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    Miami Can’t Delay Its Election by a Year, Judge Rules

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    City commissioners said the move was meant to save money and improve turnout. Critics noted that it would give some city officials an extra year in office.Miami city commissioners violated the Florida Constitution when they voted last month to postpone this fall’s election to November 2026, a state judge ruled on Monday, saying that such a change required voter approval.The judge, Valerie R. Manno Schurr of Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit, ruled in favor of Emilio T. González, a candidate for mayor. He sued in late June after the City Commission voted 3 to 2 to delay the election, a move it said was meant to save money and improve turnout. Critics noted that it would give elected city officials an extra year in office.The postponement had led to public outcry from candidates who had already filed to run, and from some voters who said the process had been undemocratic.Mayor Francis X. Suarez and one city commissioner, Joe Carollo, are supposed to leave office at the end of this year because of term limits. Mr. Carollo voted against postponing the election; Mr. Suarez signed the approved ordinance into law.The commissioners and the mayor cannot lawfully change the date of a municipal election by ordinance, the judge wrote. Postponing the election from an odd-numbered year to an even-numbered one amounted to amending the city’s charter, which would require approval from the electorate, she ruled.The judge cited the Miami-Dade County charter, which governs cities in the county, including Miami, under the Florida Constitution.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Cuomo to Fight On in Mayor’s Race After Bruising Primary Loss to Mamdani

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      Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced he would run as a third-party candidate against Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor.Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has decided to run in the general election for mayor, urged on by supporters anxious that his withdrawal would nearly guarantee Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s victory and put New York City in the hands of the far left.The decision by Mr. Cuomo, who had been questioning whether to run after his crushing Democratic primary defeat by Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman and a democratic socialist, was announced Monday afternoon in a 90-second video.“I am truly sorry that I let you down. But as my grandfather used to say, when you get knocked down, learn the lesson and pick yourself back up and get in the game. And that is what I’m going to do,” Mr. Cuomo said. “The fight to save our city isn’t over.”Mr. Cuomo has pledged that if the polls show that he is not the highest-ranked challenger to Mr. Mamdani by mid-September, he will drop out of the race, according to a letter he sent to supporters.He will encourage Mr. Mamdani’s other challengers — Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent; Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee; and Jim Walden, an independent — to do the same. Mr. Walden hatched the plan recently, and former Gov. David A. Paterson endorsed the idea last week.Mr. Cuomo was the prohibitive favorite for much of the Democratic primary for mayor, leading in most polls until the very end. A super PAC spent more than $22 million to promote his candidacy and launch a late-stage attack on Mr. Mamdani, once it became clear that he posed a threat to Mr. Cuomo.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Elections

      If Zohran Mamdani Wins, Then What?

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      Zohran Mamdani’s remarkable, decisive defeat of Andrew Cuomo in the New York Democratic primary for mayor opens a potential new path for progressive governance — one that will be a challenging, if thrilling, test for the American left.Mr. Mamdani, the 33-year-old state assemblyman and proud democratic socialist, is the heavy favorite to win the general election in November, even in a field that includes the beleaguered incumbent, Eric Adams, running as an independent. If he prevails, he will be, without a doubt, the most powerful unabashedly left-wing politician in America.That’s direct power: over America’s largest police force, its largest education department and a municipal budget that has soared past $110 billion. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders are famous and influential leftists, but they do not oversee the machinery of government in the way mayors do. And governing, unlike legislating, cannot simply default to activism.Mr. Mamdani would become the leftist others look to, either as a savior or as a villain.New York City has a larger population than most states; it is racially, ethnically and politically diverse. The deep-blue hue of its electorate belies a tremendous complexity that has deviled many a mayor. How to govern for progressive A.O.C. supporters and conservative Orthodox Jews? What about churchgoing African Americans, Muslim Middle Easterners and Sikhs? This is a city that less than a year ago saw a significant swing toward Donald Trump.Mr. Mamdani would face numerous tests. (A disclosure: In 2018, when I ran for state senator in New York City, Mr. Mamdani was my campaign manager.) With the city, the nation and even the world watching him, he would be tasked with fulfilling campaign promises that were widely popular. As mayor, he could freeze rent on rent-stabilized apartments, since the mayor appoints the members of the board that makes this decision. He could fund, through the municipal budget, the five city-run grocery stores in his campaign proposal, perhaps partnering with existing chains and subsidizing them to lower the cost of items there.But at least some of his proposals would not be immediately deliverable. He would need to barter with the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority — and by extension, Kathy Hochul, the moderate Democratic governor — for his proposal to make buses free, even if the overall cost (it would mean forgoing an estimated $800 million a year in fare revenue) is not terribly expensive, in the grand scheme of the city and state budgets, which total north of $100 billion and $200 billion, respectively.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 163 Shares89 Views

