Bolus sues over Lackawanna County commissioner vacancy
Bolus filed a lawsuit April 10 in Lackawanna County Court against Democratic Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan that seeks to bar him from having county-paid legal representation in pending litigation over the vacancy of former Commissioner Matt McGloin.
Gaughan and the county initiated litigation last month seeking to remove the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee from the process of replacing McGloin, a Democrat who resigned in late February.
The vacancy litigation pits Gaughan/the county against the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee over whether the vacancy should be filled pursuant to the county's Home Rule Charter or a state court rule. The charter process had the Democratic Committee picking three candidates to forward to county judges, who then would select one to fill the McGloin vacancy. The Gaughan/county challenge to the charter process claims it is trumped by Pennsylvania Rule of Judicial Administration 1908 of 2019, which says the county court — not a political party — shall receive applications from any interested candidates for the position.
Lackawanna County Senior Judges Carmen Minora, Robert Mazzoni and Vito Geroulo sitting as a panel will hear oral arguments Tuesday in the vacancy litigation.
The lawsuit by Bolus, a Republican, raises arguments similar to those of Republican Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak — mainly that Gaughan acted unilaterally and if he wants to pursue the litigation, he should do so individually, with his own personal attorney and pay for his own legal bills.
County Comissioner Chris Chermak listens to commissioner Bill Gaughan's comments at the conclusion of the Lackawanna County commissioners meeting at the Lackawanna County Government Center in Scranton on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Bolus has been a vocal critic of Gaughan for years and has portrayed him as a cartoon skunk on a tractor-trailer festooned with political messages. Bolus filed his lawsuit on a 'pro-se' basis, meaning without an attorney, and as a tort against Gaughan, and not as part of the vacancy litigation. Seeking a judgment in excess of $50,000, Bolus also filed on April 11 a companion petition for a preliminary injunction to stop Gaughan from using taxpayer funds to litigate the vacancy issue.
'By the time a civil case is litigated, the tax payer funds will have have been spent already,' Bolus' petition for an injunction says.
As of Thursday afternoon, the court had not taken any action on Bolus' injunction petition. Whether he has legal standing to pursue such a lawsuit or whether it follows rules of civil procedure, or whether it might be rendered moot if the vacancy dispute is resolved first, all remain to be seen.
Gaughan also had not yet formally responded in court to Bolus' lawsuit. In a phone interview Thursday, Gaughan said: 'I did receive it and I had a very, very good chuckle, a good laugh. I don't take Bob Bolus seriously at all. He's a fruit fly. He's a nuisance to society and this will most likely get dismissed, like almost every other lawsuit he's had.'
Bolus argues he has legal standing to pursue the lawsuit as a property owner, resident and taxpayer in the county.
Last week, the panel of judges did not allow the Democratic Committee's top candidate, former county economic development Director Brenda Sacco, to enter the vacancy litigation as an intervenor, ruling that she has no legal standing in the matter and her interests are adequately represented by the committee.
The Democratic Committee also contends that Gaughan and the county lack legal standing to pursue the vacancy litigation. But Gaughan and the county reject that claim, citing law giving municipalities and their officials standing to challenge the constitutionality of actions affecting their government functions and interests.
