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      5 Takeaways From the NYC Mayor’s Race: Bagel Orders and Vaccine Appointments

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceWho’s Running?11 Candidates’ N.Y.C. MomentsAn Overview of the Race5 TakeawaysAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyBagel Orders and Vaccine Appointments: 5 Takeaways From the Mayor’s RaceA former City Council speaker decides not to run, and a current city comptroller becomes the first leading candidate to get the coronavirus vaccine.A campaign event at City Hall Park for Scott Stringer, who recently received the coronavirus vaccine.Credit…Benjamin Norman for The New York TimesDana Rubinstein, Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Katie Glueck and Feb. 22, 2021Updated 10:06 a.m. ETThe horde of politicians running for mayor of New York City appears to have finally hit a saturation point.More than 30 people are still in the field, making it difficult for a clear front-runner to emerge — and near impossible for a second- or third-tier candidate to break through. With four months before the June 22 primary, one long-rumored candidate has decided not to join the scrum. But not to worry: There are still plenty of opinions to go around on everything from police funding to bagels. After deliberating for months, Christine C. Quinn, a former City Council speaker, has decided not to run for mayor.Credit…Karsten Moran for The New York TimesChristine Quinn will not enter the raceChristine C. Quinn, a former City Council speaker who had been a favorite in the 2013 Democratic mayoral primary, is doing the nearly unthinkable: She is resisting the urge to run for mayor — or any elective office this year.“I’ve been thinking about it a while and it wasn’t an easy decision,” said Ms. Quinn, whose bid in 2013 was partially derailed by an anti-horse carriage super PAC, paving the way for Bill de Blasio to capture the Democratic primary and the mayoralty.Since then, Ms. Quinn has run a homeless services organization for families with children. Had she run for mayor, she would have made the issue central to her campaign.“Jesus in the Bible said the poor will always be amongst us, but this crisis we’re in now — more homeless children in shelter than there are seats in Madison Square Garden — that’s solvable,” she said. “It’s just no one has demonstrated the political will.”Ms. Quinn’s deliberations lasted months — she had been interviewing potential staff and commissioned a poll, according to a friend who was not authorized to speak publicly. But in the end, she recognized that a homelessness-centered platform would be unlikely to carry the day in a city consumed by the pandemic, the friend said.Even so, Ms. Quinn does not plan to fade into the background.“I really believe that I can effect more change by staying on the outside and being a thorn in the side of everyone who is running,” she said.Mr. Stringer, 60, center, lost his mother to the coronavirus in April and wanted to get the vaccine as soon as possible.Credit…Benjamin Norman for The New York TimesHave you gotten the vaccine? Scott Stringer has.With limited doses of the vaccine available, some elected officials have made it a point to take the vaccine in a public way to show it is safe. Others want to wait to show the system is fair.Mr. de Blasio, 59, decided not to take the vaccine yet. His wife, Chirlane McCray, 66, got it this month because she meets the state’s age requirements for people 65 and older.Scott M. Stringer, 60, lost his mother to the coronavirus in April and wanted to get the vaccine as soon as possible. On Friday, Mr. Stringer, the city comptroller, became the first leading mayoral candidate to receive the vaccine, getting it at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.Mr. Stringer, 60, has hypertension, or high blood pressure — one of the conditions that make New Yorkers eligible for the vaccine under new rules.“I always said I would get the vaccine when I was qualified,” he said in an interview. “It was not a tough decision for me.”Many New Yorkers have struggled to get a vaccine appointment. Mr. Stringer used the state’s website and did “a lot of refreshing with a friend” early one morning.Several candidates said they had not received the vaccine and were waiting until more New Yorkers had the shot. Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, said he was checking with his doctor to see if he qualifies under new guidelines. Tread carefully when picking a favorite bagelUnder normal circumstances, the path to New York political power is paved with dining pitfalls. There is the scrutiny of how officials consume a slice of pizza, the pressure to eat — and eat and eat — across the city’s diverse neighborhoods.And then there is a divisive category all its own: bagel preferences.After The Forward published a survey revealing the choices of eight of the candidates (four preferred everything bagels with lox), a TikTok video from the account brooklynbagelblog ranked the candidates.“The candidate with the best order goes to Kathryn Garcia,” the narrator declared, favoring her choice of an open-faced everything bagel with cream cheese, a slice of tomato, capers, lox and onion. “You can see that she has a vision for this bagel and I assume that means she has a vision for the city.”Bagel preferences arose again on Thursday at a mayoral forum hosted by the New York Jewish Agenda, when candidates were asked about their order at a New York Jewish deli, an institution where rye bread, not a bagel, is often the starch of choice.Still, Raymond J. McGuire, Dianne Morales, Andrew Yang and Loree Sutton opted to share their bagel preferences. Mr. Stringer, who is Jewish and who has a political power base on the West Side — home to several legendary appetizing stores — said he would opt for matzo ball soup and pastrami on rye.“You don’t order a bagel at Katz’s!” Mr. Stringer later tweeted.(On the second panel, Ms. Garcia, Shaun Donovan and the now-vegan Mr. Adams referenced pastrami; Carlos Menchaca mentioned a bagel before saying he sampled pastrami sparingly.)Mayor Bill de Blasio hasn’t decided whether to offer an endorsement, saying that it was too early in the campaign.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesBill de Blasio ponders his successorMost of the leading candidates have said they don’t want Mr. de Blasio’s endorsement, but that hasn’t stopped him from weighing in on the qualities he’d like to see in his successor.At a meeting at Gracie Mansion with union leaders that was reported by Politico New York, the mayor expressed a fondness for the life story of Mr. Adams and questioned the lead that Mr. Yang, the former presidential candidate, has registered in initial polls.At a news conference last week, Mr. de Blasio confirmed the meeting, explaining that the participants were not talking about “one candidate or another,” but “the working people of New York City and the future of New York City.”“We know what it’s like when the elites get it their way and working people are an afterthought,” the mayor said. “So, the meeting was really about where are we going.”The mayor hasn’t decided whether to offer an endorsement, adding that it was too early for prognostication.“If you go back to the equivalent time in 2013, I was in either fourth or fifth place before the primary,” Mr. de Blasio said of his surprise victory.The response from the candidates varied. Mr. Adams “appreciates that the mayor recognizes his powerful life’s journey,” said Evan Thies, a spokesman.The campaigns of Mr. Yang and Mr. McGuire responded to Mr. de Blasio’s comments with what seemed like sharp jabs.“Andrew Yang is focused on tangible ways to help New York City bring back jobs, reduce the outbreak in shootings, and recover from the most difficult period in its history,” said Chris Coffey, a spokesman for Mr. Yang. Mr. McGuire said the mayor’s comments were “divisive, old-school political posturing that’s making our city’s comeback harder than it should be.”“Can’t we just, for once, bring people together to solve problems, instead of seeking out ways to divide us all into narrow buckets of power?” Mr. McGuire said. “I do not see why we somehow are prioritizing secular over faith-based learning,” Andrew Yang recently said.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesYang on yeshivasIn 2019, the de Blasio administration released a report — delayed for years for politically motivated reasons, according to city investigators — that found that the vast majority of yeshivas visited by city officials were not meeting state standards on secular education.The report gave momentum to critics of yeshiva education, many of them Jews, who argue that the lack of quality education in subjects like English deprives students of the ability to thrive in the job market after graduation, and have asked city and state education officials to intercede.Some mayoral candidates have said they would take steps to ensure every New York City child received a sound secular education, in accordance with state law.Mr. Yang, however, said he is waiting for more data.“I do not think we should be prescribing a curriculum, unless the curriculum can be demonstrated to have improved impact on people’s career trajectories and prospects afterward,” Mr. Yang said at the mayoral forum on Thursday hosted by the New York Jewish Agenda.Then he pivoted to a discussion about his own experience in high school, during which he spent a month reading the Bible as literature.“If it was good enough for my public school, I do not see why we somehow are prioritizing secular over faith-based learning,” Mr. Yang said.His response startled many education leaders in New York, including Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, who moderated the forum. She is Jewish and married to a rabbi.“Andrew Yang is better than this,” Ms. Weingarten said in an interview.“Regardless of who the child is,” she added, “they have a right to dream their dreams and achieve them and that means they have to have in New York State a sound basic education.”Naftuli Moster, the executive director of Yaffed, which advocates for stricter enforcement of state education standards, was sharper in his criticism.“I don’t know if he understands the magnitude of educational neglect happening in the city he hopes to represent and he’s still choosing to pander to Haredi leaders, or he simply hasn’t done his homework,” he said.In a subsequent email, Mr. Yang’s spokesman said the candidate was familiar with the 2019 city report finding inadequate secular education in dozens of yeshivas and would “work constructively with the community to improve outcomes in those schools.”But, the spokesman said, Mr. Yang is awaiting “fresh data regarding the roughly 90 percent of yeshivas that were left out” of the report.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Maya Wiley Receives Backing of Local 1199 SEIU, Lifting Her Bid for Mayor

