PRIMARY THIS THURSDAY

NYC-DSA has endorsed Julia Salazar for State Senate in District 18 (North Brooklyn), Cynthia Nixon for Governor, and Jumaane Williams for Lieutenant Governor in the Democratic primary, happening this Thursday, September 13. Please sign up for a volunteer shift between now and Thursday’s Democratic primary to help our candidates win: bit.ly/gotv4julia

Elections:

Governor’s Race

• The NY Times endorsed Gov. Cuomo on Tuesday, calling him “bullying in his use of power” and “maddeningly evasive” while noting that “he has done little to combat the corruption in the Legislature and his own administration,” and that his “inadequate efforts to address the crisis in the Subway system” are due to the fact that “he allows petty enmity and political grievance to distract him.”
• Yesterday, the Times’ editorial board accused Cuomo of playing “dirty politics” in an opinion piece, in response to a deceptive mailer from the New York State Democratic Committee accusing Cynthia Nixon of not supporting the Jewish community. Nobody in the Party or the Cuomo campaign has accepted responsibility for it.
• Cynthia Nixon invoked the insurgent upset victories of progressives Ayanna Pressley, Andrew Gillum, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in her final weeks of campaigning for the Democratic nomination.
• Gov. Cuomo hastily moved up the opening of the new Tappan Zee Bridge, creating a “potentially dangerous situation,” so that he could stage a ribbon cutting before the September 13th primary.
• Gov. Cuomo has accepted $25,000 in contributions from a contractor his team has previously accused of engaging in “pay to play” schemes.
• Cuomo’s campaign manager worked as a lobbyist for a controversial New Jersey-New York natural gas pipeline.
• Gov. Cuomo is already hinting that he won’t pursue progressive legislation even if New York elects a Democratic Senate.

Lt. Governor’s Race

• The New York Times endorsed DSA-endorsee Jumaane Williams for Lieutenant Governor and highlighted his contributions to Cynthia Nixon’s gubernatorial run.
• The New York Post endorsed incumbent Kathy Hochul while admitting that the Post leans Republican overall and describing Williams as “…off.”
• Williams attacked the failures of the Excelsior Scholarship on the campaign trail, calling the program “fraudulent.”

State Senate District 18 Race

• Gothamist detailed the hundreds of thousands of dollars that the real estate industry donated to Martin Dilan (District 18, North Brooklyn), noting that of all sitting State Senators, only former IDC leader Jeff Klein has received more money from real estate.
• Julia Salazar talked to The Appeal about making the decriminalization of sex work a key part of her campaign.

Attorney General’s Race

• Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (District 26, Long Island City) rescinded his endorsement of Tish James, citing her lack of independence from the Governor and Democratic machine, and endorsed Zephyr Teachout in the Attorney General Primary.
• NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray endorsed Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General, her first endorsement independent of Mayor de Blasio (who has not endorsed in the AG race) and a reminder of her own political plans for 2021.
• Gothamist released an article speculating that Tish James’ choice to align with Cuomo in this campaign has harmed her chances of victory.
• Teachout sued Sean Patrick Maloney for funneling $1.4 million from his federal campaign fund into his State Attorney General campaign fund.
• If Tish James wins the Attorney General primary, a special election for Public Advocate would be called, and former Council Speakers Christine Quinn and Melissa Mark-Viverito are both rumored to be eyeing the hypothetical race, among others.

Other Races

• Gotham Gazette broke down the final pre-primary campaign finance disclosures of the State’s competitive Senate primaries, highlighting a massive infusion of real estate money and a potentially illegal transfer of Independence Party money to candidates formerly of the IDC.
• Citizens Union has released a voter’s guide to the competitive primaries this Thursday.

Local News:

• Only 3% of students at New York’s public colleges received aid from Gov. Cuomo’s much-publicized Excelsior Scholarships this year. Due to its stringent requirements, less than 1/3 of applicants qualified.
• Almost two years after Gov. Cuomo ordered a report on racial bias in the State prison system, the inspector general has not released any findings on the subject.
• De Blasio’s Department of Corrections has quietly reversed course on a reform to house detainees under the age of 21 apart from older inmates.
• New schools chancellor Richard Carranza has vowed to integrate the City’s deeply segregated public schools, but his strategy and the political will in the City and State to enact such changes remain open questions.
• The Mayoral Charter Revision Commission officially placed three charter revision questions on this November’s ballot: campaign finance reform, the development of an Office of Civic Engagement, and term limits for community board members. There will be more changes to the City’s charter as part of a City Council Commission in 2019.
• The NYPD worked with IBM to develop racial profiling technology.