When the Democrats in the New York state legislature made their ridiculous gerrymander blunder, on of their stupidest moves was to turn the Long Island North Shore district into some kind of a bizarre, senseless conception that included parts of Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, Bronx and Westchester counties. It was an outrage. And making it worse, was that a credible progressive state Senator, Alessandra Biaggi decided to run in the new district, endangering the chances of front-runner Melanie D'Arrigo, a strong progressive who had been organizing for over 3 year-end is poised to vanquish an absurd clown show of conservatives from both parties-- gay Trumpist George Santos (R) + the Three Stooges (Jon Kaiman, Josh Lafazon and Rob Zimmerman).
Yesterday, Biaggi made a double-great decision-- to withdraw from running in D'Arrigo's district and to instead challenge Sean Patrick Maloney's attempt to insert himself into the redrawn 17th. That 17th was the deep blue (D+17) Westchester-Rockland county district that had elected Mondaire Jones. The new map shows it as a D+7 district. Just north of there is NY-18, Sean Patrick Maloney's district, which was a swing district with an even partisan lean. The new map makes it slightly more Democratic-- D+3... but not safe enough for the creepy corporate whore Maloney, who-- with Pelosi's help-- pushed Jones out and tried grabbing the district for himself.
Mondaire Jones decamped for a new Manhattan-Brooklyn district (NY-10), where he will have to face fellow credible local progressives Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, and City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera. The move disappointed a lot of Mondaire fans and supporters. Now Biaggi has done what he should have done-- stuck thumb in Maloney's eye.
Yesterday, Nick Fandos reported that Biaggi would announce her candidacy today. "Biaggi," wrote Fandos, "called Maloney 'a selfish corporate Democrat.' She drew a straight line between her campaign and his recently announced decision to abandon much of his current territory in the Hudson Valley to run in a safer, reconfigured 17th district currently represented by a Black progressive, Representative Mondaire Jones... Democrats in the party’s progressive wing, some of whom had considered calling for Maloney’s resignation [as DCCC chair, a job he should have never gotten], are not ready to let him off the hook, and are lining up behind Biaggi."
“Biaggi has been a voice for justice since she entered the State Senate,” Bowman said in an interview. “She’s also been a voice for accountability and pushing our party to do better.”
He called Maloney’s decision to leave the 18th District he has long represented-- which could swing to Republicans in the fall-- “completely unacceptable for a leader of our party whose job it is to make sure that we maintain the majority.”
He said he would support Biaggi but stopped short of issuing an official endorsement.
“Leadership requires sacrifice and leadership requires selflessness,” said Bowman, who defeated another high-ranking Democrat in a 2020 primary.
Another member of the New York City House delegation, who asked not to be named to speak frankly, echoed that assessment and suggested Biaggi could attract significant support.
It would not be the first time Biaggi, 36, has taken on an established Democratic leader.
She was first elected to the State Senate in 2018, when she was the face of a wave of younger lawmakers who toppled six conservative Democratic incumbents who had led the chamber in a power-sharing agreement with Republicans.
In her victory over Jeffrey Klein, a former leader of the breakaway group known as the Independent Democratic Conference, Biaggi was outspent nearly 10 to one.
You can contribute to Alessandra's campaign on the Blue America page dedicated to the need for more progressive women in Congress-- and fewer selfish corporate Democrats. Just click here or on the thermometer on the left. Maloney does nothing but sit on the phone and solicit money from lobbyists all day; his campaign war chest is loaded and he's corrupt to the core and supported by Pelosi and all her rotten cronies in Congress, the ones who have turned the Democratic Party into a disgusting sewer that many people hate nearly as much as they hate the Republican Party.
Fandos wrote that "In the State Senate, [Biaggi] helped push through an overhaul toughening New York’s sexual harassment laws, became known as an outspoken critic of [Andrew] Cuomo and was a reliable member of the chamber’s growing left wing, pushing for single-payer health care among other policies."
The district voted for President Biden in 2020 by an 8-point margin, but Republicans believe the party has a good chance of flipping it this fall.
Michael Lawler, a former Republican operative who currently represents Rockland County in the State Assembly, declared his candidacy on Monday and is expected to be the front-runner.
“Make no mistake, the record inflation, record crime, and unending series of crises that have defined the Biden presidency are Sean Maloney’s record,” said Mr. Lawler, 35.
If he wins the nomination, Maloney's record of corruption and GOP-lite conservatism will discourage Democratic voters and make a district that should have been an easy enough win into a possible GOP pickup. ProgressivePunch rates Maloney's voting record an "F" and only 7 Democrats in the House have more anti-progressive records! The only members worse than Sean Patrick Maloney: Stephanie Murphy (retiring), Scott Peters (being primaried by Kylie Taitano), Sanford Bishop, Josh Gottheimer, Jim Cooper (retiring), Jim Costa (running away to a new district), Henry Cuellar (being primaried TODAY). Better than Maloney: every other Democrat in Congress.
Ah. the point was nearly made for me.
AOC beat the 2nd or 3rd worst hou$e democrap in 2018. Did anything at all change?
Or did the PARTY continue to get worser and worser and continue to refuse to do "merrick garland" about anything at all?
I know the answer. do you?