NY's only statewide political program
Archive for November, 2010
New Faces (Real New) – Mark Grisanti
Nov 30th - 9:00 pm
Senate Republicans came one step closer to taking back the majority Tuesday as Democratic Senator Antoine Thompson conceded to his opponent, Mark Grisanti, in the 60th Senatorial District.
Now just two Senate races remain undecided, one of which might be headed for a full hand recount. But already many Democrats are resigned to seeing power slip from their grasp.
Senator-elect Grisanti joined Liz Benjamin Tuesday to discuss his win.
Exit Interview: John McArdle
Nov 30th - 9:00 pm
Over the past 29 years, the state capitol has seen six different Senate majority leaders. Four of them Republicans. And John McArdle worked for each of those GOP leaders.
McArdle spent almost three decades in the press shop for the Senate Republicans. And this week, he retired from that post. He joined Liz Benjamin Tuesday to talk about his long career.
Assembly Stays For Marathon Session
Nov 30th - 9:00 pm
As we have reported, lawmakers failed to address the $315 million dollar budget gap during Tuesday’s special session, but it wouldn’t be fair to say they did absolutely nothing. In fact, members of the Assembly were in session until 4 a.m. passing bills. Among those sitting in the chamber was Republican Leader Brian Kolb. Liz Benjamin caught up with him and asked him about the marathon session, as well as his thoughts on the tough budget battle ahead.
Extras
Nov 30th - 5:36 pm
“Denial is not a life strategy.”
Jennifer Cunningham is leaving the lobbying business to avoid “even the appearance” of conflicts with the Cuomo and Schneiderman administrations.
Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo said legislators “failed” New Yorkers by failing to close the $315 million mid-year budget deficit.
Cuomo’s pay-to-play state pension fund probe was partially behind Steven Rattner’s heretofore unexplained decision to leave his post as the Obama administration’s car czar in 2009.
The governor-elect just wants to be friends with the Assembly Democrats.
NYC Schools Chancellor Cathie Black spent part of her first day on the job reading to first graders.
Mayor Bloomberg was with Black during her visit to a Bronx school. The man to whom she owes thanks for her waiver was not.
Black is putting the whole waiver controversy behind her, saying: “That was yesterday.”
Christine O’Donnell hopes Hillary Clinton runs for president.
Bloomberg made Foreign Policy’s “100 Top Global Thinkers” cover.
The WFP opposes a special election to replace LG-elect Bob Duffy as Rochester mayor.
Rep. Charlie Rangel and his allies are still hoping to overturn the ethics committee’s censure recommendation.
US Attorney for the Southern District Preet Bharara’s insider trading investigation could make or break his career.
FOX News finds voter fraud in NY-1, the country’s last remaining undecided congressional race.
Anti-hydrofracking advocates are very pleased with the Legislature.
Hugo Chavez thinks Clinton should resign over the latest WikiLeaks document dump.
A nine-month Pentagon study found repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would have very little – if any – impact on the military.
Senate Dems’ Bank Practices ‘Unsafe And Unsound’
Nov 30th - 5:09 pm
The bank to which the Senate Democrats owe some $2.4 million was cited for “unsafe and unsound banking practices relating to asset quality, management, and liquidity” by the US Comptroller of the Currency and placed under an enforcement action/formal agreement this past July.
Senate Democratic conference spokesman Austin Shafran declined to comment when I asked him about the troubled experienced by the Flushing, Queens-based National Bank of New York City, which has long been the DSCC’s go-to for loans (dating back at least to the minority leader days of now-Senate President Malcolm Smith, who also hails from Queens).
A reader also forwarded the terms of the DSCC’s recent loans from the bank, (obtained via a FOIL request), which show a maturity date of Dec. 22, as Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos indicated.
However, Shafran insisted that date was established for the DSCC’s old line of credit, which was renewed this past campaign cycle. According to Shafran, the Democats have established a payment plan with the bank, and won’t be forced to pay off their considerable debt in one lump sum in the coming weeks.
Also, Shafran confirmed that senators are personally liable for the loans obtained by the DSCC. Apparently, they sign paperwork indicating the committee has the right to borrowing cash on their behalf when they sign their oaths of office.
NYPIRG’s Bill Mahoney put together a spread sheet that demonstates the DSCC has carried more debt than any other campaign committee over the past decade.
State GOP Paid Big Bucks To Bloomberg Operative (Updated)
Nov 30th - 4:03 pm
The state Republican Party spent just over $1 million in the weeks leading up to the general election, and well over a quarter of that cash went to a single firm: Tusk Enterprises Inc.
If that name doesn’t ring a bell…it’s the firm established by Mayor Bloomberg’s former campaign manager, Bradley Tusk, in the wake of the mayor’s successful (albeit closer-than-expected) election to a third term last fall.
All told, the state GOP paid Tusk $376,684 in three installments of $125,562.
For many years, Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent, was one of the largest individual contributors to both the state GOP and the Senate Republicans.
He has, however, become more selective and calculated in his support of candidates – both in fundraising/contributions and public endorsements.
These days, the mayor takes care to spread the love around as he seeks to bolster his image as a post-partisan kingmaker with his eye on a potential independent White House run in 2012.
