The Daily Gotham is pleased to announce our inaugural interview in a series, in which we're going to be talking one on one with Democratic movers and shakers from around New York. We're kicking off the series with Doug Forand, of the New York State Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

TDG: Tell us a little bit about the DSCC. What does it do?

Doug Forand: The DSCC is the statewide campaign committee that supports the political goals of the Senate Democrats and helps Democrats get elected (or stay elected) to the State Senate. We raise funds; design campaign plans and provide campaign oversight; help with targeting; recruit campaign staff and provide whatever means of support are necessary for as many campaigns as possible. Our most visible work is in recruiting candidates and raising funds which we spend on our candidates’ behalf.

TDG: What role do you see the New York blogosphere and the netroots generally playing in the 2008 election for the State Senate?

Doug Forand: I think that down ballot races, such as State Senate races, are the next frontier where we’re likely to see a real impact by blogosphere. From the breakthrough impact on the 2004 presidential campaigns to last year’s Congressional races (the work by Take 19 in the John Hall district being a great example), each successive election cycle has seen an increased impact due to new media and electronic organizing. That being said, State Senate and other down ballot races are really in their infancy when it comes to being prepared to capitalize off of this medium, whether it’s in organizing, communications, or fundraising. That’s a challenge we have to address.

Looking specifically at New York’s blogosphere, I see huge potential for State Senate races. The blogs’ readership tends to represent a strong progressive base, and moving this base to a point where they recognize the importance of State Senate races can motivate them to be more involved in those races will pay significant dividends. The blogs’ coverage of our races, our candidates and our opponents will influence how the main stream media perceives and covers the races. Finally, the blogs’ influence can translate into fundraising support for our candidates and our committee.

TDG: What is, in your opinion, the track record of the current Senate majority? Why does New York need a Democratic Senate?

Doug Forand: The track record of the Senate Republicans is, in my opinion, abysmal. For decades, they’ve kept a stranglehold on the state legislature, blocking long-overdue reforms on issues like public campaign financing, ethics, redistricting and the rules by which the Senate operates. Beyond these issues, school financing has been held hostage to their political needs, far too many working New Yorkers lack basic health coverage, property taxes have skyrocketed due to Albany’s fiscal mismanagement, and the upstate economy has been left to wither on the vine – and all of this despite over four decades of uninterrupted Republican control. A Democratic Senate majority will address these matters, plus we’ll work to protect reproductive rights; we’ll pass a Paid Family Leave act; we’ll address longstanding concerns about issues like the environment, alternative energy, affordable housing and more.

Overall, Senate Democrats will work restore New York to its place as a national leader in progressive policies – a position that has been surrendered by the Republican majority.

TDG: The Senate Democrats are currently short two seats of a majority. Is the DSCC shooting for a bare majority, or is the goal set higher than that? Specifically, which districts, broadly, are you targeting?

Doug Forand: Two seats would create a tied house, which would be broken by the Lieutenant Governor – this would create a functional majority for the Democrats. That’s the critical threshold that we must reach in the 2008 elections. But our goal is to go beyond that, as far as we can, based on our candidates and the resources we have available. Given how quickly New York is turning more and more Democratic and how far the Republican party is shifting away from mainstream values, there’s a huge number of seats that could be in play in 2008 – at least four on Long Island, two or three more in New York City, three or four in the Hudson Valley and several in upstate New York. There’s also been a lot of speculation about some of the GOP Senators retiring – Caesar Trunzo, Owen Johnson, Serf Maltese and Tom Morahan are the names mentioned most frequently. All of those would be likely to go Democratic if it were an open seat.

The total number of seats in which we’re able to fully engage will be based on the candidates that we recruit and the money we raise, but based on where we are now, we hope to have active candidates in every district currently held by a Republican, and we’ll probably put major resources into 5 – 8 races.

TDG: The New York State legislature as a whole is seen – cf. the Brennan Center Report – as the most dysfunctional in the nation. The Albany system is often described as Three Men in a Room, the three men being the governor and the majority leaders of both chambers. Will the Democrats change this system when they take the majority in the Senate? If so, what would that look like?

Doug Forand: A shocking fact that most people don’t know is that the New York State Senate, under rules created by Joe Bruno, does not record votes on legislative motions or amendments so the voters can not find out how their representative voted. How arrogant does a legislative body have to be to allow those kinds of rules? Even the most rudimentary belief in electoral accountability demands that legislators’ votes be recorded and made available to the public. But that’s not how things work in the State Senate.

With the absolute control that Joe Bruno has over the Senate, there is little meaningful debate because there is so little opportunity for dissent. It’s so bad that a bill may have a majority of Senators as co-sponsors, but it still will not be brought up for a vote by the entire Senate (or even in a Senate committee) unless Joe Bruno gives his approval. But dissent is the hallmark of a strong democracy.

The Senate Democrats are committed to changing the rules of the Senate to make it more open and accountable. We propose meaningful rules reforms each year, but the Republicans, like their counterparts in Washington, feel that their actions are none of the public’s business. Once we’re in the majority, real changes will occur: All votes will be recorded and made available to the public. Minority party legislators will be able to bring bills to the floor so they can be debated and voted on. Most importantly, there will be a real commitment to openness in legislative affairs.

