I think it's fair to say that the Senate Democrats have been a huge disappointment since they took power in 2008, largely because their tiny majority has left them under the thumbs of the worst members of their conference- namely Pedro Espada, the Slasher, Ruben DIaz, and Carl Kruger. However, they are still far superior to any way the Republicans would have ran the conference, and had for the 40 years prior. This video clearly makes that point.
Please join:
Manhattan Young Democrats
New Roosevelt Initiative
Queens County Young Democrats
Citizen Action of New York
Reboot NY
Greater NYC For Change
Northwest Bronx for Change
for an Anniversary Celebration of the June Coup!
June 5, 2010, 12 - 4 pm at the home of the current State Senate Majority Leader, Pedro Espada Jr.
An afternoon of indictments, corruption, special interests, FREE sushi and FREE t-shirts in Mamaroneck.
FREE Buses available from NYC to Mamaroneck!
Manhattan Bus Pick-Up:
On 33rd St btw 7th & 8th Ave | Bolt Bus Pick-up | Corner of Penn Station @ 12PM
Bronx Bus Pick-Up:
198th Street and Grand Concourse @ 12:30PM
Or meet us there directly at 115 Beechwood Drive at 1PM.
Contact Emmy by June 2 to RESERVE YOUR SEAT:
203-444-9465 | vp@goMYD.com
Or fill out the form here: http://tiny.cc/uhn01
En Espanol
Para reservar su puesto por favor de contactar Heather
610-864-1194 | secretary@goMYD.com
Time certainly flies, doesn't it? Hard to believe it's been a whole year since the two best people in Albany, Pedro and the Slasher, decided to shake down our government by switching their allegiance to the Senate Republicans. It may have been a year but we haven't forgotten.
The Manhattan Young Democrats, Queens County Young Democrats, Citizen Action of New York, and Reboot NY are organizing an anniversary "celebration" at Pedro's house in Mamaroneck NY:
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Time: 12:00pm - 4:00pm
FREE Buses available from NYC to Mamaroneck!
Manhattan Bus Pick-Up:
On 33rd St btw 7th & 8th Ave | Bolt Bus Pick-up | Corner of Penn Station @ 12PM
Bronx Bus Pick-Up:
Location TBD @ 12PM
Or meet us there directly at 115 Beechwood Drive at 1PM.
Contact Emmy by June 1 to RESERVE YOUR SEAT:
203-444-9465 or vp@goMYD.com
You can also RSVP here and join the facebook group here.
The Slasher has already been expunged from Albany and soon Pedro will join his partner in corruption. Happy anniversary.
Update: As Steaming Pile noted in the comments, where exactly are the Bronx Young Dems on this? I certainly hope they're not in Pedro's pocket...
In case there was any doubt that the June coup was only about pork and power, an article in today's Daily News makes it completely clear. The June coup wasn't an ethical stand by Republicans; it was a power-grab by a disaffected minority that handed control to a corrupt Bronx machine politician in exchange for pork and power.
Senate Republicans added 98 new taxpayer-funded positions, bringing the total to 420, and granted raises to a host of others, Dems charge. In addition, Republicans created the new office of GOP Minority Policy Development, which has four people and costs $260,000, Senate records show.
Senate Republicans are on pace to spend $17.5 million, a jump of about $3.5 million from the $14 million that was available before the botched takeover.
Let's not forget that the ethics law "passed" by the Senate Republicans was a meaningless gesture of half-hearted reform. And let's also not forget that the day of the coup was the same day that the Senate was to vote on earmarks and Malcolm Smith put forward a plan denying Pedro Espada the allocations for his infamous Soundview health facility. Of course after Pedro came back to the Democratic fold, those earmarks magically found their way back into the member items.
