Hochul, James to treat and greet

Daily Point

Maybe we all CAN just get along!

Just as politicos across New York are abuzz with the belief that Attorney General Tish James is about to announce an aggressive challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul that could have them hurling brickbats by Halloween, a Nassau County counternarrative has surfaced.

The two women will both appear at a "Get Out The Vote" event in Valley Stream at noon Sunday, and Democratic county legislature candidate Laura Burns’ campaign has put out an announcement saying they’ll knock on doors.

Sounds kinda awkward, no?

"I don’t know if they’re going to go out to knock on doors, but they’re definitely coming," Nassau and state Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs told The Point. "There may be a primary between them, but they are both Democrats and there is no disagreement between them on needing to elect Democrats in Nassau County."

Nor would there be any disagreement between the two women about their own need to make friends and influence people in the sort of diverse and dense suburban community where a primary might be decided.

Jacobs said he "put in the asks" maybe two weeks ago and feels lucky to get both luminaries out to help, adding that "the less awkward we allow it to be, the better."

And there is no word on whether anyone will be costumed, even if the process of determining who is the big dog, the wolf in sheep’s clothing, the angel, the devil, the con artist or the superhero is just about to begin.

— Lane Filler @lanefiller

Talking Point

James’ ambition and an AG scramble

Even before next week’s election, the 2022 ballot commands outsized attention.

The previous two elected governors moved to the Executive Mansion from the attorney general’s post. Now Attorney General Tish James is looking to do the same, starting with a Democratic primary run against Gov. Kathy Hochul. As soon as James makes it official, the announcements are expected to begin for the AG post, all to be done by the end of the year, with the state nomination to follow in February.

Rep. Kathleen Rice, who sought the position in 2010 but lost the primary, would have the option to give it another try after what will soon be seven years in Congress. Other Long Island names — strictly to speculate about — include Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Rep. Tom Suozzi of Glen Cove.

For now, the prospective field more surely includes State Sen. Mike Gianaris of Queens, with a multimillion-dollar war chest at the ready. In 2018, Gianaris bowed out of the AG scrum in favor of James. Others eyeing the job are Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, who in 2016 became the first Latino elected DA in New York State; Zephyr Teachout, a progressive activist who has run for AG and for governor before; Queens DA Melinda Katz; and third-term Assemb. Clyde Vanel, also of Queens.

Much as the AG job has served others as a springboard to the governorship, James’ imminent entry is more immediately complicated than was Eliot Spitzer’s or Andrew Cuomo’s. While governor, Spitzer and his successor David Paterson became targets of politically damaging probes by fellow Democrat AG Cuomo, but that business had been completed by the time Cuomo ran for the top spot. In contrast, James’ outsourced report on Cuomo, which prompted his departure, remains officially part of a still-open after-the-fact impeachment process in the Assembly.

In addition, material in that extensive report will overlap with the substance of what a court official on Thursday confirmed to be a misdemeanor complaint for a sex crime filed in Albany County against the ex-governor.

It catapults James’ investigation of Cuomo, part of which was referred to the Albany DA, into real-time scrutiny as campaigning commences.

Also, James’ office has yet to show closure of its review of Cuomo’s $5 million book contract, which remains a potential hot potato before the state’s widely-criticized but still-existing ethics commission.

All incomplete business in her office, including pending cases, has the potential to complicate her candidacy, depending on how she and her gubernatorial rivals frame it.

The impact depends on how the story of her current incumbency gets told and by whom.

— Dan Janison @Danjanison

Pencil Point

Infectious fun

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Final Point

Don’t forget to include that diversity, equitably!

In a Zoom call with reporters and editorial writers Thursday, State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa dropped a couple of bombshells:

*The Education Department is not going to release statewide results of the English and math assessments given in grades 3-8 this spring. Rosa said that thanks to the low participation, of about 40%, and extraordinary variance in the learning and testing conditions students experienced, the broad results can’t be compared to other years. Individual district and school results are being released because Rosa said in many cases those are useful.

*The Education Department is going to morph from focusing on compliance to emphasizing support for districts, becoming more of a service agency and less of a regulatory one, Rosa said.

But there was another point emphasized that may also garner plenty of response.

In his introduction and his conclusion, Board of Regents Chancellor Lester Young placed much of his emphasis on "diversity, equity and inclusion." And in her opening remarks, Rosa touted "our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion throughout all of our schools and institutions of higher learning."

In New York and across the nation, the movement toward diversity, equity and inclusion is under fire. At times critics treat it as a soft-pedaled version of "critical race theory," a term that has sparked tremendous dissent at school board meetings even while administrators say it is not a part of their curricula.

Asked by The Point what this emphasis would mean, Young said, "Our focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is about how you create opportunities for all students in New York State, not just some." Young also acknowledged there has been "some resistance" but argued "there has been more support," because districts realize they have to create opportunities for all students.

That’s not controversial.

But Young added that diversity, equity and inclusion should also be factors in the governance of districts; the hiring, development and retention of teachers; setting curriculum; and choosing instructional materials. And these are the very issues around which conservative activists confronting school boards pick their biggest fights.

So while the Education Department is promising more support and less compliance and regulation, it is also doubling down on a policy many districts, or at least residents, will resist vehemently.

— Lane Filler @lanefiller

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