      in Elections

      Should New York City Ditch Its Party Primaries in Favor of Open Races?

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      A panel created by Mayor Eric Adams wants to consider using an “open primary” system for elections in New York City. Here’s how the plan would work.For the last century, New York City has typically elected its mayor the same way. Democrats choose a candidate in their party primary, Republicans choose a candidate in their primary, and the twain meet in November.That may soon change.A special panel appointed by Mayor Eric Adams is formulating a plan that would scrap the current system in favor of an open primary where all the candidates — regardless of political party affiliation — would be on the ballot.Under the proposal, the top two candidates would advance to the general election, regardless of their party affiliation. And all voters would be eligible to participate in the primary election. Right now, only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in their party’s primary contest.The 13-member panel, a charter revision commission, recently released a 135-page report that details several proposals that could be on the ballot this November. The measures could curb the City Council’s power to reject new housing, among other ideas. Voters would need to approve the proposals, which would be listed as ballot questions, for them to be enacted.The commission has not yet decided whether to put open primaries on the ballot, and during a four-hour hearing on Monday, public opinions were clearly divided.Here’s what you need to know about the proposal:How would an open primary system work?The panel is considering moving to a system where all registered voters could participate in local primary elections, and the top two candidates who receive the most votes would face off in the general election.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Elections

      NYC Panel Approves Rent Increases, a Key Issue for Mamdani and Adams

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      Mayor Eric Adams, who appointed the Rent Guidelines Board, has attacked Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to freeze the rent if he becomes mayor.The Rent Guidelines Board approved increases of at least 3 percent for New York City’s one million rent-stabilized apartments, rejecting the call for a rent freeze that helped Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani surge to the lead in the Democratic mayoral primary last week.Mayor Eric Adams, who appointed the members of the board, has supported rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments every year since he took office. Mr. Mamdani, likely to be the Democratic nominee facing him in the general election in November, has promised not to do the same if he becomes mayor.As the city faces linked affordability and housing crises, the contrast between Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Adams added a new layer of tension to the board’s decision.On Monday night, the board, in a 5-to-4 vote, approved 3 percent increases for one-year leases and 4.5 percent increases for two-year leases. The votes against the increases came from the two members on the board representing landlords, who had wanted higher increases, and the two members representing tenants, who wanted a rent freeze.Any increases would apply to leases beginning in or after October.As in past years, the discourse around the vote reflects the rift between pro-renter and pro-landlord political interests in New York City. At the meeting on Monday, held in a theater at El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem, renters and tenant advocates chanted “Freeze the rent” and waved colorful signs that read “Stop real estate greed” and “Tenants vote.”But the board’s decision is also providing an opportunity for Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Adams to distinguish themselves from each other at a time when making the city a more affordable place to live is a key issue driving the election.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 150 Shares139 Views

      in Elections

      Brian K. Williams Agrees to Plead Guilty in L.A. Bomb Threat Case

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      The former City Hall aide, considered by colleagues a steady presence, faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.A former Los Angeles official agreed Thursday to plead guilty to a felony charge after fabricating a bomb threat against the City Hall he was hired to protect as the deputy mayor of public safety.Brian K. Williams, 61, who rose from the city attorney’s office to become a deputy in two mayoral administrations, admitted in a plea deal that he had concocted a bomb threat and called it in to City Hall last October, the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles said in a statement.Under the terms of the deal, the statement said, Mr. Williams — who oversaw public safety for Mayor Karen Bass until she put him on administrative leave in December — has agreed to plead guilty to a single felony charge of “information with threats regarding fire and explosives.”“In an era of heated political rhetoric that has sometimes escalated into violence, we cannot allow public officials to make bomb threats,” said Bill Essayli, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.At Los Angeles City Hall, where Mr. Williams had been considered by colleagues a steady and affable presence, a spokesman for Mayor Bass expressed disappointment. “Like many, we were shocked when these allegations were first made and we are saddened by this conclusion,” Zach Seidl, the spokesman, said.During the January fires that devastated Los Angeles, supporters of the mayor widely blamed her initial absence on the lack of a strong public safety adviser, who might have briefed her more fully than the fire chief, whom she later demoted.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares129 Views

