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Committee To Save NY’s First Salvo
Jan 11th - 9:01 am
The pro-Cuomo Committee to Save NY has launched its first TV ad and a companion Website that urges New Yorkers to “join the fight to fix Albany’s broken budget.”
The effort is a clear continuation of Andrew Cuomo’s often-repeated pledge to get outside the “beltway” of the Capitol and enlist the people in his quest to reform state government.
Committee spokesman Bill Cunningham said the ad is running statewide on broadcast and cable. He refused to discuss the size of the buy, but said it’s “significant.”
The spot is introductory. It doesn’t attack anyone or advocate for one specific policy agenda. Instead, it offers broad-brush support for Cuomo and his fiscally conservative approach. The point, Cunningham said, is to inform New Yorkers that the committee exists and intends to be involved in the upcoming budget battle.
“Other people have ads out establishing their positions…We’re joining the parade,” Cunningham told me during a brief phone interview this morning.
“We’re out there and we’re moving forward and we’ll see what comes next. A lot of people were wondering if we would be able to pull it together and move forward. This ad is our introduction and it’s there to say: We’re real.”
Crain’s Danny Massey reported yesterday that the CSNY had reached its initial fundraising goal of $10 million, thanks to real estate heavyweights like Larry Silverstein, Tishman Speyer and The Durst Organization. Massey also suggested the committee might hold off on its ad campaign until later in the budget cycle thanks to Cuomo’s strong negotiating position after his big win in November. (So much for that).
So far, labor is largely holdings its fire in the budget debate, but 1199′s Kevin Finnegan warned that could change – and fast – telling Massey:
““We can pivot on a dime. It wouldn’t take more than four days for us to be up on the air (with ads). We can go toe-to-toe with the Committee to Save New York, and we wouldn’t shy away from it if we have to.”
The script for the CSNY ad appears in full after the jump.
Kennedy: Senate Dems Ready To Partner With Cuomo (Really?)
Jan 5th - 4:29 pm
Here’s freshman Sen. Tim Kennedy’s response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address. The WNY Democrat pledges that he and his fellow minority members are ready to start working with the governor and calls on the Republicans to do the same.
An excerpt:
“Despite the failings of the past, now it’s time to stop putting politics ahead of progress. As Governor Cuomo made clear today – we have a moral obligation to work together.”
“I’m working to bring my colleagues together to join me in building a Senate that works together – Democrats and Republicans, upstate and downstate. Because that’s the only way we’ll ever reform Albany and move New York State in a new direction.”
“$10 billion dollars….that’s how big and deep the deficit this coming fiscal year will be….larger than the entire budget of many states.”
“There will be significant cuts, but they must be thoughtful, deliberate, and not place an unfair burden on the backs of seniors, our children, veterans or our most vulnerable citizens.”
Hmmm. That last part is particularly notable. “Deliberate” cuts that don’t disproportionately hurt the sorts of people that Democrats like to protect. Might the Democrats be gearing up to be the new party of “no”? Sounds like it.
Of course, with the new four-member independent Democratic conference, which is very much on board with key elements of Cuomo’s agenda – property tax cap, spending cuts etc., economic development, ethics reform etc. – the 32-member GOP conference is likely to have some breathing room when it comes time to vote.
The full transcript of Kennedy’s remarks appears after the jump.
Ships Passing In The Night
Jan 5th - 3:54 pm
Here’s the most humorous moment of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s first State of the State address…
…That would be the part where he likens the budget process to ships passing in the night, with himself, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos as the captains of their respective vessels and the special interests dropping bombs out of an airplane.
Notably, said bombs are directed only at Cuomo’s ship.
I was on set with Larry Levy and Steve Greenberg, and we all laughed out loud.
NYSUT Launches Pro-Teacher Ad Campaign
Jan 5th - 12:35 pm
NYSUT has launched a feel-good statewide radio ad campaign designed to remind New Yorkers that union members are “made up of their friends and neighbors who accomplish remarkable things every day in their classrooms and communities.”
The ads feature elementary school teachers – Margaret King of Long Island and Andrea Figueroa of Jamestown. No word about the size or duration of the buy as of yet.
This basically strikes me as a charm offensive by NYSUT at a time when Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his allies have been demonizing the public sector unions are largely responsible for the state’s fiscal mess. (Recall that the teachers did not endorse Cuomo during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign).
Actually, as NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi sees it, the anti-union sentiment is far more pervasive and widespread than just what’s happening here in New York.
“This is a campaign about what we should be celebrating in education, and who is responsible for that,” Iannuzzi said in a press release.