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The Hill
27 minutes ago
- The Hill
Whole Hog Politics: Checking in on Election Day 2025
On the menu: Classical on the rocks; Newsom unveils Texas revenge package; Brown in; Where do you put 653 House members?; A dumpling for a bear There are many kinds of bias in the news business, but few as durable and reliable as New Yorkism: the outsized place that news happening in America's media capital gets in the national discussion. While home to an impressively large 6 percent of the nation's population, the New York metropolitan area definitely gets more than its fair share of coverage thanks to being the home to the two largest newspapers in the country and the headquarters of every broadcast news division. So it has been with the coverage of New York's mayoral election, which, aside from being easy and interesting to cover for big-time journos, has featured a great deal of drama: A surprising primary win by telegenic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who disrupted former Gov. Andrew Cuomo 's comeback bid. It's got ideological polarization, allegations of antisemitism, personal attacks, the always-wild incumbent Eric Adams and a guy with signature headwear. But what New York doesn't seem to have right now is a very competitive race. With less than 12 weeks to go, Mamdani seems to have not only weathered the initial backlash after his surprise victory but established himself as the nearly prohibitive front-runner. A new Siena University poll shows Mamdani up 19 points over Cuomo, 32 points over Republican Curtis Sliwa and 37 points ahead of Adams. There is still a considerable chunk of undecided voters or supporters of candidates even more marginal than Adams, but even with ranked choice voting, it doesn't look like much of a race. If Cuomo was the second choice of every Adams and Sliwa voter — which he won't be — and none of the undecided came in for Mamdani — which some of them will — it would only be a tie in an automatic runoff. Woof. The good news for Cuomo here is that Adams is far below the viability threshold and that 7 percent could become just a point or two as voters conclude he isn't a serious contender. The former governor has time to change the race, but that's a tall order when you're such a well-defined quantity in voter's minds. He can't sneak up on anybody the way Mamdani could in the primary. So what about the races not in New York, particularly across the river in New Jersey and down in Virginia. While New York City's electorate and issues bear little resemblance to the broader nation, here are a couple of medium-sized states with populations that end up looking a great deal like the broad, national electorate the parties will confront in next year's midterms. Let's start next door in New Jersey, where Republicans are hoping that suburbanites' backlash against Mamdani's perceived radicalism will work in their favor. New Jersey Republicans also have a tried and tested candidate in Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assembly member who came within 3 points of unseating incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago. But Democrats have a good horse in the race too, having picked moderate, four-term Rep. Mikie Sherrill to succeed the term-limited Murphy. Republicans are getting excited because in two polls since the general election was set in June, Ciattarelli has been within 8 points and 6 points of the Democratic front-runner. Given that Ciattarelli closed a much wider gap to make the race competitive with Murphy in 2021, this sounds like a possible winner for Republicans. But we should note the significant differences between then and now: Murphy was bogged down by the unpopularity of his aggressive COVID restrictions and voters were growing increasingly frustrated with the ineffectual and left-leaning Biden administration. Local man Donald Trump wasn't really in the picture. Now much of that has been reversed. Those same polls show that Trump is even more unpopular than Murphy in New Jersey and voters looking to send a message of change will be voting for the blue team and not the red. Neither candidate has huge statewide name identification but neither seems obviously defective, so this will probably function more like a generic ballot test than a clash of personalities. And that's what has New Jersey Democrats feeling, as the saying goes, 'nauseously optimistic.' In Virginia, the nausea is all on the GOP side, where Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is trying to become the first Republican to hold the governor's mansion for her party in consecutive terms since 1998 as she seeks to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin. For an idea of how that's working out, the state's police union took the unusual step of endorsing Earle-Sears's Democratic opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, before endorsing every other Republican candidate for statewide office. There are snubs, and then there are snubs … There's cross river context in Virginia, too. In Washington, D.C., across the Potomac, President Trump is taking over the police and bulldozing homeless encampments as he denounces crime and disorder. Spanberger, though, made a strenuous point about maintaining a tough-on-crime stance and shunning 'defund the police' rhetoric in her time in Congress. But other than on law-and-order issues, everything else Trump is doing to the race is negative