GOP foils state Dems again...

Daily Point

The Gang that can’t legislate straight

New York Republicans don’t control any statewide levers of government, yet they have compiled a pretty good record recently of keeping Democrats on the defensive in the courthouse. Now the magic bullet New York Democrats were hoping would gin up turnout this November is on the ropes, foiled again by Republicans who keep insisting that legal process and procedure matter.

A State Supreme Court judge in upstate Livingston County ruled Tuesday that the State Legislature did not properly enact the New York Equal Protection of Law Amendment to the state constitution by failing to wait the required number of days before voting. As of now, the amendment is off the ballot, a ruling that most certainly will be appealed. While the GOP assemblywoman who is the lead challenger in the case hails from Livingston, the party is pretty adept at forum shopping.

“Once again, the legislature and Gov. Hochul are found to have violated the state constitution,” said Ed Cox, state GOP chair.

Although the contested amendment does not specifically mention abortion, and the right to abortion in New York already is firmly ensconced in state law, Democrats were hoping to clothe the proposed amendment as a reproductive rights issue. A $20 million campaign to capitalize on the issue’s national momentum and bring more voters to the polls was in the works.

“Democrats' entire election-year strategy was putting abortion on the ballot and because of their rank incompetence they now don’t even have that,” said Melissa DeRosa, who was chief of staff to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

The ruling came just as an effort to defeat the amendment was starting. The Coalition to Protect Kids is arguing that the vaguely worded amendment would diminish parental rights, allow males to compete on women’s sports teams, and give minors the right to proceed with gender transition. Unsurprisingly, when the group presented the equal protection amendment solely as a constitutional safeguard for abortion, it garnered more than 60% approval in a recent statewide poll. That support, however, dropped to 23% when the issues of parental and transgender rights were added to the survey.

It could take months for the appeal to work its way though the courts for a final determination, making uncertain the fate of the competing ERA amendment campaigns.

“The band won’t break up, we will watch this with cautious optimism,” said Bill O’Reilly, a spokesman for the coalition seeking to defeat the ERA in November.

The last two years of Democrats mishandling the redistricting process played a major role in turning over control of the House to Republicans in 2022 as several House districts went red, including a sweep of Long Island seats.

New York Republicans determined to protect their incumbents worried that the amendment would increase turnout but were concerned that being critical of it would make them appear weak on protecting the right to an abortion. But the parental rights campaign gave them a strategy to use against it. Former House member Lee Zeldin was in Albany Monday to lead the charge, calling it “a coordinated effort to destroy girls’ sports and attack women’s rights.”

The prospect of the amendment being derailed by the courts is a gift to the GOP, said DeRosa, noting that most swing House districts in 2022 stayed blue except in New York. “There could be a repeat of that history again this year.”

— Rita Ciolli rita.ciolli@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Met Gala

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Final Point

Primaries for L.I. seats an all-Democrat affair

The candidate field for primary day on June 25 has shaken out. To sum it up generally for Nassau and Suffolk counties: There will be no intra-Republican rivalries for Congress or the State Legislature on the ballot (barring a huge legal surprise) but there will be a handful of interesting clashes on the Democratic side.

For Congress, that means the marquee contest becomes the one featuring John Avlon, who’s been a national media figure, competing with chemist and local activist Nancy Goroff for an underdog nomination against GOP Rep. Nick LaLota, the first-term incumbent in CD1.

In CD2, GOP Rep. Andrew Garbarino’s aspiring rival Shannon Stephens, who was campaigning to his ideological right, is ruled off the ballot for having been found to file fewer than the 1,250 valid petition signatures she needed to qualify.

In AD4, Democrats Skyler Johnson and Rebecca Kassay, both of Port Jefferson, are set to square off for the seat that Republican Assemb. Ed Flood won in 2022 from 30-year Democratic incumbent Steve Englebright.

In Nassau County’s CD4, Laura Gillen is on track to run primary-free against GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in a rematch of their November 2022 contest. Elsewhere on Nassau’s Democratic ballots there are set to be two Assembly primaries — Noah Burroughs against Lisa Ortiz in AD18, and Judy Griffin against Patricia Maher in AD21.

There are also two intramural State Senate races — Assemb. Taylor Darling against Nassau County Legis. Siela Bynoe, seeking to succeed the departing Democratic Sen. Kevin Thomas in the 6th SD, and Kim Keiserman versus Brad Schwartz in the 7th SD, to face Republican Sen. Jack Martins.

Rep. Tom Suozzi faces no intraparty insurgency for his CD3 seat, and ex-Assemb. Mike LiPetri has no primary opponent on the GOP side for the nomination to oppose Suozzi after several rival hopefuls saw their petitions voided in the recent certification process.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

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