Category Archives: Kathy Hochul

Photo Highlights of The Decade



As the decade rolls to an end we’ve compiled a brief photographic retrospective with a few of our favorite photos of the 2010s.

Political foes Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo shake hands, seemingly at the urging of RWDSU’s Stuart Appelbaum, as they march in the 2016 Labor Day Parade. 9/10/16

Our decade highlight gallery is available here.

Our focus is on New York politics, both city and state, but the gallery includes other shots of New York.  Among the campaigns we’ve covered are the 2013 and 2017 mayoral races, the 2014 and 2018 gubernatorial races, congressional primaries in 2014, 2016 and 2018, the 2016 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary and the 2019 public advocate special election.  NYTrue.com began in late 2012, with mostly video and little photography in 2012 and 2013, so this is a somewhat truncated decade retrospective that covers 2014-2019.

Special Bonus – Unabridged Gallery:

For those of you who really love New York politics we have an expanded decade retrospective gallery with lots of great shots that didn’t make it into the decade highlight gallery.  Take a look, and a walk down memory lane, here.

We’ve included a few 2013 iPhone shots in a brief addendum at the end of the expanded gallery.

Our 2019 year in photos is available here.

All of our photo galleries are available here.

2018 Year In Photos



New terms, lots of candidates, fiercely fought elections, victories and defeats both surprising and not.  Lots happened in 2018 New York politics and we’ve distilled the year into our 2018 Year in Photos.

NYS senators Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Jeff Klein join hands following a press conference with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 4/4/18

Our full 2018 Year in Photos gallery is available here.

Mayor Bill de Blasio wrapping his family in a hug after taking the oath of office. 1/1/18

Photo Gallery: Cuomo Post Primary Rally



Governor Andrew Cuomo marked his primary victory over Cynthia Nixon and the start of the general election campaign with a Midtown rally featuring a large group of Democratic elected officials and candidates.  Headlined by Cuomo and running mate Kathy Hochul, attendees included New York City’s three citywide elected officials, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate and attorney general candidate Tish James and Comptroller Scott Stringer,  as well as Council Speaker Corey Johnson.  House members attending included Jerry Nadler, Carolyn Maloney, Hakeem Jeffries, Joe Crowley, Jose Serrano, Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Yvette Clarke, Adriano Espaillat and Tom Suozzi.

Some of the successful challengers to state senate IDC members attended, including Alessandra Biaggi who defeated IDC leader Jeff Klein and Robert Jackson.  Notable candidates not spotted included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated Rep. Joe Crowley in the June primary, and incumbent NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.  Additionally, Cuomo’s and Hochul’s primary challengers Cynthia Nixon and Jumaane Williams did not attend.

Photo Gallery:

Our full photo gallery is available here.

Photo Gallery: Dem Lt. Gov. Debate



Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor Kathy Hochul and Jumaane Williams met for their only debate Wednesday.  Moderated by Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max and hosted by the Manhattan Neighborhood Network in its midtown studios as part of its Race to Represent initiative, the debate was a brief 30 minutes.  Although each party’s candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run as a ticket in the general election there are separate primaries for the two offices.

Photo Gallery:

Our full photo gallery is available here.

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.

  Continue reading Photo Gallery: Stonewall Endorsements

Photo Gallery: Bronx Dem Dinner



The Bronx County Democrats drew a large field of elected officials and candidates to their annual dinner Wednesday, though Governor Andrew Cuomo and several notable candidates did not attend.  Statewide and citywide electeds present included Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate Letitia James and Comptroller Scott Stringer.  Hochul and DiNapoli, along with Cuomo, are running for reelection and James, reelected in November as public advocate, is running for attorney general.

Notable non-attendees included Cynthia Nixon and Jumaane Williams, Democrats running for governor and lieutenant governor, and Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  Ocasio-Cortez defeated Rep. Joe Crowley in the June 26th primary for the 14th Congressional District, which is roughly 1/3 in the Bronx and 2/3 in Queens.  James was the only one of four Democratic candidates for attorney general attending, with Zephyr Teachout, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney and Leecia Eve not spotted.  State senate candidate Alessandra Biaggi, challenging Jeff Klein also (as far as I could determine) did not attend.

Other electeds attending included Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Bronx Democratic Chairman and Assembly Member Marcos Crespo, NYS Senate Democratic leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, NYS State Senators Jeff Klein and Jamaal Bailey, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and Council Members Andrew Cohen, Fernando Cabrera, Andy King, Karen Koslowitz, Daniel Dromm and Francisco Moya.

Photo Gallery:

Our full photo gallery is available here.

Photo Gallery: Cuomo At Evander Childs



Governor Andrew Cuomo rolled through Evander Childs High School in the Bronx as part of a series of rallies seeking to generate support for a “red flag” law.  A “red flag” law would aim to allow teachers, health professionals and others to report potentially dangerous persons for confinement and treatment with the goal of avoiding mass shootings.

