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      Will A.O.C. Endorse? How She Could Shake Up the Mayor's Race

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceWho’s Running?11 Candidates’ N.Y.C. MomentsA Look at the Race5 Takeaways From the DebateAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWhat a Rebuke from Ocasio-Cortez Taught Andrew Yang About the Mayor’s RaceThe exchange was a vivid illustration of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s influence on New York’s political landscape. Whether she’ll use her platform to help shape the race for mayor is an open question.Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement is coveted by Democratic candidates in the New York City mayoral race.Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York TimesFeb. 11, 2021Updated 2:51 p.m. ETRepresentative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of the most powerful progressive leaders in the country, a politician most liberal Democrats want on their side — in person and on Twitter.But short of that, no Democratic candidate running for mayor of New York City wants to alienate her. Last week, Andrew Yang learned that the hard way.After the mayoral candidate laid out his plan to support a “Green New Deal for public housing,” he drew a near-instant rebuke from Ms. Ocasio-Cortez over the details.“I wrote the original Green New Deal for Public Housing,” she wrote on Twitter last Friday. “This isn’t that plan.”Mr. Yang quickly reached out to the congresswoman, speaking to her that same day, according to allies who heard about the conversation.The interaction was a vivid illustration of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s extraordinary influence on New York’s political landscape as another election unfolds.With less than five months before the Democratic primary election, the questions of how and whether Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 31, will use her platform to shape the New York City mayor’s race are sources of great speculation — and angst — in pockets of her hometown.An endorsement from Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens, could affirm the recipient as the liberal standard-bearer in the contest or elevate a lesser-known contender and signal a new measure of viability around their campaign.Certainly, endorsements alone rarely determine the outcome of campaigns, and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s are no different. Indeed, her endorsees have a mixed record of success both in New York and nationally. But because she commands attention and resonates with the city’s left wing in ways that no mayoral candidate can claim on their own, her blessing would almost certainly have outsize impact on the muddled field.“If you’re looking to sew up the left, I’m sure you’re looking for A.O.C.’s endorsement,” said Donovan Richards, the Queens borough president.With registered Democrats far outnumbering registered Republicans, the June 22 Democratic primary is likely to determine the city’s next mayor. Despite that compressed time frame, a number of strategists and other top potential endorsers appear to be holding their fire at least until there is more clarity around which candidates have staying power. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez could make a similar calculation.“My observation is, it seems that she would make an endorsement when a candidate really lines up with her values and she feels like she could make a big difference,” said Susan Kang, a political science professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice who is a steering committee member of the New York City Democratic Socialists. “The mayoral race is a little bit of a black box.”Interviews with more than a dozen elected officials, party leaders, activists and strategists across the city suggest that there is little expectation that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez will endorse in the mayor’s race anytime soon — if she does so at all.Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has been intensely focused on a range of federal priorities, from pressing for additional Covid relief to confronting the aftermath of the pro-Trump insurrection at the Capitol. But she suggested on Tuesday that the mayoral race, as well as other New York City contests including City Council races, was “absolutely of really important interest.”“It’s definitely something that I’m paying close attention to,” she said Tuesday night, after holding a virtual town hall meeting. “And of course, we want to make sure that we are also being very receptive to our community in this process.”Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was elected in 2018 after defeating Joseph Crowley, then the No. 4 House Democrat, in a shock primary upset. Since then, she has endorsed, sometimes late, in a number of high-profile New York races — though she does not jump into every contest.When she has weighed in, her choices have often been closely aligned with those of institutional allies like the Working Families Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, and neither group has endorsed in the mayor’s race.“I don’t see her getting involved,” said State Senator Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn, saying that he appreciated her work in Congress. “I haven’t heard anything from her being interested in doing that.”Mr. Brisport, who like Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has been embraced by the D.S.A., said he was primarily focused on City Council races at this point, which is also where a number of prominent liberal leaders and groups have put their emphasis.The speculation around Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s intentions generally falls into three buckets: She could stay out of the race entirely, endorse Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, or support a woman of color.Other scenarios could also materialize.There is the possibility that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez won’t endorse at all, but will weigh in on the race periodically as a way to elevate her key policy priorities. Some of her allies, for instance, hope that she uses the race to draw attention to her own proposal for a Green New Deal for Public Housing, the measure she raised on Twitter with Mr. Yang.Andrew Yang quickly reached out to Ms. Ocasio-Cortez after the congresswoman chided him over his “Green New Deal” for public housing.Credit…James Estrin/The New York TimesAsked whether she planned to endorse in the mayoral race and how she intended to use her influence, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said that she did not have “any concrete answers” at the moment, but emphasized her broader priorities around making the city more equitable.