Gotham Gazette

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Elections

Elections

  • Cynthia Nixon Announces Democratic Primary Challenge to Governor Cuomo

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    Cynthia Nixon (photo: Nixon campaign website)


    After months of speculation, actor and education activist Cynthia Nixon officially announced Monday that she will run for governor, challenging two-term Governor Andrew Cuomo in this year’s Democratic primary.

    Nixon’s announcement was all but expected, with her name circulating on the rumor mill for months and news reports just barely over a week ago that she had retained the services of two Democratic ...

  • Molinaro Emerges on Top After Manhattan GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Forum

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    Marc Molinaro (photo via Facebook)


    Weeks before he is set to officially launch his campaign for governor, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro has all but claimed the Republican nomination, and on Wednesday, he locked up another endorsement putting him closer to the goal.

    At a gubernatorial candidate screening Wednesday night at the Metropolitan Republican Club in Manhattan, Molinaro emerged as the top choice of the Manhattan County Republicans over state Senator John DeFrancisco and Joseph Holland, a former aide to Governor George Pataki.

    Over the

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  • Progressive Groups Endorse Democrat in Key Westchester Senate Race

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    Shelley Mayor, center (photo: @Shelley4Senate)


    A coalition of progressive community organizations representing thousands of members across New York State will support Shelley Mayer, the Democratic Assemblymember who is running for an open state Senate seat in Westchester that could decide which party leads the legislative chamber.

    Mayer is running against Republican Julie Killian for the 37th Senate District seat, in a special election scheduled for April 24. The seat has been vacant since January after its previous occupant, George Latimer,

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: A Journalist Runs for State Senate

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    March 13, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: A Journalist Runs for State Senate, with Ross Barkan

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    Ross Barkan announced late last year that he was making the leap from journalism to running for elected office and entered the race in the 22nd State Senate District, a Brooklyn seat currently held

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  • Fierce Cuomo Critics, De Blasio-Allied Advisors Have Been ‘Ready for Cynthia’

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    Rebecca Katz at The Broad Room (photo: Monica Klein on Twitter)


    Actress and education activist Cynthia Nixon is reportedly close to launching a gubernatorial bid and may challenge Governor Andrew Cuomo in this year’s Democratic primary.

    Nixon has long been rumored as a candidate for governor and is close to making an official announcement that she is running, according

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  • Poll Targeting Brooklyn District Gauges Anti-IDC Sentiment

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    Members of the IDC, including Sen. Hamilton (center), and others (photo: @IDC4NY)


    A recent phone poll surveying residents of Senator Jesse Hamilton’s Brooklyn district asked residents to react to a number of statements associating the Independent Democratic Conference with President Donald Trump, among a variety of other questions, according to two residents of the district.

    The polling was conducted “on behalf of a Democrat regarding state Senate elections in September 2018” by the Florida-based Kalamata Group, one resident, who took meticulous notes during

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  • Senate Candidates Outline Primary Campaigns Against ‘Trump Democrats’

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    Jessica Ramos and Robert Jackson


    The eight-member Independent Democratic Conference of the New York State Senate has drawn increasing ire from Democrats around the state, especially in New York City. Democratic senators who have broken away from their colleagues in the regular Democratic conference, IDC senators form a power-sharing agreement with Senate Republicans, helping the GOP enhance its razor thin majority. The Senate is the only current Republican stronghold in state government.

    Several factors, including the election of

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: IDC Challengers Robert Jackson & Jessica Ramos

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    February 26, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: IDC Challengers Robert Jackson & Jessica Ramos

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    Jessica Ramos and Robert Jackson have launched Democratic primary challenges to two state senators who are members of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a group of eight breakaway

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  • As Hochul Pushes Cuomo Agenda, Williams Takes on Both in Primary Challenge

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    Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul (photo: The Governor's Office)


    “That’s what we do in New York -- that’s what we need in our nation!” declared Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul from a church lectern Sunday, sounding not unlike her boss, Governor Andrew Cuomo.

    Hochul, whose remarks were at times drowned out by applause, was highlighting Cuomo’s progressive accomplishments -- paid family leave, equal pay provisions, and criminal justice reform -- before a congregation of elected officials, aides, and others attending the New York State Association of

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Lieutenant Governor Candidate Jumaane Williams

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    February 22, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Lieutenant Governor Candidate Jumaane Williams

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    City Council Member Jumaane Williams recently announced his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor, opening a Democratic primary challenge to incumbent Kathy Hochul, Governor Andrew Cuomo's chosen

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  • 11 Special Elections Set for April 24

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    Gov. Cuomo voting (photo via The Governor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo has officially called a special election to fill 11 vacant seats in the Legislature — two in the Senate and nine in the Assembly — for April 24. Of these, four vacancies are located within the five boroughs of New York City. The short races are quickly heating up to replace three former city-based state legislators who have joined the City Council -- former Assembly members Francisco Moya and Mark Gjonaj and former Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. -- and another lawmaker, Brian Kavanagh,

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  • Staten Island Activist Eyes Primary Challenge to IDC Senator Savino

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    photo: Jasmine Robinson


    State Senator Diane Savino, a founding member of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), may be facing a challenge in the Democratic primary this fall.

    Jasmine “Jasi” Robinson, 38, a legal secretary and community activist from Port Richmond, told Gotham Gazette she is mulling a run for the 23rd Senate District that encompasses the North Shore of Staten Island and a sliver of southern Brooklyn, citing the anti-IDC movement among progressives as her inspiration.