for his party in Virginia. Mass federal firings, culture war shenanigans and increasingly broad immigration enforcement measures are all liabilities in a state that relies on federal paychecks, has among the most college-educated electorates in the country and a large and growing Hispanic population. That leaves Earle-Sears in a tricky spot when it comes to the leader of her party, who has at least so far done her the favor of not publicly endorsing her or threatening to campaign for her. There has not been a ton of polling in the race, but the little that we have shows Spanberger, who enjoys a massive fundraising advantage, in something of a boat race. She's up 14 points in a Virginia Commonwealth University poll with an electorate that has a pretty favorable view of Youngkin and a pretty poor view of Trump. Again, almost 12 weeks is a long time, but without a change in the race soon, this one will fall out of reach for Republicans before the first day of fall. Holy croakano! We welcome your feedback, so please email us with your tips, corrections, reactions, amplifications, etc. at WHOLEHOGPOLITICS@ If you'd like to be considered for publication, please include your real name and hometown. If you don't want your comments to be made public, please specify. NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION Trump Job Performance Average Approval: 43 percent Average Disapproval: 53.2 percent Net Score: -10.2 points Change from last week: No change Change from one month ago: ↑ 2.2 points [ Average includes: CNBC 46 percent approve – 51 percent disapprove; Ipsos/Reuters 40 percent approve – 56 percent disapprove; Emerson 46 percent approve – 47 percent disapprove; Fox News 46 percent approve – 54 percent disapprove; Gallup 37 percent approve – 58 percent disapprove] More Americans choose not to booze Do you have occasion to use alcoholic beverages such as liquor, wine or beer, or are you a total abstainer? Yes, drink; No, total abstainer 2021: 60 percent; 39 percent 2022: 67 percent; 33 percent 2025: 54 percent; 44 percent [Gallup survey of 1,002 adults, July 7-21, 2025] ON THE SIDE: HAYDN IN PLAIN SIGHT The New York Times: 'For the last decade, the classical pianist Hunter Noack has been embarking on an unusual journey: He hauls a thousand-pound 1912 Steinway concert grand piano to places in the outdoors not known for hosting concerts. Picture a man seated at a piano beside a lake. It could also be on a mountaintop, in a forest or meadow. … 'I get excited at the idea of bringing a piano where no piano has gone before,' Noack said. … The concerts are held rain or shine, hot or cold. (The temperature during concerts has ranged from subfreezing to above 100 degrees.) Among the notable locales where Noack has played are the entrance to Yellowstone (via the Roosevelt Arch in Montana), Joshua Tree National Park in California, Crater Lake in southern Oregon and Banff National Park in Canada. … Among other wildlife that made appearances were free-range horses, birds and deer.' PRIME CUTS Newsom plows ahead with redistricting, frames move as temporary: ABC News: 'California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he is moving forward with putting proposed new congressional maps for the state on the ballot on a Nov. 4 special election in an attempt to counter mid-decade redistricting being pushed by Republicans in Texas. … He said the state government will affirm its commitment to the state's independent redistricting commission after the 2030 census, 'but we're asking the voters for their consent to do midterm redistricting in 2026, 2028 and 2030 for the congressional maps to respond to what's happening in Texas … and we'll do so in a way that also affirms our desire as a state to level the playing field all across the United States.'' ICE puts a chill on the event: KTLA: 'Federal agents were in attendance as Gov. Gavin Newsom took to downtown Los Angeles Thursday to promote his redistricting plan. Newsom, who has proposed changing California's congressional districts to offset a similar action by Republican-controlled Texas, spoke at the Japanese American National Museum. Just outside in the Little Tokyo area, however, about 100 federal agents gathered, presumably for another immigration raid.' A muddled race for California governor: WHTM: 'New polling in the California Governor's race shows Katie Porter (D) and Steve Hilton (R) leading the field after former Vice President Kamala Harris decided not to enter the race. The survey showed the former congresswoman Porter leading the field with 18% with a six-point bump since April. Hilton, a media personality and former British policy advisor, received 12% in his first appearance in the Emerson College Polling survey. Former Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) received 7%, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) received 5%, and businessman Rick Caruso (D) received 4% in the Emerson College Polling survey. Thirty-eight percent of voters polled were undecided in the race, down from 54% in April when Harris had not yet announced her intentions to stay out of the race. … Voters were largely split on Newsom's plan to potentially redraw congressional districts in response to Texas, with 33% of California voters favoring a redraw, 25% opposed, and 42% undecided.' Kounalakis ditches race to succeed Newsom: KCRA: ' Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis has dropped out of the 2026 governor's race and