Latest news with #WorkingFamilies
CBS News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Progressive coalition faces biggest challenge in trying to reelect Mayor Gainey
Progressive coalition faces biggest challenge in trying to reelect Gainey in Pittsburgh Progressive coalition faces biggest challenge in trying to reelect Gainey in Pittsburgh Progressive coalition faces biggest challenge in trying to reelect Gainey in Pittsburgh A progressive coalition is facing its biggest challenge yet in trying to get Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey reelected. They've won election after election, becoming the dominant force in local politics. But this is their toughest challenge yet. In his quest for reelection, Gainey is backed by a powerful machine: the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. It is a coalition of left-leaning community groups called Working Families, Pittsburgh United, OnePA, 1Hood, plus unions like all the branches of the Service Employees International Union. In the past four years, the progressive coalition has been the organization and money behind the election of Gainey, Congresswoman Summer Lee twice and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam says they've gained power by connecting with the working class and the underprivileged. "We've been winning because we talk about a message of hope and a message of progress, whereas the traditional old-school Democrats are trying to pull back and get to the past," Hallam said. KDKA's Andy Sheehan asked, "It's a mighty, mighty machine. They've won four big elections, and this will be a real test of whether they are the power." "A number of big elections in a row," political consultant Mike Butler said, "but here's kind of a pivot point potentially. And now they've been governing for a few years, and people are going to assess are they're doing a good job or not." Butler says with this election, the progressives face their biggest challenge to date, with Gainey having governed to mixed reviews. "People like the rhetoric when you're a challenger. Do they like your performance as an incumbent?" Butler said. Traditional Democrats say the Gainey administration has sputtered and have lined up behind Corey O'Connor, who's getting massive financial support from the building trade unions, who have been dissatisfied with a lack of economic growth, development, and construction in the city. The election will decide which faction leads the Democratic Party going forward. "The trade unions think it's more centered around jobs," Butler said. "And I think Mayor Gainey and his coalition think it's more about neighborhood development, and there's tension as to where those priorities ought to be." But Gainey is running a spirited campaign, drumming up his base and this coalition to get him over the line. The Primary Election is on May 20.
CBS News
18-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Mayor Gainey's campaign funding, support raising questions from O'Connor campaign
A Philadelphia-based political organization is heavily involved in Mayor Ed Gainey's re-election effort, funding attack ads on Corey O'Connor while supplying organizers to work directly on the mayor's campaign. Now, the O'Connor campaign is raising the question: Is the Gainey campaign violating the state's campaign finance reporting law? It's called the Pennsylvania Working Families Party, the state's chapter of a national political organization dedicated to electing progressive candidates. And it's funding attack ads. Under independent expenditures , political action committees like Working Families can spend unlimited amounts of money so long as they don't coordinate their efforts with a candidate's campaign. How, then, are organizers from Working Families working directly on the mayor's campaign? The Gainey campaign confirms that Shoshanna Israel, Elias Bartholomew, and Nick Gavin have been organizing events and strategy. In a statement, the campaign says there is no communication between those people and those making the ads, saying there is a firewall between them. "Technically, there are ways to structure that that aren't a violation of the law, but you really have to take a healthy skepticism when you take a look at that to see how that, in fact, is playing out," says independent political consultant Mike Butler. Naturally, the O'Connor campaign is crying foul. While the PAC, Common Sense, has made independent expenditures for anti-Gainey ads, the O'Connor campaign says no one from that PAC is working directly on the campaign. Independent political campaign veterans like Butler say the Working Families arrangement raises serious questions. Butler says a PAC simultaneously making independent expenditures and having employees working on a campaign can be legal, but may not pass the smell test. And, he says, there are other concerns. "I think it raises some questions of who is paying for their services. A campaign can get in hot water if it's not paying for professional services being rendered to it," Butler added. Two Working Families PACs have made dual $5,000 direct contributions to the Gainey campaign, the maximum allowed by law. If Working Families is, in effect, donating the work of these employees to the campaign, it would seem to exceed those maximums in the form of in-kind contributions. Butler says to make their employment legal, the Gainey campaign could pay them directly, but in the past three campaign filings, they have not been listed under expenditures. The Gainey campaign had no further comment.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Clinton County candidate petitions finalized
PLATTSBURGH — All Democratic and Republican candidate petitions filed with the Clinton County Board of Elections have been finalized. Republican Commissioner David Souliere IV said they were finalized after no objections were made to any of the petitions by the 5 p.m. deadline Monday. The following candidates for several races are now official, Souliere said. For the Clinton County Clerk race, Brandi Lloyd is running on the Democratic/Working Families line; Jerika Manning is on the Republican/Conservative line. Official candidates for County Treasurer are Randy Lozier on the Democratic/Working Families line, and Chad Deans on the Republican/Conservative line. Incumbent Andrew Wylie, a Democrat, is the only candidate in the county's District Attorney race. LEGISLATURE RACES There are five county legislature seats up for grabs this year: Areas 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. For Area 2, Deryl Gregory is on the Democratic/Working Families line and Francis Peryea, the incumbent, is on the Republican/Conservative line. For Area 4, incumbent David Bezio, a Democrat, will take on Ed Kirby, a Republican. For Area 6, Jessie Furnia is running on the Democratic/Working Families ticket, and Jennifer Facteau-Rabideau is on the Republican/Conservative line. For Area 8, Ron Deragon is on the Democratic/Working Families ballot. There is no Republican candidate. For Area 10, David Kerr is on the Democratic/Working Families ticket and Brandon Wallberg is on the Republican line. CITY RACES Incumbent Councilor for Ward 1 Julie Baughn is running on the Democratic ticket, eyeing a second term. No Republican has entered the race. James Evans, who was appointed to the Ward 2 seat at the beginning of 2025 with two years left on the term, is the Democratic candidate for this year's special election. Similarly, no Republican candidate has entered the race. Incumbent Jennifer Tallon, a Democrat also on the Working Families line, is seeking a third consecutive term as Ward 4's councilor. She will take on Republican candidate Clayton Morris. TOWN RACES Additionally, Mindy Smith, incumbent supervisor for the Town of Schuyler Falls, filed a Conservative petition for the supervisor position. Tim Napper, incumbent supervisor for the Town of Saranac, filed a Conservative petition for the supervisor position. INDEPENDENT Any candidate eyeing an Independent campaign will have to wait until April 15, which is the first day for signing independent nominating petitions in New York.
