Thursday, August 15, 2002
The McCall/Cuomo contest
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
O n Tuesday September 10 a good portion of New York State's five million registered Democrats will vote in the primary, choosing the party's candidate for Governor. The winner is expected to lose by a 2:1 margin to the popular Republican George Pataki. This will nor be as dramatic as the Rudy/Rick vs Hillary contest in 2000, nor as unexpected as the Green vs Bloomberg contest, delayed by the 9/11 events, but it does have strong elements of drama.
The party's choice, 68 year old Comptroller H Carl McCall, first African-American to be elected to a statewide office, twice, has service medals beyond compare. Son of a poor cleaning lady, he graduated from Dartmouth and attended Newton Theological School and the University of Edinburgh. Eight years a VP at Citicorp, he was also the President of the NYC Board of Education, a director of the NY Stock Exchange, Ambassador to the United Nations, Commissioner of the Port Authority Of NY and NJ, as well as a three-tern NYS Senator. Appointed by Gov. Cuomo as Comptroller in 1993, upon the resignation of Edward V. Regan, after some struggle with the kingmakers in the state legislature, he has been elected twice, in elections dominated by the Republicans. He is married to Dr Joyce Brown, President of SUNY's Fashion Institute of Technology, and they have a daughter, Marci.
His highest responsibility is overseeing the State pension fund, which grew from $56 billion to $112 billion, but did lose big millions due to the WorldCom and Global Crossing debacles. He has sued the Governor, twice, objecting against incursions into the Pension Fund.
McCall has substantial backing of the state's Democratic party officials. He is endorsed by Senator Schumer (Hillary is sitting this one out), Attorney General Spitzer, 10 of 19 Dem Congresspersons (Rangel and Maloney included), 62 Assemblypeople (Speaker Silver, Sanders, Gottfried, Grannis) and 28 City Councilmembers. Statewide, he has 15 of the 62 county Democratic county organizations. The four local Democratic clubs and their District Leaders , in Steve Sanders's 63rd Assembly District (soon to be the 74th), are supporting McCall
The against- the- stream candidate, 44 year old Andrew Cuomo sees a chance to take back the office his father, the great orator Mario Cuomo, held for three terms, 1982-94, losing to Pataki. Mario, Secretary of State 1975-78 and subsequently Lt Gov, author of three books of reflections and currently partner in the white-shoe law firm Willkie, Farr, and Gallagher, has joined the campaign (Andrew was going to do it alone), cashing in some chips owed to him from the old days.
Andrew has some good credentials of his own. An astute pol (Mario's campaign manager), he has the Clinton allegiance, earned in eight years as the Secretary of HUD. A modern Democrat who learned much from his patron, he has moved away from the classic Liberalism of his father and Ted Kennedy, although the latter also campaigns for him, since Mrs. Andrew is Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, daughter of the late Robert F. This is truly a dynastic family, with (it is whispered) expectations of bringing up their three daughters in the White House.
Andrew, considered a ruthless politician by many (usurping the Gubernatorial candidacy from McCall is particularly grating), claims to have vastly better chances than the latter against Pataki. The polls sgive him a lead, though the results are contradictory - early ABC findings gave McCall a seven-point advantage, while late Quinnipac University poll finds show Cuomo well ahead, 47 to 32 percentage points. Both campaigns dispute the latter, Cuomo claiming a 10-point advantage. Besides the dynasty thing the dynamic Cuomo does have a good record. as an. advocate for housing and development, and of the homeless (see the E.13th Street residence).
Hor deep the feelings run shows in the steps taken by the contrarian Dr Alan Chartock, professor of Political Communications at SUNY Albany, publisher of the Legislative Gazette, a TV commentator, author of two weekly columns, and Chairman of WAMC, the 10-station Northeast Public Radio, where he is also the executive editor of several programs.
For 18 years, 10 while Mario was governor and eight thereafter, Alan had a weekly interview program with the golden orator, in a "look here, kid" role. The last years were called "Me and Mario." The WNYC sophisticates sneered at him, and aired his programs at 5AM , but it was both entertaining and informative, much better than the bulk of serious NPR programming. But the worm turned. In April 2002 Alan did a kind of a funny reprimanding attack on Andrew, the spoiler. Mario did not sit still, and resigned from the WAMC program, with a poetic "There is a season...and the season has ended for 'Me and Mario'." Chartock responded with an acknowledgment of understanding, as a father himself, of what Mario had to do, and invited him back to visit. But, since then, all references to "Me and Mario" and its archives have disappeared from WAMC on-line records. Ah...
To explain the Democratic clubs and their District Leaders, the latter are the lowest level of elected political officials. Some day soon I'll write an update of their history. Before millionaire candidates and TV, clubs did the donkey work of gathering signtures on designating petitions. Club borderlines run within Assembly Districts. Parts A (ST&PCV) and C (Gramercy) of the 63rd AD are shared by the Samuel P. Tilden and Gramercy Stuyvesant Independent Democrats (District Leaders Louise Dankberg for Tilden and Tom Nooter for GSID; the other pair are Steve Smollen and Myrna LePree). North of 28th Street the Eleanor Roosevelt Democrats (Arlene Bluth and Charles Buchwald ) hold sway, while Margarita Lopez' CODA (Coalition of Democratic Action, Rosie Mendez and Jose Delacruz) have the territory south of 14th Street, West of Park Avenue South reigns the Chelsea Reform club (Tim Gay and Kathleen Kinsella). The Gramercy Park Republicans (Gary Papush) are not involved in the primary; although the Conservatives have a situation, with billionaire Thomas Golisano trying to wrestle away the candidacy from Pataki, who's acting too liberal for the Conservatives' liking.
Wally Dobelis thanks Louise Dankberg and Carter Avery.
