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      How New York’s Representatives Voted After the Capitol Riot

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      Yang Presses Forward, Wiley Is Sidelined: Highlights From Mayor’s Race

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyYang Presses Forward, Wiley Is Sidelined: Highlights From Mayor’s RaceAndrew Yang met with the Rev. Al Sharpton, and Maya Wiley is in quarantine. Yet another candidate joined those seeking to become New York City’s next mayor.Andrew Yang met last week with the Rev. Al Sharpton, discussing his vision for New York City and the problems he thought were most pressing.Credit…Pete Marovich for The New York TimesDec. 28, 2020Updated 4:32 a.m. ETFew elected officials seem more eager than Mayor Bill de Blasio to put, as he phrased it, this “God-forsaken” year behind him. But 2020 was not without its lessons for this mayor and for those seeking to succeed him.On Wednesday, Mr. de Blasio said this year had taught him the importance of self-care, and he recommended that whoever succeeds him bear that lesson in mind.“One thing I’ll tell you that I’ve learned — this is something Chirlane used to lecture me on all the time — that sleep really matters,” said the mayor, referring to his wife, Chirlane McCray. “And I’ve not been someone who has traditionally gotten enough sleep.”No one disputes the value of sleep. Yet it seemed bizarre for the mayor — whose sometimes somnolent approach to schedule-keeping prompted The New York Post to give him an alarm clock in 2014 — to focus on his sleeping habits.Sure enough, his comments provoked ridicule on social media, another Post front-page headline — “Bedtime for Blasio”— and an opportunity for several mayoral hopefuls to offer their own lessons that they learned this year.Here’s what you need to know about the week that was in the mayor’s race.The path to City Hall still goes through HarlemBefore actually running for mayor of New York City, many candidates follow an informal task list: Quietly consult with New York political hands; register a campaign committee but insist it is merely exploratory in nature; and then, after a dutiful amount of time has passed, declare.And somewhere in the middle of all that, meet with the Rev. Al Sharpton.Representative Max Rose of Staten Island is most of the way through that process. He met with Mr. Sharpton in November and filed for his campaign committee in early December but has yet to formally announce he’s running.He’s now in lock step with Andrew Yang.Mr. Yang met with Mr. Sharpton on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, he formally opened a mayoral campaign committee with the New York City Campaign Finance Board. Per the script, someone close to his formative campaign insisted the move was merely procedural — that Mr. Yang registered so that if and when he decides to run, no bureaucratic hurdles will stand in his way.In an interview, Mr. Sharpton said Mr. Yang was better prepared than he had expected him to be. Mr. Yang, who ran for president on the promise of creating universal basic income, talked about alleviating poverty, improving broadband access, food deserts and bringing “the fizzle” back to New York City, Mr. Sharpton said.The meeting came about because Mr. Yang asked for it. That’s no surprise, according to the reverend.Mr. Sharpton runs a prominent civil rights organization, hosts his own radio and television shows and holds weekly rallies simulcast on the radio. He says more than 60,000 people tune in.“Some of the right-wing media says, ‘Oh, they’re kissing Sharpton’s ring,’” Mr. Sharpton said. “No, they’re using my platform to talk to prime voters.”Another one joins the scrumArt Chang, a former JPMorgan Chase managing director, is not the first mayoral candidate to position himself as an outsider — someone who is not beholden to special interests or burdened by decades of political baggage.But no other outsider shares his back story: a Korean-American resident of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, with a degree from Yale in women’s studies and a childhood spent with an abusive father.On Dec. 21, Mr. Chang, 57, announced he was running for mayor, and on Thursday he released his first campaign video.He says his heart is “on the far left,” but it’s also important to be able to get things done.Comparing himself to his competitors, he said, “I don’t think I’m like any of them, and I will put myself in a lane which is very, very different from any of them, because of what I’ve done and what I’ve been through in my life.”Mr. Chang was born in Atlanta, grew up in a white school district in Akron, Ohio, and lived with an abusive father and a strong mother, he said. He has worked in and around city and state government since the 1990s, including at the corporation counsel’s office and at the agency now known as Empire State Development. He has also worked in venture capital and has served on the boards of the Brooklyn Public Library, Safe Horizon and the Campaign Finance Board.Should he become mayor, he would institute universal day care for all children from the age of 1 to serve “a city of people who primarily live on the edge.”“These communities need leadership now more than ever,” Mr. Chang said.They’re just like usMaya Wiley announced that she was quarantining for 14 days after being in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. Credit…Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York TimesAs it turns out, being a mayoral candidate in the year 2020 is not all that different from being any other sort of New Yorker in the year 2020: You spend a lot of time at home.Forced off the hustings by the threat of contagion, the mayoral candidates have been severely constrained in their ability to glad-hand parishioners at Brooklyn churches or kibitz with nursing home residents.Asked to reflect on the lessons they’ve learned about themselves, they will say, like so many of us, that 2020 has reminded them of what they truly value — time with family, small acts of kindness, the release that comes from a walk in the park.