Ex-Gov. David Paterson endorses Mayor Adams for reelection, but doesn't call on Cuomo to quit
'There have been some pitfalls, there have been some times when perhaps he would have done things a little differently, but the mark of an individual who really deserves the position that he wants to continue after Election Day this fall is that they recognize that and that they're able to make the necessary changes,' Paterson said, a reference to the legal and ethical controversies that have hung over Adams' first term.
Still, Paterson wouldn't call on Cuomo — who's also running as an independent in November's mayoral election — to drop out of the race.
'I am not suggesting that a person that has raised a lot of money, has put his blood, sweat and tears into the race and wants to continue the race — I could not look that person in the eye and tell them to get out,' Paterson, appearing alongside Adams at City Hall, said when asked if Cuomo should step out of the race.
Patterson held a press conference last month to urge New York's business and civic communities to coalesce behind one candidate in order to optimize the chances of beating Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, the favorite to win November's contest.
Asked why he's now backing off his inital request, Paterson told the Daily News: 'None of the candidates seemed particularly interested, so I consider the issue to be moot.'
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi declined to comment.
The biggest obstacle anti-Mamdani forces face is that Adams and Cuomo are likely to split the more moderate Democratic vote, potentially benefitting Mamdani, whose large progressive base carried him to victory in the primary.
In addition to Cuomo, Adams and Mamdani, Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent Jim Walden are also on November's ballot.
Most polls of November's mayoral election are predicting Cuomo has the best shot at beating Mamdani. Adams, who's suffering historically low approval ratings as he continues to face political fallout from his corruption indictment, has placed fourth in several polls, behind Sliwa.
Nonetheless, Paterson, who served as governor between 2008 and 2010, argued Adams is best suited to challenge Mamdani because of his 'scorecard.'
'You can keep a scorecard on what he gets done and what he hasn't gotten done, and the score card is incredible,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cuomo, pressed by Mamdani, declines to release names of consulting clients
NEW YORK — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday he won't release his client list from his time working as a consultant after his 2021 resignation because of privacy issues, an issue that has been pressed during this year's mayoral election. Cuomo's opponent, Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor, called on his rival to release the client list in a video posted on Tuesday, accusing him of trying to cover up scandals. But Cuomo, during a news conference Thursday on economic development plans, said he couldn't name names because of 'attorney-client privilege.' He did say he's worked for 'podcasts, I've advocated for certain causes that are dear to me, worked with organizations, pro-Israel organizations among others, practicing law.' The former governor said he had no clients before the city or state government, and that he hasn't done any lobbying work. It's been previously revealed that his clients include a crypto company that pleaded guilty to operating illegally in the U.S. and a luxury marina in Puerto Rico. Cuomo also joined a legal team defending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from allegations of war crimes in Gaza. A spokesman for the former governor said that the 'podcast' he worked on was his own, titled 'As a matter of fact with Andrew Cuomo.' 'We learned Andrew Cuomo advised an offshore illegal crypto exchange and failed to disclose nearly $3 million in nuclear stock options only after investigate journalists uncovered it — what else is he hiding?' Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec said in a statement. 'After four years of endless corruption at City Hall, New Yorkers deserve a mayor who will wake up every day and work for them, not engage in pay-to-play.' Cuomo created his consulting business, Innovation Strategies LLC, after resigning as governor after several allegations of sexual harassment, which he denies.