is instead running for another state office … Kounalakis' campaign website now has multiple references across her page that indicate she is now running to become the state treasurer.' Brown tries again, banking on Ohio midterm swing: The New York Times: 'Former Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio plans to try to return to the Senate in 2026, giving the Democratic Party a strong recruit in its effort to take back control of the chamber next year, according to three people with knowledge of his decision. Mr. Brown, who served in the Senate for three terms until his defeat in 2024, immediately becomes the Democratic front-runner to face Senator Jon Husted, a freshman Republican whom Gov. Mike DeWine appointed to fill the vacancy created by JD Vance 's elevation to the vice presidency. … In the Senate race, Mr. Husted is seeking to win the remainder of Mr. Vance's term. Whoever wins will need to face voters again in 2028 to secure a full six-year term. … Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate majority, and Mr. Vance serves as a tiebreaking vote, meaning Democrats must flip four seats to regain control of the chamber.' Maine Dems, weary of waiting on Gov. Janet Mills, ready challenges to Collins: The Washington Post: 'Sen. Susan Collins is, by far, the most vulnerable Republican senator facing voters next year. And yet, Democrats are grumbling about the campaign against her, with many waiting — somewhat begrudgingly — to see if Maine Gov. Janet Mills will challenge the five-term incumbent. … Mills is currently the only elected Democrat in Maine with a proven ability to win statewide. … She is viewed in Maine as a centrist Democrat. … While some Democrats see Mills as their best shot at defeating Collins, it's not clear what the governor herself wants to do. … There was some hope among national Democrats that Rep. Jared Golden would challenge Collins, but he declined to run for Senate and is instead running for reelection. Ryan Fecteau, the speaker of the Maine House, and Cathy Breen, a former state senator, are both considering a possible bid, Democrats tell us. … And Aaron Frey, the attorney general of Maine, is likely to get in if Mills does not run.' Crunching the numbers on North Carolina Senate: DDHQ: '[A] look at the aggregate U.S. House vote in North Carolina [in 2024] suggests the state could shift to the left sufficiently for Democrats to win in a state that Trump carried by about 3 points in 2024. … Yet the less right-leaning 2024 result does not necessarily augur that Democrats can count on North Carolina to shift their way if the nation does. This is because North Carolina is generally one of the more 'inelastic' states in U.S. elections — that is, its electorate tends to move less in response to swings in the national electoral environment. That's partly because of racial polarization: North Carolina's white voters have a clear Republican lean while the state's sizable base of Black voters — about one-fifth of the electorate, second to only Georgia in magnitude among swing states — are overwhelmingly Democratic. In terms of its party allegiances, this makes North Carolina's electorate 'stickier' year-in and year-out.' SHORT ORDER Freedom Caucus stalwart jumps in race to succeed [ Tommy ] Tuberville in Alabama — The Hill Poll shows [ Elise ] Stefanik way behind but gaining on Hochul for NY governor — The Hill Effort to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina primary narrows to a mega MAGA stalwart — The Hill Georgia AG files suit to block his rival in gubernatorial run from self-funding — AP Chip Roy, long a thorn in House leadership's side, eyes Texas AG run — The Hill DeSantis, frozen out by state GOP, may be grooming successor with Lt. Gov. pick — AP Warning signs for Republicans with Hispanic voters — Liberal Patriot 2028 Watch: [ Ruben ] Gallego wraps Iowa visit, on to New Hampshire — The Hill TABLE TALK: MAGA MIRAGE 'All of the candidates in the race think they're the Trump candidate.' — Alex Stroman, former South Carolina GOP executive director, on the increasingly nasty race for governor in the Palmetto State, which includes Rep. Nancy Mace and state Attorney General Alan Wilson. MAILBAG 'I believe that, as long as there are people interested in politics and outcomes, there will be gerrymandering. The real current problem concerning it is there is not a level playing field for the two opposing parties. Redistricting commissions get in the way in too many big Democratic-controlled states and they need to be undone. Some people think that having such commissions staffed by independent people everywhere would be the cure. I disagree. Where are you going to find competent independent people who truly don't care about outcomes? The moon? If you add 218 or however many extra people to the House of Representatives, where are they going to sit? Will committee hearings and floor votes all be conducted via Zoom?' — Ken Stevens, Columbia, Md. Mr. Stevens, I tend to agree with you about the necessity of understanding redistricting for what it is: an exercise of political power. I am sure that those folks who live in places like your hometown in the Baltimore burbs feel that most intensely as it relates to Democrats in urban centers, while those who live in an urban center in a red state, say, Nashville, would experience it most acutely from the other direction. It would be better if state legislators cared more about designing districts that