James, Astorino & Bull Connor



At a Cuomo campaign rally in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James compared Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino to Bull Connor, the infamous Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham Alabama who unleashed fire hoses and attack dogs on civil rights marchers in the 1960’s.  After the rally I asked Governor Cuomo, who was on stage as James spoke, whether he shared that view.

Cuomo and Astorino have often exchanged barbs around a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development against Westchester County, where Astorino is County Executive.  Astorino has previously accused Cuomo of “race-baiting” in comments about the lawsuit.

More coverage from the rally is here.

Cuomo in Long Island City (Updated)



The second stop of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “Women’s Equality Express” campaign tour today was in Long Island City.  Appearing at before an audience composed primarily of trade union members, Cuomo added an extended reflection on his Queens roots to his campaign speech.

Press Q&A:

Cuomo spoke with the press following the rally.  With the exception of the last question, the topic was exclusively Ebola.

Update – You Can Take the Boy out of Queens …:

Cuomo began by speaking about his Queens roots.  It’s not a part of his standard stump speech, but a special addition for this Queens appearance.

Speech:

Here is Cuomo’s full campaign speech.

Coverage of his Brooklyn campaign rally is here.

Cuomo in Bed-Stuy (Updated)



Governor Andrew Cuomo’s reelection campaign brought him to three stops today, with the third and final stop a rally in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant.  Accompanied on the full tour by his running mate Kathy Hochul, he was joined in Bed-Stuy by New York City Public Advocate Tish James, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Assembly Member Annette Robinson and New York City Council Member Robert Cornegy.

Press Q&A:

Cuomo spoke with the press following the rally.  The questions, with one exception (more on that later here), focused on Ebola.

Update:  We look at the comment by Public Advocate Letitia James comparing Rob Astorino to Bull Connor here.

Speech:

Here is Cuomo’s full speech:

Coverage of Cuomo’s Long Island City rally is here.

Women’s Equality Party Money – Round 1 (Updated)



The “Women’s Equality Party” (“WEP”) has filed it’s first campaign finance report, the “11-Day Pre-General” election report.  Under the Election Law, that report was due today.

WEP reported contributions of $69,500 and no money expended, but it reported $62,212.55 as expenses incurred but not yet paid.  Here’s a detailed look. Continue reading Women’s Equality Party Money – Round 1 (Updated)

Ballot Propositions – Attorney General Candidate Views



We’ve asked both candidates for attorney general, Democratic incumbent Eric Schneiderman and Republican challenger John Cahill, for their positions on each of the three ballot propositions on the November ballot. If approved by voters those propositions will: 1) Create a redistricting commission to draw the new state legislative and House of Representatives’ district lines every 10 years, with the commission members appointed by the state legislative leaders, 2) amend the current constitutional requirement of distributing paper versions of proposed bills to state legislators to allow for electronic distribution and 3) authorize New York State to borrow up to $2 billion for school funding, with a stated purpose of “improving learning and opportunity for public and nonpublic school students”, including the purchase of equipment, expanding school broadband access, building classrooms for pre-K and replacing trailers and installing “high-tech security features.”

Schneiderman declined to give a position on any of the the propositions, citing his office’s role in drafting them.  Cahill opposes the first and third propositions, creating a redistricting commission and approving the bond issue, but has not yet taken a position on the second proposition, allowing electronic bills in the legislature.  We spoke with Schneiderman today in White Plains as he left a Schneiderman/DiNapoli campaign rally.  We spoke with Cahill in Poughkeepsie on Tuesday.

Gubernatorial candidate positions are here.  Comptroller candidate positions are here. One lieutenant governor candidate’s position is here.

Ebola Press Conference



Thursday night Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo held a press conference at Bellevue Hospital to announce that a New York City resident has tested positive for the Ebola virus.  City Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Travis Bassett, State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, and president of the Health & Hospitals Corporation Dr. Ram Raju joined de Blasio and Cuomo.  Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control, participated by phone. Continue reading Ebola Press Conference

Abortion and a Catholic Governor



The centerpiece of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s reelection campaign is the “Women’s Equality Party” and it’s “Women’s Equality Agenda.”  Leading that agenda is an effort at enacting state laws expressly providing for a right to abortion, now provided by the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.

Cuomo is Catholic.  His religion and faith are not a central part of his public personalty, but he’s mentioned his Catholic faith several times in recent days while discussing his “Women’s Equality Agenda” and Rob Astorino’s opposition to abortion.  (Astorino is also Catholic and, following church teaching on the subject, personally and politically opposes abortion.)  Elected officials who are Catholic and support abortion rights have long faced a challenge in the divergence of their church and their politics, Mario Cuomo notably among them. Continue reading Abortion and a Catholic Governor

Cuomo & Clinton (Updated x 2)



Hillary Rodham Clinton joined Governor Andrew Cuomo for a rally today, supporting the governor at a “Women’s Equality Party” rally in midtown Manhattan.  Both made speeches, as did Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Kathy Hochul, to a crowd of approximately 250 people.

Gaggle:

Cuomo spoke with the press afterward, with questions mostly focused on the election, the debate last night and the “Women’s Equality Party” and “Women’s Equality Agenda”.  Question topics included whether the “Women’s Equality Party” and “Women’s Equality Agenda” is a “smokescreen” and abortion a “bogeyman” intended to deflect attention from his record (deemed “a highly insensitive and obnoxious question” by Cuomo), his reaction to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s statement yesterday that his office continues several probes related to Cuomo’s Moreland Commission, whether he’s endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, his view on the inclusion of Libertarian Party candidate Michael McDermott in the debate last night, whether he personally follows the Catholic Church’s position on abortion, whether the state will release SAFE Act assault weapon registration statistics, his position on the three November ballot propositions, whether he’ll support Hillary Clinton if she runs for president, what his girlfriend is making for dinner tonight (really), if he’s in the process of deciding whether to run for president and whether he was surprised by the New York Times endorsement he received this week.

Continue reading Cuomo & Clinton (Updated x 2)

Debate Performance Analysis



Tonight’s gubernatorial candidate debate was a net gain for Rob Astorino, and a modest net loss for Andrew Cuomo.  Held in Buffalo, the one hour debate among Andrew Cuomo, Rob Astorino, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins and Libertarian Party candidate Michael McDermott is the only scheduled debate between Cuomo and Astorino.

Dramatically behind in public polls and with little money, Astorino’s odds of winning on November 4th are extremely long.  Desperate for any positive movement, he needed a solid performance tonight and succeeded.  It’s unlikely to change the outcome of the election however, but it will give him a boost. Continue reading Debate Performance Analysis

Ballot Propositions – Cahill Edition



We asked Republican candidate for attorney general John Cahill for his position on each of the three ballot propositions on the November ballot. If approved by voters those propositions will: 1) Create a redistricting commission to draw the new state legislative and House of Representatives’ district lines every 10 years, with the commission members appointed by the state legislative leaders, 2) amend the current constitutional requirement of distributing paper versions of proposed bills to state legislators to allow for electronic distribution and 3) authorize New York State to borrow up to $2 billion for school funding, with a stated purpose of “improving learning and opportunity for public and nonpublic school students”, including the purchase of equipment, expanding school broadband access, building classrooms for pre-K and replacing trailers and installing “high-tech security features.”

Cahill opposes the first and third propositions, creating a redistricting commission and approving the bond issue, but has not yet taken a position on the second proposition, allowing electronic bills in the legislature.

Be sure to see the ballot proposition positions of the gubernatorial candidates, the comptroller candidates and LG candidate Kathy Hochul.