TDG: What are you looking for in the candidates you recruit? How much is money, how much is name recognition, how much is grassroots/netroots support? What role, if any, does a candidate's ideology – more Progressive versus more centrist – play in the process?

Doug Forand: What we’re looking for most is the candidate who has the greatest chance of winning. That requires all of the elements you mention – they need to be able to raise money, they need some degree of grassroots support, and existing name recognition is a big help. And, beyond these elements, we need our candidates to be ready to do the work that is required – running for office is a bigger time commitment and a bigger sacrifice than most people realize. There is no absolute formula because these are all elements that are hard to quantify, but if we have a candidate who will really put in all the work, the money, the grassroots support and the name recognition will come.

As far as ideology, while we look for a basic commitment to progressive values, open and accountable government and public service, we really are a big-tent conference – what’s most important is that their ideology aligns with the core values of their constituents.

TDG: Where are you in the candidate recruitment process? How many candidates do you have lined up to run? Who would you recommend bloggers take a closer look at?

Doug Forand: We’re in really strong shape – we have candidates ready to run (in some cases more than one) in all of our targeted districts on Long Island, in Queens and in several districts in upstate New York. As a point of contrast, at this time two years ago, we did not have a single candidate committed to running. We’ll begin really publicizing our candidates later this Fall, but in advance of that, take a look at Dave Koon in the 55th (in Monroe County). He’s currently a member of the Assembly and, in all likelihood, is going to be part of the new Democratic majority in the Senate.

TDG: When I circulated the fact that we were going to do this interview, several upstate bloggers voiced their perception that the party has not, historically, fought hard enough in upstate districts. The party chairs, June O'Neill and Dave Pollak, have been very clear in promoting a 62-county strategy. How active do you foresee being in upstate districts?

Doug Forand: We’re planning to be very active across upstate New York for the 2008 cycle. Where we may have been more focused on downstate districts in the past, Senator Smith is raising the funds to compete in districts throughout New York, and while we’re looking at the obvious places in upstate where we can engage – Democratic bases like Onondaga and Monroe – we’ve also got stronger than expected candidates looking to run against Tom Libous in the Southern Tier, Mike Nozzolio in Central New York and in other locations. Beyond the electoral politics, Senator Smith is committed to a philosophy that holds that New York is one state – we’ve had Senators crisscrossing the state, meeting community leaders, activists, business leaders and regular families to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard in Albany.

Further, while I do understand the criticism I think it’s also important to remember that, as an organization, we’ve been plagued by a chronic lack of adequate resources for our campaigns. Frankly, I don’t think we’ve been able to fight hard enough upstate, or in the Hudson Valley or on Long Island. With limited money, the natural tendency is to go after the low-hanging fruit which in the past has been generally downstate. But with the gains being posted by Democrats all over the Empire State, all corners of New York are now in play.

TDG: What lessons did the DSCC learn from the 2006 election cycle? What lessons did you learn from the Craig Johnson race?

Doug Forand: I’m combining these two questions because the same answer covers both.

There were really two sets of lessons that we learned – those things we learned from the individual races where we were really engaged, and the lessons about managing DSCC resources. On the broader DSCC side of things, it was clear that we could do better in terms of early candidate recruitment and off-year fundraising, which is why this has been a major focus for us for the 2008 cycle.

From the two campaigns that we really engaged in for ’06 (Senators Valesky & Stewart-Cousins) and Craig Johnson’s race we learned so much that it would be tough to list it all out. Generally speaking, the Stewart-Cousins race and the Johnson race were great opportunities to learn how to connect with suburban voters, and to understand how changing suburban demographics are creating new opportunities for us. The race in Westchester included the best voter protection effort ever done in New York State (much thanks to the Democratic Lawyers Council) and we came away with incredibly valuable lessons about bringing Democrats home to the Democratic line. From Senator Valesky’s re-election, we gained a much better understanding of how to connect with the more independent-minded voters in upstate cities, and how to build stronger rural campaigns. And Craig Johnsons’ election was not only the first campaign where we really began to engage the blogosphere, and it was also a great experience in building a broad enough coalition of party activists and interest groups to run a field operation that overwhelmed our opposition.

TDG: Lastly, the political press has been consumed over the last few weeks with 'Troopergate' and the concurrent Roger Stone scandal. From your experience, what effect, if any, is this Albany imbroglio having on the ground?

Doug Forand: It actually has relatively little impact on our races, and any impact it will have can only help us. The voters, by and large, are tired of how Albany operates and are tired of the dysfunction and the current situation just reinforces that the Senate is still just as bad as ever. The Governor’s staff may have been overzealous in their efforts to show how Bruno was taking advantage of taxpayer dollars by using state aircraft for political purposes. But the way the Republicans are responding is by creating a Whitewater-esque environment that’s standing in the way of all other issues. It’s dysfunction taken to a new level, and that won’t help Bruno stay in power.

Beyond that, however, is the fact that most voters will decide who to vote for based on the issues and the actual candidates – not because of Joe Bruno, Eliot Spitzer or anyone else. And in that light, the Senate Republicans have a record of failure that they’re going to be hard-pressed to defend.

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