O n Tuesday September 10 a good portion of New York State's five million registered Democrats will vote in the primary, choosing the party's candidate for Governor. The winner is expected to lose by a 2:1 margin to the popular Republican George Pataki. This will nor be as dramatic as the Rudy/Rick vs Hillary contest in 2000, nor as unexpected as the Green vs Bloomberg contest, delayed by the 9/11 events, but it does have strong elements of drama.
The party's choice, 68 year old Comptroller H Carl McCall, first African-American to be elected to a statewide office, twice, has service medals beyond compare. Son of a poor cleaning lady, he graduated from Dartmouth and attended Newton Theological School and the University of Edinburgh. Eight years a VP at Citicorp, he was also the President of the NYC Board of Education, a director of the NY Stock Exchange, Ambassador to the United Nations, Commissioner of the Port Authority Of NY and NJ, as well as a three-tern NYS Senator. Appointed by Gov. Cuomo as Comptroller in 1993, upon the resignation of Edward V. Regan, after some struggle with the kingmakers in the state legislature, he has been elected twice, in elections dominated by the Republicans. He is married to Dr Joyce Brown, President of SUNY's Fashion Institute of Technology, and they have a daughter, Marci.
His highest responsibility is overseeing the State pension fund, which grew from $56 billion to $112 billion, but did lose big millions due to the WorldCom and Global Crossing debacles. He has sued the Governor, twice, objecting against incursions into the Pension Fund.
McCall has substantial backing of the state's Democratic party officials. He is endorsed by Senator Schumer (Hillary is sitting this one out), Attorney General Spitzer, 10 of 19 Dem Congresspersons (Rangel and Maloney included), 62 Assemblypeople (Speaker Silver, Sanders, Gottfried, Grannis) and 28 City Councilmembers. Statewide, he has 15 of the 62 county Democratic county organizations. The four local Democratic clubs and their District Leaders , in Steve Sanders's 63rd Assembly District (soon to be the 74th), are supporting McCall
The against- the- stream candidate, 44 year old Andrew Cuomo sees a chance to take back the office his father, the great orator Mario Cuomo, held for three terms, 1982-94, losing to Pataki. Mario, Secretary of State 1975-78 and subsequently Lt Gov, author of three books of reflections and currently partner in the white-shoe law firm Willkie, Farr, and Gallagher, has joined the campaign (Andrew was going to do it alone), cashing in some chips owed to him from the old days.
Andrew has some good credentials of his own. An astute pol (Mario's campaign manager), he has the Clinton allegiance, earned in eight years as the Secretary of HUD. A modern Democrat who learned much from his patron, he has moved away from the classic Liberalism of his father and Ted Kennedy, although the latter also campaigns for him, since Mrs. Andrew is Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, daughter of the late Robert F. This is truly a dynastic family, with (it is whispered) expectations of bringing up their three daughters in the White House.
Andrew, considered a ruthless politician by many (usurping the Gubernatorial candidacy from McCall is particularly grating), claims to have vastly better chances than the latter against Pataki. The polls sgive him a lead, though the results are contradictory - early ABC findings gave McCall a seven-point advantage, while late Quinnipac University poll finds show Cuomo well ahead, 47 to 32 percentage points. Both campaigns dispute the latter, Cuomo claiming a 10-point advantage. Besides the dynasty thing the dynamic Cuomo does have a good record. as an. advocate for housing and development, and of the homeless (see the E.13th Street residence).
Hor deep the feelings run shows in the steps taken by the contrarian Dr Alan Chartock, professor of Political Communications at SUNY Albany, publisher of the Legislative Gazette, a TV commentator, author of two weekly columns, and Chairman of WAMC, the 10-station Northeast Public Radio, where he is also the executive editor of several programs.
For 18 years, 10 while Mario was governor and eight thereafter, Alan had a weekly interview program with the golden orator, in a "look here, kid" role. The last years were called "Me and Mario." The WNYC sophisticates sneered at him, and aired his programs at 5AM , but it was both entertaining and informative, much better than the bulk of serious NPR programming. But the worm turned. In April 2002 Alan did a kind of a funny reprimanding attack on Andrew, the spoiler. Mario did not sit still, and resigned from the WAMC program, with a poetic "There is a season...and the season has ended for 'Me and Mario'." Chartock responded with an acknowledgment of understanding, as a father himself, of what Mario had to do, and invited him back to visit. But, since then, all references to "Me and Mario" and its archives have disappeared from WAMC on-line records. Ah...
To explain the Democratic clubs and their District Leaders, the latter are the lowest level of elected political officials. Some day soon I'll write an update of their history. Before millionaire candidates and TV, clubs did the donkey work of gathering signtures on designating petitions. Club borderlines run within Assembly Districts. Parts A (ST&PCV) and C (Gramercy) of the 63rd AD are shared by the Samuel P. Tilden and Gramercy Stuyvesant Independent Democrats (District Leaders Louise Dankberg for Tilden and Tom Nooter for GSID; the other pair are Steve Smollen and Myrna LePree). North of 28th Street the Eleanor Roosevelt Democrats (Arlene Bluth and Charles Buchwald ) hold sway, while Margarita Lopez' CODA (Coalition of Democratic Action, Rosie Mendez and Jose Delacruz) have the territory south of 14th Street, West of Park Avenue South reigns the Chelsea Reform club (Tim Gay and Kathleen Kinsella). The Gramercy Park Republicans (Gary Papush) are not involved in the primary; although the Conservatives have a situation, with billionaire Thomas Golisano trying to wrestle away the candidacy from Pataki, who's acting too liberal for the Conservatives' liking.
Wally Dobelis thanks Louise Dankberg and Carter Avery.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 4:00 PM 
