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Diaz Sr. To El Diario: How Many Other Spies Are You Harboring?
Jul 12th - 1:41 pm
This isn’t quite Nelson Castro material, but it’s up there.
Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. today released a statement accusing the Spanish-language paper El Diario/La Prensa of having a “double-standard” and employing a “kid glove” approach to the story about the arrest of its veteran reporter and columnist, Vicky Peláez, as part of FBI’s recent Russian spy ring sting.
“If I had employed a Russian spy to work on my staff – or if any other elected official has employed someone for his or her staff – for 22 minutes and he or she were arrested by the FBI, El Diario’s headlines would be screaming,” Diaz Sr. wrote in his statement.
“There would be no kid gloves approach to those articles, and I am sure they would be writing a lot of ugly things about elected officials – especially me.”
“So isn’t it our responsibility as readers of El Diario to hold El Diario to that same level of accountability? Who else on El Diario’s staff does not belong delving into records and researching about New Yorkers? Who else at El Diario should not be given access to interview New Yorkers? Who at El Diario is taking responsibility for hiring Ms. Peláez and maintaining her as a staff employee for 22 years? Who else has slipped into El Diario’s staff who does not belong there?”
“Of course, if the shoe were on the other foot, I am sure I would be required to answer those and many more questions. But for now, I will be satisfied to receive the answers from El Diario’s management, investors and advertiser to those questions.”
Samuels Targets ‘Crook’ Espada
Jul 9th - 11:21 am
Bill Samuels joined me on “Capital Tonight” yesterday to explain why he and his New Roosevelt Initiative PAC have endorsed Gustavo Rivera against Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. in hopes of winnowing the field of primary challengers vying to oust the controversial Bronx Democrat.
Samuels told me Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter is a good candidate, but he doesn’t think she’s strong enough to take on Espada. And, he reasoned, if there are four candidates on the ballot, then Espada has a very good chance of surviving (assuming he’s not indicted and found guilty of a felony crime).
“This is not a time to be a politician, whether it be in the district or, in my case, running lieutenant governor,” said Samuels, who gave up his LG bid after first saying he would primary AG Andrew Cuomo’s pick, Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy.
“Espada has a base vote somewhere between 25 and 33 percent no matter what you do,” Samuels continued. “If there are four candidates, which there are today, this man, who’s very perseverant, articulate and smart, but a crook, could be re-elected.”
The NRI started leafletting in Epsda’s district last night, distributing flyers at a free concert at Crotona Park in Bronx that were designed to highlight the “disgrace” he has brought to the 33rd SD.
As for the state Democratic Party’s effort to disenroll the senator, Samuels said he’s “glad they are attempting to do something,” adding: “We shouldn’t have accepted Espada back.” He questioned the legality of the move, however, and said he believes if Democrats really want to rid themselves of Espada once and for all, they’ve got to beat him at the polls.
Benjamin: Don’t Make Espada A Martyr
Jul 8th - 4:51 pm
Assemblyman Michael Benjamin warned that state Democratic leaders’ latest effort to distance themselves from Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. could backfire and end up helping the controversial lawmaker more than it hurts him.
During an interview with me on Capital Tonight yesterday, Benjamin, who, like Espada, is a Bronx Democrat, said the push to make the senator a man without a party might rally voters to his side.
“I kinda thought it was a PR stunt,” Benjamin told me. “If you look at, I guess what the state part has been doing since Charlie King has become the executive director, a lot of, you know, media-related stunts in my view, trying to get under the skin of Rick Lazio and other candidates.”
“And I think he may be doing the same thing with Senator Espada. I think all he’s doing is creating the possibility that Senator Espada could become a martyr.”
“We have sort of an outlaw culture in America, in the Bronx, where Senator Espada could be seen as a Jesse James or a Larry Davis and he’s being put upon by the system and that may attract voters that some of us may not want him to have. Why not just defeat him at the polls?”
Bronx Dem Official: No Knowledge Of Move To Oust Espada
Jul 5th - 8:32 am
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who (thankfully) belongs to the early-risers club of which I am a card-carrying member, told me this morning that he has not been informed of a reported move by state Democratic leaders to oust controversial Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. from the party.