CBS News
07-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Pittsburgh's Democratic mayoral primary race heats up as candidates see sudden infusion of so-called dark money
With just over a month before the Democratic primary, the mayor's race is heating up. The sudden infusion of hundreds of thousands of dollars is fueling mostly negative ads. The campaign contributions are called independent expenditures. Some call it dark money. It's not always clear who's behind it, and there's no limit on what they can spend, but the money funds the attack ads that can sometimes turn an election. The first attack ad just hit the air. "Corey O'Connor has taken nearly $300,000 for the predatory landlords and the city's worst developers," a pro-Gainey ad claims. Meanwhile, mailers sent to city voters condemn Mayor Ed Gainey's time in office as littered with broken promises, and an independently funded TV ad says O'Connor will do better. "Now, Corey is fighting to make housing more affordable, fix our bridges and roads and tackle our homeless crisis," the ad says. "We're going to be talking about the issues, and if someone thinks it's negative, it's because Ed Gainey's been a failure as mayor in the city of Pittsburgh," says political consultant Mike Mikus. While Pittsburgh's municipal election rules cap direct contributions by individuals at $3,500 and committees at $5,000, political action committees can raise and spend as much as they want as long as they don't coordinate with the campaigns of the individual candidates. But it's not often clear just who is footing the bill. Sheehan : Is this dark money? Mikus : No, it's not dark money at all because we file reports. On Monday, a PAC called Common Sense Change Action filed a report acknowledging it has raised $264,000 to support Corey O'Connor. The PAC is being administered by Mikus, who says it is almost entirely funded by local trade unions. Developers Walnut Capital gave $25,000, but Mikus says it's being returned. So far, about $130,000 has gone to the negative mailers and an ad supporting O'Connor. On the other side, the Pennsylvania Working Families Party is funding a negative ad claiming O'Connor is taking donations from supporters of President Trump. "MAGA donors. Even Trump's own teams are trying to buy the race for Corey O'Connor," the anti-O'Connor ad claims. It's not yet clear how much Working Families has raised or from whom, but in Gainey's first run for mayor, KDKA-TV reported that $350,000 in independent expenditures were made by the SEIU Healthcare union, which has been trying unsuccessfully to unionize UPMC workers. Sources say the union will not make as large an independent expenditure this time. KDKA-TV has reached out to Working Families for comment. With a month to go, money is pouring into both sides in the form of independent expenditures. KDKA-TV is committed to keeping tabs on how much money, who's paying, and the accuracy of those ads in future reports to help voters make an informed decision before going to the polls.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
It's the last week to change party affiliation ahead of NYC mayor's race
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – Friday is the last day to change your party registration ahead of the 2025 mayoral election. In June, New York City voters will pick their party's candidate for the mayoral election in November. In the primary, New Yorkers can only vote for candidates running in their registered party. More News: Politics Only four parties are recognized in New York state: Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Working Families. You can change your party affiliation on the state's online registration portal or with a physical voter registration form submitted to the state Board of Elections. For more information on changing voter registration status, click here. Candidates still have until April 3 to file their petitions with the Board of Elections, and primary ballots will be solidified in May. Until then, we won't know exactly who is running for mayor. Mayor Eric Adams announced he will run again as a Democrat, but when pressed by PIX11 News in December, Adams did not explicitly rule out a party switch. 'I'm an American, and I'm going to continue to say that no matter what party I'm on or vote on, I'm going to push for American values,' Adams said. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State There has been speculation that Andrew Cuomo will enter the race, but he has not officially joined the pool yet. Other candidates who have announced their campaigns include City Comptroller Brad Lander, State Senators Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, State Assemblymembers Zohran Mamdani and Michael Blake and hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson. Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