provided the best, most stable, most convenient districts for their constituents and less about obtaining partisan advantage. But if Old Bay didn't have paprika in it, it wouldn't stain your fingers when you picked crabs. It's just the way of things. And impartial commissions don't ultimately solve the problem because each map involves subjective decisionmaking, in which competing goods must be balanced. Is it more essential for a district to be compact or to contain voters of a similar socioeconomic or cultural situation? What about precedent? Should longstanding districts be maintained even when the population changes? All are worthwhile considerations, but often in conflict. Vesting that power in the hands of commissions insulates those decisionmakers from the voting public. There is a great deal to be said for having experts craft potential maps from which lawmakers can choose. I think a system in which lawmakers assigned the work of drafting four or five maps and then holding hearings before voting strikes me as a good compromise. But the most direct way to deal with gerrymandering is, I believe, expanding the House of Representatives so that the consequences of any single gerrymandering would be much smaller. It would also create more competitive, swing districts regardless of the best efforts of the gerrymanderers. As for what to do with another 218 members of the House, Washington Post columnist Danielle Allen asked architects to take a stab at how to accommodate new members and some of the results were, frankly, pretty cool, particularly putting the House 'in the round.' All best, c 'When I ran for Congress back in 2002, there were about 625,000 people in the district, but it only took about 15,000 votes to win the Republican Primary, and since it was a pretty red district, the winner of the primary was a shoo-in in November. That needs to end, since it essentially means the 'tail is wagging' the dog. I think Congress should go back to the old ways and pick a number, be it 100,000, 200,000, 250,000, whatever … and then however many districts that creates is how many it creates, so be it. As the population grows, the number of Representatives will grow. I'm envisioning at least 2,000 or more Representatives and growing. … On the other hand, people will complain that the Capitol can't hold that many representatives, to that I say. … Why have Congress meet in Washington at all? Remote voting should be allowed. Why not just have them all do one huge video conference?' — Dave Kovatch, Rhodelia, Ky. Mr. Kovatch, Whoa, whoa, whoa! I love your enthusiasm, but that's a lot of lawmakers. We want for members of Congress to be able to reason together and experience a little unit cohesion. The House should be for exercising political competition within itself but also against the Senate, the states, the judiciary and, most essentially, the executive. Thousands of lawmakers connected virtually with one and other strikes me as a recipe for increased factionalism and an even greater degree of partisan capture. Ideally, lawmakers come to town and develop both expertise and relationships as they serve. At the end of three terms in the House, we'd hope to see members who have developed mastery of subjects and of the legislative process. Committee assignments should be consequential because committees should be powerful. I think that can be accommodated while growing the House by 50 percent, but not in a world where the members never have to leave the comfort of their home offices. In fact, I'd also like to ditch the housing allowance and build dormitory housing for lawmakers while they are in town. All best, c You should email us! Write to WHOLEHOGPOLITICS@ with your tips, kudos, criticisms, insights, rediscovered words, wonderful names, recipes, and, always, good jokes. Please include your real name — at least first and last — and hometown. Make sure to let us know in the email if you want to keep your submission private. My colleague, the personable Meera Sehgal, and I will look for your emails and then share the most interesting ones and my responses here. Clickety clack! FOR DESSERT: GRITTY WOULD HAVE STOOD HIS GROUND AP: '[Pro hockey team] Seattle Kraken forward John Hayden and the team's blue-haired troll mascot had a close call with a brown bear during a promotional video shoot in Alaska. Hayden and the mascot named Buoy were on a fly-fishing outing in Katmai National Park as part of a trip promoting youth hockey when the bear approached, video released by the team shows. Knee-deep in a shallow river, they wore waders and other fly-fishing gear. Hayden had been fishing, but a guide quickly took the rod from him. The bear charged toward the mascot, splashing water, but turned away before making contact as Hayden, Buoy and the film crew waded back to shore through a gentle current. … The NHL team said it didn't intend to involve the bear in filming, but included it in a video posted to social media. … 'I want to blame it on Buoy,' Hayden said on the video afterward. 'They were pretty interested in his look.'' Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for The Hill and NewsNation, the host of 'The Hill Sunday' on NewsNation and The CW, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of books on politics and the media. Meera Sehgal contributed to this report.
Los Angeles Times
27 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: Is anyone surprised that oil refineries are leaving California?
