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This belongs to you. Take it back...
WFP 
Tue Aug 12, 2008 at 11:14:46 AM EDT
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(Lots of info in this post. This smells pretty bad. - promoted by phillip anderson)
Dan Janison at the Newsday Spin Cycle posted this:
Ruling that Sen. Craig Johnson's campaign violated proper petitioning practices, State Supreme Court Justice Karen V. Murphy has thrown the Nassau Democrat off the Working Families Party's November ballot line. If the ruling stands, it will be the second time this election season that Johnson lost a minor-party endorsement that he'd appeared to have secured. The first occurred when the GOP-aligned state Independence Party recently changed its bylaws as a prelude to overruling its county committee to nominate the Republican challenger, Barbara Donno.
Now all this seems like normal petition stuff, until you realize who the judge is in this case. Karen V. Murphy was before ascending to the bench, the Republican County Clerk in Nassau. More to the point, the current County Clerk, Maureen O'Connell, was Judge Murphy's close political ally and her hand picked successor to the Clerk's office. If the name Maureen O'Connell rings a bell, she is the same Maureen O'Connell who lost the special election to Craig Johnson in SD 7.
Much more on the flip...
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Sat Jul 12, 2008 at 02:24:14 AM EDT
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At the beginning of the week, the WFP sent in some initial ground troops into the 21st Senate district in support of their endorsed candidate Kevin Parker. Parker, who has been a target of many within the Brooklyn machine since his election in 2002, is now facing a very difficult two-front primary challenge from Councilmen Simcha Felder and Kendall Stewart. Like many other Senate districts within New York City, the 21st is overwhelmingly Democratic, with a nearly 11:1 D:R enrollment ratio. Clearly, the Democratic primary is the real race in SD-21.
The 21st has very large African-American, Caribbean, and orthodox Jewish populations. Stewart, of Caribbean descent, is expected to peel off a significant portion of the African-American and Caribbean vote from Parker. This could potentially allow Felder to gain a plurality of the vote by performing exceptionally strong among the Jewish population. While one would hope identity politics would not play such a definitive role, unfortunately the truth is that in local New York City politics, identity politics is a major factor.
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Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 09:56:35 AM EDT
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What a way to start the day:
Working Families Party Drops Robach, Backs Dollinger
A local state senate candidate won't have the endorsement of the Working Families Party going into the fall elections. That party represents organized labor in New York state and community organizations, and it endorsed Democratic challenger Richard Dollinger for Republican Joseph Robach's 56th district state senate seat.
Working Families endorsed Robach in 2004 and in 2006 for his seat.
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To get the Working Parties endorsement, Martin says both candidates had half-hour interviews on the same day. They were asked the same questions, and filled out a questionnaire. After that process, Martin says the vote was 23 to 6 to endorse Dollinger; he says the general consensus was that Robach left a lot of questions unanswered.
Usually when I talk to other people about the WFP, one of the first things they say is "well, why the hell do they keep supporting awful folks like Robach?"
Guess they won't be able to make that case anymore.
(Normally I would link the challenger's site here. In this case, it appears that Dollinger doesn't yet have one. That needs to change.)
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Tue Jun 03, 2008 at 17:05:42 PM EDT
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Although it is a big day for the presidential contest, we have NYS-level excitement building, too. The Barber campaign for SD 51 gains yet more momentum with the endorsement of WFP. Everybody is finding out what a spectacular candidate Don is! Press release from the campaign follows.
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Mon May 19, 2008 at 15:28:20 PM EDT
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Earlier I wrote that today, a number of groups and members of the New York State Legislature would be announcing an alternative property tax cap plan prior to the release of the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief report this week.
Touted as the "REAL property tax cap," the Working Families Party and New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness presented their own proposal today. You can see the fact sheet of the proposal here.
Here are two basic principles that this proposal recommends.
Cap property taxes the smart way: using a "circuit breaker" to actually cut property taxes for working families, in a way that's fair to all taxpayers.
Pay for it the right way: with a modest, partial repeal of income tax cuts for the wealthy. Doing so lets New York cap property taxes for the middle class and seniors without threatening critical public investments.
In a joint press release, the WFP and NYFF promoted their plan as one that would truly help working families and the middle class.
A bipartisan group of more than forty New York State legislators joined leaders of the Working Families Party and New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness today to announce a plan that would cap the amount of local property taxes paid by middle class families and seniors across New York.
"Our plan caps property taxes the smart way - not by capping the amount property taxes can increase - but by actually giving a substantial property tax cut to working families who need it," said Dan Cantor, Executive Director of the Working Families Party.
