Party primary elections in this state are almost always foregone conclusions settled by machine operatives before voters have a say. That\u2019s pretty much the case here tomorrow in most jurisdictions as New York Democrats go to the polls to punch a ballot that won\u2019t have much on it.<\/p>\n
But there is an interesting statewide electoral drama involving our sitting governor Andy Cuomo. Registered Dems will have a chance to send a little shiver up his spine. A feisty breakaway liberal named Zephyr Teachout will tally in the neighborhood of 25-percent support from the party\u2019s energized left.<\/p>\n
While Teachout can\u2019t beat the machine this go-around, her brilliant time-constrained activist campaign on a shoestring budget has highlighted cracks in the power structure of New York politics.<\/p>\n
Cuomo\u2019s attempt to glide effortlessly to a second four-year term has been stymied by an ongoing criminal probe of the governor\u2019s office by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara.<\/p>\n
Bharara has been relentless and successful in pursuit of crooked deals by state government officials from both parties. When Cuomo effectively sandbagged pending corruption probes by a commission he created, Bharara jumped in to see where the scents on the various trails of inquiry were leading when the governor\u2019s office put on the kibosh. The concern is that Cuomo wasn\u2019t happy the stink led back to him – so he dismantled the apparatus that would expose such linkage. As detailed in investigative pieces in the New York Times (and subsequently in a wonderfully written Politico story by the Democrat and former Missouri state senator Jeff Smith), Cuomo could be in a heap of trouble. Bharara went so far as to publicly chastise Cuomo for waging a public relations campaign to make it appear the commission was shut down cleanly. As all this was swirling, Bharara snared Cuomo chum and powerful state senator Tom Libous on charges he lied when asked by investigators about using influence to enrich his son.<\/p>\n
The pending question over whether Cuomo – and\/or two of his upper level staffers – face punishment from Bharara\u2019s ongoing examination of the Moreland Commission shutdown may not be resolved before Andy starts his second term. Cuomo backers point to significant social and fiscal policy gains during term one to merit four more years.<\/p>\n
The disappointment from my perspective has been a disingenuous Cuomo claim he\u2019d clean up Albany. That was his cornerstone mantra on the way in until I guess he started to realize all that campaign cash swelling his coffers is tougher to pull in if you tighten the noose around the quids and the pros and quos.<\/p>\n
So, enter Teachout who has no elected office experience. She\u2019s run a great, issues-oriented campaign with lots of direct voter interaction. I like her. She\u2019s staunchly anti-fracking and would revive Cuomo\u2019s Moreland Commssion. She has detailed plans for tightening state law on campaign finance within the constitutional boundaries. Teachout favors a Colorado-style approach to marijuana and she\u2019d seek to block the Comcast\/Time Warner merger. She barely met the five-year residency requirement and failed to vote in last year\u2019s NYC mayoral election.<\/p>\n
Because she\u2019s viewed as not having a chance, Teachout failed to gain the endorsement of both the Working Families Party and NYC mayor Bill de Blasio. If endorsements took into consideration the stated values of the candidate, Teachout should have had the backing of both those forces. Perhaps her inexperience gave those bastions of the left some pause. My vote on Tuesday for Teachout will be made easier knowing she can\u2019t win. My support for Teachout is designed to send a message to an entrenched politician with an eye on the Presidency who broke the public\u2019s trust – and may someday face criminal charges as a result.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Party primary elections in this state are almost always foregone conclusions settled by machine operatives before voters have a say. That\u2019s pretty much the case here tomorrow in most jurisdictions as New York Democrats go to the polls to punch … Continue reading