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Senate Democrats, Republicans Spar Over Womens Health Resolution
Jan 19th - 2:44 pm
In a sign that the 2012 legislative session will feature sharp (and partisan) battles in the Senate, Democrats are accusing the GOP majority of trying to edit out references to abortion, reproductive rights and contraceptives in a largely symbolic resolution calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to declare next week “Reproductive Rights and Justice Week.
Democrats said at a news conference after the short session ended today that Republican rejected language in a proposed resolution, but then sent back their own edited version of the measure which largely included pabulum-like language promoting health and good eating habits.
“We submitted it on Friday and then late yesterday we were given a friendly alternative suggestion,” said Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan.
She added: “This was part of a national exercise of legislators coming together and saying, let’s bring this to the floor for a vote. And let’s be honest: as you look around the halls of capitols around the country, reproductive rights are under attack.”
Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, D-Queens, said it’s unusual for a measure to be edited by the majority, who said the proposed resolution uses the word “abortion” only once.
“I don’t remember if we’ve ever been shut out of resolutions on reproductive health rights,” Stavisky said.
Senate Republicans, meanwhile, refuted the Democrats’ version of the events. Spokesman Mark Hansen called the claims “pure politics” and that the resolution failed to follow proper legislative guidelines.
“The Senate Majority never rejected their resolution,” he said. “The Democrats agreed with us that their proposed resolution didn’t adhere to guidelines, agreed on by the Majority and Minority, because it was based on opinions, not facts. The resolution guidelines are the same ones the Democrats used when they were in the Majority. The Senate Minority counsel asked us to help them draft a resolution that would meet the guidelines. As part of that process we suggested acting on a resolution in May during Women’s Health Week, but the Democrats refused.”
Mike Murphy, a spokesman for the Democrats, emailed to refute that claim as well.
“The Republicans are playing a game of smoke and mirrors and refuse to even discuss women’s reproductive health,” he said. “To say our resolution is based on opinion rather than fact is offensive.”
This is likely the first shot of many the two conferences will take this year, a highly charged political environment that includes redistricting and the possibility of a Democratic takeover of the chamber. Republicans control the Senate 32-29 with a one seat vacancy, but have allied with the four-member Independent Democratic Conference.
Cox Changes Tune On GOP Strife
Jan 19th - 8:26 am
Last week, state GOP Chairman Ed Cox pleaded with his party’s presidential hopefuls to stop attacking one another out of a concern that they’ll provide fodder for President Obama once the general election battle is joined.
Since the candidates didn’t heed his call – or any of the other pleas issued by a variety of GOP leaders – the chairman has now changed his approach, suggesting all the intra-party barbs being thrown around now could help prepare the eventual nominee for the final challenge.
“There is one benefit to it, and that is it gets all the information out now,” Cox told me during a CapTon interview last night.
“It’s out on the table. It gets to be old hat, and it also, in the back and forth, the candidates get their replies in shape. They know how they have to answer the attacks. And so, while I would prefer they not do it, Reagan’s 11th commandment should be obeyed…they hone their steel as candidates in this kind of a fire.”
The attacks have been largely focused on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and things are starting to look less rosy for the perceived frontrunner.
Several polls show Newt Gingrich gaining ground as this Saturday’s South Carolina primary approaches.
And, to make matters worse, Romney’s supposed 8-vote win in Iowa has now been ruled a tie between him and Rick Santorum, who apparently is up 34 votes.
I guess Romney can take comfort in the fact that his New Hampshire win was decisive, but the Iowa news has to be unsettling.
Also, unlike other GOP leaders who are saying the results of the SC contest will essentially decide the race in Romney’s favor if he wins, Cox told me he thinks the fight will – and should – continue, perhaps all the way to New York’s April 24 primary.
Cox said Romney is “ready” for New York’s proportional primary – no longer winner-take-all, thanks to changes approved by party leaders last year. Other candidates will no doubt pick up support here, too, he said, adding: “That’s what makes a horse race going forward.”
While much of the GOP establishment in New York has jumped on the Rmoney bandwagon, there are pockets of support for the other contenders. Officially speaking, Cox, who was active in Sen. John McCain’s bid in 2008, is now neutral.
