The New York Observer » Working Families Party

WFP Uses Leaked RSA Vid to Push for Clean Elections

Last month, we posted a video of Rent Stabilization Association head Joe Strasburg bragging about his landlord group helped elect a Republican majority in the State Senate, since, despite his dependence on developer donations, Andrew Cuomo is still seen as trying to split the difference between landlord and tenant groups.

Today, the Working Families Read More

In Recent Elections, WFP and Greens Leave Their Mark

Two recent special elections are putting a spotlight on the Working Families Party, and testing their newfound strength, following the recent ballot reshuffling that not only elevated the labor-backed group, but also established a permanent line for one of their would-be rivals, the Green Party.

In the Rochester mayoral race, Democrat Tom Richards, who was Read More

Dovere to Politico

After five years at City Hall News, Edward-Isaac Dovere is leaving to take a job at Politico. His new title will be breaking news editor, a new position for the Washington-based outlet.

The president and CEO of the company that publishes City Hall News, Tom Allon, told me Dovere "joins a long line of distinguished Read More

How to Raise Money By Defending (or Attacking) the Media

DCCC Chairman, Rep. Steve Israel of Long Island, helps make National Public Radio a Democratic cause, with this fund-raising email a moment ago:

Now the Republicans want to control the news. In fact, House Republicans announced a vote for TOMORROW to cut all federal funding for National Public Radio.
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The GOP’s latest misguided priority would defund NPR Read More

Cuomo: No WFP … For Now

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo will not be accepting the Working Families Party nomination--or certainly not right now.

Cuomo adviser Phil Singer sent out a statement this afternoon saying that the campaign would not submit his name for the WFP convention this weekend on account of "several open issues that need to be considered," adding that Read More

Kaye-WFP Report Passes on Look-Back, Suggests More Transparency

The Working Families Party's report on its own dealings, written by former Chief Judge Judith Kaye, is out, and recommends a number of new transparency measures going forward.

The report offers neither a condemnation nor exoneration of the WFP's past. Most notably, Kaye declined to take a retrospective look at the labor-backed party's actions in Read More

There Is Already an Andrew Cuomo Attack Ad

Andrew Cuomo continues to be cagey about when he'll announce his run for governor, but with David Paterson out of the way, opponents are figuring they may as well attack him.

The Independence Party Tries a Buttoned-Down Appeal

It’s been two years since the chairman of the New York State Independence Party, Frank MacKay, cut his hair and removed his earrings. At the time, he was traveling around the country, trying to lay the groundwork for a potential presidential campaign, and he realized that he’d be taken more seriously if he looked less Read More

Schulman Subpoenaed in W.F.P. Probe

Add Lynn Schulman to the list of people who have received subpoenas as part of the federal probe of the Working Families Party, according to her lawyer.

Schulman ran for City Council in Forest Hills, but lost to former City Council member Karen Koslowitz. Schulman is being represented by Jerry Goldfeder, a Read More

U.S. Attorney Subpoenas Working Families Party, and Bill de Blasio Too

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York subpoenaed the Working Families Party in connection with work done during the 2009 elections, Liz reported earlier tonight .

"We welcome this inquiry," said Dan Cantor, the head of the Working Families Party, in a public statement. He said the probe will Read More

Lawmakers Inviting Michelle Obama to Push for Paid Sick Days

Michelle Obama was sent a letter by city lawmakers inviting her to testify here in favor of requiring paid sick days for workers.

The first lady recently embraced paid sick days in a talk with the business leaders, according to the Times.

In the November 12 letter, the lawmakers said, “We believe that with the Read More

WFP Hires Kaye to Review WFP

The Working Families Party announced they’ve hired Skadden Arps and former Chief Judge Judith Kaye to review their business structure in hopes of clarifying what critics have said are questionable arrangements designed to skirt the city’s campaign spending laws.

“Now that Election Day is behind us, the firm will begin that review and recommend Read More

Unofficial Results: Liu and de Blasio Get More Votes Than Bloomberg

The person who got the most votes in yesterday’s election?

No, not Michael Bloomberg. It’s Comptroller-elect John Liu.

According to unofficial results, Liu got 696,330 votes, with 652,511 on the Democratic line, and 43,819 on the WFP line.

The second-highest total belonged to Bill de Blasio, in the public advocate’s race. He got 672,383 votes. 627,390 came Read More

After Losing, Gioia and Yassky Take Different Approaches to the WFP

What an elected official does immediately after losing a primary is frequently a valuable clue as to what they plan to do in the future.

Case in point: Eric Gioia hammered away at Bill de Blasio for his ties to the Working Families Party, and ran several television ads making the point. Read More

The WFP Supremacy

On Oct. 1, the labor-backed, ascendant Working Families Party helped organize a rally in Foley Square, ostensibly to urge city lawmakers to pass a law requiring employees to get paid when they call out sick to work. It was also a show of brute force: the party’s first high-profile rally since the Sept. 15 primaries, Read More