Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat's democrat, bucked the nation's rightward drift and swept into New? York's governor's mansion (where he spent a good deal of his youth) with 62 percent of the votes on Tuesday.
While his victory may have as much to do with his opponent's penchant for shooting himself in the foot, the son of two-term governor Mario, will surely be hard-pressed to ?make NY great again? as his campaign slogan had it.
Whether Cuomo can get past Go is anyone's bet. The New York Times this morning sagely points out that Empire State voters also ?re-elected the whole bumbling, fumbling, corrupt Legislature.? ?And the Times is still predicting big trouble ahead with the state's powerful labor unions.? Before the vote the paper of record said Cuomo vowed ?an offensive against labor unions? and yesterday it said he was ?on a collision course with the unions.?
Democrats, especially with names and political legacies like Cuomo, do not often collide with unions, especially in New York. ?Perhaps nowhere else in the country,? writes Times reporter Michael Barbaro, ?has a Democratic candidate for governor taken such a hard rhetorical line against such a potent constituency within his own party.?
Rhetoric?
?His policy positions are not aligned with ours,? Richard C. Iannuzzi, president of the powerful New York State United Teachers, offered Barbaro. Normally, an active participant in these election affairs, NYSUT has been extremely subdued of late. In fact, looking at?the union's?home page, as of this morning, you'd never know that there was a vote on Tuesday. (The last mention of Cuomo I could find on the union's website was October 6 ? and that was simply reissuing a non-endorsement press release from August.)
Ouch. ?Is there a collision in Cuomo's future?? I'd say the governor-elect?better tune?up that GTO of his and put the pedal to the metal.
Next installment: Why education eyes should be on New York.
?Peter Meyer, Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow
