Now it's time to govern

by: cliffweathers

Wed Nov 03, 2010 at 11:52:18 AM EDT

Despite the nationwide shift to the Republicans, here in New York we enjoyed a clean sweep of the Governor, Comptroller, and Attorney General's races, and it appears that the Democrats will keep the slightest lead in the State Senate with my friend David Carlucci being a freshman Senator and part of that majority. (UPDATE: Now it appears to be a 31-31 split)

However, this is put up or shut up time for the Democrats in the state legislature. Two years ago, they had a bicameral majority, but they blew it when State Senators like Ruben Diaz, Sr., Pedro Espada, and Hiram Monserrate had temper tantrums and with the latter two caucusing the Republicans, which effectively shut down our government. What ensued was perhaps the most pitiful example of governing. It was an embarrassment and every Democratic State Senator re-elected should humble themselves to their constituencies after they gave them, and the party, a second chance.

This time, they better not blow it.

I feel that it's time for new leadership in the State Senate, perhaps real reformers like Diane Savino or Liz Krueger taking the helm. The Democrats need for their State Senators to work together as a disciplined team, and not as a bunch of lords brooding over their individual fiefdoms.

And perhaps its time for Dean Skelos stop playing palace intrigue by trying to cobble together a majority with Senators greedy for member items cash. Such exchanges are not only dysfunctional, they damage the very integrity of our legislature. Hopefully, Republicans will vote into leadership someone who is more sensible and focused on healing this great State than Skelos.

The State Senate needs to immediately get down to the business of reform, and that includes creating transparency laws, independent redistricting, and strict campaign finance reform. They must clean up the processes of governance before they can truly govern and get to the task of fixing New York.

SD-38: Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee considering State Senate run

by: cliffweathers

Thu May 20, 2010 at 22:25:17 PM EDT

The meeting of the Executive Committee of the Rockland Democratic Committee also featured three other candidates, Clarkstown Town Clerk David Carlucci, Tuxedo Town Supervisor Peter Dolan, and State Parole Officer Grant Valentine.

Jaffee said that she will decide to run in a matter of days. She has no notable opponents for her State Assembly seat.

On the Republican side, Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef is expected to run. However, a local Tea Party movement is rumored to be fielding its own candidate.  

Absentee Voting in Columbia County

by: global yokel

Mon Dec 07, 2009 at 17:32:28 PM EST

-Voter Registrations you maintain in other counties and / or states

-Federal Income Tax Returns (past 3 yrs., Financial Information Redacted*)

-New York State Income Tax Returns including listing of school district of residence (past 3 yrs., Financial Information Redacted*)

-Most recent Social Security Statement (Financial Information Redacted*)

-Driver's License and Motor Vehicle Registration(s), Motor Vehicle insurance card Licenses and registrations for any aircraft or watercraft

-Any solicitations you may have received from any political party or candidate asking you to register to vote in Columbia County

-Professional License(s) and registrations (in state and out of New York State)

-Records of any Political Donations within the past 7 years

- New York City Finance (or County,Town, School District outside of Columbia County) tax bill or Quarterly Statement of Account on Real Property, Condo, or Co-Op for past 3 yrs.

-Residential Leases, deeds, cooperative shareholders agreements, and condominium owners documents, including but not limited to Property management agreements and contracts.    (Financial Information Redacted*)  Also, all contracts and / or bills with private security companies or alarm services

- Evidence of any STAR exemption on real property, condo, or co-op apartment, including any STAR exemptions

-Employment contracts and / or pay stubs (Financial Information Redacted)

-Bank Statements (checking savings, certificates of deposit, brokerage accounts and locations of  branches with financial assets (Financial Information Redacted*)

-Credit Card bills, bills for and location of Safety Deposit Box(es) and / or secure storage facilities (Financial Information Redacted*)

Contract(s) for vehicle parking and / or parking permits

-Most recent EZ Pass Records (only portions showing residence address (Financial Information Redacted*)

-Last 6 months of utility bills, including cable, satellite television, internet services, telephone, electric, gas, or propane (only portions showing residence address)

-Library cards, memberships in health clubs, gyms, social clubs and organizations, political organizations, unions. Newspaper and magazine subscriptions

-School District (or private school) enrollment documents for any children / dependents

-Passports, visas, travel documents including travel clubs and frequent flyer program memberships (only portions showing residence address)  

Dear Senator Gillibrand

by: davesnyd

Sun Jul 19, 2009 at 09:17:24 AM EDT

I have to say that I don't think you're going to be primaried. And if you are, I don't think it will amount to much-- you have the money, the party support, the President's support, and Howard's support.