“The pandemic has brought us back to the family dinner table, reminding us that we like sitting together,” Maya Wiley, the mayor’s former counsel, said. “But I’ve learned that listening to each other, hearing about our days and what’s on our minds is also a matter of emotional survival.”Joycelyn Taylor, who owns a general contracting firm, said this upside-down world has reminded her of the importance of flexibility. “The expression, ‘We make plans and God laughs,’ comes to mind,” she said.As the father of two young children, Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, faced another challenge.“I also had to learn how to do third-grade math,” he said. “It’s a humbling experience, especially when you’re essentially the chief accountant of the City of New York. In my defense, they changed math.”As for sleep?“I already knew the value of sleep,” said Kathryn Garcia, the mayor’s former sanitation commissioner who is now running for mayor herself. “I’ve done a few emergencies in my time.”No one is immuneThe virus has profoundly changed the mayoral race, dominating the issues and affecting the way candidates raise money and gather attention. It has also hit some candidates more directly.Shaun Donovan, a former Obama administration housing secretary now running for mayor, caught a mild case of the virus earlier this year. Mr. Stringer’s mother died of Covid-19, and now Ms. Wiley is in quarantine following a possible exposure.“I’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid,” she wrote on Twitter last Tuesday. “So quarantining for 14 days and awaiting my Covid-19 test results.”The well-wishes poured in, including from Mr. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, who said he hoped to see her back on the campaign trail soon.Ms. Wiley is the first major candidate to be sidelined from a race that — like much of life these days — is largely being conducted from the sidelines, anyway.After Mr. Stringer’s mother died, he mourned with those who loved her, remotely.“I didn’t know you could have a shiva over text,” he said. “But that’s 2020 for you — we all learned that you don’t need to be together to feel close.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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

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

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      5 Takeaways From the Mayor’s Race: A Subway Pledge and Police Scrutiny

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Race and PolicingFacts on Walter Wallace Jr. CaseFacts on Breonna Taylor CaseFacts on Daniel Prude CaseFacts on George Floyd CaseAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story5 Takeaways From the Mayor’s Race: A Subway Pledge and Police ScrutinySome New York City candidates vowed to reform the Police Department — or to ride the subway more often than Mayor Bill de Blasio.Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, was less critical of how the police handled Black Lives Matter protests than some of his rivals.Credit…Elizabeth D. Herman for The New York TimesEmma G. Fitzsimmons and Dec. 21, 2020, 3:00 a.m. ETThe Democratic candidates running for mayor of New York City differ on many issues, but they tend to agree on one thing: All aspire to be different from Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat in his second term whose approval rating dropped after his failed run for president last year.On Friday, the city Department of Investigation released a report that sharply criticized the de Blasio administration for its handling of the Black Lives Matter protests earlier this year.The findings were uniformly welcomed by the mayoral hopefuls, many of whom have been critical of the police tactics deployed. One went further, vowing to remove the police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea, if elected mayor.One other way they vow to differ from Mr. de Blasio? They say they will ride the subway more often.Here’s what you need to know about the week that was in the mayor’s race:Who’s landing the big political guns for hire?The huge field of candidates running for mayor — as well as the City Council and other local races in New York — is expected to be a bonanza for campaign consultants, and some key hired guns have landed in some interesting places.L. Joy Williams, the president of the Brooklyn N.A.A.C.P., signed on with Raymond J. McGuire, a Black businessman. She was an adviser for Cynthia M. Nixon, the actress and activist who ran for governor in 2018.Ms. Williams could help Mr. McGuire, a first-time candidate, reach Black voters in Brooklyn, especially women — a critical constituency that will be courted by other Black candidates, including Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, and Maya Wiley, a former top counsel to Mr. de Blasio and MSNBC analyst.Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, hired Rebecca Katz, a confidante of Mr. de Blasio’s who helped shape his image, but has been critical of the mayor recently. Ms. Katz has worked for progressive candidates, including Representative Jamaal Bowman.Ms. Wiley hired Alison Hirsh, who left Mr. de Blasio’s administration earlier this year and worked for the powerful 32BJ local of the Service Employees International Union; and Maya Rupert, who worked on the presidential campaigns of Julián Castro and Elizabeth Warren.Maya Rupert, a former campaign manager for Julián Castro in the 2020 presidential race, was hired to work on Mara Wiley’s mayoral campaign.Credit…Michael Starghill Jr. for The New York TimesMr. Adams hired Katie Moore, political director of the influential Hotel Trades Council.But the competition is fierce.Abbey Lee Cook, the campaign manager for Representative Max Rose, who just announced his mayoral bid, already signed up to work with Tali Farhadian Weinstein, a former prosecutor who is running for Manhattan district attorney. A high-profile political firm led by Stu Loeser, an