Here's the skinny: Dems did what Republicans do - gerrymander the hell out of the maps which could have gained up to 6 seats.
Here's a link to an Indypendent article providing the background: https://indypendent.org/2022/11/how-the-new-york-democrats-midterm-debacle-unfolded/
Robert Hubbell newsletter:
What the heck is going on in New York?
The New York Senate Judiciary Committee refused to recommend the appointment of Governor Hochul’s pick for the chief judge on New York’s top court. See CBS News, Senate votes against Gov. Hochul's nomination of Hector LaSalle for New York's top judge.
Rather than accept defeat based on the vote of the NY Senate Judiciary Committee, Gov. Hochul has threatened to sue the NY Senate Democrats to force a floor vote on Judge Hector LaSalle’s nomination.
Ugh! What could be more damaging than a Democratic governor suing Democratic legislators for doing their job? I know! When newly elected House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries enters the fray to demand that state Democratic legislators confirm an unpopular, conservative judge. Hakeem Jeffries ill-advised involvement has led to harsh criticism from progressive groups. See Common Dreams, 'Disgracing Himself': Hakeem Jeffries Stumps for Anti-Abortion Judge.
If anyone has personal connections with Governor Hochul or Minority Leader Jeffries, I hope you will reach out to them and ask that they stop the madness. The ill-fated effort to nominate Judge LaSalle has been both embarrassing and damaging to the Democratic Party in NY. We cannot afford another series of losses like those we suffered in 2022.
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Here are a few articles on the story.
Politico NY:
“The committee has spoken. The nomination was lost.”
That’s Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins with a definitive take on what happened to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s chief judge pick, Hector LaSalle, on Wednesday.
Her remarks came after 10 Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted against advancing LaSalle to a full Senate vote, concluding nearly five hours of public questioning. And it was after Hochul declined to accept the blow, instead sending out a swift statement dismissing the committee's authority and integrity.
"While this was a thorough hearing, it was not a fair one, because the outcome was predetermined. … While the Committee plays a role, we believe the Constitution requires action by the full Senate,” the governor said, alluding to her view that "advice and consent" means something more helpful in the New York Constitution than it does in U.S. Constitution.
Nope, the committee speaks for the Senate, Stewart-Cousins said, and there are a lot of other people her conference would love to see chosen as chief judge. When it comes to a legal battle Hochul has threatened…
“I hope, and I’m sure that few of us have time to extract revenge, and so on,” Stewart-Cousins said. “We have work to do.”
Whether that’s a statement or a warning, it begs the question of how Hochul will react to losing her first big power struggle with the state Legislature and whether she can afford to hold the kind of grudges that often fester in Albany.
If Hochul sues the Senate (it’s still unclear what kind of jurisdiction this would fall under, Judiciary Chair Brad Hoylman-Sigal said) what’s to stop dual supermajorities from overriding any or every one of her gubernatorial vetoes?
She doesn’t have too many other open nominations aside from her recommendation for New York Power Authority head. But she does have a handful of open spots to lead agencies within her administration — including at Tax, Health, Corrections, Budget, Thruway State Police and Child and Family Services — that will eventually require nominations and legislative approval.
More pressingly, she’s got an executive budget filled with grand plans to transform housing and mental health over the next several years that she’ll need to introduce by Feb. 1. And then it’ll be time to negotiate with an emboldened Legislative majority that just got a sweet taste of flexing its authority.
NYT:Inside the Political Fight That May Have Doomed a Chief Judge Nominee
A battle over the nomination of Justice Hector LaSalle was rooted in both judicial policy and politics, as progressive Democrats in New York showed their strength.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/nyregion/lasalle-politics-democrats-hochul.html
Jesse McKinley and
5 min read
ALBANY, N.Y. — It was a historic show of force by a clutch of left-leaning Democrats, disrupting what is normally a rubber-stamp judicial nomination process by rejecting a candidate they believed was too conservative to lead New York’s court system.
