FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
Bill@NovemberTeam.com

CUOMO GROSSLY MISLEADING NEWS MEDIA ON PUBLIC FINANCE COMMISSION DISASTER: NEW YORK STATE CONSERVATIVE PARTY

 Brooklyn – October 30…“Governor Andrew Cuomo is blatantly misleading the news media and the public in his effort to conceal catastrophic flaws in his Public Campaign Finance Commission, the not-so-thinly-veiled body he created in the 2019 State Budget to exact revenge on political enemies,” New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar today charged.

“His spokesman cited incorrect statute yesterday in an attempt to deflect attention from Cuomo’s most critical Commission error to date: Its members failed to take the required Oath of Office. As a result — under clear State law — any actions the commissioners have taken thus far are nullified. They were not conducted lawfully,” Chairman Kassar said.

The Conservative Party cited clear and long-established State law requiring Public Campaign Finance commissioners to swear an Oath of Office before conducting official state business, which they did not do (below).

Article XIII, Section 1 of the New York State Constitution states that:

Members of the Legislature and all officers, executive and judicial, except such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of New York, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of according to the best of my ability.

The Constitutional Article is codified in Public Officers Law Section 10 which states:

Every officer shall take and file the Oath of Office required by law, and every judicial officer of the Unified Court System, in addition, shall file a copy of said oath in the Office of the Court Administration before he shall be entitled to enter upon the discharge of any of his official duties.

Public Officers Law Section 2 defines the term ‘state officer’ which:

…includes every officer for whom all the electors of the State are entitled to vote,

 members of the Legislature, Justices of the Supreme Court, Regents of the

 University, and every officer appointed by one or more state officers, or by the Legislature, and authorized to exercise his official function throughout the entire state, or without limitation to any political subdivision of the State.

Attorney and Erie County Conservative Chairman Ralph Lorigo, who also serves as Conservative Party Vice Chairman elaborated: “Public Officers Law Section 30 provides that the office of a public officer becomes vacant when the public officer refuses or neglects to take and file his or her Oath of Office within 30 days of appointment,” he said.

“The Governor would have you believe that there is an exception codified in Public Officers Law Section 73 for public officers who receive no compensation or are compensated on a per diem basis. Clearly this is not the case. Section 73 only applies to the Ethics Law sections and Disclosure. That is clear when Section 73 starts with the words ‘As used in this Section’, Chairman Lorigo said.

“Governor Cuomo will be admitting his deception,” Mr. Lorigo continued, “if these nine commissioners do, in fact, file an Oath of Office at this late juncture. But even if they do, Section 30 clearly points out that work done previously, and unlawfully, is negated. Attempting to file an Oath of Office, in accordance with the statutes at this late date, would render the commission unable to complete its task within the statute time frame.

“Governor Cuomo should stop with the shenanigans and allow the duly-elected State Legislature to do its job. Only it can create or amend State Election Law,” Mr. Lorigo concluded.

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For Immediate Release
October 26, 2019
Contact:  Shaun Marie
518-356-7882
www.cpnys.org   @cpnys

Conservative Party Releases Social Media Ad

Urging a NO vote on  NYC Ballot Proposition Two

Brooklyn, NY — The Conservative Party has released a social media ad in opposition to the NYC ballot proposal regarding changes to the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB).

The Conservative Party is opposed to the CCRB and believes that each of these proposed changes to the Civilian Complaint Review Board only further empowers it, therefore a NO vote is recommended.

For more details on our position, click here.

To view the Ad, click here.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117

Bill@NovemberTeam.com

Statement from New York State

Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar

 October 22, 2019

“Free speech and the competition of ideas — the lifeblood of democracy — are being brazenly and unlawfully threatened by Governor Andrew Cuomo and his handpicked state Democratic Party boss Jay Jacobs.

“This egregious assault on the Constitutional right to fusion voting in New York is bringing together Conservatives, the Working Families Party, Republicans, and brave Democrats because of its critical importance to free political discourse in New York.

