TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalMurphy stumps for Atlantic Democrats with about 50 hours left in race
Gov. Phil Murphy headlined a virtual rally boosting countywide candidates in Atlantic County and House challenger Amy Kennedy Sunday evening.
Though he gave praise to each of Atlantic’s five Democratic countywide candidates, he made special mention of Kennedy’s race.
“As they say in boxing, it is the featured fight on the card on Tuesday among the House races, and I’ll tell you, we are all-in for Amy,” Murphy said. “We have been from moment one, and I know all of you are with us in that regard.”
Kennedy is running against Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), who was elected as a Democrat in 2018 but defected to the Republican Party in December.
Read more: https://newjerseyglobe.com/governor/murphy-stumps-for-atlantic-dems-with-about-50-hours-left-in-race/
Voters who registered at MVC agencies are at risk of having their ballots rejected
The law that made voter registration easier by allowing drivers to register to vote at a motor vehicle office is making it harder for many New Jerseyans to have their ballots counted in this year’s mostly vote-by-mail election.
Several county election officials said registrations that include the signature created by using a Motor Vehicle Commission pin pad generally are not comparable to the inked signature on an individual’s ballot, leading officials to set aside those ballots. They then send out a “cure” letter that the voter must complete and sign, affirming that he did submit the ballot so it can be counted. But only about half of those letters are being returned, elections officials told NJ Spotlight News.
“I don’t know that we’ve accepted any ballot from a person that’s registered at MVC because it doesn’t come near to what their signature looks like, so we send them a cure letter,” said Evelynn Caterson, chair of the Atlantic County Board of Elections. “We make every effort to see if it is indeed the voter and it’s really easy if it’s a registration online or MVC because it doesn’t look like it.”
The problem is especially acute in this high-profile general election because voter turnout is highest in presidential election years and interest this year seems even greater. Adding to the problem is that every active New Jersey registered voter was sent a mail-in ballot and is being encouraged to vote this way to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Read more: https://www.njspotlight.com/2020/10/nj-election-2020-signature-problem-motor-vehicle-commission-voter-registration-ballots-set-aside/
Pandemic's Cost in New York: $63 Billion
The grim news was laid out in a report released Friday afternoon by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget office: The pandemic has cost New York $63 billion in revenue through 2024 and the state will need federal assistance.
The mid-year state budget report estimated the state's main general fund saw a $14.9 billion decline and a 15.3% loss in tax receipts since the original budget estimate was released in February.
The state has reduced spending through September by $4.3 billion over the same period a year ago. That's been done through restricting hiring, new contracts, pay raises and what the Cuomo administration has said is a temporary holding back of payments by 20%.
Cuomo has warned the state will need federal aid or it will face a mix of spending reductions, tax increases on wealthier New Yorkers and more borrowing in order to close a budget gap next year. So far, another coronaviruse relief measure has stalled in Congress.
Read more: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/ny-state-of-politics/2020/10/30/pandemic-s-cost-in-new-york---63-billion
Typhoon Goni weakens as it crosses Philippines, four dead
MANILA (Reuters) – A super typhoon weakened after barrelling through the southern part of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon on Sunday, with officials reporting at least four deaths, power supply outages, infrastructure damage and flash floods.
The weather bureau downgraded Goni, the world’s strongest storm so far this year, to typhoon category, with 215 kph (140 miles per hour) sustained winds and gusts of up to 290 kph (180 mph) after it made landfall in the Bicol region.
Tropical storm-wind alerts were lowered, but the weather agency warned in its 0300 GMT bulletin that Goni still posed a threat while traversing provinces south of the capital Manila.
Goni made two landfall in two places in the Bicol region, where four deaths were reported, said provincial Governor Al Francis Bichara, including one hit by a tree and a five-year-old washed away after a river overflowed.
Read more: https://www.metro.us/typhoon-goni-weakens-as/
Seven pro democratic lawmakers arrested in Hong Kong
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Seven pro-democratic lawmakers were arrested in Hong Kong on Sunday on charges related to obstructing a legislative council meeting in May, they said on Facebook, a move that comes after Beijing passed a contentious security law in June.
The arrests, which took place early in the morning, did not appear to be directly linked to the law but come as police have arrested around 30 under the legislation in recent months.
Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lawmakers Wu Chi Wai, Andrew Wan, Helena Wong, Kwok Wing Kin, Eddie Chu, Raymond Chan and Fernando Cheung announced their arrests on their individual Facebook pages.