      in Elections

      Reform UK Surges as Conservatives Lose Seats: 4 Local Elections Takeaways

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      Britain’s two main parties suffered significant losses in municipal and mayoral votes as Reform U.K., a right-wing populist party, surged ahead.While the votes in England’s local elections were still being counted on Friday, Nigel Farage’s Reform U.K. party emerged as the biggest winner of the first major polls since Labour swept into government last summer.Voters have been selecting councilors for about 1,600 municipal seats in 23 areas, as well as six regional mayors.Here are four takeaways from a night that saw Britain’s two major political parties suffer significant losses.Reform U.K. is a serious force in British politics.The right-wing populist party headed by Mr. Farage won a special election in Runcorn and Helsby, in northwestern England, giving it five lawmakers in Parliament. The party also won the mayoralty in Greater Lincolnshire, a new position, and is gaining council seats across the country.The party was initially called the Brexit Party but rebranded itself after Britain formally withdrew from the European Union.Results on Friday indicated that Reform’s efforts to shed its image as a single-issue party and appeal to a broader range of voters were bearing fruit. Brexit is now rarely discussed by its politicians, who have been focusing on a hard line on immigration.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares139 Views

      in Elections

      The Housing Crisis Forces Change on a Low-Rise Pocket of Brooklyn

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      A contentious plan to build two 10-story towers illustrates how a pressing shortage of affordable apartments has started to change the politics around development.Change doesn’t always come easily in Brooklyn’s liberal strongholds.But New York’s push to build more housing in every corner of the city — even in places that have sometimes been skeptical of new development — is set to clear a significant hurdle on Wednesday, when a key City Council committee is expected to approve a zoning change that will clear the way for new apartment towers on the border between Park Slope and Windsor Terrace.Two 10-story buildings are planned for the site of an industrial laundry business, Arrow Linen. Forty percent of the 250 units will rent below market rate.The so-called Arrow Linen proposal had all the makings of the sort of fight that has become familiar in middle-class parts of the city with enough political influence to alter or defeat unpopular projects. It was subject to more than a year of contentious debate.Yet the conclusion demonstrates just how much the politics around development have started to morph as the housing crunch has become one of the city’s most pressing crises.That dynamic is playing out beyond New York, too, as leaders in liberal communities across the country are confronting housing shortages so profound that some of their once-reliable voters have begun to drift rightward, expressing skepticism about Democrats’ ability to tackle affordability issues.Progressive politicians who are often sharply critical of real estate developers when running for office have become increasingly supportive of new construction once they are elected.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      New York City Council Sues Adams for Blocking Solitary Confinement Ban

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      The lawsuit charges that Mayor Eric Adams exceeded his authority when he declared a state of emergency to block a ban on the practice in city jails.The New York City Council filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to force Mayor Eric Adams to carry out a law banning solitary confinement in city jails.The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court, argues that the mayor went beyond his legal authority when he blocked the law earlier this year using emergency executive orders.“Mayor Adams’s emergency orders are an unlawful and unprecedented abuse of power,” Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker, said in a statement.It is the latest escalation of tensions between Mr. Adams and Ms. Adams, who are not related. They have disagreed over housing policies, a law to document more police stops, budget cuts to libraries, and closing the Rikers Island jail complex, among other issues.The City Council approved a bill last December banning solitary confinement in most cases in city jails, arguing that the practice amounted to torture. Mr. Adams vetoed the bill, and the Council overrode his veto.In July, on the day before the law was set to go into effect, Mr. Adams declared a state of emergency and issued an order that blocked key parts of the law. The mayor has repeatedly extended the emergency declaration.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More