Working Families Party
Whither Frank MacKay?
Apr 25th - 1:48 pm
Since Gov. Andrew Cuomo included a call to do away with the Wilson-Pakula law in his second Smith-Stevenson corruption scandal reform proposal, we have heard outraged reactions from all but one of the state’s top minor party leaders.
State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long was first out of the box with an accusation that Cuomo was looking for an “easy way out” in response to the most recent corruption wave to rock the Capitol.
He also promised “an awful lot of people are going to get hurt in the process” if legislative leaders go along with the governor’s idea of scrapping third party officials’ power to hand-pick who runs on their ballot lines – a pledge that no doubt sent shivers up the spines of not a few Senate Republicans.
Next up: The Working Families Party, which deemed Cuomo’s call for a primary free-for-all on minor party lines “a recipe for chaos,” and insisted that campaign finance reform – not ending Wilson-Pakula – is the best remedy for ending public corruption.
Green Party leaders split somewhat from their minor party colleagues, saying they would like to see an end to so-called fusion voting (which, by the way, the governor has so far NOT proposed), insisting that third parties should end their habit of cross-endorsing major party candidates in order to maintain their autonomy and remain ideologically pure.
But they didn’t love the idea of losing control over who gets to run on their ballot line, which they – through gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins – worked so hard to secure in the 2010 campaign.
That leaves state Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay as the odd man out. As far as I can tell, MacKay hasn’t uttered a single word about Cuomo’s reform proposal – and he hasn’t returned my calls seeking comment, either.
The New York City Independence Party, which has long been at war with its statewide counterpart, issued a lengthy reform proposal of its own earlier this week.
“The current political scandals expose structural weaknesses in the system that need to be addressed, but not in ways that entrench the powerful and preclude a more nonpartisan process,” the party’s release declared.
The NYC Indys renewed their long-time proposal for nonpartisan elections – an idea Mayor Bloomberg has tried unsuccessfully to push in the Big Apple, spending $7 million of his own money in the process. They expressed sympathy for the WFP and Conservative Party’s argument against doing away with Wilson-Pakula, but also said they would support rescinding it for major party primaries, reasoning:
“A minor party candidate could not overwhelm a major party, while the reverse would be the likely outcome if minor parties lost their right to issue Wilson-Pakulas.”
Also on the NYC Indy Party reform to-do list: Initiative and referendum, term limits for legislators, letting voters change their enrollment after a one-month waiting period, nonpartisan administration of the Board of Elections, nonpartisan redistricting and campaign finance reform.
And yet, nothing from MacKay.
In Email, WFP Pressures Cuomo To Not End Wilson-Pakula
Apr 18th - 4:23 pm
An email to supporters of the Working Families Party is pushing Gov. Andrew Cuomo not to back a repeal of the little-known Wilson-Pakula law that could have major consequences for the party’s leadership.
The email comes as party leaders from across the state and the political spectrum question or outright oppose ending the law, which allows members of one political party a waiver to run on another ballot line.
The call for repeal comes after Sen. Malcolm Smith allegedly sought to bribe his way onto the GOP ballot line for New York City mayor through the Wilson-Pakula waiver.
Cuomo does not support an end to the fusion ballot system of allowing a candidate to run on multiple ballot lines, but the Wilson-Pakula repeal would greatly reduce the clout of the state’s minor parties that can influence the platforms and policies of the Democratic and Republican parties.
Earlier Republican Onondaga County Chariman Tom Dadey released a statement opposing the move to repeal the law as well.
But the WFP’s email, signed by Executive Director Dan Cantor, says the repeal could also have a negative impact on Democrats and the GOP.
It’s not just about minor parties. Gov. Cuomo’s proposal would let Republicans run in Democratic primaries and vice versa. Well-funded candidates could run in every primary at once. It’s a recipe for chaos. Wall Street and Walmart would surely benefit, but democracy would not,” Cantor writes. “Even worse, it’s a distraction. Every state that allows fusion voting protects the rights of parties to choose their own candidates. That’s not the source of corruption. We have a chance—and it won’t be here long—to bring about real campaign finance reform that includes public financing. That’s the best answer to our pay-to-play culture.”
As Cantor alludes to, tied together with this is the push for public financing of political campaigns. The WFP is part of the Fair Elections coalition that’s backing a public financing system. Cuomo even took the rare step of holding a telephone news conference with the Fair Elections group earlier this year and before the Smith scandal broke.
