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Silver Says Teacher Evaluation Plan ‘On Target’
Jan 17th - 4:43 pm
The ultimatum of linking teacher evaluations to $805 million in school aid as presented by Gov. Andrew Cuomo sits well with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Silver, the Sphinx-like leader of the Democratic majority, usually plays his cards close to the vest on hot-button topics like this one.
But Silver was open to the idea in a post-budget address scrum.
“Well, I think it was on target,” he said. “It gives the incentive to both sides in the collective bargaining process to come to an agreement. The school districts and the unions should be concerned about the loss of funding. School districts from a funding perspective and unions that represent the teachers will lose jobs. I think as a result of that you will see a lot of agreements across the state and I think that’s fine.”
Silver’s support for the idea would be key in order for the budget to move forward and gain the support of the progressive wing of the Assembly Democrats.
As envisioned by Cuomo, the teacher evaluation plan is actually a two-phase proposal.
First, the state Education Department and the teachers unions must resolve a lawsuit over the evaluations or Cuomo will insert his own plan into the 30-day amendments (taking advantage of the broad powers the governor has over the budget in New York).
The word is that SED and the unions are not that far apart on resolving the suit, making this hurdle a possibly easy one to overcome.
In the second phase, school districts must implement the evaluation plans or stand to lose the money retroactively come Jan. 17, 2013.
“The equation is simple at the end of the day. No evaluation no money, period,” Cuomo said in the budget address. “If we are serious about education we really have no choice.”
SD37 Fundraising Numbers
Jan 17th - 12:03 pm
Republican Bob Cohen, who plans to run again for the seat his 2010 Democratic target, Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, is giving up at the end of the year, has a healthy $210,221 on hand, according to his Jan. 15 financial filing.
Cohen didn’t stop fundraising after he came within several hundred votes of ousting Oppenheimer, taking in $112,817 since mid-July.
But he also still owes himself $135,000 from his unsuccessful campaign. Cohen’s surprisingly strong showing in 2010 and his ability to self fund make him a very attractive candidate for the GOP.
Assemblyman George Latimer, who is being mentioned as the likely Democratic candidate for Oppenheimer’s seat, has just $66,307 on hand.
Latimer raised just $60,881 over the past six months and spent $38,744. No doubt he would ramp up his fundraising considerably if he’s tapped by the Democrats to run in what is likely to be a key swing district in the re-match for the majority.
Three-Way Primary In NY-19 (Updated)
Jan 17th - 10:58 am
A third Democrat has thrown his hat into the ring in NY-19, creating a three-way primary to land the party’s nod to challenge freshman Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth.
Tom Wilson, mayor of Tuxedo Park, announced his candidacy today via press release. He seemed to jab at Hayworth, but did not name her by name.
“Congress is a dysfunctional mess,” Wilson said. “It’s time to fight for what’s right – and that means creating jobs, rebuilding our infrastructure, and standing up for the middle‐class. Our district needs a leader, not a naysayer.”
Already in the Democratic running are Wappingers Falls Mayor Matt Alexander and Dr. Richard Becker, a Cortland town councilman.
The more infighting among the Democrats, the better things are for Hayworth, who can keep her head down and focus on fundraising, building support for her re-election bid and moving to the center – as she has been since she took office last January.
UPDATE1: A Democrat reminds me that there’s infighting on the GOP side, too. Sen. Greg Ball has been making noises that sound like he might primary Hayworth. But, he’s notoriously unpredictable (to say the least).
UPDATE2:
“Tom Wilson may have his talking points down, but the fact is he’ll just support more of President Obama’s job-destroying policies,” said NRCC spokesman Nat Sillin. “The last thing Hudson Valley voters want is a rubber-stamp representing them in Congress.”
Fidler On Senate GOP Criticism: ‘That’s Just Silly’
Jan 16th - 4:28 pm
Democratic Senate hopeful Lew Fidler kicked off his campaign to replace the disgraced former lawmaker Carl Kruger by addressing the criticism leveled by Republicans, namely that holding the event on the steps of City Hall makes him some sort of Albany insider akin to the hapless House candidacy of David Weprin.
