Cuomo's new campaign: Trying to clear his name

From: POLITICO New York Playbook PM - Monday Feb 28,2022 08:58 pm

Feb 28, 2022

Presented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign committee launched a statewide ad today in a bid to begin rebuilding his reputation. The ad ends with the words: “Political attacks won. And New Yorkers lost a proven leader.”

The ad, which leaked last week , is likely to be the first of several attempts at rehabilitation by the disgraced Democratic governor. Cuomo resigned last August amid sexual harassment allegations from former female aides and women he encountered at events.

But the ad’s contents aren’t what got people’s attention last week. Instead, they noticed that it didn’t reveal a plan to seek office, perhaps launching a campaign for attorney general against the incumbent, his nemesis Tish James, who is running for a second term in November.

That appears to be off the table amid poor poll numbers and ongoing legal woes for the three-term governor.

“Accusations fly around the world at the speed of light, but the truth crawls at a snail’s pace,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement. “We will continue to communicate the facts to New Yorkers.”

The ad, called “Politics vs. the Law,” notes that five district attorneys reviewed the attorney general’s report about Cuomo’s alleged misconduct and none brought criminal charges. And the ad continues the Cuomo team’s contention that James’ report was politically motivated, since she launched what became a doomed campaign for governor shortly after the report’s release. (She dropped out of the race and decided to run for reelection as AG.)

Cuomo doesn’t speak in the ad.

The response from women’s groups was swift. They quickly derided it, pointing out that prosecutors found that the allegations brought by Cuomo’s accusers were credible but didn’t rise to the level of criminality.

“Instead of accepting responsibility, serial sexual harasser Andrew Cuomo continues to challenge the accounts of victims,” nine women’s groups wrote in a statement today.

“Multiple investigations have found the accounts of these women to be credible. The media should stop giving a platform to abusers like Cuomo. As evidenced by recent public polling, New Yorkers believe the women who bravely came forward about Cuomo’s abuse; they think Cuomo was right to leave office in disgrace. This attempt to claim exoneration won’t work. Shame on serial sexual harasser Andrew Cuomo.”

HAPPY MONDAY: We’re back with your afternoon check-in to spill the day’s tea — as we know it thus far — during one of the busiest seasons in New York politics.

A message from 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East:

Home care workers are essential workers – and they have earned a livable wage. The care they provide allows seniors and people with disabilities to live independently and with dignity in their own homes. But because of low wages, New York has a massive shortage of home care workers, a crisis that could impact tens of thousands of families. Tell Albany: the budget must include a permanent wage increase for home care workers.

From the 3rd Floor

BACK TO WORK: The Legislature is back after its short break — the Senate was in at 3 p.m., the Assembly at 2 p.m., allegedly — for a four-day work week.

The Senate planned floor votes on a couple of bills aimed at combating real estate discrimination: S2525A from Sen. Brian Kavanagh would require real estate brokers and salespeople to compile, disclose and retain certain client demographic data to the state, and S112 from Sen. Anna Kaplan would require annual fair housing testing through the attorney general’s office.

THE FIELD IS IN POSITION: Opponents of state subsidies for the horse racing industry won the support of actress Edie Falco today.

The groups have been pushing New York to stop giving the industry a portion of revenue from video-lottery terminals at racetracks, saying that racing leads to the mistreatment of animals.

There is a bill in the Legislature to reduce the funding. The industry contends that doing so will hurt the farms that support horse racing and lead to job losses.

“I am here today to ask legislators to support the bills that will end this corporate welfare,” Falco said in a video released by the groups.

Odds and ends

NEW APPOINTMENT: Inspector General Lucy Lang announced that she will appoint an attorney-in-charge “for all matters relating to NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).”

She did not name an individual or detail a search process yet, but the eventual appointee will coordinate all of the office’s DOCCS-related work, which is more than half of the complaints it receives. An “immediate and sustained response is needed,” she said in a statement.