Our state is run by a cabal of greedy individuals looking to pay back their friends, employ their family, and line their own pockets. The continued abuse of member items and the length to which the Senate Republicans went to snatch back power from the elected majority goes to show how important that pork spending is to New York Senators. We've lost any notion of a meritocracy, where money is handed out to projects and people that have earned the support of government. We need a new system where member items are split between both parties equally and closely scrutinized to avoid throwbacks to campaign contributors. We also need a fair system for creating Senate jobs, to avoid situations just
Watching the Senate Democrats' press conference has been a painful experience. Welcoming back Espada was never going to be pleasant, but watching the smoothing over and repeating previously unfulfilled promises is excruciating.
It's still possible that something good will come out of this - maybe the Democrats will actually pass genuine reform instead of just talking about it, or maybe voters will finally have had enough and take it out on their legislators and party structures instead of thinking it's everyone else who's corrupt.
Is there anyone here who's actually happy about the state of our reconciled Senate? (I'm sure it's possible.)
There's still time for the Senate to redeem itself, but this chaos and even its resolution gives them quite a mountain to climb.
It's day two of Governor Paterson's extraordinary session call (or is this day 1 of the second extraordinary session?). After yesterday's debacle of conflicting sessions, cross-motions, and sham votes, we the people can only wonder how our elected Senators can muck up this situation even further. There's no talk of any deal at the table, the Republicans are going to Court against the Secretary of the Senate, and renegade Democrats might turn against the caucus today as a result of gay marriage on the agenda.
We now know how Democrats plan to combat the Republicans today; by squatting in the Senate Chamber to ensure they "control" the floor.
Of course this display is a great guide in how NOT to govern.
Senate Democrats entered the locked Senate chamber through a back hallway on Tuesday afternoon and locked themselves in, pulling off a sneak attack of sorts in the ongoing battle for control of the State Senate.
The move took the Capitol by surprise, and left Republicans scrambling to plan their next procedural move. Republicans had planned to enter the chamber at 2 p.m. - an hour before the special session called by Gov. David A. Paterson was scheduled to begin. Who would be in the chamber first became a key question on Tuesday as Republicans and Democrats failed again to reach a compromise over the disputed Senate leadership.
"At this point, they refuse to enter into an operating agreement," Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side, told reporters just before he and his fellow Democrats sneaked into the chamber. "We hope that they will come back to the table, and that we'll be able to agree on rules. Our view is that we cannot ignore the people's business that the governor is calling us back to do."
One one hand, it's good to see the Senate Dems take initiative and not just react as the GOP plays them. On the other hand, this is just childish and embarrassing. What's next? Will the 2 sides decide who gets control via a duel? (actually, that proposal would at least serve as a term-limit action of sorts). Are we still living in the United States of America here or has New York become a banana republic?
How many times have we all said "Just when you think Albany can't get any worse..."
Ugh.
Update: I know the Judicial branch doesn't like to meddle in the internal affairs of the other branches of government, but there are some times when there is no other choice. This might be one of those times.
CapCon shares a letter State Senator Liz Krueger wrote constituents. I think it's pretty much pitch-perfect.
You should read the whole thing at CapCon, but here are some tasty bits. First, the part that I think everyone here will cheer:
I strongly believe that the attempted coup had nothing to do with reform and was simply a blatant power grab by the Republican party and a couple of disaffected Democrats. The Republicans' claim that the coup was done for the good of the people and in order to enact government reform is completely ridiculous.
Then the part that lingers on Democratic failures, particularly failures troubling to the hearts of many at TAP:
I think all of us in the Democratic conference have to look critically at what role we played in what went wrong. I believe that the biggest failure of my conference was that it was not aggressive enough in advancing a reform agenda....
While the Democratic leadership did introduce new rules that improved transparency, made it easier to move bills to the floor, and offered a broader proposal for significant reforms of the committee process, other issues such as equitable distribution of resources were not addressed. The common sense and "small d" democratic changes I have been fighting for were rejected. I believe that many of my colleagues adopted a "to the victor goes the spoils" model, and while I repeatedly argued against this, in the end, the conference was not willing to go as far down the reform road as they should have....
I am hopeful that one of the lessons learned from this whole process will be the need to develop fairer and more equitable rules. Every senator, regardless of party, represents the same number of constituents and should have adequate resources. I am an optimist and believe that if I persevere we will ultimately be able to make real progress.
