What we learned from the New York primaries

From: POLITICO New York Playbook PM - Wednesday Jun 29,2022 08:35 pm

Jun 29, 2022

U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican candidate for New York Governor, addresses a crowd of supporters during a primary election party at the Coral House in Baldwin, N.Y., Tuesday, June 28, 2022. Zeldin, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and was among the Republicans in Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election results, won the Republican Party’s nomination Tuesday.

Tuesday’s primary elections were largely drama free, and that makes the political battle lines extraordinarily clear heading into the general election in November.

Gov. Kathy Hochul cruised to the primary win, while Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi suffered a second bad loss after getting crushed in his first gubernatorial bid in 2006 and now coming in third to Hochul and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. And that was after pumping millions of dollars into the race.

Hochul’s win was sweeping, with 68 percent of the vote statewide, and she even crushed her foes in their backyards. She beat Williams in his home borough of Brooklyn by 53 percent to 39 percent, and Suozzi in Nassau County by 62 percent to 30 percent.

“Very humbled by the outpouring of support — an almost record-setting number of people turning out in a mid-term primary,” Hochul said, noting a tweet from POLITICO’s Bill Mahoney.

“I know what people want because I’ve been out there. I talk to people,” she continued. “There’s a lot of fear out there. And I’ve never seen this before. It’s my 13th election. I’ve never seen the anxiety of people coming up to me in subway stops, and people coming up to me literally crying in my arms because they are so fearful their rights are going to continue to be stripped away by the radicals who now infiltrated the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Hochul will run a progressive campaign after beating back Suozzi to her right and Williams to her left, and she’ll have a running mate in Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado who showed he also can be a vote getter, romping in his own primary.

And her campaign this afternoon started bashing of GOP winner Lee Zeldin with www.zeldinfacts.com and with an ad called “Too Extreme.”

As for Zeldin, his victory in the GOP primary was also convincing. He won all the largest upstate counties and dominated on Long Island, a key voting bloc for any statewide candidate.

The other candidates, though, showed their own regional strength, but not enough to outpace Zeldin’s widespread victory. Andrew Giuliani finished second and won New York City — his home turf where his father served as mayor for eight years; former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino won the Hudson Valley to finish third, while Harry Wilson, who was raised in upstate Johnstown, won in parts of the North Country, but finished last, despite spending millions of dollars of his own money.

Now Zeldin will set his sights on a moderate platform and perhaps one not as tethered to Donald Trump, though he was a staunch Trump supporter in Congress and during the primary. During his victory speech, he talked mostly about fighting crime, lowering taxes and stopping the exodus of people leaving for other states.

Oh, and he had plenty of barbs to throw at Hochul. Zeldin, the aggressor in the GOP primary debates, made it clear he will come full-bore.

“Are we ready to fire Kathy Hochul? This November in the state of New York one-party rule will end. Kathy Hochul will get fired. We will restore balance and common sense to Albany again,” he vowed in his victory speech.

IT’S WEDNESDAY: It’s the day after New York primaries, so folks may be a bit tired staying up for the results, although turnout was low. Stay with us as we keep you updated on the latest New York news from the campaign trail, in Albany and from City Hall. Summer is here, and the news keeps heating up!

From the Capitol

‘EQUALITY AMENDMENT' TALKS RESUME: State legislators are considering an updated version of a proposed equal rights amendment to the New York constitution, signaling new momentum in a long-stalled effort to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution following the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade.

This week state Sen. Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, introduced a new version of her “Equality Amendment,” NY S8797 (21R) . The broad proposal would prohibit discrimination based on a person’s race, color, ethnicity, national origin, disability or sex — including pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Notably missing are religious groups, and critics have cautioned that the bill would relegate religion to a lower status of protected class.

The latest version contains a section clarifying that the proposal is not “intended to alter or diminish the existing protections for religion” set forth in other sections of the state’s constitution. A person familiar with legislative discussions told POLITICO that the amended version “may be strong enough to protect religion while also accomplishing its main goal.” The Senate is expected to review it in conference on Wednesday.

Hochul told reporters she’s open to adding the item to the agenda of the special session to pass new concealed carry gun laws if lawmakers reach an agreement. “I just want to get this done,” she said. — Shannon Young

HOCHUL SHARES DETAILS OF CONCEALED CARRY LEGISLATION: Concealed carry legislation to be presented at Thursday’s session will include the definition of sensitive areas, giving businesses the option to allow concealed weapons in their stores, uniform training courses, bolstered safe storage requirements and add background checks for the purchase of ammunition for guns that require a permit.

Hochul said her team is in the process of drafting legislation, but those are the main areas of legislation up for consideration.

"We know that we have more powers than people may realize, that we're going to institute those to make sure New Yorkers are safe, and the legislature has been in conversation with us," Hochul said at a news conference. "I gave you the top lines areas, the details are what we are working out now, but I would say that conceptually we are all on board with these."