“Today, State Senate Republicans are speaking out loudly and clearly about the sham commission created by Governor Cuomo and led by Democratic Party boss Jacobs — Jacobs was granted special dispensation to lead the commission through a surreptitious and almost universally unnoticed last-minute language insertion in the 2019-20 State Budget — and rightly claiming the exclusive right of the right of the State Legislature to make Election Law changes.

“It is the ardent and legally impregnable position of New York State Conservatives and Republicans that Governor Cuomo’s so-called ‘Public Financing Commission’ lacks any authority to amend or create state law. Only the State Legislature, duly elected by the People of New York State, have that right.

“Governor Cuomo has crossed a legal line in an effort to kneecap political competition and quiet dissent in New York from both the left and the right. It is encouraging, though, to see elected leaders from starkly different political persuasions stand together against such attempted tyranny.  Our forerunners would be proud.”

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***Fusion voting was established more than a century ago in New York as a good government measure to challenge rampant Tammany Hall corruption. It has thrice been upheld as constitutional in New York’s highest courts.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
Bill@NovemberTeam.com

SHENANIGANS EXPOSED IN CUOMO PLOT TO 
KNEECAP WORKING FAMILIES PARTY
Democrat Chairman Jacobs Knows Nothin’ About Nothin’ 

New York-Oct. 15…A longstanding prohibition against political party chairman serving on government policy-making commissions — common knowledge among New York party officials — was nullified by a one-sentence, last-minute language insertion deep inside the 2019-’20 State Budget that greenlighted New York Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs to serve as de facto chairman of a commission hellbent on kneecapping the rival Working Families Party (WFP), a story in The Albany Times Union has revealed.

Chairman Jacobs, an ardent opponent of fusion voting who has long-served as the Nassau County Democratic Party chairman as well, claims in the Times Union piece that a.) he noticed the language addition in the 2019-20 State Budget (virtually no one did) and b.) he was previously unaware that political party chairmen have been expressly banned from policy making roles for decades (an equally preposterous assertion.)

“It looks pretty obvious to me what’s going on here,” said New York State Conservative Party Chairman Jerry Kassar. “Governor Cuomo is furious at the Working Families Party for endorsing Cynthia Nixon instead of him for governor in 2018, so his legislative mechanics cooked up a way to let his handpicked Democratic Chairman put a shiv  between the third and fourth ribs of the WFP. Thankfully, though, the plot is unravelling as members of the public and news media are catching onto what they’re up to.”

The last-minute budget language insertion expressly allowed party officials to serve on the New York State Public Financing Commission — by name. That commission was ostensibly created to look at establishing a taxpayer-funded matching fund program for state political candidates, but it quickly added to its purview a proposal to ban fusion voting in New York, a practice Jacobs has long and very publicly opposed. It then coupled the two issues, declaring that commission members would cast a single vote on all of its recommendations. Jacobs was even caught emailing Democratic Party subordinates to demand that they turn out at commission hearings as members of the public to support his positions on both issues.  (The Conservative Party maintains that the commission has no authority to change New York State Law; only a duly-elected State Legislature can do that.)

Fusion voting permits candidates to run on more than one ballot line, allowing voters to cast nuanced votes by supporting chosen candidates on ballot lines with which they most ideologically agree. It was enacted in the early 20th Century by good-government organizations to help combat endemic corruption in Tammany Hall Democratic politics, and it has thrice been upheld as Constitutional by State courts.

“New York’s third parties, whether they be progressive or conservative, foster crucially important debate in New York and serve as incubators of ideas,” Chairman Kassar said. “We should be promoting as much free speech and political diversity in New York as possible, not working cynically to repress it. What Governor Cuomo and Chairman Jacobs are saying simply doesn’t pass the laugh test. They need to come clean about what they’re up to.”

The Conservative Party, Working Families Party, and Republican Party have each filed suit against the commission’s attempt to eliminate fusion voting in New York.

