Massa Situation Spiraling Out of Control

by: BingChester

Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 16:26:47 PM EST

In roughly 12 hours, Massa has changed his narrative from "congressman resigning in disgrace" to angry, Howard Beale-esque truth-teller who'd simply had enough and will take his party to the woodshed. Left unsettled: the incredibly important issue of whether he'll resign today, as he said he would, or he'll try to bring down the health care bill by staying in Congress.
source

Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) says the House ethics committee is investigating him for inappropriate comments he made to a male staffer on New Year's Eve - and that he's the victim of a power play by Democratic leaders who want him out of Congress because he's a "no" vote on health care reform.

"Mine is now the deciding vote on the health care bill," Massa, who on Friday announced his intention to resign, said during a long monologue on radio station WKPQ. "And this administration and this House leadership have said, quote-unquote, they will stop at nothing to pass this health care bill. And now they've gotten rid of me, and it will pass. You connect the dots."

source

In a heated, rambling monologue on his weekly show on Hornell radio station WKPQ-FM, Massa described the conversation that he said led to an investigation. The show is listed on Massa's official schedule, and a link to a recording -- http://drop.io/massa3710 -- was provided by WHAM-TV.

After dancing with a bridesmaid, Massa said, he returned to a table full of male staffers who he said had been drinking heavily.

"A staff member made an intonation that maybe I should be chasing after the bridesmaid," Massa said. He responded by saying, "Well, what I really ought to be doing is frakking you." He said the complaint came not from that staffer, but from another at the table. source

There's really not a whole lot I can add here.  I think there's probably a lot of valid things that Massa is saying but the fact that he's decided now to go on the attack and is sitting down for an hour long discussion with Glenn Beck doesn't pass the smell test with me.  It smells like conspiracy-paranoia-last ditch attempt to save his skin.  And for that, I find the whole situation utterly depressing.  When someone who comes across as straight forward, active, and bold as Eric Massa can get caught up in this sort of insanity, it makes me wonder how we can trust those that represent us.  If not Eric Massa, then who?

Common Sense Court Reform Can't Get Through State Senate

by: BingChester

Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 16:13:49 PM EST

The most ambitious efforts in decades to reform New York State's vast network of small-town courts - where sessions can be held in a garage, and where more than 1,450 judges who are not lawyers conduct trials - have stalled in Albany. Even a seemingly modest compromise, one that would allow a defendant to request that the judge be a lawyer, seems doomed, its sponsor says.

Just a few years ago, critics of the courts said major changes seemed possible after nearly 100 years of failed efforts. The Legislature and a judicial commission held hearings, and state court officials instituted reforms.

But efforts toward more extensive changes have recently slowed to a crawl. The seemingly simple idea that the local justices should have law degrees went nowhere. Now, even a compromise legislative proposal that would give people facing jail the option of having their cases transferred to a judge who is a lawyer is failing in Albany.

The proposal has been angrily opposed by the justices, who, in addition to conducting trials, also rule on search warrants and send people to jail. But it has also been opposed, though more quietly, by the state's top court administrators, who often walk a tightrope as they work to keep the courts running. A sponsor, Assemblyman Daniel J. O'Donnell, a Manhattan Democrat, said it was unlikely to pass this year. He said colleagues had told him that it threatened the stature of the justices, who are often tightly woven into local politics.  

As a law student myself, I find it hard to believe that we have a system built by lawyers where a non-lawyer could actually be a judge.  Historically it may have made sense to let small town courts run by non-legal personnel.  But the 20th century saw an explosion in the legal profession and there's no shortage of lawyers to act as court officials.  The entire point of the legal profession is to train a set of professionals on the rights and responsibilities of the public.  We the people deserve to have well-trained judges who understand the law as the arbiters of justice.

Of course even if you oppose the proposal, the way this specific action is being dealt with by Albany is revealing about the new order.  Remember the days when Albany was run by three men in a room and whatever the leader of each chamber wanted would fly through the chamber?  Those days are over.