Me? I'm either "on the fence" about whether you should be primaried or just don't care (at least not yet).

I'm neither a fan of you nor virulently for one of your (three!) opponents. I don't know you well enough or them at all.

So I'm scratching my head. Why all the talk of a primary? And I also find myself wondering, how should you game play this? More after the flip.

NY-20 campaign: disturbing call from an old friend

by: NYTrialman

Sat Mar 14, 2009 at 09:39:41 AM EDT

That was the good part of the conversation.  The disturbing part was when he said: "I hope I'm not too late.... did they have the election already"?

This fellow, who has been in business in the area for many years, who has offices in several locations in the district...an intelligent, well read individual, DIDN'T KNOW THE ELECTION WAS ON MARCH 31ST!  Sorry for shouting.

The point is that we still have a LOT of work to do letting people know about about this Special Election.  If someone this wired into the community didn't know the election is being held on March 31st, imagine all the others who are blissfully unaware.

Lets get to work!

You Are Hereby Deputized: Ourvotelive.org Lets Bloggers Help With Election Protection

by: robinia

Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 14:03:55 PM EDT

Now, everybody knows that there is a building frenzy for voter intimidation that has only become more and more desperate as the polls show less and less support for the right's agenda.  You can fret and fuss and curse and cuss, but, if you are the EFF, you can use the power of technology and sunshine to do something about it.

Reporters, bloggers, and voters across the country can monitor problems at the polls on Election Day on OurVoteLive.org, a project built and hosted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on behalf of Election Protection, the nation's largest nonpartisan voter protection coalition, and its toll-free voter-assistance hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE.

OurVoteLive.org collects and analyzes reports from calls to the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline, which is staffed by hundreds of volunteers across the country. Tested during the presidential primaries, the site is already documenting over a thousand examples per day of voters needing information or reporting problems such as registration and identification issues, difficulties with voting machines, and polling place accessibility issues. Over 200,000 calls are expected to come into the hotline and be documented on OurVoteLive.org through Election Day.

"Improved transparency in all aspects of the electoral process is critical to ensuring accurate results as well as diagnosing systemic problems and helping voters," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman. "OurVoteLive.org is helping the Election Protection Coalition make that possible."

Now-- your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to check into the real-time maps at Our Vote Live for whatever county you will be working in on election day.  Then, if there are problems noted, go investigate and report back here at TAP!  Intimidation in Norwich?  Let us know, and we can help resources flow that way.  Machine malfunctions in Monroe?  Tell people, here, and see if a new machine or three don't suddenly appear.  Electioneering at the polls in Wayne?  Report it to us here, and the posse will be alerted.

This is just a totally cool tool for allowing the people to protect their own voting rights.  Tell others, and don't forget to publicize that report-a-problem number: 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

Don't put political tricks in my child's bag (w/ UPDATE)

by: cliffweathers

Tue Oct 21, 2008 at 15:09:35 PM EDT

However, we also must be reminded that our State representatives are using these funds to insure their incumbency, making it harder to defeat on November 4. One of the most cynical uses of using these public funds for campaigning purposes is the "Halloween safety" flyers distributed in our school districts. These flyers are campaign flyers masquerading as public-service announcements. They use public assets and our children as campaign tools.

In my Senate district (SD-38), I am challenging the legality of GOP State Senator Thomas P. Morahan's distribution of these flyers. And today, I started with my campaign, by  sending the e-mail (below) to the Superintendent of Nyack Public Schools. If you live in a Republican Senate district, you're likely getting similar flyers sent home with your children. I urge you to send similar letters to your local school superintendents.