Now the WFP comes close to questioning Cuomo on the issue of public financing.
“Governor Cuomo has said he supports public financing. If he really does, this is the moment. The votes in the legislature are there if he wants them,” Cantor wrote.
The full email is after the jump. More >
Why Repealing Wilson-Pakula Is So Complicated
Apr 16th - 7:03 pm
Not surprisingly, the Working Families Party is opposed to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s call to end Wilson-Pakula, which allows party leaders to grant waivers for ballot access to non-party candidates.
In a statement released this evening following Cuomo’s news conference unveiling his latest ethics overhaul proposals, WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor said repealing the obscure law a “distraction.”
“What we need is more democracy, not less. The Governor’s proposal to limit minor parties is a distraction from the real problem in our political system, which is the influence of big money, and that’s something only public financing of elections can fix.”
While it’s natural for the minor parties to oppose an end to Wilson-Pakula, the effort to repeal the obscure law is going to be a political fraught one. It also has the added benefit of the strange bedfellows moment of the liberal WFP and Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long actually agreeing on something.
There’s some recent history here, though, that adds some subtext to the brewing fight. And it also shows why repealing Wilson-Pakula is going to be easier said than done.
Candidate Cuomo initially hesitated to accept the WFP line in 2010 as the party’s for-profit arm Data and Field Services was under federal investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office later ended its investigation without any charges.
Cuomo, who was running on a platform of scaling back spending in state government and pension reform, still balked at accepting the WFP line until he was assured they would back his proposals. The party needed Cuomo in order to secure 50,000 votes in order to obtain ballot access for the next gubernatorial election.
In the end, Cuomo took the line two months before Election Day.
Complicating reform efforts further is the Working Families Party undertaking a new campaign for a system of public matching for political campaigns. The party is in the Fair Elections coalition that has been running ads in favor of the public financing program.
Cuomo himself even participated in one of the Fair Elections conference calls with advocates and reporters listening in.
Though the campaign was planned in advance of the latest corruption scandals, Fair Elections has pointed to the arrests of Sen. Malcolm Smith and Assemblyman Eric Stevenson as examples for why publicly financed campaigns is necessary.
Cuomo today reiterated his support for overhauling campaign finance laws and a public matching program, though he would not say specifically if he would veto a reform bill without the matching program.
It remains to be seen, however, if repealing Wilson-Pakula will be intertwined with public matching or if those measures are running on parallel tracks.
Either way, the reaction to the corruption scandals took a major turn today. A political fight over an obscure electoral provision could have major consequences down the road.
Left Says Tkaczyk Win = ‘Clear Mandate’ For Publicly Financed Campaigns
Jan 18th - 1:00 pm
In today’s Morning Memo, I wrote that a come-from-behind win by Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk today would be a boon for campaign finance advocates, who turned her candidacy into a vehicle for their cause.
As you’ll recall, two Super PACs pushing to reduce the power of money in politics by establishing a public campaign finance system (ironically) spent big money on her behalf – $500,000 to be exact.
The Working Families Party and Citizen Action of New York pre-emptively released a memo yesterday to a handful of reporters – including yours truly – to make the case that a win by Tkaczyk would provide a “major boost” to their quest for publicly financed, or “fair”, elections.
In the memo, WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor and Citizen Action Executive Director Karen Scharff wrote:
“(Tkaczyk’s) campaign proved that New Yorkers are tired of the corrupting influence of big money on politics, where major campaign contributions grease the wheels to special access and preferred legislative outcomes for a select few.”
“Voters indicated their overwhelming support for a small donor matching fund system that would limit the influence of CEO campaign contributors and allow every voice to be heard.”
Cantor and Scharff went on to note that two other Democrats who support public campaign financing – Sen. Ted O’Brien, of Rochester; and Sen. Terry Gipson, of Rhinebeck – won their respective races in November.
That was a particularly big deal for Gipson, since his GOP opponent, former Sen. Steve Saland, was endorsed by Cuomo (thanks to his “yes” vote on same-sex marriage).
“Republicans went into November with every advantage, including freshly-drawn partisan districts including a new seat, and a huge fundraising lead,” Scharff and Cantor argued.
“…But to the surprise of most observers, Democrats won multiple unexpected victories, in part, due to their support for public financing of elections. Statewide, Democrats won 55% of the vote in state Senate races.”