The vote against Justice Hector LaSalle on Wednesday was all the more remarkable because he was the nominee of Gov. Kathy Hochul, the leader of the Democrats’ own party, and signaled what could be a contentious four-year term for the newly elected governor.
Ms. Hochul came to face such a prospect not only because of the clout of an insurgent and outspoken progressive wing in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, but also because she made a series of missteps, failing to lock up solid support for Mr. LaSalle before announcing his nomination on Dec. 22.
When opposition quickly lined up against Mr. LaSalle, a former prosecutor, Ms. Hochul dug in, refusing to withdraw the nomination — a move that could have forestalled the embarrassing loss.
Instead, the governor is now left to contemplate whether to go to court to seek a full Senate hearing, or simply concede defeat.
Wednesday was Mr. LaSalle’s first public testimony since criticism arose over several of his judicial decisions, which critics suggested were anti-union and anti-abortion. Mr. LaSalle’s supporters pushed back, saying the decisions were being mischaracterized, cherry-picked or both.
During the hearing, Mr. LaSalle was praised by many lawmakers — even those who opposed him — while he, at one point, noted the cordial chats he’d had with many of them before the vote in which they rejected him. “The private conversations I’ve had,” he said, “have not mirrored the public statements that have been made.”
While opposition to Mr. LaSalle was centered on his stances, the moment was also a clear demonstration of political muscle.
“They’re testing her,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic political consultant, noting that the governor in New York often has outsize power in budget and other negotiations. “This is a battle about who is going to run the state, and what ideological group is going to run the state,” he added.
Indeed, moments after the vote not to send Mr. LaSalle’s nomination to a floor vote, the Working Families Party — which is positioned to the left of mainstream Democrats and opposed Mr. LaSalle — sent out a triumphant message, as did several other progressive-aligned groups.
“With a far-right U.S. Supreme Court, and a New York Court of Appeals captured by conservative and corporate interests, New York’s next chief judge must be ready to stand up for the rights and dignity of all New Yorkers,” Sharon Cromwell, deputy director of the party, said in a statement. “Governor Hochul should return with a new judicial nominee.”
That same progressive wing also took credit for salvaging Ms. Hochul’s flagging campaign for a full term in November, after the governor found herself in an unexpectedly tight battle with Republican Lee Zeldin, the conservative congressman from Long Island.
At the same time, the opposition also comes from a hunger on the part of many progressives and moderates to push the court back to the left after the tenure of the previous chief judge, Janet DiFiore, an Andrew Cuomo nominee, who many saw as too conservative.
That opinion was codified last year, when a 4-to-3 bloc led by Judge DiFiore rejected a new map for the state’s congressional districts, a decision that many Democrats felt paved the way for a raft of Republican wins in Congress in November.
The fight over Mr. LaSalle also opened new fault lines among some of the state and New York City’s most powerful Democratic constituencies, including labor, the left and Latinos.
Opposition to Mr. LaSalle has bound together some left-wing and more moderate, but still pro-union members, of the Legislature. But union opposition to the nomination has not been monolithic, with major labor groups like the Transport Workers Union criticizing fellow union groups for their tactics.
Many Latinos were thrilled by the nomination of Mr. LaSalle — who would be the state’s first Latino chief judge — but one of his critics on the committee was Senator Jessica Ramos, who spoke Spanish with the nominee at the hearing before voting no, a position she voiced weeks in advance of Wednesday’s hearing.
While such schisms are not unheard-of in New York politics, the emotion that the LaSalle nomination engendered may be more difficult to forget. On Wednesday, some of Mr. LaSalle’s Democratic backers seemed angry at the questioning from fellow Democrats.
State Senator Luis R. Sepúlveda of the Bronx accused his colleagues of “character assassination” and spreading misinformation, something he said that he had only seen “the last time we had a Latino or a Latina before this proceeding.”
He continued, saying Wednesday’s questioning reminded him of last year’s contentious confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court justice, “where my colleagues were complaining about the Republicans treating her in a certain way.”
