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Rangel In His Own Defense; ‘Fire Your Best Shot’ At Expulsion
Aug 10th - 1:04 pm
…on the House floor.
C-SPAN has a live stream. Click here.
Amazing…He’s calling on them to expidite the ethics hearing so it will conclude before the September primary, even if the conclusion is that he should be expelled from the House.
He’s been going on for some time now. A taste:
“At the end of the day somebody, somebody has to do more than wish I’d go away..Don’t let this happen to you, don’t walk away from here because it’s convenient that I disappear, beacuse not all of you would be able to withstand it as I have.”
“….I’m not asking for leniency. I’m asking for exposure of the facts….For God’s sake, just don’t believe that I don’t have feelings. That I don’t have pride. That I don’t have the dignity that the president says.”
Marist: Bloomberg Under 50 Percent, First Time Since ’05
Aug 10th - 11:13 am
Today’s Marist poll brings some bad news for Mayor Bloomberg, whose approval rating has taken a turn for the worse, dipping beneath to 50 percent for the first time since June 2005.
Bloomberg’s rating now stands at 48 percent, which is exactly where it was at the beginning of the summer five years ago – just before he stood for re-election a second time.
“Chief executives often find third terms difficult, and the current economic climate is not making it any easier for Bloomberg,” said Marist pollster Lee Miringoff. “Right now, New York City voters are divided about the job the mayor is doing.”
The 49 percent who currently affirm Bloomberg’s governing include 1 percent who say he is doing an excellent job, and 36 percent who think he is doing a good one, Marist reports. Thirty-three percent rate the mayor as fair, 16 percent report he is doing poorly, and 2 percent are unsure.
In April, Bloomberg’s numbers stood at 56, 29, 13, 2, respectively.
Bloomberg stock has fallen across all five boroughs and among Democrats and small-i independents. (Recall that he is a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-blank).
This is an interesting data point, particularly since the mayor just decided to drop his latest push for nonpartisan elections – a major pet issue of his and a priority for the large-i Independence Party, which gave Bloomberg its line for the third straight time last year.
It’s also interesting that Bloomberg is losing support among fellow independents since there is always speculation – no matter how much he publicly seeks to tamp that down – that the billionaire mayor will mount a third party bid for the White House in 2012.
First Labor Nod For Ramos
Aug 10th - 9:24 am
Charlie Ramos, who is now officially on the Sept. 14 primary ballot challenging his fellow Bronx Democrat, Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., landed his first labor nod yesterday from IUPAT District Council 9.
“We are proud to endorse Charlie Ramos for State Senate,” said DC 9′s Jack Kittle in a statement released by Ramos’ campaign.
“I have personally participated with him in protests and have witnessed his commitment to working people. I know his years of community organizing provide him with the experience to be a great legislator not only for the Bronx, but for all New Yorkers.”
“If you believe in real democracy and reform, then you know we need to bring a true and hardworking leader to Albany in 2010.”
Diaz Sr. is a controversial figure and has earned the wrath of the LGBT community for his outspoken opposition to same-sex marriage. (MENY PAC and ESPA are backing Ramos, while Fight Back NY is raising money to fund an opposition research effort against the incumbent senator).
Diaz Sr. is disliked even by some members of his own conference – witness the dust-up he had yesterday with Staten Island Sen. Diane Savino, who sided with her friend Assemblyman Matt Titone against her colleague when he showed up to protest a recent spate of apparently racially-motivated attacks in the borough.
But Diaz Sr. has the support of Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, who is scheduled to headline a fundraiser for the Bronx lawmaker on Thursday.
Titone, Savino Denounce Diaz Sr. As ‘Media Whore’ (Updated)
Aug 9th - 6:04 pm
I’m not sure where to even start with this.
Below is footage of Sen. Diane Savino joining with Assemblyman Matt Titone to publicly call out her Democratic colleague, Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., who showed up on Staten Island with members of his Hispanic ministers group in tow to meet with the Rev. Tony Baker Sr. and “declare their outrage of the racial abuse against Mexicans and immigrants.”