It's hard for me to imagine my own Senator, Jim Seward, pausing for reflection like that, much less sending it to constituents, though I can dream of a "we over-reached" letter. She's right, though, I think on all counts.
The new blog on the block, AlbanyFAIL, features The Joker Himself, 'splainin' it Espada-style in his own words, how he may have to send the cops after the Dems to drag 'em to session.
I find it helpful, in wack-crazy times like these, to consider what others elsewhere might do in similar situations (i.e.: Californians might have a voter recall and install a Senate full of movie stars.... couldn't be less dramatic than what we have here in NY...AlbanyFAIL considers a traditional Japanese approach).
From the tell-it-like-it-is-in-Albany guy, Bill Hammond:
Republicans should search what's left of their souls and do the deal.
Perhaps somewhat complicated by the fact that, as LBJ would say, Golisano has "their peckers in his pocket," or, perhaps that devil has bought their souls. Ya think we could fund-raise to get Golisano some scratch, and buy them their members back?
I think Dean Skelos needs to get his rhetoric straight when talking with the media. Of course things are happening at a lightening speed right now, so I can't blame him for making this gigantic rhetorical mistake today. Here's what he said when faced with the problem of Senator Monserrate's re-defection to the Democratic Party:
"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.
The mess in Albany still exists as of tonight. The takeover of the New York State Senate fueled by a desire for patronage and power is still a story almost a week after it occurred.
Even with the mess on the minds of many, the two men at the center of the controversy decided that they would make a public venture to the Subway Series game featuring both New York City teams - the Mets and Yankees.
And they did so in style.
Senators Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate sat in the Legends Suite section of Yankee Stadium, which are the high-priced seats right on the field. If you try purchasing those tickets online, they run between $525 to $2,625 (it probably depends on the day of the week or the opponent the Yankees are playing) each. Espada claimed in the New York Daily News piece that he paid $150 each for them, a nice bargain.
So what does a Legends Suite come equipped with? This from the Daily News:
The dissident Dems enjoyed the ballgame in the Legends Suite section, complete with cushioned seats, in-seat wait service and a concierge. It also allows exclusive access to a swanky restaurant with an all-inclusive buffet, top-shelf liquor and private rest rooms.
Not bad for two state senators. And not bad for two state senators who many people at the game thought had more important things to do than take in a baseball game.
From the Daily News:
Fans were hardly glad to see the duo taking a night off while the state is embroiled in a crisis they created.
"They should be staying in Albany," said Barry Abramson, 71, of the upper West Side. "They should give some input into fixing the problem.
"I just wonder who paid for their tickets and how did they get here," he added. "Did they get here at the expense of New York state taxpayers?"
Espada said he paid $150 each for the "special occasion" seats.
"I paid for myself and treated my colleague," Espada said, but did not divulge how he got a 75 percent discount on the high-priced seats.
"Isn't that typical of New York politicians, doing everything they shouldn't," said John McCue, 70, of Chatham.
"At least he was in the Bronx," joked Stephen McCabe, 40, of Brooklyn, about Espada's tendency to sleep in Westchester.
"They should be trying to resolve things because there's nothing but gridlock in Albany," he said.
His brother, Anthony McCabe, couldn't fathom why the pair would pull such a stunt.
"What are they going to accomplish here except for promoting themselves?" he asked.
Espada said they went to the game to get away from the intense pressures of the past week.
"We're going to relax," he said on the way to the game.
Normally, there is nothing wrong with two men going to a baseball game. But there is a lot wrong when two state senators are sitting in the Legends Suite section of the ballpark and are taking in this game while Albany is in chaos.
This is just another example that this was about power and selfishness. What better way to reward one's self than by treating yourself to a game in what many consider the best seats in the new Yankees' house? The state has property tax issues, economic problems and many other critical issues to address and these guys are living it up in the Bronx.
The following comment over on Cap Con got my attention and set me wondering:
Monserrate wants someone to pay for the legal bills. To even have that discussion is a federal crime.