“Addressing inequality — and not just economic inequality — health inequality, criminal justice inequality, and so, you know, these are issues that are a major priority for me and for our community,” she said.Mr. Stringer, for his part, has pulled in endorsements from a number of prominent progressive lawmakers, several of whom are seen as aligned closely with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. But he is also a white man who has worked in politics for decades, at a moment when some left-leaning voters would prefer to elevate a person of color.Maya Wiley, a former top counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive, are both progressive women of color who are active on the virtual campaign trail. But whether they can demonstrate real traction in the race remains unknown. Ms. Wiley, who in a recent poll came in at 8 percent, has qualified for matching funds from the city; Ms. Morales, who in that poll was at 2 percent, has said that she expects to hit the key fund-raising threshold for the next filing period.Carlos Menchaca, a Brooklyn city councilman, is deeply progressive, but has struggled to get off the ground.Then there is Mr. Yang, who has fashioned himself as the anti-poverty candidate. That message could appeal to progressives, but he also faces skepticism from the left over issues including policing and education. Ms. Wiley has sharply questioned Mr. Yang around reporting concerning a challenging culture for women working on his presidential campaign, and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has been a vocal critic of sexism in the workplace.Assemblyman Ron T. Kim, who was endorsed by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez last year and is now a prominent supporter of Mr. Yang’s mayoral bid, said that he was encouraged when he heard that Mr. Yang had engaged directly with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. He said he was hopeful that the congresswoman and Mr. Yang could connect on policy matters including the environment and housing and other anti-poverty measures.“If there is an alignment, I think it would be such a powerful combination of electeds,” said Mr. Kim, asked about the prospect of an Ocasio-Cortez endorsement for Mr. Yang.Representatives for Mr. Yang and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez declined to comment on their conversation.Jumaane D. Williams, the New York City public advocate and a coveted endorser himself, said that if Ms. Ocasio-Cortez decides to weigh in, “that would be an awesome indicator endorsement.” But no endorsement or potential endorsement alone, he stressed, is decisive.“The question is, do you have the infrastructure to have it translate to more on the ground, and then into votes,” he said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Will Progressives Be Kingmakers in the New York Mayor’s Race?

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWill Progressives Be Kingmakers in the New York Mayor’s Race?It’s not yet clear if voters want bold ideas from the left or a leader who can manage the city out of a crisis. Or maybe they want both.Scott Stringer, the New York City comptroller, has been endorsed for mayor by several young progressive Democratic lawmakers, but it is unclear if the city’s progressive groups will coalesce behind him.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesKatie Glueck and Dec. 23, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ETLast summer, the rising influence of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in New York seemed almost boundless.Progressive activists helped knock off an incumbent congressman, fueled upsets in several state legislative races and pushed policies on taxation and policing that put an anxious business community further on edge.Next year, the movement may face its sternest test in the New York City mayoral race, a wide-open contest that will be the city’s most momentous in decades.New York officials and strategists across the ideological spectrum say that the Democratic electorate has plainly shifted to the left in recent years, and a unified liberal front helped make the difference in a number of high-profile congressional and legislative races in the city and around the country.But at a time of extraordinary economic crisis, staggering public health challenges and rising gun violence, the mayor’s race may serve as a barometer of whether the electorate will be swayed more by bold, progressive ideas or evidence of managerial competence — or whether they believe a single candidate can deliver both.The challenge for progressive leaders will be to try to replicate their successes — best exemplified by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s shocking win in 2018 — to a citywide race with more than 3.7 million registered Democratic voters, in a political landscape where more traditional political gatekeepers still hold influence.“We have an opportunity to really radicalize and get people behind a lot of the things that we’ve been talking about for a very long time,” said Tiffany L. Cabán, a progressive candidate who nearly won the Queens district attorney race last year and is now running for City Council. “What’s at stake here is the opportunity in this moment to have a mayor that is going to say that this is not about safe, small, incremental change that tinkers around the edges.”The progressive push fell short in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor, when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo decisively defeated Cynthia Nixon, the candidate of choice for many left-leaning organizations and leaders. Nor was it quite sufficient to avoid Ms. Cabán’s narrow defeat, or to win some contested House contests.Some Democratic leaders argue that the ideas that excite young progressives have not always resonated in older, working-class communities of color across the five boroughs. The mayoral primary in June will test whether any candidate can bridge that divide.