“I know the Senate Republicans said that we are coming to City Hall today because I’m being supported by a bunch of insiders,” he said in his opening remarks. “But I just want you to know that everyone who is standing behind me here is a civic leader, a community leader, someone who has given their time to make our city a better place. And today in the cold, I can’t think of a more apt description than to call them outsiders.”
Later, a NY1 colleague asked him about the criticism and Fidler, a city councilman, noted that he has “266 civic leaders” who back his campaign, many of whom were at the event.
“That’s just silly,” he said. “Look at all the folks behind me here.”
Asked what he was holding it in on the steps of City Hall and not in the Brooklyn Senate district, Fidler riffed, “To be convenient for NY1.”
The race is shaping up this way: Republicans, emboldened by the upset victory of Bob Turner after Anthony Weiner stepped down, will try to make Fidler seem like a latter-day Weprin. Democrats know this is yet another race for them to lose, but are also using it as a test run for their 2012 political operations.
Democrats are also working hard behind the scenes to show this is anything but the Weprin-Turner race, pointing out that Fidler was endorsed by former Mayor Ed Koch.
Fidler also revealed in a press scrum that he’s raised “a substantial amount of money. It’s certainly in excess of $400,000.”
The number most likely reflects the last six months, since he reported $350,000 in a Senate campaign account back in July.
Republicans in the district are expected to coalesce around attorney David Storobin.
Iannuzzi: $800 Million Is ‘A Place To Get Started’
Jan 12th - 1:00 pm
ICYMI: NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi told me last night on CapTon that he considers the four percent education funding increase Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pledged to include in his executive budget proposal next Tuesday a floor and not a ceiling.
What’s more, the teachers union, which I think it’s fair to say is in the opening battles of what could become a prolonged war with Cuomo over funding allocation and the teacher performance evaluation systems, is counting on BOTH the Assembly and Senate majorities to push the governor to increase aid this year.
And yes, the union will not be shy about reminding lawmakers they’re all up for re-election this fall – and in new district to boot.
“I expect education to be a battle. It always is,” Iannuzzi said. “I mean, no one wants to walk away from four percent. But four percent, $800 million, is a half a billion dollars less restored than the the cuts from last year. So, $800 million is a place to get started. There’s a lot more than has to be done.”
“And then the question becomes: How is that earmarked? How much is going directly to a classroom? You could probably take $250 million of that and just write it off to transporation. You take another $50 million that the governor talks about in terms of his competitive grants. You’re now down to talking about $500 million dollars. How are you dividing that? How are you using that. How much more do you need if you really want to address the achievement gap that goes on in the classroom?”
“…I would expect that my allies in the Assembly Democratic conference and in the Republican Senate will push for more because they understand the needs of their constituents…And we will probably remind people that it’s an election year as well.”
One Down For Senate Dems, Oppenheimer Retiring (Updatedx5)
Jan 12th - 11:22 am
When talk turns to potential retirements in the state Senate, the speculation almost always centers around the GOP conference, which has a number of 75+ year old members, although there are a few Democrats – Sen. Malcolm Smith comes to mind after his fall from power – whose future raises questions.
But today brought a semi-surprising announcement from a different Democrat, Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, who abruptly announced she will not seek re-election this fall because she has to undergo “major shoulder replacement surgery.”
“It had always been my plan to seek re-election in November and continue to serve the people of this district,” Oppenheimer said. “When considering my responsibilities as Senator, the extensive effort that will go into rehabilitation and physical therapy following my surgery, and the added work of the hard fought campaigns I always wage, it became clear to me that I could do only two of those three important tasks.”
“I want to thank the people of my district for the honor and privilege of representing them. Wherever I go throughout Westchester County, I am buoyed by the well wishes and support of longtime friends and residents. I have enormous faith in the people of New York. If they are ever tough on their elected officials, it is only because they believe – as I do – that we, as a state, can and will be better.”
“I intend to make 2012 another productive year where I can tackle tough issues, move legislation and have an impact in areas where I have particular expertise. I am most excited about being part of Governor Cuomo’s efforts to bring much needed change to Albany by reforming, reorganizing and making state government effective again.”