“This momentum is boosted by a growing, diverse state and nation-wide coalition of organizations, led by the Working Families Party and Citizen Action of New York, with labor, environmental, faith and civil rights groups around the nation, to pass public financing of elections in New York.”
“If Tkaczyk comes out in front too, that is an undeniable referendum in support of public financing of elections that should resonate across the state.”
Cuomo has been calling for campaign finance reform since his 2010 gubernatorial run, and reiterated that call in his recent State of the State address. He also again announced his support for a publicly financed system, though he has yet to submit any legislation on the subject.
Cantor and Scharff believe a win by Tkaczyk “will show a clear mandate and a viable path to victory” in the Senate for campaign finance reform. They also pointed to yesterday’s Siena poll, which found voters’ support for a public campaign finance system now stands at 59-36.
The lefty duo’s final argument: Now that Cuomo has succeeded in leading the nation on gun control, he could do so again on this issue, being the first to act in a significant way to counter the power of big money in politics since the US Supreme Court’s January 2010 Citizens United decision.
We’ve already seen that the governor is interested in being first and making New York a leader on national issues. We’ll see if that desire translates on this issue – especially since it could very well be a bridge too far with the Senate Republicans.
Since I sent the above memo, Jonathan Soros, who founded Friends of Democracy – one of the two PACs that spent big money on Tkaczyk’s behalf to push campaign finance reform- released the following statement:
“Congratulations to Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk on a well-deserved win. With unwavering commitment to the people of the 46th district and the issues that matter most, Senator Tkaczyk proved that being on the right side of reform is not only good policy, it’s good politics.”
“Her victory shows that voters will support candidates who champion real campaign finance reform, including citizen funded elections. Her win today is an unmistakable mandate to work to change the broken campaign finance laws that have shut out the voices of regular New Yorkers.”
“I look forward to working with Senator Tkaczyk and like-minded elected officials – including Governor Cuomo – to achieve real reform so New Yorkers can continue to rebuild their trust in government.”
WFP Touts ‘Record’ Vote Total For Gillibrand On Row D
Dec 21st - 3:05 pm
The Working Families Party is trying to boost its clout by recognizing its top performer in the Nov. 6 elections – US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand – who received a record 241,531 votes on the labor-backed party’s ballot line. (Row D).
That total is nearly 60,000 votes higher than the previous record of 183,672 set by Sen. Chuck Schumer in 2010 (Gillibrand, who was running to fill the remaining two years in the term of her predecessor, Hillary Clinton, received 182,624 on the WFP line that year), and approximately 80,000 over the party’s highest 2008 statewide total, which was 159,613 for President Obama.
The party proudly noted that this new high comes despite significantly lower turnout across the state caused by Hurricane Sandy.
According to the WFP, the growth came mainly in upstate, where the party was involved in a concerted effort to help the Democrats win back the state Senate. (That effort, as we now know, worked numerically, but thanks to the IDC and Senator-elect Simcha Felder, did not end up tipping the balance of power back into Democratic hands). Some 128,000 voters north of Westchester and Rockland counties cast their votes on Row D in November.
“Each vote on the Working Families Party line shows that in New York, people-power can still trump big money,” said WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor. “Across the state, our activists and volunteers made the case for our values – making sure our economy and our democracy work for everyone, not just the wealthy and well connected. These results prove that people are listening.”
The WFP says it played a key role in several upstate Democratic state Senate victories, including Senator-elect Ted O’Brien’s big win over Republican Assemblyman Sean Hanna. O’Brien won by 5,448 votes, receiving 5,047 on the WFP line. In the 41st Senate District, though the final vote count from the state Board of Elections isn’t available yet, the WFP says it’s likely its voters also provided a critical margin of victory for Democratic Senator-elect Terry Gipson over GOP Sen. Steve Saland.
The party also did a lot of GOTV work for Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk in the 46th Senate District, bringing in more than 4,910 votes on her behalf, 2,412 of which came from Ulster County, where Tkaczyk performed the strongest.
Acting state Supreme Court Justice Gary Tomlinson ruled this week that Republican Assemblyman George Amedore had defeated Tkaczyk by 37 votes, but the Democrats plan to appeal that ruling.
