Primary dates may still be in flux
New boundary challenges could open path for Cuomo to enter governor’s race
Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo could enter the race for governor this year if the gubernatorial primaries scheduled for June are moved to August under new challenges being waged in state Supreme Court to the political boundaries that had been established by the state Senate’s Democratic majority.
The boundaries for Senate and congressional districts were thrown out last week as a result of a Court of Appeals ruling that found the redistricting process had been unconstitutional and polluted with partisan politics that favored Democratic candidates.
The ruling — which upheld two lower court deci- sions — did not directly disrupt the political boundaries established using the same process for state Assembly, nor the petitioning boundaries used for statewide offices, including the gubernatorial race, which is scheduled for a June 28 primary. But new court challenges this week are aimed at having those thrown out as well, with the potential for the primaries for those races moved to August. Some lawmakers also have questioned whether having the state Senate and Assembly primaries in different months is a disservice to voters.
A key to Cuomo’s entry into the governor’s race would depend on his political will as well as what the courts decide regarding the ballot-petition process and whether that would be reopened for gubernatorial primaries.
Election law experts who studied the
Court of Appeals’ decision told the Times Union last week that while they didn’t expect the ruling to affect the June 28 gubernatorial primary, they noted the petitions for that race had been gathered based on the congressional district boundaries that were thrown out by the ruling.
Cuomo has used campaign funds to finance an advertising blitz seeking to restore his image in the wake of sexual harassment allegations and other scandals. He has not said publicly whether he would consider entering the governor’s race. Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for the ex-governor, declined to comment.
There is also a possibility that he could enter the race by running on an independent line.
“If (former) Gov. Cuomo was interested in running in the Democratic primary, he would have filed petitions weeks ago,” a source close to the governor said. “It’s much more likely that he would run against the extremists that have taken over both parties as an independent.”
Cuomo, who still holds a formidable campaign war chest, has cited recent polls that indicate sagging voter support for candidates in the crowded gubernatorial field, including Democrats.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, seeking her first full term after taking office in the wake of Cuomo’s resignation in August, is facing primary challenges from Democrats Jumaane Williams, the New York City public advocate, and U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, Dlong Island.
A Siena College poll released in late March found that in a three-way Democratic gubernatorial primary, Hochul maintained a 40-point lead among registered Democrats over both challengers.
But a poll released by Siena last week indicated that nearly 60 percent of registered voters were not happy with Hochul’s job performance, although her favorability rating remained steady, with about 44 percent of voters. And just last month, Hochul lost her running mate, former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who resigned in the wake of his indictment on federal corruption charges.
The March poll indicated Cuomo, who has hinted at a desire to return to politics, had the support of 30 percent of Democrats, compared with 38 percent for Hochul and 10 percent for Suozzi, with Williams trailing at 7 percent.
That poll also indicated Cuomo had an overall 32 to 60 percent favorability deficit, while Hochul had a 45 to 35 percent favorability rating. Both had much stronger favorability ratings among Democrats.
The Court of Appeals’ searing rebuke of the process used to redraw New York’s political boundaries noted that assigning a state Supreme Court justice to redo the maps could be done swiftly and in time to “develop a schedule to facilitate an August primary election ... (and) completion of the petitioning process.” An independent expert called a “special master” will assist the state Supreme Court justice in creating new political boundaries.
Gary Greenberg, a Greene County resident and former state Senate candidate, said he will file a petition Tuesday in state Supreme Court in Steuben County — where a judge initially struck down the Democrats’ gerrymandered maps — in order to seek to have the maps of other political offices thrown out. Greenberg said the primaries should all take place in August and not be bifurcated, which is currently the plan.
“I’m doing this as a voter and a citizen of New York state who’s tired of the corruption and wants to see change brought to the election system in New York,” Greenberg said. “The laws are archaic and the elected officials refuse to even follow the laws . ... They only have themselves to blame, the Democrats . ... They overplayed their cards and now they should pay for that.”
Greenberg said his petition will be filed as a separate case from the one pending in Steuben County.
Aaron S. Foldenauer, a former New York City mayoral candidate and attorney who specializes in election and campaign finance matters, joined the fray on Sunday when he filed a motion to intervene in the Steuben County case on behalf of Gavin Wax, the head of the New York Young Republican Club.
Foldenauer’s motion notes that the lower-court judge had previously also thrown out the Assembly maps, but that portion of the decision was not challenged on appeal, in part, because Assembly Republicans have said the maps created for their districts were not of concern.
The Court of Appeals’ majority decision, which stunned many Democrats who believed the state’s highest court would reverse the lower courts’ rulings, upended the political calendar and may require many candidates to obtain new petitions to get on the ballot as district lines are shifted. (The candidates had submitted petitions based on the political districts created by the Senate maps which have been thrown out.)
The possible opening for Cuomo, who resigned midway through his third term as governor, comes as he and his attorneys have been waging a crusade to clear his name of the sexual harassment allegations that led to his downfall.
Cuomo has also stated publicly that he regrets resigning.
Cuomo’s return to the public stage in recent months has included delivering speeches to Black congregations and at other gatherings, as he and his attorney Rita Glavin have assailed the thoroughness of the state attorney general’s investigation last year that concluded he had sexually harassed or acted inappropriately with multiple women.
Glavin also has sought to pressure the state attorney general’s office to reopen its investigation because, she contends, the investigators’ findings that Cuomo had been a serial sexual harasser were unsubstantiated. She also claims the investigation was biased and ignored evidence or conflicting testimony of alleged victims that should have shifted the final report.
But Cuomo also has faced other controversies, including his administration’s manipulation of data during the pandemic to lower the number of deaths in New York’s nursing homes attributed to COVID -19.
In addition, he has faced investigations over whether state employees who helped produce a book he wrote about his administration’s handling of the pandemic were volunteers or did the work on government time.
In February, Cuomo, who had about $14 million in his campaign account at the last filing, launched the advertising blitz specifically targeting the conclusions of investigations that found he had sexually harassed or engaged in misconduct with multiple women.
Several women’s groups assailed the ads, accusing the former governor of “using campaign money to spread misinformation about the credibility of women who bravely came forward to report his abuses.”