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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 storyMaya Wiley Is Backed by N.Y.C.’s Largest Union, Lifting Her Bid for MayorThe endorsement by Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union is a major win for Ms. Wiley. The union was a key early supporter of Bill de Blasio in another crowded mayor’s race in 2013.Maya Wiley is running as a progressive who wants to lead New Yorkers out of the pandemic. The union that backed her represents more than 200,000 health care workers, many of whom are women of color.Credit…Seth Wenig/Associated PressFeb. 19, 2021Updated 12:19 p.m. ETNew York City’s largest union endorsed Maya Wiley, the former MSNBC analyst and legal counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, in the race for mayor on Friday, giving a lift to her campaign as she tries to prove that she is a leading candidate in the crowded Democratic field.The powerful union, Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union, provided one of the first big labor endorsements in the wide-open mayor’s race and hoped to use its political weight to help elect a Black woman as mayor for the first time.The endorsement was a major win for Ms. Wiley, who is running as a progressive who wants to lead New Yorkers out of the pandemic in a city that has elected only one Black mayor and no women.For Ms. Wiley, who did not qualify for public matching funds this week despite having announced that her campaign had met the threshold, the union’s support comes at a critical time. The union was a key early endorser for Mr. de Blasio in 2013, helping him demonstrate that he was a viable candidate in a similarly competitive race.“Maya Wiley has the experience and vision needed to move us forward, and to reimagine what our city can be when working people have access to the tools and support needed to live with dignity,” the union’s president, George Gresham, said in a statement.Local 1199 represents more than 200,000 health care workers, many of whom are women of color and essential workers who have worked through the pandemic. Union leaders promised to mobilize members and to use their grass-roots organization to turn out voters.The endorsement will help Ms. Wiley make the argument that she can win the June 22 primary against other top Democratic candidates, including Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, and Andrew Yang, the former presidential hopeful. The campaign has moved mostly online during the pandemic, and it has become difficult for candidates to stand out.Ms. Wiley faced a setback earlier this week when the city’s campaign finance board said she had not qualified for the city’s 8-to-1 matching program, which could enable her to receive $2 million in public funds.“There were minor issues with some donations that should be resolved quickly, and the delay will not impact the campaign’s operations,” Julia Savel, a spokeswoman for Ms. Wiley, said in a statement.A candidate must raise at least $250,000 in contributions of $250 or less from at least 1,000 city residents to qualify for the program. Then a $10 contribution from a city resident effectively turns into $90.The campaign finance board audits each candidate’s filings. If a donor does not provide information like an address or employer, the donation is not eligible. The campaign can provide additional documentation to be considered for the next payment on March 15.So far, only Mr. Adams and Mr. Stringer have received public funds. Mr. Yang’s campaign said he recently met the threshold and expects to receive public funding in April, pending the board’s audit.Ms. Wiley’s campaign had made a big fund-raising push and declared victory in January, writing on Twitter: “You did it! You made history.”The endorsement from the health care workers’ union gives Ms. Wiley’s campaign fresh energy, but some political strategists expected her to secure it. Ms. Wiley is being advised by Patrick Gaspard, the former political director at 1199 who also worked for President Barack Obama in the White House.Gabby Seay, the union’s political director, said that she was excited to support a Black woman who has first-hand experience with racism and misogyny, especially after Kamala Harris’s history-making election as vice president.“This is what we mean when we say support Black women,” she said in an interview.Mr. Stringer, who is competing with Ms. Wiley for progressive voters, won an endorsement last year from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, a major union that endorsed Christine Quinn, the City Council speaker, in 2013.Three other coveted unions have not yet made an endorsement: Local 32BJ of S.E.I.U., which represents building cleaners and airport workers, the Hotel Trades Council and the United Federation of Teachers.Ms. Wiley thanked the Local 1199’s members for helping New Yorkers during the “darkest days” of the pandemic.“As mayor, in my City Hall, the voices of frontline workers and unions will be as loud and as powerful as the pots and pans celebrating these essential workers at 7 p.m. every night this past spring,” Ms. Wiley said in a statement.Ms. Wiley, a civil rights lawyer whose father was a well-known civil rights leader, worked as Mr. de Blasio’s legal counsel for two years and then led the city’s police oversight agency, the Civilian Complaint Review Board.She has positioned herself as an expert on police reform and recently released an ambitious plan to shift resources from the Police Department to help families pay for child care and care for older relatives. Her plan aims to cut 2,250 police officers to give “high-need” families $5,000 a year to pay for those services.Some political consultants have argued that unions have less power than they once did or that labor endorsements could matter less this year. Ms. Seay rejected that idea, saying that the union offered “boots on the ground” and noting that its members are loyal Democratic voters.“There is no union like 1199,” she said. “Ask Bill de Blasio in 2013.”The union interviewed eight mayoral candidates and asked them to “walk a day” in members’ shoes to see what it is like to be a health care worker. Ms. Wiley spent time with Sandra Diaz, a home health aide who later said she believed Ms. Wiley would have her back. Ms. Wiley talked about caring for her own aging mother, who had Alzheimer’s, before she died.“She’s very down to earth, and she’s open to our ideas,” Ms. Diaz said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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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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      Eric Garner’s Mother Endorses Raymond McGuire for Mayor

