Category Archives: Cynthia Nixon

Photo Gallery: Abinanti For Nixon



Assembly Member Tom Abinanti has added to the small number of elected officials supporting Cynthia Nixon over Andrew Cuomo, endorsing her in a pair of Westchester appearances.   Nixon joined Abinanti at a health fair in Greenburgh and at a Tarrytown park on the Hudson River overlooking the Mario Cuomo/Tappan Zee Bridge Friday.

Abinanti cast his decision to choose Nixon over Cuomo as driven by the combination of his shared views with Nixon on a broad range of issues and his conclusion that after Cuomo having eight years in office it’s “time for a change.” Alluding to his ideological compatibility with Nixon, Abinanti spoke of the need for “a strong Democrat who’s going to enunciate Democratic Party principles … all of them.”

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Nixon & Williams Cross Endorse



Cynthia Nixon and Jumaane Williams endorsed each other Sunday, establishing an alliance that many voters assumed existed between the two candidates opposing the incumbent governor and lieutenant governor in the Democratic primary.  Speaking at a press conference on the edge of Prospect Park, Nixon and Williams were endorsed by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America before they endorsed each other.  Following the press conference the two candidates spent considerable time greeting attendees and passersby.  They briefly walked into Prospect Park but quickly changed course, having already spent their allotted park time greeting those attendees and passersby, and instead headed out to knock on doors on surrounding blocks.

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Photo Gallery: Stonewall Endorsements



The Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City drew scores of candidates to its endorsement meeting last Wednesday as the first and best known LGBT Democratic club in New York City made its choices in many strongly contested primaries.

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Photo Gallery: Nixon Pledges Increased School Aid



Gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon pledged to increase state aid to schools, promising that as governor she will increase such aid in accordance with the long ignored provisions of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit settlement.  Advocates assert that the City is owed more than $2 billion under the terms of the CFE lawsuit settlement.  Speaking at a press conference in Corona Tuesday Nixon reiterated her support for such additional aid, casting it as driven by racial animus with “white, wealthy children … prepared for college, and low-income, children of color … put into the school to prison pipeline.”

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Nixon On Criminal Justice Changes



Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon declared that as governor she will end solitary confinement in state prisons and that she favors a more robust version of “raise the age.”  “Raise the age,” increasing the age for criminal culpability to 18, has been implemented in New York but Nixon criticized the current structure as flawed and incomplete as some 16 and 17 year old defendants are still put into the adult criminal justice system.  Nixon spoke at a Harlem press conference Friday, joined by former city council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Mark-Viverito’s co-district leader John Ruiz.

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Photo Gallery: Nixon & Ramos Cross Endorse



Democratic candidates Cynthia Nixon and Jessica Ramos exchanged endorsements today, adding to the developing organization of candidates opposed to Andrew Cuomo and the State Democratic Party.  Nixon, running for governor against Cuomo, and Ramos, running for state senate against incumbent Senator Jose Peralta, spoke at a press conference in Jackson Heights.  Peralta is a former member of the IDC, a group of Democratic state senators who aligned with the Republican members for the past seven years.  In April Governor Cuomo engineered a public display of unity between the leader of the IDC and the mainline Senate Democrats but many of those former IDC members, including Peralta, face primary opponents driven by anger at the IDC’s enabling of Republican control of the state senate.

Nixon previously exchanged endorsements with Julia Salazar, running against incumbent Senator Martin Dilan, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who defeated incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley two weeks ago.

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Nixon On NYCHA Lead & Monitors



Gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon does not see a need for state action to address the 800+ children living in NYCHA housing recently revealed by the Daily News to have lead levels in amounts considered of concern by the federal government.  That federal lead level is below that of the level the City uses to trigger investigations and action.  Although the City Health Department knew of those elevated levels it did not notify the City’s Housing Authority and therefor NYCHA did not act to investigate and possibly eliminate or reduce the sources of lead in those cases.

Asked at a Harlem press conference Sunday, where she was endorsed by Melissa Mark-Viverito, whether she sees any state action as necessary and, if so, what action, Nixon replied with a bromide that the city, state and federal governments “have been letting the people of NYCHA down for a long time … in terms of funding” and the hope that increased funding and the recently announced federal monitor will result in “holding those entities accountable.”  Nixon expressed optimism that increased funding will produce positive effects.  Nixon expressed support for having the federal monitor and said that she does not believe a state monitor (announced and then cancelled by Andrew Cuomo) is necessary.

Mark-Viverito Endorses Nixon



Former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito endorsed Cynthia Nixon for governor Sunday, adding some progressive political credibility to Nixon’s underdog campaign.  The two spoke at a press conference at 116th Street and Park Avenue, in the heart of Mark-Viverito’s former council district, with members of Make The Road New York Communities For Change joining them on a sweltering afternoon.  After the press conference Mark-Viverito and Nixon down Park Avenue several blocks to an outdoor music festival.

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Photo Gallery: Nixon & Ocasio-Cortez Cross Endorse



Gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon and congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez exchanged endorsements this evening, holding a joint press conference in a Jackson Heights playground and taking a short walk along Junction Boulevard.  The cross-endorsements were particularly timed to Ocasio-Cortez’s race, as she faces Rep. Joe Crowley in a Congressional District 14 Democratic primary tomorrow.  Nixon is currently petitioning to make a September primary against Governor Andrew Cuomo.

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Photo Gallery: WFP Convention



The New York Working Families Party completed its rejection of Andrew Cuomo, nominating Cynthia Nixon for governor and Jumaane Williams for lieutenant governor at its recent convention.  The WFP had endorsed Nixon and Williams in April, but those endorsements did not actually place them on the ballot as candidates.  The party held a two-part session at Harlem’s First Corinthian Baptist Church, with a formal nominating meeting in an upstairs room followed by a rally and candidate speeches in the church’s main hall.

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Photo Gallery: Nixon at Cannabis Rally



Gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon appeared at a Union Square rally following the Pro-Cannabis Parade last Saturday, urging full legalization of marijuana.  Speaking to about 1,000 people Nixon cast her support as primarily driven by racial disparity in marijuana arrests, declaring that “I want to do it first and foremost because it’s a racial justice issue.”

Legalization has moved close to, if not quite right inside, the political mainstream in recent years.  It’s still somewhat outside that mainstream with  New York elected officials however, and that distance was reflected in the paucity of electeds and candidates appearing at this rally.  Although the rally was fairly heavy on gubernatorial candidates, with Nixon, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins and Reform Party hopeful Joel Giambra appearing, neither Andrew Cuomo or Marc Molinaro appeared or have voiced support for full legalization.  Assembly Member Dick Gottfried, who proudly touted his 1975 bill that decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana, and Council Member and candidate for lieutenant governor Jumaane Williams also spoke.

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Working Families Party For Nixon, Williams



The Working Families Party endorsed Cynthia Nixon for governor and Jumaane Williams for lieutenant governor, rejecting its 2014 path of political accommodation and instead supporting Nixon and Williams over Governor Andrew Cuomo and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul.  The 2014 endorsements were contentious, with a pragmatic view of the utility of supporting Cuomo’s reelection overcoming the ideological kinship many in the party had with Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu.  Several large unions have left the WFP since then however, with 32BJ and CWA withdrawing just ahead of the Nixon endorsement.

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