
State Senate candidate Marisol Alcantara & BX BP Diaz Jr. (photo: @NYAlcantara31)
With state legislative party primaries rapidly approaching, there are several races New Yorkers should keep a close eye on, both in the city and across the state, including some that could play key roles in deciding majority power in the state Senate, which is currently under Republican leadership.
The September 13 vote in some races, especially in Democrat-heavy New York City, will likely determine the winner in November. Still other races have little competition for the party primaries, but will be hotly contested for the general.
With Donald Trump’s controversial candidacy at the top of the Republican ticket in November, Democrats are hoping to tip the scales in their favor, especially in the state Senate, while Republicans across the state decide whether to embrace their presidential nominee or not. The 63-seat New York State Senate is currently almost evenly split between Democrars and Republicans, though there are complicating factors like one Democrat who caucuses with Republicans (Brooklyn Sen. Simcha Felder) and the five-member Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), which has had a power-sharing agreement with Senate Republicans.
The 150-seat State Assembly is controlled by Democrats, who hold a vast majority, including many members from New York City, led by Speaker Carl Heastie of the Bronx.
September’s in-party match-ups will decide whose names appear on the general election ballots in November. In several cases, there are open seats where the incumbent is not seeking re-election or has already left office - these head our “races to watch,” followed closely by races in New York City where incumbents are facing competitive challenges.
Gotham Gazette identifies three key categories to pay attention to for September 13:
OPEN SEAT ELECTIONS IN NEW YORK CITY
There are two vacancies in the state Senate and five in the state Assembly representing New York City residents. If there is more than one Democrat or Republican running, nominees will be decided through the September 13 party primaries. In most cases in the city, the Democratic nominee will win the seat through the November general election.
SENATE VACANCIES IN NEW YORK CITY
SD31
In Senate District 31, which includes the Upper Manhattan neighborhoods of Washington Heights and Inwood and runs down the West Side into Hell’s Kitchen, Senator Adriano Espaillat is leaving his seat to run for Congress in New York’s 13th Congressional district -- an election he is favored to win, which would make him the first politician born in the Dominican Republic to be elected to the House of Representatives. Espaillat won a competitive Democratic primary in June.
Vying to replace Espaillat in the state Senate are four Democratic candidates: Marisol Alcantara, Luis Tejada, former City Council Member Robert Jackson, and Micah Lasher, the former chief of staff to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Espaillat, a variety of Hispanic elected officials, several labor unions, and the five-member, GOP-aligned Independent Democratic Conference of the state Senate have thrown their support behind Alcantara, who has said she will caucus with the IDC if elected.
While the candidates largely agree on the issues, they have different resumes, relationships, and political allies.
Gotham Gazette recently reported on the race to replace Espaillat and several other Senate races around the state that “could have significant implication for billions of dollars in state budget money and major policies of all kinds.” In SD31, the result could play a major role in control of the Senate while also having implications for political power in New York City.
SD36
In Senate District 36, which includes parts of northern Bronx neighborhoods like Allerton, Baychester, Eastchester, Wakefield and extends into Mount Vernon, Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson left the Senate in July to become Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Special Advisor for Policy and Community Affairs of New York State Homes and Community Renewal.
To replace Hassell-Thompson on the Democratic primary ballot will be Jamaal T. Bailey, Robert Diamond, Que English, Pamela A. Hamilton-Johnson, Edward A. Mulraine, and Alvin Ponder. The winner on September 13 will not face a Republican in a general election. BronxTalk host Gary Axelbank moderated a debate among the six candidates on August 29.
ASSEMBLY VACANCIES IN NEW YORK CITY
On the Assembly side, Assemblymembers Phillip Goldfeder (AD23), James Brennan (AD44), Annette Robinson (AD56), and Keith Wright (AD70) will not be seeking re-election; and Assemblymember Barbara M. Clark (AD33) passed away in February. There are not competitive primaries in all these seats, though.
