New York’s GOP Gubernatorial Race and Financial Issues at The New School

Title: New York’s GOP Gubernatorial Race and Financial Issues at The New School

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Janae Pierre: It'll be MAGA Republican versus MAGA Republican in New York's GOP gubernatorial race next year, and The New School faces an identity crisis and financial woes. From WNYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Janae Pierre. City Comptroller and former mayoral candidate, Brad Lander, is running for Congress in a district that includes Lower Manhattan and Northwest Brooklyn. In a video announcement Wednesday morning, Lander says he'll be an ally to Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and a champion for all his neighbors in New York City.

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Brad Lander: I'm Brad Lander, Dad Lander, Councilmember Lander, Comptroller Lander, and it would be an honor to serve you as Congressmember Lander.

Janae Pierre: The announcement sets up a primary battle between Lander, who is a prominent progressive, and moderate Democrat Dan Goldman. Progressives are hoping to build on Mamdani's stunning victory in this year's mayoral race. The left-leaning Working Families Party has already voted to endorse Lander for the seat.

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Janae Pierre: Now on to another race. On yesterday's episode, we mentioned Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is running for the Republican nomination for next year's gubernatorial election. As of now, Blakeman will face off against Representative Elise Stefanik for the GOP's ballot line. Blakeman has been teasing a run for months, but he made it official Tuesday on Fox & Friends.

Bruce Blakeman: We want to put New York first. We want to make it more affordable. We want to make New York safer, and we want to make people in New York happy again.

Janae Pierre: If you're unfamiliar with the two-term executive, here's a bit of what you should know. First off, Blakeman has been around New York politics for decades, and he owns a couple businesses.

Bill O'Reilly: He came in as county executive five years ago and really made a name for himself on the tax stuff, but also on the women's sports.

Janae Pierre: That's Bill O'Reilly. No, not the controversial commentator that you're probably thinking of. This Bill O'Reilly is a Republican strategist with The November Team. He says Blakeman's stance on women's sports really made him a national headline. You may recall that controversial bill passed last year in Nassau County that bans transgender athletes from participating in women's and girls' sports at county-owned facilities.

Bill O'Reilly: That kind of put him on the national calendar. The thing that's most interesting is that Republicans took a whipping all over the country, and not just in the big races, but in one place where Republicans did well in New York was Nassau County.

Janae Pierre: O'Reilly says because of that, it makes sense that Blakeman would run for governor. Although some political analysts have called Stefanik a favorite in the GOP race, O'Reilly says Blakeman's announcement alters the race's dynamics.

Bill O'Reilly: This is certainly a very competitive race because, effectively, Bruce Blakeman owns Long Island, Elise Stefanik owns Upstate, and the battle will be New York City and the Hudson Valley.

Janae Pierre: O'Reilly says Blakeman's entry also guarantees that this will be a right-wing primary. He says both Blakeman and Stefanik are chasing the same type of MAGA Republican voters.

Bill O'Reilly: That's not ideal for either candidate, but it's just the way it is. Maybe they find a way to make it healthy and get some new issues out there.

Janae Pierre: Speaking of MAGA Republicans, it's no secret that President Trump will loom large over next year's gubernatorial election. O'Reilly says Trump has a really good relationship with both Blakeman and Stefanik.

Bill O'Reilly: It sounds to me as though he's made it clear that either one is fine with him and that he won't put his thumb on the scale for either candidate.

Janae Pierre: That's Republican strategist Bill O'Reilly, partner with The November Team.

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Janae Pierre: In other news, Latinos are bearing the brunt of immigration enforcement in New York, even though they only represent a quarter of non-citizens in the state. That's according to a new report from the New York Immigration Coalition and researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder. Chloe East is an economics professor at the university and co-author of the report.

Chloe East: Really, the reason we zoomed in on Latinos in the report is that that was far and away the group that is being impacted the most by ICE right now, and so we felt like that was the main story to tell and the main focus of the report.

Janae Pierre: The finding for the first six months of the year largely matches the national picture. The Department of Homeland Security did not comment on the report.

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Janae Pierre: Still ahead, a look into the newest financial issues at The New School. That's after the break.

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Janae Pierre: Higher education throughout the country is going through a moment right now, to say the least. Due to declining enrollment, scrutiny from the federal government, and even lawsuits, some schools are facing major financial challenges, forcing them to make tough decisions. Here in New York City, the latest university in hot water is The New School, a private university in the village with a progressive history.

There's a pause on admitting all but a few PhD students for next year, and the university's president announced cuts to positions and closures of programs with low demand. Voluntary separation and early retirement letters went out to faculty and staff last week, and the university says layoffs will follow depending on how many people volunteer to leave.

Jessica Gould: The American Association of University Professors says 40% of full-time faculty were offered these exit packages, which that association says is the largest attempt at firing faculty in the country.

Janae Pierre: WNYC education reporter Jessica Gould says that, according to university leaders, The New School is affected by the same trends that have been rocking colleges across the country.

Jessica Gould: Enrollment has plummeted in recent years, and university leaders say this restructuring is necessary to stabilize the budget and then have a reset for the future.

Janae Pierre: School faculty is not happy, especially those who received voluntary separation letters that would take effect either as soon as January or in June.

Jessica Gould: They say they're worried about their jobs, but they also say they're worried about the direction of the university.

Janae Pierre: The New School was created by anti-war academics who faced backlash for opposing the United States' entry into World War I more than a century ago. In the 1930s, it became an academic home for intellectuals who were in exile from Nazi Germany. Over the years, the school has pioneered courses in photography, film, jazz, and women's history, and its activist bent has continued.

Jessica Gould: There were two pro-Palestinian encampments last year when those encampments were sweeping the country, including one specifically by faculty, maybe the only one that was by faculty at any campus across the country. President Trump included The New School on a list of his administration's campuses that he was scrutinizing.

Janae Pierre: Rachel Sherman, a sociology professor at The New School, is worried that these staff and program cuts will have a disproportionate effect on the school's most progressive departments.

Rachel Sherman: They characterize our intentions only as economic, but it does seem to be designed to minimize the power of the divisions that have historically been more politically motivated.

Janae Pierre: Jessica says that a spokesperson for the university disagrees and says that ideas that certain political views or elements of the university are being targeted is completely false.

Jessica Gould: She said the cuts are university-wide, not focused on any certain divisions or disciplines, and that the school maintains a commitment to free speech and inquiry.

Janae Pierre: That's WNYC's Jessica Gould.

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Janae Pierre: We all want to stay healthy this season, right? State health officials are urging New Yorkers to get their flu shots before going home for the holidays. The latest state data shows a grim increase in the number of residents who have contracted the flu in the last week of November, more than 14,000 New Yorkers. I'm definitely not trying to be in that number, and I'm sure you're not either, but state health officials say the vaccination rate this season is lagging compared to last year. This is just a gentle reminder. Do what you got to do to stay healthy these days. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC. I'm Janae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.

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