NY's only statewide political program
Assembly
With Bill, Silver Doubles Down On June 26 Primary
Feb 12th - 2:16 pm
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver today announced a measure that would schedule party primaries for local and state races for June 26, extending a long-running dispute with majority Republicans in the Senate who want an August date.
The bill comes after U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe declared June 26 as the primary for Congressional races in order for the state to comply with a law governing timely access to military and overseas ballots.
The federal MOVE Act requires states hold primaries no later than 44 days prior to the general election. New York traditionally holds its primaries in mid-September and up until late last year was granted waivers by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Sharpe’s ruling sets up the possibility of three primaries in New York: April 24 for the GOP presidential primary, June 26 for Congressional races and Sept. 11 for the state primaries.
It’s a potentially costly option for local governments, though Sharpe did leave some wiggle room in his ruling that would allow the state Legislature to set a date itself as long as it was held within the confines of federal law.
“There is no good reason why our local governments should be asked to spend an extra $50 million to hold three primary elections in one year,” Silver said in a statement. “That’s why we should be holding both state and federal primaries on the same day.”
The Assembly legislation would move the filing deadline for petitions in 2012 to April 16, reduce the number of designating signatures for Assembly ballot access from 500 to 375. The bill would reduce the number of filing signatures for a Senate seat by 250 to 750.
Silver said the measure will be taken up this week in the Assembly Elections Committee.
Republicans had pushed for an August date, arguing that a June primary — typically when the Legislature wraps up its business — would create chaos.
In a show of frustration, Sharpe last week ruled that he would accept a Democratic-backed calendar for accepting petitions. The plan would allow for fewer petition signatures in the compressed political calendar.
Swirling around the process is the ongoing dispute over redistricting. The Legislative Task Force on redistricting is yet to release new Congressional lines and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to veto the boundaries drawn by lawmakers.
Cuomo so far has stayed away from declaring if he supports an August or June primary (perhaps in order to not spoil the on-the-surface goodwill with both chambers), but has said three primaries isn’t ideal.
Silver On McCarthy vs. Ackerman: ‘I Don’t Believe That’s True’
Feb 10th - 4:43 pm
Another day, another denial from the Assembly on reports that LATFOR is planning to draw Reps. Gary Ackerman and Carolyn McCarthy into a political death match (AKA, a primary) this June.
NY1′s Zack Fink caught up with Speaker Sheldon Silver earlier today and asked him about the potential intra-party battle. Silver replied:
“There are no lines out. So, let’s be very clear. There are no official lines. I don’t know what the reference is to, in terms of that particular forcing of a primary. We have not agreed to any lines with the Senate. There are no preliminary maps that the Assembly has put out, and I don’t believe that’s true.”
Yesterday, Assemblyman Jack McEneny, the Democratic co-chair of LATFOR, told me the DN report of a potential primary between Ackerman and McCarthy was the “first I’ve heard of it.” I guess you could see these comments are either a “thou doth protest too much” or take them for what they are.
He said the House maps aren’t likely to be released until the very end of this month, and he’s hoping for a vote in early March.
McEneny On Ackerman vs. McCarthy: ‘First I’ve Heard Of It’
Feb 9th - 4:51 pm
I just caught Assemblyman Jack McEneny on his way back from today’s LATFOR hearing in Smithtown, and asked him if there was any truth to this morning’s DN report that the districts of two downstate House members – Gary Ackerman and Carolyn McCarthy – will be merged in the next round of redistricting, forcing the veteran Democrats to choose between duking it out in a primary and early retirement.
“No such decision has been made…This is the first I’ve heard the specificity of two particular districts being merged,” the Albany Democrat and LATFOR co-chair replied. “Actually, the first time I heard it was a couple of hours ago – 11 o’clock this morning – when Senator (Mike) Nozzolio (the GOP LATFOR co-chair) asked me if I read the paper.”
“There’s been other specualtion too. One thing we’re being very productive on in this state is rumors. There’s lots of them and they’re multiplying.”
Now, to be clear, there’s been talk of a potential merger of NY-4 and NY-5 for months now, fueled in party by persistent speculation about McCarthy’s imminent retirement. (She’s been about to give up politics to spend more time with her family since at least 2008). The Long Island lawmaker also weathered a tough challenge last year from Republican Fran Becker.
