While the union has historically
been politically active during election season, "given what’s at stake
this fall for the working class, they decided on a more robust voter
contact and education effort," said Neal Kwatra, a longtime labor
strategist and the founder of the New York City-based political
consulting firm Metropolitan Public Strategies, which is managing the
carpenters' expenditure campaign. "It’s going to be one of the larger
independent efforts anywhere in New York state on the Democratic side
this cycle."
Though the bulk of the spending
in 2022 will go to assist Hochul, Kwatra said, the union also plans to
support Democrats in five or six closely contested state Senate races.
Those are likely to include efforts to retain the seats currently held
by state Sens. Michelle Hinchey, Jeremy Cooney, James Skoufis and Pete
Harckham, all Democrats.
Both in New York and on a
national level, the union has a history of bipartisanship, which makes
the union’s embrace of Democrats in races for the state Legislature this
year more notable. The union had planned to back one incumbent state
Senate Republican, Mike Martucci, but he’s not running for reelection.
Though the group has endorsed five other state Senate Republicans this
year, including Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, it’s unclear whether
it will spend to help any of them.
Since the 2018 elections,
Democrats have held strong majorities in the Legislature, and the party
has not lost a statewide election in New York since 2002. Democrats
nationally face headwinds in the November elections, and Republicans
typically fare well in elections where a Democrat holds the White House
during a presidential mid-term election. Still, Hochul is favored to win
a full term of office in November against her Republican opponent, U.S.
Rep. Lee Zeldin, and Democrats are favored to keep hold of the Senate
and Assembly.
Kwatra said the union’s plan to
spend heavily on behalf of Hochul is in part a result of "she and her
team’s thoughtful cultivation and early engagement with labor."
"Working with labor on their core
priorities from the Hochul folks has been far more sophisticated than
you see from a typical Democratic politician," Kwatra said. "There’s
been more listening and asking and wanting to understand goals."
Hochul’s climate and energy
initiatives have also included provisions, such as project labor
agreements and prevailing wage mandates, that favor union contractors.
A union with a somewhat
overlapping membership — the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters —
spent more than $500,000 on an outside effort helping Democratic state
Senate candidates in 2016. Kwatra said that the North Atlantic States
Regional Council of Carpenters had existed since 2017, and has different
political leadership and board members, and that its membership
consisted of different states than the 2016 effort.
The overall landscape for
independent expenditures this year is still taking shape. Labor unions
generally will likely spend heavily to back Hochul.
It's unclear if Republicans
nationally will decide to invest heavily in the governor's race in New
York. So far, at least one group — "A New NY" — has formed to back
Zeldin and oppose Hochul. The group’s treasurer works for a firm, Crosby
Ottenhoff Group, that has worked in the past for prominent Republicans
across the country, as well as major outside conservative spending
groups.
So far, A New NY has collected
$145,00 in contributions, the largest being $100,000 from Howard
Lutnick, chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, one of the world's
leading financial services firms. The group has spent about $117,000
backing Zeldin, who faced a contested four-way primary to win the GOP
nomination for governor in late June.
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ONE HAS TO WONDER IF HOCHUL OR ANY OTHER CANDIDATE WILL TAKE MONEY FROM A UNION CRIMINAL SYNDICATE SUCH AS THE UBC WHOSE LEADERS ARE ACCUSED OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT,CORRUPTION,MOB ASSOCIATION DISCRIMINATION,DRUGS,ABUSE OF WORKERS AND ROBBING ALMOST 40%OF ITS MEMBERS WAGE PACKAGE.LETS NOT FORGET THE LOOTING, MISMANAGEMENT AND TANKING MEMBER PENSION FUNDS AS WELL AS ROBBING RETIREES PENSION CHECKS
WE ARE SEEING AN UNPRECEDENTED AND BLATANT SELL OUT OF THE TAXPAYERS AND AMERICAN PEOPLE TO CORRUPT UNION CRIMINAL SYNDICATES BY POLITICAL HACKS LIKE "BUMBLE" JOE BIDEN AND MARTY "THE UNION SUCK ASS" WALSH
AFTER A RECENT VISIT TO THE UBC MEGA SHYTE HOLE IN LAS VEGAS "BUMBLE" JOE BIDEN LEFT WITH PARTING GIFTS.A FRESHLY MADE ICE CREAM FROM THE ASS OF THE ICE CREAM SHYTER DOUG MCCARRON AND A UBC INTERNATIONAL OFFICER RAT LOOK ALIKE PLUSH TOY
