Rob Gavin reports that the five-judge panel denied the GOP’s request for a stay of Judge Joseph Teresi’s order forcing the Senate to meet as a 62-member body, and not in two 31-member mini-sessions.
While the GOP will undoubtedly press their appeal, the decision to vacate the request for a stay is a big short-term victory for the governor — and anybody who was getting bored with the gavel-in-gavel-out sessions that took place in the chamber between Thursday and Monday.
Before today is over, the Senate must come to an agreement that will allow us to pass dozens of pieces of essential legislation. At stake are billions in federal stimulus money, billions in funding for schools and local governments, and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
As leaders of the Senate Democratic Conference, we think it's important that the public understand that we are willing to put aside all partisan disputes to complete this critical work.
Senate Democrats have repeatedly put forward proposals for a bipartisan operating agreement -- without preconditions -- that would allow the Senate to pass key legislation now and fight about leadership later.
Article III of the state Constitution dictates that there must be a majority of Senators elected -- 32 -- to have a quorum to conduct legislative business.
Right now, neither conference can convene a quorum without the cooperation of the other. And with 31 votes on each side, we need a bipartisan agreement to pass legislation.
Today we must pass dozens of bills: to fund local governments, to extend the Power for Jobs program that supports jobs and low-cost electricity for businesses and nonprofit groups across the state and to allow more than $3.8 billion in federal stimulus and education funds to flow to local school districts.
We can get this important work done -- if we put aside our differences.
Senate Democrats claim there they have quorum because Sen. Frank Padavan, R-Queens, walked in and out of the chamber and was marked present.
Senate Democrats are now moving through their active list for the regular session.
Padavan is talking to reporters right now, explaining that he was in the lounge and he was not present when Senate Democrats were standing for the pledge of allegiance. He claimed that he passed through the chamber, but only before Democrats started session.
In an interview on Capital Tonight on Wednesday night, a member of the Espada-led Republican leadership team (Sen. John Defrancisco, R-Syracuse) admitted to holding Power for Jobs and other crucial bills hostage as a chip in negotiations. Last week, when Senator Aubertine nearly brokered an arrangement to pass these bills, the Espada-led conference claimed to have put Power for Jobs on the agenda with other critical bills. However, if you look at the attached official agenda released by that conference, it did not include the Senator’s extender for the economic development program which is set to expire on Tuesday.
ALBANY (June 26, 2009)—State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine said today that he has presented a compromise plan to the governor and both conferences that would end the stalemate that threatens close to 400,000 jobs across the state. The plan would ask all members with claim to leadership to step aside, allowing a neutral rank and file member to take the title of Senate President Pro Tempore for a day in order to move critical legislation, including Power For Jobs, local sales tax extenders, and other home rule legislation. This new leader would then sign necessary documents required to send the legislation to the Governor to sign it into law, before stepping down to let leaders from both sides resume their negotiations.
“What we need is for calmer heads to prevail,” Sen. Aubertine said. “What the people of New York need is for their issues to take center stage and have Senators Espada, Skelos, Smith and Sampson go to their neutral corners and have someone else take the reins for 4 hours or whatever it takes for these non-controversial bills to move. Then both sides can resume their negotiations over who gets what title. Let that go to binding arbitration or be settled some other way. That’s fine, but don’t threaten the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers including some 6,000 in Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties.”
Senator Aubertine said the governor’s office has expressed support for the proposal. Senators Malcolm A. Smith and John L. Sampson in Democratic Leadership have also expressed their support for the idea, along with numerous rank and file members in the Democratic Conference. However, Senators Pedro Espada and Dean G. Skelos refused to consider it.
“If they’re holding these bills hostage to keep Pedro Espada as their leader, how will they explain their actions to every employee who may lose their job when Power for Jobs expires?” Sen. Aubertine continued. “This is a fair compromise. There’s no down side to this for anyone. In the meantime, this solves the short term concerns about passing this legislation and getting session closed down. After we take care of the people we represent, then talks can resume on a leadership agreement.”
