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Andrew Cuomo
Cuomo Official: Justice Center Will Be Independent
May 21st - 3:17 pm
The Cuomo administration this afternoon denied that the proposed Justice Center that would oversee abuse and neglect cases involving the developmentally disabled wouldn’t have an independent reporting component.
Earlier in the day, Speaker Sheldon Silver said he was concerned the bill that would overhaul the reporting and care system’s bureaucracy would not require independent reporting of cases.
In a prepared statement released by Cuomo’s office in response, Deputy Secretary for Health James Introne said the administration is taking steps to create an “independent watchdog” that Silver referenced.
“The Administration has already begun the process to create the independent watchdog the Speaker is referring to by establishing a first-ever outside not-for-profit organization to monitor the system, advocate for the rights of people with special needs and disabilities and recommend future systemic reforms,” Introne said in the statement. “In addition under the Governor’s proposed legislation every provider will be required to have an incident review committee, which would include representatives of families, consumers and advocates, to review the adequacy of investigations and proposed changes to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
The Democratic-led Assembly is yet to pass the measure, which sailed through the Republican-controlled Senate last week.
Silver said to reporters earlier today that he backed the bill’s broad framework, but said the lack of independent reporting was a roadblock.
Cuomo: Changes May Be Needed For JCOPE
May 21st - 11:41 am
While it’s too early to determine if the Joint Commission on Public Ethics has sprung a leak, tweaks to last year’s ethics overhaul might be needed when it comes to the watchdog’s investigatory process, Gov. Andrew Cuomo told Susan Arbetter this morning.
“To the extent that we need to make some tweaks to the law … then that’s something that needs to be entertained,” Cuomo said.
The commission has started preliminary process to a possible investigation of Deputy Senate Majority Leader Tom Libous, R-Binghamton, after Mayor Matt Ryan, who initially considered running against the GOP lawmaker, filed an ethics complaint.
The complaint was based on the testimony of disbarred attorney Anthony Mangone, a former aide to ex-Sen. Nick Spano, who claimed in an unrelated corruption trial of Zehy Jereis and Sandy Annabi that Libous had used his political clout to arrange for a job for his son at a law firm in Westchester County.
JCOPE so far has not held a vote on whether to begin a formal investigation of Libous, who has previously refuted the allegation.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos last week said he was alarmed that the letter had been “leaked” to the press and added that changes needed to be made to the process.
While Cuomo disagreed that the letter to Libous had been leaked, he seemed to agree with Skelos that changes might need to be made. Skelos also did not rule out a investigation of the JCOPE over the leak.
“It’s murky. To the extent that we have to do some fine-tuning… I think that’s to be expected with something like this.”
In an interview on The Capitol Pressroom, the governor said that while he was pleased with the newly created commission’s work so far, he didn’t want it to morph into an entity that conducts politically motivated investigations. The predecessor of JCOPE, the Commission on Public Integrity, was rocked with charges that it was used for political purposes.
“We do not want a vehicle that will be used for politics,” Cuomo said in the interview. “We don’t want a vehicle that is leaking information.”
CSEA Hits Back Against Dicker Column
May 21st - 10:43 am
The Civil Service Employees Association is refuting the allegation made by a source in today’s Fred Dicker column that claimed the state’s largest public-employees union was holding up a bill that would overhaul the state’s treatment of the developmentally disabled.
Dicker quoted an unnamed official privy to the negotiations who said the union wanted to scuttle the deal unless the Cuomo administration brokers a compromise on providing bonuses to some state employees still receiving state-funded health insurance.
Allegations floated by unnamed sources in the Cuomo administration published in this morning’s Inside Albany column in the New York Post claiming that CSEA is attempting to undermine the proposed Justice Center legislation by tying it to unrelated issues are total fiction. Any claim that there is linkage is nonsense.
The Justice Center legislation has become the centerpiece legislation for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s post-budget agenda. The Republican-led Senate passed the bill last week as is, but it faces an uncertain future in the Democratic-controlled Assembly.
Speaker Sheldon Silver says he backs the bill’s broader framework, but adds that unspecified changes have to be made to the legislation.