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For Immediate Release
October 8, 2019
Contact:  Shaun Marie
518-356-7882
www.cpnys.org @Twitter
EMBOLDENED BY SOCIALIST CONGRESSWOMAN ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: NEW CROP OF CANDIDATES RUN ON ANTI-CAPITALISM PLATFORM

Brooklyn, NY – Affordable housing is a problem for many who want to live in the greatest city in the United States, one that has thrived on capitalism.  To quote Frank Sinatra, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.”

The latest crop of candidates, emboldened by the press that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez receives, are embracing her socialism by calling for the purging of private ownership of apartment buildings as a way of alleviating the city’s affordable housing crisis, which will only get worse under the “Housing Stability and Tenant Protection act of 2019” passed by the democratic controlled Houses  and signed by Governor Cuomo on June 14, 2019.

Does Boris Santos, who is running as a democratic socialist for the NYS Assembly in Brooklyn not read the papers?   Does he not understand the awful conditions that those who live in government-controlled housing – NYCHA – are forced to endure?  No heat in the dead of winter; elevators that do not work and rodents who invade their apartments to just mention a few of the problems faced by tenants in government run housing.

The only way to solve the affordable housing problem is to allow entrepreneurs to invest in housing and let the free market work.

Boris Santos is pushing this idea with his new “squad” and their motto seems to be “…this power is anti-capitalist baby!”

To which we say, should these radicals be elected, New York City will become Caracas and what was once the pinnacle of the US, will become a nadir of despair.

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For Immediate Release  09/21/2019 
Contact:  Shaun Marie
518-356-7882
www.cpnys.org
Twitter @cpnys
Facebook.com/cpnys/

CONSERVATIVE PARTY WILL FILE AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF
IN OPPOSITION TO NEW YORK’S GREEN LIGHT LAW

 Brooklyn, NY – The Conservative Party will file in the United States District Court Western District of New York, an Amicus Curiae brief in support of Erie County Clerk Michael P. Kearns’ motion for a preliminary injunction against the implementation of New York’s Green Light Law.

The Conservative Party of New York State, established in 1962, has always been bound by the rule of law that protects citizens.  On June 12, 2019, a majority of the members of the New York State Assembly passed the Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, aka the Green Light Law.   Five days later, on June 17, a majority of the NYS Senate passed the Bill and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed it on the 17^th of June, with an effective date 180 days after it becomes law.

Prior to the law being passed, Section 502 of the NY Vehicle and Traffic Law required an applicant for a driver’s license to provide their Social Security number, except for certain exceptions applicable to legal residents who were not eligible for a Social Security number.  Section 502 was amended to allow an applicant for a driver’s license to no longer provide a Social Security number; rather an applicant only has to sign an affidavit that they have not been issued a Social Security number when applying for said license and the applicant shall not be required to prove that they are lawfully present in the United States.

Issuing driver’s licenses to individuals here illegally will allow said individuals to evade detection by federal law enforcement and due to the check off on the driver’s license application, may even allow individuals here illegally the right to vote.

It is the belief of the Conservative Party that the Green Light Law was written specifically to withhold information from federal law enforcement officials creating a security risk to the citizens of New York.  Duties of the DMV are primarily administered by elected county clerks, who will be required to follow the new law — and ignore federal law — or be removed by Governor Cuomo as allowed by the State Constitution.    The Conservative Party of New York State believes the only way this conflict will be resolved is via the previously filed lawsuit which this Amicus Curiae brief supports.

“With this Amicus brief the Conservative Party continues its efforts to get this poorly thought through state law that will lead to voter fraud and public safety concerns reversed.  We applaud Erie County Clerk Michael P. Kearns and all the county clerks who are standing firm against its implementation,” Chairman Kassar concluded.

