Written and edited by Norm Scott:
EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!!
Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!
Ben
is the most qualified candidate for trustee on the NYC Teacher
Retirement System pension board. Help him get on the ballot. Vote for
him on Wed, May 8, 2024.
Thursday, February 29 - and happy birthday to all you youngsters.
I have a post ready to go explaining the background of how this election has come to be with current TRS board member David Kazansky being replaced/or leaving willingly for a position with the AFT willingly -- choose your poison. Unity endorsed his replacement at the Feb. 5 EB and Feb. 7 DA.
Elections are held in the schools on May 8 and are run by the DOE - with principals in charge. Only working members may vote (no retirees). There will be a major effort to make sure they are properly held. The last time over 1/3 of the schools didn't even hold an election.
There's a so-called election every year for one of the rotating members of TRS -all Unity) and I and others have talked about one day running someone against the Unity candidate to break their monopoly on the position. Or at the very least to be able to raise questions about the role they play or should be playing.
If Kazansky was still running there would likely not have been an alt. candidate- there hasn't been an election in decades. Kazansky was pretty well respected as being responsive and knowledgeable. In fact a good friend who recently suffered a death in the family of a UFT member had some questions and I gave him David's email and he responded with satisfactory answers just last week.
Some people seemed pissed off at what seemed to be yet another power move by the UFT leadership.
Did Unity, under the leadership of Michael Mulgrew, once again shoot itself in the foot. (See Amy-Gate)?
A question asked on the ICE-mail listserv:
How does the election of this single (sole, one) candidate change things
for all TRS members, active and retired? Will this candidate be running
things going forward or will he just be one in a
group? Please explain the drastic difference electing this single
candidate will make.
Responses:
An interesting question. This is one of three teacher members. Then there is the comptroller- Brad Landers and an appointee from the mayors office. Having a person on the board as qualified as Ben would
benefit every member. They oversee the investments and allocations of
billions dollars in funds. He can ask the right questions, make
inquiries and convince the other board members to vote one or another.
We want someone with a financial and academic background that Ben has
to oversee the consultants working for TRS, he’s a classroom teacher who
will have our best interests at heart.
My reply: To me the most important thing is Ben is not controlled by Unity and slave to decisions by the leadership. Can he change things? Probably not much but he can reveal things that are going on that Unity keeps under cover.
First, Ben needs 1000 signatures to get on the ballot and Unity went into quick panic mode to get theirs. So if you are in a school, follow the instructions below and get Ben some signatures.
My own experience with Ben goes back a few years when he approached me outside the DA when we held a healthcare rally and he began to attend Ex bd meetings with us. He has become an expert on the sad state of Tier 6 people and their pension systems and having a strong advocate like Ben in an official position would be benefit the 54% of current UFT working members who are shockingly in Tier 6.
Ben Morgenroth For Teacher-Member Trustee of NYC TRS Board
Ben
is the most qualified candidate for trustee on the NYC Teacher
Retirement System pension board. Help him get on the ballot. Vote for
him on Wed, May 8, 2024.
Help
get fellow NYC public schools teacher, Ben Morgenroth, on the ballot
for the May NYC TRS board election as part of the three teacher trustees
who oversee the more than $100 billion in our pension fund.
This
trustee position is the second to change hands in two years. We need
qualified trustees with a solid financial background, like Ben’s, to
keep our pensions safe, secure and stable.
We need to put the best qualified candidate on the ballot and Ben is the most qualified candidate.
Ben
teaches AP Calculus and Algebra II at Brooklyn Technical High School
and has served as a passionate teacher in the New York City public
schools for the past decade. He also serves as an adjunct lecturer in
Mathematics at Hunter College, City University of New York. He is a
life-long New Yorker and a graduate of New York City public schools. He
comes from a family of educators; he and three members of his immediate
family are all TRS members.
Ben holds a BA in Applied Math-Economics from Brown University and a MA in Applied Mathematics from Hunter College.
Prior
to teaching, Ben served as a business technology consultant and hedge
fund risk analyst, helping to manage $3 billion in client investments.
He
is the only candidate with a strong investment background who can be
trusted to keep our pension stable, solvent, and ensure that it
continues to grow.
Ben is an independent-thinking, union-proud,
classroom educator who will serve the best interests of all NYC
educators. He will fight to fix Tier 6 so all members have a fair
pension and have the option to retire at 55 with the same contributions
that Tier 4 members have.
He needs 1,000 signatures to get on the
ballot. Please help by circulating his nomination petition (link and QR
code below). Any active in-service TRS member may sign the petition,
including teachers, counselors, school staff, administrators and active
CUNY employees who are members of TRS.