McCarthy recently reported raising just over $200,000 in the fourth quarter of 2011 and ended the year with $636,210 in cash on hand – a healthy sum and one that few elected officials with their eye on retirement would likely bother to raise. Ackerman, on the other hand, raised just $50,000, but has about $500,000 in the bank.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver kicked speculation about a McCarthy vs. Ackerman fight when he told the DN he would prefer to see NY-9 preserved because he considers it a Democratic district. Ever since Republican Rep. Bob Turner won former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s seat in a special election last year, insiders have discussed the possibility that legislators would carve up the district, helping adjacent incumbents like Rep. Joe Crowley while also getting halfway to the goal of eliminating two seats.
McEneny made it quite clear that when LATFOR gets done with its House maps – something he does not envision occuring until the “very last days” of February – it’s a safe bet that no district, even those that are “quote-unquote ‘kept,’” as the assemblyman put it, will look much like it did before due to population shifts. Every district has to have 717,007 people in it, and some of them – like NY-1 on the tip of Long Island – are off by many thousands.
McEneny said LATFOR members still haven’t decided whether there will be one uber-redistricting bill with the Senate, Assembly and House lines, or two bills separating the state and congressional maps. It’s possible that the Assembly and Senate could go their own ways on the House maps, too. That’s what happened in 2000 when the two sides couldn’t agree. The whole thing got kicked to a special master by a judge, and, as McEneny said, “we wound up with a composite.”
Lancman Sees Albany Experience As Asset, Not Curse
Feb 7th - 2:39 pm
Jim Tedisco. Dede Scozzafava. Jane Corwin. David Weprin.
New York voters have not been kind in recent years to state lawmakers who run for Congress, rejecting them in favor of political neophytes and often up-ending entrenched party strongholds in the process.
All of those failed candidates, three Republicans and a Democrat, are still members of the state Assembly, with the exception of Scozzafava, who passed up a re-election bid in 2010 to take a job with the Cuomo adminsitration. They also all ran in special elections, which have a habit of being completely unpredictable and bucking traditional voting patterns.
Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that Albany experience hasn’t been seen as an asset at the voting booth when legislators seek to move to the federal level.
Once upon a time, cutting your teeth in the Assembly chamber was viewed as good preparation for a House run. A few I can think of off the top of my head who went this route: Rep. Paul Tonko, Rep. Brian Higgins, Rep. Louise Slaughter, Rep. Joe Crowley, Rep. Jerry Nadler, ex-Rep.-turned-Sen. Chuck Schumer, ex-Rep. Tom Reynolds, retiring Rep. Maurice Hinchey.
Assemblyman Rory Lancman, who has launced an exploratory committee for a potential run against Rep. Bob Turner (who never did Albany time) in NY-9 this fall, thinks things have come full circle. He doesn’t plan on running from his Albany experience. In fact, he’ll be running ON it.
“That was a different era when Albany was – justifiably – recognized as a place that didn’t work, and didn’t suggest that the people who worked in Albany really deserved higher office,” Lancman told me during an interview that will air on CapTon tonight.
“But this is a different Albany. Working with Governor Cuomo, we’ve gotten some tremendous things done in this state, as you know, in the past year. And people actually recognize state government in Albany as being effective and the state moving in the right direction.”
“If you compare that to Washington, Washington has certainly replaced Albany as the capitol of dysfunction. And I’m going to run on my record on the 19 laws that I’ve authored during my five years in Albany…I’m going to run as someone who went to Albany, was a part of cleaning it up, straightening it out, and I can do the same thing in Washington.”
Lancman isn’t alone in the whole Washington-makes-Albany-look-good line. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has used that one, too.
Siena On NYers: Pay Raises, No; Convention Center, Yes
Feb 6th - 6:55 am
Today’s Siena poll finds New Yorkers overwhelmingly reject the concept of giving taxpayer-funded pay raises to anyone in state government – even Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who continues to get high marks for his agenda and job performance.
More than two-thirds of voters polled oppose a pay increase for state legislators, nearly three-quarters oppose a raise for the governor and more than three-quarters rejected raises for commissioners of state agencies.
