Open Seat in Westchester May Hold Key to Democratic Unity

without this article I WOUld not have known. The price of my vote, keep the name Tap pan zee. What a ego, he is not even dead yet.

I wish Ms. Mayer well, as I do most democrats. However, am I the only one troubled by voters being enthused and voting due to gender? Would the same voters support Ms. Mayer if she was running as a republican? Don't we criticize males who will vote for a candidate strictly due to gender? It is good to see more females being involved in politics. But voting needs to be based on issues, not race or gender. Hopefully that will follow after the initial wave of enthusiasm.

"The power sharing arrangement between Republican and several Democrats" is an insult to NYS Democrats who make up 50% of total voter enrollment, yet have 34% of senate representation, while Republicans make up 22% of voter enrollment yet have 50% of the Senators. There are not enough Republicans in this state to gerrymander state senate districts. So who benefits from this so called arrangement? Certainly not the voters.

I’ve posted this article on my Westchester progressive Democrats Facebook page, along with a shout out to help Shelley Meyer. I’m not sure if people are aware of the extent to which Democrats, including progressives, have organized up in Westchester. We elected Latimer. Regardless of whether the Republicans have gerrymandered the district, there will be a strong Democratic turnout to elect Shelly. We are going to defeat the Trump–GOP juggernaut, gerrymandered districts or not, because it is anti-middle class, anti-family, anti-science, anti-immigrant, and anti-change. The Democratic Party is for a level playing field, with all of us playing by the same rules and treated equally, regardless of our race, religion, national origin or social class. It is for future environmental policies that are governed by science and intellectual integrity. We support a humane, non-racist immigration policy that is not merely enforced, but actually enforceable. We respect women and support their rights to control their own bodies and economic and professional futures. I understand that one of the Republicans is touting the fact that he is an immigrant – sad to say for him, he has joined the wrong party if he wants to win in our county. There is absolutely nothing – no value, no background – that can overcome support for Trump and the GOP platform. Anyone who signs on with the GOP is likely to lose in Westchester County in 2018.

Please, we need to STOP electing Dems. We are turning into CA. One party rule will cause more NYers to leave. The Dems are the party of statism and corruption. They raise taxes and then congratulate themselves for doing so. Enough already.

Ahhh, New York kleptocratic, corrupt politicians...the gift that keeps on giving, sinking ever deeper into the depths.

In this particular instance the prize is worth the game . . . vote the democratic ticket up to and including the midterms; then we can sort it all out in 2020.

Time to leave NY. Taxes will sky rocket

The Westchester seat has three impressive announced candidates, the Democratic member of the Assembly and the two young Republican lawyers. I wish the New York Republican Party would come up with such impressively credentialed candidates for legislative office in my district, which hasn't had high profile opposition in many years.

Will Cuomo be pleased or displeased?

I ponder how Sen. Felder can identify "Extreme leftist radical organizations"? Sounds like the senator himself with his give aways of shredding, flue vaccines, home heating assistance and free legal and medical services as promoted in state paid mailings to his constituents. At the same time advocating using tax money for private purposes without or limited accountability and oversight.. The Senator prides himself in "bringing home the pastrami". What kind of agenda would you call that? For radical, the Sen. Felder's attitude is that his personal wishes should supersede the homerule of the New York City Council and Mayor based on NO: hearings, fact finding, town hall meetings or voter input. The Senator is a party of one for himself. We have political science terms for that sort of governance. Dear Senator, I think your slip is showing. https://nypost.com/2017/12/18/republicans-retain-control-of-state-senate...

Please join @NYSD 17 for Progress FB page, we are organizing to get a progressive state senator for the 17th District which is currently held by Sen. Simcha Felder, a Democrat that caucuses with the Republicans throwing the state senate under the control of the Republicans creating the environment for the IDC to flourish. NYSD 17 for Progress, a senate district constituent group, invites Sen. Felder to return to the Democratic caucus in the state senate and to vote progressive. https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/general/1431780/op-ed-by-simcha-fel...

Because of Simcha Felder, the headline is misleading. Even with the IDC, democrats would have 31 and republicans 31. Senator Felder has said he might rejoin the democrats, but then again he might not. Mr. Felder is for rent to the highest bidder, and we don't know what the republicans will be offering.

Go Shelley!

As a centrist Democrat and Manhattanite, I shudder to think of what would happen if the state legislature fell under full Democratic control. The current alignment and upstate Republicans are preventing the state from veering to the far left.

“I would hope that the Republicans would not subvert democracy by denying the fundamental principle of majority rule.” Spoken like somebody with no experience with how Albany doesn’t work. Somehow no mention of four years ago, when Andrew Cuomo made a promise to the Working Families party that he would campaign for a Democratic $enate majority in return for WFP endorsing him over Zephyr Teachout. Cuomo took their endorsement and reneged on that promise within one day. Ask yourself, why does Andrew Cuomo WANT a divided legislature?

For almost 7 years, Cuomo has done almost nothing to regain the state senate for Democrats. He's never campaigned against senate Republicans or the Independent "Democrats." That's because "triangulating" the state senate and assembly left him, personally, in a strong position politically. As a result NYC rent laws favor landlords who fund senate Republicans and NY Congressional Republicans in gerrymandered districts will probably be re-elected.