Sunday, September 08, 2019
Manhattan Democratic Party leaders are revolting against their borough chairman — former Assemblyman Keith Wright — and his double life as party boss and lobbyist.
A cadre of dissidents plan to force a meeting to consider a rules change that would prohibit a party chief from lobbying, according to district leader Paul Newell.
“Fundamentally a political party, particularly the Democratic Party, should not have a lobbyist as its leader,” Newell told The Post.
The meeting is planned for late September or early October. Newell and his allies say they have met the requirements — 15 signatures from six different districts — to force the issue onto the agenda.
“There will be a vote,” Newell said. “I expect it to be contentious.”
Wright was overwhelmingly reelected as borough chairman on Aug. 28 during a meeting of the executive committee.
The former lawmaker has worked as a lobbyist since 2017 and is currently the government relations group director of high-powered firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, a lobbying shop helmed by former City Hall fixer Sid Davidoff.
Before joining Davidoff, Wright spent 23 years as a state assemblyman and a fixture in Harlem politics. Among more notable clients are HBO, NBC Universal, Juul and T-Mobile, and four charter schools, public filings show.
Wright left the Assembly in 2016 after an unsuccessful bid to succeed a retiring Rep. Charlie Rangel. After leaving Albany, Wright faced the mandatory two-year ban on lobbying. With the restrictions fully lifted, Wright’s name began cropping up on Davidoff Hutcher & Citron’s public filings where he was listed as lobbying dozens of his former colleagues in both chambers — including many representing Manhattan.
“It’s outrageous,” one senior Albany legislator told The Post, adding that he’s often seen Wright in the the statehouse cafeteria.
While experts and elected officials noted Wright’s power as the borough’s Dem leader is limited because of Manhattan’s diverse and unwieldy political landscape, he could still frustrate re-election efforts and even recruit primary challengers. He also plays an outsized role in the election of civil and state supreme court judges.
Sid Davidoff insisted Wright does not directly lobby elected officials and that his name was added to the filings in error.
“Out of an abundance of caution, our firm adopted a policy — which we have since reversed — of registering every member of the government relations practice on every account. The forms are being amended to reflect the fact that Keith has not and will not lobby elected officials,” he told The Post. “Keith is employed at this firm as a government relations specialist and he provides outstanding guidance to our clients.”
But public filings show that Wright has targeted members of the City Council on client issues, something confirmed by Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s chief of staff Jason Goldman.
Goldman told The Post he recalled several informal conversations about menthol cigarettes with Wright during a period when the Manhattan party boss was lobbying for tobacco giant Reynolds American. Goldman also said they have spoken about other issues, but it wasn’t clear if he was being lobbied.
Wright, 64, also appears to have plenty of business in the Albany chamber where he used to work.
In one current filing Wright was listed on, the Accessories Council paid $29,000 to the firm for lobbying directed at Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal over her plans for a statewide ban on fur products in New York.
Though Rosenthal told The Post she had no recollection of being lobbied by Wright or anyone else from Davidoff, her original bill was watered down to include an exemption for religious attire — primarily fur Shtreimel hats often worn by Hasidic Jews — around the same time. It remains in committee.
Manhattan State Sen. Brad Hoylman was the target of two aggressive lobbying pushes by Davidoff according to filings that also listed Wright. During a period from May to June, the firm took $15,000 from Taxi Tours and Big Bus Tours New York (Hoylman has been a tough critic of the iconic double-decker buses in the past). There was also another $9,500 from The Town Hall performance space in Times Square officially earmarked for “scheduling tours” with the senator.
Another $20,000 was paid out, according to filings which included Wright, by the Commercial Finance Coalition to lobby Manhattan Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou on a pair of finance bills she sponsored.
Wright’s lobbying is perfectly legal. But a growing chorus of good-government groups have joined Wright’s internal party critics in saying he must make a choice.
“For almost three years, Common Cause/NY has said Keith Wright can either be party chairman or a lobbyist but he can’t have it both ways,” Susan Lerner, executive director of the group said. “The opportunities to wield his political position for personal enrichment, or use his position to advance a client’s agenda present a clear conflict of interest.”
Wright did not return a Post message seeking comment.
https://nypost.com/2019/09/07/manhattan-democrats-planning-coup-against-party-boss-lobbyist-keith-wright/
A cadre of dissidents plan to force a meeting to consider a rules change that would prohibit a party chief from lobbying, according to district leader Paul Newell.
“Fundamentally a political party, particularly the Democratic Party, should not have a lobbyist as its leader,” Newell told The Post.
The meeting is planned for late September or early October. Newell and his allies say they have met the requirements — 15 signatures from six different districts — to force the issue onto the agenda.
“There will be a vote,” Newell said. “I expect it to be contentious.”
Wright was overwhelmingly reelected as borough chairman on Aug. 28 during a meeting of the executive committee.
The former lawmaker has worked as a lobbyist since 2017 and is currently the government relations group director of high-powered firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, a lobbying shop helmed by former City Hall fixer Sid Davidoff.
Before joining Davidoff, Wright spent 23 years as a state assemblyman and a fixture in Harlem politics. Among more notable clients are HBO, NBC Universal, Juul and T-Mobile, and four charter schools, public filings show.
Wright left the Assembly in 2016 after an unsuccessful bid to succeed a retiring Rep. Charlie Rangel. After leaving Albany, Wright faced the mandatory two-year ban on lobbying. With the restrictions fully lifted, Wright’s name began cropping up on Davidoff Hutcher & Citron’s public filings where he was listed as lobbying dozens of his former colleagues in both chambers — including many representing Manhattan.
“It’s outrageous,” one senior Albany legislator told The Post, adding that he’s often seen Wright in the the statehouse cafeteria.
While experts and elected officials noted Wright’s power as the borough’s Dem leader is limited because of Manhattan’s diverse and unwieldy political landscape, he could still frustrate re-election efforts and even recruit primary challengers. He also plays an outsized role in the election of civil and state supreme court judges.
Sid Davidoff insisted Wright does not directly lobby elected officials and that his name was added to the filings in error.
“Out of an abundance of caution, our firm adopted a policy — which we have since reversed — of registering every member of the government relations practice on every account. The forms are being amended to reflect the fact that Keith has not and will not lobby elected officials,” he told The Post. “Keith is employed at this firm as a government relations specialist and he provides outstanding guidance to our clients.”
But public filings show that Wright has targeted members of the City Council on client issues, something confirmed by Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s chief of staff Jason Goldman.
Goldman told The Post he recalled several informal conversations about menthol cigarettes with Wright during a period when the Manhattan party boss was lobbying for tobacco giant Reynolds American. Goldman also said they have spoken about other issues, but it wasn’t clear if he was being lobbied.
Wright, 64, also appears to have plenty of business in the Albany chamber where he used to work.
In one current filing Wright was listed on, the Accessories Council paid $29,000 to the firm for lobbying directed at Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal over her plans for a statewide ban on fur products in New York.
Though Rosenthal told The Post she had no recollection of being lobbied by Wright or anyone else from Davidoff, her original bill was watered down to include an exemption for religious attire — primarily fur Shtreimel hats often worn by Hasidic Jews — around the same time. It remains in committee.
Manhattan State Sen. Brad Hoylman was the target of two aggressive lobbying pushes by Davidoff according to filings that also listed Wright. During a period from May to June, the firm took $15,000 from Taxi Tours and Big Bus Tours New York (Hoylman has been a tough critic of the iconic double-decker buses in the past). There was also another $9,500 from The Town Hall performance space in Times Square officially earmarked for “scheduling tours” with the senator.
Another $20,000 was paid out, according to filings which included Wright, by the Commercial Finance Coalition to lobby Manhattan Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou on a pair of finance bills she sponsored.
Wright’s lobbying is perfectly legal. But a growing chorus of good-government groups have joined Wright’s internal party critics in saying he must make a choice.
“For almost three years, Common Cause/NY has said Keith Wright can either be party chairman or a lobbyist but he can’t have it both ways,” Susan Lerner, executive director of the group said. “The opportunities to wield his political position for personal enrichment, or use his position to advance a client’s agenda present a clear conflict of interest.”
Wright did not return a Post message seeking comment.
https://nypost.com/2019/09/07/manhattan-democrats-planning-coup-against-party-boss-lobbyist-keith-wright/
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