By ELINOR TATUM, Publisher and Editor in Chief
Black New Yorkers went to the polls on November 2 and helped give Andrew Cuomo a big electoral victory over Carl Paladino. Blacks represented 18 percent of the electorate, up from 10 percent in 2006.
And how is the governor-elect thanking Black New Yorkers?
He has appointed Rudy Giuliani to his transition team as co-chair of the public safety committee. There cannot be a greater slap in the face to Black New Yorkers than this appointment. (more…)
Andrew Cuomo has assembled a lengthy Urban Agenda document covering a range of issues that are of interest to communities of color.
In a document covering more than 250 pages his staff has covered a range of issue from criminal justice, housing, education, small and minority businesses. The Amsterdam News staff began the process of analyzing the document so that we can access how a Cuomo Administration would approach issues facing urban and communities of color throughout the state. (more…)
Unlike the rest of the country, where the Republicans reaped a harvest of votes and almost ran the midterm tables, the state senate race in New York remains a big question mark with three races still up for grabs.
Not in doubt, though, are the state’s top positions that were handily retained by the Democrats with Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo defeating Carl Paladino by a two-to-one margin out of a total of some 2.5 million votes. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand beat back their Republican opponents; Eric Schneiderman, after a nip and tuck race with Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan, is the new attorney general-elect; and Thomas DiNapoli, who replaced Alan Havesi as state comptroller, finally edged out Harry Wilson.
Celebration and jubilation filled the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Midtown Manhattan as the Democratic Party managed to win several key races on Tuesday night. Supporters and power players filled the ballroom, hobnobbing while preparing for the next four years of strategy to get New York State in order.
Shortly after polls closed, Andrew Cuomo was named the projected winner of the governor’s race. Cuomo pounced his GOP and Tea Party darling opponent Carl Paladino, who set up shop with his own election night party across the street at the Hilton. In the end, Cuomo took 60 percent of the votes.
Tuesday night’s victory party also brought out several winners from the Democratic Party, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, who retained their seats, while Eric Schneiderman was elected state attorney general. (more…)
Andrew M. Cuomo will mount a presidential-style permanent political campaign to counter the well-financed labor unions he believes have bullied previous governors and lawmakers into making bad decisions. He will seek to transform the state’s weak business lobby into a more formidable ally, believing that corporate leaders in New York have virtually surrendered the field to big labor.
read the rest at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/nyregion/25cuomo.html?ref=nyregion
Representatives from several unions came together last week at the Manhattan Neighborhood Network before members of the ethnic press to discuss the unions’ stance on the upcoming midterm elections. Hector Figueroa, secretary treasurer for 32BJ; Odemola Oyefeso, political director for RWDSU; Leo Casey of the United Federation of Teachers; and Wanda Williams, political action director of DC37, all weighed in on the positions of their unions.
On the heels of the recent One Nation Working Together rally in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, which brought out hundreds of thousands of union members, panelists at the discussion emphasized the need to put words into action by heading to the polls and letting their voices be heard in November. (more…)
As the midterm elections come close, questions linger about whether or not the Democrats in the New York state Senate will hang on and keep control.
After a having power for such a short time, Democrats are looking to maintain their majority. While all 62 seats are up for grabs, Republicans, with no members of color in their caucus, are seeking to regain a majority again after losing it in 2008 and getting it back briefly due to last year’s legislative coup. (more…)