Please circulate this petition in your school to all NYC TRS members.
Please return signed petitions as quickly as possible. We are hoping to collect all signatures in the next 15 school days.
If you have questions, concerns or comments, contact the Committee to Elect Benjamin Morgenroth at ben4trs@gmail.com
Vote For Ben - Election Day, Wed May 8, 2024
When asking people to sign the petition ballot, please remind and urge them to vote for Ben Morgenroth on May 8, 2024 - Election Day.
We will share more details about these NYC DOE run elections in the coming days and weeks.
Editor’s note:
Only
someone with a strong investment background can be trusted to keep our
pension stable, solvent and can skillfully manage it so that it
continues to grow. Ben’s classroom and financial experience and
expertise makes him inarguably the best qualified candidate for teacher
trustee of TRS.
Mulgrew’s establishment Unity caucus candidate for
this election has served as a pension specialist/union staffer, but is
far removed from being in the classroom full-time.
And while this
staffer may be helpful in a one-on-one consultation about your service
record and your future payouts, managing a multi-billion dollar pension
fund is not remotely the same responsibility or job description. In the
same way that an oil change/car service specialist by no means makes one
uniquely qualified to be an auto engineer, or to serve on the board of
Ford or Tesla.
Mulgrew’s trustee candidates are selectively chosen
to be merely rubber-stamps for his agenda and often are years removed
from our classroom perspectives and issues.
We also know that
Mulgrew’s track record has only proven to bring about the erosion of our
pension and health benefits. Under his watch, we have been burdened by
state’s establishment of Tier 6 and his plan to “fix it” lacks
specifics, vision and strength.
Ben’s top priorities for managing our pension plan:
Ensure financial stability and fund solvency to secure financial futures for retirees.
Aggressively and judiciously pursue investments that maximize returns while minimizing risk.
Hold
webinars and workshops in schools to ensure members understand our
pension, including benefits, investment, and retirement options.
Improve pension and disability benefits for members of all tiers.
Restore the 8.25% TDA rate (received by everyone except UFT members).
Restore retirement age to 55 for Tier 6 members.
Reduce pension contributions for all tiers and end pension contributions after 10 years of service.
Improve
pension flexibility for members who change careers or relocate,
including pension credit for teachers entering from other school
systems.
Improve Final Average Salary calculation for pension benefits that better reflect real earnings.
Update COLA law for benefit increases that keep pace with inflation.
Offer swifter movement of funds between TDA investment options (reduce time lag to one day from the present one to four months).
Help get fellow NYC teacher, Ben Morgenroth, on the ballot for the May election for one of the three teacher trustees who oversee the more than $100 billion in our pension fund. This trustee position is the second to change hands in two years.
We need qualified trustees with a solid financial background like Ben’s to keep our pensions safe and stable. We need to put the best qualified candidate on the ballot and Ben is the most qualified candidate.
Ben needs 1,000 signatures to get on the ballot. Please help by circulating his nomination petition (link and QR code below). Any in-service TRS member may sign the petition, including teachers, counselors, school staff, administrators and active CUNY employees who are members of TRS.
Ben is an AP Calculus teacher at Brooklyn Tech. He holds a BA in Applied Math-Economics from Brown University, a MA in Applied Mathematics from Hunter College, and has private sector hedge fund experience. He is the only candidate with a strong investment background who can be trusted to keep our pension stable, solvent, and ensure that it continues to grow.
Ben is an independent-thinking, union-proud, classroom educator who will serve the best interests of NYC educators. He will fight to fix Tier 6 so all members have a fair pension and have the option to retire at 55 with the same contributions that Tier 4 members have.
Please circulate this petition in your school to all TRS members.
Please return signed petitions as quickly as possible. We are hoping to collect all signatures in the next 10 days.
When asking people to sign, please remind them that we hope we can count on their vote for Morgenroth on May 8, 2024 - Election Day
Sixteen people showed up, some original ICErs from its founding over 20 years ago, and some newcomers.
We met for 3 hours and everyone got a chance to talk about the retiree election, the TRS election, a PhD student talked about his thesis on the UFT, Chicago and LA. I have always learned new things at ICE meetings and the congeniality is affirming. We will meet next in person during spring break on April 24 - Bring your own Matzoh.
Of course there was sadness over the death of core ICEer James Eterno, whose funeral was the day before. Many of us saw each other at the wake. So there was some communal feeling.We talked about a possible memorial for James. Maybe even see if UFT was willing to take part. But the key was the decision to keep ICE going as a tribute to the efforts James put into ICE. This reso was presented and there was agreement on going forward. Over the years, James maintained the blog and I did the listserve and handled meetings. The blog is a key and we are hoping people will step up and contribute. Send me something if you have something to say. Once things settle down in the Eterno household. we hope Camille will take on some role.
