As 2024 looms, Dems weigh a primary shift

Daily Point

Primary changes

National Democrats have begun the process of overhauling the party’s calendar for presidential nominating contests, which could include pushing the Iowa caucus back and putting South Carolina first, followed by more competitive general election states like Nevada and Georgia.

Not exactly centered in this conversation is New York, whose presidential primary isn’t among the earliest starters.

“I don't see any changes to New York's position at the moment,” state Democratic Party chair and Democratic National Committee member Jay Jacobs told The Point.

It’s difficult to say with certainty which state will have the most primary-season drama during a presidential year. In 2016, New York was seen as crucial for the campaigns of U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz in both party primaries given previous upticks of momentum, but Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump ended up winning easily.

“Oftentimes, it's the luck of the draw," said DNC member and former CD3 candidate Robert Zimmerman of New York’s primary impact. In general, however: “The earlier you are, the more consequential you are.”

Zimmerman told The Point this week he wants New York “to have as much impact as possible.” But the Great Neck Democrat said he was “pleased” with the potential shifts to early primaries and caucuses being floated by President Joe Biden and other national party leaders. Zimmerman argued that the caucus system showcased prominently by Iowa discriminates against “working people” who might not have time for the laborious process, which takes much more time than simply bubbling a ballot.

Jacobs said that Biden’s recommendations to the DNC for schedule changes “make a lot of sense because they will favor nominees who more reflect the makeup of the Democratic Party as well as those who appeal to the broadest base of voters that we need to win the general election.”

He, too, criticized the “undemocratic caucus system.”

There are plenty of obstacles in the path of a new primary/caucus calendar, including the reluctance of Georgia officials to change their primary date. Proposals to change the current presidential nominating system have circulated for years, including ones close to home.

“I’ve actually advocated rotating these contests so that one or two states don’t dominate the [process] for decades, based on various criteria including diversity,” former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee head and former Long Island Rep. Steve Israel emailed The Point. “We hold party conventions that way, why not caucuses and primaries.”

— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano

Talking Point

Suffolk stops red-light cam fee, Nassau stuck in neutral

When the Suffolk County Legislature passed legislation to abolish its $30 administrative fee on red-light camera tickets Tuesday, it was acting almost a year after the Nassau County Legislature did the same thing with its much steeper red-light camera fees.

But now Suffolk’s fee will actually disappear, after County Executive Steve Bellone told The Point he’d sign the bill that passed with a veto-proof 12-vote majority.

In Nassau, then-County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat, vetoed the bill abolishing Nassau’s fees late last year, but the Republican-ruled county legislature hasn’t brought it up again since Republican Bruce Blakeman beat Curran and took office.

In Suffolk, red-light camera violators paid $80 total per ticket, including the fee. In Nassau, it’s $150.

And in both counties, court cases challenging the fees, which seem to be illegal under a state law that demands such fees not exceed the cost of running the program, are underway. In Suffolk, a judge has already struck down the fee, though he did not impose his ruling pending an appeal.

The abolition of the fees was a huge issue in Nassau’s 2021 election, as was every aspect of a budget that could have been challenging due to COVID-19 but instead ended up flush when federal money arrived. Blakeman and Presiding Officer Rich Nicolello battered Curran over her vetoes of that fee and other budget-busting cuts they supported.

So will Nassau follow Suffolk, now that Suffolk followed Nassau, and the county executive belongs to the party that voted to abolish the fees originally?

Tuesday, Nicolello told The Point, “There are no plans to reintroduce that bill at this time.”

— Lane Filler @lanefiller

Pencil Point

The penalty

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Final Point

When the spokeswoman makes news

It's rare that Kim Devlin, the longtime strategist, adviser and spokeswoman for Rep. Tom Suozzi, makes news herself. But Devlin was the subject of a recent news release when she joined Actum, LLC, a relatively new global consulting firm.

Actum was founded in late 2021 by a group of former partners from Mercury Public Affairs, after an intense dispute between Mercury and its parent company, Omnicom. Devlin had joined Mercury in June 2021 — although her work with Suozzi remained separate from the work she was doing at the firm.

She stayed on with Mercury until last month.

In moving to Actum, Devlin joins several high-profile consultants, including partners Michael McKeon and Rachel Noerdlinger, both of whom were also Mercury alumni. Both were quoted in the release, with Noerdlinger saying Devlin’s experience would “bring the New York team to the next level as we wrap up our first year.”

Devlin, who will serve as a managing director, is expected to handle strategic communications, crisis communications and public relations at Actum. She’ll work with Long Island clients, but her reach likely will extend across the state and beyond, too. Despite her jump to Actum, the release noted that she “continues to serve as the Congress Member’s senior political advisor in a private capacity.” Suozzi’s future plans are unknown.

“After working with Congressman Suozzi and other elected officials on Long Island for the last 20-plus years, I am excited for the new opportunity to work with Actum and utilize my network and skillset to engage with and solve problems for Long Islanders, nonprofits and businesses both large and small,” Devlin told The Point Friday.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall