Don't Credit Cynthia Nixon for Cuomo's Pot Shift: N.Y. Assemblyman Gottfried
*By Chloe Aiello*
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo may have radically changed his stance on marijuana ー but his former Democratic primary opponent Cynthia Nixon shouldn't be congratulated for his shift, according to New York State Assembly Health Committee chair Richard Gottfried.
"On this particular issue, I don't think she gets any credit. I know from first-hand conversations from people in the Governor's office, as well as from their public statements going way back, that they have been working on developing this legislation for a long time," Gottfried, who has been working on marijuana policy reform since the 70s, told Cheddar Wednesday.
In a Monday tweet, Nixon suggested that her progressive challenge of Cuomo in the gubernatorial race influenced his late embrace of marijuana reform and other issues.
"Sometimes people ask me: was it worth it? YES. Here’s why," Nixon wrote on Twitter, citing a list from The New York Times reporter Shane Goldmacher compiling some highlights of Cuomo's 2019 agenda.
Included on that list were legalizing marijuana, ending cash bail, and codifying *Roe v. Wade *ー among other issues that were major priorities for Nixon during her campaign. Some have already seized on the tweet, arguing that Nixon scored a victory ー despite losing the election ー by pushing Cuomo further left. But when it comes to marijuana, at least, Gottfried said the governor's shifting views predated the election.
"There has been a really dramatic change in opinion in the Cuomo administration on this issue from back in '14 where he was pretty hostile to medical use. His thinking has I think really caught up with where the public is ー that goes back way before Cynthia Nixon's challenge," he said.
Gottfried said the delay had less to do with determining whether pot would be legalized, and more to do with the details of how exactly legalization might work.
"Do we organize it in ways that welcome in very capitalized big business? Do we try to structure it so that minority entrepreneurs and small businesses have more of a shot at being part of the market? That is what an awful lot of the discussion is about at this point, not the threshold question of do we allow adult use," Gottfried said.
Gottfried himself knows all too well what questions like these involve, having worked on marijuana policy reform for at least 40 years. He helped write a 1977 bill that aimed to [decriminalize marijuana in New York](https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/05/archives/albany-agreement-reached-on-easing-marijuana-curbs-measures-passage.html?module=inline) and in 2014 cosponsored the bill legalizing medical marijuana in New York. He said he thinks the governor will probably regulate marijuana in a similar fashion to the way alcohol is regulated in New York state.
"We don't allow people who produce alcohol to distribute it, we don't allow them to retail it. Those are very powerful vertical disintegration statutes in New York going back to 1933," he said, adding that the approach helps include small businesses in the retail market.
"I think it's been a pretty good system. I think that is where the governor is looking."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/cuomo-expected-to-fast-track-legislation-to-legalize-marijuana).
Inflation remains hot as the January PPI has increased by 1 percent, twice what analysts had been expecting with a jump of 9.7 over the year. Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist, for S&P Global Ratings, joined Cheddar News to discuss the rapid pace of inflation alongside higher wages, predicting the Federal Reserve will act quickly and forcefully this year. "They haven't changed their forecast, yet, that's gonna come out soon. But we expect that a March rate hike is basically pretty much baked in the cake," she said. "We think six rate hikes in total for 2022."
For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
A newly declassified letter by senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich claimed the CIA. has been conducting a Secret Surveillance Program which has been collecting a bulk of data from American citizens. The letter which was written in April of 2021 urges the CIA to come clean about the kind of data it collects and how many Americans have been impacted. According to these two senators, the program did not have the safeguards of congressional oversight.
Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at National Securities, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and elaborates on the impact higher oil prices stemming from the conflict would have on the market.
Last week, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a a letter airing concerns that the CIA is collecting the data of American citizens without their consent. The lawmakers fear that the program might be exploiting private data. Morgan Wright, the chief security advisor at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ramifications of the letter. "We don't have all the dots in one place to connect them," said Wright, cautioning against jumping to conclusions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that diplomacy is still possible, while U.S. officials warn that an attack on Ukraine is imminent. Cheddar News speaks with James Astill, Washington bureau chief of The Economist on the latest developments in Eastern Europe.
As the number of Russian troops rose to 130,000 along its Ukrainian border, hopes for a diplomatic solution remain among world leaders. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to break down the fluid situation. "We saw signs pointing towards an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whereas today we're seeing some signs that the Russian government may be willing to continue down a path of diplomatic negotiations to try and find some sort of non-military solution," he said.
Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders are now planning to amend the stop trading on congressional knowledge act, otherwise known as the 'Stock' Act. This 2012 law governs how members disclose the purchase or sale of stocks and amending it would close a loophole, eliminating the trading of individual stocks by members of congress. Pelosi has consistently opposed a ban on stock trading by lawmakers and congressional staff...so what's changed? Kedric Payne, Vice President of Campaign Legal Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for a controversial new version of the Alabama congressional map to remain in place. The lower court had previously ordered that the state must redraw that congressional map because it violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters. Redistricting expert Yurij Rudensky joins Cheddar News to weigh in.