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Countless articles and books have been written about the "three men in a room" phenomenon that is Albany -- the Governor, Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker making all the decisions behind closed doors for 19.5 million people. But on Monday June 7th, we shifted to a one man model where an unelected billionaire named Tom Golisano (who recently announced he was moving to Florida to avoid paying New York State income taxes) makes all the decisions. But before he left, he showed up outside the Senate Chambers in the Capitol and stood with the Republican leadership when announced that they had the votes to take control of the Senate. At first, Golisano seemed to be the "mastermind behind the coup." Although, as the days go by, others have rushed to claim equal bragging rights to have purchased the coup including: a lobbyist for the real estate industry who is also the lawyer for the lead Senator who traded sides (pro-tenant legislation might pass), the anti-choice movement (we were about to pass a reproductive rights bill), campaign finance reform (isn't that like Communism?), and those who oppose marriage equality (Oh no! New York would benefit from the economic activity and tax revenue generated by LGBT weddings). I even heard a rumor that Roger Stone -- yes, Tricky Dick's Roger Stone -- is claiming he masterminded the coup.
After threatening to withold their paychecks, Governor David Paterson announced that both Democrats and Republicans will attend Thursday's special session.
Albany -- After Republican senators boycotted Wednesday's extraordinary session and Democrats failed to gather a quorum, Gov. David Paterson called a third extraordinary Senate session for 3 p.m. Thursday, saying he'll send troopers for any senator who doesn't show up. Paterson said he also plans to dock the salaries of all senators going back to June 8, the day the Senate coup erupted.
"If you're not coming to work, you shouldn't get paid," Paterson said. "I think the people have had enough. I know I have."
(One wrinkle in Paterson's plan: Senators already have been paid through Wednesday.)
Paterson said he takes personal offense to the Senate "farce" and to the attitudes of many of the senators involved.
A Bronx health care business operated by Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., which receives millions of dollars annually in state support, owes $347,000 in back taxes.In fact Espada, the colorful outspoken renegade senator, whose alliance with Senate Republicans and disputed election as Senate president has caused chaos in New York's government, has a history of tax delinquency.
Espada refused to discuss the finances of his Bronx health-care organization with the Times Union.
NEWS FLASH
Senate Democrats — minus Sens. Pedro Espada, Ruben Diaz, Sr., and Kevin Parker — filed into the chamber at 3 p.m. to hold “extraordinary session.”
Senate Republicans did not show.
Under Rule V, Sec. 3, subsection a, Andrea Stewart-Cousins' position on the rostrum, holding the gavel, before "the hour to which the Senate shall have adjourned" may have been premature. True, Governor Paterson called a special session, but that was for a later time as well.
Rule VI deals with introduction of bills and resolutions, and is quite detailed regarding procedure -- procedure which doesn't seem to have been followed yesterday. Rule VIII deals with passage of bills, and again procedures don't seem to have been followed. It is probable, therefore, that no bills were legitimately passed.
"I've been a public servant here for over 20 years," Paterson said in a news conference about an hour after both sides stood at ease, "and what I've seen in the last two weeks in the Senate disgusts me. The Senate's inaction is a dereliction of duty. They've clearly forgotten who they serve."
Paterson then issued a second proclamation calling the Senate back for another special session at 3 p.m. today, with an agenda topped by this year's most controversial measure: the legalization of gay marriage.
While Democrats outside of the leadership have acknowledged flaws in how things were run and promised greater change, I've not found much chatter like that from Republicans. (I'd really like to be wrong - if anyone's seen such talk, let me know!) For now, Republican Senators seem to have hunkered down with the leadership, staying in a parallel universe where somehow President Pro Tempore Pedro Espada and Majority Leader Dean Skelos can munificently preside over a 31-31 split Senate, just because they say they can. Apparently no one is worried about the implications of this for 2010, or for getting much done in the short term either. (All I can find from my own Republican Senator are these comments from back on the 11th.)
