Loyalty

Pencil Point

Under fire

---

Daily Point

Inside the DNC chair vote

The fight over the leadership of the Democratic National Committee is considered a look into the future of the party. The vote is Saturday.

Will Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who has the backing of the progressive Elizabeth Warren-Bernie Sanders wing of the party, take the reins? Or will it be Tom Perez, the former labor secretary and pick of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who favors more coalition building at the state and local levels? How about Pete Buttigieg, the 35-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana and naval reserve officer, who says he represents a new generation of Democrats who can find ways to win in red states?

For Jay Jacobs, one of the 447 voting DNC members, it’s not all that complicated. It’s about loyalty. He will vote for Perez.

When Jacobs resigned as Democratic state chairman in 2012, clearing the way for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to put his own person in place, he lost his automatic post at the DNC. And in 2013, Obama was calling the shots on the national level to fill the 75 at-large posts at the DNC. Hillary Clinton intervened and asked Obama to support Jacobs, which he did.

“This is all about loyalty,” Jacobs says. “I’m with Perez.”

Rita Ciolli

---

Talking Point

Up close with Suozzi’s commute

As President Donald Trump dismisses angry, boisterous town hall meetings as the work of “liberal activists,” lawmakers from both parties are finding a way to avoid holding the meetings.

By contrast, new Congressman Tom Suozzi is hosting a meeting Thursday, but also using social media to reach out to constituents in the 3rd District. The Democrat has been posting “Train Talks” to his personal Facebook page — short videos taken during his commute between Washington and Glen Cove, in which he muses about the day’s issues: the Affordable Care Act, Trump’s travel ban, Russian President Vladimir Putin, bipartisanship and more.

He’s also responding to constituent comments and questions via the social media platform. There’s a link to sign up for 16 neighborhood committees by ZIP code, so that people who are riled up about today’s political climate can be “Heard in the Third.”

It’s a kinder, gentler way of reaching out to constituents. It also keeps Suozzi busy on those soul-numbing Amtrak treks.

Anne Michaud

---

Pointing Out

NYC retirement plan in federal jeopardy

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s fight with Republicans in Washington is very public on many fronts. But the progressive Democrat has quieter battles, too. His city-run retirement plan is in jeopardy.

Late last year, the U.S. Department of Labor approved a rules change that paved the way for states and large cities to introduce and run retirement plans for employees of private companies who don’t have access to them otherwise. Last week, the House of Representatives voted in favor of legislation that would repeal those rules — part of a broader effort, representatives say, to reduce regulation.

Now, the legislation sits in the Senate and awaits a vote there. De Blasio is marshaling his forces, sending letters to Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell asking them to reject the legislation. Other states and cities are taking up the cause as well, but for de Blasio, who’s heading into an election season, this is a fight on a big idea that he doesn’t want to lose.

Randi F. Marshall