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Redistricting Compromise?
Jul 7th - 12:17 pm
ICYMI: Assemblyman Jack McEneny, who has some harsh words for Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the subject of redistricting reform yesterday, seemed to suggest a compromise for the standoff during a CapTon interview last night.
The Albany Democrat disagreed with his LATFOR co-chair, Sen. Michael Nozzolio’s assessment that the deadline for reform has passed, although he did concur that the Legislature had to move forward with its current process absent an independent redistricting commission deal.
After saying earlier in the day that it would be “petty” and “dumb” for the governor to veto a legislative redistricting plan simply because of who drew it up, McEneny expanded on those comments thusly:
I hope the governor, and I hope people who espouse reform, will concentrate more on how than on who. Because they get into personalities, not into the rules they’d like to see.”
“Keeping communities of interest together. Respecting voter rights and minorities. We should be talking about how. And then, at the end of the process, if the governor wants to make some recommendations – if he has an independent advisory board of people who actually know what they’re doing and understand the state – then it can always be amended.”
So, basically what the assemblyman is intimating here is that LATFOR could go forward as planned, and then have its lines reviewed by a separate entity, which then makes recommendations to the governor.
That seems like the sort of halfway-there suggestion that has been quietly talked about by the goo-goos, too, with the understanding that the long-term plan would be to overhaul the entire process via a constitutional amendment like the one the Senate GOP passed this session in lieu of an independent commission bill.
Caylee’s Law?
Jul 6th - 4:38 pm
You knew this was coming…
Assemblywoman Grace Meng, a Queens Democrat, is the first to propose a bill related to the Casey Anthony verdict.
In a letter to the state District Attorneys Association, Meng says she was “deeply saddened” by the outcome of the trial, noting she is the mother of two young children and – unlike Anthony – would notify authorities “within minutes” if either of them were to go missing.
“While common sense suggests why the authorities were not notified, we must operate in the world of facts that can be substantiated,” Meng wrote.
“Legislating is about problem solving, and I believe it is a significant problem that New York State has no mandatory reporting law for parents, legal guardians, caretakers or other responsible adults to not notify law enforcement of the death of their child, accidental or otherwise, within atimely manner of the death being discovered.”
As a result, Meng is drafting legislation that makes failure to report a missing child “within a timely manner” by a parent, legal guardian, caretaker or other responsible adult a felony offense. The assemblywoman, who did not provide details of what “timely” might mean – 24 hours? 48 hours? A week? – said she hopes to work with DAASNY on the legislation.
Letter to District Attorneys Association of the State of New York
WNY ‘Intrigue’
Jul 6th - 2:32 pm
ICYMI: Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, who was once a contender for the Erie County clerk’s job vacated by now-Rep. Kathy Hochul, told me he decieded against seeking the post because the shuffling of local Democrats – including the departure of ex-Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, has provided him an opening to gain power and seniority in his current role.
Erie County Legislature Majority Leader Maria Whyte announced last week that she’ll be seeking Hochul’s old job. The Republicans are backing Christopher Jacobs.
Whyte’s annointment by the Erie County Dems is actually part of a peace brokered by state Democratic Party Executive Director Charlie King among the notoriously fractious local party players.
I asked Gabryszak if the reason the Cuomo camp is so interested in WNY might be to present a united front in hopes of knocking GOP County Executive Chris Collins from his perch, thereby preventing him from mounting another statewide bid in 2014, and he replied:
“I’m not privy to that part of the conversation, but you know, quite honestly, looking at it from the political standpoint, you could see the reasoning behind that.”
“…You have (Comptroller) Mark Poloncarz who’s running for re-election. Any time you go against an incumbent, it’s definitely not the easiest thing to do. Mark has a message that he has to get out there. The Democratic Party has a message they want to take to the people. County Executive Collins has a record over the past four years he’s going to run on.”
