August 24, 2020
PREPPING FOR A PANDEMIC ELECTION
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law three bills meant to make it safer for New Yorkers to vote in November. The cornerstone of the package will allow anyone to use the pandemic as a reason to apply for an absentee ballot. Another will allow voters to begin applying for an absentee ballot immediately. The third bill will validate ballots that lack a postmark but were received the day after the election. Earlier in the week, state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, congressional candidate Mondaire Jones and several others sued the Trump administration to stop its attempts to hinder the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to process mail. Soon after, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said he would halt all of the controversial cost-saving measures until after the election, although it was unclear whether he would reverse the actions that were already taken.
THE
WEEK AHEAD
City & State New York
Schumer, AOC hit the same notes
NEW YORKERS TAKE THE VIRTUAL DNC STAGE
Democrats officially nominated Joe Biden for president and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris for vice president, making history as Harris became the first Black and first South Asian woman to be on a major party ticket. The Democratic National Committee invited a host of speakers for its first virtual convention. Cuomo spoke during a primetime slot on the first night of the convention, giving a fiveminute address that focused largely on his management of the coronavirus pandemic in New York, while heavily criticizing the response of President Donald Trump. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez both spoke on the second night. OcasioCortez, who only spoke for one minute and 40 seconds, used her speech to second the nomination of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, which was a procedural point rather than a snub of Biden.
TUESDAY 8/25 The state Senate and Assembly committees that oversee the MTA hold a virtual joint legislative hearing starting at 10 a.m. on the coronavirus’s impact on public transportation.
5
Ever the New Yorker, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night with the Statue of Liberty behind him, calling the monument a “symbol of freedom and a beacon of hope” but one that President Donald Trump has “demeaned.” The Brooklynite started the three-minute speech by noting that he can see Lady Liberty from his Park Slope apartment – but his eyes seemed focused on winning control of the Senate. It’s a goal that seems increasingly achievable for Democrats in November, and one that would likely make Schumer majority leader, increasing his already substantial power in Washington, D.C. Schumer listed some of the party’s goals should Democratic nominee Joe Biden win the White House and Democrats control Congress, including making health care “affordable for all,” undoing “the vicious inequality of income and wealth that has plagued America for far too long” and – with a nod to the Statue of Liberty behind him – reforming the immigration system “so that immigrants, yearning to breathe free, will at last become American citizens.” The goals weren’t wildly different from those shared by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in her speech later in the night. Ocasio-Cortez, who
THURSDAY 8/27 The New York City Council slows down in the summer, but the Legislature is having its one full meeting of the month, held virtually at 1:30 p.m., and may pass some minor bills to help small businesses.
represents Queens and the Bronx, was one of two delegates chosen to deliver a nominating speech for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. It was essentially a procedural point before the roll call vote that would officially designate Biden as the party’s nominee, but Ocasio-Cortez used her one minute and 40 seconds to speak to the progressive movement that helped elect her to Congress in 2018 and continues to hold her up as a champion. She thanked the “mass people’s movement working to establish 21st century social, economic, and human rights, including guaranteed health care, higher education, living wages and labor rights to all people in the United States.” Like Schumer, she used her brief time on air to highlight economic inequality, saying that the progressive movement realizes “the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of longterm stability for the many.” While Ocasio-Cortez was there to nominate Sanders, her appearance was a sign of party unity going into the November election. She has repeatedly said she will vote for Biden in November. But her support for Schumer isn’t as clear cut – rumors have swirled that she may be considering challenging him when he’s up for reelection in 2022. – Jeff Coltin
THURSDAY 8/27 The Republican National Convention will take place from Monday to Thursday, and, like the DNC, is expected to be done mostly over video. President Donald Trump is expected to be officially nominated Thursday.
INSIDE DOPE
Trump will be the center of attention, but New York’s Republican congressional candidates, like Assembly Member Nicole Malliotakis, will be angling for time in the spotlight.