Resolution for the Independent Community of Educators to Continue the Work of James Eterno
Whereas the late James Eterno was a co-founder of the Independent Community of Educators (ICE-UFT), was a UFT Presidential candidate in 2010, was part of the committee that formulated the extensive 2010 ICE-UFT platform
Whereas James was determined to keep ICE as a vibrant group that meets regularly and continues to contribute its experience in organizing in the UFT and fighting for a better, militant, democratic UFT,
Whereas James was a key organizer in the United for Change coalition in the 2022 UFT election, ran as an Executive Board candidate in UFT elections over 25 years for UFC, MORE, ICE/TJC and New Action as a strident supporter of opposition groups within the UFT, while being a fervent advocate for union,
Resolved that ICE will continue to meet on a regular basis, maintain its email list serve and the ICE blog in order to continue the work James did,
Resolved that ICE will continue to be open to all UFT members, regardless of caucus affiliation, political persuasion or otherwise
Resolved that ICE will continue to serve as venue for civil, open discussions, where union members can respectfully disagree, yet still find common cause in fighting for strong unions and good public schools for all,
Resolved that ICE will continue to demand and advocate for a UFT that embraces a variety of viewpoints, open debates on collective strategies, militant unionism, responsive union leadership and engages an active membership,
Br it further resolved that ICE will continue to support and participate in union elections as members of coalitions and caucuses that fight for; responsive leadership, engaged membership, and rank and file militant union.
------
Here is some other important news with links to what is going on - so much I would have to spend the day working on it but it's beautiful out, so here's all I got.
For nearly three years, Retiree
Advocate/UFT and our allies from across the spectrum of NYC municipal
unions, have been fighting to preserve our traditional Medicare
benefits, as they face attacks from the mayor's office, the Municipal
Labor Committee, and Mulgrew, the architect behind the city’s privatized Medicare Advantage plan (MAP).
Health
care decisions should be between us and our doctors. Big private
insurance corporations should not profit at the expense of our health.
Thankfully, RA and NYC retirees are fighting to preserve and strengthen
NYC laws that protect our benefits.
This upcoming spring retiree
chapter election may have a big impact on our union leadership in
regards to the fight to stave off attempts by the city to force all
Medicare eligible city retirees into the highly litigated and much
maligned MAP.
In the second segment, I speak to Marianne Pizzitola, president of the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees. Her organization, comprised of NYC retirees from our city’s unions, has been leading the fight
against the city and the top establishment union bosses who are
partnering in cost savings healthcare givebacks that endanger the
healthcare benefits of retired and active city workers.
She
will share updates on the fight the NYC retirees are waging to preserve
their hard earned benefits. We also have an very interesting
conversation about the upcoming RTC election and the history behind the
misuse of the Healthcare Stabilization Fund.
The
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Thank you for reading The Wire: Powered by Educators of NYC. This post is public so feel free to share it.
The past 2 weeks has been wrenching for the many James Eterno fans since he passed on Feb. 6. The past 2 days with the viewing and funeral have brought out hundreds of people. Monday night was very touching seeing so many people who have bonded over the years in union struggles. Watching the coffin be lowered yesterday was beyond sad.
In
the months before his stroke in May, James was bugging me to start
calling ICE meetings again and we were about to begin but I felt
paralyzed without his counsel.
Today's pre-planned ICE meeting seems so fitting. Jews have healing shiver after funerals. We will talk about James' legacy and how hard he worked to keep
ICE going after we started working with MORE, especially after ICE left
MORE. Given his efforts, we have no choice but to continue ICE in some form. We
will have a rice pudding ICE meeting to help us heal. I hope we can talk about the possibility of a memorial for him to celebrate his work.
There's lots to
talk about regarding the RTC and TRS election (we may have a candidate
at the meeting).
The RTC election is looming and how well Retiree Advocate does can be a game changer in the UFT -- I will expand on this in my next post. Our super successful press conference last Friday where we announced we have a full 300 member slate to run and also introduced some of the 10 officer candidates is a good sign. We had heard that Mulgrew is so insecure he wanted to keep Murphy who he knows will be unfailingly loyal and would not trust someone else.
Arthur posted this tweet:
We're hearing that @UFT RTC boss Tom Murphy will be replaced with
another Mulgrew lackey, who will continue the fight to decimate our
health care. Her working motto is, "I'm not Tom Murphy." Appealing
though that may be, protect your rights and vote for @RetireeAdvocUFT.