I've suggested that the answer to this breakdown may come from the backbenchers rather than the leadership, but the backbenchers taking the initiative - and then falling back - all seem to be Democrats. Not counting the original switch of Monserrate and Espada, Duane and Aubertine seem to have come closest.
So what's sustaining Republican unity? Is it sheer party loyalty? Is it the togetherness of the last stand, knowing that even their gerrymandered districts can protect them for so long? Is it patronage, the hope of reversing the Democrats' hires and replacing them with their own people? The sense that sticking together worked in the past, so why change now? Pride? Contempt for the Democrats? Tom Golisano? The threat of their local party machinery turning against them? I don't get the sense that they're actually all that fond of Pedro Espada.
ALBANY - Gov. Paterson rejected a plea from Senate leaders to delay a special session to give them time to work out their crazy squabble that has stalled work in Albany for two weeks. An aide to the governor said Paterson rejected the request.
"We're going to have a special session (Tuesday)," the aide said. "We need to get back to work."
Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos and dissident Democrat along Pedro Espada Jr. along with new Democratic conference leader John Sampson and the man he replaced, Malcolm Smith, met briefly with Paterson.
The leaders sneaked out a back way after the meeting to avoid waiting reporters.
Democratic lawmakers urged Gov. David A. Paterson on Saturday to call a special session of the State Senate this week, saying they hoped it would help resolve the dispute with Republicans that has left the chamber deadlocked for almost two weeks.
The announcement was made after a meeting in Harlem that was called by the Rev. Al Sharpton and attended by senior Democratic senators and Assembly members, as well as by leaders of some major labor unions. No Republicans were invited.
“There needs to be a bipartisan governing session to get the people’s business done,” said Senator Malcolm A. Smith, the Democratic leader, at a news conference after the meeting. “The governor, we support his call for an extraordinary session. Now the next thing that has to happen is that the Republican leadership needs to agree that we can do the people’s business by having a governing bipartisan session.”Stan Lundine, former state lieutenant governor and Jamestown mayor, has been asked by Gov. David A. Paterson to help resolve the ongoing conflict in the state Senate.
On Saturday, Paterson's office announced that both Lundine and former state Sen. John Dunne have agreed to act as mediators in the ongoing leadership dispute in the state Senate. In addition, Paterson announced Chief Judge Jonathan Lippmann has also agreed, at his request, to preside over a special session if mediation does not resolve the Senate's differences.
In an attempt to end the stalemate of the last two weeks, Senate Democrats have offered a power-sharing agreement that would allow both sides to come back to the chamber without either one getting to claim victory or having to admit defeat. The power struggle would be put off for another day. The answer from the GOP? A counterproposal that essentially restates their position. The Democrats by no means are off the hook here. They risk losing the high road -- a very relative altitude in a chamber that has sunk so low -- by engaging in the same kinds of spin and shenanigans as the Republicans. Tuesday, for instance, had each side asserting that an judge had affirmed their claims to power, when in fact he said nothing of the sort. A far more accurate paraphrase of Justice Thomas McNamara's decision would have been: Work it out and get back to work.
But the Democrats do deserve credit for at least offering a realistic way out of the mess that has gridlocked government for almost two weeks.
| Unemployment Rates | May 09 | April 09 | May 08 |
| Jefferson | 8.1 | 8.9 | 6.0 |
| Lewis | 8.9 | 9.9 | 5.7 |
| St. Lawrence | 9.3 | 9.7 | 6.6 |
| Oswego | 9.6 | 9.5 | 6.5 |
| New York State | 8.0 | 7.5 | 4.9 |
Sen. Aubertine to Sen. Young: Real Leadership wouldn’t sell out Upstate NY for personal gain ALBANY (June 17, 2009)—State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine said today that he and everyone in the farm community and Upstate New York should be concerned about the Espada-led Republican Conference’s push to pass a bill that would devastate New York’s agricultural industry.
“It’s clear that Sen. Young and her colleagues have put their desire for political power ahead of working for the people they represent,” said Sen. Aubertine, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “She has not only supported installing a Senate President who is under investigation and stands accused of attempting to put hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money in his own pocket, but one who has listed as one of his priorities a bill that would devastate the Upstate economy by driving farms out of business.”
