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Working Families Party
WFP 2012 Plan: Run Challengers ‘With An Agenda For The 99%’
Dec 31st - 9:52 am
If the Working Families Party has its way, 2012 will be the year of primaries.
WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor laid out the labor-backed party’s political plan for the coming year in a video distributed to supporters late yesterday afternoon, and made it clear that while the left may be “dismayed and disgusted” by the GOP, it “cannot just be cheerleaders for a Democratic Party that has often disappointed us.”
“Even with the large majorities that followed the 2006 and 2008 elections, Democrats did not enact policies that match the scale of the crisis that we find ourselves in,” Cantor said.
“There’s nothing new here. We believe that what we need are not just elected officials who vote with us from time to time – even most of the time. What we need are leaders who hold public office who truly share out values and are willing to fight for them all the time, candidates with an agenda for the 99 percent.”
Cantor predicted a slew of contested races at the local, state and federal levels in the coming year (recall that all the House and state legislative seats will be up for grabs with new district lines, which further boosts the possibility of competitive contests).
The WFP leader pointedly did not call out any Democratic leaders by name, but both President Obama and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have been intermittently criticized by the liberal wing of their own party for being too pragmatic, or even downright conservative in some cases.
The WFP was largely absent during the legislative session debate over extension of the so-called millionaire’s tax.
Cuomo had agreed to run on the party’s line in 2010 after it was cleared of any wrongdoing in a US attorney probe.
But in exchange for getting the popular Democratic gubernatorial candidate on its line – thus ensuring it would well surpass the required 50,000-vote mark to live another four years (the party ended up moving to Row D) – the WFP had to agree to Cuomo’s “New NY Agenda,” which included a slew of agenda items – the property tax cap, no new taxes to close the budget deficit etc. – that the left had opposed.
Now that the 2011 session is over, however, the WFP is re-emerging and has been boosted considerable by the Occupy movement, which Cantor credited for putting “wind behind our sails.”
Cantor said the WFP is now active in five states, with people interested in starting organizations in half a dozen more, which is “quite an exciting development for us.” In the email that accompanied his video, Cantor said:
“At its core, our plan is about using today’s momentum to plan for the long-term. The aim is to identify dozens and then hundreds and then thousands of local candidates who share our values. Together, we’ll sow the seeds of a government that truly works for all of us.”
WFP Counts Their Favorite Moments Of 2K11
Dec 21st - 4:09 pm
As political reporters count the biggest stories of 2011, the Working Families Party has a list of their own.
In an email sent out to supporters this afternoon, Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor listed three major events for the union-backed third party: Kathy Hochul’s upset win for a Republican-held House seat (May 24), the genesis of the Occupy Wall Street movement in Zuccotti Park (Oct. 5) and when the worm turned on the tax code debate (Nov. 29).
On the issue of taxes, Cantor said “the turnaround was stunning.”
“The millionaires’ tax was scheduled to expire: a $5 billion tax cut that the wealthy did not need and society could not afford. Our side — education advocates, community groups, students, health care providers, faith leaders — held fast to the ideal of progressive taxation and called for the millionaires’ tax to be extended, but no one was terribly optimistic about our chances. All year, Governor Cuomo, State Senate leaders, and the Murdoch media were united in opposition. But then the script flipped. The rise of the 99% movement produced a solid (if imperfect) victory, providing some $2.6 billion in needed revenue. Spirit of Occupy – 1, Murdoch – 0.”
Cantor, like many progressives who had hoped for movement on the expiring surcharge, clearly considers the rate changes a tax increse onthe rich, despite what Senate Republicans and Gov. Andrew Cuomo contend was a tax cut for nearly everyone.
A Quinnipiac survey from Tuesday found most New Yorkers aren’t really sure what the heck happened (nearly everyone did get their taxes cut, only those making $1 million and more got a slightly smaller cut, essentially).
Though the WFP was not without its low points in 2011: the shuttering of its controversial for-profit arm Data and Field Services on Oct. 26 and the loss of WFP-endorsed candidate David Weprin in the NY-9 special election.
Cantor’s thoughts on the big wins for the WFP in 2011 are after the jump. More >
WFP’s Cantor Opens The Door For Senate GOP
Oct 28th - 7:54 am
ICYMI: During a CapTon interview last night, Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor did not rule out the possibility of the labor-backed party returning its old bipartisan habit of splitting support among Senate Republicans and Democrats if – and only if – the majority drops its opposition to the so-called millionaire’s tax.