Heading Into Key Election Year, State GOP Has $220K On Hand (Updated)
Jan 18th - 4:18 pm
Like the state Democratic Party, the state GOP outspent what it took in since December now has just $33,629 on hand in its reporting account heading into a year that will see competitive battles for several House seats, another fight for control of the state Senate and – if the Republicans get their way – a spirited challenge to New York’s junior US senator, Kirsten Gillibrand.
Since mid-July, the GOP has raised $122,642 for its reporting committee and spent $179,868. I can’t tell you how much it has left in its housekeeping account, for which there are contribution limits, because its Jan. 15 report isn’t on-line yet.
UPDATE: GOP official Tony Casale called to say the housekeeping account is now on-line and shows a balance of $82,444. The party raised $343,294 for that account over the past six months (the reporting account figure is just since December), and spent $331,662. The largest individual contribution ($100,000) came from Howard Cox, who lives in Boston and I believe is state GOP Chairman Ed Cox’s brother.
According to Casale, the balance in the party’s federal account, (the filing is not yet posted on the FEC site) brings its total on hand to about $220,000. In addition, he said, Cox has amassed $350,000 worth of pledged contributions since Jan. 1 that aren’t appearing in the Jan. 15 report. Between January 2010 and January 2011, the party raised $3.5 million and spent pretty much all of that on in the last election cycle.
The party’s largest individual donor was hedge fund manager Carl Icahn, who gave $50,000. Robert Price, investment banker and founder of Price Communications Corp., gave $15,000.
The Erie County GOP sent the state party $22,000, while the Rockland County GOP gave slightly more: $22,542.
The party spent $587,448 on behalf of candidates running in the local elections last November, including now former Erie County GOP Executive Chris Collins ($27,533), who was ousted by Democrat Mark Poloncarz; and former Assemblyman Marc Molinaro ($17,990), who ran a successful campaign for Dutchess County executive.
SD37 Fundraising Numbers
Jan 17th - 12:03 pm
Republican Bob Cohen, who plans to run again for the seat his 2010 Democratic target, Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, is giving up at the end of the year, has a healthy $210,221 on hand, according to his Jan. 15 financial filing.
Cohen didn’t stop fundraising after he came within several hundred votes of ousting Oppenheimer, taking in $112,817 since mid-July.
But he also still owes himself $135,000 from his unsuccessful campaign. Cohen’s surprisingly strong showing in 2010 and his ability to self fund make him a very attractive candidate for the GOP.
Assemblyman George Latimer, who is being mentioned as the likely Democratic candidate for Oppenheimer’s seat, has just $66,307 on hand.
Latimer raised just $60,881 over the past six months and spent $38,744. No doubt he would ramp up his fundraising considerably if he’s tapped by the Democrats to run in what is likely to be a key swing district in the re-match for the majority.
Fidler On Senate GOP Criticism: ‘That’s Just Silly’
Jan 16th - 4:28 pm
Democratic Senate hopeful Lew Fidler kicked off his campaign to replace the disgraced former lawmaker Carl Kruger by addressing the criticism leveled by Republicans, namely that holding the event on the steps of City Hall makes him some sort of Albany insider akin to the hapless House candidacy of David Weprin.
“I know the Senate Republicans said that we are coming to City Hall today because I’m being supported by a bunch of insiders,” he said in his opening remarks. “But I just want you to know that everyone who is standing behind me here is a civic leader, a community leader, someone who has given their time to make our city a better place. And today in the cold, I can’t think of a more apt description than to call them outsiders.”
Later, a NY1 colleague asked him about the criticism and Fidler, a city councilman, noted that he has “266 civic leaders” who back his campaign, many of whom were at the event.
“That’s just silly,” he said. “Look at all the folks behind me here.”
Asked what he was holding it in on the steps of City Hall and not in the Brooklyn Senate district, Fidler riffed, “To be convenient for NY1.”
The race is shaping up this way: Republicans, emboldened by the upset victory of Bob Turner after Anthony Weiner stepped down, will try to make Fidler seem like a latter-day Weprin. Democrats know this is yet another race for them to lose, but are also using it as a test run for their 2012 political operations.
Democrats are also working hard behind the scenes to show this is anything but the Weprin-Turner race, pointing out that Fidler was endorsed by former Mayor Ed Koch.
Fidler also revealed in a press scrum that he’s raised “a substantial amount of money. It’s certainly in excess of $400,000.”
The number most likely reflects the last six months, since he reported $350,000 in a Senate campaign account back in July.
Republicans in the district are expected to coalesce around attorney David Storobin.
