How Cuomo angered Dems by maneuvering to keep R's in power in NY's Senate, despite Dem majority
I remember how NY seemed to have a bizarre situation, where the Republicans led the Senate even though the majority of Senators were elected as Democrats. So any time a progressive bill couldn't get passed, the blame was put on the R leadership of the Democratic Senate.
According to these reports, Cuomo encouraged the situation -- which finally ended in 2018 when this group of "independent" Democrats were ousted from their Senate seats, and leadership of the Senate went to the real Democrats.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/opinion/cuomo-working-families-party.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Among the state’s progressive activists, Cuomo has long been seen as a thuggish reactionary. Alessandra Biaggi, a state senator who once worked for Cuomo, told me that his abusive behavior “has definitely been an open secret,” but one that “people were afraid to share because they were afraid of retribution, which is exactly why it’s been kept below the radar of most people in the state and country.”
His emergence as a Resistance hero during the first U.S. wave of the coronavirus only made Cuomo more intimidating, she said. Yet even as he became a national star, the growing power of the left in New York created new vulnerabilities for him.
Before 2018, a bizarre and infuriating deal between Republicans and a conservative Democratic faction called the Independent Democratic Conference prevented Democrats from controlling the State Senate, despite holding a majority of seats. Though Cuomo has denied it, he was reported to be deeply involved in creating the coalition that kept his own party from taking power in the chamber. The arrangement served Cuomo’s interests by ensuring that the left couldn’t push him farther than he wanted to go, solidifying his control over the state’s political agenda.
Defeating the I.D.C. was a major goal of the Working Families Party, and in 2018, a year of historic progressive victories, it succeeded. W.F.P.-backed candidates, including Biaggi, ousted six of the eight I.D.C. senators. Democrats took control of the Senate, and they did so with a bloc of people not beholden to Cuomo. Speaking of the W.F.P., Biaggi said, “To say that they’re critical is not even giving them the credit, frankly, that they deserve for the significance of the role that they played in ushering in new leadership.” That new leadership, in turn, has made it easier for Democrats to stand up to Cuomo.
https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2016/05/another-cuomo-noninterference-story-falls-apart-049022
But now, multiple sources with deep knowledge of the IDC and Republican conferences’ dealings confirm that in fact the governor was not a passive observer during the formation of the coalition. He was “deeply involved,” they say, and “absolutely” encouraged the marriage that allowed the Republicans to remain in leadership even after the election of a Democratic majority. Furthermore, they say, the governor was a key player after the coalition launched, privately offering advice about tactics and messaging.
SNIP
The governor’s interest, say knowledgeable sources, was ensuring that Republicans had control over the agenda in the Senate, so that he wouldn’t be handing over power to New York City Democrats.
“The governor and [top aide] Larry [Schwartz] made it very clear they wanted the IDC to work with the Republicans to run the Senate,” one source explained.
Another recalled that there were “many, many conversations” between Schwartz, Cuomo and Republican leaders. The governor frequently expressed frustration with Democratic Senate leaders, and complained that he couldn’t work with them.
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