Albany, NY – His efforts to bring Senator Simcha Felder back to the Democratic side of the aisle summarily rebuffed, Governor Andrew Cuomo is said to be trying a different tactic to have the 17th District represented by a true blue party member – taking Felder down in the upcoming elections.
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Hoping to give his party a Senate majority, Cuomo has already managed to dissolve the Independent Democratic Caucus, bringing eight Democrats who sided with Republicans back to the fold, but Felder has stood his ground, much to the governor’s frustration.
According to the New York Post (https://nyp.st/2FycIPe), a source said that Cuomo is “deeply involved” in finding a challenger who could unseat Felder.
“He’s personally involved in trying to determine who the best challenger would be to Felder,” said the source.
Felder seemed undaunted by the news that Cuomo was hoping to oust him from Albany.
“He has to do what he has to do and I have to do what I have to do,” Felder told VIN News. “I was sent here by people I represent to serve them by doing what’s important to them.”
New York State of Politics (http://bit.ly/2FxoSrG) also reported that Cuomo is looking for a viable candidate to run against Felder, with a source saying that unless he aligns himself with Democrats, Felder will be facing a September contest with “the full weight of the party behind it.” Currently, the only person who has thrown their hat in the ring to take on Felder is lawyer Blake Morris.
In an interview with City and State New York (http://bit.ly/2Fx6oaV) last month, Felder noted that having Democrats warning that they wouldn’t support him in the September primary would not have him changing his mind.
“I don’t respond to threats well,” said Felder. “It only encourages me. You can ask the principal I had in yeshiva. Whenever I was disciplined, it had the opposite effect. I made more trouble.”
Felder also refuted reports in the Post saying that Cuomo had called him personally asking him to cross the aisle in mid-April, saying the last conversation he had with the governor on that topic took place sometime before last November.
Cuomo issued a letter to Felder on April 25th, publicly asking him to rejoin Senate Democrats, calling his refusal “a wasted opportunity to move the Senate forward.” Cuomo said that with Felder’s support, Democrats could advance causes that would benefit party members including ethics reform, campaign finance reform and the DREAM act and abortion and LGBTQ rights.
In an interview with NY1 (http://bit.ly/2Fy3gLG) after the letter was released, the governor said that he had no intention of playing hardball with Felder noting, “I am not a pressure kind of guy. I’m a charm-circle-them-with-love kind of guy.”
Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins also tried to sway Felder, asking him to rejoin the party now instead of waiting for a presumed big Democratic win for the Senate in November, according to The State of Politics (http://bit.ly/2FyA5Iu).
“I’m urging him to be with us and there’s a blue wave,” said Stewart-Cousin. “I believe there will certainly be more Democrats next year. So why wait?”
Felder told the Post (https://nyp.st/2Fx50Ff) last week that he chose not to rejoin his fellow party members even after Democrats won two seats in a late April election because it was in the best interests of his constituents.
“One of my characteristics is I don’t forget people who were good to me. I have a very good, long memory,” said Felder.
Governor Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter.
Good luck Cuomo.
You ain’t throwing him out of a frum Jewish district especially with his popularity.
I guess this is what yoni calls a free democracy where we try to bully those that don’t support us . And I thought only Trump does that . What a suprise that dems do it even more .
To the satmara that loves dems Hillary and his sanctuary cities , don’t forget it’s the republicans in ny that saved satmar . Just ask R Aron about felder and the repubs
if he acts like a repugnicant the democraps should throw him out of the party.
Archy,
It’s time you change your name to UNeducated Archy, as a fair amount of your posts indicate ignorance, but the following one takes the cake
“To the satmara that loves dems Hillary and his sanctuary cities , don’t forget it’s the republicans in ny that saved satmar”
The proposed education law was a huge danger for ALL Orthodox Yidden , Chassidish, Litvish, and everyone in between, & BH Simcha was there to save the day.
Kudos to Simcha Felder for standing up & defending the rights of ALL religious students in NYS, but what does this have to do with Satmar ??
Yes , The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel worked long and hard , supporting Reb Simcha to stay strong , does this mean that the other Satmara support Hillary?!?!
Such twisted thinking , your Bias against chasidim in general & Satmar in particular is sickening.
GO SIMCHA GO!!!
He is sitting in the lion’s den !!! Tread carefully !!!
May we all merit observing the downfall into disgrace of this incompetent, hateful governor.
I will be voting for Simcha, AND Nixon this coming Sep. all the frum should vote for Nixon so this way the Republican candidate for governor can win, don Corleone Cuomo abandoned yeshivas, passed gay marriage and now is at war with anything decent. All frum DEMS vote for Nixon.
so the democrats want him so they can protect illegal aliens baby murder men who claim to be woman to be allowed into girls bathrooms and force people to support gay marriage no frum Jew can support the democrat agenda and if it’s about money, money comes from Hashem not the government
Simcha Felder has single handedly consigned another generation of Frum Jews to abject poverty. Everybody, and I mean everybody, needs an education that will allow them to be able to earn a living. If anyone thinks this is not so…..just look at some of the incoherent comments that are posted on the Vos Iz Neis website. Poor grammar, poor spelling, and inability to write down a cogent thought. This is the result of a paltry secular education.
“”advance causes that would benefit party members including ethics reform, campaign finance reform and the DREAM act and abortion and LGBTQ rights””
Another great reason why Simcha SHOULD NOT . agree