aide to former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, is also working on Ms. Weinstein’s campaign.Be like Bill de Blasio and ride an SUV? Not likely.Mr. de Blasio has been criticized for not riding the subway regularly to see riders’ commuting misery up close, opting instead to view the city from the windows of his chauffeured SUV.Admitting that he could do better, Mr. de Blasio told reporters last week that he would ride the subway soon, to show New Yorkers that it is safe during the pandemic.But some candidates are pledging to do more. Shaun Donovan, a former housing secretary under President Barack Obama, promised to ride the subway every day. Mr. McGuire said in an interview that the subway is the “easiest, cheapest and quickest way to get around,” and that he would ride the subway as much as possible if elected.Others followed suit after Streetsblog, a website dedicated to street safety, inquired about their commuting habits. Mr. Adams said that he was already a regular subway rider, and would continue to be one if elected mayor.Carlos Menchaca, a Brooklyn city councilman, committed to taking the subway or riding his bike while “significantly limiting car trips.”It should be noted that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo actually controls the subway, and is rarely seen aboard a passenger train. But the mayor appoints members to the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agency that oversees the subway, and can use his or her bully pulpit to help the system, which is in a deep financial crisis.Being early contenders pays off for Stringer and AdamsThe city’s Campaign Finance Board announced last week that it had approved more than $17 million in matching-funds payments to 61 candidates in races across the city next year.The initial outlay underscored the advantages of establishing early candidacies: Mr. Adams’s campaign qualified for about $4.4 million in matching funds, while Mr. Stringer’s campaign received about $3.3 million.The city comptroller, Scott Stringer, qualified for about $3.3 million in public matching funds; the only other mayoral candidate to receive matching funds was Mr. Adams.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesNo other candidate met the dual threshold of raising at least $250,000 in contributions of $250 or less from at least 1,000 city residents by July.Mr. McGuire is not participating in the 8-to-1 matching-funds program, which effectively turns a $10 campaign contribution from a city resident into $90. Lupé Todd-Medina, a spokeswoman for Mr. McGuire, said the campaign felt good about not accepting taxpayer resources during a financial crisis and could raise enough money to get its message out.But Paul J. Massey Jr., a wealthy real estate executive who ran against Mr. de Blasio in 2017, suggested that mayoral candidates like Mr. McGuire may regret not participating in the matching-funds program. He said his biggest mistake as a first-time candidate was deciding to opt out; Mr. Massey raised $1.6 million, but spent it quickly on consultants and lent his campaign $1.2 million.“Being involved in the matching-funds program or writing checks the size Michael Bloomberg wrote are probably the few practical paths to financing a campaign for mayor,” he said in an interview.A ‘monumental failure of leadership’One candidate called for an elected Civilian Complaint Review Board and “massive disinvestments” in the New York Police Department. Another said the mayor demonstrated a “monumental failure of leadership.” And one candidate called for the dismissal of the police commissioner.The reactions came in response to a Department of Investigation report that concluded that the Police Department’s use of aggressive tactics had inflamed the summertime protests over the death of George Floyd, and violated protesters’ rights.The strongest reaction came from Dianne Morales, considered among the most progressive candidates in the race, and Ms. Wiley, a former chairwoman of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates accusations of police misconduct.Ms. Morales said the Police Department committed “acts of violence,” and called for “dedicated prosecutors” for police misconduct.Ms. Wiley said the police used “brutally violent tactics” against the protesters, and called for the dismissal of Commissioner Shea and a policy change that would require the police to be more accountable to civilian review.Mr. Stringer, Mr. Donovan and Mr. McGuire focused on what they saw as a failure of leadership.“When I’m mayor, I’ll make certain that my police commissioner understands my values and the perspective of people who look like me,” said Mr. McGuire, who is Black.Mr. Stringer, who has collected a string of endorsements from progressive candidates, called for “wholesale reform” because the Police Department operated without “real accountability.”Mr. Adams, a former police officer, had perhaps the most moderate view among the major candidates. He said the report detailed “tactical errors and acts of heavy-handed policing” and called for more diverse leadership and enhanced de-escalation and implicit bias training.Lawsuit against ranked-choice voting suffers setbackA lawsuit seeking to prevent the use of ranked-choice voting in the June primary was dealt a significant blow last week when a State Supreme Court judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order in the matter.