AD33
This is the first time in 30 years the seat has not had a sitting incumbent, on account of Clark’s long Assembly tenure. Vying for the Democratic nomination in AD33, representing Queens Village, Bellerose Manor, Hollis, and Cambria Heights, will be candidates Bryan J. Block, Sabine French, Roy Paul, Clyde Vanel, and Nantasha Williams.
AD44
With Brennan’s retirement, Democratic primary candidates Robert Carroll, R. M. Curry-Smithson, and Troy Odendhal compete in Assembly District 44, representing Park Slope, Kensington and Flatbush-Ditmas Park. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Glenn Nocera.
Brennan, the Working Families Party, and a variety of Democratic officials and organizations have endorsed Carroll, an election lawyer and president of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, a political group his grandfather helped start in the late 1960s. Carroll supported Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, though he is not the only Sanders supporter in the race: Curry-Smithson, a public school history teacher, volunteered for the Sanders campaign. Carroll is well ahead of the field in endorsements as well as fundraising.
AD56
Democrats Karen Cherry and Tremaine Wright face off in the Democratic primary for Assembly District 56, representing Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. The winner will go into the general election without a Republican opponent.
It was reported back in February by Kings County Politics that Assemblymember Robinson was strategizing to run for re-election just so she could hand the election to Wright, her chosen successor and vice-president of the Vanguard Independent Democratic Organization. This plan was spoiled and thus Wright faces Cherry in the primary. The two candidates answered questions from Kings County Politics on education policy. Both candidates see challenges with co-locations where separate schools exist in the same building and want to see more equitable access for all students in public, private and charter schools.
AD70
To replace Assemblymember Keith Wright, who lost his congressional bid to Espaillat, are one Democrat and one Republican, who will face off in November. Republican Heather Tarrant and Democratic City Council Member Inez Dickens run to represent Harlem in the Assembly. Dickens is a heavy favorite due to the Democratic enrollment advantage in the area. It is rumored that Wright will run to replace Dickens if she wins and thus gives up her Council seat.
AD23
Democrat Stacey G. Pheffer Amato and Republican Alan N. Zwirn, both running uncontested in their respective primaries, will face-off in the general election for Assembly District 23, representing parts of Far Rockaway, Rockaway Park, Arverne, Broad Channel, Howard Beach and Ozone Park.
INCUMBENTS WITH SIGNIFICANT PRIMARY CHALLENGERS IN NEW YORK CITY
In addition to races for open seats throughout New York City, there are several incumbents attempting to fend off primary challenges.
SD10
In Queens, state Democratic state Senator James Sanders Jr. faces an insurgent primary contest from Adrienne Adams in Senate District 10, encompassing neighborhoods including Jamaica, Rosedale, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, Springfield Gardens and the Rockaways. The incumbent, who outwardly supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, and his primary opponent held a debate on NY1. In an unusual twist, Adams has the support of much of the Democratic establishment after Sanders had at one point expressed his intention to challenge sitting Congressional Rep. Gregory Meeks.
SD16
The race for Queens’ 16th Senate District has also been heating up, with incumbent Democratic state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky taking on Democratic primary challenger S.J. Jung. This is a repeat contest from 2014.
Jung is being ridiculed for a statement he made about erasing same-sex couples from school textbooks, as reported by The Daily News. Though Stavisky is not free from her own controversy, as the Observer found the incumbent and ranking member of the Committee on Higher Education to have taken tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from for-profit colleges, including one that’s been involved in a bribery scandal that implicated an Assembly member from Queens in 2009. The candidates participated in a candidates’ forum at Queens Library in Flushing on August 23, as reported by the Queens Tribune.
SD18
In Northern Brooklyn’s 18th Senate District, incumbent state Senator Martin Dilan is being challenged by insurgent candidate Debbie Medina, another Bernie Sanders supporter who is receiving attention for her firebrand democratic socialism rooted in tenant organizing. Her core message addresses gentrification and the affordable housing crisis in New York, though Dilan has been critical of his challenger for accepting campaign contributions from the young professionals pushing people out of the neighborhoods she says she wants to keep intact.