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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 storyEric Garner’s Mother Backs McGuire for Mayor Over Progressive RivalsGwen Carr said she was endorsing Ray McGuire because his financial background could help him lead New York’s recovery and make the city a “safer place.”In a nearly two-minute ad, Raymond McGuire and Gwen Carr visit the location in Staten Island where her son, Eric Garner, had his fatal interaction with the police.Credit…Ray McGuire for MayorFeb. 11, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETIn the nearly seven years since Eric Garner died at the hands of the police in Staten Island, his mother, Gwen Carr, has helped turn her son’s cries of “I can’t breathe” into a national movement against discriminatory policing.Ms. Carr has also become a sought-after endorser for political hopefuls looking to represent themselves as candidates of change, especially on policing matters.That is especially true in New York City’s crowded Democratic primary for mayor, where several candidates have been coveting Ms. Carr’s endorsement in the wake of the national protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year.But instead of giving her endorsement to one of the more liberal, progressive Democratic candidates, Ms. Carr will announce on Thursday that she will endorse Raymond J. McGuire, a former Wall Street executive who served on the New York City Police Foundation and who has embraced calls to reform the police, but not defund them.Mr. McGuire, formerly the vice chairman at Citigroup, is a moderate Democrat who was recruited to run by the city’s business community and quickly raised $5 million in three months. But he still must overcome his lack of name recognition among most voters, and expand his appeal beyond the Wall Street elite.Ms. Carr’s endorsement could help Mr. McGuire with some left-leaning voters and shore up support in the Black community, which makes up 26 percent of the electorate.“Eric Garner and George Floyd are examples of what can happen to any Black man in this country and what has happened to all too many Black men in this city,” Mr. McGuire said in an interview. “Gwen Carr’s endorsement means she recognizes that I have what it takes to lead this city and to reflect the voice of those who would not otherwise have a voice.”Ms. Carr said the next mayor can only undertake the necessary police accountability reforms if the city’s future and finances are stabilized.“We know that the budget is in a mess, and from what I read he can balance budgets,” Ms. Carr said. “I have grandsons and granddaughters growing up in this city and I want it to be a safer place for them.”Mr. McGuire, who is Black, has adopted a policing stance that echoes that of Black lawmakers in the city who resisted calls to defund the police last year, citing rising violence in the communities they represent.“Black people want better policing. We want to reform, restructure and reallocate the dollars,” Mr. McGuire said. “We want our policing to be respectful, accountable and proportionate.”Mr. Garner was killed in 2014 after being placed in a chokehold by a police officer, Daniel Pantaleo. A grand jury did not indict Mr. Pantaleo and federal prosecutors decided against pursuing civil rights charges. Mr. Pantaleo remained on the police force for five more years until he was fired and stripped of his pension in 2019 by the police commissioner at the time, James P. O’Neill, after a police administrative judge found him guilty of violating a departmental ban on chokeholds.Ms. Carr said that her pursuit for justice in her son’s death was caught up in politics. She has been critical of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to delay a departmental trial and not fire Mr. Pantaleo. The mayor was elected in 2013 on a promise to overhaul the relationship between the New York Police Department and Black, brown and poor communities.“He has never been a politician,” Ms. Carr said of Mr. McGuire. “We need new blood.”Ms. Carr said she admired Mr. McGuire’s support of the National Action Network, the civil rights organization headed by the Rev. Al Sharpton. The group has been one of her biggest supporters since her son’s death. Mr. Sharpton has credited Mr. McGuire as one of many anonymous Black businessmen who had helped fund his organization during difficult times.Mr. McGuire’s campaign will reveal the endorsement on Thursday in a digital ad created by John Del Cecato, who is responsible for the successful 2013 campaign ad that featured Mr. de Blasio’s son, Dante; and Mark Skidmore, chief executive of Assemble the Agency, who wrote the script for Mr. McGuire’s campaign launch video that was narrated by Spike Lee.In the nearly two-minute ad, Mr. McGuire and Ms. Carr visit the location in Staten Island where Mr. Garner had his fatal interaction with the police. Ms. Carr holds onto Mr. McGuire’s arm as they walk toward the location, which is commemorated with a plaque and a mural. He refers to her as “Mother Carr”; she calls him “Mr. McGuire,” but he tells her to call him Ray.Her endorsement will be a disappointment to other candidates such as Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, and Maya Wiley, a civil rights lawyer who was Mr. de Blasio’s legal counsel and former head of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, said Susan Kang, an associate professor of political science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.“There are some moderates in the reform criminal justice world for whom this will carry a great deal of legitimacy, particularly those of Ray McGuire’s and Gwen Carr’s generation who are very likely voters,” Professor Kang said. “Trust is an important issue among older voters and that group makes up a high percentage of people who turn out to vote in municipal primaries.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      ‘The Pressure Is On’: Will Schumer Satisfy the Left?