Bloomberg, Business Leaders Release Ad To Influence GOP Debate On Immigration
Jan 16th - 1:52 pm
The Partnership for a New American Economy, an organization formed in June 2010 by Mayor Bloomberg and business leaders – including News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch – to push for immigration reform, has released a 60-second ad that will air in the next GOP presidential contest state, South Carolina, in hopes of pushing the topic to the forefront in tonight’s debate.
The ad, entitled “No Debate,” shows the major Republican candidates – Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman (who dropped out of the race this morning), Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum – all calling for reforms to the nation’s immigration system that essentially would link green cards with job creation.
“Visa reform for high-skilled immigrants is a no-cost way to create jobs and a unifying issue in the 2012 presidential election,” said John Feinblatt, a top Bloomberg advisor who serves as spokesperson for the Partnership.
“At a time when the media and the candidates themselves are focused on emphasizing areas of disagreement, the Partnership is highlighting an area of agreement – that our country must do everything possible to attract and retain these high-skilled job creators from around the world.”
The ad begins airing on the day of the first GOP presidential candidate debate in South Carolina and runs throughout the week on broadcast television and in online publications. The primary is this coming Saturday, and is being seen as the last chance Romney’s opponents have to stop – or at least slow – his march to the GOP nomination.
Senate Republicans Have $4.8M In Bank
Jan 16th - 6:00 am
Senate Republicans have amassed a campaign war chest of nearly $5 million, money that will come in handy as the GOP heads in what’s widely considered to be a difficult political season.
Top line figures for the Senate Republican Campaign Committee provided by a GOP source show the conference has $4.8 million in the bank after raising $3 million in the most recent six-month reporting period.
As usual, Republicans in the Senate have a cash advantage over their Democratic counterparts, whose campaign committee reported $1.7 million in debt and $200,000 in cash on hand. Democrats raised $1 million over the same reporting period.
A GOP source said gleefully of the fundraising totals, “So much for predictions of a fierce battle for control of the State Senate. It’s getting awfully close to ‘Game, Set, and Match’ already.”
Still, Democrats are confident in their chances of recapturing control of the chamber, thanks in part to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s vow to veto legislative boundaries not drawn by an independent commission and that the party usually is helped in turnout during an election year.
The Senate is divided 32-29, with one vacancy (that does not include the four-member Independent Democratic Conference).
But Senate Republicans point to their fiscal successes during 2011 and the relative ease with which the conference has worked with Cuomo, a popular Democratic governor whose shared goals of a tax cap and reduced spending brought him early legislative successes.
The Senate GOP are confident that the mix of legislative work, money and reminding voters of the dysfunction of the Democrats’ brief time in the majority will help them win come November.
The Education Of Congressman Reed
Jan 13th - 1:42 pm
Rep. Tom Reed is getting a lot of attention these days as an up-and-comer in the House GOP.
The NY-29 freshman was one of two New York freshman (the other was Rep. Nan Hayworth, no slouch in the publicity department) tapped by House Speaker John Boehner late last year to serve on a committee charged with brokering a payroll tax deal. He also sits on the powerful Ways & Means Committee – so small feat for a freshman.
Reed was mentioned by Politico as one of several “most likely to succeed” members, provided, of course, that he manages to survive the redistricting process that will winnow New York’s 29 House seats to just 27.
Earlier this week, YNN’s Casey Bortnick caught up with Reed for an extended interview during which he asked the congressman what he had learned during his first year in office. (A similar interview with Reed appeared in The National Journal today).
He expressed considerable frustration with the fact that politics too often drives policy in D.C. (shocker!) – even in his own conference – and lamented about how the White House “beat” the Boehner et al on the politics of the payroll tax extension, resulting in the short-term deal cut just before the holidays.
“(W)hat’s frustrating is that Washington still tries to operate where politics rules the day. Best example of that was just again with this payroll tax extension right before Christmas. Politically we were beat. That’s why we had to concede the point and walk away, and the lesson I learned from that is that was a shame.”
“Because policy was forcing us it’s still forcing us, to correct the problems that were implemented with the extension that got passed just because politics won the day. And that’s something we’re learning, and that’s something we’ve advocated in our office to try to advance for 2012…we want the policy to be driving the politics. ”
“And that’s what we’re really trying to work on. And that’s the educational curve I’m going through as a Freshman member of Congress. There’s still many people in the institution that have been there for quite some time that really know how to play politics and they’re really dictating the policies that come out of Washington and that’s just not good.”