I had just finished commenting about how corrupt this whole process appeared, although, with everything happening in secret cabals at Red Square and behind closed doors in the Capitol, it is hard to tell. I was looking for the FBI to ride to the rescue, a la Joe Bruno case (and as per NYCO's classic statement that
if NYS were a third world country, the Feds would have already invaded and installed a democracy.)
But, wait, we actually do have some separation of powers here in NYS still.... and, you know, I think that Andrew Cuomo actually has an open case on Espada, no? Yo, Andrew, can you please subpeona all records or witnesses to these secret meetings, and make them testify about what, if any, deals involving his legal problems Espada was trying to cut? FBI, you could go for same on Monserrate, either under existing Bruno investigation, or, give the slasher his own Federal case, if multiple felony counts aren't bad-boy 'nuf fer him.
A legal means to remove the most corrupt Senate politicians would be an excellent way to give NYers a real chance at a new start.
says the Slate headline....and, I'm not 'xactly saying what role Eliot sees for himself in the circus, but, apparently he can't help but opine. Even though he writes more like a prosecutor than a blogger...
Albany's secretive, authoritarian political culture meant that individual legislators rarely if ever even attempted to exercise the traditional prerogatives that we expect of congressional legislators: voicing serious dissent, pushing an individual legislative agenda, conducting open hearings on contentious issues of public policy.
Deliberating and deciding policy is about "exercising prerogatives," eh? Albany does indeed have a secretive and authoritarian political culture, and this coup was an acting-out of secretive, authoritarian drama. As were, turns out, a few of Eliot's adventures, with the legislature and also with, ah..., other(s).
Thanks for your opinions, Eliot, but, maybe, just maybe, reform has to come from the people, not the, um, secretive and authoritarian leaders.
Am not sure I would believe something was good for me just 'cuz you say so.
When the Republicans claimed that they had taken over the New York State Senate on Monday, they said that reform had come to the Senate. In fact, Tom Golisano issued a statement yesterday saying that "reform has come to the New York State Senate."
Those so-called reforms were passed soon after the Republicans took over the Senate. By all accounts, the reforms are a good starting point, but don't address several other areas that needed to be changed.
But as more and more comes out, it is looking like this whole takeover was more about patronage and power than it was about reform and revolution.
The news yesterday that Sen. Pedro Espada's request for $2 million was turned down by Sen. Malcolm Smith because the two groups that Espada was seeking the money for could not be considered legitimate. Also, Espada was guilty of a previous power grab: His attempt, along with three others (including Sen. Hiram Monserrate) to get goodies for themselves in exchange for their support of Smith. Espada didn't get what he wanted out of that deal, so when the Republicans offered him something sweeter - the President Pro Tempore seat he had previously cherished - that was the only selling point Espada needed.
Then there is the Buffalo News report today that Steve Pigeon, who is Golisano's chief adviser, started constructing this coup attempt after his requests for hires in the Buffalo Senate office were turned down by Smith.
From the Buffalo News:
Steve Pigeon, the former Erie County Democratic Party chairman and political adviser to Buffalo Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano, sought to "take over" the Buffalo office and install his confidantes, spoils for the help Golisano provided Democrats in last fall's elections, according to a Senate Democratic official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official said three people with ties in various ways to Pigeon, including David Pfaff, a longtime friend and political associate, did not keep their Senate jobs once the Democrats took over the chamber in January.
Pigeon's plan was to have Pfaff run the office, an idea Aponte also rejected.
"We weren't going to farm out the office to political operatives no matter how grateful we were for their support," the official said of the work Pigeon did and the millions Golisano spent last fall helping the Democrats take over the Senate.
There was a story reported by Liz yesterday that Pigeon was already trying to land a job with the "reform Democratic conference." One thought was that Pigeon would replace Angelo Aponte, who serves as Secretary of the Senate, but according to the report, it appears more likely that Pigeon will land a job as chief counsel to Espada, a long-time friend of Pigeon's.