“By the end of this term, I will have served 28 years in the New York State Senate, following eight years as Mayor of Mamaroneck. The Senate is an institution that I hold very dear to my heart, and I count many of my colleagues – on both sides of the aisle – among my closest friends.”
Oppenheimer has faced two tough re-election challenges from Republicans in recent years – first in 2008 from former Larchmont Mayor Liz Feld, and then in 2010 from businessman Bob Cohen.
Feld mounted a spirited campaign against Oppenheimer, but didn’t come close to knocking her from her seat. (The results: 78,862, 47,036). But it was an entirely different story with Cohen, a political newcomer who finished within just a few hundred votes of Oppenheimer in the last election. (45,888 to 45,158).
The race went into overtime – Cohen didn’t concede until Dec. 6 – and took a lot of people by surprise, as it wasn’t one of the targeted contests by either side until late the game.
GOP strategist Bill O’Reilly, who worked on Cohen’s campaign last time around, confirmed he’s indeed running again. The Democrats are talking about potentially running Assemblyman George Latimer, but a lot depends what the lines of the 37th SD look like after the redistricting dust settles.
The IDC Protection Program
Jan 11th - 3:45 pm
The four-member Independent Democratic Conference is celebrating the one-year anniversary of their separation from the Senate minority with a media blitz. It was CapTon’s turn last night.
The fearsome foursome discussed their 2012 agenda, which includes anti-bullying legislation that just got its first GOP majority sponsor – Sen. Mark Grisanti, a Democrat-turned-Republican who was briefly mentioned as a potential IDC joiner, but has since made clear he plans to stick with the GOP when he seeks re-election this fall in spite of the overwhelming Democratic enrollment edge in his Buffalo district.
Sen. Jeff Klein, the IDC’s ringleader, has made no secret of the fact that he would very much like to grow the conference, which would require either primarying fellow Democrats or challenging members of the GOP conference with which the IDC has worked quite closely over the past year.
Neither of those options seem particularly wise, considering another closely divided Senate is likely after the 2012 election dust clears. Klein et al will be in the position to be kingmakers, so alienating anyone before it’s clear who won the majority death match (take II) could be a very risky proposition.
Klein & Co. refused to talk politics during our CapTon chat last night, and they insisted the establishment of their PAC (which held a $1,000-a-head fundraiser to celebrate its one-year milestone) was, as Klein put it, to “protect ourselves when some, a small group of the Senate Dems, threatened that they were going to primary us.”
“So a lot of it is very defensive,” the Bronx Democrat said. “And we’ll see when the election season rolls around how much offense we’re going to have.”
Fidler’s ‘Full Court Press’ Begins
Jan 11th - 11:52 am
Democratic state Senate hopeful Lew Fidler is flexing his fundraising muscle with his first Albany event on Jan. 30, according to this invitation forwarded over by a Democratic source.
Fidler, seeking to replace the disgraced former Sen. Carl Kruger, D-Brooklyn, will hold an event at the City Beer Hall (Albany’s home of a free pizza with your craft brew), with tickets ranging from $500 to $5,000.
The source says this is the beginning of a “sustained full-court press” by the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee to retain the seat. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday called a special election for the seat and other vacancies in the Legislature for March 20.
Fidler is most likely to face Republican David Storobin, a Brooklyn lawyer.
Democrats also want to draw a sharp distinction between this race and the botched special election to fill Rep. Anthony Weiner’s seat in the nearby NY-9, which fell to Republican Bob Turner.
Democrats point out that Fidler, a popular city councilman, is well funded and already reported more than $350,000 in the bank earmarked for a Senate run back in July and is expected to report a large haul later this month.
Another difference is the endorsement from former New York City Mayor Ed Koch. In the ninth, Koch endorsed Turner over Assemblyman David Weprin. In this Senate race, Koch is for Fidler.
Education A Sticking Point Between Cuomo And Silver – Take II
Jan 10th - 3:04 pm
Further proof of my assertion not long ago that education is developing into a serious sticking point between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver came in the form of a statement from the governor that blames “Assembly-led” legislation passed in 2010 for the current fight between the teachers unions and school districts over the creation of teacher evaluation systems.