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For Immediate Release
Contact:  Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
Bill@NovemberTeam.com

CHRIS CUOMO: “NO MAN IS ABOVE THE LAW”

ANDREW CUOMO: I AM THE LAW

NEW YORK STATE CONSERVATIVE PARTY TO UNLAWFUL CUOMO COMMISSION: “DROP DEAD”

 New York – Sept. 10…It’s a familiar CNN radio advertisement: “No man is above the law — not even the President,” Cuomo Prime Time host Christopher Cuomo bellows on the airwaves in the name of honest government.

But here in New York, Mr. Cuomo’s brother, Governor Andrew Cuomo, is singing the opposite tune in working to circumnavigate the power of New York voters — and a State Legislature that represents them — by unlawfully attempting to quell speech from third-party voters in the Empire State and unjustly saddle taxpayers with the cost of state political campaigns, the New York State Conservative Party (NYSCP) today charged.  The NYSCP called both measures, “blatant and unconstitutional end-runs around a duly-elected Legislature.”

Mr. Cuomo is erroneously claiming that his newly appointed “Commission on Public Financing,” which meets today in New York City, has the power to end the long-established (first used in an 1854 gubernatorial election) and Constitutionally-upheld practice of fusion voting in New York State and to set up a statewide system of taxpayer funded campaigns, the NYSCP said. It does not, the NYSCP maintains, noting that New York State Election Law can only be created or amended by the Legislature — not by commissions — and that fusion voting has been repeatedly upheld in State courts as a Constitutionally-protected practice. The NYSCP has filed a legal action challenging the Commission’s authority.

Mr. Cuomo’s commission is chaired by State Democratic Party leader, Jay Jacobs.

The NYSCP, which opposes taxpayer funding of political campaigns and refuses to recognize the authority of the Commission on Public Financing, will not be attending Tuesday’s hearing.

“Anyone who cherishes free speech and the rule of law should be alarmed by what Governor Cuomo and the New York State Democratic Party are trying to ram through with this sham commission,” NYSCP Chairman Gerard Kassar said. “They are attempting to shut down political dissent in New York and foist the cost of political campaigns on already beleaguered New Yorker taxpayers. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers — conservatives and progressives alike — will have their voices silenced and millions will have their pockets picked if Governor Cuomo’s frightening power grab is not stopped.”

Fusion voting permits candidates to run on more than one ballot line, allowing voters to cast nuanced votes by supporting chosen candidates on ballot lines with which they most ideologically agree. It was enacted in the early 20th Century by good-government organizations to help combat endemic corruption in Tammany Hall Democratic politics, and thrice upheld as Constitutional by State courts.

Chairman Kassar is urging state legislators to make clear their authority over matters of law: “There’s only one way to make or change state law in New York,” he said, “and that’s through a duly elected state legislature. As a former Attorney General, Mr. Cuomo shouldn’t have to be reminded of that.”

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For Immediate Release

August 19, 2019

Contact:  Shaun Marie 518-356-7882

  State Conservative Party and the Five NY City Conservative Party Chairs United in Denunciation of Pantaleo Firing

Brooklyn, NY – Caving to political pressure, the NYPD fired Officer Daniel Pantaleo today, for simply doing his job.  It was obvious that Officer Pantaleo would be fired when Mayor de Blasio proclaimed that Garner’s family was “going to get justice … in the next 30 days” during a Democratic presidential primary debate on July 31.  Mayor de Blasio politized the unfortunate and untimely death of Eric Garner in his quest for president, in complete disregard to the fact that Officer Pantaleo was not indicted by a grand jury.

“The Conservative Party disagrees with NYPD Commissioner O’Neil’s decision to fire Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo.  Multiple investigations on various levels and a Grand Jury probe determined that his actions did not violate the law,” said Conservative Party State Chairman Jerry Kassar.

The Bronx County Chairman William Newmark, agreed with PBA President Pat Lynch who stated that “O’Neill chose politics over the police officers he claims to lead.”