To the editor: With regard to your article ('Newsom's push to reduce fossil fuels is clashing with California's thirst for gasoline,' Aug. 11), why are Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic members of the state Legislature surprised? The Legislature passes bills that primarily are intended to score points and do more to harass oil companies than they do to reduce air pollution. Newsom applauds these political bills and urges them to pass more. Many years ago, Democrats in the Legislature pretended to be petroleum engineers and designed a funky political kind of gasoline not used by the other 49 states. This political gasoline is the only kind allowed to be sold in California. It is more costly to make and can only be made by oil refineries modified at great expense. When oil companies charge more for this extra-cost gasoline, Newsom accuses them of price gouging. If California cannot find oil refiners outside the U.S. who are willing to modify their refineries to make 'California-only' gasoline, and who are willing to put up with the state government's false acquisitions and harassment, some owners of gasoline-powered cars will have to relearn their childhood skills at riding bicycles. Gordon Binder, Pasadena ... To the editor: All this Sturm und Drang over the closing of two refineries in California is misplaced. Any serious study of market trends would conclude that the end of internal combustion will be as soon as 2035, a mere decade from now. Instead of telling readers that a reduction in oil refining is going to cause price increases because of a scarcity of gasoline, point them in the direction of getting off of gas entirely by switching to an electric vehicle. Americans buy more than 40,000 new cars — about 3,300 of them are EVs — every single day on average. The cheapest gas car is a basic econobox from Nissan for about $17,000. That much money will buy you an excellent used EV that will serve you better without polluting the air or supporting oil companies. And since you aren't buying gas, demand goes down, reducing the need to raise prices. I'd like to see California use the talents of our film industry to produce commercials that dissuade folks from buying new gas cars. Reduce demand for gas cars and we'll get to the end of internal combustion sooner than later. Paul Scott, Santa Monica
Newsweek
28 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Want To Stop Mamdani? It's Time To Get Serious
As of right now, Zohran Mamdani is the overwhelming favorite to be elected mayor of New York. Beyond his appeal to many New Yorkers on a variety of issues—most notably his extremely left-leaning policies intended to deal with the issue of affordability—in a race where three other candidates are poised to split the anti-Mamdani vote, his victory is all but assured. Many major interest groups in New York believe a Mamdani victory would be disastrous. It is almost impossible to find a business leader who thinks Mamdani would not be highly destructive to the interests of the city. Similarly, many Jewish leaders think that a city with the biggest Jewish population outside of Tel Aviv shouldn't have a mayor who still cannot disassociate himself completely from slogans supporting a "global intifada," especially during a time of rising antisemitic incidents. Moreover, hardly anyone who has expertise in law enforcement and crime reduction believes Mamdani is the best candidate to protect public safety—and for a large proportion of New Yorkers, that issue is right up there with affordability as a top concern. Unfortunately, incumbent mayor Eric Adams and former governor Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani's two major opponents, are both very flawed candidates. Many New Yorkers believe that Eric Adams' federal indictment, which was subsequently dropped by the Trump Justice Department, is indicative of a corrupt administration. Indeed, given the circumstances under which it was dropped, many now view Adams as being in the pocket of President Donald Trump. Of course, New Yorkers being overwhelmingly Democratic, many believe Trump's policies are antithetical to the city's well-being, and the president himself is extremely unpopular in his native city. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 11: New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference at the 1199SEIU headquarters on August 11, 2025 in New York City. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 11: New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference at the 1199SEIU headquarters on August 11, 2025 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Andrew Cuomo, having been forced to resign as governor amid a sexual harassment scandal, not to mention what many consider to be his very abrasive style, ran a horrendous primary campaign. I wrote a column recently suggesting Cuomo did not learn any lessons whatsoever from the failed Kamala Harris presidential campaign, making him absolutely guilty of political malpractice. While the Republican in the race, Curtis Sliwa, has virtually no chance of winning the election, based on previous mayoral elections it is clear a Republican candidate will syphon away 200,000-300,000 votes, which could make all the difference for anybody with a chance of challenging Mamdani. Under these circumstances, one might ask, how can Mamdani possibly lose? The answer