Cuomo reaches out to Green Party as he shores up liberal credentials [View all]

ALBANY — As he tries to mend fences with New York progressives, some of Gov. Cuomo’s top staffers for the first time are regularly reaching out to the minor Green Party.

Cuomo’s secretary to the governor, Melissa DeRosa, and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos have been in more frequent contact with leaders of the environmentally focused party, Green Party officials say.

The governor himself popped in for about 15 minutes during one meeting between his aides and party leaders, officials said.

Some of Cuomo’s staff also attended a recent meeting of 350 Brooklyn, a local activist group with ties to the Green Party that is focused on climate change. One source said Cuomo Counsel Alfonso David was scheduled to attend the meeting but was called away at the last moment. In his place, Cuomo’s deputy secretary for the environment and others showed up.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/lovett-cuomo-reaches-greens-gathers-liberal-credentials-article-1.3582362