Apparently, Baker didn’t show up. Savino and Titone came instead with a “message” from Baker, asking Diaz Sr. not to participate in what Savino called “this cheap political stunt.”
At the 20-second mark, Titone whips out a wig and a high-heeled shoe, and says:
“If you’re going to come to Staten Island to exploit Staten Islanders simply for political purposes, if you’re going to act like a media whore on Staten Island, please have the courtesy to dress like one.”
UPDATE: Titone called to inform me that gay leaders who wanted to participate in Diaz Sr.’s event today were told by his office their presence “would not be necessary or welcome”
“Meanwhile, yesterday, Diane, myself, Councilmember Debi Rose, all the ministers on Staten Island – even the most conservative ministers – stood shoulder-to-shoulder with one message: That violence on Staten Island would not be tolerated. (Diaz Sr.) was invited, but refused to come,” Titone said.
Krueger Raises To Oust ‘Bad Apple’ Espada
Aug 9th - 12:43 pm
A reader forwarded a fundraising e-mail he received today from Sen. Liz Krueger with the subject line: “Replacing a bad apple…”
“Through my first hard fought campaigns and since my election to the State Senate in 2002, we have worked together on advancing a common-sense progressive agenda,” the Manhattan Democrat writes.
“Our goals have always been simple ones: making life more manageable for those of our neighbors who need a hand and bringing a measure of transparency and decency to state government.”
“We have had some significant victories, but also some major disappointments. Depending on your personal priorities – keeping New York competitive, affordable health care, civil rights, tenant protections, government reform – everybody’s list of ‘what’s wrong with Albany’ would look different.”
“But likely every list would include the name “Pedro Espada.” He is the poster-child representing all things wrong in Albany.”
“Today, I am asking you to help me oust disgraced Pedro Espada from the State Senate by investing in Gustavo Rivera, a wonderful man with the right resume of community work and government experience. He is an educator, an organizer and just recently served as Senator Gillibrand’s Director of Community Outreach.”
Quinn Wants To Hear Sampson Say ‘I Do’
Aug 9th - 8:19 am
Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson is under fire from LGBT advocates who are increasingly disillusioned and unhappy with his stance on same-sex marriage.
Wary of the headache this issue caused Senate President Malcolm Smith, who had to do a delicate dance to both appease the LGBT community that had invested more than $1 million to help him win the majority and the members like Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. who held the votes to his leadership post, Sampson is both supporting the six remaining “no” voters and refusing to promise to bring marriage to the floor for another vote.
That approach led to an often hostile sit-down this weekend between Sampson and members of the Stonewall Democratic Club.
It has also spurred the creation of several PACs that are loosely working together, along with ESPA, to target key Senate races, directing resources directly into these districts and not to the DSCC’s coffers.
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the highest-ranked (and perhaps only) openly gay legislative leader in the state, joined me on “Capital Tonight” last Friday. She spoke about the overturning of California’s Prop. 8 and the ripple effect that will have across the country.
I asked what she thought of Sampson’s refusal to commit on marriage, and she said:
“As a member of the LGBT community in New York, I want to hear that it’s going that the bill is going to the floor and that it’s going to happen as soon as possible.”
“And I understand why Senator Sampson might not want to say that, I really do, from the perspective of being as a legislative leader myself. But I want to hear that, and I also think that in this case it would be strategically helpful to the overall efforts to move the bill forward, which I know Senator Sampson wants to do.”
Democrats Take Their Show On The Road
Aug 8th - 3:56 pm
The party that brought you AG Andrew Cuomo’s upstate RV tour is now launching “Road to a 1000 Democratic Ideas”, described in a press release as “new statewide effort to reach out to everyday New Yorkers for their ideas for improving New York government and solving the serious challenge facing the state.”
This statewide tour involves state Democratic Party leaders – Jay Jacobs (chairman), Charlie King (executive director) and June O’Neill (ex-chair, executive committee chair) – traveling to communities across New York to solicit ideas from residents and (ostensibly) forwarding the best of those on to the gubernatorial designee and his running mate, Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy.