There are some rumors former UFT Spec Ed VP Carmen Alvarez may be the candidate. We remember her shameful testimony at the City Council hearings begging them to change the law so she could have the choice of opting out of the very plan the union was pushing. As a UFT staffer since 1990 she could afford to pay for opting out.
If Carmen is campaigning inside Unity for the position does that make Mulgrew feel condideent if he does prefer Murphy? Or has Murphy outlived his usefulness and the RA threat is so real they feel they have to make a change? Will Mulgrew run
again in '25 or will be fazed out as it seems Tom Murphy may be as RTC
head?
We will share ideas for the election campaigns at the ICE meeting. And lots more.
A PhD candidate doing a thesis on the UFT compared to other unions will be at the meeting.
And if there is time, we will talk about the concept of COPE and should people withdraw in protest or call for some level of more democracy.
James
was one of 20 or so founders of ICE 20
years ago in late 2003 when I called a bunch of key people together to
discuss the deal New Action was making with Unity for the 2004 election.
James, Camille, Ellen Fox and Lisa North left New Action to become part
of the future ICE core.
ICE
ran in the
2004, '07, '10 UFT elections before merging with TJC and others into
MORE. James was the 2010 presidential
candidate against Mulgrew who was running for the first time and Camille
was the UFC candidate vs Mulgrew in the '22 election. James got the
most VP high school votes in the 2016 election but due to UFT election
manipulation rules the VP position are voted on by all UFT members.
ICE was different, with no official
membership - just show up at a meeting - no steering committee, few if
any limits on what could be discussed - open meetings to all, even from
other caucuses.
One thing that James was so much part of was the sense of family people connected to ICE felt about the group and each other, a feeling I never felt on other groups I was involved in where they were run like a business. ICE has been as much a social group as a union political group. A space where you felt safe enough to bring up issues that would be uncomfortable talking about in other groups. Where you could disagree with the prevailing winds and not get cancelled.
We set up a zoom this past November and an in-person during the Xmas vacation. And that was so great even if only a
dozen. We talked about issues for almost 3 hours. And everyone seemed to leave happy. We propose an every two month schedule on the Wednesday during school vacations so
in-service people can attend. The meeting today meets that schedule. The next one would be April 24.
It's hard to describe what ICE is at this point, given James Eterno's illness and the stillness of the ICE blog which he assiduously maintained over the years. Some mistakenly believed it was his personal blog but James always rejected that idea. He wanted ICE to remain a presence.
300 retirees sign up to run a full slate in the chapter election - and we had to turn people away.
TAKE BACK OUR UNION
Retiree Advocate/UFT announces its run in the spring 2024 UFT Retired Teachers Chapter Election
Retiree Advocate/UFT,
a caucus of retirees within the United Federation of Teachers, will
open its campaign to win control of the 60,000-member UFT Retired
Teachers Chapter in the spring chapter elections. Candidates will be
introduced at the press event and will greet the public immediately
following, at the White Horse Tavern, 25 Bridge Street, New York, NY.
Retiree Advocate/UFT is
fighting to preserve the Medicare benefits that UFT President Michael
Mulgrew, the Municipal Labor Committee, and the NYC Office of Labor
Relations are trying to take away from NYC municipal retirees.
What: Retiree Advocate/UFTCampaign kick-off event
When: Friday, February 16, 1pm
Where: 52 Broadway, New York, NY - in front of the UFT
From the WIRE:
A
group of retired teachers chose to take back their retiree chapter!
Let's support them. If you are available to support them in a kick-off event, tomorrow, in front of UFT HQ, join them for a day of celebration to launch their campaign!
Retiree Advocate/UFT, a caucus of retirees within the United Federation of Teachers, will open its campaign to win control of the 70,000+ member UFT Retired Teachers Chapter in the spring chapter elections.
Candidates will be introduced at the press event and will greet the public immediately following, at the White Horse Tavern, 25 Bridge Street, New York, NY.
Retiree Advocate/UFT (RA) is fighting to preserve the Medicare benefits that UFT President Michael Mulgrew, the Municipal Labor Committee, and the NYC Office of Labor Relations are trying to take away from NYC municipal retirees.
Many UFT members are frustrated with Mulgrew’s handling of the depletion of our benefits, like healthcare and pensions, by acting unilaterally and his stifling of union democracy.
The
Retiree Advocate slate of officers and 300 delegates will receive
cross-caucus and independent members’ support and endorsements.