Sen. Maziarz – Part Peacemaker, Part Cheerleader
Jan 13th - 12:49 pm
ICYMI. During a CapTon interview last night, Sen. George Maziarz expressed frustration with the stand-off between Seneca Nation President Robert Odawi Porter and Gov. Andrew Cuomo on a number of sensitive topics, including the Senecas refusal to pay the state its share of casino revenue and the governor’s proposal to expand non-Indian gaming in New York.
Maziarz, a Western New York Republican who started the Select Committee on State-Native American Relations last year, said he’s been acting as a go-between for Porter and Cuomo, who have not had a face-to-face meeting since the governor took office last January, although the Seneca president has meet with members of Cuomo’s executive chamber staff.
“There’s a lot of ill will going back many, many years, before Rob Porter and and before Andrew Cuomo, it’s going to a while, I think,” Maziarz said.
“…They’re both, I think, good people who want to do the right thing. And maybe, and I’m not a lawyer and they’re both lawyers, and I know that there’s always this concern about the legalities of everything, if the two of them got in a room, I’m telling you, from someone who knows both of them and has dealt with both of them, the two of them could get in a room and within two hours they would have an agreement.”
The senator suggested CapTon could host the Porter-Cuomo summit, and, we are, of course, quite game. Porter has come on the show several times. Cuomo has not, but he does have, as Maziarz put it, a “standing invitation” to do so.
Maziarz full of praise for retiring Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, telling me “I’m going to miss her, to be quite frank with you.” (Oppenheimer and Maziarz live in the same building when they’re here in Albany; she’s the lone Democrat in a co-op full of Republicans, he told me).
His words were a stark contract to the comment sent out yesterday by Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif, who said Oppenheimer’s decision to depart was proof she had seen the writing on the wall that the Democrats would remain in the minority come 2013. Democratic spokesman Mike Murphy called this statement “crass.”
“Any time an incumbent retires, an open seat, there’s always fertile ground there. I mean, I hope a Republican wins it. I think we’re going to be in the majority, in fact I can almost guarantee we’re going to be in the majority…I just think 2012 is going to be a good Republican year. Wouldn’t you be shocked if I predicted to you that we weren’t going to be in the majority? I mean, wouldn’t that be shocking news? It would be more shocking to Senator Skelos, I can tell you that. My good friend Mike Gianaris would love it, though. He spends way too much time in Buffalo, by the way.”
Maziarz was quick to reject my suggestion that perhaps the Senate GOP had cut some sort of redistricting deal with the governor, even though that belief is widely held around the Capitol. His jab at Gianaris, the DSCC chairman, is in reference to the Democrats’ search for a candidate to take on Democrat-turned-Republican Sen. Mark Grisanti, who ousted ex-Sen. Antoine Thompson in 2010 in one of the most Democrat-dominated districts in the state.
Iannuzzi: $800 Million Is ‘A Place To Get Started’
Jan 12th - 1:00 pm
ICYMI: NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi told me last night on CapTon that he considers the four percent education funding increase Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pledged to include in his executive budget proposal next Tuesday a floor and not a ceiling.
What’s more, the teachers union, which I think it’s fair to say is in the opening battles of what could become a prolonged war with Cuomo over funding allocation and the teacher performance evaluation systems, is counting on BOTH the Assembly and Senate majorities to push the governor to increase aid this year.
And yes, the union will not be shy about reminding lawmakers they’re all up for re-election this fall – and in new district to boot.
“I expect education to be a battle. It always is,” Iannuzzi said. “I mean, no one wants to walk away from four percent. But four percent, $800 million, is a half a billion dollars less restored than the the cuts from last year. So, $800 million is a place to get started. There’s a lot more than has to be done.”
“And then the question becomes: How is that earmarked? How much is going directly to a classroom? You could probably take $250 million of that and just write it off to transporation. You take another $50 million that the governor talks about in terms of his competitive grants. You’re now down to talking about $500 million dollars. How are you dividing that? How are you using that. How much more do you need if you really want to address the achievement gap that goes on in the classroom?”
“…I would expect that my allies in the Assembly Democratic conference and in the Republican Senate will push for more because they understand the needs of their constituents…And we will probably remind people that it’s an election year as well.”
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