None of the aforementioned elected officials and top government appointees has received a raise since 1999, when the Legislature struck a deal with then-Gov. George Pataki to exchange charter schools for salary bumps.
The exact numbers on pay raises: For lawmakers 31-67; the governor, 25-74; and commissioners, 19-78.
More than two-thirds of voters support Cuomo’s push for a new pension tier for future government employees and more than 70 percent endorsed his plan to link school aid increases to the adoption of an enhanced teacher evaluation process.
They also reversed course on the governor’s call to build the nation’s largest convention center at Aqueduct in Queens, giving the idea strong support (61-33) when told it will be privately funded and won’t them a dime.
This is a win for Cuomo, who publicly called out Siena for its last poll showing New Yorkers opposed his convention center plan, 38-57, saying it hadn’t posed the question correctly.
Cuomo continues to be viewed favorably by nearly three-quarters of voters. About two-thirds say h’s providing the leadership New York has lacked for too long, and that his proposals will help New York’s fiscal condition and create new jobs.
There’s also good news in this poll for President Obama, whose favorability rating has hit its highest point in two years.
Obama’s polling in Democrat-dominated New York at 64-34, up from 59-38 last month and 52-45 percent in August.
His job performance rating is 49-51, up from 46-53 last month and 36-63 in August. Currently, 58 percent of New Yorkers say they are prepared to re-elect the president and 36 percent prefer “someone else.” That’s up from 55-40 last month and 47-45 in August.
On the GOP side, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are running neck-and-neck with New York Republicans, 31-29, about two months from the April 24 primary. That’s in spite of the former House speaker’s unusually high unfavorable rating – 67 percent – compared to his opponents.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has a 52-20 favorability rating, and 53 percent of voters are prepared to re-elect her while only half that number – 27 percent – would prefer someone else.
Two of her fellow statewide elected officials, AG Eric Schneiderman and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, have some work to do in the name recognition department, 63 percent and 58 percent of voters, respectively, say they don’t know enough about them to form an opinion.
Nightmare Scenarios Spawned By Prospect Of 3 Primaries
Feb 3rd - 4:33 pm
A reader with a lot of knowledge of the state of play in various New York House districts emailed to note that the possibility of three separate primary dates in New York – April 24 (presidential), June 26 (House and US Senate) and Sept. 11 (state Legislature) – raises “some interesting, theoretical, maybe far-fetched but not impossible scenarios” that would give not a few elected officials and party leaders heartburn.
Here’s the trouble: If legislators don’t agree on a bill to move their own primary date to correspond with the one that US District Court Judge Gary Sharpe ordered for the federal races, then Assembly members and senators could theoretically challenge sitting House members and then, if that doesn’t work out, fall back to run for their own seats.
The reader came up with the following examples; feel free to weigh in if you think of any others:
1) CHAOS IN NORTHERN MANHATTAN?
Sen. Adriano Espaillat announces he will run for the new Latino seat in Upper Manhattan that is widely expected to be created in the next round of LATFOR maps. Local Democrats like Assemblyman Guillermo Linares and Mark Levine, who lost to Espaillat in the September 2010 primary for AG Eric Schneiderman’s old seat, would then scramble for Adriano’s Senate seat and start circulating petitions.
But Espaillat unexpectedly loses the congressional primary. Not wanting to be out of a job, he collects petitions to run for the Senate, files them on July 8, and runs on Sept. 11. Or, perhaps he doesn’t have to run in a primary at all because Linares, Levine and whoever else had entered the race for his seat drop their bids once he returns to the race.
2) MAYHEM IN NORTH BROOKLYN?
Sen. Martin Dilan announces he will challenge Rep. Nydia Velazquez (NY-12) in the June primary. Democrats like his son, NYC Councilman Erik Dilan, and Jesus Gonzalez, (the WFP-backed candidate who lost a heated three-way battle for former Assemblyman Darryl Towns’ seat to Erik Dilan’s chief of staff, Rafael Espinal, in 2010), quickly scramble for Martin Dilan’s Senate seat and start circulating petitions.
But Dilan loses the congressional primary, so he then collects petitions to run for his Senate seat – unless he doesn’t have to run because his son and Espinal back off. Or maybe Erik Dilan gets the line, but then declines the designation of his petitions – and the petition’s committee on vacancies replaces Erik with his father.
