| | | | |  | | By Emily Ngo, Nick Reisman and Jeff Coltin | | Presented by |  | | | With Timmy Facciola
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A Marist College poll last week found 55 percent of voters don’t want the scandal-scarred former governor to run. | Pool photo by Seth Wenig | Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has name recognition — and political baggage. Both opposing forces could help or hurt him in a mayoral campaign. A Morning Consult survey released today found voters are split 42 percent to 41 percent over whether Cuomo should enter the race if Mayor Eric Adams — who is fighting a five-count federal corruption indictment — leaves office. Cuomo came in second to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg but edged out Attorney General Letitia James, who drew 39 percent of the vote, the poll found. The results come after a separate Marist College poll last week found 55 percent of voters don’t want the scandal-scarred former governor to run. And yet, a crowded field and the uncertainty of ranked-choice voting could give Cuomo a narrow opening. Playbook spoke with Marist College pollster Lee Miringoff about Cuomo’s chances. He believes it’s too early to game out whether Attorney General Letitia James would prevent a Cuomo win. “Head-to-head between Tish and Cuomo is different from a half dozen people that includes Tish and Cuomo,” Miringoff said. “Those calculations need to be made down the road.” This interview is edited for length and clarity. Is there space for Cuomo in a mayoral race? Depending on what happens with Adams, the expectation would be that either way there’s going to be a crowd of candidates who would take a hard look at (running). Politics abhors a vacuum. With ranked-choice voting, that sort of puts things in a slightly different context. That’s a long way of saying Cuomo has a base of support beyond what the mayor is showing right now. Cuomo has high name recognition. That works for better and for worse. He has a following, but he also has a large group that does not want him to get in. If he runs to the middle, there’s probably going to be space for him in this. So a crowded field helps Cuomo? He does have a core following. If you have ranked-choice voting, you don’t have to get 50 percent. You can live to vote another day. Will voters be turned off by his scandals? For some voters, it makes for more noise. It makes for a little bit more chaos. Obviously, that becomes part of who he is, and he has to have a response for that that is satisfying for enough voters. People would have to hear the case and evaluate it. It is an issue to be dealt with, but it’s not prohibitive. Right now you have someone running for president who is getting half the vote and has all kinds of baggage. The rules are not set in stone. How much are people locked in on supporting or opposing Cuomo? Obviously, he would be more polarizing than others. He’s got fans and he’s got — well, what’s the opposite of a fan? Detractors. He has detractors. He would have to have some answers for why he is where he is. And he needs a rationale. Why would he want to do this? He’s in his mid-60s, there are only a few more times he could get into this. Your poll found 30 percent of voters don’t want Adams to resign. Will those voters transfer to Cuomo if Adams leaves office? Some of it could, for sure. Nothing automatically transfers. If you take Adams out of the picture, there are a group of supporters who go shopping for someone else. I wouldn’t make the step that because Cuomo has a lot of Black support, he would get 20 percent of the 30 percent, but Cuomo does better if it’s a crowded field. — Nick Reisman HAPPY THURSDAY. LGM! Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Uber: New York City Uber riders pay $700 Million in taxes and fees annually* That’s more than the entire budget for New York City Parks Department. *Based on trips originating from NYC in 2023. Learn more. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? Participating in a fireside chat at the Project Healthy Minds World Mental Health Day Festival in Manhattan, making remarks at the University at Albany to unveil an AI supercomputer and speaking at the 43North Startup Competition Finals in Buffalo. WHERE’S ERIC? Making remarks at the Department of Cultural Affairs’ annual Triumph of the Human Spirit Day, speaking at the Department for the Aging’s “Talent is Timeless” grand finale and appearing on Telemundo 47. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I was reliably told that the people trying to stifle opposing political speech are more like the Nazis.” — GOP City Council Member Joe Borelli told Playbook, after state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal compared Donald Trump’s Oct. 27 rally at Madison Square Garden to the 1939 Nazi rally at the venue. Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat, had told Playbook he was trying to make a historical comparison.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
