Ross Barkan (photo: @RossBarkan)
As the contested Democratic primary for a southern Brooklyn state Senate seat heats up with less than two months to go, reporter-turned-candidate Ross Barkan is calling out his opponent Andrew Gounardes for accepting the endorsement of the Reform Party and its local leader, Bob Capano, who has a history of anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Barkan and Gounardes are competing ahead of the September 13 primary for the Democratic nomination in state Senate District 22, hoping to unseat Senator Marty Golden, one of the few Republican elected officials in the city. The district covers swaths of southern Brooklyn, including Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Marine Park, and Gerritsen Beach.
Immigration justice is a prominent part of Barkan’s policy platform, and one that has taken on added significance under the Trump administration with its “zero tolerance” policy towards illegal immigration and some asylum seekers. Barkan has called for abolishing ICE, the immigration enforcement agency, and supports the passage of the New York Liberty Act, the DREAM Act, and giving driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, among other immigrant protections.
Gounardes, who is the general counsel to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and a longtime Democratic presence in the area, including a 2012 bid to unseat Golden, has a similar platform and has backed some of the same policies as Barkan, including driver’s licenses and the Liberty Act. Gounardes is in favor of removing ICE from courthouses in the city but has not called for doing away with the agency entirely. He has the backing of the Working Families Party (WFP), prominent labor unions, and Democratic clubs. His previous boss, former City Council Member Vincent Gentile, has endorsed him as well, and he is close to the current Council Member in the area, Justin Brannan.
Gounardes’ outspoken support of immigrant rights, however, conflicts with his embrace of Capano, the Brooklyn Reform Party chair. Gounardes’ campaign website notably does not tout the Reform Party endorsement, which he received last month after being handed a Wilson Pakula certificate to obtain the party’s ballot line. He is running unopposed in the Reform Party primary and therefore is guaranteed both the Reform and WFP lines on the November 7 general election ballot (it is unlikely he would run a campaign in the general if he loses the Democratic primary to Barkan, however).
Capano, an adjunct political science professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, unsuccessfully ran as a Republican to replace Gentile in the 43rd Council District, when Gentile was term-limited out of the City Council last year. Capano and his branch of the Reform Party skew conservative, and he has been vocal in his anti-immigrant positions. He has been a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump and endorsed him in the 2016 Republican primary. He opposes Mayor Bill de Blasio’s progressive policies and recently supported ICE’s detention of Pablo Villavicencio, the undocumented pizza delivery worker who was taken into custody when making a delivery at Fort Hamilton army base.
“Political correctness can’t be allowed to determine which laws are worthy of prosecution and enforcement. The law is the law, and must be followed by all,” Capano wrote in an op-ed for Brooklyn Daily. Last year, Capano was heavily critical of Khader El-Yateem, a Democratic primary candidate for the 43rd Council District, calling the faith leader, who is a Lutheran pastor, a “radical cleric” and insisting that the nonprofit organization where he serves as treasurer, the Arab-American Association of New York, should be investigated for delving into political activities. Capano donated $125 to Gounardes’ campaign, and Curtis Sliwa, the chair of the state Reform Party, donated $100, according to campaign finance filings with the state Board of Elections. While the Reform Party has very few enrolled members, it has a ballot line to offer and a name that signifies good values to many voters.
On Monday, a few hours after Gotham Gazette asked Gounardes’ spokespersons for comment about his embrace of Capano, his campaign sent out a press release touting his immigration platform.
“To equate support with the Reform Party's agenda with anti-immigrant views is spurious,” Gounardes (pictured left) said in a statement to Gotham Gazette. “Throughout my entire career, I have been outspoken in my support for and in defense of immigrants and refugees. I was one of the first people in my neighborhood to vociferously condemn the NYPD's illegal surveillance in mosques, cafes, and bookstores. I have given speeches urging for more to be done to help refugees around the world...I am running a campaign based on action and issues that affect the community, and that is both how and why I will win this November."
Gounardes also noted that he is sponsoring a bystander training session later this week with The Accompany Project, an initiative of the Arab-American Association. The session comes in response to a recent incident of a Muslim woman being verbally accosted on a Staten Island-bound bus.
Barkan, in a phone interview a few hours before Gounardes’ statement, said it was “quite frankly confusing” that Gounardes chose to accept the Reform Party endorsement and align himself with someone whose views are “antithetical” to Democrats in 2018. Barkan, who said he is attending a separate bystander training on Tuesday night sponsored by the city with the AAANY, pointed to the bus incident as evidence that hate is increasingly being normalized even in communities in New York with large immigrant populations.
“My campaign is a repudiation of everything Bob Capano stands for,” Barkan said. “We can’t defeat Marty Golden by emboldening racism and anti-immigrant attacks. We have to counter it at every turn.”