Sen. Catharine Young, the ranking minority member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has stood behind Sen. Pedro Espada and Minority Leader Dean Skelos at press conferences as they attempt to wrestle control of the New York State Senate.
“It’s clear the Espada-led Republicans say one thing and do another. They talk about reform, but reject real reform. They talk about Upstate, but put downstate first,” Sen. Aubertine said. “Sen. Young and her Upstate colleagues have stood behind Sen. Espada and supported his efforts to take the reins of the Senate. They have sold out the interests of farmers for their own political gain. I call on Sen. Young and any lawmaker who truly cares about the Upstate Economy to set aside personal gain and support real reform through a power sharing agreement.”
In a statement released to the media, Bronx Sen. Espada, the Republican choice to head the Senate, joined Sen. Skelos of Long Island in pointing out that the actions they took last week have stalled legislation. Among the legislation that Sen. Espada listed as a priority in his plea to move certain bills this session is the “Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act.” He did not note the importance of a Power For Jobs extender or property tax relief.
“I have been working with colleagues in my conference to help them understand how a so-called farm worker protection bill would hurt farm workers across the state and force many farms to close down,” Sen. Aubertine said. “Sen. Young should do the same. I thought we had put this bill behind us for this session, but now Senator Espada has listed it among his priorities. This should not sit well with anyone who truly supports any efforts to grow the Upstate economy.”
Sen. Aubertine, along with the New York Farm Bureau and members from both parties, has spoken out against the bill while working with his colleagues to show its potential impact on the Upstate economy. The Senator has said that while supporters have good intentions, the legislation does not take into account the nuances of agriculture and would actually do more to hurt farmers than help them.
“The fact is that Majority Leader Malcolm Smith and others in the Democratic conference have been receptive to the needs of Upstate New York, while those attempting a power grab this very moment are a pair of downstate Senators with no real concern for the needs of anyone north of Westchester, let alone here in Central and Northern New York,” Sen. Aubertine said. “I’ve worked with my colleagues to explain that this bill is attempting to fix a problem that does not exist. Now, Sen. Young has helped give this bad legislation new life.”
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ALBANY - A criminal probe into Pedro Espada Jr. - the Bronx politician at the center of the state Senate's power struggle - is growing to include his first terms in office, the Daily News has learned. Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson subpoenaed the Senate late last week asking for a slew of records relating not only to Espada's current tenure but also to his previous two stints in office, a knowledgeable source said.
The Bronx Democrat returned to the Senate this year after serving from 1993 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2002. The subpoena was served to the Senate secretary days after Espada crossed party lines and helped Republicans launch a coup that ousted Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) as Senate majority leader.
Sen. Pedro Espada says he could count twice in votes in the Senate, once as a senator pro tempore and once as acting lieutenant governor, to break the logjam in the Senate. But lawyers for Senate Democrats have found case law that counters the Bronx Democrat’s view.
In a New York case from 1826 called “Court For The Correction of Errors of New York”, a citation goes this way: “The Lieutenant-governor forms no part of a quorum in the Senate.”
More recently - 1966 - a court found that in Delaware the lieutenant governor “is not a member of the Senate, and he may not be counted for quorum purposes.”
Indeed the New York Constitution reads: “A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business.”
And a 1981 case in Nebraska involving Center Bank versus the Department of Banking and Finance also affirms such a view.
The lieutenant governor of New York is able to break ties with a vote on measures - arguably only procedural matters - before the Senate. But the Senate Democrats say a quorum call does not represent a tied vote.
-jôr
-t
, -j
r-)n. pl. ma·jor·i·tiesSenator Aubertine and Senate Democrats:
Court asks lawmakers to create power sharing agreement, Espada-led GOP refuses fair deal
ALBANY (June 16, 2009)—State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine said today that the Senate must move beyond new Senate Republican Leader Pedro Espada’s power grab and get back to work on important legislation to create and sustain jobs, provide flexibility for school districts and local governments, and provide substantive property tax relief.