Thomas M. Long, who chairs the Queens County Conservative Party organization questioned in the wake of this decision “the ability of the NYPD to turn around plummeting morale.”

Brooklyn County Chairwoman, Frances Vella-Marrone, stated “the system up until this point worked.  It evaluated the information as presented and concluded that Pantaleo was innocent.  The Commissioner’s decision is unjust.”

“I would expect in light of this firing that all NYC police officers will be extraordinarily cautious in doing their jobs knowing that the department will not back them,” stated Manhattan Party Chairman Stuart J. Avrick.

Harold Wagner, Chairman of the Staten Island Conservative Party, “I dare say the men and woman of the Staten Island Conservative Party, many former law enforcement members themselves, would strongly disagree with this highly political decision.”

Essentially, every police officer just had their ability to do their job – enforce laws and protect every person – curtailed and seconded guessed by police haters, and possibly hesitate not knowing if the action taken will lead to their dismissal.  New Yorkers are less safe now, knowing that every decision made by police officers will be judged by those who were not present and only know the results.

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For Immediate Release

August 6, 2019

Contact:  Shaun Marie

518-356-7882  cpnys.org @cpnys

Siena Poll Confirms What Conservatives Already Recognized:  Cuomo Fatigue Is Showing

 Brooklyn, NY – Today’s Siena Poll confirms what Conservatives suspected during the latest legislative session; Governor Andrew Cuomo’s popularity is declining.  Chairman Gerard Kassar noted that Governor Cuomo’s support of granting illegal immigrants a driver’s license, letting killer’s out of prison, ending cash bail for non-violent offenses, congestion pricing and the plastic bag surcharge are contributing to his declining popularity.

While the Siena Poll showed support for certain well-intentioned items, for example, the farmworkers labor rights bill and the lowering of carbon emissions, support of these bills will also decline when the costs to implement hits the consumer’s wallets.

Chairman Kassar noted “while Governor Cuomo believes this has been his most productive legislative session yet, the Siena Poll results show that Governor Andrew Cuomo is not fully in sync with New Yorkers and that includes many in his own Democratic Party.”

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For Immediate Release – July 23, 2019

Contact:  Shaun Marie   518-356-7882 www.cpnys.org @cpnys

Conservative Party Files Lawsuit to Challenge Commission’s Authority to Change State Law 

Brooklyn, NY – The NYS Conservative Party filed a lawsuit on Monday in NYS Supreme Court to prevent the Commission on Public Finance from changing and/or abridging NYS Election Laws as to Fusion Voting.  The Conservative Party maintains that this authority rests solely with the NYS Legislature and that the rights of Fusion Voting and cross endorsement are settled law protected by numerous court decisions.

The Conservative Party believes that the Governor cynically aimed to eliminate Fusion Voting in New York State by submitting through the State Budget his creation of a Financing Commission.  The Governor and the Legislature overstepped their authority by delegating to this Financing Commission changing or abridging established Election Law and court decisions the Commission has no standing to rewrite.

By permitting the Commission to create laws that interfere with New York’s constitutionally protected right to Fusion Voting, unconstitutionally violates decisions from New York’s highest court as recently as 1973 guaranteeing the rights of Fusion Voting and cross endorsement. Additionally, through legal precedent dating back to the founding of our State, the right to change an enacted law is restricted to the body or higher body that created the law.

Conservative Party State Chairman Jerry Kassar said “I believe this is no more than a power grab by the Governor and Democratic Party to consolidate their control and punish another political party. It is against the interests of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who each year choose to vote for cross endorsed candidates on third party lines. “

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Brooklyn, NY – State Chairman, Jerry Kassar, decried the deafness of Senate Democrats yesterday, when they flatly refused to consider an amendment from the floor, put forward by Sen. Pam Helming, that would have restored a key provision in NY’s Public Health Law, removed by the Reproductive Health Act in January, that mandated doctors to take immediate life-saving actions if an abortion resulted in a live birth.