The sponsor of the bill in the State Senate, John L. Sampson of Brooklyn, the Democratic leader, said in an interview that he hoped to persuade Judge Pfau and the state's current chief judge, Jonathan Lippman, to change their minds. He said some defendants had clearly been subjected to improper treatment in the town and village courts.

But if the court officials continue to oppose the proposal that came out of their own commission, its future is not bright.

"I will not do it unless they sign on to it," Mr. Sampson said, "because it does need to be implemented."

(emphasis added)

Wow.  John Sampson is the "leader" of the Senate and he's taking his marching orders from the state judiciary?  How on earth do we expect to get anything passed through this Senate if every bill is subject to the will of the special interest under attack?

Yikes.  Our State Senate needs new blood .

Albany Forgets to Re-Authorize MTA Passenger and Worker Representation

by: BingChester

Tue Jan 05, 2010 at 16:02:01 PM EST

Rider and union advocates lost their combined six seats on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board Friday when state legislation authorizing the nonvoting posts expired.

"This is a real shame," said Andrew Albert, one of the affected board members. "I guess it just wasn't on the radar."

Albert sat on the board as a member of the NYC Transit Riders Council, on behalf of subway and bus riders. The Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road riders councils also had one member each on the board. "We may not vote, but we're involved in the decision-making and are consulted," another former board member, Ira Greenberg of the LIRR riders council, said.

One of New York's best transit bloggers, Benjamin Kabek, cut right to the point in his analysis :

As with most of Albany's recent transit policies, for the state to allow these key appointments to expire at a time of fiscal crisis for the MTA is simply irresponsible. To make matters worse, four State Senators earlier this year sponsored S4480, a bill to extend the the term until 2012. The bill was committed to the Rules Committee in July and has languished there ever since. It's just your typical Albany support for the MTA.

Just another daily reminder of how dysfunctional our state government is and how we desparately need to fix it .

End of the Year Poll: Who Was the Worst Albany Embarrassment of 2009?

by: Roatti

Tue Dec 22, 2009 at 16:03:07 PM EST

Ladies and Gentlemen, the nominees:

Poll after the fold, voting will end Dec 30th.  

Study: New York unhappiest state

by: Michael Bouldin

Fri Dec 18, 2009 at 09:50:54 AM EST

Based on a CDC data study with 1.3 million people, two researchers have compiled a happiness index ranking residents of the fifty states from happiest to least so.

Ranking No. 1 in happiness was Louisiana, home of Dixieland music and Cajun/Creole cooking.

snip.

Rounding out the happy five were Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona.

At the other end of the scale, last in happiness - is New York state.

As if to illustrate the problem, residents attending a meeting Wednesday in rural Queensbury unleashed their anger and cynicism at a state government they described as corrupt, self-dealing and too quick to increase taxes. It was a tirade that had one lifelong resident saying he was ready to flee "this stinkin' state."

I don't think it's a coincidence that New York also comes in dead last among the fifty as the state afflicted with the most dysfunctional government. Or that an entire swath of the state, pretty much everything north of the City, is bleeding population year over year. Unhappy people, robbed of futures for themselves and their families, really can't be blamed for pulling up the stakes and pitching their tents elsewhere, can they?

In especially as the corrupt Albany system may change frontmen occasionally, but remains essentially unchanged and impervious to change. Unless, that is, the people make it change, and turn their anger to where it belongs: Albany's bi-partisan incumbent duopoly.

Do something: join us at ReBootNY.org.  

Reminder: The New York State Senate Stinks

by: BingChester

Tue Dec 01, 2009 at 12:19:31 PM EST

If New York State runs its money supply down to a mere $36 million later this month - as predicted - the state will have to decide which bills to pay first. That means libraries, schools and taxpayers who qualify for a real estate tax rebate could all get their money later than usual, maybe a lot later.

And the blame for this latest financial squeeze will fall squarely on the New York State Senate - both Democrats and Republicans.

The State Senate, on the other hand, has done little more than issue press releases. Senators are too busy eyeing next year's elections, especially those lawmakers with the least political security - that is, a few suburban Democrats in dicey districts and all 30 of the Republicans, who want to regain the majority next year.

