The breakaway Democrats began communicating with their Republican colleagues more frequently and cordially.
While the breakaway conference continued to vote with Democrats at that point (Republicans held the majority then, regardless), over time the IDC’s relationship with the mainline Democratic conference grew “toxic,” as one source put it. The IDC was first formed in 2011 when senators Jeff Klein, Diane Savino, David Carlucci, and David Valesky (Malcolm Smith would join in 2012 and Tony Avella in 2014) broke away from the Democratic conference’s leadership, citing dysfunction. Furthermore, they say, the governor was a key player after the coalition launched, privately offering advice about tactics and messaging. He was “deeply involved,” they say, and “absolutely” encouraged the marriage that allowed the Republicans to remain in leadership even after the election of a Democratic majority. 9 primary by complaining that the Senate coalition didn’t achieve enough for progressives.īut now, multiple sources with deep knowledge of the IDC and Republican conferences’ dealings confirm that in fact the governor was not a passive observer during the formation of the coalition. And it’s this distance that has allowed him (presumably) to keep a straight face as his running mate, Kathy Hochul, attempts to bolster her own Democratic credentials ahead of the Sept. It’s on this basis that Cuomo has been able to put distance between himself and the coalition at opportune times-such as, say, when the Working Families Party threatened to endorse someone else for governor earlier this year.
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