IDC in the Spotlight + Call for Writers

Local News

• The Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) got called out by surprising sources this week: Both Simcha Felder, the Democratic Brooklyn State Senator who has votedwith Senate Republicans for years, and Keith Ellison, the Sanders-aligned Minnesota Congressman, publicly urged IDC members to rejoin the Democrats. Ellison’s statementcame after he received backlash for tweeting a picture with IDC member Marisol Alcantara.
• The Village Voice singled out Simcha Felder as the sole reason that the New York Health Act does not have enough votes to pass in the Senate, and Gothamist detailed theother elected officials who need convincing.
• The Bedford-Union Armory entered the official public review process, The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), on Monday, despite a last-minute claim from Council Member Laurie Cumbo that the project would not be moving forward. Cumbo altered her public stance on the Armory after months of protests, and after two of her opponents in the upcoming Council elections expressed their complete opposition to the project. Critics maintain that if Cumbo genuinely opposes the project, the developers would back out.
• Ridesharing service Uber admitted that it had underpaid New York City drivers by millions of dollars.
• The NYCLU is suing the NYPD for refusing to release records on its surveillanceactivities and technology. The NYPD has invoked the Glomar doctrine, which is typically reserved for federal agencies in cases of national security, to avoid answering Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests about its surveillance of peaceful political activity.
• The NYPD is dragging its feet on a request to release details on the racial breakdown of those arrested for turnstile jumping on the subway.
• The MTA board voted on a capital plan that funds Cuomo pet projects like the Second Avenue Subway Phase II and adds LIRR tracks with “crushing debt,” yet doesn’t included added funds for needed subway upgrades.
• Due to the decision to honor Oscar Lopez Rivera, the 2017 Puerto Rican Day Parade has lost corporate sponsors and the support of NYPD Commissioner James O’Neil. Mayor Bill De Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito have maintained support. Evidently, some sponsors who reached out about supporting to sponsor a competing parade in Brooklyn, organized by community group El Grito de Sunset Park, were rejected.

Elections

• Brian Benjamin’s victory in the special election for the 30th District (Upper Manhattan) of the New York State Senate gives Democrats a numerical advantage in the chamber, though both the IDC and Simcha Felder would need to rejoin the Democratic Caucus for the Dems to take control.
• DSA-endorsee Khader El-Yateem gained an endorsement from the New Kings Democrats. The Working Families Party has endorsed his opponent, Justin Brannan.
• The Brooklyn Reform Coalition is hosting a forum for the Brooklyn District Attorney candidates next Monday, June 5th.
• LONG ISLAND — Democrat Christine Pellegrino won a special election for the 9th District in the New York State Assembly. Pellegrino’s victory in what has traditionally been a Republican stronghold has garnered widespread coverage as a potential harbinger of what the backlash against Trump may hold for 2018 elections.

Call for Writers!

The DSA Electoral Newsletter is looking for additional writers for our weekly in-depth pieces. If you would like to occasionally write summaries of current events or legislative issues, please fill out this Google form!