Plugged In @ Hinman Straub
July 1, 2021
What’s Inside
- New York City Mayoral Election Update
- Assembly Judiciary Committee Meets on Impeachment Inquiry
- Governor Announces Siting Approval of First Major Renewable Energy Facilities under New Regulations
- Long Island State Senator Launches Bid for Nassau County District Attorney
- Republican Legislators Call for Special Session
- District Attorneys Association of New York Names New President
- Political Updates
- Reminders and Links
- Coming Up
New York City Mayoral Election Update
New York City’s first election utilizing ranked choice voting suffered a significant setback this week. On Tuesday, the New York City Board of Elections posted on its website the results of the first portion of ranked votes for the mayoral race showing that Kathryn Garcia had jumped to within a few percentage points of taking the lead from Eric Adams. Garcia had finished in third place on election night behind both Adams and Maya Wiley. The number of total votes reported after the tabulation of ranked choice votes were significantly higher than what was reported on election night, leading to questions from campaigns and reporters alike. The board of elections removed the unofficial results from their webpage and acknowledged an error. The board later announced the error was a result of accidentally including results from a mock trial of the city’s new ranked-choice voting system in unofficial primary returns released Tuesday, leading to an additional 135,000 votes.
On Wednesday, the board re-tabulated the results excluding the mock trial ballots and announced the preliminary results. The results were strikingly similar with Adams leading Garcia 51.1% to 48.9%. Roughly 125,000 absentee ballots, which will be counted next week, will decide the winner of the race. The results of the second count which excluded the mock trial ballots were so similar to the errant count that it prompted the board of elections to issue a statement insisting the new number were accurate.
The blunder by the board of elections prompted the Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to commit the Senate to hold public hearings in the coming weeks and to seek legislative reforms to the board of elections.
Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said:
“Each year the State Senate begins session by passing voting reforms that languished under the previous Republican majority, including early voting, automatic registration, and a better absentee voting process. The situation in New York City is a national embarrassment and must be dealt with promptly and properly. In the coming weeks, the Senate will be holding hearings on this situation and will seek to pass reform legislation as a result at the earliest opportunity.”
Assembly Judiciary Committee Meets on Impeachment Inquiry
The Assembly Judiciary Committee met this week providing a brief update on impeachment matters prior to entering executive session to discuss the ongoing inquiry. Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Lavine announced that the committee will be issuing subpoenas to compel testimony and that Davis Polk and Wardell have been reviewing over 100,000 documents including emails, texts, and personnel records. Committee member Tom Abinanti said he believes that many of the subpoenas that will be issued will be to those that have already been cooperative with the investigation and that providing subpoenas will help ease the reluctance of some witnesses. Recent reports have indicated that the Attorney General’s investigation has already begun interviewing the Governor’s top staff.
Governor Announces Siting Approval of First Major Renewable Energy Facilities under New Regulations
The Governor announced that the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) has issued final siting permits for its first two major solar facilities, Riverhead Solar 2, LLC and Morris Ridge Solar Energy Center, LLC. These are the first projects approved by ORES and were the fastest siting approvals ever processed in the state. ORES was created to improve and streamline the process for environmentally responsible and cost-effective siting of large-scale renewable energy projects across New York. ORES consolidates the environmental review and permitting of major renewable energy facilities to ensure that siting decisions are predictable, responsible, and done in a timely manner with input from local governments and host communities.
Riverhead is a 36-megawatt solar electric facility in the Town of Riverhead, Suffolk County. Morris Ridge Solar Energy Center is a 177-megawatt solar electric facility coupled with 83-megawatt battery energy storage in the Town of Mount Morris, Livingston County. Together, these solar facilities are expected to generate enough renewable energy to power more than 46,000 New York homes and reduce carbon emissions by over 208,000 metric tons annually.
The Governor said:
“As part of our aggressive clean and renewable energy goals, we’re committed to protecting New York State from the effects of climate change and helping to ensure renewable energy sources can be built and distributed easily and efficiently. New York has long been a national leader on climate change, and with the approval of these two projects, we are taking significant steps toward saving the environment and fostering new jobs and investment to bring our economy back better, stronger and greener from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Long Island State Senator Launches Bid for Nassau County District Attorney
State Senator Todd Kaminsky announced his plan to run for Nassau County District Attorney this week. The office is currently vacant due to former district attorney Madeline Singas being confirmed to the Court of Appeals. Kaminsky was first elected to the Senate in a special election in 2016. The seat was vacant due to a felony conviction of former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. Kaminsky is a former federal prosecutor and was elected to the Assembly prior to running for Senate. The election will be held in November.
Senator Kaminksy said:
“Nassau County needs a District Attorney with a record of results and experience to keep our families safe — and I am ready to do the job day one. As an assistant district attorney, federal prosecutor and legislator, I have always prioritized public safety and delivered justice for our communities. As DA, I will protect our families from violent crime, taxpayers from fraud and corruption, and the human rights of every New Yorker. Let’s get to work.”
Republican Legislators Call for Special Session
Senate Republicans are calling for a special session to extend by statute the expiration of alcohol-to-go beverage sales for bars and restaurants. The ability for bars and restaurants to sell such ended with the expiration of the declared state of emergency. Restaurants have called for the provision to be extended indefinitely, but session concluded last month without doing so.
Senator George Borrello said:
“As a restaurant owner myself, it has been both heartbreaking and frustrating to see the incalculable damage being done to the hospitality industry, not only by the pandemic, but by overly restrictive state policies. Restaurants and taverns around my district — including many local landmarks — have closed their doors for good. Those that survived are struggling to regain their footing. Alcohol-to-go was a lifeline that helped them survive.”
District Attorneys Association of New York Names New President
Former Assemblyman and current Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan has been named the next president of the District Attorneys Association of New York. Jordan was elected as Washington County DA in 2015. He will succeed Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley as president.
Mr. Jordan said:
“I know that I am a better prosecutor because of the collective brain trust of this organization. I am grateful for all of the valuable ideas that are shared amongst prosecutors from offices big and small from all over our wonderful and diverse state. The intelligent discussions and exchange of information with my fellow District Attorneys has helped me borrow ideas to create better programs and procedures in my own county. I hope to continue to work with my fellow members to provide for better delivery of fair and equitable justice.”
Political Updates
Siena poll: New Yorkers mixed on Cuomo’s political future.
Labor and business leaders attend Cuomo fundraiser.
Working Families Party secures upstate primary wins.
Q&A with India Walton: All Buffalo city workers will need to reapply for their jobs.
Buffalo mayoral nominee Walton says she is not running from past legal and financial issues.
Carl Paladino not running for Buffalo mayor, but wants to ‘destroy‘ India Walton’s candidacy.
State of Politics: What voters need to know about write-in campaigns here.
Four-term Buffalo mayor to seek write-in campaign in November election.
Rochester’s Malik Evans talks city priorities after his primary win.
Khalid Bey wins Syracuse mayoral Democratic primary.
Andrew Giuliani releases poll claiming lead in GOP race to take on Gov. Cuomo.
Lee Zeldin easily wins Republican straw poll.
NY Republican Party chair believes GOP can avoid gubernatorial primary.
Reminders and Links
City & State NY’s Transportation Power 100 here.
Coming Up
The Senate will hold a public hearing on New York State’s system of ethics oversight and enforcement on July 12.
The Board of Regents will hold their next meeting on July 12 and 13.
The Public Service Commission will hold its next meeting on July 15.
The Senate will hold a public hearing on nursing home and assisted living workforce on July 20.
The Senate will hold a public hearing on homecare workforce challenges and solutions on July 27.
JCOPE will hold its next meeting on July 27.