“We’ve now lost a full week of session,” Sen. Aubertine said. “It’s disappointing because it means we have spent the last week in a political food fight instead of moving forward with legislation to create jobs and provide property tax relief. The judge declined to rule and put the onus on us to get things back on track and finish out this session. There are a lot of important issues and the Espada-led Republicans have refused to negotiate in good faith.”
State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara declined to make any ruling on the power grab, asking the Senate to come together and decide on a power sharing agreement. Senate Democrats have proposed a truly fair power sharing deal that would take politics out of the process and put New Yorkers first, dividing power evenly.
Included in the Democrats’ proposal:
· Democratic and Republican Presidents of the Senate would alternate daily;
· Floor Leaders would alternate daily (from a different party than that day’s President of the Senate); and
· A 6-member Senate Conference Committee (3 Democrats, 3 Republicans) would work together to determine what legislation reaches the floor.
“I think it’s a very fair offer of a power sharing agreement,” Sen. Aubertine said. “The fact that it was rejected out of hand demonstrates a level of arrogance that the Espada-led Republicans have adopted here of putting politics ahead of people. Without the other side willing to come to the table and even discuss this proposal, it’s difficult to do anything. This clearly shows all of us that this was never about cooperation between two parties. This has been a power grab plain and simple.”
The power grab has delayed the passing of important legislation, including home rule bills, a Power for Jobs extender to support 400,000 jobs statewide introduced by Sen. Aubertine, a bill to green jobs through stimulus funding, and efforts to provide property tax relief.
Senator Aubertine added: “I urge the Senate Republicans and their leader Senator Espada to join us and get back to governing. If my colleagues are serious about reform and getting results, they will put people before politics and come to the table to put a real power sharing agreement, above their own personal gain.”
Call him Deadlock Dean, since he helped to take us to this point. Long before the savvy and influential Rockville Centre senator and lawyer engineered last week's surprise parliamentary coup, he happened to make an unprecedented 31-31 standoff possible.Judge Thomas McNamara has just dismissed the , saying that for him to decide would be an “improvident intrusion” of the judiciary onto the legislative branch.
This sends the question of leadership back to the Senate.
Judge Thomas McNamara has delayed ruling against and has adjourned until 1 pm today.
McNamara called counsel — including Peter Kiernan from Gov. David Paterson’s office — into chambers. After about 40 minutes, the parties emerged.
The judge said that he believes that “progress is being made” and that he has an obligation to allow the process to continue so long as there is movement.
"There was a vote last week, 32-30, and that vote stands...The vote's the vote."
Hmm, that's interesting. I recall Senator Malcolm Smith making a similar argument about the original 32-30 vote taken way back in January of 2009. I'm glad to see Senator Skelos recognizes that the vote of a majority should stand. I look forward to seeing him cede the Majority Leader seat back to Malcolm Smith.
Last year, Industrial Development Agencies gave away over $500 Million taxpayer dollars— much of which went to companies that created poverty-wage jobs, no jobs at all, or some that actually cut jobs.
Now, IDAs are poised to channel almost $2 Billion taxpayer dollars in federal stimulus money throughout New York. We need to reform IDAs, not reward them!
As the main source for economic development in the state, IDAs must do better. There's only a short time left for the state legislature to act to make sure IDAs don't squander yet another opportunity to create the good jobs that New Yorkers need. Please contact your legislators today.
We need IDA reform now to ensure New York's stimulus money creates good jobs and strengthens local economies like it was intended to. New York's 115 IDAs are not fostering the real economic recovery and growth we need, and our money could easily disappear into an unaccountable web of IDAs throughout the state, or simply go to waste by not requiring that public financing creates good jobs.
Industrial development agencies can and should be used to promote broad economic prosperity, but these programs have been abused - companies are reneging on commitments to create jobs or are only creating poverty-wage jobs, while local tax burdens are shifted from big corporations onto working and middle class families. But we can change that.
New York Jobs with Justice and its partners around the state have been fighting to improve business standards, accountability, and transparency of IDAs, but we need your help. Please tell your legislators that it's time to make IDAs work for New Yorkers. It's time we get our money's worth for a change.
“Cooperation is necessary to do the basic business of the Senate, since neither conference can convene a quorum without the cooperation of the other.
Today the Democratic Senate Conference offered a bi-partisan agreement to resume the people’s business in a fair manner – this offer was rejected by the Senate Republican Conference and Senator Espada.
The Senate Majority offer included:
· Democratic and Republican Presidents of the Senate alternating daily;
· Floor Leaders alternating daily (from a different party than that day’s President of the Senate)
· 6-Member Senate Conference Committee (3 Democrats, 3 Republicans) to determine what legislation reaches the floor
The offer was modeled on agreements crafted by dozens of legislatures in similar circumstances with equal numbers of members representing two conferences.
Senate Democrats came out of the meeting with the Senate GOP and also said that a resolution was not reached.
It appears that the sticking point was the issue Senate GOP leader Dean Skelos outlined — the issue of who is in leadership.
Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson said that the Democrats were not willing to acknowledge Monday’s coup and thus, there was no way to negotiate about power-sharing.
“I’m not going to work out an agreement on unreasonable terms,” he said.
“They were just concerned about who is the president pro tem and who’s the majority leader. People are not concerned about who’s the president pro tem and who’s the majority leader. They’re concerned about getting the work of the people done.”
But Sampson did not reply when asked why he wasn’t willing to put aside the fixation on titles and join with the Republicans in session today.
ALBANY, NY – Senator Hiram Monserrate today joined his Democratic Senate colleagues to announce a renewed commitment to reform and progressive legislation in Albany. Senate Democrats explained the renewed reform effort will be led by Senator John Sampson, new leader of the Democratic Conference.
In addition to leadership changes, Senate Democrats announced there will be reformed legislative rules aimed at making the chamber more Democratic an effective. Senators Sampson and Monserrate also promised progressive legislation important to the people of New York State – and especially the 13th District — will now be brought to the floor.
“The New York Times was right this January when they called the Senate a secretive, boss-driven, anti-democratic disgrace,” said Senator Monserrate. “Today, I’m proud to see my party, the Democratic Party, taking bold action to change Albany for the better. Democrats today have put ourselves on the right side of reform and the right side of history.”
Senator Monserrate added, “To all those voters from Queens, who sent this ex-Marine, former Beat Cop to Albany to shake things up, I want to promise you, I remain unbought and unbossed! This is your State Senate, and we will never forget that.”
Senator Monserrate ended by expressing his deep appreciation and respect for his Senate colleagues, who helped create a climate for change. He assured everyone, “I support the progressive Democratic agenda to change Albany. I will vote for that agenda, and, as a progressive Democrat, I will do everything possible to pass our agenda.”
###
Paterson has called a leaders meeting for 3 p.m.
“Please resolve this without the necessity of court intervention,” he said in court.
“I urge you in the strongest way I can … you’ve got to work this out yourselves,” said McNamara, who noted that the state “can’t let it go on forever.”
State Supreme Justice Thomas McNarama directed the warring senators to go back to the drawing board and come up with a solution by 1 p.m. or risk forcing him to settle their differences for them.
After conferring with attorneys for roughly 10 minutes behind closed doors, McNarama emerged to say that he was "directing and ordering each of you to go back across the street and talk to the people you represent...and try to work out a resolution to this matter that will not require court intervention."
The state Board of Elections today is expected to discuss months-old complaints against the two political powers who last week plucked the State Senate from Democratic control— G. Steven Pigeon and B. Thomas Golisano. The complaints accuse Golisano and Pigeon, his key political operative, of violating state law through “Responsible New York” — the political committee Golisano launched with $5 million in 2008 to support candidates who agree with his philosophy.
Opposing candidates have complained to the state Board of Elections and to local district attorneys that Responsible New York—an independent committee unauthorized to represent a particular candidate — coordinated strategy with the Golisano-Pigeon candidates and their campaigns.