WFP, Labor Groups To Hold Rally For Democratic Senate
Nov 26th - 3:57 pm
The coalition that helped to elect a Democratic Senate is pushing for Democratic leadership.
The Working Families Party, along with a host of sympathetic labor groups and officials, will hold a rally in New York City at noon tomorrow on the steps of City Hall to push for a Democratic majority in the state Senate.
The rally comes as two Senate races remain under absentee ballot and affidavit counts.
Democrat Terry Gipson holds a wide lead over Republican Sen. Stephen Saland, but the attention is focused on the 46th Senate District, where Democrats hope the count in Ulster County will put Cecilia Tkaczyk over the top against GOP candidate George Amedore.
There will be 32 Democrats in the Senate chamber come January, but at least one — Brooklyn’s Simcha Felder — will sit with the GOP conference.
The rally in New York City tomorrow appears in part to pressure both Felder and possibly the four-member Independent Democratic Conference, to back a Democratic take over. Republicans would need a 32nd vote to elect a majority leader should Amedore lose, making the IDC’s position all the more important.
The thinking from liberal groups and Democratic lawmakers is that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s agenda in 2013 — including a minimum wage increase, stop and frisk reform — won’t be achieved even under a power-sharing agreement.
IDC leader Sen. Jeff Klein, of course, counters that a “coalition” government could get those things done, too and insists his news conference will remain an independent entity.
Tomorrow’s rally will include: Citizen Action of New York, Communication Workers of America, Community Voices Heard Power, Democracy for America, Moveon.org, New York Communities for Change, SEIU 32BJ, Strong Economy for All, Tenants PAC, United New York, and the Working Families Party.
It’s a familiar coalition for the Senate Democrats, with many of those groups contributing not just financial resources, but also a get-out-the-vote effort on Election Day that aided Democratic candidates.
A WFP Comeback?
Nov 12th - 1:35 pm
Among the many congratulatory blast emails and news releases the day after Election Day was one from the labor-supported Working Families Party.
The WFP only a few election cycles back was under investigation for its research arm, Data and Field Services. Andrew Cuomo, then running for governor in 2010, at the last minute agreed to run on the WFP’s ballot line, thus saving them from spiraling into the political black hole that swallowed up the now-defunct Liberal Party.
Still, even with the Data and Field Services case dropped and Cuomo in the governor’s office, the party couldn’t keep the Senate out of Republican hands. A host of measures opposed by labor — the Tier Six pension overhaul and the property tax cap — were approved.
Meanwhile, measures like increasing the state’s minimum wage and campaign-finance reform were bottled up.
But now, even as leadership battle looms in the Senate, Democrats are poised to regain a numerical, 32-member majority in the Senate.
The WFP’s email sent out post-Election Day carried the subject line “Earthquake.”
“A slate of WFP-endorsed Democrats has won majority control in Albany. The dust is still settling — and recounts could go on for weeks in at least two races — but we’re confident these results will hold,” wrote Executive Director Dan Cantor. “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for — and now we need you more than ever to stand by us. All the big issues are on the line in Albany, and we can’t allow the Senate to miss this opportunity. So we need your help to build a movement that holds the Senate’s feet to the fire and turns their campaign promises into reality.”
The email singled out both Democrats Terry Gipson and Cecilia Tkaczyk who hold leads over their Republican opponents, but the results remain up-in-the-air until absentee ballots are counted.
The Democrats who won did benefit from significant labor support, inlcuding some groups who have traditionally and broadly sided with Senate Republicans. Ads from the Communications Workers of America were running on behalf of Tkaczyk.
And in a little-reported move, the United Federation of Teacher’s COPE transfered $65,000 to the WFP on Oct. 11.
Keep in mind, too, that the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee — maligned for not keeping pace with their well-funded Republican counterparts — was able to marshal the help and resources from a variety of labor groups.
It’s overly simplistic to say unions wanted a Democratic takeover the Senate, or that all the money spent by the WFP helped put Democrats over the top in key races (a lot of their victories can be attributed to the enrollment advantage that Democrats enjoy and President Obama running for re-election).
And as Democrats gain some strength in numbers in the chamber, it’s different from 2008, when several decidedly moderate upstate and suburban lawmakers gained seats, only to lose them in a GOP wave in 2010.
This January, there could be as many as three or four freshman lawmakers with strong relationships with labor and the WFP in the chamber and Gov. Andrew Cuomo seeking a host of decidedly liberal agenda items for the final two years of his first term.
