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2010 Gov Race
LG Follies
Apr 19th - 6:07 pm
One of the two announced Democratic LG candidates, Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence took some subtle swipes at his opponent, Bill Samuels, who has pledged to primary whomever the presumptive gubernatorial nominee, AG Andrew Cuomo, picks as his running mate.
While insisting it’s “fine” for Samuels to pursue his own path in the fall, St. Lawrence made it clear that what he’s angling for is to be picked by Cuomo – not to antagonize him.
“I don’t think it’s the year for primaries,” St. Lawrence told me during the Somos el Futuro conference in Albany Saturday night.
“This is a year to elect Democrats. This is a year to go out and work to elect senators, Democratic senators across this state, so we can take over the Senate and we can help working families in the state of New York.”
“…If Andrew Cuomo does not pick me – even if I were to be on the ballot and Andrew Cuomo wanted to go a different way or have someone else, I would support that candidate.”
St. Lawrence, who has raised money for Cuomo, said he spoke to the AG before he launched his LG bid and was told: “Go out and tell your story.”
“I have a great story to tell about what we’ve done in Ramapo,” St. Lawrence said. “It’s the same story we need here. I’ve closed budget gaps before. I’ve kept businesses in the Town of Ramapo. That’s what we need to do in New York State.”
Siena Poll I: Nice Guy Cuomo vs. Undecided
Apr 19th - 9:31 am
Today’s Siena poll finds New Yorkers believe the kinder, gentler Andrew Cuomo storyline and want him to hurry up and declare his gubernatorial candidacy so he can get busy explaining how he’ll save the state.
Cuomo, who has never managed to completely shake his Type-A reputation among political insiders, is viewed by nearly two-thirds of voters as just the right degree of aggressive.
By a margin of 63-23, poll respondents said the AG is someone who’ll help clean up Albany rather than too much a part of its dysfunctional culture to be truly effective as a change agent.
Cuomo’s Rose Garden strategy hasn’t hurt his popularity – 66 percent view him favorably, up from 63 percent last month. But for the first time, more voters (49 percent) say the time has come from the AG to make his political intentions clear rather than waiting still longer to announce his candidacy (36 percent).
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Lazio’s Delay Tactics
Apr 16th - 3:00 pm
Rather predictably, state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs released a statement earlier today in which he slammed GOP gubernatorial hopefuls Steve Levy and Rick Lazio for failing to release their 2009 tax returns.
“For two guys who like to talk the talk about transparency, they aren’t walking the walk,” Jacobs said. “New Yorkers have had it with secrets in Albany. They want transparency and honesty. If Lazio and Levy are truly committed to transparency and reform, they should stop playing hide and seek with their taxes and make their contents public.”
Levy, like AG Andrew Cuomo, has filed for an extension on his taxes. Unlike the AG, however, he did not provide an estimated summary of how much he earned last year. (Carl Paladino also filed for an extension, but no one seems to be taking him very seriously since the raunchy e-mail scandal relegated him to the sidelines). A Levy spokeswoman said the Suffolk County executive estimated he owes about $5,000 to the federal government and will release his returns when he files them “well before the primary.”
Charlie King’s First Salvo
Apr 14th - 12:13 pm
Newly-minted state Democratic Party Executive Director Charlie King has released his first official hit on the Republicans, slamming state GOP Chairman Ed Cox as he is meeting behind closed doors with RNC Chairman Michael Steele.
In his inaugural rapid-response press release, King seeks to capitalize on the purported rift between Cox and Steele over the state chairman’s backing of Democrat-turned-Republican Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy for governor.
Steele and Cox are meeting this very moment at an undisclosed location in Manhattan.
“Michael Steele has a tough choice today when he plays ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ with Ed Cox,” King said.
“Behind door number 1, he’s got Steve Levy who was the point man for pay-to-play politics in Suffolk County and personally handed out county contracts to his convicted felon friends. And behind door number 2, he’s got Rick “Wall Street” Lazio who was the big banks’ point man in Washington to get big bailouts and he and his banker buddies big bonuses. Not exactly the prizes Steele was hoping for.”
The release also includes some helpful back-up for King’s statements, including reports on Levy’s association with Ethan Ellner, whose title company received $85,000 worth of county business even though he is an ex-con, and Lazio’s Wall Street bonus and efforts to fight consumer protections while he was a lobbyist at JP Morgan.
Sliwa Abandons Paladino
Apr 13th - 5:44 pm
Curtis Sliwa is just about as outspoken as they come, but even he has to draw the line somewhere. And he has done so with GOP gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino.
Sliwa, who appears regularly on NY1, has been a Paladino booster (recall the now-infamous 9/11-health care reform bill radio interview) and had agreed to introduce the Buffalo businessman tomorrow at an “Ask Carl” town hall meeting in Staten Island.
But that was before the world caught sight of the sexually and racially explicit e-mails forwarded by Paladino.
“Obviously, we were disappointed that Mr. Paladino didn’t use the delete button, but rather used the send button, and, as a result, we are deleting ourselves from any involvement with the introduction or any other phase of his campaign,” Sliwa told me this afternoon.
“…He says, ‘Well, it’s the result of a liberal blogger.’ I don’t care if it’s a liberal, conservative or apolitical, did you or did you not continue a chain of e-mails that were offensive to the president, had racial overtones…We just had two governors back-to-back that were losers, we’re looking for somebody who’s going to put their head above this personal flotsam and jetsam that has paralyzed the office.”