For Republicans, who, despite having a good year in congressional races still face Democratic supermajorities in each chamber in Albany, watching the intraparty war seemed to create a special joy.
“You know, in reading your decisions and especially in listening to your opening statement, I thought for a moment I was in the wrong room,” said State Senator Andrew Lanza, a Staten Island Republican, drawing laughter from the packed hearing room in Albany. “You do not come across as a right wing conservative nut.”
William F.B. O’Reilly, a Republican consultant, said that the battle over Mr. LaSalle was “the first skirmish in a greater war to come.”
“Progressives and democratic socialists are feeling their oats, and blocking the governor’s chief judge pick would give them a major momentum boost in New York,” he said, adding, “Moderate Democrats are fighting hard for LaSalle because they don’t want the tail wagging the dog for the next four years.”
Blair Horner, the executive director for the New York Public Interest Research Group, a watchdog group, said Wednesday’s committee decision had put Ms. Hochul in a “lose-lose position” of either accepting defeat or pushing for a vote that could rely heavily on Republicans.
“If her nominee fails, she lost despite putting enormous capital into the effort,” he said. “If the nominee is approved, she’s caused a big headache for the Senate leadership and created deep tension with many members, just as she goes forward with her budget,” which is due April 1.
Mr. Sheinkopf agreed that the fight over Mr. LaSalle could be seen as a test by progressives of their power. “If they can roll her on the judge,” he said. “They can roll her on the budget.”
On Wednesday, State Senator Jabari Brisport, a democratic socialist from Brooklyn, cast Justice LaSalle’s defeat as a harbinger of a newly emboldened Legislature.
“The State Senate doesn’t need to tolerate Gov. Kathy Hochul acting like a Republican,” he wrote on Twitter, “on judge nominations or in the upcoming budget negotiations.”
Jesse McKinley is a Metro correspondent for The Times, with an emphasis on coverage of upstate New York. He previously served as bureau chief in Albany and San Francisco, as well as stints as a feature writer, theater columnist and Broadway reporter for the Culture desk. @jessemckinley
Luis Ferré-Sadurní is the Albany bureau chief and covers New York State politics. He joined The Times in 2017 and previously wrote about housing for the Metro desk. He is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. @luisferre
Comment: Hochul is burning political capital she does not have to save this guy. Why? Which of her billionaire donors is demanding that the right wing tilt of the state Court of Appeals be preserved? Could it be the same billionaires that bought off Janet DiFiore and brought the Republican gerrymander of congressional districts? Or is it something even more sinister?
I have a Progressive heart but live in a region of New York where safe Democratic house of representative seats flipped and went to Republicans. Why was New York the only state that produced a red wave? My neighbors are convinced (fairly or unfairly), that progressive Democrats are soft on crime. Kathy Hochul's nomination of Hector LaSalle was pragmatic and politically, quite astute. Aren't abortion rights now enshrined in the state's constitution? Have we been losing traditional support from Hispanic voters? Does New York have the money to meet the demands of labor unions here? Stand firm, Governor Hochul. New York is not as solidly blue and progressive as one might think.
No place is as solidly blue or red as one might think. You ask questions that don't seem relevant regarding several constituencies. You say LaSalle's nomination was pragmatic and politically astute. How? First of all like McCarthy in the U.S. House she should have counted the votes before nominating this guy. Also re: Latino voters, he's not the only Latino jurist out there. Why someone this far to the right? Which demands of unions are you talking about? Most of what you put forth is that kind of Republican-lite approach that harmed this state particularly during the Cuomo yrs. The flip happened because a right-leaning judge put in by Cuomo made the call. That coupled with the trend of Democratic leaning areas having reduced voter turnout helped to flip those seats. Not just in NY but other states as well (CA in particular).
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/nyregion/chief-judge-lasalle-hearing.html
LaSalle Is Rejected by New York Senate Panel in a 10-9 Vote
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s choice of Justice Hector LaSalle to become the state’s top judge caused an intraparty Democratic battle that divided a judicial hearing on Wednesday.