Siena Poll Fallout: Senate Dems Hedge On Amodeo
Oct 9th - 3:38 pm
Once upon a time, Buffalo Sen. Mark Grisanti was a top target – if not THE top target – for the Senate Democrats.
That made sense, considering the fact that back in 2010, Grisanti, a Democrat-turned-Republican, had ousted a Democratic senator (Antoine Thompson) in one of the state’s most Democrat-dominated districts outside NYC.
Despite the Republicans’ best redistricting efforts to assist Grisanti, shunting as many Democrats as possible into Sen. Tim Kennedy’s district, (particularly African Americans, which helps explain Kennedy’s tight primary race with Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant) the 60th SD remains Democrat-dominated.
That split, coupled with the fact that conservatives are angry with Grisanti for his “yes” vote last summer on same-sex marriage, made it seem like the senator was pretty vulnerable.
The Democrats were so eager to oust Grisanti that they flirted with the idea of supporting former Erie County Legislator Chuck Swanick, even though he was: 1) backed by the Conservatives, 2) opposed to gay marriage and abortion rights, and 3) connected to longtime WNY Democratic operative Steve Pigeon, who played a key role in the 2009 Senate coup.
But Swanick ended up losing the Democratic line to Mike Amodeo, who hasn’t ruled out joining forces with the IDC – not exactly something that endears him to DSCC Chair Mike Gianaris.
Yesterday, a Siena poll found Grisanti has a double-digit lead in the 60th SD race, thanks to the fact that it’s a four-person contest. (The WFP tried and failed to get its candidate, Greg Davis, off Row D and give it to Amodeo, and so is now merely able to urge supporters to vote for him on Row A).
During a CapTon interview last night, Gianaris seemed to suggest the DSCC has decided not to expend its limited resources on Amodeo, although he also said that could change if the race gets closer in the coming weeks.
“We have the luxury have having ample opportunities all around this state,” Gianaris told me.
“..There’s two Democratic-held seats for which the Republicans are competing. There’s probably six or seven Republican-held seats that we are going to be competing in. So we have an embarrassment of riches in terms of opportunities to look at. And we’re going to take advantage of them, even if a particular district becomes less appeaking as one in which to invest. There are plenty of others to choose from.”
When asked if the Democrats now plan on giving Grisanti a pass, Gianaris replied:
“We’re certainly not taking him off the target list. I’m reacting to your question about the poll, which showed things more challenging because it is in fact a split ticket scenario. Mark Grisanti’s still under 50 percent, which is the barometer by which an incumbent would be measured in terms of their vulnerability.”
“We’re still looking at it. We’re going to let the data drive the decision making. If that looks like it is one of our top chances for success, we’ll certainly be there.”
Gianaris Discusses Grisanti Race>> (TWC ID required)
Suffolk County Judge Foils WFP Swap In 60th SD
Oct 8th - 3:18 pm
I wrote last week about the Working Families Party officials’ plan to improve the chances of Sen. Mark Grisanti’s Democratic challenger, Michael Amodeo, by giving him Row D after bumping their candidate, Greg Davis, off the line by nominating him for a judgeship.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite the way they were planned for the labor-backed party, and Davis will remain on the line in the November election.
Things were fine for a while there. As with all their placeholder candidates – contenders tapped to keep Row D warm while the Democrats settled their differences for Row A – the WFP was sure to pick an attorney who would be eligible for a judgeship should the need to remove him arise.
(As you’ll recall, there are only three ways to get off the ballot at this late date: A candidate must either run for a judgeship, move out of state or die).
Problems arose when Davis failed to file the required paperworking to withdraw from the Senate race, which was due on Sept. 28 – three days after he was nominated for a judgeship in Suffolk County and 15 days after Amodeo defeated his fellow Democrat, former Erie County Legislator Chuck Swanick, in the Sept. 13 primary.
Thw WFP’s last hope to make the Davis-for-Amodeo swap work was that a Suffolk County judge would see Davis was running for two different offices and invalidate BOTH his candidacies. Unfortunately for the WFP – and the Democrats – that didn’t occur.
Last Friday, Newsday’s Rick Brand reports, state Supreme court Justice Gerard Garguilo knocked Davis off the ballot in the judicial race, but left him on Row D in the Senate race.
