This is an assult on Democracy in the Name of A Governor’s Self-Preservation
In a move that reeks of desperation and cronyism, Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into law a bill (S.7111-A/A.7862-A) that hands unprecedented power to the state committees of political parties—specifically targeting the Working Families Party (WFP)—to purge their own ranks without the messy inconvenience of local accountability.
This isn’t some noble reform to streamline party operations; it’s a calculated, self-serving strike designed to fortify Hochul’s flailing grip on power ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial election. By empowering WFP leadership to expel dissenting members at will, Hochul isn’t just tilting the playing field—she’s bulldozing it to eliminate any threats from within the progressive ranks that might back her primary challenger, Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado.
This isn’t Democratic leadership at work; it’s a personal favor traded for loyalty, a betrayal of New York’s voters disguised as procedural housekeeping.
Let’s strip away the veneer of legitimacy. The bill allows state party committees to step in and handle member disenrollments where no county-level organizations exist, a provision tailor-made for the WFP, which lacks such structures in most counties.
On the surface, it sounds bureaucratic, even benign. But dig deeper, and it’s clear this is a weapon for party bosses to silence internal opposition.
The WFP has seen its influence grow—backing upset wins in 2025 like Zohran Mamdani’s Democratic primary victory for New York City mayor, and progressive mayoral candidates in Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany. These victories represent a grassroots surge from the left, the very kind that Delgado, Hochul’s own handpicked lieutenant governor, is now channeling in his bold primary challenge against her.
Delgado has broken ranks to run a progressive campaign, sharpening contrasts on issues like housing, criminal justice, and economic inequality—areas where Hochul’s centrist leanings have left her vulnerable. Polls show Hochul leading, but with significant undecided voters and Delgado gaining traction, the governor is scrambling.
This bill is her payoff to WFP leaders: tools to “clean house” in exchange for their endorsement and volunteers in 2026. It lets the bosses purge anyone who supports Delgado, ensuring party resources flow straight to her.
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People of NY…
As a candidate for governor committed to building a new Constitution Party—a fledgling third-party alternative rooted in principled, constitutional conservatism—it would be the height of hypocrisy for me not to call this out loudly and clearly.
A new party like ours would start small, without county committees statewide, and this law could one day hand me, as potential chairman, the power to dictate membership and silence dissent. It would be temptingly self-serving to stay silent.
But that temptation is exactly why this bill is so dangerous and wrong. It is about as undemocratic as it gets—centralizing power in state-level elites to expel members arbitrarily and turn party membership into a revocable privilege granted by bosses.
I’ve watched Democrats seize control of the Independence Party through foul means—alliances with breakaway factions, shady fundraising, and legislative tricks that confused voters and banned the word “independence” in party names. It was a blatant power grab while preaching democracy.
The people must recognize this evil and turn away from it. That’s our only hope—we cannot become them. We must reject these authoritarian tactics outright and fight for parties truly accountable to members, not top-down purges.
This maneuver violates core democratic principles and potentially the NY Constitution’s equal protection clause (Article I, Section 11) by giving special privileges to parties without county committees. It undermines freedom of association and turns suffrage protections into a joke.
This isn’t the Democratic majority working for the greater good. It’s Hochul’s desperate solo act to shore up her sinking approval. While New Yorkers struggle with housing crises, costs, and safety, she’s engineering backroom deals to neutralize rivals.
Governor Hochul’s actions are a slamming indictment of her leadership—shameless machine politics that puts personal ambition over principle.
If this is her vision for New York, voters should reject it in 2026. Democracy demands better—and it Carl Gottstein refuse to follow her down this undemocratic path.
Carl Gottstein
Candidate for Governor
New York State Constitution Party
Time to Break Free