Kings County Politics asked both candidates to comment on poverty and affordability in South Williamsburg and Bushwick. In response to this question, Medina echos a Sanders stump speech advocating “higher taxes on the wealthy to fund spending on our roads, rails, and bridges.” Both candidates believing in better wages, while Dilan had a more holistic response encompassing education, job creation and transportation.
SD25
State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, who has served in the Senate for 32 years in Brooklyn’s 25th Senate District representing Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and parts of Brooklyn Heights, Sunset Park, Park Slope, and Crown Heights, is faced with a re-election challenge from experienced political operative Michael Cox, a Crown Height native who once served in the Obama Administration in an advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and the Assistant Secretary of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs.
SD33
In the Bronx, incumbent Democratic state Senator Gustavo Rivera is facing a primary contest from City Council Member Fernando Cabrera, who lost in a 2014 bid to unseat Rivera. The race is causing tension within the Bronx Democratic County party, whose leaders were hoping Rivera would run uncontested in the primary to keep things civil between the two rivals and allow them to focus more on representing their shared constituents and less on critiquing each other. Causing tension to rise even higher, the Super PAC New Yorkers for Independent Action has funded mailers attacking Rivera and singing Cabrera’s praises. The two candidates faced off in a debate on NY1’s Inside City Hall.
AD46
Assembly District 46 is represented by Assemblymember Pamela Harris, who won a special election last year and is in a tight race with challenger Kate Cucco to represent residents of southern Brooklyn including Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, and Coney Island.
The race has included news reports of Harris’ personal financial struggles, with Harris issuing a public letter in response. Harris is also being forced to discuss her non-profit organization that she ran before being elected to the Assembly. Cucco is one of several challengers to incumbents who are receiving campaign contributions from New Yorkers for Independent Action, a Super PAC supported by wealthy donors from the education reform movement. [Read more about the race from Gotham Gazette here.]
AD55
Assemblymember Latrice Walker, representing Brownsville, Ocean Hill and parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant in the 55th Assembly District, faces a Democratic primary challenge from City Council Member and District Leader Darlene Mealy. Any challenge from a sitting elected official can put pressure on an incumbent and this race puts Walker in a tough position given Mealy’s experience in government, though Mealy is not known as a particularly productive legislator in the City Council.
AD65
In the 65th Assembly District, incumbent Assemblymember Alice Cancel -- who won a special election to replace convicted former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in April -- will share the vote with five Democratic primary challengers: Yuh-Line Niou, Gigi K. Li, Jenifer Rajkumar, Don Lee, and Paul Newell. Cancel was Silver’s choice to fill his seat, though she faced a tough challenge from Niou in the special. It is expected to be a close fight now. The New York Times writes that the candidates reflect the ethnic diversity of the 65th Assembly District, one of the city’s most diverse. Newell challenged Silver in 2008 and has been active as a district leader, as has Rajkumar. Niou has the backing of the Working Families Party - she ran on the WFP line in April when she narrowly lost to Cancel.
AD72
In Manhattan’s 72nd Assembly District, incumbent Assemblymember Guillermo Linares faces opponents George Fernandez and Carmen N. De La Rosa. De La Rosa, who released her campaign platform at the end of August, is being backed by a significant group of Democratic elected officials, including Sen. Espaillat and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. Linares is among those who lost to Espaillat in his Democratic congressional victory. The Manhattan Times has more information about Fernandez, Linares’ other challenger, a tenant organizer who served three terms as Chair of Community Board 12.
