Earlier this month, Democrats won big at the ballot box, including right here in Nassau County, where County Executive-elect Laura Curran became only the third member of her party in history to win the office.
In Democratic circles, celebration has been paired with cautious optimism. If Democrats are able to capitalize on this momentum, they could take back key seats in next year’s local, state and national contests.
Major party gains are certainly possible, but not if traditional Democratic allies abandon or even work against them.
A good example of a supposed ally laying the groundwork for failure is the New York State United Teachers, a union with over 600,000 members.
NYSUT has a political fundraising arm, called VOTE/COPE, which is supposed to direct member donations to political candidates and campaign committees that are “pro-public-education” and “pro-labor.”
While NYSUT and VOTE/COPE do not exclusively support Democratic candidates and causes, their interests usually align with those of the Democrats by their very nature.
NYSUT and the Democrats certainly seemed to be natural partners in 2016, when then-candidate Elaine Phillips first ran for state Senate as a Republican in the 7th district.
Pro-charter-school groups, like New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany, spent millions in advertising on Phillips’ behalf.
NYSUT tried to counter this support by endorsing Phillips’ opponent, Adam Haber, and by spending $655,000 on pro-Haber ads, mailings and phone calls, as well as polling.
However, according to the New York State Board of Elections, VOTE/COPE donated $109,600 to the New York State Senate Republican Campaign Committee (NYSSRCC) between Feb. 2, 2016 and Sept. 1, 2016.
Out of that amount, $69,600 was donated after Phillips formally announced her candidacy and $58,600 was donated after NYSUT formally endorsed Haber.
Since it is illegal to earmark donations to political party committees, VOTE/COPE cannot guarantee that the $109,600 it donated to the NYSSRCC wasn’t included in the $947,570 the NYSSRCC transferred to Phillips in 2016.
It is, of course, possible that VOTE/COPE earmarked its donations for specific Senate candidates in spite of the law.
If so, it would not be the first time they allegedly did so.
In 2014, the Suffolk Democratic Committee returned a $100,000 donation to VOTE/COPE, because they felt it was illegally earmarked both verbally and in writing.
Whether earmarking explains NYSUT’s contradictory spending or not, the union seems to have an unusual interest in maintaining a Republican majority in the state Senate.
In addition to the $109,600 given to the NYSSRCC, VOTE/COPE donated tens of thousands of dollars directly to Republican and Independent Democratic Conference Senate candidates during calendar year 2016.
Since she was sworn in, NYSUT seems to have even buried the hatchet with Phillips, herself. On April 4, 2017, just days after NYSUT members picketed Phillips’ Mineola office, VOTE/COPE donated $450 to her campaign committee.
Clearly, NYSUT is more interested in making backroom deals with Senate Republicans than actually trying to reshape the political landscape in a way that would benefit its members in the long term.
If you are a current NYSUT member or have recently donated to VOTE/COPE, I would strongly suggest calling your local NYSUT chapter or NYSUT’s toll-free number, (800) 342-9810, and demanding some answers.
Matthew Zeidman
New Hyde Park