“This court is disinclined to take any action that may result in the disenfranchisement of even one voter or take any action that may result in even one voter’s ballot being nullified,” Justice Carol R. Edmead of State Supreme Court in Manhattan wrote in her ruling.Under a new system approved by referendum last year, voters in primary and special elections can rank up to five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority, the last-place winner is eliminated and the second-choice votes of those ballots are counted. The process continues until a candidate has won a majority.But several members of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus of the City Council have filed a lawsuit suggesting that voters had not been educated about the new process, and that people of color and immigrants would be disenfranchised as a result.Two Black mayoral candidates, Mr. Adams, the borough president of Brooklyn, and Mr. McGuire, a businessman, both expressed concerns about Black voter disenfranchisement. Other Black mayoral candidates, Ms. Morales, a former nonprofit executive who is Afro-Latina, and Ms. Wiley, support the use of ranked-choice voting.The ruling directly affects a Feb. 2 special election for a City Council seat in Queens, which is slated to be the city’s first contest to use ranked-choice voting since the referendum was passed. Justice Edmead noted that overseas ballots for the race were about to be mailed out.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Rep. Max Rose Launches Exploratory Bid to Run for N.Y.C. Mayor

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyRep. Max Rose Launches Exploratory Bid to Run for N.Y.C. MayorThe congressman, who lost his re-election bid last month, is casting himself as a blunt populist who would end New York’s cycle of “broken politics.”Representative Max Rose, a Staten Island Democrat, is a relative moderate in a field that may be defined by debates over ideology and competence.Credit…Stephanie Keith for The New York TimesDec. 13, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ETRepresentative Max Rose, the brash Staten Island Democrat who recently lost his re-election race, appears all but certain to run for mayor of New York City, confirming for the first time that he is exploring a bid and casting his potential candidacy as a sharp rebuke of the de Blasio administration.Mr. Rose’s entry into the race at a moment of extraordinary crisis for New York would test whether a relatively moderate Democrat could catch fire in a crowded field that may be defined by debates over both ideology and matters of competence.Mr. Rose has little background in navigating the byzantine corridors of city bureaucracy, and on Thursday, his team took the unusual step of registering a mayoral campaign committee with the city’s Campaign Finance Board, with no announcement or much public elaboration.In his first extensive remarks since then, Mr. Rose positioned himself as a blunt, populist possible contender who hopes to frame his background outside of city government as a source of fresh perspective rather than a mark of managerial inexperience.“If you want someone with a typical politician, typical government experience, you’ve got plenty of other folks,” Mr. Rose, a military veteran, said in an interview on Saturday. “But if you want someone with experience and guts and ability to end our broken politics, then I could be your candidate.”Taking an apparent swipe at rivals who are more rooted in local politics, he continued, “If someone wants to tout their experience in city politics, then they certainly should not be pointing at problems that they helped — big problems — that they helped create. They can’t act as if they aren’t holding the shovel.”For some of the Democrats already in the race, experience in city politics brings with it a record to defend, but it also provides valuable advantages in Democratic-vote-rich pockets of New York.Eric L. Adams is the Brooklyn borough president, for example, and is backed by many of Brooklyn’s Democratic power brokers. Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, is closely tied to Manhattan’s West Side and has already secured endorsements from several progressive Democratic leaders.Staten Island, the city’s most conservative, Trump-friendly borough, simply does not offer the same kind of liberal power base. Mr. Rose, 34, and a relative newcomer to politics, may face a challenge in constructing a citywide coalition without built-in infrastructure and strong early support in traditional Democratic circles, though certainly the race is fluid at this stage.“He’s got to figure out how you go from being the congressman from Staten Island and then losing, to running for mayor of New York City,” said Marc H. Morial, the head of the New York-based National Urban League, a major civil rights organization. Mr. Morial, a former mayor of New Orleans, added: “He’ll be an energetic candidate, and energetic candidates sometimes break through. But starting out, you’re from Staten Island.”A person close to Mr. Rose’s operation said the team was ramping up quickly, interviewing staff members and talking with pollsters, and engaging with potential supporters and donors.“This will be an underdog campaign,” Mr. Rose acknowledged. “This would not just be a campaign that involves me being the underdog. This is a campaign that would be fighting for the underdog.”In the wide-ranging interview, Mr. Rose sketched out his vision for a possible bid, stressing issues of economic inequality; he is on the side of “working people,” he said repeatedly. He contended that he would be fully focused on the city, contrasting himself with Mayor Bill de Blasio, who, even before running for president, had made frequent trips to Iowa.“There should be a pledge that in their first two years, they are not leaving New York City,” Mr. Rose said as he expounded on city challenges that require urgent attention. “‘Sweetie, we are vacationing in Breezy Point.’ OK? We’re not leaving. We’re not going. No traveling to Iowa. No thinking about your next higher office.”Mr. Rose repeatedly laced into Mr. de Blasio’s stewardship of the city on matters from managing school openings during the pandemic to his handling of Covid-19 testing issues. That he would cast himself as the antithesis to Mr. de Blasio is little surprise; during his congressional campaign, he released an ad calling Mr. de Blasio “the worst mayor in the history of New York City.”If Mr. Rose runs, he must persuade voters that his set of past experiences — as a decorated Army veteran, an executive for a nonprofit health care company and a one-term congressman — has prepared him to manage a vast government at a moment of peril for the city. Asked about the greatest number of people he had managed, he cited his time as chief of staff at the health care company, saying it employed around 1,000 people.Mr. Rose pointed to a range of policy proposals that he would support as a candidate, including raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers — he did not directly define “wealthy,” beyond urging “millionaires and billionaires” to pay their “fair share” — and giving city employees a property tax deduction if they live in New York City. He also said he backs a universal basic income program. (He is not the only champion of a universal basic income who is eying a run; that has been a top priority of Andrew Yang, who is expected to enter the race next month).He described New York schools as “deeply segregated” and urged changes, but he opposes eliminating the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test, the controversial exam that determines who is admitted to New York’s most elite public high schools.“I do think that the SHSAT plays a role,” he said. “Should that be the only consideration? No, you can have a holistic process here. But under no circumstances should it be ignored.”As a candidate, Mr. Rose would face significant challenges around issues of politics and geography, identity and experience.In Congress, he represented a slice of Brooklyn and all of Staten Island. There, Mr. Rose embraced a number of positions that put him to the right of many New York Democratic primary voters, including his reluctance to impeach President Trump, though he ultimately voted to do so.“The city’s ideology is drifting leftward, and to survive in his district, Max had to reflect a less progressive ideology,” said Steve Israel, the former eight-term House Democrat of New York who was seen as one of his party’s top strategists. “On the other hand, it could be that the progressives cannibalize each other and then Max has a clear shot.”Mr. Rose insisted that he has a record of rebuking Mr. Trump, noting his strong opposition to “the racist Muslim ban” and saying that he voted to impeach Mr. Trump, “knowing that it could be the end of my career.”“Did I work across the aisle to get things done? Absolutely,” he said, casting himself as focused on those “who need action today.” “If you’ve got a problem with that, sue me. And you know what? You’ve got 30 other candidates to choose from.”Mr. Rose, who was the first member of Congress to endorse former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s presidential bid, already appeared to be recalibrating his message. In the interview, he did not say whether he would want Mr. Bloomberg’s endorsement; he highlighted his past criticism of stop-and-frisk policing tactics; and, asked to name the best mayor in his lifetime, he suggested David N. Dinkins.Still, running from the center may resonate with some New Yorkers who are alarmed by a surge in shootings; worried about businesses leaving and are simply in a less ideological mood these days given the struggles of the city. But Mr. Rose would have competition for those voters, too: Raymond J. McGuire, a longtime Wall Street executive, has attracted the support of many centrist business leaders, a sign of just how competitive every lane of the primary will be. (Mr. Israel, a relative moderate who does not live in the city but intends to contribute financially, is supporting Mr. McGuire, too.)Then there is the matter of identity.This year, as issues of police brutality and racism have torn at the fabric of the city and communities of color have been hit disproportionately by the virus and its aftermath, many New Yorkers would like to see a mayor of color. There is a diverse slate of candidates already running, including Mr. Adams; Mr. McGuire; Maya D. Wiley, a former top lawyer for Mr. de Blasio; and Dianne Morales, a former executive of nonprofit social services groups.“I do think someone of color is best suited for this moment,” said Leah D. Daughtry, a veteran Democratic Party strategist with close ties to New York politics. Asked about Mr. Rose, she said, “I don’t know him.”Mr. Rose, who devoted his final floor speech in Congress in part to grappling with racial injustice, said that it would be his “No. 1 responsibility,” should he run, to build a diverse campaign and potential administration. But he knows he has some introducing of himself to do.He met recently with the Rev. Al Sharpton, a prominent civil rights leader who called Mr. Rose hard-working and “fiery” and said Mr. Rose would “add some excitement to the campaign.”But even as he moves forward, Mr. Rose said that he was “intent on listening far more than talking.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Is Andrew Yang Running for N.Y.C. Mayor? All Signs Point to Yes

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyIs Andrew Yang Running for Mayor? All Signs Point to YesThe former Democratic presidential candidate is meeting with New York City power brokers and telling them he intends to enter the race to succeed Bill de Blasio.Andrew Yang, at a town-hall event in New Hampshire in February, has brought on well-known political advisers who have worked for the former mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg.Credit…Alyssa Schukar for The New York TimesDec. 11, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ETAndrew Yang, the former tech executive who gained a national following as a Democratic presidential candidate, has been privately telling New York City leaders that he intends to run for mayor next year.Mr. Yang is not expected to announce his bid until next month, but with the Democratic primary less than seven months away, he has begun to make overtures to several of the city’s political power brokers.He met with Corey Johnson, the speaker of the City Council, in a video call on Tuesday to seek his advice about running for mayor.He plans to visit the Rev. Al Sharpton, the Harlem kingmaker — a rite of passage for any serious candidate — in person next week when he returns to the city from Georgia, where he has been trying to help Democrats win the U.S. Senate.He has enlisted Bradley Tusk and Chris Coffey, prominent political strategists who worked for former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, as advisers.Mr. Yang, whose presidential campaign was centered around offering every American a universal basic income, could shake up a race that has a large field of candidates and no clear front-runner. He would be only the second Asian-American candidate to run for mayor, following a bid in 2013 by John Liu, a state senator from Queens who was then the city’s comptroller.Mr. Yang, who has temporarily relocated to Georgia to campaign for the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff — both facing runoffs next month for U.S. Senate seats — declined to say on Thursday if he was running for mayor.“I’m thrilled that people seem excited about my doing what I can to help, but no, right now I’m focused on these Senate races in Georgia,” he said in an interview.While his name recognition and fund-raising potential could easily put him in the top tier of mayoral candidates, Mr. Yang has never run for office in New York City. He will have to learn quickly about the thorny issues that can animate voters, from rezoning proposals for the SoHo and Flushing, Queens, neighborhoods to the debate over the admissions exam for the city’s elite high schools that has pitted some Asian-American families against Black and Hispanic students.At the same time, celebrity status and Twitter buzz do not always translate into votes in New York — Cynthia Nixon gained a lot of attention but not enough voters in her failed run for governor in 2018.Mr. Yang will also be jockeying for endorsements along with more than a dozen candidates, some of whom have been courting elected officials and unions for years in anticipation of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s exit next year because of term limits.Two candidates have been mainstays in New York politics: Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, and Scott Stringer, the city comptroller. Others are positioning themselves as outsiders, including Raymond J. McGuire, a business executive, and Maya Wiley, a lawyer and former MSNBC analyst.And on Thursday, Representative Max Rose, who lost his re-election bid last month and was said to be interested in joining the mayor’s race, registered a mayoral campaign committee with the city’s Campaign Finance Board.The pandemic has reshaped the mayor’s race, and the candidates are all trying to argue that they are the best qualified to help the city recover. The field is also perhaps the most diverse ever, including several Black and Latino candidates.Mr. Yang, who was born in upstate New York, has spent most of his adult life living in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. He gained attention on the campaign trail with his MATH slogan — “Make America Think Harder” — and amassed 1.8 million followers on Twitter and nearly $40 million in campaign contributions.His campaign to give every American adult $1,000 a month as part of a universal basic income mandate could be even more popular after many people relied on the federal stimulus to help survive the economic losses of the pandemic, said Susan Kang, a political-science professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.“His brand is very zeitgeisty in many ways,” she said. “He’s made a name for himself by promoting universal programs at a time when everyone needs universal programs.”Earlier this year, Mr. Yang did not rule out a run in an interview with The New York Times.“Certainly the mayor of New York City can do a lot of good,” he said. “So that is something that I have to take a long look at.”Not long after, Mr. Yang publicly flirted with the idea of running for mayor, but his deliberations have recently grown more serious. He spoke with Mr. Johnson, who dropped out of the mayor’s race in September after struggling with depression.He also called Representative Grace Meng from Queens, the first Asian-American member of the state’s congressional delegation and a top official for the Democratic National Committee. The conversations were confirmed by two people who were familiar with them, but who were not authorized to discuss them publicly.A spokeswoman for Mr. Sharpton, Rachel Noerdlinger, confirmed his plans to meet with Mr. Yang next week.Mr. Tusk was a campaign manager for Mr. Bloomberg in 2009 and has been a prominent critic of Mr. de Blasio. In 2016, a year before Mr. de Blasio won re-election, Mr. Tusk led a public search for a Democratic candidate to unseat him.After leaving the presidential race, Mr. Yang, who led a test-prep company and a nonprofit organization, created Humanity Forward, a New York-based nonprofit that is distributing money to needy families in the Bronx.Mr. Yang performed well in a recent poll, receiving 20 percent of support as the top choice among 1,000 likely Democratic primary voters, compared with 14 percent for Mr. Adams and 11 percent for Mr. Stringer. The poll was conducted by Slingshot Strategies, a political firm that has worked for candidates like Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate. Mr. Yang did not hire the firm; a private client did, according to the firm.“It’s always encouraging when people are excited about you,” Mr. Yang said of the poll results.The race for an executive job like mayor often comes down to personality, rather than policies, and Mr. Yang, like all the candidates, will have to establish an emotional relationship with voters, Professor Kang said.“To what extent can he project warmth, humor and competence?” she asked.Dana Rubinstein contributed reporting.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Rep. Max Rose Moves Toward Entering New York City Mayor’s Race