Read on:

Why Not Jon Powers?

by: BingChester

Thu Jun 19, 2008 at 11:50:21 AM EDT

So if the DCCC is going out on a limb and endorsing a candidate facing a primary challenge, why not endorse another analogous candidate?

Why not endorse Jon Powers?

NY-SD7: Legal Battle Unfolding Over Republican Dirty Tricks

by: SteveWFP

Mon Feb 05, 2007 at 20:36:04 PM EST

In response, the County Attorney's office instructed the Board of Elections to tell poll workers the special circumstances under the law where poll workers were to request identification:

"I am requesting that you immediately notify all special election poll workers and inspectors that they must not request identification of any person seeking to vote, unless there is an "ID" notification next to the bar code for the voter name on the registration poll ledger prepared by the Nassau County Board of Elections."

The Republican response to these instructions was to ignore the County Attorney's directive.

Now a Nassau County Supreme Court Judge is ordering Republicans to comply with election law and not intimidate voters in tomorrow's special election. The Nassau County police will deliver notice of the court order to every polling place in the Seventh State Senate district when the polls open at 6am on Tuesday.

NY-SD7: Craig, Spitzer, Schumer and you!

by: SteveWFP

Sun Feb 04, 2007 at 10:34:50 AM EST

Starting this morning, Craig launched the "Moving New York Forward - 33 Stops in 33 Hours" tour.  He's campaigning in every one of the 33 villages in the Seventh District from this morning until the election starts, leaving no stone unturned to Get Out the Vote.  The tour will take Craig to morning bagel stops, religious services, Super Bowl parties, and popular lunch hour spots.

Governor Eliot Spitzer and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer will campaign with Craig Johnson at different stops during the day.

Come out and meet Craig and help the campaign Get Out The Vote!

The Sunday schedule is after the jump.

2 days until Election Day!

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Republicans Threaten Dirty Tricks in SD7

by: SteveWFP

Sat Feb 03, 2007 at 17:15:29 PM EST

The Republican response?  Threaten dirty tricks.

3 days until Election Day!

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NY-SD7: Craig Johnson for State Senate TV Ad #3

by: SteveWFP

Wed Jan 31, 2007 at 13:06:03 PM EST

Be sure to read about the O'Connell audit scandal and sign up to be part of the Johnson campaign GOTV push!

6 days until Election Day!

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Nurses Union and 7 Other Unions Endorse Craig Johnson for State Senate

by: SteveWFP

Tue Jan 30, 2007 at 20:54:26 PM EST

Press release after the jump.

7 days until Election Day!

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NY-SD7: Is WellCare Evading Campaign Contribution Limits for O'Connell?

by: SteveWFP

Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 10:26:00 AM EST

Speaking of that Long Island Senate race, the Republican candidate, Maureen O'Connell, below, appears to be in good standing with the insurer WellCare.

According to campaign finance filings released Friday evening, the health insurer appears to have donated more than the $5,000 corporate limit to Ms. O'Connell's campaign by using a common tactic: also donating through three of its divisions. All told, the company and its divisions, all listing the same post office box in Tampa, Fla., gave $20,000 to Ms. O'Connell's campaign, which had no comment. Many corporate interests see Senate Republicans as important allies to play against the Spitzer administration and the Democrats who control the Assembly. WellCare did not return a call for comment.

New York Times Endorses Craig Johnson for State Senate

by: SteveWFP

Sat Jan 27, 2007 at 11:48:26 AM EST

The New York Times
Sunday, January 28, 2007
A State Senate Endorsement

The sudden vacancy in the 7th State Senate District has caused both parties to leap in with guns blazing.  When the Republican incumbent, Michael Balboni, quit to join the Spitzer administration as chief of homeland security, the race to succeed him became instantly negative and hugely expensive.

