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POLITICO's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo | With help from Jason Beeferman
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Former Rep. John Katko believes Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s failed bid for speaker of the House could be good news for GOP House members from New York’s swing districts. | Andrew Harnik/AP | Former Republican Rep. John Katko is rooting for the moderates as the House speaker impasse drags on. Katko told Playbook in an interview the New York Republicans who opposed Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid for speaker are “heroes” for preventing the party from going too far to the right. “The moderates have finally pushed back and said enough is enough,” he said. “They’ve got to hope that sanity will prevail at some point.” That could help lawmakers like Reps. Mike Lawler, Anthony D’Esposito and Nick LaLota hang on to their seats next year, he said. Their districts are considered pivotal for Republicans to retain their narrow majority in the House. “They showed their independence. They bucked the far right and stood up to their party,” Katko said. “I think they’ve got a very good narrative going into the election year that they’re part of the solution, because they’re not going to allow the far right to take over the party.” But the prolonged fight over the speakership is not doing Republicans any favors, Katko added, especially if former President Donald Trump is the party’s nominee again. “I think Trump being the nominee is going to have a far greater negative impact on these seats than the shenanigans that have taken place in the House,” he said. “But make no mistake about it: The shenanigans that have taken place are not going to help.” Katko knows swing district politics well. For four terms, he held a Syracuse-area House seat that had reliably changed hands between both parties. Katko took stances that angered the base of the party, including opposing changes to Obamacare backed by fellow Republicans and voting to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He retired in 2022, and the district is now represented by GOP Rep. Brandon Williams, who supported Jordan’s scuttled bid for speaker and is another vulnerable freshman. Katko remains leery of the rightward drift of the party represented by figures like Jordan and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who led the effort to remove Kevin McCarthy from the speakership. The Republicans who moved to oust McCarthy have “an overblown sense of self-importance,” which makes life difficult for moderate members from key districts, Katko said. New York is home to six battleground seats next year, and both parties view the state as essential in order to win control. Democrats are eager to capitalize on the dysfunction. Rep. Pat Ryan, who occupies a seat targeted by the GOP, said in a statement Republicans “are unable to do the very basics of governing.” With Jordan out, House Republicans will try again with a field of nine candidates announced Sunday by Rep. Elise Stefanik. But even if House Republicans find a way out of the mess, Katko is worried there'll be a lasting impact from the speaker fight, which has laid divisions within the party bare. “There’s going to be a lot of scars in this fight, and those scars are going to last a long time in this party,” he said. — Nick Reisman IT’S MONDAY. Welcome back and thanks for reading! Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. WHERE’S KATHY? Appearing as a guest on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" and recognizing the first responders to last month’s Orange County bus crash. WHERE’S ERIC? Meeting the new head of the New York FBI office, meeting with participants of the New York City Department of Aging’s “Talent is Timeless” competition, signing legislation that aims to bring city vehicles to zero-emissions by 2038 and speaking at the Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research’s charity gala. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “What we end up with is echo chambers, which only fuels the hate. It fuels the vitriol, and you were experiencing this even before the situation that we’re dealing with” — former SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras on the turmoil on college campuses caused by Hamas’ attacks on Israel.
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Migrants arriving at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown. The New York City Council is meeting today to discuss the increasing costs associated with housing the city’s migrants. | Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP | JUST ASKING QUESTIONS: Mayor Eric Adams has been the first to say that housing and serving tens of thousands of migrants at a time has been expensive. The City Council is just trying to find out how expensive and why. The council is holding an oversight hearing at 10 a.m. today on the costs and projections of asylum-seekers response efforts. “We're looking to understand what has led to the original $363 per diem cost estimate increasing to $394 when it was actually supposed to come down to $320,” Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan told Playbook. “Also looking to better understand the different cost breakdowns between agencies and the expense differences between emergency and non-emergency contracts.” The Adams administration has explained it a bit, saying hotel operators are now charging more to provide emergency shelter because they know the city’s desperate. But other branches of government— not to mention journalists — generally haven’t been happy with City Hall’s level of transparency and disclosure on the emergency contracts and the true cost to the city of the humanitarian crisis. The council held a similar hearing last month, but they’ve got more questions, Council Oversight and Investigations Chair Gale Brewer told Playbook. “We heard KPMG had been hired” to audit the cost. “What is going on in terms of oversight, in addition to what the city council is doing? ... I don’t know how much KPMG costs.” — Jeff Coltin Travel advisory: Amtrak service from Albany to New York City was largely restored late Sunday, and Metro-North trains will be back Monday on a near-normal schedule after a mudslide in Westchester County halted weekend service.
| | | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING | | | | 
A super PAC aligned with a major carpenters union is giving a boost to City Council Members Marjorie Velázquez and Sandra Ung. | David Dee Delgado/Getty Images | BUILDING SUPPORT: A super PAC funded by the carpenters union is putting money behind City Councilmembers Marjorie Velázquez and Sandra Ung’s reelection. A mailer shared first with Playbook calls Velázquez’s opponent, Kristy Marmorato, “just another far–right MAGA Republican,” highlighting unflattering news stories including one on her endorsements by Trump allies. Velázquez and Ung’s “loyalty to union members is undeniable — and it is only right that we reciprocate that loyalty with our wholehearted support,” Carpenters for Progress Treasurer Paul Capurso said in a press release. The organization already spent $108,000 helping Velázquez win her primary after she aligned with the District Council of Carpenters to support a controversial upzoning in her East Bronx district. The treasurer of real estate-funded super PAC Future NYC, Jeff Leb, told Playbook he planned to spend in support of Velázquez as well. Ung, meanwhile, is facing Republican Yu-Ching James Pai in a district centered on Flushing, Queens. — Jeff Coltin DEAL FOR PRINCIPALS: Adams on Saturday announced that the city inked a tentative contract deal with the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, the city’s principals union. The five-plus year agreement — whose total cost through fiscal year 2027 is about $500 million — includes 3 percent raises annually, with a 3.25 percent hike in 2026 and 3.5 percent in 2027. It conforms to a pattern established under the contracts with District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal union, and the United Federation of Teachers, the city’s teachers union. Members will also receive a $3,000 ratification bonus as well as annual payments each December to encourage employee retention. The agreement covers roughly 6,400 public school principals, assistant principals, supervisors and education administrators. It is retroactive, beginning on Jan. 29 and expiring on March 29, 2028. The union’s members have to approve the contract. “This is a great deal for workers, it’s a great deal for the taxpayers of our city,” Adams said at the union’s leadership conference in Manhattan. — Madina Touré More from the city: — Tensions are high in Muslim and Jewish communities with impassioned rallies in recent days drawing thousands. (The New York Times) — Big labor unions plan to spend upwards of $200,000 to help Council Member Justin Brannan in his race against Council Member Ari Kagan. (City & State) — There’s no love lost between Republican Council Member Vickie Paladino and Democratic challenger Tony Avella in their Queens race. (Daily News)
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | | | 
Former Gov. George Pataki is helping U.S. Speaker-hopeful Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds raise money. | Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP | PATAKI FOR DONALDS: Former Gov. George Pataki is helping fundraise for one of the Republicans who wants to be the next House speaker. Pataki will be a special guest at a Nov. 16 fundraiser for Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds in Midtown Manhattan, according to an invitation to the event obtained by Playbook. Tickets range from $500 to $3,300 for individual donors. Donalds, among the nine House Republicans running to be the GOP nominee for speaker, has a New York connection: He was born in Brooklyn. — Nick Reisman BOTTLED UP: New York lawmakers are once again considering an expansion of the state’s bottle deposit law. A state Senate and Assembly panel later today will hold a public hearing on the issue to address the law, first approved in 1982 with a 5-cent deposit. Efforts to expand the bottle bill over the years have been halting, with businesses worried about the impact of any change. But lawmakers and environmental organizations have also pointed to the rise in beverage containers creating an unnecessary “burden” on solid waste disposal at the local government level. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Andrew Cuomo nearly selected Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown as his lieutenant governor in 2014, but a federal probe ended the discussion. (Buffalo News) — An ambitious timeline for electric school buses has some districts wary. (Newsday) — Hochul goes into detail about her trip to Israel and her father’s death. (NY1)
