Governor ducks debate in frontrunner strategy PRIMARY, continued from p. 3
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September 4, 2014
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
to be safe from the dangers of fracking and that we should be leading the country in renewable energy — and we couldn’t agree more. And he’s the Hulk!” Representatives from the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter were also present, highlighting their recent endorsement of Teachout and Wu. The environmental group’s Roger Downs said, in a statement, “Like Mark, we’ve been inspired by the Teachout-Wu vision to rebuild New York through a robust, clean energy economy and reinvigorate a democracy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected. We look forward to working with Mark and so many New Yorkers who want to change history on Sept. 9.” Fracking-impacted residents from Pennsylvania who met with Teachout and Wu on their recent fracking tour also came to the press conference to support them. “The oil and gas industry is lying to the people of New York, just as they have lied to the people of Pennsylvania and every other state that has fracking,” said Ray Kemble, an ex-gas worker and affected resident from Dimock, Pennsylvania. “I came down to New York City today to tell the truth about what is happening to those of us on the front lines who have had our water and air poisoned and our communities made sick by this industry.” On Aug. 28, Downtown Independent Democrats endorsed Teachout and Wu. In doing so, they joined the Village Independent Democrats, Coalition for a District Alternative and the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club. D.I.D.’s endorsement was unanimous. “Zephyr Teachout zeroes right in on issues of great concern to us: Fracking, government corruption, infrastructure investment, schools, natural resources, the business economy upstate and downstate,” a D.I.D. press release on the endorsement said. “Her legal and academic expertise are well suited to the job at this time in our history. She is an expert on political corruption and antitrust/big bank issues. She’s clerked in the U.S. Court of Appeals, was a director in Howard Dean’s campaign, and was part of a foundation that focused on the role of money in politics and advocating for policy changes. She also hang-glides. We like the whole package. “Timothy Wu has the attitude and forward voice to push New York State into the future,” the D.I.D. release continued. “He believes in open democracy as well as an open Internet. That works for us. His background is extraordinary, from antitrust is-
Stand-up comic Randy Credico, who is also on the Democratic ballot for governor, handed out fliers at the West Indian Day Parade.
sues to technology. He is the one who coined the term ‘’Net neutrality’! Timothy Wu is a...Harvard-educated lawyer, renowned author and fighter for the consumer. “ ‘Zephyr’ is a word for a breeze or a light wind. Along with Timothy Wu, we need this fresh air in our government.” Also endorsing Teachout were Paul Newell, a Lower East Side Democratic district leader, as well as a number of publications, including The Nation, Rochester City Newspaper, Metroland (Albany) and the Red Hook Star-Revue. The New York Times didn’t endorse either Cuomo or Teachout, but hammered Cuomo for “hobbling” his own anti-corruption Moreland Commission’s activities, while adding that many voters might well see Teachout — a corruption fighter — as an attractive alternative. The main reason for the Times’s lack of an endorsement was Cuomo’s hypocrisy on the corruption issue, the paper said, since he came into office claiming to clean up Albany. His actions on the Moreland Commission flew in the face of his own pledge, the Times said. On the other hand, the state’s economy is doing well and Cuomo has whipped the State Legislature into shape in some regards, repeatedly bringing the budget in on time. He won gay marriage and passed the nation’s toughest gun laws. He stood up for charter schools — a hot-button
issue — which many inner-city families feel offer their children a better education and a chance at a brighter future. Co-location remains the most fraught aspect of the ongoing charter school debate. Teachout has also made campaign finance reform in Albany a campaign plank, and is a critic of the Common Core state-standards school curriculum. In addition, both the Times and Daily News — which endorsed Cuomo — said Teachout lacks executive experience. Asked by The Villager about her lack of executive experience or business leadership background — for example, Mike Bloomberg ran a multinational corporation before becoming mayor — Teachout said that one in 12 U.S. lack such executive experience. However, she countered, her experience as an educator and heading a good-government nonprofit group are just as valid qualifications. She is often retained as a consultant on startups for businesses and nonprofits, she added. “I am very confident about my management ability,” she asserted. Green also chimed in on Teachout’s behalf, noting, “Bloomberg made money — she made policy. [Mitt] Romney ran a big company,” he added. “But it’s obviously not the only consideration.” The Times did endorse Wu over Hochul, though. Hochul has been criticized as being too conservative.
When running for Congress Upstate, she was endorsed by the N.R.A. She supported weakening environmental protections in some areas, and voted against aspects of Obamacare, as well as a bill to allow undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses. Reporters also asked Teachout about accusations that she recently ducked repeated opportunities on Fred Dicker’s Albany politics radio show to take a position on the recent Gaza war. At the time, Cuomo was in Israel. In her most detailed response yet, she said on Tuesday, “New York has a very special relationship with Israel.” New York has the world’s second largest Jewish population outside of Israel, she noted. “As governor, it will be part of my job to be supportive of that relationship,” she stated. Asked afterward in a follow-up question by The Villager about her position on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Teachout, said, “I’m not running for president. The way I feel is the way most New Yorkers feel — which is for peace and compassion.” Taking a stance on Israel certainly risks alienating some left voters, similar to how Cuomo would lose some support if he were to make a decision on fracking before the primary. Currently, he continues to say the state is studying the health issues involved in fracking. State voters are estimated to be about evenly split on fracking. TheVillager.com