6 minute read
FIRST READ
GOP gubernatorial candidate Andrew Giuliani, left, attended the state Republican Party convention with his dad, Rudy.
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– New York City Council Sanitation Committee Chair Sandy Nurse, on proposed sanitation budget cuts by Mayor Eric Adams, via Politico New York
THE GOP GOES TO LONG ISLAND
Returning to the site of sweeping electoral victories in 2021, the state Republican Party held its nominating convention on Long Island to decide who would get its official backing in the June primary. The designation for governor was the main event of the two-day affair, although the result came as no surprise. Rep. Lee Zeldin won with overwhelming support from the assembled state committee members, leaving fellow competitors Harry Wilson, Rob Astorino and Andrew Giuliani to petition their way onto the ballot. Though some had thought that Wilson, a businessman and onetime candidate for state comptroller in a close race, might have been able to hit the required 25% support to make it on the ballot too despite entering the contest just a week earlier,
CAPSIZING CUOMO
Remember that bizarre photo-op with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state Attorney General Letitia James on a fishing boat in 2019? Turns out tensions were high between the state’s top elected officials even then, two years before James published the damning report that led to Cuomo’s resignation. New York magazine documented more highs and lows in James’ political journey in its cover story last week.
– former Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Frank Seddio, on people who want to ease petitioning requirements that did not happen. The state GOP also designated candidates for U.S. Senate, state attorney general, comptroller and lieutenant governor. Throughout the convention, Republican officials pushed the narrative of their ability to repeat the 2021 wins on Long Island across the state in 2022.
THE RACE TO DIVEST
Both New York City and state entities have begun to divest from Russian businesses and otherwise target Russian oligarchs in the state as Russia continues to attack Ukraine. Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state would review its dealings and stop any with organizations that have Russian ties. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will review divesting the state pension fund from Russian businesses, and several New York City municipal worker pension funds already started that process. The New York City Police Department pension fund plans to divest $42 million in Russian investments, while the New York City Employees’ Retirement System will get rid of about $31 million in Russian assets.
REDISTRICTING CASE BEGINS
A lawsuit brought by Republicans had its first court date in Steuben County as conservatives attempt to overturn the newly
drawn congressional and state legislative districts conceived by Democrats. In an early win for Democrats, a state judge ruled that he won’t delay the upcoming elections as the case plays out and will allow petitioning – which began March 1 – to continue uninterrupted. But Republicans had their own small victories in the first court appearance as well, with the judge agreeing to an expedited discovery process and directing Democratic officials to comply with the GOP’s investigation into whether lawmakers drew the lines constitutionally.
MASKS COME OFF IN SCHOOLS
Across the state, kids were taking off their masks when attending class. Hochul announced that she would lift the statewide mask mandate for schools starting on March 2 as kids returned from winter break. The decision came in the wake of new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that said areas with low enough transmission rates for COVID-19 no longer needed to have indoor mask mandates, including in classrooms. Hochul left the door open for counties and cities to make their own decisions on masking practices. In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams made a similar move shortly after the governor, announcing that masks in public schools could come off on March 7 so long as reported positive cases remained low. However, children under 5 will remain masked even as the rest of the public school population won’t have to wear them.
New York City and state leaders ended mask requirements in schools, marking a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Senate passes sexual harassment protections
In New York, a staff member of an elected official could be the target of sexual harassment and face difficulty suing their employer due to a legal loophole. They have a three-year window to take legal action. They might fear for their job prospects, fear retaliation or they might fear a fine if they speak up about the harassment. Those barriers began to lift last week.
A collection of bills aimed at strengthening protections against sexual harassment passed the state Senate, marking a victory after years of advocacy to change the workplace culture in Albany and around the state. The Sexual Harassment Working Group, founded by former legislative staffers in 2018 to combat abuse in Albany, was a major advocate for the legislation.
“Closing the ‘license to harass’ loophole is quietly momentous. … It’s hard to understate just how important and necessary this is,” said Erica Vladimer, a co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group.
That bill, sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, has passed both chambers of the state Legislature. It would close the loophole by stipulating that the state, town or city represented qualifies as the employer of elected officials and their staffs, meaning those entities can be held liable for harassment. Previously, municipalities had occasionally argued that they were not technically employers of public officials, allowing them to avoid accountability. When staff of former Assembly Member Vito Lopez accused him of sexual harassment and sued the Assembly, for example, a judge dismissed their claim, saying the state was not technically Lopez’s employer.
The other bills the state Senate passed included ones that targeted fines against victims for breaking a nondisclosure agreement, created a free hotline for victims of sexual harassment, ensured that victims’ future job opportunities were not impacted when they report harassment and protected victims from workplace retaliation in the form of releasing personnel records. Another bill extended the statute of limitations to report harassment to six years.
“Three years is simply not enough time for an employee to share their story … when they feel ready to,” Gounardes said on the Senate floor when discussing the bill to extend the statute of limitations for reporting abuse.
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said in a statement that she applauded “today’s bill sponsors for their unrelenting advocacy on these issues.” – Candace Pedraza
THE WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY 3/7
State lawmakers are starting a four-day legislative workweek as the April 1 budget deadline approaches. INSIDE DOPE
The state Senate and Assembly are expected to pass one-house budget resolutions this week outlining their fiscal priorities. WEDNESDAY 3/9
The New York City Council Health Committee as well as the Mental Health, Disabilities and Addictions Committee hold a joint virtual preliminary budget hearing at noon. FRIDAY 3/11
City & State and AARP New York host a virtual state legislative forum on utilities and COVID-19 recovery at 10 a.m., featuring state Sens. Kevin Parker, Shelley Mayer and others.