“The socialist left is on the rise, particularly in neighborhoods where Black and Latino residents are being gentrified out of existence,” said Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens and may become the first Black House speaker. “To the extent the success of the socialist left is in part tied to gentrifying neighborhoods, it remains to be seen how that will impact a citywide race.”How left-wing activists and organizations will choose to wield their influence is unclear. Were all the groups affiliated with the progressive movement to align behind one candidate, they could have a sizable impact on the race.So far, they are not coalescing.“There’s a big question of whether folks do,” said Jonathan Westin, the executive director of New York Communities for Change. “I think the candidate that is able to cobble together all of those groups is the candidate that is going to win.”The New York City Democratic Socialists of America has endorsed six candidates for the City Council, a move that promises significant organizational assistance. But it has yet to make an endorsement in the mayoral race, and several people affiliated with the organization do not expect it to.“If we had a mayoral candidate who came from the D.S.A., I think that would have been one thing,” said Susan Kang, a D.S.A. member and a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “We’re trying to be very strategic in how we use our labor.”Another complicating factor is the popularity of Scott Stringer, the city comptroller and a leading mayoral candidate, among some prominent younger progressive lawmakers. In 2018, Mr. Stringer endorsed a D.S.A. stalwart, Julia Salazar, in her race for State Senate over the incumbent, Martin Dilan. Ms. Salazar won her race, and Mr. Stringer won her endorsement for mayor, along with several other high-profile endorsements from progressives.Mr. Stringer has also won the backing of a few key unions, including most recently the Communications Workers of America, an early supporter of Mayor Bill de Blasio.“Some people are a little bit disappointed that the current progressive front-runner is a white guy and certainly not an insurgent in terms of his background,” said Michael Kinnucan, a New York City D.S.A. member.Nor is it clear whether several other progressive groups, including the Working Families Party, will play a role in the primary. “We see ourselves as coalition builders, aligning the left, aligning working people’s institutions behind a candidate, a movement or a set of issues that can help shape a much stronger landscape for working people in New York City,” said Sochie Nnaemeka, the party’s state director.Ms. Ocasio-Cortez offered her endorsement in a number of congressional and state primaries earlier this year, and a number of the mayoral candidates would probably covet her backing. A spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment about Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement plans in the race.Even if New York progressives don’t unite behind a single candidate, they are already affecting the discourse of the race, as even candidates like Raymond J. McGuire, a longtime Wall Street executive, sound increasingly open to higher taxes on the wealthy. But some traditional New York City power brokers are skeptical of a fiercely ideological pitch in this race, when city residents face so many tangible challenges.“People are a little bit beleaguered when it comes to all of these ideological fights,” said Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers. “It’s more, ‘OK, who can start to steer this ship toward a better horizon?’”The upcoming primary will also probe the citywide appeal of progressives’ language and policy proposals after their success in a series of more local races.For example, there is evidence that in some poor and middle-class communities of color, slashing funding for police, a major left-wing priority, is controversial. That’s an issue that has divided the mayoral field.Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president and a former police officer, and Mr. McGuire have both made overtures to the donor class while stressing their appeal to working-class Black New Yorkers. Both are betting that a citywide race will draw a diverse range of voters who do not all share the most far-reaching goals — defunding the police or imposing more taxes on the wealthy, for example — of prominent progressive organizations.“I’ve never walked into one meeting, one civic group, one block association, one NYCHA development meeting where someone said to me, ‘I want less cops on my block,’” said Mr. Adams, who ran a police reform organization while at the New York Police Department. “Just the opposite: ‘Where are my police? What are they doing?’”Several of the candidates are seeking to present themselves as the right blend of visionary progressive and seasoned administrator — perhaps none more so than Mr. Stringer, who has promised to “manage the hell out of this city” as he also seeks to rack up a list of endorsement from left-wing leaders.He dismissed concerns that progressives might not want to elect a white man at this moment in history, noting he is the only candidate to have won citywide office and pointing to the racially diverse coalition supporting him.“I don’t think I would be attracting this very powerful coalition if I was in simply the lane of what I look like,” he said.Councilman Carlos Menchaca, of Brooklyn, and Dianne Morales, the former nonprofit executive, are running among the most progressive campaigns in the race. Asked whether she had spoken with key left-wing organizations about a possible endorsement, Ms. Morales said “beginnings of conversations” were underway, though she declined to specify which groups she was talking to.“I have been on the ground as an organizer and activist,” she said. “My candidacy in particular is one that speaks to kind of mobilizing and organizing on the ground.”Mr. Stringer said he had yet to reach out to the D.S.A. about an endorsement. Mr. Menchaca said he would welcome the support of any organization that wants to help him “turn the page” on the de Blasio era.Mr. Jeffries suggested that in a time of deep crisis, a candidate with a more pragmatic message may have an edge. He also made a point to speak highly of incoming Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who, boosted by leading progressive groups, defeated Representative Eliot L. Engel last summer in a district that covers parts of the Bronx and Westchester County. Mr. Jeffries had backed Mr. Engel.“The person who rises to the occasion of a forward-looking, progressive attainable vision is the mayoral candidate who is likely to prevail,” he said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More