On Thursday, May 8th, the Village Independent Democrats (VID) held its general membership meeting to endorse candidates for various local and state offices. One decision stood out among the others. The club voted “no endorsement” in the governor’s race which is in effect a vote of no confidence, or rejection, of Governor Andrew Cuomo who was endorsed by the club four years ago. Why did this happen?
The standard club procedure for the endorsements started on May 1st when the VID and eight other democratic clubs held a forum to hear candidates, or their representatives, request club endorsements. Governor Cuomo was represented by Keith Wright, the New York County Democratic Chairman, who presented a spirited defense of the governor. He cited Cuomo’s long progressive history that lead to his endorsement four years ago and said that in spite of various political decisions made over the last four years, the “old Cuomo” is still there and still deserves support. Also, as part of the club’s tradition of being open to all candidates, Randy Credico who was running against the governor was given an equivalent amount of time to make his case, even though he did not eventually get enough support in the club to be considered.
At the endorsement meeting on May 8th, criticism of the governor was started by this writer who complained of his reluctance to tax the wealthy, both by letting income tax surcharges lapse at the beginning of his term, and opposing Mayor DiBlasio’s proposals for small taxes to support pre-K education. Another club member was convinced that the governor was soft on fracking and would loosen restrictions once the election was over. Statements by club members are not transcribed and so it is not possible to know which members made which statements. Without necessary taxes, other sources of revenue are needed and so the governor was criticized for supporting casino gambling. After the vote, in private discussions, even more reasons were expressed. The governor’s strong support for charter school expansion flew in the face of past VID resolutions seeking to restrict unlimited charter growth. His dismantling of the Moreland ethics commission after running on a platform of cleaning up Albany corruption was also mentioned. Many of the club members, including this writer, acknowledged the governor’s positive stands on marriage equality and gun control, but it wasn’t enough to change people’s minds. The final vote was unanimous with all members voting for no endorsement.
The VID vote was not unprecedented, nor was it lightly taken. After Ed Koch received two consecutive VID endorsements for mayor, he took positions significantly more conservative than before, made questionable alliances with party bosses (several of whom went to jail) and so was rejected in favor of Mario Cuomo for governor. More recently, when Christine Quinn, previously supported by the VID, was perceived as taking too many unpopular positions (too little support for St. Vincent’s, too much support for Mayor Bloomberg, NYU, and the Rudins), she also lost the support of most, although not all, VID members.
Governor Cuomo is in a strong position for re-election, so the opinion of one club might not matter. However, someday he may be in a political fight where he does need help and the progressives in his party might not be there for him, unless, of course, the “old Cuomo” somehow returns.
Alec Pruchnicki is a member of the executive committee of the VID.