| | | | PLAYBOOK IS GOING GLOBAL! We’re excited to introduce Global Playbook, POLITICO’s premier newsletter that brings you inside the most important conversations at the most influential events in the world. From the buzzy echoes emanating from the snowy peaks at the WEF in Davos to the discussions and personalities at Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to the heart of diplomacy at UNGA in New York City – author Suzanne Lynch brings it all to your fingertips. Experience the elite. Witness the influential. And never miss a global beat. BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Roughly half of the 3,000 migrants have reached a limit on their shelter stays, but about half have applied to stay longer. (The Associated Press) — The New York Gaming Commission had a cybersecurity breach with its video-lottery terminals, but the agency has been mum about the details. (Casino.org)
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | IN MEMORIAM: Krystyna Naprawa, a New York City school crossing guard, died on duty Friday morning after she was fatally struck by a dump truck in Queens. (Gothamist) MOVING ON: Cort Rudy, the former communications director at the state Department of Health, is heading to the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University to become director of communications and media relations. MEDIAWATCH: Tonya Riley is now a privacy reporter at Bloomberg Law. She was a reporter at CyberScoop. — Bradley Saacks is now a hedge fund reporter at Insider. He was a business and finance reporter at Semafor. OUT AND ABOUT: On Saturday, Semafor’s editor-in-chief Ben Smith hosted the news organization’s first anniversary celebration at his home in Brooklyn, including Semafor-themed drinks and burgers by Amiel Stanek. SPOTTED THERE: Justin Smith, Maggie Haberman, Brian Stelter, Kadia Goba, Maya Wiley, Corey Johnson, Jonathan Rosen, Harry Siegel, Alyssa Katz, Risa Heller, Cliff Levy, Michelle Goldberg, Charlotte Klein, Max Tani, Ben Mullin, Daniel Marans, Katie Robertson, Gina Chua, Andy Lack, Michael Calderone, Alex Kantrowitz, Lachlan Cartwright, Delia Cai, Anna Nicolaou, Peter Kafka, Subrata De, Clare Malone, Joe Weisenthal, Noah Shachtman, Dave Lee, Ariel Kaminer, Katie Baker and Davey Alba. WEEKEND WEDDING: PIX 11 reporter Katie Corrado and freelance TV reporter Paul Gerke got married Saturday at the Park Avenue Club in Florham Park, N.J. (Instagram photos, h/t PIX 11’s Dan Mannarino.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Brian Ross … Sanjay Gupta … Vanity Fair’s Caleb Ecarma … Vikrum Aiyer, head of climate policy at Heirloom Carbon … WSJ’s Ryan Barber … FGS Global’s Peter Benton-Sullivan … Meghan Mitchum … Ken Feinberg WAS SUNDAY: Hilary Rosen … Stephanie Cutter of Precision Strategies … NYT’s David Halbfinger … Chris Licht … WSJ’s Warren Strobel … Alan Patricof ... Allen Fagin … Ross Barkan … Miriam Calderone … Altana Technologies’ Jonathan Prince … Jenna Lamond … Stephanie Campanha Wheaton of Comptroller Brad Lander’s office. WAS SATURDAY: Hope Hicks … CNN’s Mikayla Bouchard … Bob Charrow of Greenberg Traurig … AT&T’s Kim Hart … U.S News and World Report’s Dafna Linzer … Treasury’s Nimi Uberoi … Edelman’s Alex Abrahamson … Jordan Hoffner … NBC’s Anna Schecter Zigler … Will Baldwin … Gyan R. Parida … Perry Trethaway Pollock … Judith Scheindlin ... Nieca Goldberg ... Marci Klein ... Ari Bergmann (h/ts Jewish Insider) WAS FRIDAY: Evan G. Zuckerman
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