“If Senate Republicans actually came out in favor of, you know, a more decent and humane society, they would get a very fair hearing – including re-establishment of the millionaire’s tax to create and sustain jobs – I think they would get a very fair hearing,” Cantor told me.
Before you reject this out of hand – and I admit it seems very far-fetched indeed at this point that Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos would suddenly up and support taxing the rich – recall that several members of his conference expressed support this past session for a “true” millionaire’s tax (one with a $1 million threshold instead of the current $250,000 for individuals).
The WFP has been closely allied in recent years with the Senate Democrats and played a big role (pre-DFS scandal) in helping them take control of the majority in 2008.
But it was all that long ago that the WFP adopted a far more pragmatic approach to the Senate, endorsing moderate Republican members who embraced key initiatives – like raising the minimum wage, for example, which was something former GOP Sen. Nick Spano championed.
Spano, a Westchester Republican, won a very close election (by 18 votes) against then-County Legislator Andrea Stewart-Cousins in 2004, thanks largely to his cross-endorsement by the WFP. But two years later, he lost a re-match to Stewart-Cousins when the WFP stayed neutral in the race.
A lot has changed since the Joe Bruno days, including the rise of the Tea Party. It would probably be very difficult for GOP senators to accept the WFP endorsement – particularly if they’re also running on the Conservative line.
Such a thing has not been unheard of, as you’ll recall. Consider, for example, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, who, despite his memory lapse in 2010, ran on five lines in 2007 – R, D, C, Indy and WFP – getting about 96 percent of the vote.
The WFP endorsed Gov. Andrew Cuomo last fall, agreeing to accept his platform even though it included some things the party had in the past opposed – like the property tax cap and closing the budget deficit without raising taxes.
The party largely stayed out of the millionaire’s tax battle during the 2011 session, but Cantor assured me it plans to push hard this year in hopes of getting Cuomo to drop his opposition to forcing the state’s wealthiest residents to pay more.
The Death Of DFS (Updated)
Oct 26th - 2:03 pm
The Working Families Party has agreed to shut down its problematic for-profit arm, Data & Field Services, as part of a settlement agreement with former NYC Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, whose initial lawsuit challenging the labor-backed party’s use of outside canvassing/GOTV operation dates back to 2009.
The WFP also agreed to pay Mastro $100,000 to cover attorneys fees.
Multiple sources familiar with the new settlement – including Mastro himself – confirmed the demise of DFS. A number of individuals with connections to the party expressed relief that its leaders had finally decided to go this route, since this issue has caused so many headaches in recent years – including a probe by the US attorney’s office, which contributed to the delay in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s agreement to run on the WFP line last fall, but ultimately did not result in any charges.
WFP spokesman TJ Helmstetter declined the confirm the details of the agreement, but released the following statement:
“We’re pleased to put this nuisance lawsuit behind us. The good news for the WFP, our allies and the causes we believe in is that the Working Families Party will continue doing the same, effective and progressive grassroots organizing work it has always done – within a simpler structure.”
“The bad news, for us, is that a big corporate law firm just added $100,000 to their already deep pockets. We hope to make sure that more of that new-found wealth is shared through the genius of progressive taxation.”
Despite the WFP’s insistence that it will be able to continue its work in-house, the loss of DFS will likely reduce the party’s power – at least in the short term. DFS was once the permier political canvassing operation in NYS, helping secure victories for left-leaning candidates like NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and also contributing to the Senate Democrats’ successful – albeit short-lived – takeover of the majority in 2008.
UPDATE: A WFP source insists that there will be no diminishing of the party’s power nor a reduction of the services it is able to provide candidates. In effect, according to this source, the party is simply reverting to the system it had prior to creating DFS, which means candidates will pay for canvassing services via straight contributions and not in a “fee-for-service” manner. The source equated this switch to turning off one spigot and turning on another.
The back story here is rather circuitous.
Working Families Party: Park Cleanup ‘Designed’ To End OWS
Oct 13th - 4:25 pm
In what appears to be an increasnigly heated situation down at Zuccotti Park, The Working Families Party urged supporters to petition Mayor Michael Bloomberg to not move forward with a plan to cleanup the privately-owned park.
The WFP, which is among a host of progressive and liberal groups that joined with protestors in recent weeks at the ongoing Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, says the plan announced yesterday by the mayor’s office is merely an attempt to end the protests.
“Just two days after saying that he would allow Occupy Wall Street to stay indefinitely, Mayor Bloomberg made a troubling announcement today. He plans to begin evicting people from the park early tomorrow morning, allowing them to return only after they agree to new restrictions set by the park’s corporate owners. Some of the restrictions include a bans on sleeping bags, “storage or placement of personal property,” and “lying down on the ground,” and would effectively end the occupation.