That's because so much is at stake beyond just control of a single seat in northwest Nassau County - control of the Senate, for instance, where the Republican majority has been nearing the vanishing point, as well as the reform agenda of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who broke with a tradition of gubernatorial nonaggression in such races to appear in an ad hailing the Democratic candidate, Craig Johnson, as an ally in the crusade to fix Albany.

Mr. Johnson, who was elected to the Nassau Legislature in 2000 after the death of the incumbent - his mother, Barbara - is challenging Maureen O'Connell, who became the Nassau County clerk a little over a year ago and now wants to return to Albany, where she served as an assemblywoman since 1998.  With very little time to campaign - the special election in Feb 6 - both sides are running at a frantic pace.

Their ads are studies in negativity, with Mr. Johnson's campaign accusing Ms. O'Connell of being as anti-choice extremist on reproductive issues, and Ms. O'Connell running a preposterous spot showing a woman tied to railroad tracks about to mowed down by a train.  The train represents taxes, taxes, taxes, specifically the 19-percent increase that County Executive Thomas Suozzi pushed through the Legislature in his first term as part of his utterly sensible - and successful - effort to rescue Nassau's finances from decades of Republican misrule.

Of the charges being burled back and forth over the airwaves, we find Mr. Johnson's the more persuasive. Ms. O'Connell does have a troubling record on choice, having taken stands in Albany - like voting against as emergency contraception bill when it was in committee - that infringed on women's reproductive rights.

Ms. O'Connell's claims that Mr. Johnson's taxing madman are, by contrast, unfounded.  The Suozzi tax plan he voted for was a prudent and responsible response to a fiscal mess. He has also assembled a credible record on other issues, including open space preservation.

The race is, though, about something larger - which is the reason the eyes of the whole state are on it.  Governor Spitzer will need the cooperation of the Republican-dominated State Senate if he is going to make progress on the ambitious reform agenda that he has laid out.  Mr. Johnson has vowed to be his ally in the coming battles, while Ms. O'Connell is likely to give reinforcement to the Albany status quo.

For voters who have hopes that Mr. Spitzer will succeed in fixing Albany, as we do, Mr. Johnson is the obvious choice.  We enthusiastically endorse him.

Sign up to hear about daily volunteer opportunities.

The WFP is running the door-to-door and election day GOTV operation for the Johnson campaign.  Make a donation to help pay for the GOTV program.

NY-SD7: Craig Johnson Canvasses With the WFP

by: SteveWFP

Thu Jan 25, 2007 at 18:44:59 PM EST

57 of our Canvassers plus a few Directors came out this afternoon to meet Craig who did a really good job answering questions and pumping them up. He was really frank, and that was appreciated. He didn't give a politician type answer on questions, instead he explained clearly how the process worked and what was and wasn't within the power of a State Senator.

People tend to know when someone is talking down to them, and no one felt that way today. It might not sound like much, but in today's sound bite driven, 30 second discourse, it was a breath of fresh air for a bunch of canvassers who are trained to go out and actually get people to talk to them and listen, rather than just talk at them. Several different folks came up to me indvidually and told me as much.

After the speech and Q&A, Craig went out and canvassed with one of our Field Managers, Will Urkhart. Will said it went great and told me Craig was a really good canvasser and very personable with people. So, if he ever gets fed up with Albany, Craig's got a job waiting here with us. The Assembly pays more, but you get to work on some exciting races.

12 days until Election Day!

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NY-SD7: Johnson Picks Up Steam

by: SteveWFP

Wed Jan 24, 2007 at 20:05:08 PM EST

Here's why 32BJ endorsed Craig:

"By helping to pass a minimum wage bill in Nassau County, Craig Johnson has shown himself to be a strong supporter of Long Island's working families" said Mike Fishman, Local 32BJ President. "We look forward to working with him in Albany to raise standards for all New York's working families."

Last year, the Nassau County Legislature passed a living wage law that will raise minimum wages for workers contracted by the county to $9.50 an hour beginning in 2007. The minimum hourly pay rate will increase to $10.50 an hour in 2008, and again in 2010 to $12.50 an hour.

A TV ad and a way to help after the break.