Barkan called on Gounardes to return the donation from Capano and to drop the Reform Party line. “The money’s not the only issue. The issue is a larger one. You’re running on a party line whose borough chair has made the headlines for anti-immigrant attacks, for supporting Donald Trump vociferously. I firmly disagree with any politician or candidate, Andrew or anyone else, who thinks you can run on a party line and take some of what the party stands for but not the rest of it.”
The Barkan campaign connected Gotham Gazette with residents in the district who were apprehensive about Gounardes being allied with Capano.
Fatima Elmansy, a Bay Ridge resident who worked on El-Yateem’s campaign last year, said she decided to vote for Barkan after hearing of Capano’s support for Gounardes.
“[Barkan and Gounardes] both clearly have appealing characteristics and its almost hard to find what exactly the differentiation is,” she said in a phone interview, “but finding this out was very jarring to me and a little concerning. It’s quite difficult to advocate against bigotry and racism and then have something like this happen. It’s almost empowering that. I know Bob Capano...isn’t exactly not a racist.”
She added, “It definitely puts a lot of Andrew’s views into question and in south Brooklyn, in the specific area he’s running in, it’s really important I think to be a very accepting and open person and stand against racism and bigotry very clearly.”
Community organizer and social worker Costa Kokkinos, another resident, said in an email, “Any association or quid pro quo with Bob Capano is troubling news for many reasons. This is the same Bob Capano that spent most of his breath trying to convince voters that he was a bigger supporter of Trump than any other Republican candidate during his City Council campaign last year.”
Capano and other competitors lost the Republican primary by a wide margin to John Quaglione, an aide to Golden, who went on to lose narrowly against Brannan.
Kokkinos also cited Capano’s repeated use of terms like “illegal aliens” to describe immigrants. “I don’t know Andrew Gounardes very well and he seems like a genuinely good person and a good candidate for the State Senate, but if he is so willing to associate with Capano to get a few extra votes, I wonder what he will give this guy in return if he wins?,” Kokkinos wondered. “Is he willing to do the hard identity work that this State Senate district needs to evolve?”
In a statement, Capano said, “Andrew Gounardes and I do not agree on everything. The Reform Party is not about any one person's purported positions, but rather our focus on cleaning up Albany.”
He added, “We respect that Andrew stands up for the causes he believes in, and he is the only candidate, regardless of party, with a platform that will achieve a less corrupt government."
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Gounardes is sponsoring the Accompany Project event, not just attending it, and Barkan is going to attend a separate event on Tuesday, July 24.
Note: Ross Barkan wrote a handful of articles for Gotham Gazette in 2012-2013.
Jessica Ramos (photo: @JessicaRamos)
When state Senator Jose Peralta joined the Independent Democratic Conference at the beginning of last year, he became the latest Democrat to sever ties with his own party and become part of a coalition with Republicans, a move that further consolidated GOP control over the upper chamber of the state Legislature and enraged many Democrats. Fast forward a year and a half, and after considerable criticism and facing primary challengers in this year’s elections, the IDC dissolved its breakaway faction and rejoined the mainline Democrats in a deal brokered in part by Governor Andrew Cuomo, another Democrat facing a primary challenge from his left after being accused of propping up the IDC and Senate Republicans.
But the “unity” deal did not dissuade the primary challengers, nor did it stem the tide of grassroots organizations backing them.
On Tuesday, Make the Road Action, an advocacy group representing the interests of Latino, immigrant, and working-class communities, is endorsing Jessica Ramos’ bid to unseat Peralta in the Democratic primary for Queens’ District 13, which will be voted on September 13. In explaining its endorsement of Ramos, the group notes her track record as a community organizer as well as her progressive platform, which promises to fight for issues like immigrant rights, affordable housing, and public school funding.
In the time leading up to the election, Make the Road Action plans to canvas for Ramos by activating thousands of members to engage voters in the district by going door-to-door and phone-banking. On Tuesday, the group will participate in a walking tour of the district’s public schools with Ramos, gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, and City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, both of whom have also backed Ramos.
“Jessica Ramos has made it clear that she’s ready to fight for our community,” said Ruth López, a member of Make the Road Action, in a statement.
The Senate district -- one of 63 across the state and one of eight represented by former members of the IDC -- encompasses parts of northern Queens. Peralta is in his fourth two-year term as a senator.
Make the Road Action’s endorsement is the latest in a series for Ramos, who is seen as having among the best chances of the challengers taking on former members of the IDC. The challengers and their backers call the previously rogue senators things like “Trump Democrats” for their partnership with Republicans in Albany. Ramos has also been endorsed by advocacy groups including the Working Families Party and Our Revolution, by Nixon, who is challenging Cuomo in the primary, and by Comptroller Scott Stringer, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, as well as Queens City Council Members Van Bramer and Costa Constantinides.
