Miranda backed by a ‘T’ party
GOV. CUOMO on Wednesday dismissed actress Cynthia Nixon’s blistering attack on him from the day before as part of the “political silly season.”
After giving a storm briefing, Cuomo commented publicly for the first time about Nixon since the “Sex and the City” star announced she was launching a Democratic primary challenge against him.
Nixon, in her campaign kickoff event in Brooklyn on Tuesday, accused Cuomo of not being a progressive Democrat, hit him on corruption and slammed his handling of the battered subway and public school systems.
“We’re in the political silly season now,” Cuomo said when asked about Nixon. “I’ve been here before. We’re in a democracy, anybody can run. Anybody can say whatever they want to say.”
Indeed, Nixon had more to say as she left after her first fund-raiser at the Stonewall Inn on Wednesday night. She bashed the governor again when asked what makes her qualified for the top state office.
“My chief of staff has not been convicted on three counts of bribery — that’s a start,” she said, referring to Cuomo confidant Joseph Percoco’s legal troubles. Then she added, “I actually know the MTA is controlled by the state.” “That’s two things,” she said. The governor had some words about transit service, too, as he repeated his complaint that the city is not paying half for a subway rescue plan.
“The state said we’ll fund our half,” Cuomo said. “New York City has refused to fund their half. That means the plan has not been able to go forward as it should.”
As part of the ongoing budget talks, he said, he is pushing the Legislature to “resolve the issue of the city’s lack of funding.”
He also reiterated his longstanding argument that the subway system’s problems did not start with his time in office but stem from decades of neglect.
“Why haven’t we made the repairs? Because nobody wants to pay for the repairs,” he said. “Now it’s an emergency.”
He added that the subways are “the lifeblood of New York City. Enough is enough. We have to make repairs.”
Mayor de Blasio, who is friends with Nixon and has been at war with Cuomo, nonetheless demurred when asked during an interview on “Sway in the Morning” on Sirius XM’s Shade 45 about who he is going to back in the race.
“I’m not doing that right now,” de Blasio said. “We’ll do that down the line. I have said I believe we need a Democratic state Senate majority because something very artificial is happening that’s propping up the Republicans, and that needs to change. But on the specific endorsements, that will come another day.”
Earlier in the day, Nixon promoted her fund-raiser on Twitter, referencing being called an “unqualified lesbian” Tuesday by former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Cuomo’s handpicked vice chairwoman of the state Democratic Party.
“Calling all qualified and unqualified lesbians and everyone who wants funded schools, affordable housing & working subways: Join our Campaign Launch Party 3/21 at the Stonewall Inn, 6-9PM.” The event was closed to the press. Shortly after her comments became public, Quinn, who like Nixon is gay, apologized in an interview with the Daily News. She said while she still believes Nixon is unqualified to be governor, she did not mean to imply it’s because she’s a lesbian. De Blasio ducked a question during a briefing on the storm about Quinn’s comments. De Blasio beat Quinn in the 2013 Democratic mayoral primary. Nixon had endorsed him. “Let’s stay on the storm,” Hizzoner said.
The gubernatorial primary, which already has garnered national attention, got smaller on Wednesday when former Hudson Valley state Sen. Terry Gipson announced he was dropping out of the race. The little-known and underfunded Gipson had been the only declared Democratic candidate to challenge Cuomo until Nixon announced her run.
“Another candidate has stepped forward, and she clearly has the resources and infrastructure that are needed to secure a place on the ballot and win,” Gipson wrote on his website.
Former Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner has said she is still considering taking on Cuomo. ALBANY — Cynthia Nixon’s campaign for governor is getting a financial assist from fans of her “Sex and the City” character because “it’s the Miranda thing to do.”
The creators of a popular Instagram site that chronicles the fashion prowess of the HBO series — “Every Outfit on Sex and the City” — have pledged to donate 15% of the proceeds from the sale of their “We Should All Be Mirandas” Tshirts to Nixon’s campaign for governor.
Nixon, who launched her campaign to challenge Gov. Cuomo in a Democratic primary on Monday, played Miranda Hobbes (photo) on the show.
“We desperately need representatives who want a more equal New York and refuse to fund their campaigns with corporate contributions,” the site states. “Also, it’s the Miranda thing to do.”
In an email to the Daily News, site creators Chelsea Fairless and Lauren Garroni said using proceeds from the sale of Miranda T-shirts to back Nixon’s candidacy seemed like a natural fit.
“We launched the ‘We Should All Be Mirandas’ shirt late last year as a comment on luxury political slogan tees,” they wrote in the email.
“But it quickly became apparent that Miranda was a state of mind that many people relate to,” they continued. “With Cynthia Nixon running for governor of New York, we thought it was the right time to bring the shirt back and donate some of the profits to her campaign.”
The shirt, which is on back order, sells for $32.
A noted election lawyer warned the effort might run afoul of campaign finance laws.
“The site will probably have to register with the State Board of Elections as an Independent Expenditure Committee because they are obviously pushing Nixon’s candidacy. And once they do that, they will not be able to make any contributions to her campaign,” said the lawyer, Jerry Goldfeder.