AD78
Long-time incumbent Jose Rivera is facing a challenge in Assembly District 68, which includes Kingsbridge, Belmont, and other Bronx neighborhoods. Rivera is being challenged by Ischia Bravo, who has been a longtime political aide and operative in the borough. Bravo has worked for both Congressman Jose Serrano and State Senator Jose Serrano Jr. She is currently a community board member and from 2008 to 2016, she was the executive director for the Bronx Democratic County Committee.
AD86
Incumbent Bronx Democratic Assemblymember Victor Pichardo faces a repeat primary challenge from Hector Ramirez, a Bronx-based activist facing a 242-count indictment for voter fraud related to the last time he ran against Pichardo. Initially it appeared Pichardo would be running against former 86th District Assemblymember Nelson Castro, once an informant for the federal government implicating fellow elected officials to reduce charges over election-related perjury. Castro said he decided to drop out of the race over a lack of fundraising. Ramirez is expected to be a much tougher primary challenger for Pichardo than Castro would have been, assuming he’s not found guilty of voter fraud.
OTHER INCUMBENTS FACING PRIMARY CHALLENGES:
ASSEMBLY
SENATE
PRIMARY RACES TO WATCH OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY
There are a number of other primary races to watch outside of New York City. Many deal with empty seats or seats being vacated by incumbents not seeking re-election.
Leaving their state Senate seats are Republicans Jack M. Martins (SD7), Hugh T. Farley (SD49) and Michael F. Nozzolio (SD54), and Democrat Marc Panepinto (SD60). Vacating their state Assembly seats are Republicans Stephen M. Katz (AD94), Claudia Tenney (AD101), James Tedisco (AD112), Janet L. Duprey (AD115), Angela M. Wozniak (AD143), and Jane L. Corwin (AD144), and Democrat Michelle Schimel (AD16). Sen. Todd Kaminsky (formerly of AD20) filled the 9th District state Senate seat following the expulsion of Dean Skelos. Kaminsky is running for re-election to the Senate while his Assembly seat will be filled this year.
***
by William Fowler for Gotham Gazette
@GothamGazette

Assemblymember Harris votes (photo via Facebook)
Among the upcoming legislative primary elections, two Brooklyn State Assembly races with very different storylines are intensifying. Unusual electoral circumstances in the 44th and 46th Assembly Districts make the contests races to watch. Located in Downtown Brooklyn, the 44th seat, which is opening up due to the retirement of the longtime incumbent, is home to a short, frenzied primary race among three Democrats. In the 46th, an embattled short-term incumbent and an experienced Democratic challenger battle for the Southern Brooklyn seat.
In the 46th, former Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny resigned in July 2015 to take a private sector job and Pamela Harris won the seat in a November special election. Now, with less than a year of experience in the Assembly, Harris faces Kate Cucco, who served as chief of staff for Brook-Krasny from 2008 to 2015.
In the 44th, Assemblymember James Brennan announced his sudden retirement from public office this past May, just eights days before the candidate filing deadline. He simultaneously backed the race’s apparent frontrunner, Robert Carroll, who had been running for District Leader and eyeing an Assembly bid down the road. Two other Democrats, Troy Odendhal and Rob Curry-Smithson, announced their candidacy soon after.
One primary features two women, the other three men. In one, the 46th, establishment Democrats are divided between the two candidates, while in the other, the 44th, most Democratic elected officials and clubs are coalescing behind one candidate.
While these races show interesting decisions within the city’s Democratic machinery, the two districts reflect the common socioeconomic contrasts of neighboring communities in New York City. District 44 includes both Park Slope, a neighborhood that, according to a 2010-2012 Census report, had a median household income of $87,896, and Flatbush, at $42,144 per household.
District 46 includes similar economic disparities, with communities like Bay Ridge, home to a median household income of $53,500, and Coney Island, at $29, 712.
Assembly District 46
Cucco, who is from Ohio but has called Bay Ridge home for a number of years, says that all residents of the district raise similar concerns no matter their income.