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Capitol Riot FalloutTracking the ArrestsVisual TimelineInside the SiegeMurder Charges?The Oath KeepersAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘The Pressure Is On’: Will Schumer Satisfy the Left?As he prepares for an impeachment trial this week, Senator Chuck Schumer is at the height of his political power in Washington. At home in New York, he is taking steps to head off a primary challenge from the left.Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, is presiding over an evenly  divided chamber and faces re-election in 2022.Credit…Erin Schaff/The New York TimesFeb. 7, 2021Updated 9:59 a.m. ETOn a recent Sunday evening, about a dozen liberal housing activists from New York gathered for a virtual meeting with Senator Chuck Schumer. Though the newly anointed majority leader had served in Congress for four decades, a number of participants had scarcely interacted with him before, and some regarded him as an uncertain ally.But Mr. Schumer was eager to offer reassurance. At one point, he described himself as a former tenant organizer who was now in a position to deliver on housing issues on a grand scale, several participants recalled.“He had done a bunch of homework and knew everything that we were going to ask about and made a bunch of commitments with us to make it happen,” said Cea Weaver, a strategist for New York’s Housing Justice for All coalition. “He was like: I’m talking to Ilhan Omar, I’m talking to Bernie Sanders, I’m talking to A.O.C.”The January meeting was one in a series of steps Mr. Schumer has taken to win over leaders of the left in New York and Washington ahead of his campaign for re-election in 2022. Armed with a sweeping set of policy promises, he is courting the activists, organizers and next-generation elected officials in New York who would likely make up the backbone of an effort to dethrone him, should one ever arise.He is facing an extraordinary balancing act in the coming days as he seeks simultaneously to forge a massive relief bill to counter the coronavirus pandemic while managing the impeachment of former President Donald J. Trump. Both tasks are seen as urgent, practical and moral imperatives by the Democratic Party’s electoral base.Mr. Schumer, 70, has been attempting to channel his party’s sense of impatient purpose: In recent days, he has publicly urged President Biden to “go big and bold” with his economic policies and executive actions, defying pressure from Republicans and a few centrist Democrats to pare back campaign promises. Over the last week, Mr. Schumer has backed a new push to decriminalize cannabis; signed on to Senator Cory Booker’s Baby Bonds proposal, a plan to address the racial wealth gap; and appeared with Senator Elizabeth Warren and other progressives to call on Mr. Biden to cancel student debt.On impeachment, too, Mr. Schumer has taken an into-the-breach approach, demanding Mr. Trump’s removal from office the morning after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and casting the upcoming trial as a crucial ritual of accountability even if it is highly improbable that two thirds of the Senate will vote for conviction.Maurice Mitchell, the national director of the Working Families Party, said Mr. Schumer was emphatic in private conversations that he intends to “get really big things done” despite the daunting Senate math. Mr. Mitchell said he spoke frequently with Mr. Schumer but had not yet discussed the 2022 campaign with him.“He’s going to have to use all the tools at his disposal to keep his caucus together; he gets that, we all get that, it’s not a surprise,” Mr. Mitchell said. “I think he’s also really clear that the alternative is unacceptable — that he absolutely has to deliver.”Mr. Schumer with new Democratic senators last month.Credit…Erin Schaff/The New York TimesThe new Senate leader appears to recognize that his political playbook requires updating. A compulsive retail politician and prodigious fund-raiser, Mr. Schumer climbed to power less as a legislative engineer and an author of big ideas than as a campaign tactician with a financial base on Wall Street and a keen eye for finding the political midpoint between liberal New York City and its historically conservative suburbs. David Carlucci, a former state senator from Rockland County who lost a House primary in 2018 to a more progressive candidate, Representative Mondaire Jones, said a diverse new generation was transforming state politics. Mr. Schumer appears relatively secure, he said, but no Democrat should feel immune.“Any politician that’s part of the old guard has to be very concerned about a potential primary,” said Mr. Carlucci.That’s a lesson that progressives delivered to establishment Democrats in the last two election cycles, when losses by Joseph P. Crowley and Eliot L. Engel, two senior House members, marked back-to-back breakthroughs for left-wing politics in downstate New York.Unlike Mr. Crowley and Mr. Engel, the Senate leader remains a ubiquitous presence around New York. But his ability to match the passions of his own party is another question.Mr. Schumer drew periodic complaints from the left throughout the Trump years for taking a generally cautious approach to messaging and campaign strategy, including in key Senate races last year where Mr. Schumer handpicked moderate recruits who eventually lost in states like Maine and North Carolina. There is limited patience now among Democrats for the kind of incremental maneuvering and horse-trading that is traditionally required to pass laws in the Senate.In a statement, Mr. Schumer said he was trying to “do the best job for my constituents and for my country” and acknowledged a shift in the scope of his governing goals.“The world has changed and the needs of families have changed,” he said, “income and racial inequality has worsened, the climate crisis has become more urgent, Trump has attacked our democracy — all of these things require big, bold action and that is what I am fighting to deliver in the Senate.”At the moment, the most serious potential challengers to Mr. Schumer — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chief among them — have not taken steps toward a campaign. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, the 31-year-old Queens lawmaker, has told associates that she has not decided whether to run but that she believes the possibility of a challenge serves as a constructive form of pressure on Mr. Schumer, people who have spoken with her said.Other potential opponents appear more focused on assembling a bid to unseat Gov. Andrew Cuomo.Yet Mr. Schumer seems to want to deter even a quixotic opponent who could become a nettlesome distraction or worse. He has taken to using Twitter and cable-news interviews to demand that Mr. Biden take bold executive actions on matters like student debt and climate change. And as he assumes the expanded powers of the Senate majority, Mr. Schumer is drawing on old and new alliances to help him govern.Starting last spring, Mr. Schumer convened several conference calls to craft pandemic relief plans with some of the big policy minds of the Democratic Party. They included more centrist voices, like the former Treasury Department official Antonio Weiss; progressive economic thinkers like Felicia Wong of the Roosevelt Institute and Stephanie Kelton of Stony Brook University; and liberal think-tank leaders Heather Boushey and Michael Linden, who now serve in the Biden administration.Mr. Schumer’s regular meetings with national liberal advocacy groups have intensified in recent weeks, and he has been spending time with a cohort of New York progressives elected over the last year. In December, he met with State Senator Jabari Brisport, a 33-year-old democratic socialist elected last fall, at a bar in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and stressed his support for addressing climate change.