“So, I’m sure there’s some looking down the road in terms of the next governor’s race. As you said, Chris Collins has toyed with the idea in the past, and that’s not to say he wouldn’t have aspirations again in the future. So, from the political standpoint, I’m sure there’s some of that intrigue involved in this race.”
Two Down, Five To Go (Updated)
Jul 6th - 1:34 pm
Michael Simanowitz, the longtime chief of staff to retired Queens Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn, wasted no time in formally announcing his special election bid for her seat in the 27th AD after receiving the nod from his fellow Democrats earlier today.
The Queens Dems tapped Simanowitz, whose press release appears below; and Phillip Goldfeder, an aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer and former aide to Mayor Bloomberg, to run for the 23rd AD seat vacated by former Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer, who departed to take the Queens County clerk job.
Simanowitz was the frontrunner for his former boss’ seat, but Goldfeder’s selection was not a foregone conclusion, I’m told. When I spoke to Pheffer back in April, she indicated she would likely support her chief of staff, JoAnn Shapiro, to replace her. At the time, I was also told that a GOP district leader, Jane Deacy, was also interested in the job.
A reader familiar with the GOP vote in Queens indicates that NYC Councilman Eric Ulrich’s surprise decision (announced on NY1 last night) not to run for former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s seat in NY-9 is helpful to Goldfeder, because Ulrich would likely have drawn a lot of right-leaning voters in the 23rd AD.
“Ulrich was playing kingmaker in that area before the Weiner stuff hit the fan. If Ulrich was preoccupied with (the) congressional seat, he wouldn’t have time to put the effort in for (Goldfeder’s) opponent. Now that he’s not running – and probably won’t care who does – he can focus on beating Phil. Ulrich wants his own fiefdom out there.”
The Queens Democrats have not yet made a decision about who will run for Weiner’s seat in the Sept. 13 special election. Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Vito Lopez and Queens Democratic Chairman Joe Crowley were expected to talk today about their preferred candidate.
Let The Redistricting Fracas Begin
Jul 6th - 11:42 am
Vetoing legislative lines drawn by lawmakers would be a “dumb reason” and a “petty approach” by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Assemblyman Jack McEneny charged today, following the first meeting of the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment.
McEneny, an Albany Democrat, said Cuomo should judge the quality of the lines drawn by the commission and not veto them solely because he deemed the process non-independent.
“That would be a dumb reason to veto it. He should judge it on the quality of the product,” said McEneny, the Democrartic co-chairman on the committee.
He added:
“I think if the governor judges the final product I hope he will judge it on how it was done and whether it serves the people and not who the person was who held the pencil to draw the line,” he said. “I think that would be a very petty approach.”
The commission known as LATFOR held its first hearing in Albany today, with a dozen more planned around the state including Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, Westchester, Binghamton, Buffalo and the New York City boroughs.
Cuomo has vowed to veto lines drawn by the Legislature and has pushed for an independent commission to redraw the boundaries, which must be done every 10 years based on new Census data. Government reform groups decry the traditional process of redrawing state and federal office boundaries that often keeps incumbents protected from shifting demographics.
Earlier today, the good-government group Citizens Union urged that a special session be called this year in order to create the indpendent panel.
That suggestion was rejected by Sen. Micahel Nozzolio, who said lawmakers are under a tight schedule to get the lines in place in time for the 2012 elections.
“We’ve long since run out of time for that process to unfold,” Nozzolio said.
“We believe there will be a bipartisan redistricting process established. We look towards establishing the most open and transparent process possible with using available technology to expand citizen participation. We think that is certainly the step in the right direction.”
He pointed to the earlier New York primary dates schedule for 2012 and the deadlines set by the U.S. Justice Department.
“The process timewise is compacted,” he said. “We’re under the gun here in terms of timing.”
Hanging over the process is the law approved last year that requires prisoners be counted as residents of their last known address, not where they are currently incarcerated.