“Every group, whether you’re in Dyker Heights or Coney Island or Sea Gate, everyone wants the same thing,” she told Gotham Gazette. “They want to feel safe when they’re walking outside, they want to know their kids and grandkids are going to the best school possible.”
Cucco says her experience working for the residents of the district as Brook-Krasny’s chief of staff makes her a stronger candidate than the incumbent, Harris, the first black Assembly candidate to win a majority white district in New York City’s history.
“I worked for the Assembly, in this district, for almost nine years,” Cucco said during an interview at the Bridgeview Diner, a Bay Ridge restaurant. “I think that opens a lot of doors and a lot of connections in terms of knowing how to fight for legislation.”
If elected, Cucco says election reform remains at the top of her legislative to-do list.
“For such a progressive state, we’re so behind the curve on where we stand with elections,” she said. “I think we should make it easier for all constituents, members of the state, to vote.” Despite New York’s notoriously antiquated election and voting laws, little movement has been made on reform.
Like Cucco, Assemblymember Harris, who grew up in the district, says she finds the interests of residents to be similar in most neighborhoods.
“There is such diverse groups of people who are all striving for the same thing,” Harris said in a phone interview. “Safety, affordable housing, good places for their kids to play and good school programs.”
Harris, a former corrections officer at Rikers and native of Coney Island, said she represents all of her constituents and does not see the division between police and communities of color that has been the focus of much discussion.
“I didn’t know there was a divide, honestly,” Harris said when asked about representing both constituencies. “I think we just have to remember the need of the district. We have to make sure there is no need in the district and I was able to champion that in my first six months of office.”
Harris said addressing personal issues about her family continues to be the most challenging part of the campaign. The Daily News reported that Harris and her husband filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and there have been multiple reports detailing questions about the nonprofit she founded, the Coney Island Generation Gap, and its tax filings. Harris publicly responded to the Daily News report and addressed the reasons behind her bankruptcy, including health issues for her and other family members.
“I now have to explain what happened to me,” Harris said. “I’m okay with talking about me, but I don’t want to take the time out to do so. Yes, I did deal with Chapter 13. But unfortunately, I had breast cancer and I had a really bad strain. My mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. My husband got sick.”
“But you know, wait, don’t worry about me,” she continued, and asked rhetorically, “What is it you need? What is it that you would like me to do?” Harris said that she wants the focus of the campaign to be constituents’ needs, not her personal issues.
Cucco recently released a 70-Point Policy plan which focuses on election reform, in addition to free SUNY and CUNY tuition for students with at least a B average and improving access to affordable housing.
If re-elected, Harris said she hopes to continue to fight for the large senior population in District 46 through affordable housing and social engagement programs. A bill authored by Harris aimed at helping residents in naturally occurring retirement homes qualify for state funding was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month.
A flashpoint in the race is the involvement of outside Super PACs, which have been spending on behalf of both Cucco and Harris. The issue was at the center of contentious exchanges during a Thursday evening debate on NY1's Inside City Hall, with the main issue at hand a state bill for an education tax credit that would mainly benefit donors to private schools. Harris' nonprofit also came up during the NY1 debate.
The winner of the 46th District Democratic primary will face Lucretia Regina-Potter, of the Republican Party, Mikhail Usher, of the Conservative Party, and Patrick Dwyer, of the Green Party, in the general election. In an overwhelmingly Democratic district, that candidate’s party will be favored to win.
Assembly District 44
In State Assembly District 44, three Democrats fight for the seat being left vacant by Assemblymember James Brennan, who announced in May that after 32 years in office he will not seek re-election. Brennan announced his retirement and endorsed attorney Robert Carroll. Carroll, who identifies as a progressive and actively supported Bernie Sanders in the presidential primary, dropped out of the District Leader race to pursue the open seat.
The somewhat surprising vacancy and endorsement brought criticism from Troy Odendhal, a community developer and freelance journalist who is running for the seat in the Democratic primary. “With such short notice on the vacancy of the seat, this was used as tactic by the democratic machine to overtly exclude potential candidates in the 44th Assembly District,” reads a statement on Odendhal’s website.