    Robinson, who has lived in the district her

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  • Campaign Finance Board Begins Formal Review of 2017 Election Cycle

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    (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    The New York Campaign Finance Board (CFB) held a hearing Monday morning to field testimony on the 2017 New York City election cycle from candidates, operatives, and advocates. The hearing, part of a quadrennial post-election report that must be submitted before September 1 the year after the election, came on the heels of final campaign finance filing of the 2017 cycle. The CFB

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  • Running Without Establishment Support, IDC Challengers Show Initial Fundraising Strides

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    Zellnor Myrie at a campaign event (photo: @zellnor4ny)


    Despite a tentative unity deal between the Senate Democratic conference and the breakaway Democrats in the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a number of progressives are pushing forward in their bids to unseat the so-called “turncoat Democrats.”

    Challengers of the eight-member IDC, which forms a ruling coalition government with Senate Republicans, say they have drummed up broad grassroots support, as evidenced by pulling impressive fundraising numbers over a short period of time, with

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  • 2018 Will Be a Busy, Contentious Election Year in New York

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    a polling place (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    This year will be another busy, contentious election year for New Yorkers. While 2017 saw the majority of elections confined to local government, 2018 will see three election days and races for state-level offices, including five of six statewide positions and all of the state Legislature, as well as all of the state’s delegation to the House of Representatives.

    A fourth election day ...

  • City Council Member Jumaane Williams to Explore Run for Lieutenant Governor

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    City Council Member Jumaane Williams (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    At the end of stirring and emotional remarks on Martin Luther King Day, City Council Member Jumaane Williams announced that he is exploring a run for Lieutenant Governor. Williams, who was just re-elected to a third Council term and was unsuccessful in his pursuit of the speakership of the city’s legislative body, gave the keynote address at Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Brooklyn on Monday, passionately discussing the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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  • Many Election Poll Workers are Placed by Party Machines, Some May Influence Votes

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    photo by Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette


    With a 16-hour workday, compensation at $200, and the monotony of sitting in what is often a stifling, public-school gymnasium, New York City’s tens of thousands of election poll workers have a largely thankless job.

    Mobilized only a few days most years, they are often retired or semi-retired. While unheralded, they are the frontline for the New York City Board of Elections (BOE), which, as governed by state law, is responsible for registering voters, maintaining voter records, and operating poll site locations

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  • State Board of Elections Official Says City Must Move to Instant Runoff Voting

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    Council Member Ben Kallos (photo via @NYCCouncil)


    Ahead of the September 12 primary, mayoral candidate Sal Albanese seemingly had the Reform Party ballot line locked up. It meant that Albanese would be on the general election ballot even if he lost the Democratic primary to Mayor Bill de Blasio. At the last minute, however, Republican candidate Nicole Malliotakis and independent candidate Bo Dietl attempted to snatch the Reform nomination from Albanese through an “opportunity to ballot,” which had effectively opened up the Reform line to write-in

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    December 5, 2017 - Max & Murphy podcast: City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley

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    City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley was elected in 2008, the first woman and first Democrat to represent her Queens district. She's chaired the Council's Fire and Criminal Justice Committee, holding hearings on

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  • De Blasio's Campaign Cash During Election Crunch

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    In the two weeks leading up to Election Day, November 7, Mayor Bill de Blasio raised about $485,653 for his reelection campaign, and spent $1.65 million in winning a second term by a wide margin, according to the latest disclosures filed with the New York City Campaign Finance Board. The disclosures cover the five-week period from October 24 to November 30, and show that on and after Election Day, de Blasio raised another $82,461 and spent an additional

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Previewing De Blasio's Second Term

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    November 27, 2017 - Max & Murphy: Previewing De Blasio's Second Term

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    Max & Murphy discuss the next steps for recently re-elected Mayor Bill de Blasio, who, as his second term gets going, will surely be dealing with some cabinet changes and will have to navigate the election of

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  • Possible GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Weigh Chances to Unseat Cuomo

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    L-R: Harry Wilson, John DeFrancisco, Marc Molinaro, Brian Kolb


    The Republican pool of candidates exploring an attempt to unseat Governor Andrew Cuomo in the 2018 gubernatorial race appears to be shrinking. Now just four Republicans say they are exploring a run -- down from at least seven prior to this past Election Day -- with the potential candidates vowing to announce their decisions by Christmas.

    Targeting the well-funded Democratic governor seeking his third term would typically be a bold but calculated bet. On one hand, Cuomo

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  • Election Post-Mortem with Nicole Malliotakis’ Campaign Manager

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    Nicole Malliotakis and company (photo: @NMalliotakis)


    “I targeted 750,000 votes,” said Leticia Remauro, campaign manager for Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis’ mayoral bid, “and broke them up into about 26 Assembly Districts we needed to target.”

    “To win as a Republican in New York City, you have to win Queens, Staten Island, and the Upper East Side,” Remauro told Gotham Gazette in an election post-mortem interview, with the intensity of the campaign still evident.

    While some absentee and other ballots

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  • Mapping the Mayoral: Where De Blasio and Malliotakis Each Did Well

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    image: WNYC Data News team map of the 2017 mayoral race


    Mayor Bill de Blasio was reelected for a second term on Tuesday with two-thirds of the vote in a low turnout election that saw only about 22 percent of registered New Yorkers cast a ballot for mayor.

    There were few surprises across the five boroughs, and voter behavior was largely consistent with the 2013 mayoral election, in which de Blasio beat Republican Joe Lhota, 73 percent to 24 percent. But in certain enclaves of the city, de Blasio’s main challenger, Republican Assemblymember Nicole

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Analyzing the 2017 Election Results

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    November 7, 2017 - Max & Murphy: Analyzing Election Results

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    The day after Election Day, Max & Murphy, with guest Samar Khurshid of Gotham Gazette, discuss the results, including what the mayoral vote says about Bill de Blasio and where the city is heading.

    Watch and/or listen to the

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