When asked about individuals who qualify currently to have a concealed carry license, Hochul said it’s a consideration to create provisions that would allow current permit holders to operate in sensitive areas defined by the state. She said it's an area that will be discussed later this week. — Katelyn Cordero

ON THE BEATS

ENVIRONMENT: New York state and federal agencies have reached an agreement to return land belonging to the Onondaga Nation to the Indigenous nation. It’s the largest such land return by a state in the nation.

The Onondaga Nation will get more than 1,000 acres in Central New York’s Tully Valley. The land was returned under an agreement with Honeywell associated with the cleanup of contamination in Onondaga Lake. The acreage includes the headwaters of the Onondaga Creek and many acres of wetland habitat and forests. The agreement includes a conservation easement to protect the natural areas and public access to a waterfall. The Onondaga Nation will develop a restoration management plan to determine how much public and recreational use will be permitted to avoid interference with the restoration of native vegetation and habitats. — Marie J. French

RECYCLING: The Department of Environmental Conservation is failing to enforce a battery recycling law aimed at ensuring manufacturers and retailers recycle rechargeable batteries, an audit by Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office found. A 2010 law requires manufacturers and retailers to recycle most batteries, but the DEC hasn’t followed up with retailers not participating in a statewide recycling program or issued a single fine under the measure. “Rechargeable batteries can contain toxic metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, nickel and silver, and lithium-ion, all of which can pose a threat to the environment and human health and safety if they are not properly recycled. If they’re just put in the garbage and enter the waste stream, they can end up in landfills and their chemicals can leak into public water systems, lakes and streams,” the comptroller’s release states. DEC cited limited staffing as the reason for a lack of enforcement. — Marie J. French

EDUCATION: The New York City Council’s Committee for Women and Gender Equity held a hearing today on Council Member Julie Menin’s package of bills seeking to advance universal child care in the city. The bills call for establishing a child care advisory board, creating an electronic child care directory, creating a child care subsidy information portal, establishing a child care program fund and forming a child care building certification program. Three out of the five bills are already supported by a supermajority of Council members. “The needs of parents and guardians, of childcare workers, of childcare providers are being unmet,” Menin said in a statement. “As a mother of four and a working mom, I know the importance of childcare and the City can and must do better to help make childcare affordable and equitable.” — Madina Touré

HEALTH CARE: The Department of Health’s AIDS Institute announced the release of a request for applications to support its Quality of Care program. The RFA, issued with Health Research, Inc., seeks a partner to provide “a robust range of services.” The grant includes $680,000 in annual funding, totaling $3.4 million over five years. — Shannon Young

REAL ESTATE: A controversial real estate proposal in the East Bronx that’s seeking land use approvals is reliant in part on the existence of 421-a or a similar tax break, the development team told the City Planning Commission today — signaling how some projects may need to change course if the exemption is not revived. Commissioner Joseph Douek asked developers whether the Throggs Neck proposal could proceed without the 421-a program, which offered builders a tax break in exchange for affordable housing. The project as conceived would yield 339 homes, 94 of them affordable.

Speaking on behalf of the developers, Jaclyn Scarinci of the law firm Akerman LLP said parts of the proposal “were underwritten assuming some kind of 421-a tax exemption.” The expiration of the program earlier this month, she continued, “is a reality that a lot of developers are facing right now and they may have to pivot and consider other options for developing their property when they’re getting ready to redevelop.” Nonetheless, she said she was hopeful a new version of the program would be approved down the line. “Given that ... there is some support for a 421-a program, we’re pretty confident that there will be a tax exemption available for market-rate and affordable housing in the future,” she said. — Janaki Chadha

The Campaign Trail

ENDORSEMENT WATCH: Another pol picked sides in the East Side vs. West Side battle between Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler, as City Council majority leader Keith Powers endorsed Maloney today. “Throughout her career, Carolyn Maloney has shown that she goes to the mat for the issues that matter most— from protecting consumers against big banks, fighting for a woman’s right to choose, or ensuring that our 9/11 heroes get the health care that they deserve. There’s no more urgent moment to send Carolyn Maloney back to Congress,” he said. His district is located mostly on the East Side but also takes in the area around Times Square.

In the crowded race for the new 10th district, spanning lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats endorsed Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon. "There are a lot of candidates running in the new 10th district, but to us, one clearly stood out. It is no easy task to enter Congress at this moment in time, when our democracy is under attack. Our district needs a defender who will be an effective advocate for us, and who we can count on to do the right thing every time,” said the group’s president Diana González. — Erin Durkin

HOCHUL FOR BIDEN: Hochul won't be running for president in 2024. She said she is committed to a full, four-year term if she is elected in November and has no designs on running against President Joe Biden. “I’m absolutely supporting Joe Biden when he runs for re-election," she said. "Those are my conversations with him. I’m staying here as long as the voters of New York will have me.”

Hochul said Biden deserves more credit: “He is working so hard and not getting the credit he deserves under difficult circumstances.” — Joseph Spector

AROUND NEW YORK

— The Catholic diocese of Albany has proposed a mediation plan to deal with sex abuse claims.

— Upstate hikers are seeing more rattlesnakes.

— Erie County is shutting down its Covid-19 hotline.

— Two men threatened to kill a worker at the Staten Island supermarket where Rudy Giuliani was tapped on the back.

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