6 min read
ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul’s embattled nominee to become New York State’s top judge was rejected on Wednesday, an unprecedented repudiation that underscored a deep division among Democrats on the direction of the state’s judicial system.
After a combative hourslong hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-9 against the nomination of Justice Hector D. LaSalle, whose nomination was strongly opposed by progressives who saw him as too conservative.
The committee’s rejection — the first time that New York lawmakers have voted against a governor’s choice for chief judge — laid bare how vulnerable Ms. Hochul, a Buffalo-area Democrat, may be to a challenge from her own party. All 10 senators who voted against the judge were Democrats; two Democrats voted in favor of Justice LaSalle, while one Democrat and all six Republicans on the committee voted in favor “without recommendation.”
The rejection does not necessarily mean that the LaSalle saga is over. The governor has not ruled out taking legal action to force a vote on Justice LaSalle’s nomination on the full Senate floor, raising the specter of a constitutional showdown.
The fight over the chief judge nomination, usually a noncontentious ordeal, has become the most consequential political challenge of Ms. Hochul’s first full term after being elected in November. The quarrel has set her against more progressive Democrats in the State Senate, testing her relationship with lawmakers as she begins to push her recently unveiled policy agenda in Albany.
Justice LaSalle, who was vying to become the first Latino chief judge, always faced an uphill climb. His nomination in December was immediately opposed by several unions, reproductive rights groups and community organizations, which pointed to cases that they said revealed he was anti-union and anti-abortion.
A large contingent of Democrats in the State Senate had already said they opposed him — many others raised their objections in private — with many arguing that the judge’s elevation would help perpetuate the court’s conservative tilt.
In his first public remarks since emerging as a political flashpoint, Justice LaSalle sought on Wednesday to dispel what he said were unfair characterizations of his judicial record, vowing to “set the record straight.”
“I only ask that this body look at my entire record, not just the record that certain advocates have chosen to look at,” Justice LaSalle said in an unusually crowded legislative hearing room, arguing that some of his cases had been the target of “mischaracterization simply to derail my nomination.”
Indeed, citing his upbringing in a union and working-class household, Justice LaSalle repeatedly leaned on his personal life story, casting his judicial career as one centered on breaking down barriers affecting marginalized communities.
“When you talk about labor, those are the people that raised me,” Justice LaSalle said, describing how he walked “the picket line with my abuela.”
He also reaffirmed his belief in a woman’s right to abortion services, saying, “I do not want my daughter to have fewer rights than her mother.”
Justice LaSalle is the presiding justice of the Appellate Division of the Second Judicial Department of the New York State Supreme Court, which handles civil and criminal appeals from Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Westchester County and a half-dozen other counties.
He was considered among the more moderate potential nominees from a list of seven candidates Ms. Hochul was given to choose from by a special commission as she looked to replace Janet DiFiore, who resigned last year. The chief judge leads the Court of Appeals and oversees the state’s vast and complex court system.
Even with the committee’s rejection of Justice LaSalle, there’s a chance that the clash over his nomination could end up in the courts. The governor has argued that a committee vote is irrelevant and that, according to her reading of the State Constitution, her nominee must be subject to a full vote on the Senate floor.
The governor on Wednesday criticized the hearing as unfair, claiming that “the outcome was predetermined” after the State Senate suddenly expanded the committee this month to add more Democrats, all three of whom voted against Justice LaSalle.
While Ms. Hochul did not say whether she would pursue litigation, she said she believed “the Constitution requires action by the full Senate.”
Shortly after, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Democratic majority leader in the State Senate, seemed to rule out that scenario, adding that her conference was interested in a chief judge who could “change the trajectory” of the Court of Appeals’ conservative-leaning rulings in recent years.
“It’s clear that this nominee was rejected and that’s it,” she said. “We have to find a nominee that will be supported by the majority of the Senate and then get on with that.”