“I didn’t expect people to think that other bids somehow had played a role,” state Sen. Jessica Ramos told Playbook in July. “And I don’t want people to think that. Since it’s not true.” | Jason Beeferman/POLITICO | THIS POLL AGAIN: A well-timed political contribution from a casino lobbyist is raising questions once again about who paid for state Sen. Jessica Ramos’ poll that helped turn her against a Citi Field casino. Metropolitan Public Strategies, the firm run by Neal Kwatra, gave $5,000 to Ramos’ campaign on Sept. 16, according to her campaign finance report filed Friday. Two weeks later, Ramos recorded her first $5,000 payment to Slingshot Strategies, the pollster that surveyed her district in March. Ramos cited the poll in opposing Mets owner Steve Cohen’s plan for a gambling den in the Citi Field parking lot, all but dooming the bid. (Unless Hochul revives it in her exec budget, as the Post reports.) Ramos initially said the poll was being paid for by an anonymous donor, which fueled speculation she was coordinating with another bidder in the ultra-competitive battle for gambling licenses. As POLITICO reported in April, evidence pointed to Kwatra, a longtime ally of Ramos who had also worked with Slingshot and represented two casino firms, Bally’s and Resorts World. But Ramos changed course months later, saying she’d pay for the poll herself. “I didn’t expect people to think that other bids somehow had played a role,” she told Playbook in July. “And I don’t want people to think that. Since it’s not true.” Kwatra had already personally donated thousands to Ramos this cycle. But his firm’s contribution to Ramos was the first time Metropolitan had ever donated directly to a candidate. She didn’t need the money either — Ramos is uncontested in her reelection for state Senate and can’t easily transfer state money over to her new mayoral campaign account. Ramos and Kwatra didn’t respond to requests for comment. Now that she’s running for mayor, Ramos’ finances are under greater scrutiny. Six months after the poll was released, she’s only paid $5,000 of what she told THE CITY was a $27,500 poll. — Jeff Coltin
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg nabbed the phone of a Cushman & Wakefield executive who is friends with Ingrid Lewis-Martin. | Alex Kent for POLITICO | A CUSHY JOB: The Manhattan district attorney is also investigating City Hall, per The New York Times — in this instance over a potential bribery and money-laundering scheme involving city-owned real estate. Prosecutors looking into the potential wrongdoing were the ones who seized the phones of the mayor’s chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, and Jesse Hamilton, a Department of Citywide Administrative Services real estate official, at John F. Kennedy Airport late last month. The Manhattan DA, Alvin Bragg, also nabbed the phone of a Cushman & Wakefield executive who’s friends with Lewis-Martin and works on lease deals involving city-owned property with Hamilton, according to the Times. The trio was part of a recent excursion to Japan that involved several members of the administration who vacationed together along with a lobbyist and longtime Adams ally. Arthur Aidala, Lewis-Martin’s attorney, proclaimed his client’s innocence to the Times. A City Hall spokesperson said all employees are expected to follow the law. — Joe Anuta ISTAN-BULL: The Turkish Cultural Center in Brooklyn fired back at Adams comparing them to Hamas, calling it “an unjustified slander.” The center is aligned with the Gülenist movement, which the mayor accused of trying to overthrow the Turkish government in a 2016 coup. He offered that as his explanation for why he stopped associating with them — not Turkish government bribery, as federal prosecutors allege. “His comments reflect a gross misrepresentation of a tragic incident and an unfortunate alignment with the Turkish government's narrative,” the center wrote in an unsigned statement, shared first in Playbook. — Jeff Coltin THANKS TO ME: Adams credited himself and his team for measures that drove migrant population numbers low enough to close one of the city’s largest temporary shelter complexes, declining to reference President Joe Biden in a lengthy press release Wednesday announcing that the Randall’s Island site will be gone by Feb. 28. The milestone is “thanks to the administration’s successful advocacy for executive orders at the border … and the administration’s successful asylum seeker management strategies,” the release read. (The mayor did, however, give props earlier in the day to the Biden-Harris administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law during an announcement on replacing lead water lines.) Adams has for years demanded federal relief to help the city house an influx of migrants, his rhetoric creating a rift between him, the “Biden of Brooklyn,” and the president with whom he shares blue-collar roots. The mayor more recently made the baseless claim that he was being federally charged because he criticized the federal government over its immigration policies. — Emily Ngo CITY MONEY: Comptroller hopeful Justin Brannan brought in $228,000 from more than 1,000 donors since opening an account eight weeks ago, his campaign told Playbook. The City Council member from Brooklyn didn’t hit the threshold to get public matching funds at the first payment in December, but would be eligible for another $760,000 when he does, the campaign explained. Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, meanwhile, said she’s raised more than $200,000 for her comptroller run. Both of their hauls this period dwarf that of potential opponent Mark Levine, Playbook reported Wednesday, but Levine is sitting on a bigger pile and expects matching funds earlier. City candidates’ full fundraising reports are due this Friday. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — Fired Adams aide Ahsan Chughtai offered business community members connections to “politics” and public appearances ensued. (Documented) — Adams claimed he has no clue who pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter is after she bragged about “getting him indicted.” (New York Post) — The Correction Department’s top spokesperson and the agency’s compliance director got into a dustup at Gracie Mansion during a Hispanic Heritage event that ended when the spokesperson tossed the director’s cell phone across the room. (Daily News)
