Ben Max

Stanley Fritz: 'We've pissed off Gov. Cuomo. We've got to win now.'

Cynthia Nixon’s race against Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already taken on a lot of storylines. The mayor versus the governor. Bernie left versus Hillary center. Novice with star power versus establishment veteran.

According to Stanley Fritz, the New York City campaign manager for Citizen Action of New York—one of the advocacy groups that effected the Working Families Party’s endorsement of Nixon earlier this month, it’s about more tactile issues, like bail reform, a more generous minimum wage statewide, broader union representation, marijuana legalization and public financing of campaigns for state office.

And for the WFP itself, it’s about survival. “We’ve pissed off Governor Cuomo,” he told the Max & Murphy podcast on Wednesday. “We have to win now.”

Fritz discussed the implications of the split between the party and several member unions, the prospects of the candidates still challenging former members of the Independent Democratic Conference, and whether it will be enough if Nixon pushes Cuomo left—even if she doesn’t push him out.