The amendment sought to reverse the abhorrent infanticide action established by the Governor’s signing of the Krueger/Glick bill known as the Reproductive Health Act and re-establish the fact
that infants born alive are human beings and must be protected. The amendment would have reinstated penal law protections when an individual intentionally performs or attempts to perform an overt act that ends the life of an innocent child born alive as the result of an abortion.

An infant that has survived the brutal attempt to end its life during an abortion procedure justifies every effort of protection and procedures to keep this resilient individual alive and well.

The fact that Democrats kept silent when Sen. Helming offered her amendment is a very sad day in New York State. Since the beginning of time, human beings have celebrated the birth of a child; it is, without doubt, one of the happiest (and sometimes difficult) times of life’s journey. When an innocent child comes into this world and they remind us that life is a precious gift to be celebrated, protected and kept secure until able to travel life’s journey on their own.

Yesterday, every Democrat, in the NYS Senate, sat silent and deaf to the cries of a baby born alive in a botched abortion.

One can’t help but wonder what astounding accomplishments a born-alive infant could achieve. One of the most successful men in America, Steve Jobs, who literally changed the way we communicate, was an unwanted child whose mother considered abortion. While Steve Jobs was not a born-alive infant, he narrowly escaped death by abortion. As an adult, Jobs expressed gratitude that his mother didn’t abort him.

We will never know if a born-alive infant, that the NYS Democrats, would not defend, could change the world the same way Steve Jobs did. How many lives have been changed, just by the actual jobs he created? We will never know, because the Democrats in the NYS Senate were deaf to the cries of the born-alive babies.

DEMOCRATS GIVE LAW ABIDING CITIZENS MORE REASONS TO LEAVE NEW YORK
Brooklyn, NY – Governor Andrew Cuomo got his way again and while he convinced the Democratic Majorities in the Legislature to go along with his progressive policies tucked into the budget it is obvious that this budget -that many of his progressive allies pushed – is a shameful example of how not to govern. What Governor Andrew Cuomo demanded and elected democratic officials capitulated to, is a slap in the face of every already overtaxed law-abiding resident still living in what was once the Empire State. This $175.5 billion budget is full of misguided ideas that will embolden criminals, force taxpayers to subsidize the election of candidates they do not support, allow illegal immigrants to avoid deportation, put fusion voting at risk and continue the assault on innocent unborn citizens.

The Cuomo budget:
• Establishes a 5-cent charge on paper bags given out to consumers by retailers. This is coupled with the ban on single use bags.
• Eliminated cash bail. In itself an important policy matter that should have been debated as a stand-alone bill and never appeared in the budget.
• Ends “mug shots” being publicized. Another policy matter that did not belong in the budget
• Created a congestion pricing scheme for mid-town and lower Manhattan that in essence is a tax on both commuters and businesses.
• Establishes a framework for the collection of sales taxes by internet marketplace providers.
• Codified parts of the Affordable Health Care Act and Health Exchange into Law.
• Implements and fully funds the Jose R. Peralta DREAM Act for $27 million.
• the state budget fails to reject various unfunded mandates, and most notably excludes adequate funding needed to implement the state’s early voting mandate.
• Gave himself and Lt. Gov. a raise in the middle of the night
• Delegates legislative authority to a commission for the purposes of implementing a taxpayer funded campaign finance program expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars every four years. It also allows the Commission to make binding changes to the election law while further reducing the authority of an elected Legislature. Just as last year’s pay raise commission actions are subject to litigation, we would expect this commission will come under similar review.
• Makes the 2% property tax cap permanent but leaves out NYC

New York has an on-time budget and the Members of the Legislature will get their commission promised pay increase, however, is the cost of this extremely exorbitant budget worth the loss of population because no one can afford to live here? Will New Yorkers continue to consent to be governed by those who fail to take into account the views of all New Yorkers. Will the exodus increase or will New Yorkers rise to the occasion and take back our beloved state?