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FireMonserrate.com is up and accepting Signatures

by: NYBri

Fri Oct 16, 2009 at 16:24:57 PM EDT

As I said in my previous diary, there is now a petition calling for the resignation or removal, if necessary of Senator Hiram Monserrate from YOUR New York State Senate.

It's at FireMonserrate.com

We are looking to collect as many signatures as possible, from Democrats, Republicans and Independents. We will deliver them to Senator Monserrate's office as well as the Majority and Minority Leadership in Albany.

So far, four Senators have issued statements agreeing with our position that the New York State Senate is no place for people who have been convicted of a serious domestic violence crime:

Senator Liz Krueger
Senator Dave Valesky
Senator Brian Foley
Senator Darrel Aubertine

Please join our effort and spread the word. There is no room for this behavior on the part of our elected officials.

To contact us and lend a hand:
firemonserrate@gmail.com

Full text of the petition after the fold:

We, the undersigned, agree with Senators Liz Krueger and Dave Valesky who have called upon Senator Monserrate to resign his office in response to his conviction of a serious domestic violence crime. We agree with Senator Krueger when she said in a released statement:

"I believe Hiram Monserrate should not remain in the Senate, and for the sake of his constituents, the institution of the Senate and the Democratic party he should resign immediately based on the seriousness of his violent crime.

Being an elected official is an honor and a privilege, not a right. As a state legislator , the voters give you the power to decide what laws all 19 million of us live under. And as such we are obligated to hold ourselves to the highest standards of our laws."

We also agree with Senator Valesky's statement which said in part:

"Like all New Yorkers, I have followed the developments in the domestic violence abuse case against Hiram Monserrate and been disgusted by what I have seen and heard. Domestic violence is a serious matter and a violent crime that cannot be ignored or dismissed."

This past summer, the New York State Senate reached new depths of dysfunction through its appalling disregard for the public good when it embarked upon a series of coups and counter coups while important Senate business was ignored.

If the Senate is serious about rehabilitating its reputation as a representative body and wants the public's support, a good first step would be to insure that Senator Monserrate resigns or is removed from office. We are calling on Senator Monseratte to resign. If he chooses not to, we call on the Senate Majority and Minority Leadership to do the right thing and remove him from office.