“We joked about me being a socialist in Brooklyn,” Mr. Brisport said, recalling that Mr. Schumer had noted he works well with Mr. Sanders, who is also a socialist from Brooklyn.Mr. Schumer must corral unanimous support for President Biden’s agenda from an eclectic Democratic caucus.Credit…Stefani Reynolds for The New York TimesRepresentative Ritchie Torres, a 32-year-old progressive who captured an open House seat in the Bronx last fall, said Mr. Schumer was the first official to contact him after Mr. Torres won a contentious primary; soon afterward, Mr. Schumer visited his district for a meeting about expanding the federal child tax credit..css-1xzcza9{list-style-type:disc;padding-inline-start:1em;}.css-c7gg1r{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:0.875rem;line-height:0.875rem;margin-bottom:15px;color:#121212 !important;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-c7gg1r{font-size:0.9375rem;line-height:0.9375rem;}}.css-rqynmc{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.9375rem;line-height:1.25rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-rqynmc{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-rqynmc strong{font-weight:600;}.css-rqynmc em{font-style:italic;}.css-yoay6m{margin:0 auto 5px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.3125rem;color:#121212;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-yoay6m{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.4375rem;}}.css-1dg6kl4{margin-top:5px;margin-bottom:15px;}.css-16ed7iq{width:100%;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-box-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;justify-content:center;padding:10px 0;background-color:white;}.css-pmm6ed{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;}.css-pmm6ed > :not(:first-child){margin-left:5px;}.css-5gimkt{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.8125rem;font-weight:700;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.03em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.03em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.03em;letter-spacing:0.03em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#333;}.css-5gimkt:after{content:’Collapse’;}.css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;-webkit-transform:rotate(180deg);-ms-transform:rotate(180deg);transform:rotate(180deg);}.css-eb027h{max-height:5000px;-webkit-transition:max-height 0.5s ease;transition:max-height 0.5s ease;}.css-6mllg9{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;position:relative;opacity:0;}.css-6mllg9:before{content:”;background-image:linear-gradient(180deg,transparent,#ffffff);background-image:-webkit-linear-gradient(270deg,rgba(255,255,255,0),#ffffff);height:80px;width:100%;position:absolute;bottom:0px;pointer-events:none;}#masthead-bar-one{display:none;}#masthead-bar-one{display:none;}.css-1amoy78{background-color:white;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;width:calc(100% – 40px);max-width:600px;margin:1.5rem auto 1.9rem;padding:15px;box-sizing:border-box;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-1amoy78{padding:20px;width:100%;}}.css-1amoy78:focus{outline:1px solid #e2e2e2;}.css-1amoy78[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-1amoy78[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-1amoy78[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:’See more’;}.css-1amoy78[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-k9atqk{margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden;}.css-k9atqk strong{font-weight:700;}.css-k9atqk em{font-style:italic;}.css-k9atqk a{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #ccd9e3;}.css-k9atqk a:visited{color:#333;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd;}.css-k9atqk a:hover{border-bottom:none;}Capitol Riot FalloutFrom Riot to ImpeachmentThe riot inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, followed a rally at which President Trump made an inflammatory speech to his supporters, questioning the results of the election. Here’s a look at what happened and the ongoing fallout:As this video shows, poor planning and a restive crowd encouraged by President Trump set the stage for the riot.A two hour period was crucial to turning the rally into the riot.Several Trump administration officials, including cabinet members Betsy DeVos and Elaine Chao, announced that they were stepping down as a result of the riot.Federal prosecutors have charged more than 70 people, including some who appeared in viral photos and videos of the riot. Officials expect to eventually charge hundreds of others.The House voted to impeach the president on charges of “inciting an insurrection” that led to the rampage by his supporters.Mr. Torres said he intended to back Mr. Schumer in any contested primary. “Without a doubt, he deserves to be re-elected,” Mr. Torres said.Should Mr. Schumer struggle to turn his splashy endorsements of bold action into law, or come to be seen as balking at certain clashes with Republicans, a serious challenge could well emerge. Mr. Schumer faces a dense ideological minefield on matters ranging from economic recovery legislation to abolishing the filibuster and achieving statehood for Washington, D.C.“The pressure is on now that he is one of the most powerful politicians in the entire country,” said Assemblyman Ron Kim, a progressive legislator. “If he can’t deliver, it’s not just him — it’s the party that will suffer in two years or four years.”State Senator Jessica Ramos, a Queens Democrat who in 2018 beat a conservative incumbent in a primary, said she believed Mr. Schumer had been responsive to liberals but that she was waiting to see hard results before endorsing him. She said she had been “disappointed” that Mr. Schumer did not take a harder line in his power-sharing negotiations with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.“We have to stand up to these people who don’t care to put forward legislation that is humane and that takes care of the people of this country.” Ms. Ramos said. Mr. Schumer is seeking to avoid the fate of two senior House Democrats from New York who were defeated in primaries by progressive candidates in recent election cycles.Credit…Erin Schaff/The New York TimesPeople who have spoken with Mr. Schumer about a possible primary challenge say he is confident about his chances against Ms. Ocasio Cortez or anyone else; he points to his support in the suburbs and among Black voters in New York City, arguing it would be difficult for an opponent from the left to overcome those advantages. As the first-ever Jewish Senate majority leader, he would likely have considerable strength among an important population of left-leaning whites.But Mr. Schumer surely also knows that coalitions can be fleeting and flexible. He is said to have kept a close watch on Senator Edward Markey’s primary campaign in Massachusetts last year against Joseph P. Kennedy III. Mr. Markey, a fellow septuagenarian, bested his younger and better-known rival by campaigning as an environmental justice champion and aligning himself closely with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and groups like Sunrise.A few days after Mr. Markey won his primary, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, a liberal Manhattan Democrat, spoke briefly with Mr. Schumer at a Sept. 11 memorial event in her district. Frustrated by Mr. Cuomo’s opposition to increasing taxes on the wealthy, Ms. Niou said she appealed to Mr. Schumer for help raising direly needed revenue. He was supportive, she said, but at the time Republicans controlled the Senate.Ms. Niou said she was supportive of Mr. Schumer and believed it was “really important that New York has the majority leader as their member.” But she said she intended to push Mr. Schumer to make the most of the job.“Every single thing I asked for, I’m going to ask for five thousand times harder,” she said.John Washington, a Buffalo-based housing organizer who participated in the January meeting with Mr. Schumer, said he had seen a marked shift in the senator. In the past, he said, Mr. Schumer would seek out support for his own priorities and offer “radio silence” on activist goals.“I think it’s clear to everyone that there is kind of a new age of politics,” he said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Tim Ryan Is Said to Plan Senate Bid