TheNew York City Organization of Public Service Retirees, a
labor organization with over 20k retired municipal workers, including
retired educators, and led by Marianne Pizzitola, has also signaled
support for the Retiree Advocate/UFT member-driven campaign to take back their union.
Randi and Bloomberg do the flip in mayoral control renewal 2009
Deja vu all over again?
Mulgrew at the Feb. 2024 DA on Mayoral control –
-----when it sunsets, know what our position is. Want to be
a little bit more. Position mayoral control, went through Cleveland’s,
Boston’s, New Haven’s – they have mayoral control, the mayor chooses the
final decision making panel (i.e. PEP), but the Mayor may only choose
from people selected by nominating committee, of which they often have
little control. Once put on these boards, they’re on a fixed term, mayor
can’t do anything about it. Not saying what want, but have to dispel
myth that changing mayoral control from way it is here—with mayor
picking majority of PEP—is only version of mayoral control. People here
fired for not doing what they’re told – that’s crap. Goal of last week
was to tie different things together. Has the mayor supplanted school
funding (yes), was there a financial reason (no)... How do you give the mayor any sort of control, who supplants funding,
who removes money from funding despite being bound to lower class sizes
by NYS law. One thing in that law that allows process to be stopped.
Happens in a year in a half. Had all the money we needed and since then
2.5 billion dollars have been taken out of the capital plan, because
trying to use financial review period to stop the law. ... Nick Bacon Notes at NAC
Let me take you back to the 2009 battle over renewal of mayoral control:
Chalkbeat/Gotham Schools: The frustration began with a May 21, 2009 New York Post column,
in which Weingarten indicated that she is open to allowing the mayor to
continue appointing a majority of members to the citywide school board.
A union task force recommended
in February that the state legislature reverse that majority as a way
to strengthen the board, known as the Panel for Education Policy or PEP.
Weingarten’s
Post op/ed dismayed some members of her own union. “I was quite
disappointed and angry, actually,” said Lisa North, a teacher who sat on
the union’s task force to consider revisions to mayoral control.
North
said the task force never seriously considered recommending that the
mayor keep his majority of appointments, and so when union delegates
ratified the committee’s final recommendations, she expected Weingarten
to promote them. “The delegate assembly is supposed to be the highest
authority of the union, and it voted for it,” she said.
I wrote this in June, 2009 - Weingarten Didn't Flip on Mayoral Control-- UFT positioning is akin to planes spreading tin foil to try to fool radar.
We opposed the very idea of a phony UFT task force dominated by Unity
Caucus that would give cover to Randi's doing what she intended to do
anyway over the past 7 years. (I have been a lone voice in ICE urging
boycotting these farce task forces.) I spoke to Philissa (Kramer of Gotham) and made the point that Randi's flipping
on the constitution of the PEP panel is just flack covering Randi's
consistent support for mayoral control. More egregious, I told her, is
her modifying the report of the UFT task force that spent a year
addressing the issue that was voted upon at a delegate assembly. One of
the few good things the report recommended
was taking away the mayor's ability to appoint a majority of the PEP.
That is where Randi has flipped. The task force was c0-headed by UFT VP
Carmen Alvarez, who has been racing around the city representing the UFT
on panel discussions and trying to give the impression the UFT supports
checks and balances. Tsk, tsk, Carmen.
“I do feel betrayed,” said Michael Fiorillo, another chapter leader who
sat on the union’s task force. “I just wish I could say I felt
surprised.” He said Weingarten has veered away from members’ consensus
on other topics in the past, and so he had early doubts that she would
hold firm on the task force’s recommendations. (Fiorillo ultimately
voted against the recommendations, saying they weren’t aggressive enough
curbs on mayoral control.) “My guess would be the sense of betrayal
would be stronger among people outside the union,” Fiorillo said, noting
that union members were accustomed to watching Weingarten change her
mind.
Weingarten doesn't exactly change her mind. What she does is throw up
lots of tin foil like those planes trying to foil radar detection do in
manipulating public perception of where the UFT stands. It is necessary
to see through the flack and keep one's eye on where the real plane with
the bomb is.
Why does the UFT leadership love mayoral control? Because it allows them
to negotiate in back rooms with one person instead of opening up the
process to democratic scrutiny. Totalitarians behave that way. When
Obama was talking in Cairo today about bringing the light of democracy
to places of darkness he might has well been talking about mayoral
control and the UFT.
As I said then I do support the UFT current position of opposing the mayor choosing a majority of members on the PEP but will they stick to that position? Mulgrew still claims to be for mayoral control. If the mayor can't appoint a majority is it really mayoral control? Yes in the world of UFT machinations.