Back to the question I asked in the title: What this about reform and revolution or patronage and power? Clearly, it's the latter. For the Senate Republicans, all they wanted was power. But they weren't going to do it with 30 members. So they picked two corrupt individuals - one who you can't find a campaign finance filing for and has tried to funnel money to his non-existent non-profits and the other who was just indicted for assaulting his girlfriend - to be there 31st and 32nd votes.
For Golisano, this is all about power. Money is power for Golisano and while he is shouting reform from the rooftops, he felt that his investment in 2008 wasn't doing what he wanted. So he decided that he was going to switch alliances and make himself famous in the process.
Pigeon's involvement highlights just exactly why this whole coup was a farce to begin with. For Pigeon, he pushed all the buttons and got Espada and Monserrate aligned with the Republicans (keep in mind, Pigeon was once a county Democratic chair) and is now angling for a job. The news today also shows that there was motive for Pigeon.
All of this comes back to what Malcolm Smith didn't do. A lot of criticism has been thrown Smith's way, but let's put this in perspective:
- Smith didn't give in to Espada and give him the majority leader's post, which led to Espada saying he was "tremendously dismayed and disappointed" at Smith, adding that he would "suspend my support for Malcolm Smith as leader." That was in December. That was the right move. Espada didn't deserve such a high-profile spot right off the bat. But because it's all about power for Espada, because he didn't get what he wanted, he was already saying he was suspending his support.
Add the new revelations about Smith turning down Espada's requests for $2 million and you have a very angry Espada seeking to get what he wants.
- Golisano said that one of the things that motivated him was when Smith was playing on his Blackberry when Golisano met with him a couple of months ago. That seems petty to most right-thinking people, but for Golisano, that is how he is. He used that as motivation to target Smith because, in his mind, Smith wasn't paying attention.
- Pigeon's patronage picks didn't get in after Smith's disapproval, leading Pigeon to concoct a plan that would remove Smith from power and install a more favorable environment (who better than a good friend, Espada) so that he could still have this Buffalo office to plant his cronies and go after the local party leadership and so he could get a job of his own.
So if you thought this was about reform, guess again. This was about all of these characters - the Senate GOP, Golisano, Pigeon and Espada - getting their piece of the action: Patronage and power.
This isn't about New York State. This isn't about the 19 million New Yorkers these men are affecting. This is about a lust for power so strong that they are willing to disrupt government at a time when government should not be disrupted so they can get the power they long for.
I was worried that I'd misplaced my sense of outrage yesterday, watching the Senate coup without nearly enough surprise or concern. The Republicans were doing what a minority party is supposed to do, and it had been clear for a long time that the loyalty of the Gang of Four was in question (though these weren't the two I'd have guessed most likely to flip.) Besides, I'd cheered up when Arlen Specter and Jim Jeffords grew weary of the other side of the aisle and came over.
But still, how could I be calm about the reversal of a goal I'd fought for? Well, I think this guy has the answer:
they should really take a breath, because-while they will have a clear and profound impact on the workings of Albany through 2010-the surprise defections of State Senators Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate to the Republican conference could end up, in the medium term, looking more like a blip than an earthquake....
the new G.O.P. majority will be built on an absurdly flimsy foundation. Sure, Espada and Monserrate will provide the two crucial votes that will make Dean Skelos majority leader, a development that will severely complicate the budget process and, more broadly, the agenda of David Paterson and state Democrats. But by flipping to the G.O.P., Espada and Monserrate have almost certainly expedited their own exits from Albany-and the election of new, far more loyal Democrats to their seats.
Maybe I'm misguided or naive, and I'm certainly not happy about the timing, but I actually see opportunity here. I'm not too excited about "loyal Democrats", though that's likely, but maybe there's a chance here for "better Democrats".
Talking with a friend about the coup, it occurred to me that I can't think of any "lions of the NY Senate" the way I might think of "lions of the US Senate", people who've demonstrated their ability to address complex problems despite the challenges of getting legislation passed.