Chicago Tribune
17 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
California pushes partisan plan for new Democratic districts to counter Texas in fight for US House
LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday his state will hold a Nov. 4 special election to seek approval of redrawn districts intended to give Democrats five more U.S. House seats in the fight for control of Congress. The move is a direct response to a similar Republican-led effort in Texas, pushed by President Donald Trump as his party seeks to maintain its slim House majority in the midterm elections. The nation's two most populous states have emerged as the center of a partisan turf war in the House that could spiral into other states — as well as the courts — in what amounts to a proxy war ahead of the 2026 elections. Texas lawmakers are considering a new map that could help them send five more Republicans to Washington. Democrats who so far have halted a vote by leaving the state announced Thursday that they will return home if Texas Republicans end their current special session and California releases its own recast map proposal. Both were expected to happen Friday. However, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to call another special session to push through new maps. Texas House Democrats planning their departure from Illinois and back to AustinIn Los Angeles, Newsom staged what amounted to a campaign kickoff rally for the as-yet unreleased new maps with the state's Democratic leadership in a downtown auditorium packed with union members, legislators and abortion rights supporters. Newsom and other speakers veered from discussing the technical grist of reshaping districts — known as redistricting — and instead depicted the looming battle as a conflict with all things Trump, tying it explicitly to the fate of American democracy. 'We can't stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district all across the country,' Newsom said. 'We are not bystanders in this world. We can shape the future.' An overarching theme was the willingness to stand up to Trump, a cheer-inducing line for Democrats as the party looks to regroup from its 2024 losses. 'Donald Trump, you have poked the bear and we will punch back,' said Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential contender. Thursday's announcement marks the first time any state beyond Texas has officially waded into the mid-decade redistricting fight. The Texas plan was stalled when minority Democrats fled to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts on Aug. 3 to stop the Legislature from passing any bills. Elsewhere, leaders from red Florida to blue New York are threatening to write new maps. In Missouri, a document obtained by The Associated Press shows the state Senate received a $46,000 invoice to activate six redistricting software licenses and provide training for up to 10 staff members. In California, lawmakers must officially declare the special election, which they plan to do next week after voting on the new maps. Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers — enough to act without any Republican votes — and Newsom said he's not worried about winning the required support from two-thirds of lawmakers to advance the maps. Newsom encouraged other Democratic-led states to get involved. 'We need to stand up — not just California. Other blue states need to stand up,' Newsom said. Republicans hold a 219-212 majority in the U.S. House, with four vacancies. New maps are typically drawn once a decade after the census is conducted. Many states, including Texas, give legislators the power to draw maps. California is among states that rely on an independent commission that is supposed to be nonpartisan. The California map would take effect only if a Republican state moves forward, and it would remain through the 2030 elections. After that, Democrats say they would return mapmaking power to the independent commission approved by voters more than a decade ago. Some people already have said they would sue to block the effort, and influential voices including former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may campaign against it. 'Gavin Newsom's latest stunt has nothing to do with Californians and everything to do with consolidating radical Democrat power, silencing California voters, and propping up his pathetic 2028 presidential pipe dream,' National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Christian Martinez said in a statement. 'Newsom's made it clear: he'll shred California's Constitution and trample over democracy — running a cynical, self-serving playbook where Californians are an afterthought and power is the only priority.' California Democrats hold 43 of the state's 52 House seats, and the state has some of the most competitive House seats. Outside Newsom's news conference Thursday, U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted patrols, drawing condemnation from the governor and others. 'We're here making Los Angeles a safer place since we don't have politicians that will do that,' Gregory Bovino, chief of the patrol's El Centro, California, sector, told a reporter with KTTV in Los Angeles. He said he didn't know Newsom was inside nearby.
NBC Sports
18 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
NFL will continue to put social justice message in end zones
Whether the league will admit it or not, it's currently engaged in a high-wire regarding diversity initiatives, with a desire to do the objectively right thing on one hand and an urgency to placate certain political forces on the other. As it relates to the messages that have been painted on the back lines of end zones since 2020, those will continue. Via the Associated Press, all 32 teams will have one of four messages at the back of one end zone: End Racism, Stop Hate, Choose Love, or Inspire Change. At the back of the other other end one will be the message, 'It Takes All of Us.' Here's the reality. Some messages will invite less scrutiny from anti-DEI types than others. Choose Love, Inspire Change? Fine. End Racism, Stop Hate? Tread lightly. That said, 'End Racism' will be the message for each of the four international games. And the Eagles will rotate through all four messages. Kudos for the NFL to not suspending or postponing or pausing the end-zone messages. Especially if the gesture at some point triggers a social-media attack and/or a suggestion that the effort to acquire 10 percent of ESPN could be scrapped unless the messages are erased.