Cuomo arrived at the rally on a school bus, traveling from an earlier rally on Long Island.  He was joined by several elected officials, including Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Public Advocate and attorney general candidate Tish James, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Rep. Eliot Engel and Council Members Andy King and Ritchie Torres.

Photo Gallery:

Our full photo gallery is available here.

Democratic Rural Conference 2018



The Democratic Rural Conference drew nearly all of New York State’s major Democratic elected officials to its 2018 annual meeting, with Governor Andrew Cuomo, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, NYS Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, NYS Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand leading the elected attendees.  Rep. Paul Tonko, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, NYS Senator Michael Gianaris, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and NYC Council Member and candidate for lieutenant governor Jumaane Williams also attended.  The DRC is composed of Democrats from small counties who for the past 20 years have worked jointly to increase their impact in state politics.

Continue reading Democratic Rural Conference 2018

Teachout & Cuomo: The Prequel



Zephyr Teachout’s attempt to say hello to Andrew Cuomo at the Labor Day Parade on Saturday September 6th, drew a great deal of negative attention for Governor Cuomo.  Cuomo later denied seeing Teachout or deliberately ignoring her, but in this newly published video Cuomo appears to notice Teachout and advise his chief aide of Teachout’s presence. Continue reading Teachout & Cuomo: The Prequel

Cuomo Concludes; Chapter 1 (Updated)



Today Governor Andrew Cuomo brought his campaign to a close with three rallies across the state.  He kicked off the day in Manhattan with a very large labor-driven rally at the edge of Times Square.  The rally marked Cuomo’s first 2014 campaign appearance with both Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, each of whom are also up for reelection tomorrow.  Kathy Hochul, multi-party candidate for lieutenant governor, was also part of the rally.  Held out on 7th Avenue, the rally stretched at least two blocks (visible to me), with the Cuomo campaign reporting that the rally went for four blocks.

It was a strong showing in support of the four statewide candidates, with many of the leading names in New York’s labor movement speaking.  Among them were George Gresham of SEIU 1199, Stuart Appelbaum of RWDSU, Gary LaBarbera of the Building & Construction Trades Council, Hector Figueroa of 32BJ and Peter Ward of the Hotel Trades Council.

Left unsaid by the labor leaders and candidates, however, was which party or ballot line they’re urging their supporters to choose in voting for all four candidates.  All four are Democrats who also appear on the Working Families Party, Independence Party and Women’s Equality Party ballot lines.  Cuomo has energetically pushed the “Women’s Equality Party”, a ballot line he created this year.  Many see that effort as attempt to draw votes away from the Working Families Party, which counts many of the same unions appearing today as it’s core constituency.

Musical Adaptation:

With the rally held a stone’s throw from the theaters of Broadway, it seemed fitting that Hector Figueroa set part of his rally speech to music.

Update – Cuomo Speech:

Governor Cuomo gave a fiery speech today, harshly attacking Republicans who use “hate” to “try to divide us”.  Our full analysis is here.  Here’s his full speech:

Update #2 – Highlights:

Here’s our highlight reel:

Clinton Campaigns for Cuomo; Chapter 2 (Updated)



For the second chapter of Clintons campaigning for Cuomo it was Bill Clinton, following in his wife’s footsteps, joining Andrew Cuomo Thursday evening for a campaign rally at SEIU 1199’s midtown headquarters.  Many New York elected Democrats, including Charles Rangel, Jerrold Nadler, Scott Stringer, Tish James and Adriano Espaillat, joined them.

Cuomo gave a strong campaign speech, battering his Republican opponent and praising Clinton’s presidency.  Clinton, speaking for more than 25 minutes, forcefully supported his former cabinet member but also meandered through other themes.  He spoke of the broad consequences of the upcoming election, casting it primarily about the federal government and the changes that a Republican controlled senate could have.  While engaging, his speech was not as solid an election battle cry as Cuomo’s speech.

Highlights:

Here are highlights of the speeches:

His County:

Among the Cuomo attacks on Astorino was an exaggerated claim based on the long-running HUD lawsuit against Westchester County.  Dramatization and hyperbole are a standard element of campaign speeches, but Cuomo’s assertion that Astorino “won’t allow … minorities to live in his county” pushed the boundary.  Another of Cuomo’s recent campaign rallies also had racially charged comments. Continue reading Clinton Campaigns for Cuomo; Chapter 2 (Updated)

Statewide Candidates on Ballot Propositions



We’ve asked each of the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, comptroller and attorney general for their positions on the three November ballot propositions.

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.”

Here’s what the candidates had to say:

Governor:

When I asked Governor Cuomo for his positions, on October 13th, he said that he had yet to take a position on Prop 2.  We’ve included his October 23rd response to another reporter in which he gives a position on Prop 2.

Continue reading Statewide Candidates on Ballot Propositions