Naturally, there is a companion Website. The effort kicked off today with events in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx.
The press release features quotes from former NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (hosting the Brooklyn kick-off), Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (hosting the Bronx kick-off), Assemblyman Keith Wright (hosting the Manhattan kick-off) and Sen. Eric Adams. Both Thompson and Adams were scheduled to attend the Brooklyn event.
The Mosque And The PSC
Aug 8th - 3:06 pm
The Post has a fascinating story today that suggests it’s possible the mosque-near-Ground Zero controversy will be kicked up to the state level, perhaps landing in the lap of the Public Service Commission.
Apparently, one of the two buildings currently on the site of the proposed mosque is owned by ConEd, which is currently mulling the sale of the property to the project’s developers. The sale might have to be signed off by the five-member Public Service Commission.
Here’s where things get interesting. The Post refers to the PSC as “controlled by” Gov. David Paterson. But that’s actually not the case.
Two of the five commissioners – Maureen Harris (Republican, sister of Michael Finnegan, longtime friend and former Pataki top counsel) and Robert E. Curry Jr. (Democrat) – were last-minute appointments to $109,800-a-year jobs with six-year terms made by former Gov. George Pataki during the final months of his third term. (June 2006).
Rangel Robos His ‘Terrific’ B-Day Party
Aug 6th - 12:06 pm
Several readers wrote in to say they had received the following robocall this week from embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel, urging them to attend his Aug. 11 birthday fundraiser:
“Hi. This is Charlie Rangel. I’m sorry I missed you, but I’m calling to let you know that there’s a birthday party. It’s going to be on Wednesday, August the 11th at the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel. If you can be with us, please call 212-862-4990. It’s going to bne a terrific party and we want you there. Again, the number is 212-862-4990. Please try to make it. I’ll be looking to meet you.”
The calls come as pols nervous about getting too close to Rangel as he prepares to face a public trial on 13 ethics charges are sending regrets and suddenly remembering some oh-so-important previous engagements like a family trip to Virginia (Rep. Carolyn Maloney), a fundraiser in Connecticut (Rep. Ed Towns) and a firefighters parade in his district (Rep. John Hall).
UPDATE: Maloney’s campaign asked that I add this statement from the congresswoman: “I’m for Charlie Rangel whether I’m at a party for him or not.”
Even Aretha Franklin, who was supposed to headline Rangel’s big bash, isn’t going to be able to make it, although she has a viable excuse.
Others, like AG Andrew Cuomo and Sen. Chuck Schumer, are hedging, with aides refusing to say one way or another whether their respective bosses will be attending. Mayor Bloomberg, after a brief memory lapse about his plans to serve as one of the event’s hosts, has apparently agreed to attend.
Rivera Accuses Espada Of ‘Intimidation’ And ‘Hoodlum Tactics’
Aug 5th - 3:55 pm
A reader forwarded an e-mail sent this afternoon by the campaign of Gustavo Rivera, the most high-profile of Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr.’s primary challengers, accusing the Bronx lawmaker of mailing letters “using itimidating language” to voters who signed Rivera’s petitions.
“The letters are titled ‘Notice of Legal Information Warning’, signed using the ironic name ‘Concerned Citizens for Good Government’ and warn that ‘there is reason to believe that your (petition) signature has been obtained against the law,’” wrote Horacio Gutierrez, Rivera’s campaign strategist. “In small letters, it is noted that the letters are ‘Paid for by New Yorkers for Espada’.”
Our office was notified about these letters following reports of individuals, described as large and ‘thuggish’, going to the homes of petition signers to ask prying questions about their petition signatures for Gustavo Rivera.”
“…These actions are nothing short of harassment of thousands of Bronx voters who have loudly proclaimed that they are tired of the corruption and misrepresentation of Pedro Espada and are welcoming the positive and effective leadership of Gustavo Rivera.”
“Let Pedro Espada and his staff know that the good people of the Bronx will not be intimidated by cheap hoodlum tactics.”
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