The family and the many friends and fans of James Eterno have been through a ten-month wrenching experience. James' political family in ICE has had a meeting scheduled for Feb. 21 before we learned of James' passing. That will be a very appropriate way to remember him just a day after the funeral. There will be sadness but there will also be laughter.
On Monday, February 19, 2024, we gather
to honor the memory of James Eterno, a remarkable individual who left
an indelible mark on the educational landscape and the hearts of those
who knew him. James, a retired educator and passionate union activist,
dedicated his life to advocating for the rights of teachers and
students.
Viewing and Prayer Service
Date: Monday, February 19, 2024
Viewing: 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Prayer Service: 7:00 PM
Location: Martin A. Gleason Funeral Home, 149-20 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11354
Funeral Service and Interment
On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, we come together once more to bid farewell to James and lay him to rest.
Funeral Service: 12:00 PM
Location: St. John’s Cemetery, 80-01 Metropolitan Ave, Middle Village, NY 11379
James
Eterno’s impact extended far beyond the classroom. His dedication,
resilience, and love for his community will forever resonate. As we
gather to honor him, let us reflect on the lessons he taught us and the
passion he instilled in our hearts.
May his memory be a blessing and may his legacy live on.
Sometimes I feel like rooting for Dems to lose due to their ineptness. Note the hysteria over the Republican special counsel appointed by Merrick Garland so he can look like's he's playing fair with Republicans. James Carville even said - what law says all special counsels have to be Republicans?
UPDATE: At 10PM Suozzi is looking good and the Dems will take that as a way to move to the right. The long-time implications are not going to be good in terms of solving our problems when one party is nuts and the other fundamentally acts like the way the other party did.
And their defense of Biden - who is desperate to get money to Ukraine or Israel but not so desperate to get money for oh say, childcare or children in poverty.
And let me remind you that our own lovable UFT center right leadership is part and parcel of the very same fabric of the Dem party and their policy stances reflect that. And Dem party in NYS under Jacobs is one of the most inept --
If Suozzi wins even by a hair, watch the celebration. But they have to do it all over again in November. Suozzi is on the right of the Dem party and ran to the right of Hochul in the gov race. Jacobs gotta go no matter what.
If you want to see an example of an analysis of the fundamental failures of the Democratic Party and their never taking responsibility for their actions and placing blame on the left or the media of the failure of the public to get their message watch the Sam Seder interview with Luke Goldstein on today's crucial election where I can't really root for Suozzi. Some say if he loses or its close that will send a message to the Dems to shift course from their right wing tack ala the Clintons of the 90s which led down the path to Trump.
The fact that right wing Democrat Suozzi is barely ahead against Mazi Pilip after the Republican George Santos disaster is a sign of the Dem disaster. Part of me wants them to lose so bad they go away and something new and vigorous can grow. Someone compared the Dems to the waffling Whigs of the 1840s from which arose a potent Republican Party in the 1850s.
Immigration is a biggie in this election and the Dems have become the right wing Republicans on the issue of immigration with no alternative narrative. So watch the outcome tonight -- it will be close and to me that's a Dem loss even if they win. The Dems have put $7 million into this campaign while letting APAC savage the Progressive wing of the party -- all people of color, bty. So if you wonder about slippage with people of color ....
and here is Luke Goldstein's articlereporting on the special election being held today in New York's 3rd Congressional District.
NY-03 Special Election Tests Jacobs’s ‘Long Island Strategy’
Tuesday’s primary to fill George
Santos’s seat is a toss-up, despite an experienced former Democratic
congressmember facing a largely unknown Republican.
While George Santos is busy building a post-politics
career as an online influencer, voters in his former district in New
York are preparing to wash the stain from the seat in a special election
on Tuesday that is being treated as a bellwether for the 2024 campaign
Democratic
candidate and former congressman Tom Suozzi has returned to try to
reclaim his old seat in the Third Congressional District. Suozzi faces a
local Republican county official with little national recognition: Mazi
Pilip, an Ethiopian immigrant who served in the Israel Defense Forces
before coming to the U.S.
Immigration and abortion are listed as top concerns by voters and
have dominated the sparring between candidates, including at the first
and only debate of the race last Thursday night. The election will test
whether the now dead-on-arrival border package legislation in Washington
will backfire against Republicans, as national Democrats hope, and how
much staying power abortion still has for voters in a blue state.