“This will equip us to proactively identify and address gaps and trends that can affect some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers, those in the prison system.” — Anna

A message from 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East:

FROM CITY HALL

ALL MONEY IS A MATTER OF BELIEF: If former Mayor Bill de Blasio kept a copy of the “Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels on his bookshelf, then current Mayor Eric Adams is a reader of Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations.” Adams went on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to declare himself a “compassionate capitalist.”

He said: “We’ve allowed people to embarrass us for the foundation of our existence. I’m a compassionate capitalist and I’m not going to apologize for that, and we should encourage new businesses to be here but be compassionate in our actions.” In 2020 de Blasio quoted Marx in an interview to respond to a report about his pattern of freezing private-sector business interests out of City Hall.

Adams was responding to a question about state regulations that make it difficult for the cryptocurrency industry to flourish in the city.

“We should stop being so difficult to do business here. People don’t want to do business in New York because of the layers of bureaucracy,” he said.

When asked why the city’s budget exceeded the state of Florida’s spending plan despite having half the population, Adams made the dubious claim that he’d done unprecedented belt-tightening.

“Think about this for a moment, what I’ve done you have not witnessed before, normally each year budgets go up. What happened with me? The budget went down ,” he said. Not quite. The $98.5 billion budget released earlier this month is smaller than November expectations only because hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses were pre-paid with last year’s tax revenue. In reality, Adams increased spending. — Julia Marsh and Joe Anuta

DOI APPOINTMENTS: Fresh off her swearing-in on Friday, the city’s new top investigator announced her senior cabinet today.

Joining Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber are several holdovers from the prior administration: Daniel Cort, who was acting commissioner over the past few months, will be first deputy commissioner; Dominick Zarrella will serve as deputy commissioner and chief of investigations; Andrew Brunsden will remain deputy commissioner for legal affairs and general counsel; and Philip Hung, most recently acting first deputy commissioner, will be the acting deputy commissioner of operations. Strauber, a former prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, was appointed by Adams and confirmed last week by the City Council. In a statement today she vowed “to hold those engaged in fraud, corruption and abuse accountable, to protect taxpayer dollars and to ensure that the city serves its citizens efficiently, effectively and with integrity.” — Sally Goldenberg

JOINING TEAM LANDER: City Comptroller Brad Lander announced three new members of his leadership team.

Maura Hayes-Chaffe will serve as the deputy comptroller for audits, Krista Olson was named deputy comptroller for budget, and Louise Yeung is the office’s chief climate officer. Lander has not yet rolled out any audits of the Adams administration, but he has already weighed in on the city’s budget — he largely praised the mayor’s initial proposal while urging him to save more money — and opposed Adams’ desire to dramatically raise the city’s borrowing limit.

Lander campaigned on a pledge to use his position overseeing the city’s $274.7 billion pension system to compel major corporations to take more robust measures to fight climate change. — Joe Anuta

The Campaign Trail

LIVE FROM GARDEN CITY: State Republicans have officially backed financier Paul Rodriguez for comptroller and Yonkers resident Joe Pinion to challenge four-term U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. The afternoon schedule includes remarks from former Gov. George Pataki and choosing an attorney general candidate.

— Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino released a new ad today ahead of the party’s nomination Tuesday (that is all but certain to go to Rep. Lee Zeldin) and a presumed petitioning process he’ll have to start in March.

The ad focuses on the effects of the Democratic control of both the Legislature and the executive mansion, and introduces the former Westchester County executive to a statewide audience where his name recognition polls low. “I know we can make our state great again, we just need to get Albany the hell out of our way,” he says. — Anna

A NEW TICKET: The state Working Families Party and gubernatorial candidate Jumaane Williams announced their endorsement of Ana María Archila for lieutenant governor today.

Archila, a Queens activist who gained national attention in 2018 for confronting Sen. Jeff Flake in a Capitol elevator to protest Brett Kavanaugh's appointment to the Supreme Court, announced her run on Saturday.