Some Senate Republicans, whose large upstate contingent stands the most to lose under the law because many prisons are found in their districts, are suing to overturn the measure that was approved when Democrats were in charge of the chamber.
An Albany Leader ‘With A Great Sense Of Humor’
Jul 5th - 4:09 pm
That is how comedian-drug law reform advocate Randy Credico described Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in the subject line that accompanied this photo of the two Democrats hamming it up at a recent event.
“Funny” is not the word usually used to describe the slow-talking speaker, who is more often deemed “reticent” and sometimes even “obstinate” for his close-to-the-vest, wait-you-out style that has proved equally maddening to both members of the press and his fellow leaders down at the Capitol.
But the speaker actually has a humorous side – if you like your humor bone dry. And apparently, Credico does. I asked him for more information about the event where this photo was taken, and he wrote:
“Last Tuesday at the event for Judge Marks…Marks was Shelly’s predecessor. I had just finished a great story involving the speaker, (former Manhattan DA Robert) Morgenthau , (former NYC Public Advocate) Betsy Gotbuam and me.”
“…I was with them in 2005 on primary day. We all went into a kosher pizza place on the Lower East Side. A Hassidic man was yelling at the speaker as we were leaving. I think they were talking in Yiddish. Morgy, Gotbaum and I were waiting in a SUV .”
“Shelly then walks in and tells us that “the guy was upset that Betsy was wearing a skirt above her ankles.’ So, I asked him what did he say, and Shelly says: ‘I told him she was running for public advocate not Grand Rebbe.’”
“We in the car hit the floor laughing, as did the crowd the night of the Marks’ event.”
“…Shelly was great that night – passionate and very funny. We all laughed and cried during his speech. He stole the show. I went straight to the band after he finished…impossible to follow. The crowd was half ex-prisoners and their families.”
(I have taken some liberties with the grammar and the spelling in Credico’s tale, but otherwise its verbatim).
Failed NY-26 Run Cost Corwin $2.76M
Jul 5th - 3:32 pm
A postscript from NY-26.
Republican Assemblywoman Jane Corwin has terminated the campaign committee she opened to bankroll her failed run for the seat vacated by scandal-scarred ex-Rep. Chris Lee, eating $2.76 million worth of personal loans in the process.
You can read Corwin’s final FEC report here.
Democratic Rep. Kathy Hochul, who defeated Corwin and independent candidate Jack Davis in the May 24 special election, loaned her campaign $250,000, according to her June 23 post-special FEC filing. Her latest filing isn’t yet on-line.
As of June 23, Davis, who pledged to spend some $3 million of his own money on his fourth (failed) House bid, had spent $2,766.820.
Albany Fireworks Of A Different Kind
Jul 5th - 3:31 pm
Next year’s Fourth of July could be a do-it-yourself celebration.
That’s because the state Legislature quietly approved the legalization of some fireworks — low-grade items like sparklers — in an effort to boost revenue. If approved, it’s estimated that the sales could generate “considerable” revenue for the state.
Both the Republican-led Senate and Democratic-controlled Assembly approved the measures last week and they would take effect upon the governor’s signature. The Assembly approved it 131-10 and the Senate backed the bill 53-9.
But Cuomo, who was probably preoccupied with more pressing concerns like same-sex marriage, rent control and a 2 percent tax cap, is yet to be sent the bill.
The bill was introduced by Cuomo ally Assemblyman Joe Morelle.
Assemblyman Ken Zebrowksi, D-New City, one of the bill’s sponsors, stressed that the bill did not legalize explosives like M-80s and that their purchase is restricted to people over 18.
“This is low-level fireworks,” Zebrowski said. “This is not the type of thing people saw at the shows over the weekend. These are things I think parents should certainly make the decisions for themselves and monitor.”
The Legislature’s rep over the years has been to ban items rather than expand what consumers can purchase, something that Zebrowski said should change.