The State Constitution says that a governor must make judicial appointments with the “advice and consent of the Senate.” Ms. Hochul, as well as some legal experts and Senate Republicans, have interpreted that to mean that the entire Senate, not just a committee, must vote on her nominee.
A floor vote could arguably favor Ms. Hochul, who would have greater flexibility to cobble together enough votes from Democrats and even some Republicans in the minority to confirm Justice LaSalle.
Senate Democrats have defended the committee vote — the process routinely used to move legislation to the floor — by arguing that the Senate can determine its own procedural rules, especially since the Constitution does not explicitly say a candidate must be voted on by the full State Senate.
In explaining his vote against Justice LaSalle, Senator Andrew Gounardes, a Democrat from Brooklyn, used a baseball analogy, saying that “It’s not just whether a judge can call balls and strikes, but more importantly it’s how they view the strike zone.”
“After reviewing Judge LaSalle’s record in case after case, I believe that he has a conservative view of what the strike zone is,” he said.
Many Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about a 2015 defamation case where Justice LaSalle and a majority of the appellate court held that while state law prohibits companies from suing unions and their representatives for labor-related activities, such lawsuits are allowed if companies can show that the representatives were acting in their personal capacity.
“Any suggestion that I’m anti-union or anti-labor is absolutely untrue,” Justice LaSalle said, adding that he “agreed full heartedly with the concept that big business should not be using litigation to chill the voices of organized labor.”
In his line of questioning, Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat from Manhattan who chairs the Judiciary Committee, sought to tie Justice LaSalle to Ms. DiFiore, who was reviled by many Democrats, noting cases in which she had reached the same conclusion as Justice LaSalle.
He also questioned Justice LaSalle, who is a former prosecutor, on instances where he had sided with the prosecution, saying that “it would seem to me that one could make the claim that you lean toward prosecution and against civil rights.”
Justice LaSalle said he “did not recognize the person” that some of his opponents had made him out to be, saying that he understood “what people deal with every day in the U.S., with police engagements, with the law.”
Other lawmakers asked Justice LaSalle about a unanimous opinion he joined in 2017 that ordered the New York attorney general to narrow a subpoena issued to the operator of anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers.” The case had led to accusations that Justice LaSalle was hostile to abortion rights.
“Based on your record, I think that it’s not unfair for people to project what some of your decisions might be,” Senator John Liu, a Democrat from Queens, said, raising concerns about the case.
Justice LaSalle reiterated that he strongly believed in “a woman’s right to make her own reproductive decisions,” arguing that the case in question centered on prosecutorial overreach.
In an unusual twist, it was Republicans who gave Justice LaSalle a far warmer reception, with many saying that his confirmation had devolved into an intensely politicized process.
Senator Anthony H. Palumbo, a Republican from Long Island, told the judge that Justice LaSalle represented “the embodiment, in my opinion, of the American dream.”
Despite pressure on her to withdraw her nomination, the governor has forcefully defended Justice LaSalle. Over the weekend she rallied support alongside other top Democrats, including Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the U.S. House minority leader, stressing the symbolic importance of elevating a jurist of Puerto Rican descent to the upper echelons of state government.
Indeed, Justice LaSalle’s nomination has split Latino elected officials, with some suggesting that he was subjected to a double standard because of his ethnicity.
Senator Luis Sepúlveda, a Democrat from the Bronx who is Puerto Rican and voted in favor of Justice LaSalle, said the judge had been the target of a “character assassination” because he was Latino.
After the hearing, Mr. Hoylman-Sigal, the committee chairman, implored the governor to avoid taking legal action, warning of a potential “constitutional crisis.”
“It’s obviously the governor’s decision, but we have so much work to do in Albany,” he said. “To be distracted by a lawsuit would be a travesty for the people of New York.”
Luis Ferré-Sadurní is the Albany bureau chief and covers New York State politics. He joined The Times in 2017 and previously wrote about housing for the Metro desk. He is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. @luisferre
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