Her support from the Working Families and Williams was expected

A message from 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East:

New York faces a home care crisis. Researchers estimate that we’ll need to fill more than 980,000 home care positions by 2028. But due to low wages, many home care workers are forced to leave the profession in order to support themselves and their families. Despite being essential workers, Medicaid does not pay them a living wage. It’s common for workers to travel daily between two, three, and sometimes four clients. The cost of traveling between jobs eats into already limited paychecks. A permanent raise would mean a steady income to support their own families and a way to attract new people to join the home care workforce to keep up with the turnover.

New York leaders can avert the home care crisis and help our families by ensuring that a permanent wage increase for home care workers is included in the 2022-2023 state budget. Learn more.

ON THE BEATS

ENERGY: James is targeting Con Edison over high bills for customers, with the attorney general's office sending a letter asking for an explanation and a commitment for more notice to consumers before energy costs rise. Con Ed and the Public Service Commission were aware that bills would rise for customers this winter, but geopolitical instability and extremely cold weather made the spike even higher.

Con Ed passes on supply costs for gas and electricity to customers and is being pushed to re-examine its energy purchasing and cost-hedging practices to avoid a repeat of such a sudden increase. James’ office wants Con Ed to inform customers in advance of costs rising more than 15 percent and provide information about assistance options. Con Ed was also asked to respond today to an inquiry from the PSC that asked for the company to revise the way it passes on savings from hedging to customers to prevent big fluctuations. — Marie J. French

HEALTH: Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine is pushing back on a new City Hall effort to reevaluate the de Blasio-era Covid-19 restrictions. On Sunday, the Adams administration announced it would make an announcement, no later than Friday, about the future of mask mandates and proof of vaccination in indoor settings.

“We need clear messaging to the public that vaccination remains of urgent importance, and that mask mandates remain in effect in many settings such as mass transit and hospitals. We need to make high-quality, well-fitting masks widely available in schools and to ensure that students and staff who continue to use masks are not ostracized in any way,” said Levine, who gained a reputation as the “Anthony Fauci of the New York City Council” during the first wave of the pandemic. “We need to be clear that Covid-19 protection measures will have to be reinstated in the case of serious future waves.” — Amanda Eisenberg

REAL ESTATE: Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and members of the City Council are calling for an end to parking requirements in rezoning proposals — and they want developers to take note. Reynoso joined Council members Lincoln Restler and Alexa Avilés and advocates today in asking developers pursuing rezonings for housing in neighborhoods well served by public transit to file accompanying special permits to eliminate parking requirements that would otherwise be attached to the plans.

They also called on the Department of City Planning to revisit parking rules and look into a broader policy change on the issue. “What we’re doing is allowing for folks to continue to buy vehicles and make it convenient by adding parking spaces in these new developments in areas that absolutely do not need them,” Reynoso said today. He and others noted parking requirements can add costs to projects, and take away space that could be used for housing or other uses.

“We have real power here, developers need our consent and approval to build their projects, and we are telling them plainly that they have to file a special permit to end parking requirements,” said Restler, who represents neighborhoods including Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights. “If a developer fails to file for the special permit [on parking], it will be much, much, much harder to get me to yes.” — Janaki Chadha

PARKS: Sojourner Truth, the abolitionist and women's rights activist, was born in Ulster County in 1797, and now a state park in Kingston has been named for her. Gov. Kathy Hochul joined local leaders on the banks of Hudson River at Kingston Point Beach this afternoon for the naming ceremony. The park will be more than 500 acres of former industrial property along the shoreline, and it's the state's first new park since July 2019, Hochul said. The state bought the land for $13.5 million.

AROUND NEW YORK

— Two people were killed early today in Manhattan after a car flew off the Henry Hudson Parkway and onto train tracks near the George Washington Bridge.

— A number of SUNY campuses have quietly cut ties with a Chinese-government-backed educational and cultural program, the Times Union reports.

— New York has one of four remaining Kmart locations in the nation, but you’d have to travel out to the Hamptons to go to it.

— Highmark Stadium, home to New York’s only NFL team, is dropping its vaccination requirement for entry. The stadium will host several concerts over the summer.

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