Published in Newsday
Lawrence C. Levy
November 16, 2005
Six years ago, Suffolk Republican chairman Howard DeMartini got a visit from the county leader of a new left-leaning, labor-supported political party that had just won its own ballot line.
New York was (and still is) one of the only states allowing minor parties to cross-endorse candidates from other parties. These lines allow, say, a Republican candidate to get support from Democratic voters who just can't pull the GOP lever.
The system has invited abuses, such as the selling of lines in exchange for patronage jobs. It has allowed, for instance, the Suffolk Conservative Party to become what I once called "the best little whorehouse in Suffolk" by its abandonment of ideology for the highest bidder. Though founded on good-government ideas, the Independence Party isn't far behind in pursuit of patronage for its endorsement.
So DeMartini figured the Working Families Party leader would be looking for something in exchange for giving GOP county executive Bob Gaffney a line that could attract progressive voters.
But the GOP leader got a surprise that day. "He didn't ask about [political] jobs at all," DeMartini recalled. "He hoped that we might support some legislation on labor issues."
Nothing - and everything - has changed for the Working Families Party. Last week, the WFP's own candidates - now running with the Democratic Party endorsement - unexpectedly won and gave Democrats control of the Suffolk Legislature and Brookhaven town council for the first time in 30 years.
When WFP executive director Dan Cantor told me months ago his party was targeting GOP Majority Leader Peter O'Leary (R-Moriches) with a first-time candidate and bus driver, Kate Browning, I told him he was nuts. The same when he said Carole Bissonette was going to win in the council district that was home to the Republican at the top of the Brookhaven town ticket.
But the WFP, as well as some key unions and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, went door to door in search of supporters for Browning and Bissonette, as the WFP did for Kathleen Rice for Nassau district attorney and other candidates they backed. Then they "pulled" these voters to the polls on Election Day, and the candidates won.
What hasn't changed is that the WFP still is an antidote to cynicism in basing its support on issues. Although clearly closer to Democrats, the WFP still backs Republicans willing to carry its water.
What has changed, however, is more than the party's ability to provide the decisive margin, mostly in relatively low-turnout elections. It's the way the little party is shaping big legislative agendas. Whether that's a good thing depends on what you like.
No other political organization did more for the recent bump up in the state's minimum wage. It was overdue and helped thousands of working poor.
The WFP was the driving force behind a so-called living wage in Suffolk, New York City and other jurisdictions. Although good-hearted, it can only increase costs for businesses and not-for-profits that ultimately get passed along to taxpayers.
The WFP has expanded beyond labor issues. When its candidate for Albany district attorney beat the city's Democratic machine by opposing the Rockefeller drug laws last year, state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle saw its political potency. A partial rollback of the harsh sentences soon followed. It should have happened years ago.
But the WFP also pushed, in this election, a constitutional amendment that would have boosted the power of legislative leaders over the governor. The amendment, which failed, would have been a boon to its allies in labor.
At least the currency of the WFP's support is issues. When I asked Cantor if there were any government job he'd take, he laughed and said, "Yes, minister of ideology in Suffolk."
Maybe one day its leaders will fall prey to the greed and hubris that infects other major and minor parties. Today, WFP is an example of how a little guy can beat the big guys into (more often than not) doing good. ### |