Odendhal filed an objection with the Board of Elections against his challenger regarding the signatures Carroll collected to get on the ballot. According to Kings County Politics, Odendhal’s campaign found errors with the petitions, including signatures of individuals who live out of the district, without addresses listed or names written in illegible handwriting. Carroll filed more than 7,300 signatures; Odendhal 870 (the required number to get on the ballot is 500).
A third candidate, Rob Curry-Smithson, a history teacher who, like Carroll, campaigned for Bernie Sanders, describes himself not only as a “Berniecrat” but as “an educator, not the establishment,” on his campaign’s website.
Curry-Smithson channels Sanders’ rhetoric when talking about public education and healthcare. In an interview with the Brooklyn Eagle, he explained the reason behind his reform campaign, and referred to the process by which Brennan was attempting to choose replacement.
“I also was concerned that there seemed to be no competition, but a passing of the torch from someone who has been in office since I was two years old to a successor chosen by the party establishment,” he wrote in an email to the Eagle.
Carroll not only has the backing of Brennan, but a long list of Democratic officials and organizations, including New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, the Working Families Party, and the New York State United Teachers labor union.
According to his campaign website, if elected to office, Carroll hopes to improve ethics in Albany, institute paid sick leave as well as strengthen gun control laws.
As expected, he leads in fundraising. Carroll has received $98,217 for his Assembly run as of July, according to his State Board of Elections filings. Odendhal, who is self-funding his campaign, has spent about $5446.00 on his campaign, as of late July filings, and Curry-Smithson has no fundraising recorded to date.
The winner of the District 44 Democratic primary will face Republican candidate Glenn Nocera, president of the Brooklyn Tea Party, who has also the Conservative Party line on the ballot, in the November general election. If successful in the Democratic primary, Carroll is set to have the Working Families Party ballot line in November.
Heading to Albany
Democrats have a large majority in the state Assembly and winners of the 44th and 46th District Democratic primaries are likely to be part of that majority in Albany when the State Legislature reconvenes in January. The results of November’s general elections will determine control of the state Senate, which has been led by Republicans over most of the past several decades, but where the balance of power is almost evenly split.
Turnout for the September 13 primaries is not expected to be high, especially given that it is the third primary date of this election year in New York, after the April presidential primary and June congressional primary. November is likely to be a different story, though, with the presidential race drawing more voters to the ballot box.
Cucco, running in the 46th AD, said the over-saturation of the presidential campaign may inspire residents to get more involved this election cycle.
“I think that everything that’s happening on the national level this year, you know with both parties, people, whether they like or don’t like the national candidates running for president, they’re hyper aware of the sense of local government and its importance,” she said.
***
by Devin Gannon for Gotham Gazette
@GothamGazette
Note: this article has been corrected regarding the timing of Brennan's retirement announcement and how much time there was for candidates to get on the ballot.

screenshot of CM Cabrera, left, & Sen. Rivera from NY1
A Super PAC backed by the education reform lobby and a number of wealthy out-of-state donors has earned the enmity of establishment Democrats by pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into races in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Long Island in an effort to unseat Democrat incumbents. The group, New Yorkers for Independent Action, now appears to be adjusting its strategy by supporting some incumbents.
The PAC is at least partially focused on passing an education tax credit proposal through Albany that would provide tax breaks to those who donate to private and charter schools. It is currently spending, largely in mailings - some of which attack candidates and some that are supportive of candidates - six state Assembly and Senate races. Opposed by the majority in the Democrat-controlled Assembly, the education tax credit proposal has been stuck in Albany despite prior lobbying efforts.
“This group and its funders are sadly mistaken if they think this will do anything to further their issue,” said Michael Whyland, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. A number of Heastie’s allies in the Bronx have been targeted by the PAC’s spending.