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTim Ryan, a Top Democrat in Ohio, Is Said to Plan Senate BidMr. Ryan, who mounted a long-shot campaign for president in 2019, plans to compete for the state’s open Senate seat. His campaign will test Democrats’ strength in a state tilting to the right.Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio has argued that Democrats will build enduring majorities only if they reclaim support from a multiracial, working-class coalition of voters.Credit…Rachel Mummey for The New York TimesFeb. 1, 2021, 5:34 p.m. ETRepresentative Tim Ryan of Ohio plans to run for his state’s open Senate seat, Democrats who have spoken with him said, a bid that would test whether even a Democrat with roots in the blue-collar Youngstown region and close ties to organized labor can win in the increasingly Republican state.Mr. Ryan, an 18-year House veteran, has reached out to a host of Ohio and national Democrats in recent days about the seat now held by Senator Rob Portman, a Republican who stunned officials in both parties by announcing last week that he would retire.Former Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio, a Democrat who has been encouraging Mr. Ryan to run, said of the congressman, “I think he is the person with the best chance, given this political climate we’re in and given the way Ohio has been performing.”“He has the ability to appeal to a lot of independents, and Democrats will be very excited about this candidacy,” Mr. Strickland said.Mr. Ryan has also discussed his candidacy with Representative Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving member in Ohio’s congressional delegation, and national labor leaders, including Lee Saunders of Afscme, while also receiving a nudge from Hillary Clinton.Asked about these conversations, Mr. Ryan said on Monday that he was “encouraged by their support, enthusiasm and commitment,” adding, “The U.S. Senate needs another working-class voice, and I’m very serious about the opportunity to continue representing the people of Ohio.”He is expected to declare his candidacy by the beginning of March, according to Democrats briefed on his planning.Long one of the country’s quintessential political battlegrounds, Ohio has turned sharply right since former President Donald J. Trump’s ascent. Mr. Trump carried the state by eight percentage points in 2016 and won it again by the same margin last year, even as Joseph R. Biden Jr. emphasized his working-class appeal and made a late push in the state.Senator Sherrod Brown is the only Democrat remaining in statewide office in Ohio. And even with his fiercely populist approach, Mr. Brown has lost ground among once-reliable Democrats in eastern Ohio, including those in the industrial area south of Lake Erie and in the more rural enclaves that trace the Ohio River.Mr. Ryan hails from Niles, Ohio, just north of Youngstown, a region filled with voters who are effectively Trump Democrats, many of them union members or retirees. He outperformed Mr. Biden in his district, but Democrats there suffered a series of losses in other down-ballot races.The question, should Mr. Ryan become his party’s nominee, is if he can win back these mostly white voters.Mr. Ryan has long considered running statewide, but in the past decided on seeking re-election to the House seat he first won in 2002, when he succeeded the famously fiery, and corrupt, James Traficant.Mr. Ryan mounted a long-shot bid for the presidency in 2019 with the same message he’s expected to carry into the Senate contest — that Democrats will build enduring majorities only if they reclaim support from a multiracial, working-class coalition of voters.Beyond elevating that argument, Mr. Ryan, 47, has another compelling reason to run for the Senate: As Republicans grow stronger in eastern Ohio, his district has become increasingly competitive, and the Republican Party could redraw the state’s districts to make it even more forbidding for him in 2022.While he has risen on the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Ryan has mostly given up on his hopes to join the House leadership, having been turned back in his 2016 challenge against Nancy Pelosi, then the minority leader.In Congress, Mr. Ryan has been a close ally of unions and has generally toed the Democratic line, shifting toward a stance in support of abortion rights in recent years. Even before formally announcing his bid, Mr. Ryan drew support from the state chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which on Monday released a letter endorsing his undeclared candidacy.Mr. Ryan will enter the Senate race as an early front-runner. He is one of the few Democrats left in the state’s congressional delegation, and represents a region of the state the party is desperate to reclaim. He also has deep relationships with national leaders.On Saturday, Mrs. Clinton publicly encouraged Mr. Ryan to run for the Senate, repaying him for his support for her when she ran against Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential primary race.“You’re right, Kathy!” Mrs. Clinton wrote on Twitter, promoting a message from a Democratic activist in Ohio, Kathy DiCristofaro, who wrote that “Ohio needs leaders like @timryan to fight for working people.”Mr. Ryan also has an ally in the White House, having endorsed Mr. Biden in November 2019, a low ebb in the race for the candidate.It’s unlikely, though, that the congressman will run unopposed for the Senate nomination. One Democrat whose name has been floated for the seat, Mayor Nan Whaley of Dayton, said she was “thinking about it” when asked on the day Mr. Portman announced his retirement. Ms. Whaley is also considering a run for governor, though, and many Ohio Democrats believe she and Mr. Ryan would try to avoid clashing in a primary.Equally intriguing to some Democrats in the state is Dr. Amy Acton, who as the former director of Ohio’s Department of Health ran the coronavirus response effort last year for Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican. She is considering joining the race, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported last week, and received her own online boost when Connie Schultz, a longtime Ohio columnist and the wife of Mr. Brown, wrote on Twitter: “Imagine Dr. Amy Acton as Ohio’s next U.S. senator. I sure can.”The Republicans are likely to have an even more crowded primary field. The race appears to be wide open after the announcement last week by Representative Jim Jordan, the far-right Trump ally whom the former president awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, that he would remain in the House.A number of other House members may run, including Representative Steve Stivers, a Columbus-area lawmaker. A host of would-be self-funders are also eyeing the seat, including Jane Timken, the chair of the Ohio Republican Party.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Did Candidates Flee to Vacation Homes? 5 Highlights From the Mayor’s Race