Even in a tough swing district, you’d expect the Democratic candidate
to trounce the opponent after the scorched rubble left by Santos’s
disastrous ten months in office. Yet despite vastly outspending his
opponent nearly 3-to-1, Suozzi’s margins in recent polling are razor-thin, with some pollsters designating the race a toss-up. The most recent public poll from Emerson College has Suozzi up 50-47.
The special election will put the New York Democratic Party under
scrutiny after underperforming the rest of the country with a series of
defeats in the 2022 midterms. State party chair Jay Jacobs is a close
ally of Suozzi and a longtime chair of the Nassau County Democratic
Party, the home of the NY-03 district. Jacobs has fashioned a “Long
Island strategy” that’s shifted the party in a more conservative
direction to win contested seats across the state. So far, that strategy
hasn’t borne out, and Jacobs has received criticism for not tapping
into the party’s more grassroots base.
“This race should be the ultimate shoo-in,” said one progressive
strategist in New York. “If Suozzi loses or really if it’s even a close
race, that raises serious questions about the Democratic establishment
in New York, especially for a race in Jay Jacobs’s backyard.”
THE NATIONAL STAKES FOR THE SPECIAL ELECTION are mixed.
For one, the winner will only hold office for roughly eight months
before the contest is redecided this November in a redrawn district. The
New York Supreme Court ruled last December that the New York
independent redistricting commission will have to redraw the
congressional map. The decision is expected to shift the seat in a direction more favorable for Democrats in November.
But until then, there could potentially be near-term implications,
given the slim majority that Republicans currently hold in the House and
constant tumult over the Speakership. Just this past week, Republicans
failed to impeach the Biden administration’s secretary of homeland
security, Alejandro Mayorkas, by the thinnest of margins, prompting Rep.
Matt Gaetz to remark that he’d “never missed George Santos more.”
But primarily, the race is receiving national attention for a check of
the national mood heading into the 2024 presidential year. To underscore
just how dramatized this storyline has become, a recent Politico
Magazine story put as its headline “Nassau County Is Replacing George Santos—and Maybe Picking the Next President.”
Some surrogates close to Suozzi’s campaign have downplayed this
Beltway narrative somewhat, at least as a presidential indicator.
“It’s called a special election for a reason and the dynamics are
different; we’re not picking the next president, but that’s not to say
this isn’t highly important,” said Zak Malamed, who was one of the many
Democratic candidates running in the primary to challenge Santos before
the congressman’s expulsion.
In an unconventional procedure, national leadership in consultation
with the state party got to select the candidate for the special
election and cleared the way for Suozzi. Malamed endorsed Suozzi and has
been supporting him in the race ever since.
The special election will put the New York Democratic
Party under scrutiny after underperforming the rest of the country with a
series of defeats in the 2022 midterms.
But the coronation of Suozzi was somewhat more contentious in other
quarters. The bad blood is because Suozzi left the seat to make a failed
run for governor against Kathy Hochul in 2022. Many believe that
Suozzi’s exit opened the seat up for the Santos drama that New York and
the country have endured for the past year. Despite that criticism,
Suozzi was rewarded by the party that saw him as the safest bet to flip
the district.
Suozzi, a conservative Democrat who helped found the Problems Solvers
Caucus, also has a mixed record on abortion, a major factor in sinking
his bid for governor. Suozzi initially supported the Hyde Amendment,
which bans the use of federal funds for abortion procedures, but has
since reversed himself. Still, some of his opponents questioned whether
his track record on the issue might make him a poor fit for the seat,
given how mobilizing the issue has been against Republicans since the
overturning of Roe v. Wade.
One lesson New York Democrats took away from the 2022 midterm races
is that they didn’t adequately turn abortion into a central issue, which
carried Democrats elsewhere. Suozzi seems to agree. He’s shored up
support from reproductive rights groups such as Planned Parenthood and
gone on the attack against his Republican opponent over her party’s
extreme position. He’s repeatedly pressed Pilip on what exactly her
stance is on supporting Roe v. Wade or the proposed national
abortion ban legislation. Pilip has only offered vague responses about
respecting a woman’s “decision,” both bucking the conservative flank of
her party without fully committing to supporting Roe either.
Pilip has other issues as well. She hid from the public for a stretch
of the campaign, only appearing on the trail occasionally. In her
absence, a major controversy broke that echoed her Republican
predecessor’s corruption. A New York Timesinvestigation
revealed that Pilip’s financial disclosures included a number of
inconsistencies and omissions compared to her previous filings for
Nassau County, where she served as a legislator. Her campaign
immediately corrected some of the errors, claiming they were mistakes,
but there are still outstanding questions about her and her husband’s
financial holdings.