Cuomo had hinted he expected pushback from labor groups on the bill, but added that he provided carve outs for those workers within the disability care field who would face disciplinary charges.
Gov Schedule Shows Meetings With Labor Before Tier 6 Passage
May 17th - 5:08 pm
Governor Cuomo’s office has made his schedule from the months of February and March available on the online website citizen connects. It reveals that Cuomo met often with labor leaders in the weeks before he struck a deal with legislators on a Tier 6 pension plan that was passed as part of a larger agreement that included redistricting, an expansion of the DNA databank, and a teacher evaluation bill.
On March 5th Cuomo had a meeting with Teamsters Local 327 President Greg Floyd. The next night, he hosted 9 other labor leaders at the executive mansion including several who had been very critical of a Tier 6 plan like Ken Brynien from PEF, Danny Donohue from CSEA, and DC37 President Lillian Roberts who that same day taped an interview for Capital Tonight where she said of Governor Cuomo, “if he wants to play cowboy, then hey, we will have a shootout.”
(The meeting at the mansion took place at 8pm, so it is entirely possible that the 9 labor leaders could have watched Roberts comments while in the Governor’s company, though we here at CapTon seriously doubt that happened)
The Governor also met with AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento the next day, March 7th, and the following week he held a meeting with 1199 SEIU President George Gresham the following week on March 13th as the final deal was being struck between lawmakers and the Governor.
The schedule reveals several other interesting meetings. On March 14th, when the mega deal on Tier 6, redistricting, etc. was being passed, Cuomo met with Assemblyman Karim Camara who was one of the most vocal critiques of redistricting arguing that it disenfranchised latino voters. He voiced those concerns the same day on Capital Tonight.
On March 19th, Cuomo met with Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice who at the time was rumored to be considering a run for Congress against Rep. Pete King. A few days later she said she would not make a bid for Congress, though has not closed the door on a run for county executive against Ed Mangano – who coincidentally met with the Governor about a month earlier on February 24th.
Also of note, on the morning of March 30th Cuomo took a phone call from the US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that as far as I can see was not reported anywhere. That same day, Cuomo had his photo shoot with TIME Magazine which named him one of the 100 most influential people.
Savino: Cuomo Could Do For Med-Mar What He Did For Gay Marriage (Updated)
May 17th - 4:30 pm
ICYMI: During our CapTon chat yesterday, I asked Sen. Diane Savino if Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s reluctance to get on board with medical marijuana might be due to his widely-speculated White House aspirations.
Savino, who is the new Senate sponsor of the med-mar law (she took it over from longtime Democratic sponsor, Sen. Tom Duane), suggested Cuomo could be a national leader on this issue, setting an agenda for other governors – and even perhaps the president – to follow, much like he did with same-sex marriage.
“He’s a leader, he’s not a follower,” she said. He’s led the way on a whole host of issues, and particularly one of the most prominent ones right now on the national scene, and that’s marriage equality.”
“He didn’t wait for the federal government to do it. He said: New York State should step forward and take its place in history. And I’m assuming that if Andrew Cuomo ever became president of the United States he would take that same position with him to Washington. So, if he were to lead on this issue in New York, he would also lead on this issue on the federal level.
This whole medicinal pot issue is a little thorny, since marijuana is illegal under federal law – period, end of story, even in states that have passed legislation or ballot initiatives making the drug legal for use by people who are sick, those individuals are still subject to arrest by federal officials for possession or cultivation.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, most recently Connecticut. But that has has not prevented individuals and dispensaries from being prosecuted under federal law by the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Interestingly, there’s a new poll out today that found a vast majority of Americans think President Obama should respect laws in states where growing and selling marijuana is legal for medical purposes.
Even though Obama said in 2008 that he considered the “basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors…entirely appropriate” and did not plan on using the DOJ’s resources to circumvent state laws, the department has continued to raid, and in some cases shut down, dispensaries and cultivation facilities in at least nine state since he took office.
UDPATE: Gabriel Sayegh, of the Drug Policy Alliance, made the following point, which he said is “nuanced, but important”…
“You write that ‘patients … are still subject to arrest by federal officials for possession or cultivation.’ Not entirely true. The Department of Justice has made pretty clear – in the Ogden Memo, and other recent documents as well as statements – that they are not going to arrest patients who are following state med marijuana laws.”
