There's a new governor in New York, but the state Democratic Convention remained a top-down affair

NEW YORK — Democratic gubernatorial candidates Tom Suozzi and Jumaane Williams were given opportunities to address TV cameras at the Times Square hotel where New York Democrats held their quadrennial nominating convention on Thursday.

But it wasn’t from the stage where over 40 elected officials and party dignitaries were given a chance to speak. The two were shunted to a crowded hallway filled with items touting Gov. Kathy Hochul, both speaking in the 8 a.m. hour before the events officially kicked off.

“I’m not some yahoo candidate, Jumaane Williams is not some yahoo candidate who’s never been around before,” Suozzi bemoaned.

This year’s convention was only the second since 1974 in which somebody with the last name “Cuomo” was not seeking a statewide office. But to Democratic upstarts, the convention felt a lot like those of years past: A well-choreographed affair designed more to celebrate the Democratic leader than allow for any public debate over the party’s direction.

Democrats whose names were put forward to be considered for the party’s gubernatorial backing were given the chance to have a few supporters speak on their behalf. Williams won a coin flip, so his backers were allowed to speak first.

But the afternoon began with a long list of speakers who mostly shared similar messages.

“I’m proud to call Kathy Hochul my governor,” said Rep. Rep. Jerry Nadler.

“I am excited to officially endorse my friend, our fearless leader, Gov. Kathy Hochul,” said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers).

The small number of committee members backing other candidates were left to listen and futility bring points of order.

“Supporters of the public advocate have not been invited to speak,” said Patrick Nelson, a committee member from Saratoga County and Williams backer. “These are nominating speeches by another name. How vulnerable does the governor feel at this convention that she needs to stack the deck ahead of time?”

The speakers were simply “distinguished leaders of the party,” Chair Jay Jacobs told convention goers to applause.

And thus the Hochul dissent at the convention where she won over 85 percent of the vote was limited to protesters supporting undocumented immigrants and tenants rights, who interrupted the governor’s speech before being escorted out of the room, and three brief speeches supporting Williams.

(One of these three was Williams’ wife, who gave birth on Monday and returned to the hospital immediately after nominating him).

“Impartiality for the Democratic Party in New York state is having the chair of the convention already having endorsed someone,” Williams said as delegates were heading home, referring to Jacobs’ endorsement of Hochul in September.

There were a couple of small consolations for progressives. The benediction, notably, was what one would expect from a clergy member. That’s a departure from 2018, when the opening prayers focused primarily on praising the then-governor.

“The benediction was balanced and generic and just referenced giving us wisdom and guidance to get through this process, when four years ago it was essentially a letter from God to Cuomo stating that he was blessed from on high to lead our state,” noted committee member Emilia Decaudin, a Williams backer.

Also, after complaints that the line-up was not diverse enough, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, Assemblymember Catalina Cruz and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso were late adds to a list of speakers that initially did not include any Latino officials.

Jacobs later said that the first list was only tentative, and that any perceived exclusions were because some individuals hadn’t finalized their participation yet.

“I certainly don’t want to offend anybody — we’ve been working very hard not to do that,” he told reporters Thursday. “But I'm sure if you look hard enough we’ll make a mistake here and there.”

Former New York Sen. Hillary Clinton introduced Hochul to the largely adoring crowd, but she too apparently sought to limit dissension at the convention: Suozzi claimed Clinton recently called him to bow out and run again for the House. He refused.

One other big difference involved the room temperature. Cuomo famously liked his events frigid. His events were so famous for thermostat settings that rarely topped the low 60s that they occasionally led to accusations of sexism.

But the state’s first female governor did not ask for any specific thermostat settings, her campaign said.

And the temperature at the Sheraton’s ballroom sat at a balmy 72 degrees.