Unauthorized committees can spend as much as they want on mailings, advertising and other propaganda weapons, but they can’t coordinate their attacks with another candidate’s election committee —otherwise the limits on campaign contributions to candidates would become meaningless.
Anyone who uses an unauthorized committee to skirt the state’s contribution limits can be found guilty of a felony.
Sen. Hiram Monserrate has switched sides - again. "I'm coming home," the Queens Democrat told the Daily News in an exclusive interview on Sunday.
Monserrate stunned the state's political establishment and paralyzed the Legislature a week ago when he rebelled against his own party and voted with fellow Democrat Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx to hand control of the Senate to the Republican minority.
The mercurial Monserrate is set to announce at a morning press conference on Monday that he is returning to the Democratic caucus - without Espada.
"This seemingly pathological blurring of the political and the governmental is very troubling, and—at best—improper," said Rich Azzopardi, a Johnson spokesman.
Recently a question has been popping up lately in Oswego Democratic circles, why are we in the 23rd congressional district again? With our TV and radio market, job market, social ties so close to Onondaga County why are we in with Lewis and Jefferson? And what is a Channel 7 again, is it from Canada?A meeting of the Senate Democrats at which members will decide whether to retain Malcolm Smith as their leader has been called for 3 p.m. this afternoon at 250 Broadway in Manhattan, the DN's Juan Gonzalez reports.
Democratic lawmakers, operatives and labor leaders who have been trying to negotiate a deal that would bring Sen. Hiram Monserrate back to the conference worked throughout the morning to set up the get-together.
It seems all-but inevitable at this point that Smith will be asked to step aside, despite the fact that he continues to fight in court to retain his hold on the leadership. The leading candidate to replace him as head of the Democratic conference is Sen. John Sampson.
All politics is local, former House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill famously said.
National GOP strategists whose job it is to recapture the House of Representatives may be about to learn that lesson again -- the hard way.
That's because Monday's New York state Senate coup may lead to a new Democrat being sworn into Congress just in time for Labor Day.
The reason: the interests of New York Republicans don't necessarily coincide with national GOP concerns.
When we first learned last week that Republican Congressman John M. McHugh would be vacating his House seat to accept Barack Obama's nomination to serve as Secretary of the Army, the informed thinking on potential candidates for the special election to fill the NY 23 seat included no Democratic state Senators.
That's because last November, Democrats took control of the upper chamber of the state legislature for the first time in four decades, and they only had a slim 32-30 majority over the Republicans.
Allowing a Democratic state Senator to move to Washington would mean a domino effect -- an empty legislative seat and then another special election that would give Republicans an opportunity to grab one of the two seats they need to recapture the state Senate before the next round of redistricting takes place in 2011.
From NextGenDems
A reader emails in what appears to be some damning circumstantial connections between Tom Golisano, Steve Pigeon, Pedro Espada, Hiram Monserrate and his lawyer. Its central feature is so absurdly obvious that I'm embarrassed I overlooked it for this long.
It all began in May- At the beginning of May, a small Queens neighborhood paper reported that Hiram Montserrate had just traded up on defense attorneys, going from a local storefront lawyer to a guy that represented Michael Jackson. His name is Joseph Tacopina, and he gets $750 per hour. We know that because it was printed in an Esquire Magazine piece on Tacopina. That's quite a lift on a state senator's salary. Tacopina spends a day in court, and it costs Hiram $6K. Moreover, the New York Times says: "Mr. Tacopina is to the defense bar what Donald Trump is to real estate." We know that because Tacopina's web site brags about it. That Tacopina is in fact representing Monserrate is re-verified by this Daily News piece. Keep in mind that Hiram was indicted about six weeks before this--and that on June 26th Hiram's got another court date. (I don't know if this is a trial date.) Also keep in mind that Malcolm Smith was heavily criticized when he sent his Senate counsel over to simply observe Monserrate's arrest and arrangement. Malcolm eventually pulls the lawyer out of the situation and leaves Monserrate to pay for his own counsel.