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyRep. Max Rose Moves Toward Entering New York City Mayor’s RaceThe Staten Island Democrat, coming off a re-election loss, filed paperwork indicating that he is set to enter an already crowded field.Mr. Rose, who is finishing his single term in Congress, attracted attention for a six-second ad in which he called Mayor Bill de Blasio “the worst mayor in the history of New York City.”Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York TimesDec. 10, 2020, 9:11 p.m. ETRepresentative Max Rose, the Staten Island Democrat who was soundly defeated last month in his bid for a second term, signaled on Thursday that he plans to enter an already crowded field in the 2021 mayor’s race in New York City.The evidence of Mr. Rose’s intentions came in a bare-bones filing with the city’s Campaign Finance Board indicating that he had formed a mayoral campaign committee.Neither Mr. Rose nor anyone associated with him returned calls seeking comment on the filing. But the congressman did post a cryptic message on Twitter at around 7:30 p.m. that appeared to telegraph an imminent announcement.He cited Taylor Swift, who announced on Thursday that a new album was forthcoming, saying that the singer was “not the only one previewing news tonight.”“Stay tuned NYC!” he added.The social media tease notwithstanding, Mr. Rose’s filing brought him a significant step closer to vying to become the next mayor of a city that is facing huge challenges caused by the pandemic and the financial crisis it touched off.Several of his congressional allies had suggested they expected him to join the race after losing his re-election bid to Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican member of the State Assembly, in a district that encompasses parts of South Brooklyn in addition to Staten Island — the city’s most conservative congressional district.Ms. Malliotakis, who has been resolute in her support for President Trump throughout his term and re-election campaign, claimed 53 percent of the vote to Mr. Rose’s 47 percent. And although The Associated Press did not declare her the winner until Dec. 1, Mr. Rose had conceded defeat two weeks earlier.Mr. Rose had been far more reluctant himself to criticize Mr. Trump than many of his Democratic colleagues. In April, he went so far as to say that it would be all right with him if the president won re-election if it was because he had reined in the pandemic. He also initially opposed the move to impeach Mr. Trump, but ultimately voted for impeachment.In a nod to the district’s conservative tilt, Mr. Rose, who won election in 2018 by a margin similar to the one he lost by this year, effectively ran his centrist campaign against two opponents: Ms. Malliotakis and Mayor Bill de Blasio.He did not waste words in criticizing Mr. de Blasio, referring to his fellow Democrat in a memorable six-second ad as “the worst mayor in the history of New York City.”Mr. Rose also attended a June demonstration on Staten Island to protest the police killing of George Floyd. Ms. Malliotakis made his participation in the event a focal point in the campaign as she sought to cast him as supporting calls to “defund the police” in a district that is home to many law enforcement officers.He said he had taken part in the protest as a gesture of unity, and stood by his decision to do so on election night even as defeat loomed.Mr. Rose, 34, is among several well-known Democrats who have been rumored to be considering joining a field that already includes more than a dozen candidates, with nearly half viewed as potentially serious contenders.Others who may be set to enter the fray include Andrew Yang, a technology entrepreneur who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination this year, and Christine Quinn, the former City Council speaker, who placed third in the Democratic mayoral primary in 2013.It is unclear how Mr. Rose’s political persona would play in the mayoral campaign. His positions were on the liberal side for his district but might not be liberal enough to win over a plurality of mainstream Democrats in a citywide primary.On the flip side, several leading candidates are already battling for those voters, and Mr. Rose, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, might appeal to more conservative voters who consider law and order a priority at a time when homicides and shootings are rising in the city.One quality that he would bring to a race that will most likely be expensive is a proven ability to raise money: He collected, and spent, more than $9 million for his re-election campaign, federal campaign finance filings show.Mr. Rose’s filing came amid a flurry of activity in the race, arriving the same day that another Democratic mayoral hopeful, Kathryn Garcia, the city’s former sanitation commissioner, formally announced her candidacy, and two days after Shaun Donovan, a former top housing official in the Obama administration, did the same.They and the other contenders are competing to lead a city that is in the midst of one of its most wrenching and consequential periods in recent history.The coronavirus, which has already been linked to the deaths of more than 24,000 residents, is surging again. On Staten Island, emergency hospital beds were added in November to handle a spike in virus cases.Katie Glueck contributed reporting.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Lawsuit Seeks to Halt Debut of Ranked-Choice Voting in New York

