Former Binghamton Lawmaker Nominates AOC to Lead NY Delegation
The chairman of the New York Democratic Committee was shocked when a former Binghamton city council member nominated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to lead the state delegation to the party's national convention.
Dan Livingston made the unexpected move Tuesday during an online meeting. The New York Daily News reported party officials "had expected to rubber-stamp" Governor Andrew Cuomo's nomination.
Livingston told WNBF News Wednesday he only learned a day earlier that he was a delegate to the state convention. He said he didn't know the agenda until he was in the meeting.
Livingston said he hadn't thought of nominating anyone other than Cuomo before the session. He said he "was just responding to events as they were unfolding during the meeting."
Livingston added that nominating AOC was "just a spur of the moment kind of thing."
According to the Daily News, state Democratic committee chief Jay Jacobs was "furious over the Zoom stunt." Cuomo easily won the nomination.
Livingston said he hasn't heard from Jacobs but he had been advised by another delegate who was on the call that he "is in fact quite mad."
Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com
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