuse of rent-controlled apartments, failure to disclose income from a villa in the Dominican Republic and allegations that he misued his office to land a $1 million gift to CUNY’s Charles Rangel Center. Rangel was later censured by the House for financial misconduct in December 2010 – just months after he won both the September primary and the November general election.
In the summer of 2010, Obama called the allegations against Rangel “very troubling,” and said he hoped the congressman would be able to “end his career with dignity” – a comment widely interpreted as a not-so-subtle push by the commander-in-chief for the congressman to retire.
But Rangel refused, and now he is again seeking re-election, facing multiple primary challengers – including Sen. Adriano Espaillat – and insisting he intends to serve out a full two-year term if the voters return him to D.C., despite persistent speculation that he will retire mid-term in hopes of controlling the selection of his successor.
The full text of Rangel’s email appears after the jump:
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