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyLawsuit Seeks to Halt Debut of Ranked-Choice Voting in New YorkThe new system was approved by voters in 2019, but critics, including at least one top mayoral candidate, fear that it may disenfranchise minority voters.Under the new system being challenged in court, when New York City voters go to the polls for next year’s mayoral primary, they would be allowed to choose as many as five candidates, ranked in order of preference.Credit…Amr Alfiky/The New York TimesDana Rubinstein and Dec. 9, 2020Updated 9:03 a.m. ETNext year was supposed to be when New York City would revolutionize how voters choose their mayor — not merely selecting one candidate, but picking as many as five and ranking them in order of preference.New York’s take-no-prisoners political landscape was to be remade: Candidates would most likely be more collegial and would be obliged to reach out to voters beyond their bases in the hope that other candidates’ supporters would list them as a second or third choice. Runoff elections, often expensive and with limited turnout, would be eliminated.But just as the city is poised to implement the ranked-choice voting system, opposition is mounting. Black elected officials have raised objections, arguing that absent substantial voter education, the system will effectively disenfranchise voters of color.At least one leading Black mayoral candidate — Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, who once supported the system — now says it’s being rushed and suggested that New York should emulate Minneapolis, which took years to slowly implement ranked choice.Critics also question whether it makes sense for the city’s problem-prone Board of Elections to roll out such a complicated system during a once-in-a-century pandemic.Now that opposition has coalesced into a court challenge.Six New York City Council members filed suit in State Supreme Court in Manhattan late Tuesday night against New York City, its Board of Elections and its Campaign Finance Board, contending that the city and the two boards had violated the law by failing to adequately explain the software that will be used tabulate the votes and by failing to conduct a sufficient public education campaign to familiarize voters with the new system.The suit seeks to prohibit the city from starting the new system in a February special election, a race that was poised to be a trial run for the June Democratic mayoral primary, which will use the same system and is likely to determine the city’s next mayor.“The board does not comment on pending litigation,” said Valerie Vazquez, a spokeswoman for the elections board. “However, as we have previously stated we will be ready to implement ranked-choice voting just as we successfully implemented a new voting system in 2010 and launched early voting in 2019.”The litigants include the two leaders of the Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus, who, with their colleagues, criticized the new system during a contentious City Council hearing on Monday.“They say all throughout the country that ranked-choice voting is working well for communities of color,” Laurie A. Cumbo, a Black Democratic councilwoman from Brooklyn, and one of the litigants, said during the hearing on Monday. “Well, New York City is a totally different city.”New York City voters approved ranked-choice voting in 2019. Under the new system, if a candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, that candidate wins outright. If no candidate wins a majority, the last-place winner is eliminated. The second-choice votes of those who had favored the last-place candidate would be counted instead. The process continues until there is a winner.Among the mayoral candidates who already seemed to be factoring the new voting system into their campaign strategies was Shaun Donovan, the former Obama administration cabinet member who formally announced his run on Tuesday. An “electability” slide show circulated on his behalf argued that “Shaun’s broad appeal makes him a natural second and third choice for voters, even when they are already committed to another candidate.”Good-government groups say that the new system enhances democracy.“This reform will foster more positive, issue-focused campaigns, give voters more choice, ensure that elected officials are accountable to a broader spectrum of their constituents and avoid costly, time consuming and unnecessary runoff elections,” Betsy Gotbaum, executive director of Citizens Union, said in a recent statement.But critics of the system argue that without adequate public education, the system confuses voters and thus disenfranchises them. They also contend that the voting system targets a party system heavily populated by leaders of color.Kirsten John Foy, president of the activism group Arc of Justice, said he was exploring a lawsuit with Hazel N. Dukes, the president of the New York State chapter of the NAACP, arguing that Black and other minority voters would be disenfranchised by ranked choice voting.“Some progressive white folks got together in a room and thought this would be good, but it’s not good for our community,” Ms. Dukes said. “The voters did vote, so we can’t overturn that, but we want a stay because there’s been no education about this in our community.”Mr. Foy also questioned the motives of those leading the effort to enact ranked-choice voting.“The primary argument for ranked-choice voting is that it expands access to elected office for Black and brown officials, but we don’t have that problem,” said Mr. Foy, who listed a string of positions from state attorney general to borough presidents that are held by Black and Latino elected officials. “This is a solution in search of a problem.”Ranked-choice voting has a long and complicated history in the United States.“There was a period over 100 years ago when it was in use in some cities,” but it fell out of favor around World War II, according to David C. Kimball, a political-science professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.In the past two decades, it has gained traction in places including San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., and in Maine.The research on its impact on voter turnout is, however, mixed, he said, and voter education is a must, as American voters are accustomed to voting for just one candidate, not five.“I don’t know quite how to put this politely, but the New York City elections board has trouble tying its shoes, metaphorically speaking,” Professor Kimball said. “So asking them to roll out new voting rules in a matter of months is a big ask.”Emma G. Fitzsimmons contributed reporting.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More