Exclusive scoops & insider gossip by Gerson Borrero

Will Cuomo get some amor from Caucus Weekend?

Captain, the Governor’s new cachorro, may be a good prop and even help to soften the Guv's image with some Neoyorquinos. Cuomo could sure use some amor from the attendees at the 47th Annual Conference of The New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators (here’s the schedule of events for the upcoming weekend: http://bit.ly/2HjWUSq)

The latest Quinnipiac polling shows eroding overall support for Cuomo on key issues. The theme of this weekend's gathering of loyal NYS Democrats is “On This Journey There is Still #HOPE,” which is perfectly suited for the Governor. “Come on man, this is Cuomo’s base,” one black state legislator told me. “He may treat us like shit in the budget, but he’s going to get over.”

This weekend's lineup includes the traditional early afternoon, invitation-only reception on Sunday at the Governor's Mansion. And even though he's not on the program, there's buzz that Cuomo may make a speaking appearance at the Sunday Dinner Gala.

One bochinchero legislator reminded me of everything Cuomo's done for Puerto Rico: “My Puerto Rican and Latino colleagues would be hard pressed to give the Governor so much as a hint of discontent with all he’s done after the hurricane.”

Does that mean Boricuas and other Latinos will get the crumbs from the NYS budget mesa? Well, I guess not much has changed. Nos jodimos... again!

Reparations workshop will not be kind to Cuomo

It's no secret that Assemblyman and notorious rabble rouser Charles Barron is not exactly on the Cuomo adulation stage alongside most of his legislator colegas. To prove the point, Barron’s standing room only workshop theme at he Caucus this weekend is [drum roll, please] reparations!

Even though according to the schedule, the Saturday 10:45AM workshop is titled "And Justice for All: Ending Epidemics In Communities of Color," the Brooklyn-bred Cuomo nemesis will actually be talking about reparations. An insider bochinchero tells me “Charles will be talking about the historical thievery of our people by whites and will bring it to how that’s happening at this very moment."

Rubencito’s schedule leads to 2021

Look for an uptick in Rubén Díaz, Jr.’s public schedule as soon as he delivers his State of the Borough address on February 22. That’s what one insider bochinchero told me in a recent conversation. The presumed 2021 wannabe mayor will be traveling to the other boroughs and look for some speaking at CBOs.

“He should concentrate on making his borough better,” said a bochicnhero who’s already part of the team for another potential Democratic candidate for alcalde.

Just what we need...another trying political campaign.

NYS GOP: the party with a “snowball’s chance of unseating Cuomo”

A very pessimistic Republican bochinchero sent me the following quote from a Times Union piece written by Fred LeBrun on February 10, 2018: “DeFrancisco, who probably doesn't stand a snowball's chance of unseating Cuomo with the paltry $1.5 million in his war chest, is the first serious opponent Cuomo has faced since taking office. He's a solid candidate, with plenty of good experience, a smart lawyer, and a striking departure from the nutcases the Republicans have thrown up against Cuomo in the past.”

The frustrated Republican then asked, “How sad is this for the opposition party led by Richard Nixon’s son-in-law?” He’s talking about Ed Cox, the NYS Chairman of the GOP and husband of Tricia Nixon. The electoral disaster is closer to happening as the 2018 election calendar advances towards the November general election. It’s the chronicle of a slow death at the polls.

I asked another active and rabid Republican if there’s a chance for his party. “I dunno. I suppose DeFrancisco has the leg up. It's a suicide mission to begin with so it's no difference,” was the response from the Republican bochinchero. Pretty triste outlook for Donald Trump’s party in the Empire State.