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceA Look at the RaceAndrew Yang’s Candidacy5 TakeawaysWho’s Running?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyDid Candidates Flee to Vacation Homes? 5 Highlights From the Mayor’s RaceQuestions surrounding candidates’ second homes, ranked-choice voting and ties to casino interests arose in New York’s mayoral contest.Maya Wiley, center, and other candidates shared their whereabouts during the first several months of the pandemic. She spent 10 days outside of the city on Long Island in July.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesEmma G. Fitzsimmons, Jeffery C. Mays, Dana Rubinstein and Jan. 25, 2021, 3:00 a.m. ETOne of the main unanswered questions in this year’s mayoral race is how the introduction of ranked-choice voting will change the nature of the election.The first taste of how things will change came on Sunday, with an endorsement of two candidates, in ranked order.Other questions were also addressed last week, including how much time candidates spent outside of New York City during the pandemic, and how they view the long-term job prospects of the current police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea. (Hint: Count on a job opening in January.)Here are some key developments in the race:A double endorsement?For months, New York mayoral campaigns, political strategists and officials have quietly grappled with one of the biggest uncertainties in the race: how to approach the new ranked-choice voting system in the June Democratic primary, for which New Yorkers will be asked to rank as many as five choices. Can a candidate draw contrasts without alienating a rival’s supporters? Are alliances in order? Do voters even understand the process?On Sunday, some of those private calculations were placed on public display in what was billed as the “first of its kind” ranked-choice endorsement in the race: State Senator Gustavo Rivera named Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, as his first choice, and Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive, as his second.Both of those contenders are seeking to emerge as the standard-bearers for progressive voters in the party, in competition with candidates including Maya Wiley, who out-raised Ms. Morales but trails Mr. Stringer in the money race. Mr. Rivera stressed their New Yorker bona fides at a time when Andrew Yang — another leading candidate in the race — has faced scrutiny over his political ties to the city.The joint campaign event with Mr. Rivera was not a cross-endorsement, Mr. Stringer assured.“Obviously I don’t want her to be mayor,” Mr. Stringer cracked as he appeared with Ms. Morales, and they stressed their interest in educating New Yorkers about ranked-choice voting.But the moment offered an early glimpse of how the new system may shape coalitions and highlight rivalries — and how elected officials with endorsements to dole out may seek to wield their influence.Yang pitches a casino on Governors IslandAdd Mr. Yang to the list of gambling and real estate executives eager to bring a full-fledged casino to New York City.Mr. Yang spent much of last week doubling down on his assertion that what New York City needs right now is a casino.During a discussion about the city’s grave fiscal needs and the imperative to draw tourists back, Mr. Yang argued that New York City should put a casino on Governors Island — to make the city money and to make it “more fun.”“That casino would generate so much money, it’d be bananas,” Mr. Yang said during the Jan. 14 interview.Andrew Yang has proposed putting a casino on Governors Island: “That casino would generate so much money, it’d be bananas.”Credit…Andrew Seng for The New York TimesCasinos are currently prohibited on the island, but Mr. Yang’s endorsement of a city casino raised some eyebrows among political types because Bradley Tusk, who is advising Mr. Yang’s campaign, is also chairman of IG Acquisition. The company, which seeks to acquire businesses in the leisure, gaming and hospitality industries, recently raised $300 million in an initial public offering.Via text message, Mr. Tusk acknowledged discussing the idea of a Governors Island casino with Mr. Yang, but said the idea is for the city to own the casino — the opposite of the industry’s preference.He argued that because he and Mr. Yang are proposing a city-controlled casino, rather than a private operation, there is no possible conflict of interest. A city-owned casino might still benefit from a casino consulting firm, but Mr. Tusk said that his company is interested in finding ways for people to bet on video games like Fortnite or League of Legends.“The point of saying public owned was to both maximize revenue for the city and remove it as anything that involves me,” Mr. Tusk said.Three weeks in the HamptonsWhen Mr. Yang told The New York Times that he had spent “more time upstate than in the city over the last number of months,” his fellow mayoral candidates saw an opening and highlighted how they stayed put.One candidate who did not throw any shade at Mr. Yang was Raymond J. McGuire, a wealthy former Wall Street executive who, with his wife, owns a second home in the Hamptons. Speculation rose that Mr. McGuire’s campaign was silent because perhaps he had spent much of the pandemic outside of the city as well.After reviewing his calendar, Mr. McGuire’s campaign said that he spent the first three months of the pandemic in Manhattan, and then a total of three weeks in the Hamptons with his family from June to August.His campaign staff shared a schedule that indicated that Mr. McGuire worked and took meetings in both Manhattan and the Hamptons during the summer; The Times confirmed that several of those meetings — with future staff members and an influential Black activist, Kirsten John Foy — did take place.“It’s pretty clear from the exhaustive and transparent accounting of Ray’s whereabouts that he was not living in the Hamptons during Covid,” said Mr. McGuire’s spokeswoman Lupé Todd-Medina.Ray McGuire’s campaign staff shared a schedule that indicated he worked and took meetings in both Manhattan and the Hamptons during the summer.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesThe Times asked other candidates about their whereabouts from March to September. Ms. Wiley’s campaign said she spent 10 days outside of the city on Long Island in July, while Mr. Stringer said he spent three days in Connecticut with his wife’s family in August.Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, said he did not spend a full 24 hours outside of the city during that period. Mr. Adams, who slept at Brooklyn Borough Hall during the height of the pandemic, said he would spend eight to 12 hours visiting with his partner and family in New Jersey.Carlos Menchaca, a councilman from Brooklyn, said he spent a total of 14 days outside the city, mostly hiking and meditating but still working remotely. Ms. Morales said she spent two days in upstate New York in July, and one of those days was with her campaign team.Shaun Donovan, the former federal housing secretary, spent two weeks with his family in Washington, D.C., as they were in the process of moving to join him in Brooklyn, according to his campaign. Zach Iscol said he spent a total of 50 days outside of New York with his family in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts in between working as deputy director at the Covid-19 field hospital at the Jacob Javits Center.Paperboy Prince raps about universal basic incomeIf there is one candidate in the crowded mayoral field who is most likely to be impersonated on “Saturday Night Live,” it is probably Paperboy Prince, a rapper from Brooklyn.At an online mayoral forum last week, Paperboy performed a rap in support of universal basic income, took two actual pies to the face and expressed concern about waking up a roommate.Paperboy, who ran to be the first nonbinary member of Congress, wore large bedazzled sunglasses indoors and easily had the most colorful backdrop. The rapper won about 14,000 votes in the Democratic primary against Representative Nydia Velazquez last year.Paperboy’s platform includes canceling rent, legalizing marijuana and psychedelics, abolishing the police and issuing reparations to “Black and brown people for the Drug War.”Other unorthodox candidates have garnered attention over the years — if not many votes. Jimmy McMillan ran for governor and mayor on the “Rent is Too Damn High” platform. He released a music video and was played by Kenan Thompson on “S.N.L.” in 2010.The forum, held by the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, featured other lesser known candidates: Joycelyn Taylor, the head of a general contracting firm who talked about growing up in public housing; Aaron Foldenauer, a lawyer who bristled at not being featured on the same panel as the leading candidates; and Quanda Francis, an accountant who said she dropped out of high school, which she said was an example of the failures of the city’s education system.A different kind of police commissionerWhen Mayor Bill de Blasio made a major announcement last week about stricter disciplinary rules for officers, he did so without Commissioner Shea.The mayor said that the police commissioner was still recovering from the coronavirus. Yet the commissioner apparently felt well enough to conduct interviews with reporters earlier in the week, raising questions about his support of the new rules and of the mayor.Mr. Yang said he wants to hire a “civilian police commissioner.” Credit…James Estrin/The New York TimesWhat seems clear is that Commissioner Shea does not have the support of most of the mayoral candidates. Ms. Wiley, a former counsel to Mr. de Blasio, even called on the mayor to fire him.Several candidates have talked recently about what they want to see in the next police commissioner. Mr. Yang said he wants to hire a “civilian police commissioner” who was not a police officer and who is “independent from the culture of the Police Department.”Mr. Adams, a former police officer, said he would hire a female police commissioner.At the Brooklyn mayoral forum, Ms. Wiley and Mr. Stringer, the city comptroller, would not commit to hiring a person of color as police commissioner, but pledged that their administrations would be diverse. Mr. de Blasio picked three Irish-American leaders, and the Police Department has not had a Black commissioner since Lee P. Brown resigned in 1992.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Hawley Answers Trump’s Call for Election Challenge