3) TWO BITES AT THE APPLE IN QUEENS?
- Queens Assemblyman Rory Lancman runs in a primary for the House seat currently occupied by Rep. Bob Turner, (assuming NY-9 still exists after redistricting and Turner doesn’t end up in a general election head-to-head with Rep. Joe Crowley or Rep. Gary Ackerman), loses and then goes back to run for his Assembly seat.
4) SECOND THOUGHTS IN THE HUDSON VALLEY?
- Sen. Greg Ball reconsiders his decision not to primary Rep. Nan Hayworth in NY-19 because he has little to lose, given his ability to run for his Senate seat if the House race doesn’t go his way.
Of course, this whole theory could just as easily apply to a congressional candidate running in a contested primary who loses and then decides to run for state Legislature. So, for example, one of the five Democrats now vying for the right to take on Hayworth in November could then run for the Senate in retiring Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer’s district, challeging the likely Democratic candidate, Assemblyman George Latimer, in the Sept. 11 primary.
Again, this is all completely speculative. The political calendar is in flux due to Sharpe’s decision. LATFOR hasn’t released the congressional lines yet. There might be some technicalities here that I’m overlooking. Perhaps one of the Jerrys – Skurnik? Goldfeder? – will set me straight.
But stranger things have happened. Not a bad deal for all these Albany incumbents who – other than special elections – usually need to give up their seats to run for Congress.
Source: Cuomo Admin ‘Campaigned’ For Biben To Run JCOPE (Updatedx3)
Feb 2nd - 1:01 pm
Two sources with knowledge of the process confirmed the NYT scoop that the Joint Commission on Public Ethics has quietly tapped a longtime top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Ellen Biben, to serve as its executive director.
The vote, which took place this past Tuesday, was not unanimous. Eleven of the 14 JCOPE commissioners voters in favor of Biben, a former federal prosecutor who worked in Cuomo’s AG office and now serves as state inspector general. The three who did not vote for her were all legislative appointees. Biben’s selection has angered the legislative leaders – particularly Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver – according to one source. UPDATE1: I’m now told Silver is actually completely OK with Biben and will be issuing a statement shortly.
One source said two of Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos’ JCOPE appointees voted for Biben and one abstained, but did not vote against her.
JCOPE members spent a long time behind closed doors in executive session Tuesday. They were known to be discussion the selection of a new executive director, but emerged without saying a word about their pick. (See Nick Reisman’s video below).
The commission also isn’t formally confirmining Biben’s hiring, even though she has, according to a source who received word from JCOPE Chairwoman Janet DiFiore, accepted the position.
“There’s no information to report at this time,” Theresa Schillaci, who has been more or less the acting director of JCOPE was officially formed last month, told Nick this afternoon.
I haven’t been able to get ahold of IG spokesman John Milgrim, who used to work in Cuomo’s press shop. One source told me Biben has already resigned her IG post and started her new job. Both the executive director’s position and running the IG’s office are full-time gigs. I can’t see how Biben would be able to do both.
According to one source familiar with how Biben was selected, a four-person search committee was formed that consisted of DiFiore, one Cuomo appointee, one Silver appointee and one Skelos appointee. The search committee reviewed resumes and then the majority voted to recommend Biben to the full 14-person commission.
“This was wired from the beginning,” the source said. “I think they had her in their sites from day one…Cuomo out-maneuvered everybody on this. The question is: How wide a net was cast and does it have holes in it?”
Another source said Biben’s selection was a foregone conclusion well before Tuesday and “her campaign was being run out of the governor’s office and aimed at a very select group of people: The search committee.”
UPDATE2: The WSJ’s Jacob Gershman reports the governor’s office “directly reached out to legislative leaders to promote Biben’s hiring” during the week leading up to Tuesday’s meeting.
The selection of Biben raises questions about the ability of JCOPE to be independent. The commission may find itself in the position of investigating the governor – its predecessor, the Public Integrity Commission, had to probe both Gov. Eliot Spitzer (for Troopergate), and Gov. David Paterson (for the Yankees ticket scandal and the David Johnson domestic violence mess) – and also has, for the first time, the power to investigate legislators.
