Dear Commons Community,

The Democrats have this predilection to shoot themselves in the foot whenever they have the upper hand in American political arenas.  Here in New York, for the first time in twenty years, there is a Democratic mayor (Bill de Blasio) and a Democratic governor (Andrew Cuomo) and the two cannot get along. It actually appears that Governor Cuomo is doing everything possible to stymie de Blasio’s initatives.  This issue is the subject of a New York Times article today which describes the relationship as follows:

“In his first two months in office, Mayor Bill de Blasio has found himself repeatedly at odds with New York’s governor, Andrew M. Cuomo. And at every turn, Governor Cuomo has not only stymied the mayor, but also seized the moment for his own gain.

As the mayor has pushed for a tax increase on New York City’s wealthiest residents, the governor has turned the tables and talked up his desire to cut taxes. When the mayor proposed raising the minimum wage in the city, the governor derided the idea as illogical.

Even the mundane municipal matter of snow removal became fodder for a Cuomo tweak; at one point, the governor seemed to imply that Mr. de Blasio had not stocked up on enough salt to respond to a recent blizzard.

Mr. Cuomo took advantage again this week, styling himself as a champion of charter schools just as Mr. de Blasio took steps to curb their expansion. On Tuesday, he displayed an unusual verve in whipping up a crowd of thousands of charter school parents and students who gathered for a rally outside the Capitol.”

We are a little more than two months into de Blasio’s term as mayor.  Governor Cuomo should be supporting his Democratic colleague not looking to undercut his initiatives.  They both need to compromise and find common ground to benefit the people of New York.

Tony