Now we know why outgoing Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. couldn’t make it to Albany for either the extraordinary session called by Gov. David Paterson and the (failed) NYC OTB session called by Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson.

He was too busy writing a report tallying up his many accomplishments over the past two years.

Said report – the first of its kind, according to Espada – includes a “Dear Resident of New York State” letter.

In it, the Bronx Democrat says it has been his “honor to serve” as majority leader over the past two years (he makes no mention of the fact that he won’t be returning, following his defeat in the September primary by Senator-elect Gustavo Rivera).

“While it is impossible to list all of the achievements, it summarizes the highlights of my work on your behalf during 2009-2010,” Espada wrote.

In the report’s executive summary Espada says he and his colleagues “on both sides of the aisle…made history by implementing momentous, unprecedented reform in the New York State Senate.”

“The road was long and difficult at every turn,” Espada continued. “But through a bipartisan effort, rules changes were adopted that strengthened the committee process, increased transparency and disclosure to give the public greater insight into legislative proceedings, and placed term limits on the length of time legislative leaders and committee chairs can serve, among other reform initiatives.”

“Of course, reform never comes easy. But we overcame the obstacles of these unprecedented
tumultuous economic times and strong resistance to change (after all, the status quo had been in
place for over 40 years).”

I believe he’s talking about the 2009 Senate coup here, and, as usual, is continuing to spin that insurrection and the 31-day stalemate that followed as a positive development that somehow improved state government rather than deadlocking it.

I’m not quite sure what else to say about this, other than…happy reading! (It’s worth noting, by the way, that the senator takes credit for everything under the sun, including the “Stop the Sag” campaign, which was unquestionably Sen. Eric Adams’ baby).

UPDATE: A Senate Democratic official said the following: “This document was entirely produced by Senator Espada’s office without the knowledge or involvement of the conference. There are no plans to print this at the taxpayers expense.”

Attachment[1]

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