CD3 getting crowded in the left lane
Daily Point
Sound waves from the mainland
State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi’s Monday entrance into the Democratic primary for New York’s newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District immediately changed the race’s contours.
First, expect to hear lots more about the left-most wing of the party. Biaggi was one of the Democratic winners who in 2018 broke the hold of the Independent Democratic Conference and took the upper chamber away from Republicans. She became a prominent critic of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and is one of the defenders of the Democrats’ overhaul of the state’s criminal justice laws.
Her congressional launch statement promises "progressive and honest leadership." The CD3 opponents to Biaggi’s right are sure to describe her less as a catchall progressive and more as a radical leftist, combing through the Pelham Democrat’s past tweets and statements for nuggets about bail policy and policing, subjects that animated Long Island voters in county elections last year.
The labeling began quickly. CD3 Republican hopeful George Santos sent out a Monday statement calling Biaggi "AOC 2.0." And state and Nassau Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs lumped in Biaggi and fellow CD3 primary contender Melanie D’Arrigo with the "far left" end of the party, in a phone call with The Point.
Biaggi, who has criticized Jacobs’ leadership in the past, did not comment on Jacobs’ description, but the way her launch statement highlights criminal justice issues might give a sense of how she plans to navigate reform and moderation: The statement says she’ll work to ensure "public safety and a fair criminal legal system."
The other way the Pelham Democrat is upending the race is geographic: She’s the first high-profile mainlander to join the Long Island Democrats in what is now a five-county, Long Island Sound-hugging district but one dominated by Nassau and Suffolk constituents.
Biaggi’s current Bronx/Westchester senate district overlaps with the new CD3 in just a few areas such as Pelham, Throggs Neck and City Island, says Steven Romalewski of the Mapping Service at CUNY Graduate Center, who has been mapping the district. The overlap included 11,692 Biden votes and 9,072 Trump votes in the 2020 election.
Will that toehold help Biaggi consolidate the non-LI parts of the district? Will the five Long Island primary hopefuls — Robert Zimmerman, Josh Lafazan, Jon Kaiman, Reema Rasool, and D’Arrigo — dilute the Nassau/Suffolk vote and boost Biaggi?
The Biaggi name itself is not new to parts of the district. The current senator’s grandfather Mario Biaggi was a longtime Democratic member of Congress from the Bronx who ended his career in a corruption scandal that landed him in prison. Her father, Richard Biaggi, was also convicted in that federal case which was known as the Wedtech scandal.
But her grandfather was so popular — and so unconfined by political labels — that even after his 1988 felony convictions he got nearly 30% of the general election vote despite not actively campaigning. On the Republican line.
— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano
Talking Point
Curran stocked NUMC board on her way out the door
One of the last powers Nassau County Executive Laura Curran was able to exercise, after losing in November to Republican Bruce Blakeman, was filling board seats.
The board of the Nassau University Medical Center was a priority.
Curran’s appointments, Jason Abelove and Lisa Daniels, are both Democrats who lost races in 2021. Abelove, of Garden City, lost his bid for Hempstead Town supervisor and Daniels, of East Rockaway, lost a county legislature race to Howard Kopel for the second time. Both new board members are attorneys.
The hospital appointments are crucial, as the facility has $1 billion in liabilities, is hemorrhaging cash, and has been used in the past as a Republican dumping ground for the jobless. The chair put in place by Curran, nursing-home operator Edward Farbenblum, is trying to manage a long-odds turnaround and will need tremendous support on and off the board, from both parties, to make it happen.
Curran also tried to make a third appointment, of Ann Kayman, to fill Warren Zysman’s seat, but the incoming Republicans have thus far kept that switch from happening by arguing Zysman’s term is not up. And it says something about the NUMC’s disarray that no one is quite sure who’s right.
Republicans disputed that Zysman’s seat was vacant, arguing Zysman’s reappointment in 2017 was to a five-year term, and another seat refilled at the same time Zysman was reappointed is actually now vacant. Hospital and county officials say there is confusion about which of two expired seats Zysman was appointed to in 2017, the law is less than clear, and the issue could end up in court.
Meanwhile Farbenblum canceled the board’s January meeting and has not issued notice of a February meeting, as he awaits clarity on who sits and votes on his board.
And the tension is heightened by the fact that Zysman is a very active member, closely allied with the Republicans. Last year Zysman posted a letter by CSEA time clocks during CSEA elections painting Nassau CSEA President Ron Gurrieri, in a feud with region president Jerry Larrichiuta, as one of the leaders "who in my opinion are trying to close the hospital and reduce union jobs and pay."
Gurrieri retained his position. Now Zysman is fighting to do the same.
— Lane Filler @lanefiller
Pencil Point
Beijing 2022
Credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal/Michael P. Ramirez
For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons
Final Point
State getting closer to disability advocate
To the happy surprise of concerned advocates, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed holdover legislation on Friday that would create an office dedicated to advocating for the needs of individuals with disabilities.
The legislation, which had passed both houses during last year’s session, was on its last day of viability when Hochul signed it. Had she not acted, the bill would have been automatically vetoed.
Her decision to sign the bill came after an intense week of lobbying by disability advocates and some pushback from at least one of Hochul’s gubernatorial opponents.
Hochul’s signature came with a note that "technical changes" would be made through chapter amendments, including calling the head of the office a Chief Disability Officer and moving the office from the Department of State to the executive chamber.
But supporters like Meghan Parker, the director of advocacy for the New York Association on Independent Living, who had pushed for the bill to be signed, called Hochul’s move a "major win."
"We see this as a step forward in a good direction," said Therese Brzezinski, who directs planning and public policy for the Long Island Center for Independent Living in Levittown.
Of course, the advocates noted that their work isn’t done. They already have their eyes on bills sure to percolate during the current session, including one seeking fair pay for home health aides that didn’t make it through the legislature last year.
— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall
