Gov tests Dems
Candidates must ‘walk the walk’ to get his backing
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo’s support of state Senate Democrats is anything but unconditional. In an unusual move, Cuomo disseminated a questionnaire on 15 issues to legislative candidates from his own party seeking his backing.
While it’s not uncommon for interest groups to ask candidates about their positions on issues important to them, insiders say they’ve never heard of a governor doing it with members of his own party.
The questionnaire starts off by asking: “Do you support enacting the following policies, and/or defending those currently in place? If not, please state your position.”
Cuomo wants to know if Dems support initiatives already passed like the 2013 gun control law known as the SAFE Act, a $15 state minimum wage and creation of a statewide paid family leave program.
He’s also asking whether they back limiting annual local property tax and state government spending increases to no more than 2% and his upstate economic development programs, some of which are now under federal scrutiny.
There are questions about making permanent an order by Cuomo to have the state attorney general serve as a special prosecutor for “all police-related incidents,” the governor’s call to raise the age that teens can be tried as adults to 18, up to from 16, and a bid to strengthen the state’s abortion laws.
And the form asks whether his fellow Dems support creating a state public campaign finance system, closing a major contribution loophole, and limiting the outside income of lawmakers.
“Our point is it’s not enough to say you’re going to elect a Democratic Senate,” said Cuomo chief of staff Melissa DeRosa. “We want to know if you’re elected, that we’re not going backwards — that you’re going to defend the policies that are working, and you’re going to get the rest of this agenda done, starting with ethics.”
Cuomo insiders note that the last time the Senate Democrats were in charge, in 2009-10, bills to legalize gay marriage, enact campaign finance reform and pass a state DREAM Act aiding the children of undocumented immigrants did not happen.
“We are issue-oriented people, and we are goal-driven people,” DeRosa said. “It’s not enough to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk. We make no secret of that.”
Cuomo, who has said he will support only Dems who are socially progressive and “fiscally responsible,” has so far backed five Senate Democratic candidates in key races.
“I don’t think it’s unusual for the governor to do his due diligence on candidates he will be supporting,” said Democratic Senate Campaign Committee Chairman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens). “We have no complaints about the level of support we’ve received from the governor and are extremely appreciative of his help.”
Mayor de Blasio (below) has said he is not getting involved in this year’s state Senate elections, but the firm of one of his “agents of the city” is. A super PAC created by Airbnb has so far paid BerlinRosen, whose co-founder is de Blasio confidant Jonathan Rosen, nearly $1 million for ads and mailers opposing Sen. Sue Serino (R-Dutchess County) and supporting Sen. George Latimer (DWestchester County) and James Gaughran, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Nassau County).
Serino is being challenged by former Sen. Terry Gipson, a Democrat de Blasio unsuccessfully supported for reelection in 2014. It’s one of the races that caught the attention of investigators who have been looking into whether de Blasio and his fundraising operation skirted campaign contribution laws.
Despite the mayor’s ties to BerlinRosen, those involved in the Airbnb effort say de Blasio is playing no role in the races, something many Republicans don’t believe.
A BerlinRosen spokesman said, “We are proud of our work to help elect Democrats to the Senate, and to offices across the country.”
Rosen and his company partner Valerie Berlin both worked for the Senate Democrats before starting the firm.