The independence question led to the resignation of former PIC executive director Herb Teitelbaum, who was found by the former IG, Joseph Fisch, to have violated the Public Officers Law by sharing information with the Spitzer administration about the commission’s Troopergate investigation while it was still active.
JCOPE, which was formed last year as a result of the reform deal reached early in Cuomo’s tenure, has been under fire almost since its inception. A number of its appointees raised eyebrows and its proceedings have been criticized for a lack of transparency.
UPDATE2: Although the Cuomo administration hasn’t yet confirmed Biden’s selection, the League of Women Voters released a statement applauding her appointment, saying she will “contribute” to JCOPE’s overall goal of “strong oversight” to restore trust in state government.
What A Difference Five Years Makes
Feb 1st - 2:44 pm
Reports that the Senate Republicans have their collective heart set on keeping the state primary date of Sept. 11 rather than on June 26 in conjuction with the federal contests (as determined last week by US District Court Judge Gary Sharpe) set off the hypocrisy alarm for longtime political consultant Jerry Skurnik.
Skurnik emailed earlier today to remind me that in 2007, the governor and legislative leaders – at the time that meant Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno and Gov. Eliot Spitzer – delayed the Sept. 11 primaries by one week, pushing them back to Sept. 18 to avoid having them fall on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
NYT columnist Clyde Haberman wasn’t a fan of this decision, arguing that it was a disruption of democracy and therefore a victory for the terrorists. He reported:
“Lawmakers reached this conclusion in virtual lock step, some no doubt fearing the potential wrath of 9/11 families. The State Senate voted for the delay unanimously. In the Assembly, the vote was 136 to 9, the tiny minority consisting of 6 Democrats and 3 Republicans.
“Joseph L. Bruno, the Senate majority leader, called it ‘critically important that we reserve Sept. 11 as a day when the world looks back and remembers the many heroes who lost their lives.’ But couldn’t we remember and vote at the same time? Some might even say that democracy’s normal processes would honor those heroes while telling the terrorists in a powerful way where they can go.”
“‘Yes, you can make the case for that,” said John E. McArdle, a spokesman for Mr. Bruno. “But I think there was a consensus all the way around that it was preferable to go this route.’”
“Much the same was said by Dan Weiler, a spokesman for Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker. He was asked for Mr. Silver’s reasons for seeking the postponement. As relayed by Mr. Weiler, the speaker’s response was, ‘We felt it was the appropriate thing to do.’”
Apparently, Sen. Dean Skelos, who voted in favor of the change along with the rest of his conference back then, is no longer concerned about the possibility of having the primary coincide with what has become a day of remembrance now that he’s majority leader.
Skelos said he’ll be discussing the primary problem with the Assembly, and insisting that having three contests is “not my druthers.”
Silver said he’d prefer to avoid the three-primary route. Ditto for Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But no far, neither Democrat has said which date they’d prefer.
The primary cannot be moved until all sides agree.
Assembly Committee Says Indian Point Can Shut Down
Feb 1st - 12:47 pm
After doing a round of hearings earlier this month, two Assembly Democrats say their preliminary findings suggest that shutting down the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant could be done with little impact on rate payers. In a press release, they say that investing in energy efficiency and by completing ongoing projects the state should be able to provide enough energy to make up for the loss of the nuclear power plant.
“The information we gathered clearly demonstrates that Indian Point can be shut down without unduly burdening New York’s ratepayers or the electric system,” said Assemblymember Kevin Cahill, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Energy. “We have the framework and the resources for a future without Indian Point. It all comes down to the State developing a plan and putting it in motion.”
“The experts testified that New York has the resources to replace these nuclear plants; now the decision makers need the will to make it happen,” said Assemblymember James Brennan, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions.
The press release goes on to break it down their thinking, citing an increase of 5 thousand megawatts of power by 2015-2016 from proposed projects. And an additional 1,500 megawatts through energy efficiency and modernization of exisiting power plants by fixing current constraints that prevent certain plants from operating at full capacity, without building new power lines or new power plants.
These findings have been supported by several reports that were paid for by opponents of Indian Point. A contrasting report paid for by Mayor Bloomberg suggested that there would be huge spikes in cost and dirtier air if Indian Point shut down.
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.