Cuomo has declined calls from Silver and UFT President Mike Mulgrew that he get involved in the largest stand-off going on downstate. (It’s not the only one, for the record. State Commissioner John King suspended federal improvement grant funding for 10 districts – including NYC – that failed to live up to their commitment to reach agreements with their teacher and principal unions on new performance evaluations).
In his statement, Cuomo reiterated his claim that New York has “a system that protects the massive education bureaucracy rather than focusing on investing in our classrooms,” adding: “The forces that protect this bureaucracy have stymied reform at every turn, and as a result, hundreds of millions of dollars in education funding are now at risk.”
He also referenced the fact that New York is now one of three states placed on a watch list for losing hundreds of millions of Race to the Top dollars by US Education Secretary Arne Duncan because it has “hit a roadblock” on significant policy provisions of qualifying for the aid, including establishment of the peformance evaluation system and creation of a database to track student records across school districts.
“Secretary Duncan’s report saying New York is on the watch-list for failure is yet another warning that the inability of school districts across the state and their unions to come together has jeopardized the quality of our kids’ education,” Cuomo said. “New York State’s students are now in danger of losing hundreds of millions of dollars because of the failure to devise a teacher evaluation system that works.”
“We need to achieve both short term and long term reform of this failed system. I will pursue such reform aggressively.”
“In the short term, I call on the State Department of Education, local school districts and the union leadership to expedite their negotiations on a teacher evaluation system to prevent the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. Over the long term, we need to overhaul the system and change the law on the books. The Assembly-led legislation in 2010 protected the teachers union at the expense of the students and instituted a system that was destined to fail.”
“Despite the powerful interests working to protect the status quo at the expense of our students’ success, this state must become a national leader in student performance.”
I added the boldface type there for extra emphasis, since that’s really a direct attack on Silver and his Democratic conference. Cuomo, as you’ll recall, was running for governor in 2010, but still serving as state attorney general.
Carrion Leaves Obama Admin, Heads To Private Sector
Jan 10th - 2:47 pm
Former Bronx BP Adolfo Carrion is leaving the Obama administration, clearing the way for his potential return to electoral politics.
In an email to friends and colleagues today, Carrion announced he’ll depart his current HUD post on Feb. 10 to launch Metro Futures LLC, which he described as “an entity that will be dedicated toadvancing investment in infrastructure, housing, and smart metropolitan growth.” He also said he’ll be continuing his “political activism” and helping President Obama’s re-election bid.
Carrion was raising campaign cash for a potential run in 2009 for NYC mayor, but then dropped down to the comptroller’s race to avoid a head-on collision with then-NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson.
At the time, Carrion wanted to be the city’s first Latino mayor, and Thompson was gunning to be the second black mayor since David Dinkins. Having both of them on the ballot would have diluted the minority vote and raised racial tension between two powerful voting blocs.
As it turned out, Thompson easily secured the Democratic nod after easily defeated then-NYC Councilman (now Senator) Tony Avella in the primary. He went on to lose a closer-than-expected race to Mayor Bloomberg, who forced a term limits extension through the Council so he could seek four more years in office.
Carrion ended up not running for comptroller, opting instead to become director of the newly created White House Office of Urban Affairs with the White House Domestic Policy Council. In May 2010, the president subsequently named him regional director for HUD’s New York and New Jersey Regional Office.
In December, Carrion was fined $10,000 by NYC’s Conflicts of Interest Board for getting an architect who had benefited from his actions as borough president to work on a personal project for him. This took place back in 2006-07, and was widely viewed as the reason Carrion abruptly had a change of heart about deparing NYC politics for D.C. His federal background check and security clearance took quite a while, if I remember correctly.
That $10,000 is just a fraction of the more than $1 million Carrion still has in his NYC campaign committee. Carrion reportedly is now reconsidering a run for comptroller in 2013.
According to a Bronx Democratic source, the fundraising troubles of the current comptroller, John Liu, may have hastened Carrion’s departure from the public payroll. He could not remain a federal employee and also raise campaign cash.
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