Dubbed the "Real Property Tax Cap", the plan would reduce the property tax burden of middle class homeowners and seniors by capping the percentage of household income that the homeowner would pay in property taxes. For example, in one version of the plan, a family with a combined income of $80,000 per year would pay no more than 6% of their income in property taxes ($4800). Any property taxes paid above that amount would be either fully or partially rebated back to the homeowner. The net effect of the rebate would be a massive multi-billion dollar property tax cut for working families and seniors.
Known in budget parlance as a "circuit breaker", the plan aims to target property tax relief to middle class families and seniors. Renters would also get a rebate on a similar model. The plan would be financed by a partial repeal of income tax cuts enacted in the 1990's for the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers.
At first glance, I really like what was proposed here. I'm eager to see what the Suozzi Commission proposes this week when they release their report. Property taxes are an issue here in New York, especially in upstate New York. Yes, downstate pays more in taxes, but upstate's taxes tend to be a higher percentage of property values than downstate's. As a whole, our state is taxed heavily and we need solutions, especially when it comes to property tax reform.
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Mon May 19, 2008 at 10:12:36 AM EDT
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Just days before the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief releases its report that will include a proposal for a property tax cap, the Working Families Party, New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, Fiscal Policy Institute and 30 members of the Assembly and Senate will hold a press conference to announce an alternative plan for a property tax cap.
Coming days before the Suozzi Commission unveils its own property tax proposal - expected to include a cap on the rate of growth of local property taxes - the groups will propose an alternative plan that would cut property taxes for the middle class and seniors. The plan would be financed by a partial repeal of the Pataki income tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers.
The proposal, known as an enhanced "circuit breaker" will reduce the property tax burden for working families and seniors without undermining vital public services; the plan would also apply to renters - in effect providing a tax credit for tenants throughout the state.
The press conference is at noon today in the LCA Room. Should be an interesting and strong proposal.
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Tue May 06, 2008 at 17:17:43 PM EDT
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At the Chris Bower led progressive Blog, Open Left, Don Canter of the WFP took on our own Philip Anderson with in my opinion was a twisted and near shameful defense of Shelly Silver. I will post Cantors Open Left Blog in its entirety and then some very excellent counter points made to it by some very respected bloggers including good friend of us all, Chris Bowers. Chris has roots to the Ithaca NY region and knows the affairs of our state as well as any national progressive blogger I have ever read.
Now, while Philip Anderson was not attacked by name, we know that it was his work and submission that got Newell nominated as a Blue to Bluer challenger over Shelly!
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Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 09:52:19 AM EST
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There are few indicators more ominous for Uncle Joe's doomed state Senate majority than the fact that SEIU/1199 appears to be, shall we say, bailing on them. In yet another sign that more and more folks can see the writing on the proverbial wall, SEIU is giving significant coin to the Working Families Party, the folks who are essentially running field for Darrel Aubertine in the SD-48 special election. They've formally endorsed Will Barclay, but they are funding the Dem ground game. Oh, and the money spigot to the Senate GOP seems to be rather dry as they haven't given to Bruno's gang since last summer.
Powerful Union May Be Hedging Its Bets in Albany
But recent campaign finance filings raise an intriguing question: Is the politically astute union now quietly hedging its bets?
In recent weeks, 1199 has been shoveling money into the Working Families Party, a labor-backed organization that has been mobilizing support for the Democratic candidate in a crucial State Senate special election in upstate New York on Tuesday. At the same time, the union has not contributed to the central campaign account maintained by Mr. Bruno's Senate Republican operation in about six months.
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At the same time, 1199 has poured $257,000 into the Working Families Party this year, nearly three times what they gave to the party in all of last year and more than in any year since 2003, according to state campaign finance records. In 2006 and 2007 combined, 1199 gave about $150,000 to the party, records show.
The Working Families Party has taken a leading role on the ground for the Democratic candidate in the race, Assemblyman Darrel J. Aubertine, and in providing money for his campaign.
"This isn't a token, tentative contribution," said Russ Haven, the legislative director of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "It could represent the margin of victory in a short-track winter contest in the north country that will turn on which side will get their voters to the polls."
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But, despite the denials, another trend is clear: 1199 has taken a noticeably softer tone with the governor. Last year, it led a multimillion-dollar campaign against Mr. Spitzer's budget cuts and exchanged hard-hitting television commercials with the administration, reinforcing its alliance with Mr. Bruno.
This year officials at 1199 have taken a much less aggressive tone - perhaps due in part to a change in leadership after Dennis Rivera, the longtime head of 1199, moved up to another job within the union.
Certainly not having Bruno's pal Rivera running the SEIU show in New York is a contributing factor here, but I think it's much more a case of the union getting on the good side of the Governor and the imminent Democratic Senate majority. They can see what's coming and and there's little that should trouble Uncle Joe and his crew more than this.
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