The WFP also urges supporters to show up tomorrow at 6 a.m. when sanitation crews are due to arrive.
The NYPD announced today that new rules would be enforced at Zuccotti Park after this weekend, including a ban on tents and sleeping bags, The Post reported.
WPF Raises Off Pay-To-Protest ‘Conspiracy’
Oct 12th - 1:32 pm
The Working Families Party is trying to capitalize on the rumor being spread by what it deemed “paranoid right-wing conspiracy theorists” that it is paying people to join the Occupy Wall Street protest in Zuccotti Park.
The labor-backed party sent out a fundraising appeal today in the form of an email with the subject line “make Rush Limbaugh eat his words,” noting that the radio shock jock and other conservatives seized on a Craigslist ad for organizers as proof that the left is hiring demonstrators and the whole grassroots movement claim is one big scam.
“We’re organizing for jobs and fair taxes from Buffalo to Babylon, but hiring people to occupy Wall Street? Get real,” wrote WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor. “Have you seen the photos? At times there are thousands of people there. Imagine us having that kind of budget.”
“It would be nice. But we do what we can with what we have, and we’ve grown steadily over the years. We may not have powerful donors like the Koch Brothers or Rupert Murdoch backing us, but we have thousands upon thousands of ordinary citizens and workers and students. Can you chip in $15 to help us put more organizers on the ground to fight for decent jobs, fair taxes, and corporate accountability? ”
The WFP, along with many in the so-called “progressive” branch of the organized labor community, has embraced Occupy Wall Street. In his email, Cantor said it has been “inspiring” to watch the movement grow over the past three+ weeks, to the point where copycat protests have sprung up across both the state and the nation.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that the OWS movement has sparked the imaginations of people around the nation, just as Wisconsin and Tunisia and Egypt did last winter,” Cantor continued. “Everyone knows the economy is out of whack. We too are the 99%. Last week, more than 1,000 Working Families supporters joined us to march down to Wall Street in solidarity.”
“It’s no surprise that the movement’s success makes Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck uncomfortable. They’re card-carrying members of the 1% if we’ve ever seen them. Glenn Beck reportedly earns about $130,000 per day. Rush just got a new $400 million radio contract. And both use their huge megaphones to defend the misdeeds of the bankers and the hedge funders, preferring to blame – we’re not kidding here – the working class and poor for the economic collapse.”
“Our field organizers – who that ad was intended to recruit – do the critical but unglamorous work that it takes to turn popular anger into legislative wins. They knock on doors; they register voters; they organize small meetings, and then bigger ones. They make endless reminder calls. Beck and Limbaugh are trying to de-legitimize both the Occupy Wall Street movement and the WFP. Imagine the look on their smug mugs when they realize that their little lie helped make our movement stronger. ”
In case you’re not prepared to take Cantor’s word for it, Media Matters’ Jeremy Holden penned a blog post debunking the pay-to-protest claim. So did the Village Voice’s Harry Siegel, who, as he notes high up in the post, has been critical of the party in the past and would not hestitate to call the WFP out if necessary.
Ugly In 54th AD, Take II
Sep 13th - 12:42 pm
After my post yesterday (with a H/T to The Brooklyn Politics blog) on the anonymous sex offender flyer that targeted WFP candidate Jesus Gonzalez, a reader forwarded this unsigned hit piece that slams another of the three 54th AD candidates, Deidra Towns.
It’s a pretty unsurprising approach, given the duration of time members of the Towns family have been in the public eye and its troubled history.
The most recent mini-scandal involved former Assemblyman Darryl Towns, whose departure to become Cuomo’s housing czar sparked the need for today’s special election. He was arrested for drunk driving in Westchester back in July.
Darryl Towns agreed to be evaluated by an alcohol abuse treatment program and is expected to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge at his next court hearing on Sept. 19.
There has been a lot of speculation as to who’s behind this flyer, but so far I haven’t been able to nail it down. There’s no lack of bad blood and tangled relationships in this race.
For example, Juan Martinez, Deidra Towns’s campaign manager, ran the last two successful campaigns for Rep. Nydia Velázquez of Brooklyn, who is supporting Gonzalez.
And Michael Olmeda, the campaign manager for the third candidate in this race, Rafael Espinal, spent a lot of time prepping Darryl Towns to succeed his father in Congress, but then left in frustration when it became clear Rep. Ed Towns had no immediate plans to depart. Espinal later became a consultant to Sen. Martin Maleve Dilan, whose son, NYC Councilman Erik Dilan, in Espinal’s boss.