Read more: https://www.metro.us/seven-pro-democratic-lawmakers/
N.Y. Comptroller DiNapoli recommends NYC come up with post-coronavirus fiscal plan, pans borrowing
ALBANY — State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is urging New York City to come up with a common sense fiscal plan to address economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a report issued Thursday, DiNapoli panned the city’s proposed plan to borrow funds to cover operating costs and called for federal help to assist the Big Apple in its recovery.
“The scope and devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a significant revenue loss for the city while driving up costs to deal with its effects,” DiNapoli said. "Past experience indicates the city would be well-served by developing and considering all options, in order to identify if and when deficit financing is truly needed.
“Washington, for its part, can, and must, help the city weather this colossal economic storm,” he added.
Read more: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-nyc-borrowing-dinapoli-report-20201029-dvguxdg4kzethmniot5jwfwtn4-story.html
Noose displayed near Missouri voting booths, covered up after voting intimidation complaints
A noose that had been on display near voting booths in southwest Missouri was covered up Friday.
The noose was spotted at a polling place in Stone County, Mo., in which 97% of residents are white, according to the 2010 census.
A county official said the noose was part of a display commemorating the last legal hanging in Missouri, the Kansas City Star reported. County clerk Cindy Elmore said the display had been up for several years in the county government building and was not related to the election office within the building.
“For a noose to be displayed next to voting booths is clear intimidation targeting Black voters. This symbol’s purpose is to stoke the fires of racial prejudice and strike fear in the hearts of people of color,” Missouri Democratic Party chair Clem Smith wrote in a statement.
Read more: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-noose-missouri-voting-booths-intimidation-20201031-m47b6yyogjendffqg7scmqaedu-story.html
NYC sheriff shuts down big Halloween party in Brooklyn warehouse
The trick was on hundreds of people treating themselves to a pre-Halloween bash.
City sheriffs shut down a massive underground party early Saturday where more than 387 people danced and drank in a Brooklyn warehouse, thumbing their nose at the city’s social distancing rules.
The illegal event was closed down at Meadow St. near Bogart St. in East Williamsburg about 1 a.m., officials said.
Nine event organizers were hit with multiple misdemeanors for violating the city health codes, social distancing rules and the alcohol beverage control law, the Sheriffs office tweeted.
Read more: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-city-sherrifs-shut-down-massive-party-in-queens-warehouse-20201031-tmjwdz37grcgfnqwhpdulien3u-story.html
Billionaire's spending backs Jordan
An independent expenditure committee funded by billionaire Ronald Lauder has spent $28,500 on digital ads promoting state Sen. Daphne Jordan of Halfmoon, according to recently filed election records.
Lauder, an heir to the Estee Lauder fortune, has spent more than $4 million seeking to elect state Senate Republicans across New York this year, but this is his first expenditure supporting Jordan, a freshman lawmaker who has nonetheless been strongly favored to retain her Capital Region seat.
Jordan’s opponent, Democrat Patrick Nelson, put out a press release on Friday about the spending by Lauder’s group, Safe Together New York.
Nelson noted that Jordan recently sent out a campaign mailer accusing New York City liberals of trying to “steal” Jordan’s seat – but that Lauder, a New York City billionaire, is now backing Jordan’s campaign.
Read more: https://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/290981/billionaires-spending-backs-jordan/
Senate Democrats seek veto-proof majority in Albany - but will they invoke it?
ALBANY — Two years after Republicans lost control of the state Senate, the Democrats across the aisle are positioned to do what many political observers say had once been unthinkable: seize a supermajority in their chamber that would enable them to override any vetoes by the governor.
Buoyed by some well-positioned candidates in key races next week, Democrats believe the wake of their "blue wave" of 2018 is still rolling. The potential strengthening of their control of state government comes after Republicans had held near-constant control of the state Senate from 1939 to 2009, and that was followed by another period of GOP control that relied on a group of breakaway Democrats who conferenced with them.
“I would have thought that upstate New York and Long Island had seceded from the state and started their own state. That’s what I would have thought,” said David Paterson, 66, a former state senator and governor, of what he would have once thought it would take for Democrats to take a supermajority.
For years, the dynamic of Democrats hoping to pick up state Senate seats was a cycle of optimism and ultimate disappointment, he said.
Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Senate-Democrats-seek-veto-proof-majority-in-15686489.php
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