“They have targeted some dispensaries in places like CA and CO, and they’ve done some saber-rattling around the country, but in short, patients are not being arrested by the feds and the feds have said they won’t arrest patients.”
Cuomo And Senate Democrats In Alignment On Foodstamp Fingerprinting
May 17th - 2:21 pm
There’s very little love lost between Senate Democrats and the Cuomo administration.
Democratic lawmakers in private grumble they were sold out by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on redistricting.
Cuomo, meanwhile, has worked well with the 32-member Republican majority and has not been full-throated committing to campaigning for Democratic lawmakers in the chamber.
But today, the minority conference and Cuomo found a rare moment of alignment on the issue of banning fingerprinting for foodstamps in New York City.
Democratic lawmakers were quick to praise the move, which Cuomo had pledged to do back in January during his second State of the State address (and unlike other pledges — campaign finance reform and a call for independent redistricting — Cuomo actually spoke the words about fingerprinting, rather than leaving it in the official statement).
The praise of Cuomo’s move was quick to come in.
From Sen. Liz Krueger:
“Requiring New Yorkers to submit their fingerprints has stigmatized the food stamp program and prevented vital federal money from flowing into our state and putting food on the tables of seniors, families, and children. I applaud Gov. Cuomo’s decisive action to finally end what was always an irrational and costly policy.”
From Sen. Dan Squadron:
Today, Governor Cuomo demonstrated great leadership by ending the counterproductive practice of finger-imaging food stamp recipients.
Simply put, finger-imaging has deterred too many New Yorkers from accessing the food they need. It makes no sense for children to go to bed hungry while we waste local tax dollars on a senseless program that puts food farther out of reach.
Public Advocate (and potential mayoral candidate) Bill de Blasio also praised the move, as did several hunger advocacy groups.
Of course, the decision to end fingerprinting puts Cuomo at odds with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose freeze and thaw relationship has been closely watched.
HRA Commissioner Robert Doar issued a statement, noting the policy clamps down on fraud.
“We’ve found that finger imaging identifies potential duplicate payments and prevents fraud, which saved more than $35 million over the last decade in a program that now provides services for 1.8 million New Yorkers annually. We remain committed to doing everything we can, consistent with state and federal regulations, to protect the integrity of the food stamp program.”
Cuomo’s Battery Park Contributors
May 17th - 1:26 pm
The New York World’s story about two deals cut by the Battery Park City Authority board of directors on former Chairman Bill Thompson’s watch that benefited two real estate developers that just so happen to be big contributors to the former NYC comptroller’s political campaign raised a lot of eyebrows.
But an astute and politically connected reader noted Thompson is hardly the only recipient of the largesse of these two real estate giants – Brookfield Properties and Milstein Properties. The duo spreads plent of campaign cash around – including to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
As you can see from the two Excel spreadsheets below, Brookfield and its chairman, John Zuccotti, and his wife, Susan, has given $86,781 to Cuomo since 2008, while Howard and Abby Milstein have given $125,000 – all in $25,000 increments.
Thompson recently resigned from his chairmanship to focus on his 2013 NYC mayoral campaign. He was appointed to the Battery Park post by Cuomo’s predecessor, former Gov. David Paterson.
But knowing the hands-on approach of the Cuomo administration, it’s hard to believe the governor and/or his top staffers weren’t aware of the decisions that generated a nice windfall for some prominent campaign contributors.
Thompson and Cuomo have been political allies for some time. Then-AG Cuomo endorsed Thompson during his 2009 NYC mayoral bid and stumped with him – a mutually beneficial effort, since it boosted Cuomo’s standing with the black community.
After Thompson failed to oust Mayor Bloomberg, he was reportedly urged by the Cuomo camp to consider a primary challenge to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, whose own relationship with Cuomo has been turbulent.
Thompson declined, but he did agree to co-chair Cuomo’s 2010 campaign and served as an important surrogate for the governor – particularly when he came under fire from other black leaders, particularly the Rev. Al Sharpton, for the lack of diversity on the statewide ticket. After Cuomo was elected, Thompson was tapped to head his MWBE Task Force.