Cuomo’s Attack Dog
Apr 13th - 3:53 pm
Newly-minted state Democratic Party Executive Director Charlie King said today the organization will act as a “truth squad” for the 2010 ticket, pushing back on the Republicans when they “distort, micharacterize or talk in code.”
King settled quickly into his new role, unleashing on Rick Lazio (for accepting a Wall Street bonus), Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy (for “pay-to-play”), Carl Paladino (’nuff said), and even state GOP Chairman Ed Cox (for giving Levy “a pass” for jokes about black people and “anchor babies,” while taking Paladino to task).
In a brief interview this afternoon, I asked King if he is going to be serving as presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Cuomo’s attack dog, essentially buying the AG more time before he has to announce his candidacy and start throwing bombs himself.
” What I’m going to do is when Republicans decide to distort, mischaracterize or talk in code, I’m not going to be shy about pointing that out or having the state party point that out,” King responded. “The party gets to take on the attack dog position, OK you can say that.”
While stressing that his arrival at the party does not herald the imminent departure of Chairman Jay Jacobs, who was installed by Gov. David Paterson, King did say more changes are in the offing. He plans to establish a “full-fledged coordinated campaign,” which will entail hiring a party spokesperson, political director and field operation manager, among others.
Shake-Up At State Democratic Party?
Apr 13th - 9:36 am
State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs is poised to announce staffing changes designed to give presumptive gubernatorial candidate, AG Andrew Cuomo, more control over the organization, insiders say.
One name that has been circulating as a potential executive director candidate for the party is Charlie King, who has a longstanding association with Cuomo.
“Jacobs isn’t their guy; they want to put a control on him,” one Democratic insider said of the Cuomo camp. “They want someone in there that they can trust. King makes a lot of sense. He’s black, which is something Cuomo is sensitive about. He’s close to (the Rev. Al) Sharpton and he’s someone Cuomo has known a long time.”
Jacobs was installed in his post by Gov. David Paterson, replacing June O’Neill, a former Mario Cuomo administration aide who was hand-picked for the party position by ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer. (Spitzer created an upstate-downstate co-chair system for the party. Dave Pollak, the downstate chair, was among the first casualties of Paterson’s ascension to the governor’s office).
King worked for Cuomo at HUD. He was also Cuomo’s running mate in the 2002 governor’s race, during which Cuomo angered many Democrats and black leaders for challenging then-state Comptroller H. Carl McCall in a primary. Cuomo ended up dropping out of the race one week before the primary, and McCall went on to lose to then-GOP Gov. George Pataki.
Two Assembly Moderates Back Lazio
Apr 13th - 8:17 am
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Rick Lazio this morning landed the support of two upstate Assemblywomen – Janet Duprey and Teresa Sayward – both of whom are moderates, at least when it comes to gay marriage.
In a press release distributed by Lazio’s campaign, Sayward praised the former Long Island congressman as “a life-long Republican with strong fiscally conservative values,” and a candidate with “a message that is believable and will resonate with all voters.” She made no mention of any hot-button social issues.
Sayward rather memorably voted “yes” the first time the Assembly passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in 2007, delivering an emotional speech about her son’s homosexuality.
Q Poll: Lazio Leads GOP Field, Cuomo Beats Everyone
Apr 13th - 7:45 am
Today’s Q poll finds Rick Lazio with a double-digit lead over both his GOP primary opponents, but yet-unannounced Democratic contender, AG Andrew Cuomo, handily defeats all three of his would-be Republican opponents.
Among registered Republicans, of whom 411 were questioned for this poll, Lazio leads Suffolk County Steve Levy and Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino 34, 11, 11, respectively. The only trouble for Lazio is the fact that 40 percent of respondents said they don’t know who they support, which means there’s considerable room for movement here.
Cuomo’s behind-the-curtain approach to the media, as detailed in today’s Times, isn’t hurting his standing with New York voters. His job approval rating is 74-14, and this is the ninth month in a row the AG has enjoyed popularity scores of 70 or above.
Cuomo leads all three of the GOP hopefuls by at least 2-1; (55-26 over Lazio, 60-24 over Paladino, and 57-24 over Levy). That hasn’t changed much since the last Q poll in February, although neither Levy (who was still a Democat at the time) nor Paladino (who hadn’t announced yet) were included in that line-up.
Cuomo has lost a little ground to Lazio since December 2009, when the Q poll showed the hypothetical head-to-head match-up at 62-22.
But, as Q pollster Mickey Carroll wisely noted, the campaign has only just begun. Things could change considerably once Cuomo formally enters the fray and starts engaging (assuming he bothers to) his Republican opponents.
“Who are those guys? Steve Levy and Carl Paladino don’t register at this stage,” Carroll said. “But neither of them is a shrinking violet. As they start to make noise, we’ll see if they can cut into Rick Lazio’s lead – for the questionable reward of facing Cuomo.”
Cuomo Parts Ways With Darrison
Apr 12th - 12:18 pm
As he ramps up his all-but-announced campaign for governor, AG Andrew Cuomo has severed ties with fundraiser Cindy Darrison as of March, Darrison confirmed.
“They hired up full-time people, and I’m continuing to help; I’m putting together some tables for a Women for Cuomo event,” explained Darrison, who noted she now has no statewide clients – a fact about which she is actually “relieved” because “it has been an emotionally trying two years.”
It has actually been longer than that.
Darrison has been pretty much working non-stop since the Eliot Spitzer days. She raised money for him during the eight years of his tenure in the AG’s office and then in 2006 for his gubernatorial run. She departed Spitzerland not long after his election, but was brought back by Paterson in April 2008 after he ascended to replace Spitzer in the governor’s office.
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