“Others – political candidates, Hollywood filmmakers, critics of public service – have tried to define and sometimes demonize NYSUT and its members.”
“But lost in the rhetoric is that NYSUT is 600,000-plus men and women who go to work every day and successfully take on the most important responsibilities a society has: educating its youth and caring for the sick and indigent.”
Labor’s First Salvo
Jan 2nd - 4:50 pm
A coalition of public and private sector labor unions and their community advocacy allies has launched a new radio ad that takes Wall Street to task for “collecting a record $144 billion in pay and bonuses” and issuing a rather nebulous call for building an economy that “benefits everyone.”
The 60-second spot, dubbed “Party On,” 60-second spot delivers a New Year’s message set to “Auld Lang Syne” and noisemakers. It will start airing tomorrow on major NYC metro-area and Albany stations, including WBLS, WCBS, WINS, WRKS, WLTW, WKLI-FM and WGDJ-AM, and remain on the airwaves through Jan. 11.
The ad, produced by Shorr, Johnson and Magnus Strategic Media, was paid for by a group calling itself the “Strong Economy For All Coalition,” which includes:
The Municipal Labor Committee, Make the Road New York, the Coalition for the Homeless, New York Communities for Change, the Alliance for Quality Education, the New York City Central Labor Council, the UFT, Citizen Action and NYSUT.
It’s a first salvo in what’s expected to be a protracted budget battle as Gov. Andrew Cuomo gears up to fulfill his pledge to make deep spending cuts – most likely by goring the ox of some heretofore sacred cows, including the public employee unions and education aid.
(He’s already promising to unveil an “emergency financial reinvention plan” in his first-ever State of the State address Wednesday).
It will be interesting to see how – and when – the pro-Cuomo business group, the Committee to Save New York, gets on the airwaves with its answer to this ad campaign, which seems to me to be setting up an argument in favor of re-authorizing the so-called millionaires’ tax that’s set to sunset at the end of 2011.
Cuomo reiterated his “no new taxes” pledge during his post-inauguration press conference, but perhaps one could argue that re-upping an already existing tax isn’t technically instituting a new one? Or maybe that’s a little too cute by half.
The script for the ad appears in full after the jump.
Spinola: Why Stop At $10 M?
Dec 17th - 9:06 am
REBNY’s Steve Spinola joined me on CapTon last night, and said the Committee to Save NY is already more than halfway to its goal of raising $10 million to help Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo in the upcoming budget battle and might not stop when it hits that target.
“I think if we prove that this is a message that needs to get out throughout all of the state of New York, then I think the business community needs to gather its resources and make a determined effort to get that message out and put the resources in it necessary to communicate to the people of the state of New York.”
Spinola was quite forthcoming in explaining why he had decided to get involved in the business and private sector labor effort to raise cash and influence the budget fight by “educating” New Yorkers, which essentially means running an ad campaign to counter whatever the public sector unions run.
He readily admitted that the people on Cuomo’s side are special interests, even though that’s a taboo label in Albany these days.
Spinola also said REBNY spent more than the $3.5 million it expected to dump into legislative races this year in hopes of electing real estate industry-friendly lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. He told me REBNY toyed with the idea of stating its own political party, following the blueprint of the labor-backed Working Families Party, but found that too difficult.
You can watch the entire interview here.
Siena: It’s The (NY) Economy, Stupid
Dec 13th - 9:29 am
Today’s Siena poll finds two-thirds of New Yorkers want Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo’s inaugural address to focus on fiscal matters, with 44 percent saying they’d like to hear about his plan to revitalize the economy and 22 percent looking for word on how he’ll solve the budget crisis.
Details of the speech – actually, about his entire inauguration plan – are sparse at this point, but it’s a safe bet the savvy governor-elect won’t disappoint on this one.
Cuomo continues to enjoy a high favorability rating (66-25), and even Republicans are starting to come around. Those who viewed him unfavorably last month by a 39-51 percent margin, have an ever-so-slightly favorable view of him in this poll.
But only seven percent graded his performance as governor-elect to date as “excellent,” while 36 percent rate it as good, 33 percent say fair and six percent say poor. Republicans gave him a negative rating by better than a two-to-one margin.
New Yorkers said they oppose raises for judges 52-43, (too late, following Gov. David Paterson’s signing last week of the judicial compensation commission) and are very much against (69-27) the idea of state lawmakers getting a salary bump, even though they, like the judges, haven’t received a pay hike since 1999.
An overwhelming number of New Yorkers have no idea who their legislative leaders are. The best-known, comparatively speaking, is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. But he might wish that weren’t the case, since he has a nearly two-to-one negative favorability rating.
