New York, NY – Councilman Barron Says He’s Running to Protest Cuomo’s All White Ticket

New York, NY – Councilman Charles Barron provided details today of his plans to begin a protest bid for governor, and blasted Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and the Democratic Party for putting together an all-white statewide ticket.

Mr. Barron, a black leader with a knack for stoking controversy, said he would begin a petition drive to create a new party, the New York Freedom Democratic Party, as a place for minority voters who had grown disenchanted with the Democratic Party. He said Mr. Cuomo had insulted African-American voters by picking a white man, Mayor Robert J. Duffy of Rochester, as his running mate, knowing that the rest of the party’s ticket would be white.

“The Democratic Party has taken our vote for granted for many, many years,” Mr. Barron said in an interview, and added of Mr. Duffy’s selection: “This is the latest slap in the face. This political blackout by Andrew Cuomo is outrageous, that he would be comfortable going with an all-white state slate.”

Is diversity an area of concern for Mr. Cuomo?

While eight members of minorities are among the 21 members of his executive staff in the attorney general’s office, his closest advisers tend to be white, with Charlie King, who he recently installed as executive director of the state party, as a notable exception. Because of the makeup of the state ticket, some Democratic strategists are concerned that the party will have a difficult time energizing minority voters, a key base of support.

Still, a Siena College poll released on Monday showed that, while there was some modest softening in Mr. Cuomo’s overall popularity, his poll numbers remain stronger among black voters than among whites. Specifically, he had a 69-to-18 percent favorable/unfavorable rating among blacks, compared to 57-to-28 percent among whites. The poll was a survey of 808 registered voters from June 7 to June 9, with a 3.4 percentage point margin of error.

So does Mr. Barron see himself as a spoiler?

“Spoil what?” he said. “They already spoiled us by excluding us and having a statewide slate that looks like Mississippi in the 1950s. What am I spoiling? I’m going to be an empowerer. A vote for Cuomo is a wasted vote, because he’s already got it.”