Cuomo To Attend Malloy’s Wake
May 17th - 11:27 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not be in Albany after all, opting to attend the wake of longtime New York City labor leader Edward Malloy who died at the age of 77 this week.
The wake is at 2 p.m. at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel on Madison Avenue in Manhattan.
Malloy, a member of the steamfitters union, served as president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York from 1992 to late 2008 when he was replaced by Gary La Barbera.
The schedule update does not indicate the wake is closed to the press, but Cuomo typically does not do question and answer sessions with reporters after attending memorial services.
Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy is in Albany to announce the administration was moving to end the fingerprinting requirement for foodstamps in New York City. That news conference is at noon.
Dem Sources: Charlie King Is NOT Jay Jacobs’ Replacement
May 16th - 4:33 pm
The conventional wisdom since state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs’ abrupt resignation decision has been that Executive Director Charlie King move up to replace him in the No. 1 slot.
There’s logic to that assumption. After all, King goes waaaaaaay back with Cuomo, serving under him at HUD, running as his LG in his ill-fated 2002 gubernatorial campaign and then, at then candidate-Cuomo’s request, serving as the official party attack dog during the 2010 campaign.
(Of course, there was that little bump in the relationship road when King challenged Cuomo in the 2006 AG’s race, but he ended up dropping out and backing Cuomo, so that’s all water under the bridge now).
I’ve heard from two highly-placed Democratic sources, however, that King is NOT in fact Cuomo’s choice to lead the party.
One source tells me King actually asked not be to considered because he wants to return to the private sector “well before” Cuomo’s 2014 re-election bid because he has some college tuitions to start saving for, which means whoever does replace Jacobs – and I haven’t managed to get any names confirmed yet – is going to have the opportunity to pick his or her new executive director fairly soon after taking control of the party.
It has been clear for some time that Jacobs’ days were numbered. Even Jacobs himself admitted as much when I talked to him briefly last night after news of his imminent departure broke in the NYT.
Another source insists nothing in particular is behind the timing of Jacobs’ departure, the administration just happened to “get around to it” now after kicking around the idea of a party re-organization for several months.
“The notion is they need someone acceptable to the state committee and the county chairs, not just someone pulled out of nowhere, but also someone who will elevate the profile of the party, someone real,” this source said.
And, of course, the person in question has to be loyal as the day is long to Cuomo, AND be able to raise money – although the governor is no slouch in that department.
It’s kind of hard to find someone with all those qualities. It will be interesting to see who the governor picks – or rather, has picked, because it’s highly unlikely the news of Jacobs’ resignation would have leaked if Cuomo didn’t have a replacement chair already lined up.
Cuomo Administration Proposes Executive Pay Regulations
May 16th - 4:26 pm
The Cuomo administration today announced a new set of regulations designed to limit executive compensation at non-profits and for-profit groups receiving state funds, with total compensation capped at $199,000.
The regulations, the result of an executive order issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this year, does provide an escape hatch by allowing a provider to keep compensation below the top 25 percent in the field. Another way of lifting the cap would require the approval of an organization’s board of directors, plus two independent directors and be subject to a review of comparability data in order to receive the waiver.
The proposed guidelines would take effect Jan. 1, but include a rolling phase-in of reporting requirements and enforcement actions as the organizations operate under the new system.
Hospitals, health-care networks and other Medicaid recipients are most likely to be impacted by the regulations.
The regulations stipulate that at least 75 percent of a provider’s operating expenses go toward services provided and not administrative overhead.
At a presentation unveiling the regulations, top Cuomo aide Larry Schwartz stressed that the regulations were aimed at a “few bad apples.”
Still, the regulations target a set of non-profit organizations that pay their administrative staff exorbitant salaries while benefiting from state dollars.
“We want the money to go to services,” Schwartz said. “We want the money to go to people. We don’t want it to go to bad actors.”
Schwartz also said the regulations were not meant to address criminal wrongdoing in the non-profit world.
Non-profit organizations that apply to the new regulations would have to annually report the public dollars it has received and the compensation of its highest-paid employees, plus their administrative expenses.
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