New Yorkers for Independent Action has been attacked by liberal activist groups and incumbent Democrats as the work of hedge-fund profiteers looking to advance their agenda by involving themselves in local races they have no real investment in or knowledge of. Teachers unions decry the measure as siphoning tax dollars away from public schools to reward wealthy donors, who it is assumed will monopolize the tax breaks by donating large sums to applicable private institutions. The PAC of the state teachers union has upped its spending in response to that of New Yorkers for Independent Action.
The group initially targeted for defeat Bronx Sen. Gustavo Rivera, Assemblymember Phil Ramos of Long Island, and Assemblymembers Latrice Walker and Pamela Harris of Brooklyn, all Democrats. Now, it is spending in support of Sen. Roxanne Persaud of Brooklyn and Assemblymember Victor Pichardo of the Bronx, both incumbent Democrats.
Recent filings show that in late June the group allocated $2,000 a piece to support Persaud and Pichardo. Those expenditures pale in comparison, though, to what the PAC has spent on mailers and canvassers in other races. It is unclear exactly what the $2,000 went towards as it is unlikely it could have funded the kinds of district-wide mailers that have popped up in the Rivera, Ramos, Harris, and Walker races.
Future disclosures will show how committed the PAC is to those races, but the spending is meant to influence the outcomes of the quickly-approaching September 13 primaries for all state legislative seats. As of mid-July, New Yorkers for Independent Action reported spending $1,295,672 and raising $2,780,000.
NYFIA’s treasurer, Thomas Carroll, is former president of The Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability, did not return requests for comment.
The money spent so far by New Yorkers for Independent Action has mainly gone in large sums to help four candidates, each of whom has seen at least $300,000 spent by the PAC in their race. Council Member Fernando Cabrera is being aided in his rematch with Sen. Gustavo Rivera; Council Member Darlene Mealy is getting support in her challenge to Assemblymember Latrice Walker; Giovanni Mata is being backed in his second challenge to Assemblymember Phil Ramos and Kate Cucco is being bolstered in her bid to oust Assemblymember Pamela Harris.
While NYFIA spends big money to defeat Rivera, backing his challenger, City Council Member Fernando Cabrera, in a twist, it is now spending to buoy Pichardo, who previously worked as director of community affairs for Rivera and won his Assembly seat with major guidance from Rivera and his allies.
The PAC has already spent over $356,000 to back Cabrera, with flyers attacking Rivera, others boosting Cabrera, and teams of canvassers carrying the literature.
Asked about NYFIA’s support during a debate on NY1’s Inside City Hall on Tuesday night, Cabrera pointed out that Rivera had endorsed Pichardo and Assemblymember Jose Rivera, who both back the EITC, and said that Rivera had a “double standard.”
Cabrera went on to say, “With this PAC we are working to pass the educational tax credit.” He added that he felt it was “fair to provide this tax credit to parents.”
Rivera responded that the PAC is supported by people who are “anti-choice, anti-gay and anti-labor.”
It is illegal for candidates to coordinate with Super PACs.
Pichardo’s office did not return requests for comment; it is unclear if his re-election campaign welcomes the independent spending on his behalf.
Karen Scharff, head of Citizen Action NY, is also part of the anti-hedge-fund group Hedge Clippers, which often criticizes the education reform movement and its wealthy backers. Scharff said that Super PAC spending of this type in primaries is a new development, and she fears it is just a preview of the kind of outside spending that will occur in the general election when control of the State Senate will be contested.
“The problem with this flood of cash from outside billionaires is that it impacts who gets elected in these communities that billionaires have no interest in. It is doubly disempowering the community, because they lose their voice in local matters and then have electeds who are more dedicated and accountable to the billionaires who elected them.”
