Cuomo Floats Raising Taxes + Mayoral Race Gets Crowded

Local News: 

• Cuomo expressed interest in taxing the rich to close the state’s multi-billion dollar deficit, but he did not provide details and suggested it would be associated with cuts and borrowing.
• The NY Post covered NYC-DSA’s massive phonebanking operation last week in support of the growing push to tax New York’s rich.
• New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has agreed to divest the state’s pension fund from most of its fossil fuel investments over the next five years.
• Assembly Member Robert Carroll (District 44, Park Slope/Windsor Terrace) has proposed a bill that would impose a $3 tax on all packages delivered in New York City (excluding food and medical supplies). The revenue would be directed towards the MTA.
• Despite significant activist opposition, the City Council Committee on Land Use approved the Flushing redevelopment after developers, elected officials and labor unions came to an agreement on adding hundreds of jobs and more affordable housing. The vote passed 14-to-1, with only Council Member Inez Barron (District 42, East New York) voting no.
• Lindsey Boylan, who is running for Manhattan Borough President next year, accused Governor Cuomo of sexually harassing her while she worked as an aide in his office, and creating a “toxic team environment.”
• A worker-owned ridesharing app intended to compete directly with Uber and Lyft will launch in 2021.
• State Senator Brad Hoylman (District 27, Midtown Manhattan) is proposing legislation that would grant NYC the ability to lower its speed limit to 20MPH from 25MPH.
• The Brooklyn Democratic Party sued the state as part of a broader attempt to push insurgent and progressive factions out of the county party’s internal decision making.

Elections:

• At least four major candidates took significant steps towards running for mayor next year:
• Shaun Donovan, a top housing official in the Bloomberg and Obama administrations, announced his bid for mayor.
• Former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia also formally entered the race.
• Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has hired Mayor Bloomberg’s former consultant to gauge his viability in the 2021 mayoral campaign. A poll recently showed Yang leading in a wide open field of candidates.
• Representative Max Rose (NY-11, Staten Island/Bay Ridge), who lost his seat to Nicole Malliotakis in November, appears to be running for mayor as well.
• Some members of the City Council’s Black Latino and Asian caucus are attempting to stop the rollout of ranked choice voting in 2021, claiming that it would disenfranchise communities of color.
• DSA endorsee Brandon West (Council District 39, Carroll Gardens) has an op-ed in Gotham Gazette in support of rolling out ranked choice voting as planned.
• Whitney Hu has suspended her campaign for City Council District 38 (Sunset Park) to focus on mutual aid.
• Three candidates are still running for the Bronx City Council seat vacated by Andy King (District 12), who was expelled for ethics violations in October. The special election will be held December 22.
• New York Focus reviewed the political donations of the New York Supreme Court candidates, finding that nearly all of them gave significant amounts of money to the Democratic Party leaders who nominate them.