BAM’SMANONTAP
Cuomo picks campaign big from ’12 to run state Dems
ALBANY — Heading into the congressional midterm elections and his own reelection year, Gov. Cuomo is turning to an ex-campaign aide to former President Barack Obama to run the state Democratic Party.
Geoff Berman, who in 2012 served as the Obama campaign’s deputy national training director and then deputy national getout-the-vote director, will take over as executive director of the state party. He will start the first week of November and replace Basil Smikle (photo inset), who will become a senior adviser to the party.
Berman was once a senior adviser to Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun control group established by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“I am thrilled at the opportunity to provide a voice and forum for New York Democrats to speak out and take action on issues that are important to us — many of which are under siege by the current administration in Washington,” he said.
Berman’s is the first of what is expected to be a series of hirings as the state party beefs up heading into the 2018 elections, one source said.
The party will not only focus on the governor’s race, but also on Cuomo’s announced effort to target at least six state congressional Republicans in the effort to reclaim the House for the Democrats. The party will also be involved in the fight for control of the state Senate, Berman said.
“This is an important election year and the more we can come together and rally around the issues that unite us, the better chance we have to gain seats in the U.S. Congress, New York State Senate, and in races up and down the ticket,” Berman said.
lll A progressive activist group has started a postcard campaign calling on Cuomo to reunite the fractured state Senate Democrats.
The campaign by Rise and Resist focuses on the “destructive relationship” between Cuomo and the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of eight breakaway Dems aligned with the Senate Republicans.
“We’re mad as hell about the IDC and we demand that Cuomo put an end to it,” the postcards say.
Rise and Resist is asking supporters to send the cards to the governor’s office.
Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said that “in the age of Trump and while defending New York from Washington attacks, it’s now more important than ever that we have a unified Democratic Party. We urge both sides to stop the personal attacks against each other and come together.”
lll Assembly Democrats have come out against proposed workers’ compensation rules they call anti-worker.
“During the recent budget negotiations to create savings in the New York State Workers’ Compensation system, the Assembly majority emphasized that any savings to the system would only be acceptable as long as injured workers were not negatively impacted. We are disappointed to see that the proposed guidelines and proposed regulations do just that,” the Assembly Dems said in a letter to Workers Compensation Board Chairwoman Clarissa Rodriguez.
Board spokeswoman Melissa Stewart said that “we received this letter among many other comments on the draft regulations, all of which are under review.”
lll State Business Council head Heather Briccetti is in Israel this week in hopes of finding ways to reopen an America Israeli Chamber of Commerce in New York City that closed three years ago.
“There’s opportunity,” she said. “There’s a lot of really strong (research and development) in Israel. And a lot of U.S. companies have research divisions in Israel.”
Briccetti is part of a trade mission hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership of New York City, said the Israeli tech community is well represented in New York City by the country’s consul general and the Technion Institute, which has partnered with Cornell University to build a new graduate engineering school on Roosevelt Island.