Political Aide OK’d Anti-Semitic Flyer Against Nixon
By Dan Murphy
New York State political operative Larry Schwartz has had nine lives in his years as a connseuir of the ‘dirty politics’ that so many of us have tried to reject. Many of our long time readers will remember Schwartz from his years in Westchester, serving as former County Executive Andy Spano’s ‘hatched man’, and laying down the law for democrats on the county level for more than a decade in the 2000’s. Prior to that, Schwartz worked at Playland where he was blamed for many of the bad purchases of rides, and deals and agreements that turned out not to be in the best interests of the taxpayers.
Schwartz then left White Plains for Albany to serve as Governor David Patterson’s Secretary, and then served as Governor Andrew Cuomo’s top aide until a New York Times story in 2014 linked Schwartz to the containment and eventual closure of the Moreland Commission, a State panel set up by Governor Cuomo to root out corruption in Albany. The Commissioner was disbanded by Cuomo before it could make any difference in ethical wrongdoing by legislators, lobbyists and power brokers in NY State.
The New York Times reported that Schwartz was accused of aggressively controlling information harmful to Cuomo’s political interests by the Moreland Commission. He was investigated by then US Attorney Preet Bharara but was never charged. He quietly left State Government in 2015, receiving a position with OTG, an airport management and concessions company, where he still works today.
He remained silent for three years, occasionally penning an op-ed defending his old boss, Governor Andrew Cuomo. “In 2011, thanks to the strong leadership of the newly elected Gov. Cuomo and a new bipartisan partnership in the state Legislature, government dysfunction ended. We started passing on-time budgets, we created jobs, cut taxes, increased education funding, provided health insurance for over two million New Yorkers, and made New York the progressive capital of the nation when it came to civil and human rights,” wrote Schwartz, in an Op-Ed from last year.
“Last year’s election revealed a winning political dynamic: deliver for the people, stand against the institution, rise above partisanship and fight for the middle class and against the special interests. In many ways that has always been Gov. Cuomo’s brand, but the current political circumstances make his particular style of governance especially attractive,” continued Schwartz, in a glowing portrait of his former boss.
Schwartz’s name returned to the spotlight in a negative way during the recent Democratic primary for Governor between Andrew Cuomo and Cynthia Nixon. During the final days of the campaign, an inflammatory flyer was mailed to several thousands Orthodox Jews that suggested that Nixon was anti-Semitic.
The flyer stated that Nixon was “against funding Yeshivas, and “was silent on the rise of anti-Semitism.”
Was paid for by the State Democratic Committee. Nixon is not Jewish but is raising her two children in the Jewish faith.
In a statement, Lis Smith, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cuomo’s campaign, laid the blame on Larry Schwartz. “Larry Schwartz, who serves on our campaign in a volunteer capacity, was reviewing mail pieces in an ad hoc fashion, but he only saw the positive section of the mailer and never saw the negative section,” Ms. Smith said. “Had he seen it, it would have never gone out. We have said all along that the mailer was inappropriate and a mistake and have worked with the state party to change the approval process going forward to ensure this never happens again.”
In a phone interview on Wednesday night, Mr. Schwartz said that he was very upset by the mailers, noting that he is Jewish. “I would have never approved that mailer to go out had I seen it in its totality, it was totally inappropriate,” said Schwartz.
Despite Schwartz’s denials, many democrats weren’t buying the excuses.
“Lawrence S. Schwartz, the former secretary to the governor, inadvertently signed off on the flier after its language was drafted by David Lobl, a former special assistant to the governor who was volunteering with the re-election campaign, the campaign said.”
“Inadvertently? Larry? Really? He only read one side of the flyer. Of course,” posted two progressive democrats on social media.
The outrage to the flyer reached the highest levels of New York Democrats. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, whose wife, Sharon Kleinbaum is the Rabbi at the synagogue that Nixon attends, wrote,
From Sharon Kleinbaum and Randi Weingarten
“Tonight, we saw a mailer from the NYS Democratic Party directed to Jewish Voters. We are both used to rough and tumble political advertising, particularly this close to Election Day, but this piece was beyond the pale. Amongst other distortions, it suggested Cynthia Nixon was ok with anti-Semitism, stating she was “silent on the rise of antisemitism for many reasons, we have both maintained our neutrality in the primary between Governor Cuomo and Cynthia Nixon. We know them both well, and Sharon is Cynthia’s Rabbi. Cynthia is no anti Semite. It’s a baseless lie.”
The Nixon campaign, noting Mr. Cuomo’s close ties to Mr. Schwartz, questioned how the governor could not have been aware of the mailer. “The question now remains: What did the governor know about this sleazy smear attack, and why hasn’t he held anyone accountable for it?” Rebecca Katz, a senior campaign adviser, said in a statement.
The negative coverage of ‘Mailergate’ and Schwartz’s involvement continued up until Primary Day.
“Cuomo has adamantly denied he had anything to do with the smear. But sources said one of his longtime confidants was deeply involved. ‘Schwartz was very involved with the mailer and signed off on it,’ a Democratic source said, describing the aide as a ‘henchman’ and ‘enforcer.’ The source added: ‘It obviously blew up.’” Wrote the NY Post.
Others on social media questioned how Schwartz could read and approve only one side of the flyer without seeing the other side.
“Cuomo…He didn’t know? Unpaid volunteers putting out political flyers to thousands? Volunteer? a flyer of that stature for this issue at this time doesn’t go out without the highest approval…back of the flyer indeed… it’s created and printed on two separate pages. Are you kidding me?” said one angry Nixon supporter.
“Why not investigate the statement by Lis Smith that Lawrence Schwartz did not see the “false claims on the reverse side” by laying out the structure of the email that he received? Emails don’t have sides, so it would be useful to know if the false claims were stated prominently in the beginning or inconspicuously in the middle of the email. Was a PDF of the flyer attached? If so, “reverse side” makes sense. And what does the following statement mean, “…Mr. Schwartz said that he was very upset by the mailers, noting that he is Jewish.” Is it to suggest that he is more upset because he Jewish or is it just thrown in like a vital statistic?” said another progressive democrat.
Ironically, days after the primary, Schwartz appeared on a Westchester’s Top 50 from City and State, NY. Schwartz was listed as #6.
“Lawrence “Larry” Schwartz has long been an influential figure in New York state and Westchester County. Schwartz has held top roles with three New York governors and served as deputy county executive under then-Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano…and is advising Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s re-election campaign. Schwartz has deep roots with Cuomo, having served as his highest-ranking aide – causing him some embarrassment thanks to a mailer he approved accusing Cynthia Nixon of anti-Semitism. As secretary to governor, Schwartz was a no-nonsense enforcer, implementing the administration’s fiscal and legislative initiatives,” wrote City and State NY, (Cityandstateny.com).