Some of it's doubtless the nature of the institution, which hasn't exactly rewarded or even made a place for individual initiative. (I have a similar problem with the Assembly.) However, it also seems that NY Senators are kind of ossified. Whether that happened before they were elected (retired upward) or after is an open question.
I think, though, that this latest chaos, however it resolves, throws things wide open. A lot of Democratic seats will be competitive in 2010, and a number of Republican seats were already competitive in 2008. Maybe there's an opportunity to improve the quality of Democrats in the Senate overall?
And for the long term, maybe we'll learn that we need to value quality?
The short term is going to be awful - opportunities lost, state government in turmoil, and probably a good deal of suffering that could have been avoided. That seems unfortunately clear. At the same time, though, the long term looks pretty good to me.
A lot of people are angry about yesterday's attempted coup that has shut down the New York State Senate and put the future of any legislation that was seen as good legislation in doubt.
Today, grassroots activists came together to protest the attempted coup and call on leaders to get back to work to address the issues that are impacting all New Yorkers, not just the ones that go to serve the egos of a select few.
Here is a video from the protest:
This is the press release from Citizen Action:
Over one hundred voters and advocates, shocked and outraged at the yesterday's attempted Republican takeover of the State Senate, came from around New York today to protest yesterday's attempted coup d'etat. At the protest, outside renegade Democrat Pedro Espada's office, the voters and advocates said they would not let the people's agenda be silenced by a political power grab partially engineered by a billionaire who left the state to avoid paying his fair share of taxes.
Updated: As advocates were speaking with the press, Tom Golisano stopped into Senator Pedro Espada's office. When he came out, protesters began chanting "Voters Not Donors," and "Golisano Pays and Espada Plays." Senator Espada's staff then slammed the door to his office shut. Video to be distributed soon.
"Last November, the voters refused to allow the party of "no" to return to power in New York," said Veronica Horne, a member of the board of Citizen Action's Capital District chapter, who attended the protest. "The results of that historic election, when a coalition of young people, independents and communities of color voted in the first American-American President in history and the first Democratic State Senate in decades, must not be overturned by big money interests who oppose change."
"We will not let our agenda be silenced by a power grab by Pedro Espada, Hiram Monserrate, billionaire Tom Golisano, and the Republican minority in the Senate," said Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York. "Yesterday's coup d'etat was not about reform, but the blocking of the people's agenda in the last two weeks of the legislative session. While Espada and Skelos are playing political games, the Legislature isn't acting on public financing of elections, reigning in health insurance rates and high drug prices, acting on Mayoral Control, and providing affordable housing. We need the Legislature to get back to the business of addressing the most urgent needs of the state."
"Two corrupt politicians have made a corrupt deal with the real estate lobby and its cronies in the Republican Senate Conference to hijack the tenants rights agenda when we were on the verge of major legislative reform to protect tenants and preserve affordable housing," said Michael McKee, Treasurer of the Tenants Political Action Committee.
The events today were co-sponsored by Citizen Action of New York, Housing Here and Now, the Metropolitan Council on Housing, the Real Rent Reform Campaign, and the Tenants Political Action Committee.
I will post the video of the Golisano-Espada portion of the protest when it is made available.
This protest is just one example of the outrage many are expressing after yesterday's coup attempt that has left the rest of the session up in the air.
I can't tell you I'm happy with what you've done-- but I guess you didn't expect to be lauded here.
I think that you've made a bad deal that will hurt the state and probably you and your party in the long run.
But I also can't defend the lack of progress made in the past five months so I find it hard to believe that you taking over is that much of a step back. Others disagree when I've said that elsewhere.
And at least some of your proposed rules changes actually look sensible.
Finally, I think your control of the senate is only temporary. But I'd like to make some suggestions that you might find helpful, even if they go against your avowed intentions.
Any of you interested in exactly what happened in the Chamber yesterday will be pleased to hear that Capitol Confidential has posted extensive video coverage. Also of the press conferences of some of the players. For the record, I looked for it on the Official Senate Blog first, where there is just Smith's press release, then went to Cap Con.