They don't want to do anything unpleasant or really difficult like pare state expenses in midyear - in other words do their jobs - even if it means facing an even larger deficit in April, perhaps as high as $10 billion.

We have Senators who can't work together, who don't want to do their job, and who don't have the policy and legislating chops to actually get anything done.  In other words, the Senate is entirely dead-weight in this process.  If we get lucky, maybe the Assembly and Governor Paterson will craft a decent deal.  Otherwise, we'll be stuck with massive cuts because the lack of fortitude by either of those bodies to leverage progressive taxes against our top earners.  Regardless of what we get, you can take it to the bank that it won't be because of the Senate.  The Senate has wiped their hands of any responsibility  in, you know, governing.

Extraordinary Session Day 2: If At First You Don't Succeed, Squat, Squat Again

by: BingChester

Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 11:49:03 AM EDT

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.

Follow me over the fold for more details.

Patronage, Cronyism, Fraud - Oh, Albany

by: phillip anderson

Wed Mar 04, 2009 at 09:46:17 AM EST

Inspector General Joseph Fisch has ordered an independent investigation of the State Insurance Fund in the wake of a slew of allegations of mismanagement, abuse and waste at the agency, which is being described by a whistle-blower as a landing spot for political patronage appointees.

Fisch said Tuesday he called for the probe of "the Hinton case" to respond to a sworn statement he received from Edward Obertubbesing, an insurance fund lawyer who once managed Randall Hinton, the fund's director of investigation. Hinton was featured in a Times Union story last month in which Obertubbesing confirmed that Hinton has been given almost nothing to do for most of the past decade.

Hinton said he listens to music and watches traffic outside his window while being paid almost $94,000 a year. Hinton says he's being retaliated against by Republicans controlling the fund.

"We are conducting a full investigation of the allegations relating to the State Insurance Fund," Fisch said in an interview. He said he is also monitoring a Human Rights Division complaint Hinton filed last month alleging he is being discriminated against for having sued the state during the administration of Gov. George Pataki. He is an American Indian. As part of a settlement of his suit years ago, Hinton was guaranteed a job as director of investigations at the fund. He alleges he got the post, but no responsibilities that comport with the job, and Obertubbesing said Hinton was blackballed and intentionally deprived of meaningful work by the top brass of the fund, who are serving in long-term appointments made by Pataki.

...

Allegations by Obertubbesing, which were also sent to the Insurance Fund's chairman, the Attorney General's Office, the Office of the State Comptroller and the Civil Service commissioner, include the fund's practice of hiring people at the behest of Republican leaders such as Pataki or former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, giving them work that does not match up with Civil Service titles and relatively high salaries. The situation, Obertubbesing said, harmed morale among civil servants who had to pass tests for their posts and in many cases had to train the higher-paid appointees. Such long-serving employees, he said, were denied opportunities for advancement and better pay while the fund's management violated labor agreements and state regulations.

A look at the fund's payroll shows several people formerly working for Pataki in the executive branch received posts around the time of his departure from office at the end of 2006. Others got high-wage jobs well before Pataki's last term. For instance, Elizabeth Sweeney, the first wife of Pataki's first labor commissioner, former Rep. John Sweeney, was hired in 1998 as a secretary. She retains that title and is paid the same pay as Hinton, $93,803. She and the former congressman did not return a call Tuesday seeking comment.

That's some prime Albany dysfunction they got there.

"If It Looks Like Dysfunctional Government and Acts Like Dysfunctional Government....

by: robinia

Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 15:36:28 PM EST

Hey, don't say TAP didn't warn ya.  New York State faces a budget crisis and our leaders meet... and blow off a lot of steam and agree about nothing whatsoever.

Agree with Malcolm Smith's sad assessment:

   It's disappointing that we were not able to move forward on anything today.  My Conference came prepared to act, prepared to support Governor Paterson's call to reach a deal on budget cuts. If we cannot advance the entire package of the Governor's budget bills, we should put forth components of the bill that we all agree are immediately necessary -  Sweeping Public Authorities, Enforcing Empire Zone Provisions and Consolidating Public Authorities. These budget reductions would save the state considerably.