As for Paterson, he’s not exactly leaving office on a high note. His favorability rating is 32-61, and a whopping 82 percent of voters polled said he’s doing a poor or fair job as governor.
“Governor Paterson’s favorability and job performance ratings have been relatively stagnant for the last year,” said Siena poll spokesman Steve Greenberg. “He can only hope that time will allow voters to look back on him and his tenure more fondly.”
Labor Wars
Dec 10th - 11:52 am
It’s hard to overstate the severity of the break in New York’s labor movement over news that Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council, is teaming up with business and real etsate interests to form new committee that will back Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo’s war with the public sector unions.
One union source who hails from the more progressive wing of labor (the trades tend to lean more conservative), deemed his private sector colleagues “the Benedict Arnolds,” adding: “Building trades are not really a union, they are enablers of their employers.”
When I noted that there’s been plenty of pragmatism on the progressive side, too, (I was thinking specifically of some unions that fought Mayor Bloomberg’s eventually successful push to extend term limits and then turned around and endorsed him during the campaign), he replied:
“There is a difference between endorsements and kicking and spitting on fellow trade unionists when they are already on the ground and fighting for their lives.”
I also spoke with a source in the trades, who defended his side’s actions by noting that the public sector unions have steadfastly refused all efforts by Gov. David Paterson to cut costs – from furloughs to pay freezes to layoffs – while the private sector unions have repeatedly offered concessions to keep their members employeed.
“Nobody feels good about this,” he insisted. But they won’t take a concessions. They’ll sue. They’ll sue. They’ll sue.”
“Where’s the money going to come from? Oh, we’ll take it out of the capital budget so the 40,000 unemployed construction workers can become 60,000. That’s an act of war.”
Q Poll Offers Half A Loaf For State Workers
Dec 9th - 9:41 am
Today’s Q poll offers some solace for state workers who are being targeted by Gov. David Paterson and Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo in the face of a looming $10 billion budget deficit.
The poll found that a majority of New Yorkers, 52-43, oppose laying off public employees, some 900 of whom are just now starting to receive pink slips in the mail, compliments of the Paterson administration.
Cuomo has voiced support for Paterson’s layoff plan, but the two largest state worker unions – CSEA and PEF – have been fighting hard to counter it, even calling on the governor to rescind the firings after learning that he has doled out some $17 million worth of pork prior to his impending departure from public office.
Paterson defended his spending during an interview with WOR’s John Gambling this morning, saying the cash he handed out dates back to 2008. He noted he declined the traditional $30 million in gubernatorial member items in both 2009 and 2010, effectively saving the state $60 million.
New Yorkers also oppose (56-37) reducing pension benefits for public employees, despite the fact that experts like the Empire Center’s EJ McMahon have warned the state is headed for a serious fiscal mess if generous taxpayer-funded benefits packages aren’t scaled back soon.
The bad news: Voter polled overwhelmingly support (72-23) the idea of freezing state worker wages, which Cuomo proposed in his “New New York Agenda” during the gubernatorial campaign. Even Democrats favor the idea, (72-25), and voters with a union member in the household do, too (69-26).
Otherwise, New Yorkers aren’t very helpful when it comes to offering potential solutions for digging the state out of debt.
They say they favor service cuts over tax increases (56-30), but oppose (78-19) reducing education aid or raising taxes (66-31), and believe (82-13) taxes are probably going up anyway.
Overall, voters aren’t terribly optimistic (46-38) that Cuomo and the Legislature will be able to fix the state’s budget woes, even though 69 percent believe that should be the No. 1 priority in the coming year.
Sen. Parker’s Trial (Finally) Underway
Dec 2nd - 2:08 pm
Sen. Kevin Parker’s much-delayed trial on felony assault charges from his alleged attack on a NY Post photographer back in May 2009 is finally underway.
Jury selection took place Tuesday and the prosecution has since called seven witnesses, the last of whom is scheduled to testify next Monday.
If he’s found guilty, Parker faces a potential seven-year prison penalty. He would also have to give up his Brooklyn seat, although it’s in a safe Democratic district, and so that wouldn’t likely impact the yet-unresolved balance of power question.
The trial was supposed to occur this past summer – Aug. 16, to be exact – around the same time that Parker’s primary battle with fellow Democrat Wellington Sharpe was heating up. (He succeeded in surviving that fight and then went on to win the general election on Nov. 2).
There has been ample speculation about why the Senate decided to pack it in early on the evening of Monday’s special session while the Assembly toiled into the wee hours of Tueday morning and then returned later Tuesday afternoon to pass, among other things, the NYC OTB bailout bill and a hydrofracking moratorium that had been passed by the Senate earlier in the year.
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