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | |  Gov. Kathy Hochul's Budget Director Blake Washington told reporters last week that a tax increase isn’t under consideration at the moment. | Hans Pennink/AP | TAXING DEBATE: Left-leaning advocates believe robust profits on Wall Street should open the door to hiking taxes on the richest New Yorkers. Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released a report Tuesday that found financial industry profits during the first half of the year were up by more than 79 percent compared to the same six-month period a year ago. This is good news for the state’s coffers: An outsized share of New York’s revenue comes from very wealthy people, many of whom work on Wall Street. And yet advocates who’ve pressed for tax increases on the rich believe more aggressive action is needed. “While Wall Street is making a killing — with profits 79% above what they were last year — working-class New Yorkers are struggling to get by,” said Carolyn Martinez-Class, the campaign director of Invest in Our New York, a coalition that’s composed of labor-allied groups like Make the Road New York and Citizen Action. “That’s the result of policy choices made by Gov. Hochul, including her refusal to raise taxes on Wall Street earnings.” Hochul has wanted to avoid increases in the personal income tax. She’s touted state budget agreements that kept taxes flat while also transferring money to the state’s rainy day fund. Her budget director, Blake Washington, told reporters last week that a tax increase isn’t under consideration at the moment. “The governor has been very, very clear that she’s not looking to increase personal income taxes any more than they are today,” he said. “We want to remain competitive with neighboring states with similar economies and that’s something we’re really protective of.” — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Super PAC spending has declined in state legislative races. (City & State) — Hochul is expected to advance legislation meant to help Steve Cohen’s casino bid. (New York Post) — Amtrak is reducing the number of daily round trips between Albany and New York City. (Times Union)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | | 
Rep. Pat Ryan spoke in support of an assault weapons ban, saying weapons of war do not belong on the streets. | Hans Pennink/AP | NY-18 GUN DEBATE: Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan, a U.S. Army combat veteran, and Republican Alison Esposito, a retired NYPD deputy inspector, each cited personal experiences handling firearms when they gave contrasting answers about gun safety at a Wednesday debate. Esposito said she opposes bans on assault weapons, bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. “We have a heart problem in this country and a mental health problem in this country,” she said at the PIX11 debate. “We don’t have a gun problem in this country.” Ryan spoke in support of the bans, saying weapons of war do not belong on the streets. “I know how to clean, assemble, disassemble, store safely this weapon,” he said of the M4 assault rifle he used in the armed forces. “I’ve seen it — and I’m sure you have, too, Alison — tragically rip through human flesh. It’s designed to tumble the rounds within the human body.” Esposito said guns should not be taken away from those who know how to use them lawfully, adding, “I have an extended magazine greater than 10 rounds, no one is getting hurt.” POLITICO has reported that Esposito failed to safeguard her off-duty weapon and had it stolen from her unlocked car. Ryan and Esposito are facing off in the Hudson Valley in one of six races that could determine control of the House. — Emily Ngo
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — Teaching the American Revolution has courted controversy in New York schools. (Times Union) — New York hospitals are making contingency plans for IV fluids that could be temporarily cut off due to the severe storms in the South. (Newsday) — The Mets take their miracle run to the NLCS by conquering the Phillies with a Francisco Lindor grand slam. (New York Post)
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Learn more. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: The Office of Cannabis Management has been criticized for its difficulty staffing up, but the state office is now up to 206 full time employees, up from 180 in August, and has onboarded 49 new people since May, a spokesperson told Playbook. — New hires include: Vanessa Cheeks as deputy communications director based in Buffalo … Kevin Brennan as deputy director of market analysis … Manuel DeCastro as assistant director of enforcement … and Matt Wilson as director of community reinvestment. MEDIAWATCH: Ethar El-Katatney is Documented’s new Editor-in-Chief. She was previously news product strategy lead for the Americas at Bloomberg News. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Fox Corp’s Brian Nick … NYT’s Adam Nagourney … Alexandra LaManna … Matt Rohan of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce … Simeon Bankoff … Renee Collymore … POLITICO’s Clea Benson … Raj Shah … Laurence Tribe … Guillermo Meneses … Michael Borden of Sidley Austin … (WAS WEDNESDAY): Kayla Levinson Segal ... Daniel Rubin ... David Cohen ... David Meyerson Missed Wednesday’s New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here. | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