Despite the national tenor of the race, both candidates have distanced
themselves from the presumptive nominees of their respective parties
and exhibited nothing but angst about the possibility of them visiting
the district. Pilip won’t even say whether she voted for President Trump
in 2020 despite being pressed on this question constantly by Suozzi’s
campaign. In swing districts like NY-03, with scores of independent and
moderate voters, it’s a reflection of the extreme unpopularity of both
presidential candidates and even the toxicity of the national brands of
both parties. In fact, both candidates also opted
not to publicize when House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader
Hakeem Jeffries each visited the candidates for rallies in the district.
Yet, the adage “all politics is local” doesn’t seem to be holding
true so far in the race, where hot-button national issues predominate.
While Santos won on relatively parochial issues like crime and migrant
busing, this contest is centered heavily on the southern border
situation, along with abortion.
Both candidates have exchanged barbs
on immigration. Up until the past few weeks, Pilip, an immigrant
herself, was accusing Democrats of allowing an invasion at the southern
border. The tenor has changed somewhat since the collapse of the border
deal brokered in Washington to pair restrictive immigration enforcement
with military aid for Israel and Ukraine.
Republicans killing the deal, to avoid delivering Biden another
legislative victory, has given Suozzi a talking point in the race to
fend off the open-borders charge from Republicans. He’s pushed Pilip to
respond to the collapse of the border deal, accusing Republicans of not
being serious about solutions. Whether that will change the minds of
voters is yet to be tested.
The border package also raises the question of support for Israel and
the ongoing war in Gaza. Suozzi is a loyal supporter of Israel and even
visited the country in December. For that, he received the endorsement
and financial support of Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, even though
his opponent actually fought in the IDF. Suozzi has used his backing by
the Israel lobby to try to defang his opponent’s charge that his party
welcomes “terrorist sympathizers.”
THE MAIN QUESTION HANGING OVER THE RACE is whether the state
party can revamp itself after suffering four humiliating congressional
losses in 2022, two of which were in Long Island, which also saw wipeout
down-ballot at the local level.
Those four races arguably cost Democrats control of the House, which
Republicans won back by just four seats. National Democratic leadership
has made it clear they believe their path back to the majority in 2024 runs
through Long Island and retaking those lost seats from the midterms.
They’re already dedicating an incredible amount of resources to those
races up and down the state, upwards of $45 million from the national
party’s coffers. That vast amount of money earmarked for what would
usually be state party responsibilities indicates national Democrats might not fully trust the abilities of the Albany bosses to get the job done.
Democrats are also spending big in the special election. Just over a
week before the election, the GOP’s Congressional Leadership Fund was forced
to pump $2.6 million into TV ads to try to make up the yawning gap
Democrats had put between them and Republicans on spending. Prior to
that infusion of funds, Suozzi led almost threefold on spending for television and digital ads, at $8 million to $3 million.
House Majority PAC, the main vehicle for Democratic leadership spending, dumped $7 million on the race for Suozzi.
That amount of spending is obscenely high for a special-election race
that will just be redecided in November, likely under more favorable
conditions for Democrats after redistricting. While leadership PACs
expend resources on Suozzi, they have all but refused to lift a finger
to protect the incumbent house progressives facing well-financed primary
challenges, funded largely by right-wing donors.
Some progressives in New York also question the tactics that the
state party has decided to run with under the leadership of party chair
Jay Jacobs to win back Long Island.
As Gov. Hochul has consolidated power, the state party for the most
part has supported the more moderate candidates in state and local races
across the state against progressives.
In contested Long Island races, the party believes tacking right to
win over middle-of-the-road Republican and independent voters is the
necessary path to victory. In 2022, that more conservative strategy led
not just to the losses of congressional candidates but also the unseating
of the Democratic Nassau County executive, Laura Curran, and several
district attorney candidates who tried to distance themselves from
criminal justice reform positions.
The alternative approach would be to try to mobilize more energy among the party’s core base of voters.
Tuesday’s election has been made out to be a referendum on President
Biden. In reality, it may be more a reflection of the state party in New
York, and whether it’s up for the task in 2024.
And here's another Sam analysis on Dem road to nowhere with their Republican talking points position on immigration:
Biden’s Immigration Deal Fiasco Is Way Worse Than You Thought
Immigration lawyer going under the monicker Ronald Reagan points to the failures of current immigration policy and how the proposed "solution" is not a solution.
Discussion of how the US for business interests helped destabilize central American nations and sparked immigration.
No energy, no will to get the alternative view of immigration out there. When you cede the argument to Republicans - not address the funfamental flaws in the Republican view -- a double disaster for Dems -- policy ans electoral politics.