“These are things that a lot of New Yorkers have been using assuming they were legal,” he said. “I think we need to get from banning things.”
H/T to The Journal News on this one.
The Special Election Timetable
Jul 5th - 1:44 pm
When Gov. Andrew Cuomo called special elections (much to the chagrin of the good government advocates and the New York Times) to run concurrent with the Sept. 13 primary to fill six vacant Assembly seats and the House seat formerly held by ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, he set in motion a process with specific deadlines that are now fast approaching.
The last day for parties to file certificates of nomination for their candidates of choice is Monday, July 11 at midnight.
The final day for general objections to be filed is Thursday, July 1, and for specific objections, Wednesday, July 20.
The last day to file a certificate of acceptance or declination of a nomination is July 13, which also happens to be the day independent candidates must file their signatures – at least 3,500 legal names, which means three times that should be collected, just to be safe.
The last day to authorize a nomination is July 15, which is also the last day to fill a vacancy caused by a declination of a nomination. The last day to authorize a substitution is July 19.
The decision about which Democrat will run for Weiner’s seat rests mainly with Queens Democratic Chairman/Rep. Joe Crowley, who controls about 70 percent of NY-9. The other 30 percent falls into Brooklyn, which is the territory of Democratic Chairman/Assemblyman Vito Lopez.
The general consensus is that NY-9 will likely cease to exist in 2012 if party leaders have their way, although it’s still up in the air who will be in charge of redistricting. It will be harder to accomplish that goal if the governor makes good on his pledge to veto any line-drawing plan that is created under the current, politically-controlled process.
Queens Democratic sources say the current frontrunners are Assemblymen Rory Lancman and David Weprin. NYC Councilman Mark Weprin is largely out of the running.
Former Rep. Liz Holtzman, who represented NY-9 (albeit with different lines) from 1973 to 1981, has her champions, too, but insiders say it would be doubly difficult for party leaders to eliminate the district if it were held not only by a Jew – something community leaders should be sure to fight – but a Jewish woman.
On the GOP side, we’re expecting to hear something soon from NYC Councilman Eric Ulrich, who is the frontrunner for his party’s nod and is being pushed by ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Businessman Bob Turner, who got 40 percent of the vote in his failed challenge to Weiner, is also in the running.
Goo-Goos Disappointed In Cuomo
Jul 1st - 1:49 pm
A coaliton of good government organizations are expressing “disappointment” with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to call special elections to fill the six vacant Assembly seats instead of letting the regular primary and general election process play out.
Cuomo’s move means the selection of candidates will be largely controlled by major party leaders, although it is possible – albeit difficult – for independent contenders to circulate petitions and get onto the ballot.
In a joint statement issued this afternoon, the Brennan Center for Justice, Common Cause/NY, Citizens Union, the League of Women Voters of NYS and NYS, NYPIRG and the Women’s City Club Of New York said that while special elections are in keeping with “political tradition,” going this route “represents a lost opportunity to change business as usual and challenge the entrenched interests that dominate special elections.”
That’s a serious zinger for a guy like Cuomo, whose entire 2010 platform was all about taking on the so-called “special interests,” although the definition of who fell into that category was rather subjective – unions and lobbyists, yes; business organizations that fueled the Committee to Save NY, no.
Also interesting to note: Most of these groups worked with the governor on the ethics reform legislation and then praised the final product, even while acknowledging it was far from perfect.
“The governor’s action comes after a legislative session that saw no meaningful election reform legislation
or administrative actions to increase voter participation,” the goo-goos continued.“The governor has compounded the lack of action by scheduling special elections for these seats on Primary Day, when fewer voters turn out as compared to theGeneral Election in November…We urge the Governor to commit to a swift end of the current practice of filling vacancies for state offices, through legislative or executive action.”
Citizens Union recently released a report titled “Circumventing Democracy” that highlights the flaws of the special election process and also notes how many current incubent legislators got their foot in the door this way.
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