Dinowitz, who chairs the Bronx Democratic County Committee (not to be confused with the county leader title, which is held by Assemblyman Carl Heastie), said he had “heard a rumor several weeks ago” that someone at state party HQ might try something along these lines, but he wasn’t kept in the loop.
“If it’s being done by the state committee, you would think someone would actually give me a call,” Dinowitz griped, noting Bronx leaders asked the state party for assistance prior to the infamous Utopia Paradise Theater meeting at which the Rainbow Rebels clashed with loyalists to Assemblyman Jose Rivera and wrested the county committee from his control.
“We asked the state committee to come in and observe the meeting and make sure it was done fairly, because we suspected it wouldn’t be and they chose at that point not to take a role,” Dinowitz recalled. “Maybe they’re more activist now than they were.”
Of course, that was back in September 2008 – long before the state Democratic Party came under AG Andrew Cuomo’s control with the installment of his longtime ally (and sometime foe) Charlie King in the position of executive director.
Dinowitz said he is not aware of the administrative tribunal process state party leaders reportedly hope he and his fellow Bronx Democrats will use to boot Espada ever before being employed in this manner.
He reminded me that the Democrats tried to oust the scandal-scarred senator from their ranks once before after the first time he switched sides to confab with the GOP. That clearly didn’t work, since Espada remains a Democrat, although he was defeated in a primary in 2002 by none other than Ruben Diaz Sr.
“It’s a little hard to comment; we have to read the rules, see if there are provisions for this and decide what we’re going to do,” Dinowitz said. “In the meantime, all I can say is my phone works.”
Diaz Sr. Will ‘Embrace’ Paterson, Vote ‘No’ On Extenders
Jun 10th - 11:14 am
I just got off the phone with Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., who is heading back to the Bronx this morning to prepare for “Abrazo Boricua,” an event he’s hosting in celebration of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.
Gov. David Paterson, with whom Diaz Sr. is at odds over the budget extenders, is scheduled to attend.
A Spanish-speaking reader noted the irony of this get-together, given the definition of “Abrazo Boricua” is “Puerto Rican embrace,” adding: “I wonder if the two will actually embrace each other tonight.”
I put that question to the senator, who replied:
“I will embrace the governor tonight even though he called me a thug.”
(Paterson begs to differ on that, insisting he never actually named names when he spoke of thuggery and blackmail at yesterday’s leaders meeting).
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Diaz Sr. Hospitalized, Budget Extenders In Doubt? (Updated)
May 15th - 10:22 am
Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. called me early this morning from his hospital room at Westchester Square Medical Center in the Bronx, where he said he has been since Thursday when he sought treatment for crippling stomach pain.
The outspoken Bronx Democrat said he hasn’t eaten since arriving at the hospital (he’s hooked up to an IV) and is yet uncertain when he will be released.
It’s possible, he said, that he will be transferred to Columbia Medical Center for further tests later today. It’s also possible that he will get to go home, although he has not yet received a diagnosis.
Diaz Sr. said he’s “keeping my fingers crossed” about getting out of the hospital in time to make it to Albany to vote on the next round of budget extenders, adding: “I want to be there; I want to be there.”
If he doesn’t make it to the Capitol in time for the vote, it could be very problematic, since he the Democrats will lack the 32 votes they need to pass anything.
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Assemblyman Benjamin Not Seeking Re-election
May 6th - 5:15 pm
Attendees at the National Day of Prayer event held in Albany today were taken by surprise when Assemblyman Michael Benjamin took to the stage and announced he will not be running for re-election to his Bronx seat this fall.
I reached Benjamin on his cell phone, and he confirmed that he did indeed make that statement, but insisted he hadn’t really meant to, telling me: “I was thinking about God, and it just came out…I was speaking from the heart.”
Benjamin has been eyeing a primary challenge to veteran Rep. Jose Serrano, and while he said that race is “where my head is at,” he stressed that he hasn’t yet made a final decision about whether to throw his hat into the ring.