As a result, the 60th SD race remains a four-way contest, which, according to this morning’s Siena poll, is serving the senator quite well. Even though he’s under the magic 50 percent mark, Grisanti has a comfortable double-digit lead over his three opponents.
Paul Schuh, UAW Region 9 CAP director and WFP co-chair said the party will continue to advocate on Amodeo’s behalf, encouraging its members to vote for him on Row A – bypassing Davis on Row D to do so.
(This isn’t the first time the WFP has been in this situation in WNY. I believe the party backed former Sen. Bill Stachowski, and then urged members to vote for now-Sen. Tim Kennedy on the Democratic line after Kennedy defeated Stachowski in the primary).
In an emailed statement, Schuh said:
“Amodeo is the clear choice for working families in Western New York. He won’t appear on our ballot line, but that just means we’ll be working twice as hard to make sure that that every voter knows that Amodeo is the candidate who will stand up for hard working families in Albany, from raising the minimum wage to ending the influence of big money on politics.”
WFP Throws Wrench In 60th SD Race
Oct 4th - 9:16 am
ICYMI…from my morning memo:
Unlike two his fellow same-sex marriage “yes” voters, who struggled – and in one case, failed – to keep the GOP ballot line on primary day, Sen. Mark Grisanti easily defeated his challenger, attorney Kevin Stocker, on Sept. 13 and retained Row B.
But Grisanti’s win didn’t improve his general election outlook all that much at the time.
He still faced three opponents: Former Erie County Legislator Chuck Swanick, a Democrat running on the Conservative Party line; Mike Amodeo, who defeated Swanick for the right to run on Row A; and Gregory Davis on the Working Families Party line.
Yesterday, things became even more complicated for Grisanti.
The Working Families Party pulled one of its trademarked switcheroos, with WNY party leaders voting to swap out Davis in favor of Amodeo on Row D.
Assuming the legal paperwork is all in order, that is.
There are only three ways to get off the ballot at this late date: Move out of state, die or get nominated for a judgeship. Davis is an attorney, which qualifies him to run for the bench.
The labor-backed Working Families Party is generally very careful to make sure all its placeholder primary candidates – those running with the understanding that they’re likely to be dumped in favor of whoever wins the Democratic line – are attorneys.
Davis won’t be the first WFP placeholder booted from Row D to benefit a Democratic challenger this year.
The party did the same thing in NY-18, bumping Larry Weissmann in favor of former Spitzer/Paterson administration aide Sean Patrick Maloney, who won the June Democratic primary and is facing off against Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth in November.
That move could prove crucial to Maloney.
Weissmann was receiving 10 percent of the vote in a Siena poll conducted before the WFP officially endorsed Maloney, who was trailing Hayworth 46-33 among likely voters.
Without Maloney in the picture, his campaign claims the race is now at 46-43.
That strains credulity, since it seems highly unlikely every single person who supported Weissmann will now automatically switch their allegiance to Maloney. But a two-way race is undoubtedly closer than a three-way.
Hopefully, the Davis-for-Amodeo switch in the 60th SD is taking place early enough for Siena to account for the change before it crunches its poll numbers.
The move will certainly improve Amodeo’s chances, giving him two lines – Democratic and WFP – to Grisanti’s two – GOP and Independence – and Swanick’s one (Conservative).
A three-way race is closer than a four-way.
And with the Democratic enrollment edge in this district, even despite the Senate GOP’s best gerrymandering efforts during the redistricting process, it certainly didn’t help Amodeo to be splitting the left-of-center vote with Davis.
Now Grisanti is left in the unenviable position of having to split the right-of-center vote with Swanick.
But remember: This is Western New York we’re talking about. Party affiliation is fuzzy out there, and the traditional political rules don’t always apply.
It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Gov. Andrew Cuomo decides to do in this race.
Grisanti has already taken the liberty of running a TV ad touting his relationship with the Democratic governor, who did Amodeo no favors by saying he knows “nothing about” the Senate hopeful.
It’s pretty clear the WFP has decided to roll the dice and try to re-instate a Democrat-controlled state Senate, despite the dysfunctional mess that caused the last time around.
Perhaps the liberal party has decided it has a better chance of boxing the fiscally conservative governor on its agenda if both legislative chambers are in Democratic hands.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a WFP ally, has already said as much.
Cuomo no doubt does not approve.
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