Most of the candidates targeted by New Yorkers for Independent Action are not going unaided. Fund for Great Public Schools, a Super PAC controlled by Andrew Pollotta, the vice president of the New York State United Teachers union (NYSUT), was recently aided by a $4 million transfer from New Yorkers For a Brighter Future. The group has begun spending on mailers and advertisements to support Ramos, Walker, Rivera, and Harris, and attacking their opponents. As of the last campaign filing report, on August 26, they appear to have spent a little over $80,000 on the four candidates.
In the 46th Assembly District, Kate Cucco, a former Assembly aide, is challenging Harris. Residents of the Southern Brooklyn district have been bombarded with flyers and polls from both independent groups. The race feels to many to be a proxy war for the education reform and union movements.
Asked whether Cucco supports the involvement of New Yorkers for Independent Action in her race, a spokesperson sent Gotham Gazette a statement:
"Kate Cucco has long been on record urging for the overturn of Citizen's [sic] United and has been a staunch advocate for major reforms to campaign finance laws. Kate is in favor of public financing of campaigns that put hard limits of the amount of money a candidate can raise/spend, she is in favor of closing the LLC loophole, increasing the disclaimer requirements so voters know exactly who paid for campaign ads, as well as easing barriers to voting such as having one primary in June, allowing mail in voting, same day voter registration, and allowing for party enrollment changes right up until 60 days before an election."
Cucco is a supporter of a version of the Education Investment Tax Credit that NYFIA wants to see passed.
The PAC has used a similar theme for some of its mailers; in both the Rivera and Ramos races the mailer focuses on a New York Times editorial that accuses legislative leaders of failing to act on ethics reform in the wake of major scandals. Neither Ramos nor Rivera were at the center of the negotiations surrounding ethics reforms. There appear to have been about seven or eight mailers sent out in both districts, with varying themes.
In a statement, Assemblymember Ramos decried NYFIA, describing its donors as “millionaires and billionaires from Manhattan’s Upper East Side.”
“Why are they investing so heavily in a Brentwood Central Islip and Bay Shore Assembly race?” the statement says. “Because I stood up for my community and said NO to a million dollar tax break that they are pitching as an education opportunity for poor kids. I will stand up and fight anyone who tries to exploit our community. We deserve better.” Ramos also said that the Super PAC has “no grassroots” and that “Anyone that actually lives here knows we can't be bought. That's why I'm confident this multi-million dollar plan will fail, I trust my neighbors and they trust me."
Some candidates insist that NYFIA is interested only in passing the EITC and has no further political agenda. Scharff scoffs at the idea, pointing out that billionaire non-New Yorkers like Alice Walton, the Wal-Mart heir and Arkansas resident, and some donors who have traditionally given to conservative Christian causes have donated heavily to the PAC.
Hedge Clippers has also highlighted that the incumbents targeted by NYFIA were major advocates for a $15 minimum wage and other progressive issues.
“The problem with this kind of money being poured into these districts by billionaires is that it drowns out the voices of voters,” said Scharff. She said she expects a number of progressive issues to be at the center of the next legislative session and that those issues will be in jeopardy if NYFIA gets its candidates in place. “If this spending continues into the general election it really could shift balance of power.”
This is how New Yorkers for Independent Action has allocated its spending on candidates through its July 11 filing:
$302,878.91 to support Giovanni Mata, who is challenging Assemblymember Phil Ramos.
$358,235.33 to support City Council Member Fernando Cabrera in his second attempt to defeat Sen. Gustavo Rivera.
$309,404.25 on Kate Cucco, who is challenging Assemblymember Pamela Harris.
$321,153.54 on City Council Member Darlene Mealy, who is challenging Assemblymember Latrice Walker.
$2,000 on Sen. Roxanne Persaud, who is facing a challenge from Mercedes Narcisse.
$2,000 on Assemblymember Victor Pichardo, who is engaged in a rematch with Hector Ramirez.
***
by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
@DavidHowardKing @GothamGazette
Note: this article has been corrected to accurately reflect Thomas Carroll's former position as past president of The Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability, not president of The Center for Education Reform as was stated.