| | | | |  | | By Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Rich Mendez
| 
A new poll revealed that a majority of New York voters believe crime is up even though most violent crime categories have fallen. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | CRIME FIX: Progressive supporters of criminal justice law changes don’t expect controversial provisions like ending cash bail will again be a political liability this election season. Organizations like FWD.us think candidates can speak with more confidence about supporting measures like prison closures or sealing criminal records because the public has come around to their side. “Voters are a lot more educated about the harms of mass incarceration,” Zoë Towns, the executive director of the group, told Playbook in an interview. The group has done national polling that found support for “major changes” for criminal justice law reforms was backed by 47 percent of voters (20 percent supported a “complete overhaul” of the system). But this could be a steep hill to climb. Public safety and crime issues have been especially salient for Republican campaigns in New York. GOP candidates have signaled they will continue to hammer Democrats on crime concerns. A Siena College pollreleased Tuesday found a majority of New York voters — 54 percent — believe crime in the state has gotten worse in the last year even as most violent crime categories have fallen. Recognizing the political problem, Gov. Kathy Hochul has moved to alter the cashless bail and expand the circumstances in which a person can be remanded. She has also moved to crack down on shoplifting and deployed the National Guard to the New York City subways. Still, advocates believe they have made headway in New York. Lawmakers approved and Hochul signed a measure to seal criminal records, known as the Clean Slate Act. Her administration has also moved to extend a decade-long trend of closing prisons, with two facilities being closed this year over the objections of Republicans. Supporters of criminal justice changes now see an opportunity this year for Hochul as well as Vice President Kamala Harris — a former California prosecutor — to thread the needle on the issue and avoid the “soft-on-crime” tag. “For Hochul, Harris, fill in the blank Democrat, the job now is to talk convincingly that you take safety super seriously and that includes taking second chances in justice super seriously,” Towns said. Advocates acknowledge there are further challenges in New York, including a media ecosystem that often highlights anecdotal crime that, in turn, forces politicians to act. Left-leaning Democrats in the state Legislature also believe there has been a change in how the issue is being approached. “There are these pragmatic arguments to make in support of policies on their face people might think are soft on crime,” state Senate Corrections Chair Julia Salazar told Playbook. “I’ve seen that from members of districts that are more marginal and don’t look like mine.” — Nick Reisman HAPPY THURSDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Equinor: Can offshore wind power America’s energy transition? Yes, and Equinor is playing a key role. Empire Wind 1 will be the first offshore wind project to connect directly into the NYC grid. It will help New York deliver its climate goals, create more than 1,000 union jobs, boost local economies, and decrease emissions. Equinor is proud to be a global leader in the innovation and advancement of offshore wind. Learn more. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City making a cost of living announcement. WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at a memorial service for Michael Anthony Hardy, then making a public safety and quality of life-related announcement. Later, he'll speak at a flag-raising ceremony for Kenya and at the two-year anniversary of the Street Homelessness Advocacy Project. Finally, he'll be at the NYPD Community Affairs Sunset Social and then present the “New York City Entertainer’s Key” to Patti LaBelle. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Se esperan fuertes lluvias y inundaciones…” — A city drone, playing a recorded message warning residents of impending flooding in what was supposed to be Spanish, but ended up being entirely unintelligible, Gothamist reported. Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol apologized.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Reps. Pat Ryan and Andrew Gabarino sat down for interviews with POLITICO to talk about social security and other issues. | Christine Keeley | SOCIAL EVENT: Social Security could run out of money to pay out older adults in the next decade. It’s a serious issue, and while Reps. Pat Ryan and Andrew Gabarino emphasized that it needs a bipartisan solution, the Democrat and Republican disagreed about the right way to get there. The members were each interviewed at POLITICO’s Finding Balance: What’s Next for Social Security event on Wednesday morning in Lower Manhattan, and we wrote up some takeaways. Ryan’s fix? Tax the rich. The best way to get more money into Social Security, Ryan said, is by “making sure incredibly wealthy folks” — some of whom are right outside the door of the event on Wall Street, he joked — “pay their fair share.” He rejected a proposal