“They deserve a partner in the State Senate who is a real Democrat and will lead on measures to help workers and immigrants thrive,” Ramos said in a statement, referring to Make the Road Action, its members, and the Latinos, immigrants, and workers it represents. “I will be that partner.”
Ramos formerly served as the Director of Latino Media for Mayor Bill de Blasio and as the Democratic District Leader in the 39th Assembly District from 2010 to 2014.
A key pillar of her campaign against Peralta is that the IDC empowered Republicans, helping to keep Democrats from the majority and blocking progressive legislation. IDC members, on the other hand, have argued that they’ve been able to push the Senate Republicans to adopt some progressive policies and that they have been able to deliver more resources to their individual districts.
In particular, Peralta’s move to the IDC last year garnered backlash because of his sponsorship of the DREAM Act, a bill that would allow undocumented students access to college financial aid. Republicans have opposed the bill, raising questions about Peralta’s rationale for working with the IDC and its GOP partners.
In an April interview with City & State, Peralta defended his break with mainline Democrats by citing how the DREAM Act failed to pass by a count of two votes in 2014 because of the internal opposition of two Democrats. “I need to exhaust every opportunity and every avenue to make sure that we can pass these pieces of legislation that are landmark legislation,” he told City & State. The former members of the IDC have pledged that the breakaway conference is over for good, even if Democrats don’t swing enough seats this November to take majority control of the Senate, and thus both houses of the Legislature (the Assembly is controlled by Democrats by a wide margin).
Make the Road Action’s endorsement of Ramos points to immigrant-advocates’ dissatisfaction with Peralta, of particular interest in the immigrant and Latino-heavy district the two candidates are vying to represent. The winner of the primary is virtually assured of winning the general election in the Democrat-dominated district.
“We are proud to endorse her today,” López said of Ramos, “and we’ll do everything we can to get her elected.”
[Listen: Max & Murphy Podcast: IDC Challengers Robert Jackson & Jessica Ramos]
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by Chelsey Sanchez, Gotham Gazette
@chelseynsanchez @GothamGazette>
New York City Hall
What to watch for this week in New York politics:
Mayor Bill de Blasio and his administration are reprising the “City Hall in Your Borough” program for the mayor’s second term, beginning this week back on Staten Island, where the mayor held the first of the five such weeks in the final year of his first term. The mayor and many of his top officials and staff will work for much of the week out of offices on Staten Island, intensify meetings and attention on the brough, and organize events, including a public town hall, there.
It’s also “charter week” for the charter revision commission that de Blasio established, which is in the home stretch of its work, holding additional public hearings as it heads toward making its recommendations by early September. Those recommendations will become one or more ballot proposals for voters to approve or disapprove during November’s Election Day, possibly changing the city’s central governing document and the laws therein. The commission’s staff recently released a report providing further clarity about where it is heading in its consideration of proposals, such as lowering individual campaign donation limits.
And we’re inching closer and closer to primary day, September 13, with races across the state heating up, especially Democratic primaries for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and a number of state legislative seats. Republicans have no primaries for statewide positions and few for legislative positions.
We're watching this week for news from or of debates in the statewide races, especially the gubernatorial race, where Cynthia Nixon has challeged Governor Andrew Cuomo to accept a debate challenge. There is another attorney general Democratic candidate forum this week, and another forum for the Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, but it is unclear if Cuomo will attend. The governor is again heading to Puerto Rico on Monday in his administration's continued effort to help the territory rebuild after Hurricane Maria.
It's a quiet week at the City Counil, with no hearings on the calendar, but there are other events to be aware of - see our day-by-day rundown below.
***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
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The run of the week in detail:
Monday
Mayor de Blasio begin’s “City Hall in Your Borough” on Staten Island Monday. He'll start the day with a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. At about 10 a.m., he'll "be greeted by Borough President Oddo to kick off City Hall in Your Borough," with an open press event, but no Q-and-A, at borough hall. At 2 p.m. at Blue Heron Park and Nature Center, "the Mayor and Borough President Oddo will make an announcement about Lyme Disease prevention. This event is open press. There will be no Q-and-A." In the evening, the mayor will appear on NY1’s Inside City Hall in the 7 and 11 p.m. hours.
"Governor Cuomo will depart for Puerto Rico in the morning and return to New York Tuesday evening." At about 7 a.m. Monday, Cuomo will deliver remarks at JFK Airport before departing for Puerto Rico. At 1:15 p.m. Cuomo will hold a press briefing at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino in San Juan. Public Advocate Letitia James and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. are among those traveling with Cuomo.