Tusk continues to be Bloomberg’s go-to political guy outside City Hall, but has also worked for a variety of others, including Staten Island DA Dan Donovan, who ran an unsuccessful bid for AG this fall, and former Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr., who briefly eyed a potential primary challenge to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Prior to signing back on with Bloomberg, Tusk worked primarily for Democrats (he did a stint with former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and ended up testifying against him). The presence of his firm on the state GOP’s filing did not sit well with at least one Republican operative, who told me:
“It’s outrageous that Ed Cox would pay a Democratic operative this sort of money. It’s yet another nail in his coffin. This will certailny get the grassroots up in arms. He may not be able to hold out until September.”
(Remember: Cox has a year remaining in his tenure as chairman, and no formal mechanism exists for his mid-term removal).
UPDATE: State GOP Executive Director/acting spokesman Tom Basile writes:
“The payments made were for mail that was done by the State Party in support of Harry Wilson’s campaign.”
“Mr. Tusk’s firm was used at the specific request of the Wilson campaign. When the State Party creates candidate-specific mail in support of campaigns, we endeavor to use the campaign’s preferred vendors.”
“This practice often leads to cost savings with respect to list generation, graphics design and other elements of the mail.”
Silver: ‘No Problems Ahead’ For Me And ‘Friend’ Cuomo
Nov 30th - 3:35 pm
Fresh off re-election to his leadership post by his colleagues, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver headed into a closed-door lunch with Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo insisting all will be smooth sailing between New York’s two top Democrats heading into a difficult budget year.
Asked if he could foresee any problems between himself and Cuomo, Silver replied: “Absolutely not.”
“I see no problems ahead for me and Andrew Cuomo,” the speaker continued. “We have known each other for many years. We’ve been friends for many years, and I can see us moving forward in these difficult economic times to right the ship of state of New York.”
NY1′s Erin Billups asked Silver if he had any advice for Cuomo on how to avoid the pitfalls of dealing with the Legislature suffered by his predecessors.
“I think the governor-elect has shown the appropriate respect to the Legislature,” the speaker replied.
“I think he understands that we’re all going to be partners in government, and, just like he’s doing today, coming, explaining – hopefully a free-for-all dialogue – with the members of the Assembly Democratic conference in order to move and forge a consensus on an agenda for this year.”
Kolb On Andrew Cuomo’s ‘Problem’
Nov 30th - 2:50 pm
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb told me during a CapTon interview this afternoon that he recently informed Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo his main “problem” going forward will be the Assemby Democrats.
Cuomo’s response to that? Silence, according to Kolb. The minority leader seemed skeptical about the governor-elect’s ability to move the Democratic confernce, with whom he lunched this afternoon at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
“Governor Paterson couldn’t get it done,” Kolb said. “Governor Spitzer couldn’t get it done.”
“Now what will Governor-elect Cuomo do to get it done in the Assembly when they have not been interested in reducing spending? When they have been beholden to special interests. When they have been for new taxes and fees to the tune of $10 billion.”
“…I’m hoping that he can. I want him to succeed, beacuse our state needs it.”
Carlucci Sounds Off
Nov 30th - 2:38 pm
Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson did not get off on the right foot with Senator-elect David Carlucci.
The Hudson Valley freshman, who took people by surprise with his win of a long-held GOP seat (it belonged to the late Sen. Tom Morahan), was in Albany for yesterday’s lame duck session, but he left around 7 p.m. – about three hours before his soon-to-be colleagues convened behind closed doors and voted to keep Sampson as leader.
Carlucci said he returned to the district to take care of some business, leaving early because no one – not even Sampson himself – bothered to inform him that the leadership vote was taking place.
“It’s not something I appreciate,” Carlucci told me during a brief phone interview this afternoon. “That’s why I ran for office, to get away from backroom politics.”
Carlucci made clear following his Nov. 2 victory over Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef that he had not yet made up his mind about the leadership vote. I can’t imagine that leaving Carlucci out in the cold on yesterday’s vote is going to help Sampson win over his affections.
I asked Carlucci if he had informed anyone of his plan to leave early (all but one of his fellow freshmen were in the house; Tony Avella is on jury duty, I’m told, not on vacation, as I had originally reported).
He said he actually had informed Sampson himself, who replied: “We’re going to have a conference; stick around if you can.”
Had Samspon said anything about a leadership vote, Carlucci said, the senator-elect would have made it his business to change his schedule around and attend. As for whether he’s planning to support Sampson when the real vote is taken (this will occur when the 2011 session actually starts), Carlucci had this to say:
“I have great respect for Senator Sampson, and he’s done a great job guiding the conference through these difficult times, but I look forward to having a voice as to who’s leader when I’m sworn in.”
“…I haven’t decided yet (who to support). I want to make sure I have the opportunity to talk about the concerns I have. We have some severe issues and problems in Rockland and Orange counties, and I want to make sure that’s a priority. We’ve got to make sure that property tax reform is a priority.”
At the moment, no one is formally challenging Sampson to be leader of either the majority – should the Democrats somehow manage to grab victory from the jaws of defeat – or, more likely, the minority.
Take Capital Tonight and the State of Politics blog with you everywhere you go with our iPhone app! The mobile application features our blog posts, interviews, and a report news tool to send us your political news tips.