that could increase taxes for people making more than $168,000 a year. Instead, “Start with the Jeff Bezoses of the world, and the Amazons of the world, that pay zero in corporate tax, that pay very little in income tax, and really think about how do we start there and work our way down, rather than raising that $168,000 level.” Ryan teased that he’d be introducing legislation to address the issue in his Hudson Valley district on Friday. Garbarino pushed back on Ryan’s philosophy. “Taxing people more is not the answer. Cutting discretionary funding is not the only answer,” he said. “There’s a lot of tough decisions that have to be made. And I think a fiscal commission might be the smartest way to do it.” But Garbarino’s answer may be just as politically divisive. House Republicans have proposed a bipartisan commission that would address fiscal issues. But it’s received criticism from Democrats, who fear its impact on Social Security, as well as some pushback from fiscal conservatives who fear tax increases. — Jeff Coltin
| | | | Breaking News Briefing: Where Tim Walz Stands on the Issues — The Democratic ticket is set now that Vice President Kamala Harris has named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Join POLITICO Pro on Friday Aug. 9 for a detailed discussion with specialist reporters on what Walz's track record says about the policies he and Harris will embrace in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential campaign. Register for the Briefing | | | | | | | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Borough President Mark Levine is making a run for comptroller next year. | William Alatriste/New York City Council | MARK UP: Mark Levine is making it official, filing to run for comptroller next year, rather than reelection as Manhattan borough president. Comptroller is expected to be an open seat in 2025 since Brad Lander filed to run for mayor against Adams. So first in Playbook, Levine switched the office he’s seeking with the New York City Campaign Finance Board on Wednesday. Adams ally Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar plans to run, and City Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan is also eyeing the seat if Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso stays where he is. Reynoso, who would be the first Latino candidate to hold citywide office, told Playbook he’s still considering comptroller, but admitted he’s significantly less likely to jump in after a couple weeks of thinking. A consultant for Levine, Doug Forand, noted the Democrat “helped guide the city through Covid,” passed a law ensuring a right to counsel in housing court, and has been a “a bold voice for creating more affordable housing.” Petitions aren’t due until April, so the fields are far from set. But Levine's filing puts at least a bit of pressure on Lander to stick with mayor, and not shake things up again by dropping down to run for reelection instead. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — Migrants who’ve been ejected from the sprawling Randall’s Island shelter have set up camp outside. (THE CITY) — Judges allowed one of New York’s most prolific guardians to engage in apparent self-dealing as she transferred $1.5 million of her wards’ money to her own company. (ProPublica) — Tax revenues from New York City office buildings rise, despite vacancies. (New York Times)
| | | | A message from Equinor:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | |  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is spending the week in an Albany courtroom to try and stay on the ballot in the state. | Thos Robinson/AFP/Getty Images | KENNEDY IN COURT: While his rivals in the presidential campaign are running in competitive states across the country, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is spending the week in a book-lined courtroom in Albany fighting to stay on the ballot in New York. Kennedy is in Albany this week, personally sitting through hours of testimony on the arcana of state election law amid a challenge to his claim of New York residency. A retinue of Secret Service agents has shuttled him to and from the courthouse each day in a motorcade, though the streets around the building remain otherwise calm. He was upbeat about his chances of staying on the ballot Wednesday afternoon, even as the judge in the case on Wednesday rejected efforts to broaden his argument to constitutional claims and beyond state election law. “We don’t think it’s possible an appeals court would uphold my denial of the right to be on the ballot,” Kennedy said. “Whatever this court does, we’re going to win the appeal.” Elsewhere it’s been a consequential week on the campaign trail, with Harris selecting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate and as former President Donald Trump has tried to regain his edge in the polls. Kennedy, meanwhile, took a selfie Tuesday night at a sports bar in Albany with Scott Ritter, a former United Nations weapons inspector and convicted sex offender. Ritter’s suburban home was raided the next morning by the FBI, which Ritter said was due to the execution of a search warrant related to an investigation over the Foreign Agents Registration Act. (Ritter has spoken approvingly of Russian President Vladimir Putin.) No one was taken into custody. Kennedy, asked by a reporter about breaking bread with Ritter, said, “I admire his stance on foreign policy and I’m trying to keep this country out of a nuclear war.” And he brushed off questions stemming from the bizarre prank he copped to a video that he dumped a dead bear in Central Park. A reporter asked if he had any other roadkill squirreled away. “I’ve been picking up roadkill my whole life. I have a freezer full of it,” he said with a laugh. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Attorney General Tish James will not defend Hochul in two lawsuits newly filed to “un-pause” and enforce the congestion pricing law. (NY1) — Hochul signed a package of voting law changes into law. (State of Politics) — Education officials in New York want to improve media literacy. (amNY)
| | | | During unprecedented times, POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy. Live briefings, policy trackers, and and people intelligence secures your seat at the table. Learn more. | | | | | | | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | | 
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman ripped into AIPAC after the lobbying group successfully unseated fellow Squad member Missouri Rep. Cori Bush. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | AIPAC VS. THE SQUAD: After helping to topple Rep. Jamaal Bowman in June, AIPAC spent heavily against Missouri Rep. Cori Bush and on Tuesday night made her the second Squad member unseated since the hard-left group’s founding. Fellow Squad members in New York weren’t happy. “To buy an election is oligarchy, not democracy. Let’s be clear, if Cori stayed silent on the genocide in Gaza, she wouldn’t have had a challenger,” Bowman wrote on X. In an interview with “CBS This Morning,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the campaign finance system corrupt. “There is an enormous amount of influence of big money in politics, Cori Bush’s race was the second-most expensive primary in American history, Jamaal Bowman’s race was the most expensive primary in American history,” she said. “It is very hard to be a working-class American that gets elected to office and stays in office.” AIPAC congratulated prosecutor Wesley Bell on his win against Bush. “Once again, a progressive pro-Israel Democrat has prevailed over a candidate who represents the extremist fringe that is hostile to the Jewish state,” the pro-Israel lobbying group said. Bell credited his victory to “every volunteer, every supporter and every voter who believes in our vision for a better future.” The next Squad member with an election is Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, but AIPAC hasn’t committed to spending as much in her race despite her being a vocal critic of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. That could be because her campaign released internal numbers that showed Omar leading her opponent —whom she barely defeated in 2022— by 27 points. — Rich Mendez
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — Nassau County’s mask ban could have broader implications for the state. (LoHud) — Planned Parenthood is closing three clinics statewide, citing “compounding financial and political challenges.” (Times Union) — Before Albany County District Attorney David Soares launched an independent write-in campaign after losing his Democratic primary, the Republican Party tried to recruit him for the line. (City & State)
| | | | A message from Equinor: The energy transition is the defining opportunity of our time. Our world needs reliable and accessible renewable power that reduces emissions and stabilizes the grid. Offshore wind is part of the solution, and Equinor is doing its part. Equinor has deep experience in this industry and is already powering more than a million homes worldwide with offshore wind. Now, we’re building Empire Wind 1 for New York. Homegrown energy and homegrown jobs. The project serves the people who live and work in the community. And we’re just getting started, from clean air and innovations to investments that make Equinor in New York a wind-win. Plug in at www.equinor.com/US. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman 800-888-8888: A Jingle Put Cellino & Barnes on the Map. Their Split Inspired a Play. (New York Times) MAKING MOVES: Chris Henrichson has joined the Citizens Budget Commission as director of city studies while Elizabeth Kingman has joined as director of trustee relations. … Kauff McGuire & Margolis partner Aislinn S. McGuire is now managing director of the Contractors’ Association of Greater New York. … Bill Latza has joined the insurance practice of Saul Ewing. He most recently was general counsel-insurance for Lemonade, Inc. … The Rockefeller Foundation has hired Mark Wattley as its new senior vice president and chief people officer. … State elections law expert Joseph Burns has joined Holtzman Vogel law firm. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Ron Klain … CNN’s Kylie Atwood … Virginia Heffernan ... former Adams adviser Joel Eisdorfer … ABC’s Claire Brinberg … CBS’ Lance Frank … Marc Ambinder … Nuriya Janss … (WAS WEDNESDAY): Sara Eisen Missed Wednesday’s New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here. | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
Comments
Post a Comment