is, under these circumstances he can't. So, if one believes that Mamdani's election would be an enormous setback for the city of New York, and many right-thinking people strongly believe that, why aren't these circumstances being changed? Underpinning the intensity of feeling that Mamdani would be a disastrous choice for the city is the impact of his election on national politics. There is no doubt that Trump and the Republican Party would point to Mamdani's election to make the case that an avowed socialist, far to the left of most Americans' political outlook, is what the Democratic Party fundamentally represents. Democrats would have a very difficult time distancing themselves from Mamdani as representative of what their party stands for. The recent fawning endorsement by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) certainly makes it appear that the most progressive members of the Democratic Party believe they should stand behind Mamdani. It is also likely that Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) will in some form endorse Mamdani. In that case, it will be impossible for Democrats to meaningfully distance themselves from Mamdani's most radical positions and policies. That perception will be extremely politically detrimental to the Democratic Party nationally. So, bad for the nation's largest city, bad for the Democratic Party, and bad for the nation overall given the importance of the Democrats mustering the ability to take back the House next year to counter Trump. If New York's mayoral race does not fundamentally change by Labor Day—meaning the anti-Mamdani candidates consolidating behind a single horse—Mamdani will undoubtedly be the next mayor of New York. So how do these circumstances on the ground change? Answer: with great difficulty. Mayor Adams, as the incumbent, contends that it is hubris for Cuomo to suggest he drop out of the race. Cuomo argues, with substantial polling data to back him up, that he is the only candidate who can beat Mamdani in a one-on-one contest. The fact is that polling clearly suggests both Cuomo and Adams are weak candidates—over 60 percent of voters indicate they would never vote for either. However, the polls do suggest in a one-on-one race there is some chance Cuomo could beat Mamdani, and clearly also suggest Adams could not. Among "likely" voters, both Adams and Cuomo lose to Mamdani. However, when it comes to registered voters, which is a much larger group, polls have shown Cuomo to be within the margin of error. However, Cuomo would have to expand voter turnout well beyond typical mayoral elections to really have a shot. Cuomo would also have to demonstrate to the public how detrimental a Mamdani win would be to New York City and the Democratic Party, and deliver a higher level of intensity and passion in his messaging. Moreover, he would need city leaders of all sectors and ethnicities to join the battle cry to get a record voter turnout. So here is a modest proposal. It may sound radical, but a drastic situation calls for drastic measures. Mayor Adams should aim for a future that leverages his expertise and sets him up for a much better outcome than a career-ending loss in this race. He should announce that instead of pursuing public office again, he will set up a consulting firm to provide counseling to cities around the country on how to better provide for public safety. Crime rates in New York City have dropped dramatically in recent years so Adams has insights based on a credible track record to offer. Cuomo has a substantial monied interest behind him, including many donors who care about keeping New York safe. As a show of unity, they should commit resources—even as much as $10 million—to help Adams bring his experience to cities across the nation. I think Sliwa is an easier case to handle. Sliwa siphoning off votes in this race will only lead to the election of a mayor who will undermine all the public safety concerns he has fought for his entire life. That should not be his personal legacy. Cuomo should offer him a position as deputy mayor in his administration—a much better result and a goal to rally Republicans behind. Getting Adams and Sliwa out of the race will not be enough. Cuomo, in deep contrast to his primary performance, will have to campaign his heart out, drive a completely different social media presence, demonstrate incredible sensitivity on the affordability issue especially as it relates to housing, showcase the difference between his law enforcement views and Mamdani's, and continue to rally the Jewish community in opposition to Mamdani's anti-Israel, if not antisemitic, views. I recognize clearing the path for Cuomo to take on Mamdani on a one-on-one race is a tall order. However, the future of New York City and the Democratic Party's midterm election prospects rest on it. Let's get serious. Time is running out. To those Cuomo backers with the money to execute this plan: you need to get going. Tom Rogers is executive chairman of Claigrid, Inc. (the cloud AI grid company), an editor-at-large for Newsweek, the founder of CNBC and a CNBC contributor. He also established MSNBC, is the former CEO of TiVo, a member of Keep Our Republic (an organization dedicated to preserving the nation's democracy). He is also a member of the American Bar Association Task Force on Democracy. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