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      margin-bottom: 0px;
      padding: 13px 1.25em 10px;
      }
      }

      .nytslm::-webkit-scrollbar {
      display: none;
      /* Safari and Chrome */
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      .nytslm_innerContainer {
      margin: unset;
      display: flex;
      align-items: center;
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      @media (min-width: 600px) {
      .nytslm_innerContainer {
      margin: auto;
      min-width: 600px;
      }
      }

      .nytslm_title {
      padding-right: 1em;
      border-right: 1px solid #ccc;
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      @media (min-width: 740px) {
      .nytslm_title {
      max-width: none;
      font-size: 1.0625rem;
      line-height: 1.25rem;
      }
      }

      .nytslm_spacer {
      width: 0;
      border-right: 1px solid #E2E2E2;
      height: 45px;
      margin: 0 1.4em;
      }

      .nytslm_list {
      font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;
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      width: auto;
      list-style: none;
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      align-items: baseline;
      justify-content: center;
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      .nytslm_li {
      margin-right: 1.4em;
      flex-shrink: 0;
      font-size: 0.8125rem;
      line-height: 0.8125rem;
      font-weight: 600;
      padding: 1em 0;
      }

      #nytslm .nytslm_li a {
      color: #121212;
      text-decoration: none;
      }

      #nytslm .nytsmenu_li_current,
      #nytslm .nytslm_li a:hover,
      #nytslm .nytslm_li a:active,
      #nytslm .nytslm_li a:focus {
      color: #121212;
      border-bottom: 2px solid #121212;
      padding-bottom: 2px;
      }

      .nytslm_li_live_loud:after {
      content: ‘LIVE’
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      .nytslm_li_live_loud {
      background-color: #d0021b;
      color: white;
      border-radius: 3px;
      padding: 4px 6px 2px 6px;
      margin-right: 2px;
      display: inline-block;
      letter-spacing: 0.03rem;
      font-weight: 700;
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      .nytslm_li_upcoming_loud {
      border: 1px solid #d0021b;
      color: #d0021b;
      border-radius: 3px;
      padding: 4px 6px 2px 6px;
      margin-right: 2px;
      display: inline-block;
      letter-spacing: 0.03rem;
      font-weight: 700;
      }

      .nytslm_li_upcoming_loud:before {
      content: ‘Upcoming’
      }

      .nytslm_li_loud a:hover,
      .nytslm_li_loud a:active,
      .nytslm_li_loud a:focus {
      border-bottom: 2px solid;
      padding-bottom: 2px;
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      .nytslm_li_updated {
      color: #777;
      }

      #masthead-bar-one {
      display: none;
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      .electionNavbar__logoSvg {
      width: 80px;
      align-self: center;
      display: flex;
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      @media(min-width: 600px) {
      .electionNavbar__logoSvg {
      width: 100px;
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      .nytslm_notification {
      border-left: 1px solid #ccc;
      font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;
      padding-left: 1em;
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      .nytslm_notification_label {
      color: #D0021B;
      text-transform: uppercase;
      font-weight: 700;
      font-size: 0.6875rem;
      margin-bottom: 0.2em;
      letter-spacing: 0.02em;
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      .nytslm_notification_link {
      font-weight: 600;
      color: #121212;
      display: flex;
      align-items: center;
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      .nytslm_notification_headline {
      font-size: 0.875rem;
      line-height: 1.0625rem;
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      .nytslm_notification_image_wrapper {
      position: relative;
      max-width: 75px;
      margin-left: 10px;
      flex-shrink: 0;
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      .nytslm_notification_image {
      max-width: 100%;
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      .nytslm_notification_image_live_bug {
      position: absolute;
      text-transform: uppercase;
      bottom: 7px;
      left: 2px;

      font-size: 0.5rem;
      background-color: #d0021b;
      color: white;
      border-radius: 3px;
      padding: 4px 4px 2px 4px;
      font-weight: 700;
      margin-right: 2px;
      letter-spacing: 0.03rem;
      }

      /* No hover state on in app */
      .Hybrid .nytslm_li a:hover,
      .Hybrid .nytslm_li_loud a:hover {
      border-bottom: none;
      padding-bottom: 0;
      }

      .Hybrid #TOP_BANNER_REGION {
      display: none;
      }

      .nytslm_st0 {
      fill: #f4564a;
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      .nytslm_st1 {
      fill: #ffffff;
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      .nytslm_st2 {
      fill: #2b8ad8;
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      Electoral College Results

      Election Disinformation

      Full Results

      Biden Transition Updates

      “),e+=””+b+””,e+=””,d&&(e+=””,e+=””,e+=”Live”,e+=””),e+=””,e}function getVariant(){var a=window.NYTD&&window.NYTD.Abra&&window.NYTD.Abra.getAbraSync&&window.NYTD.Abra.getAbraSync(“STYLN_elections_notifications”);// Only actually have control situation in prd and stg
      return[“www.nytimes.com”,”www.stg.nytimes.com”].includes(window.location.hostname)||(a=”STYLN_elections_notifications”),a||”0_control”}function reportData(){if(window.dataLayer){var a;try{a=dataLayer.find(function(a){return!!a.user}).user}catch(a){}var b={abtest:{test:”styln-elections-notifications”,variant:getVariant()},module:{name:”styln-elections-notifications”,label:getVariant(),region:”TOP_BANNER”},user:a};window.dataLayer.push(Object.assign({},b,{event:”ab-alloc”})),window.dataLayer.push(Object.assign({},b,{event:”ab-expose”})),window.dataLayer.push(Object.assign({},b,{event:”impression”}))}}function insertNotification(a,b){// Bail here if the user is in control
      if(reportData(),”0_control”!==getVariant()){// Remove menu bar items or previous notification
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      if(currentNotificationContents!==a.text&&window.localStorage.getItem(“stylnelecs”)!==a.timestamp)// Do not show if user has interacted with this link
      // if (Cookie.get(‘stylnelecs’) === data.timestamp) return;
      {expireLocalStorage(“stylnelecs”),currentNotificationContents=a.text;// Construct URL for tracking
      var b=a.link.split(“#”),c=b[0]+”?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-elections-notifications&variant=1_election_notifications&region=TOP_BANNER&context=Menu#”+b[1],d=formatNotification(c,a.text,a.kicker,a.image);insertNotification(d,function(){var b=document.querySelector(“.nytslm_notification_link”);return b?void(b.onclick=function(){window.localStorage.setItem(“stylnelecs”,a.timestamp)}):null})}})}(function(){navigator.userAgent.includes(“nytios”)||navigator.userAgent.includes(“nyt_android”)||window.stylnelecsHasLoaded||(// setInterval(getUpdate, 5000);
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