“I want to run for Congress; it’s more than likely,” Benjamin said. “But I haven’t announced yet. I thought it would be wise to announce I would not be running for the Assembly because that decision has been made.”
There was briefly some speculation that Benjamin’s wife, Kennedy, who routinely accompanies her husband at political events and works pro bono as his chief of staff, would run in his stead. But the assemblyman rejected that idea today.
He also declined to endorse a successor, saying:
“I don’t think that’s for me to decide. It’s for the community to decide. I guess there’s a number of candidates out there…All I know is that I’ve said to people that I’m interested in running for the congressional seat.”
Diaz Jr. For Brodsky
May 6th - 1:52 pm
Bronx Brough President Ruben Diaz Jr. has announced his support of his former Assembly colleague, Richard Brodsky, for state attorney general, calling the Westchester Democrat “the kind of independent, smart and tough-minded lawyer we need” to succeed AG Andrew Cuomo.
“I’ve been Richard’s friend for over ten years, and we have struggled for a better, fairer society for all New Yorkers together,” Diaz Jr. said in a statement distributed by the Brodsky campaign.
“I’ve seen him stand up for reform at agencies like the MTA and against congestion pricing. I’ve seen him bring important lawsuits and win. I’ve seen him change laws for minority and woman owned business that no one else could do.”
“As chair of the environmental conservation committee, he fought for environmental justice for the Bronx and the entire state. He knows the Bronx, our diversity and our needs.”
This isn’t a big surprise, since Brodsky has so far landed the bulk of Assembly support (he has, after all, been in that chamber since 1982), including Speaker Sheldon Silver, who announced his endorsement earlier this week.
It is, however, designed to be a bit of a swipe at Brodsky’s legislative colleague, Sen. Eric Schneiderman, who has been assumed to be the preferred candidate of Latinos and African Americans since there are no minority AG contenders and he’s the most liberal of the five-person field.
A Three-Way Primary In The 33rd SD
May 6th - 9:27 am
Gustavo Rivera confirmed my report yesterday that he is planning to mount a primary challenge to Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr., saying he will resign his job with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand at the end of the week to focus full-time on the campaign.
Rivera, a 34-year-old Democratic operative who has worked for a number of elected officials but never held an office himself, said he had established his new campaign committee Tuesday in preparation for this move, which he will formally announce next week.
“When you’re talking about the violation of public trust that Pedro Espada has perpetrated, the amount of public money he has stolen, there’s the need for new kind of leadership in this district; that’s the bottom line,” Rivera told me.
“…As a resident of this district, I cannot stand idly by and let this man continue to violate the public trust as he has.”
I asked Rivera if he expects to receive the endorsement of his soon-to-be former boss, and he replied that there will be “a lot of time for that later.” He also pointed out that Gillibrand has “a pretty full plate right now,” noting that she’s not only running statewide for the first time, but will likely seek to play a large role in the upcoming immigration reform debate.
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Tenant Advocates On The Warpath (Updated)
May 3rd - 3:30 pm
Tenant advocates and community organizers today launched a grassroots campaign in the districts of four state senators they believe are “betraying their tenant constituents” and “collaborating with the real estate lobby” to prevent the passage of a bill to repeal vacancy decontrol.
The “Real Rent Reform Campaign” (R3, for short) is targeting three Democrats – Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr., who chairs the Housing Committee; Sen. Martin Malave Dilan and Sen. Jeff Klein – and one Republican, Sen. Marty Golden.
(Golden and Dilan both represent Brooklyn districts; Klein and Espada hail from the Bronx, although the majority leader’s true residency has been in question for some time now).
Between them, the four senators represent more than 175,000 households who reside in rent-stabilized and rent-controlled apartments.
McKee noted that Dilan voted for vacancy decontrol in the City Council in 1994, despite promising his constituents (on at least two occasions when McKee was present) that he would not do so. The bill passed 28-18 – an unusually close vote for the Council – with only two votes more than necessary.
UPDATE: An astute reader notes that Espada’s primary challenger, Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter, is a board member of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, which is referenced on the Espada poster and involved in the R3 campaign.
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