What do an organic farmer from upstate New York, a social worker from the South Bronx, a liberal nutritionist from Ithaca and a Republican sausage-maker in Otsego County have in common?
They all support a state bill that marries blue-state regulatory muscle with “Make America Healthy Again,” the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-led movement that mixes a preference for natural foods with debunked theories about the dangers of modern medicine. The bill focuses on the former: If enacted, it would ban certain food dyes and force companies that sell packaged foods to disclose more information on additives in their products.
The bill’s advocates say New York should step up because Washington – and specifically the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – hasn’t done its job regulating many of the products that find their way onto store shelves and into consumers’ mouths. Opponents in the food industry say such a regulation is largely duplicative, and that additives are there for a reason.
Click here to read my story about the proposal and its unique coalition. You can also listen to the radio version– which includes a trip to the Troy Farmers Market – below.
MEANWHILE, IN WASHINGTON: Republican members of New York’s congressional delegation have split over a deal to increase a popular tax deduction – the latest step in an intra-party dispute that could stall President Donald Trump’s fiscal agenda.
As I reported last week for Gothamist, members of the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday approved a tax code overhaul sought by Trump. Republicans hope it will be incorporated into a “big, beautiful bill” that includes several campaign promises, including eliminating the income tax on tips. The tax overhaul will be combined with cuts to spending on Medicaid and food assistance programs.
It also increases federal tax deductions for people who pay state and local taxes, a provision known as SALT. But a handful of blue-state Republicans – including New Yorkers – say the changes don’t go far enough, and they won’t get on board with the bill unless it raises the SALT cap further.
“It's an issue of double taxation and fairness,” U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from Rockland County who is considering a run for governor, told me. “Given our tight margin, we have a voice in the process and we're going to use it.”
But restoring the SALT deduction will cost the federal government money at a time when other GOP members hope to cut taxes elsewhere. The bill got derailed Friday when a group of conservative members said they didn’t support it because it didn’t cut spending enough.
One person who will be interesting to watch in all of this is Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican from Saratoga County. She has a national profile and is one of the top Republican leaders in the House, where she’s talked about as a future speaker after years of recruiting and supporting candidates, as well as a tightly cultivated relationship with Trump.
Stefanik is now considering a run for New York governor, as I wrote recently, after that same tight margin of GOP control derailed her nomination to be United Nations ambassador.
“I think it's a low-risk, high-reward move for Representative Stefanik,” Luke Perry, a political scientist at Utica University, told me. Even if she lost, she would raise her profile and would be in line for an appointment in the Trump administration, he said.
Winning would be difficult. No Republican has been elected to statewide office in New York since George Pataki in 2002. There are about 3 million more enrolled Democrats than Republicans in the state. Democrats have all the advantages of incumbency.
And Stefanik would have to answer for Trump. She’s become a staunch backer of the president after first winning election in 2014 as a moderate. A Siena College Research Institute poll last month found voters disagree with Trump’s plans for tariffs and shuttering federal agencies. His favorability rating was 40%.
But Hochul’s wasn’t much higher, so it might be tempting enough for Stefanik to give it a go. Early polling also shows her with an advantage over Lawler, adding to their dance in the coming weeks.
THE QUESTION: Who was the last member of Congress to be elected governor of New York?
Know the answer? Drop me a line at jimmy.vielkind@gmail.com. Or just write with thoughts, feedback or to say hi.
THE LAST ANSWER: Trinity Church, located at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street, is still a major property owner in Lower Manhattan.