At 10 a.m. Monday in Buffalo, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will join Planned Parenthood and state legislators to urge the State Senate to reconvene and pass the Reproductive Health Act." At 11 a.m. Hochul will join County Executive Mark Poloncarz to discuss a report issued by the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women regarding women in government, at the Buffalo History Museum.
At 11 a.m. Monday, City Council Member Andy King and the National Action Network will march to call on merchants to stop selling K2, or synthetic marijuana. The march will begin at the corner of East 216th St and White Plains Road in Williamsbridge, Bronx.
At noon Monday, the Sexual Harassment Working Group and Attorney General candidate Zephyr Teachout will hold a rally outside the Capitol building in Albany to call on state legislators to hold public hearings on sexual harassment and improve the laws passed during this year’s budget.
At 1 p.m. Monday, there will be a rally at City Hall for Pablo Villavicencio, the pizza delivery man and undocumented immigrant who was arrested on a Brooklyn army base and is in danger of deportation. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson is among those who will speak.
The mayoral charter revision commission will hold a public hearing on Monday at 6 p.m. at New York University’s Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Greenberg Lounge.
On Monday at 6:15 p.m. at Citi Field, “Chancellor Carranza will deliver brief remarks at the Remarkable Achievement Awards, a celebration of outstanding high school graduates.”
Tuesday
At 9 a.m. Tuesday, Mayor de Blasio and Staten Island Borough President Jimmy Oddo will host a city resource fair for Staten Island residents at the Gerard Carter Community Center in Stapleton, as part of City Hall in Your Borough. Mayor de Blasio will attend beginning at 11 a.m.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Association for a Better New York will host two talks at LMHQ in the Financial District. The first will have Lisa Bova Hiatt, general counsel of the CUNY Construction Fund, discuss eminent domain. The second will have Anthony Crowell, dean of New York Law School and former counsel to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, discuss the Charter Revision Commission.
The mayoral charter revision commission will hold a public hearing on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at Hostos Community College in the Bronx.
At 7 p.m. Tuesday, City Comptroller Scott Stringer will hold a town hall meeting at the Bronx Bethany Church of Nazarene in Wakefield, Bronx. He’ll be joined by U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, State Senator Jamaal Bailey, Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, and City Council Members Andrew Cohen, Andy King, Mark Gjonaj, and Ritchie Torres.
Wednesday
At 9 a.m. Wednesday, the MTA Board will hold a public meeting.
The mayoral charter revision commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Astoria Greenmarket, 14th St & 31st Ave & 31st Road, in Queens. It will also hold a public hearing Wednesday at 6 p.m. at St. Francis College in Brooklyn.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the City Planning Commission will hold a public meeting at 120 Broadway.
This week’s Max & Murphy show on WBAI radio will be on from 5-6 p.m. and feature an interview with Democratic attorney general candidate Leecia Eve. Eve is one of four Democrats vying for the nomination to face Republican Keith Wofford and Green Party nominee Michael Sussman in the general election. This is the second episode of Max & Murphy on WBAI -- the first featured an interview with Public Advocate and attorney general candidate Letitia James -- though it is still available as a podcast. And listen to past episodes of the Max & Murphy podcast here.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Panel for Educational Policy will hold a public meeting at Sunset Park High School in Brooklyn. Chancellor Richard Carranza will deliver remarks.
At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Mayor de Blasio will hold a town hall meeting at Curtis High School in St. George, Staten Island with City Council Member Debi Rose, Borough President Oddo, and other Staten Island officials, as part of City Hall in Your Borough week.
Thursday
At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, New York Law School will host a panel discussion on the right-to-counsel in housing court in New York City, and the activist movements that boosted it. “Panelists will include community organizers, tenant leaders, and tenant attorneys.” The event is for law students.
The mayoral charter revision commission will hold a public hearing on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Queens Borough Hall.
At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Empire State Indivisible and TrueBlueNY will host a forum for candidates for New York Attorney General. The event will take place at Brooklyn Commons in Downtown Brooklyn. The forum will be moderated by Jarrett Berg, the executive director of the New York Democratic Lawyers Council.
At 7 p.m. Thursday, Westchester Indivisible will host a candidate forum for Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor at Manhattanville College’s Reid Castle in Purchase. Author Amy Siskind will moderate the forum. Invited candidates include Governor Andrew Cuomo and Cynthia Nixon, and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and City Council Member Jumaane Williams.
Friday and the weekend
This week’s What’s The [Data] Point? Podcast from Gotham Gazette and Citizens Budget Commission will record and publish on Friday, and will feature Bob Linn, the director of labor relations for Mayor Bill de Blasio. Find past episodes of What's The [Data] Point? with a variety of great guests and topics here.
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Have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).
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by Ben Brachfeld and Ben Max
@GothamGazette