It all began in May (Pt. II)- We know that also at the beginning of May, Tom Golisano, Steve Pigeon, Dean Skelos, Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate began discussions on how to overthrow Malcolm Smith's majority. We know this because that's what these individuals have voluntarily shot their mouths off about. Except for Monserrate.
The Democrats have won the appeal for a temporary restraining order, according to Senate Democratic spokesman Austin Shafran.
Both parties are due back in court tomorrow, at 9:30 a.m. at the State Supreme Court Albany County, for a hearing over the Democrats’ request for declaratory and injunctive relief. (In plain English, the Democrats are looking for the courts to rule that Malcolm Smith is the Senate Majority Leader, and only he can call a legislative session.)
What does Ed Koch think of the change in leadership in the State Senate?
“I have never seen anything as sickening than what’s taking place,” he told reporters during a press conference this afternoon where he announced his endorsement of Leslie Crocker Snyder for Manhattan district attorney.
Later, Koch said the worst part is that one of the Senate Democrats who defected to support the Republicans is now next in line to be the governor if anything happened to David Paterson.
“What an outrage. What a laughing stock New York State would be,” he said. Of the Republicans, he said, “They have no standings, no they have no conscience, they have no scruples.”
A CBS 2 HD exclusive report that Bronx State Sen. Pedro Espada apparently doesn't live in his district has caught the eye of the Bronx's top cop.
The already murky picture of who controls the state Senate became even muddier yesterday when the new coalition of 30 Republicans and two Democrats started to wobble.Despite promises that the Senate would be in session, the chamber remained dark for a second day as one of the dissident Democrats asked for more time to decide what to do.
Hiram Monserrate of Queens said he has been trying to recruit more Democrats to join the group. He said he still supports the new coalition, despite pressure to rejoin the Democratic conference.
"The members I have been speaking to have asked for continued meetings so that we can discuss expansion of the coalition,'' he said.
Democrats are pinning their hopes on getting Monserrate to change his mind - again. The party controlled the chamber until Monday, when Monserrate and Sen. Pedro Espada, D-Bronx, voted to oust then-Majority Leader Malcolm Smith of Queens.
If Monserrate changes his mind, each camp would have 31 votes, and Democrats hope that would let them stay in charge.
In a hastily arranged ceremony Monday, state Sen. John DeFrancisco swore in an ethically challenged colleague to be a heartbeat away from the governor's chair. It was all in the name of reform.
First, following the Republican "coup" in the state Senate, DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, swore in his good friend, Republican Dean Skelos of Long Island, as majority leader. Then, at Skelos' bidding, he swore in Democrat Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx as temporary Senate president -- putting him first in succession if something should happen to Gov. David Paterson.
Espada has been fined tens of thousands of dollars over several years for failing to disclose political contributions. At the moment, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating Soundview Health Care Network, a nonprofit organization Espada ran until recently.
Espada's qualifications for the powerful Senate job? He was willing to throw his vote to the Republicans in return for the post -- and an apparent promise of help in next year's election from billionaire Tom Golisano. Espada was joined in his defection by fellow Democrat Hiram Monseratte of Queens, who has been indicted on felony charges of slashing his girlfriend's face with a broken glass.
Skelos, DeFrancisco and other Republicans insist they recruited these stalwart public servants to help them reform the Senate. "We were serious about all the good government reforms, the things Democrats said they would do as soon as they got the majority," DeFrancisco told The Post-Standard.
Republicans controlled the state Senate for decades, but somehow didn't catch the bug for reform until the Democrats took over in January and claimed the perks -- the plum offices and committee assignments, the fawning attention of lobbyists, and control of millions of dollars in pork-barrel grants to hand out to constituents.
It is clear that "reform" was merely a cover for Monday's coup. The Republicans wanted to get their power back, plain and simple, and they found two Democrats desperate enough to help them do it. Whether they will honor the spirit of the reforms they announced Monday has yet to be seen.