   We cannot overstate how dire the economic times are that we face here in New York.  These tough times require bold and courageous leadership to put New York families back to work and secure our financial solvency.

TAP to Albany: we really can no longer afford the SOS.  Getcheracttogetha.

Vote 'em out

by: simonstl

Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 10:59:32 AM EDT

The Times has another angry editorial about Albany, one I think I could have written myself:

So, here is how to change Albany: find and support somebody daring and thick-skinned enough to run against the local legislator.

We are not saying it will be easy. The system is rigged against challengers. It takes money, mostly for lawyers to fight lawyers whose job it is to keep other candidates off ballots. It takes time, energy and patience to fight a system so patently anti-democratic...

At least the competition is intense on the State Senate side where Democrats are challenging the Republicans' slim majority. Switching to a Democratic majority would at least demote Senate Leader Joseph Bruno, who is under federal investigation and a grand master of Albany's business as usual. But the Assembly has 150 mostly unchallenged seats, and since this is technically a democracy, each race deserves more than one candidate.

In Manhattan, where the Democratic primary is the election, it is time to challenge even the most established members of the Legislature - like Assemblyman Richard Gottfried on the West Side or Assemblywoman Deborah Glick. And it is far past time for a serious reformer to challenge Mr. Silver in his Chinatown base....

New Yorkers deserve to be mad as hell about Albany, and their best revenge is at the ballot box. All they need now is to find decent candidates.

I'd add, for those of us working with a political party, any party - remember: contested elections make politics more important, involving the voters, who are, after all, more important than the elected officials. Contested races are not a problem to avoid, but a promise to keep.

(Hat tip - Dryden Daily KAZ.)

Hard to teach civics in NYS...

by: simonstl

Mon Mar 26, 2007 at 12:24:41 PM EDT

This morning's Ithaca Journal has a letter from someone who has the unfortunate job of teaching civics in a state where legislative theory and practice are a long ways apart:

As a high school government teacher (a shout out to my seventh period class), I am called upon to discuss the legislative branch of our state government. I applaud the efforts at reform by our new governor and the recent editorial of The Ithaca Journal, in which the Legislature was described as "dysfunctional." However, in light of the recent comptroller-selection debacle and the looming prospect of another late budget, it seems like our legislators in Albany will continue to be a source of embarrassment. I am not in a position to suggest how students should vote, but I make no secret of my own practice of voting against the incumbent state legislators every chance I get!

How exactly can you explain these things to kids? And how must it feel to be a legislator visiting a civics class? Or do they just avoid such potentially uncomfortable situations?

We're so badly represented it's not even funny

by: Michael Bouldin

Fri Mar 09, 2007 at 12:59:58 PM EST

Mrs. Clinton, according to people who were in attendance, did not take sides. But she did joke that if the matter could not be settled now, she would "fix it" in 2009.

That's from the 'I may have just gotten re-elected to one job, but don't expect me to actually work for you while I'm angling for my promotion' doctrine. You may recognize it from last year's race in the Eleventh Congressional District, specifically the Yassky and Clarke candidacies. Both of these jumped out of the gate within days of their re-election to a four-year term in the City Council in November 2005. It's quite normal, expected even, for New York politicians to royally shaft their existing constituents as they work for that advancement their shining talents so richly deserve. You poor creature are just a voter, and guess what: you don't really matter so much to the caste of your professional overlords. Now spread 'em; there, that's a good little peon. It may be uncomfortable, but you can certainly vote for Hillary in that position, you know; perhaps more easily so, even.

A variant on this principle is currently playing out in the 40th City Council District, where the Clarkes, mother and daughter, found and backed some pitiable schmuck, a 'doctor' who has never practiced medicine in this country and did not even have the simple, baseline good sense to establish the in-district residency required to take office. The end result is that there's now the need for a new election - no, thank you, Una. We liked the first one so much we're all just thrilled at the repeat - twice the cost, sure, but twice the fun, too.

(Cross-posted on The Daily Gotham)