Ugly In 54th AD (Updated)
Sep 12th - 4:21 pm
The Working Families Party and one of its top allies in Brooklyn, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, are denouncing an anonymous flier circulating in the 54th AD that alleges Assembly candidate Jesus Gonzalez would “welcome sex offenders into our community.”
“It’s time for a change in Brooklyn,” said Velazquez in a statement issued by the WFP. “This disgusting attack just shows what politics-as-usual has become. It’s time for reformers to step up and take the levers of power away from the machine.”
WFP Deputy Director Bill Lipton added: “This attack can be summed up in one word: despicable.”
The flier first appeared on The Brooklyn Politics blog, which has been assiduously covering the three-way race for former Assemblyman Darryl Towns’ seat. (As you’ll recall, he gave it up to become Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s housing czar).
The blog also has posted a video of the forum at which Gonzalez supposedly made the statement erroneously referred to in this unsigned lit.
The moment starts at about the 3-minute mark. The question is about halfway houses, and Gonzalez basically says that everyone needs a place to live, and also notes that not everyone living at a halfway house is a sex offender.
That flier is seriously dirty pool – especially for what at first blush seems to be a run-of-the-mill Assembly special election. But there’s obviously a lot at stake here, as has been evidenced in some of the recent coverage of this race. See here and here.
Gonzalez Reaches For Reform Mantle In 54th AD
Aug 22nd - 2:36 pm
My downstate colleagues have been doing a pretty thorough job covering what might be the most interesting of the six Assembly special elections to be held Sept. 13: The three-way Democratic battle for the Brooklyn seat vacated by Darryl Towns, who is now Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s housing czar.
For in-depth coverage, try here, here or here.
What makes this race noteworthy is the presence of Make the Road NY organizer-turned-candidate Jesus Gonzalez, who is running against the Brooklyn Democratic machine with the support of the labor-backed Working Families Party.
Gonzalez is trying to catch hold of the reform mania that swept into Albany with Gov. Andrew Cuomo last fall by releasing the white paper that appears below. It’s pretty standard good government stuff: Public campaign financing, non-partisan special elections (specifically, a bill being pushed by Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries), and independent redistricting.
Gonzalez is running against NYC Councilman Erik Dilan’s chief of staff, Rafael Espinal, and Darryl Towns’ sister, Deidra Towns. If he manages to pull off a victory on primary day, I believe he’ll be the first WFP-only backed candidate to win outright.
Many candidates have been cross-endorsed, but I don’t think – and someone should correct me on this one if I’m wrong – the party has managed to elect anyone at the state level without the added assistance of a major party, although there is precedent for that at the NYC level with Councilwoman Tish James.
WFP Links Verizon To Tea Party
Aug 8th - 2:08 pm
“Tea Party” is now officially the dirty adjective of choice employed by lefties to describe anything they see as anti-worker, anti-union and anti-middle class.
Case in point: The email sent out earler today by Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor that deemed Verizon “a Tea Party corporation if there ever was one.”
And Cantor did not stop there. He accused the company of wanting to “destroy the middle-class life – nothing fancy, but stable and with a future – that the 45,000 union workers at Verizon have built up over 50 years of collective bargaining.”
Verizon workers who belong to Communications Workers of America (35,000 employees) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (10,000 workers) announced Sunday that they were calling an immediate strike due to lack of progress in contract negotiations.
The labor-backed WFP sent out an email this afternoon calling for its supporters to sign an on-line petition calling on Verizon management to bargain in good faith.
“Verizon is one of the most profitable corporations in America,” Cantor wrote. “They make money hand over fist. Their workers deserve to share in the productivity gains that they help deliver.”
“Enough with the Tea Party-style of bargaining, where compromise is a dirty word and the goal is to make a few people incredibly wealthy while tens of thousands get the shaft. The top guy at Verizon earns something like $400,000 PER WEEK.”
“The American economy is in a serious crisis. Verizon is trying to take advantage of the crisis by lowering the living-standards of its employees and thus increase its profits. The workers are right to stand up. Let’s stand with them.”
These sorts of “stand with them” emails are standard operating procedure for the WFP. It’s also worth noting that one of its co-chairs, Bob Master, is the political director at CWA District One.
Also: CapCon’s Casey Seiler reports that picketing Verizon workers is accusing Verizon of using “Wisconsin-style” tactics (shorthand these days in labor-speak for “union-busting”) during contract negotiations.
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