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Bill Thompson
Lippman: NY Judges’ Pay Raise ‘Nightmare’ Over
Aug 31st - 12:26 pm
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman took to cyberspace yesterday to formally endorse the three-year pay raise proposal approved last week by the Judicial Compensation Commission.
Lippman acknowledged in a video address to the judiciary that after going without an increase since January 1995, New York’s judges were hoping for something higher than the 27.3 percent bump they would receive by 2014 under the commission’s recommendation.
But he also insisted there is a benefit to establishing a process to end the “nightmare” that unofficially linked judicial and legislative pay raises, effectively taking the issue out of the political arena and into the hands of a quasi-independent commission.
“There can be no doubt that, without the salary commission legislation, judicial salaries would not be on anyone’s agenda in Albany today in the worst economic climate in decades,” Lippman said.
“Clearly, we are fortunate to have this process in place for now and in the future, rather than having to go hat-in-hand to the legislature and the Governor for years on end without a rational or logical way to achieve our ends. The result we have achieved is not perfect by any means, but I believe the nightmare is over.”
Lippman urged jurists to recognize that they cannot live in the past or in a vacuum. So, while they made a strong case while pushing unsuccessfully for a raise when the economy was still strong, their ask now needs to be tempered by the fiscal troubles being experienced at both the state and federal levels.
The governor and Legislature have the ability to overrule the commission’s recommendation.
But Chairman Bill Thompson told me last week during a CapTon interview that the Cuomo administration has been keeping a close watch on the commission’s efforts. Thompson expexcts the proposal approved in a 4-3 vote will likely pass muster despite Budget Director Bob Megna’s warning during a public hearing in July that the state can’t afford raises.
Thompson: Judges AND Lawmakers Deserve A Raise
Jul 13th - 7:55 am
It now appears to be a foregone conclusion that New York’s judges will receive a pay raise – and a fairly substantial one at that.
After a delay caused by appointment lags, the Judicial Compensation Commission finally got to work this week. Its members seem to agree that 12 years without a salary increase has been far too long for the state’s jurists, who rank dead last in compensation compared to their counterparts in other states.
But what of state lawmakers, who, like the judges, haven’t seen a raise since January 1999?
The starting salary for a rank-and-file legislator is $79,500 (compared to $136,000 for the average state Supreme Court justice). With extra pay for chairmanships and other posts, they earn just over $90,000, on average, for what is technically a part-time job.
Legislators are allowed to moonlight, of course, while judges have restrictions on doing so. But with the new ethics bill (apparently about to be signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo) requiring new disclosure of outside income, that’s looking like a less attractive option for some senators and assembly members.
Judicial and legislative compensation was traditionally linked, which is what caused the judges’ long pay lag in the first place.
Lawmakers aren’t legally allowed to vote to raise their own pay, although they can vote to boost the bottom line of the next sitting Legislature. Since there’s a nearly 99 percent re-election rate in Albany, they’re essentially voting to give themselves a raise – near political suicide.
Former NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson told me on CapTon last night said he favors a commission to regularly review legislative pay – which is how things work for the NYC Council, which has a $112,500 base pay.
“What they have there is a commission that the mayor names,” the once-and-future NYC mayoral contender told me.
“A three-person commission, every x number of years, and they make a recommendation. I think that’s a way that the state Legislature – I don’t know if it’s prohibited by the constitution – (but) put that commission together. Let them do it.”
That would, of course, take the option of using a pay raise as a bargaining chip (which Gov. George Pataki did in exchange for charter schools) away from the governor.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn’t been asked about this lately, particularly given the state’s precarious fiscal position – something that needs to be kept in mind, Thompson acknowledged, as judicial pay raises are contemplated.
Thompson For Schneiderman
Aug 13th - 11:18 am
Former NYC Comptroller and 2009 Democratic mayoral nominee Bill Thompson is throwing his support behind Sen. Eric Schneiderman’s AG bid today, calling him “the one candidate in this field who will truly represent all New Yorkers in the fight for equal justice.”
“I’ve seen Eric in action and have no doubt that he will continue his lifelong fight for criminal justice reform, for economic fairness and for progressive change as New York’s next people’s lawyer,” Thompson said in a statement released by the Schneiderman campaign.
“Whether it’s taking on the insurance industry or ending the Rockefeller Drug laws, Eric has shown true leadership and demonstrated that he will be an Attorney General we can be proud of.”
The release plays up the fact that Thompson was the first African American to hold his former citywide post and grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, became the youngest Brooklyn deputy BP and later served as president of the (now defunct) Board of Education.
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.
Cuomo’s Validators
May 27th - 1:08 pm
The line-up of people who introduced AG Andrew Cuomo at the convention today was very telling and demonstrated how ethnic and geographic politics is alive and well in New York – no matter how much Democrats insist it’s on the wane.
First up for former NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson (pictured here doing a post-speech interview with local TV).
Not only is Thompson black – a subtle acknowledgement about the concern about the Democrats’ all-white statewide ticket – but he also was briefly touted as a possible statewide contender himself, either as LG or a primary challenger to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
Thompson ultimately took a pass on politics altogether this year, preferring instead to go into the private sector and prepare for his second attempt at the NYC mayor’s office in 2013. (It will be a trick for him to keep his name recognition up until then, which explains appearances like this one – and his visit to Somos el Futuro in Albany recently).
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Thompson’s Ex-Wife Mulls Challenge To Parker
May 3rd - 8:36 am
Former city Comptroller’ Bill Thompson’s ex-wife, Sylvia Kinard, confirmed yesterday that she is mulling a primary challenge to controversial Brooklyn Sen. Kevin Parker. (This is an extended version of the second item in my DN column).
Kinard, a lawyer and minister who split from Thompson in 2005, told me in an e-mail she’s considering the race. She did not, however, respond to an inquiry about her residency. Voter registration records show Kinard last voted in the 2006 general election and does not live in Parker’s district. (She lives in the 18th).
Parker is under fire for yelling at Sen. John DeFrancisco during a Senate Finance Committee hearing last week, accusing the Syracuse Republican of racism. Parker then upped the ante by going on the radio and calling his GOP colleagues “white supremacists.”
During a telephone interview yesterday, Parker accused Mayor Bloomberg of pushing Kinard, noting the mayor backed his 2008 primary challenger, former City Councilman Simcha Felder.
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DiNapoli Drops Ramirez
Apr 26th - 12:05 pm
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has severed ties with the MirRam Group, home to powerhouse Latino lobbyist/consultant Roberto Ramirez, due to the firm’s potential role in AG Andrew Cuomo’s pay-to-play pension fund probe.
DiNapoli’s campaign manager, Mark Benoit, confirmed the comptroller has decided to part ways with MirRam, sending me the following statement last night:
“In light of the Attorney General’s recent announcement and out of an abundance of caution, DiNapoli 2010 and the MirRam Group have decided to discontinue our consulting agreement, effective immediately.”
An unnamed MirRam representative was present at the April 5, 2007 meeting that Cuomo’s office acknowledged is of interest in its ongoing investigation. Also at the get-together was someone from Global Strategy Group, which recently settled with Cuomo for $2 million.
Cuomo has already made it clear he’s not thrilled with DiNapoli and would like to see the sole trusteeship of the state pension fund ended in favor of a board oversight system, which would dramatically undercut the power of the comptroller’s office. It’s smart for DiNapoli to try to minimize any potential areas of criticism for Cuomo – and that explains this MirRam move.
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Bloomberg To Obama: Don’t ‘Destroy’ Wall Street
Apr 20th - 8:49 am
Mayor Bloomberg this morning continued his opposition to the Obama administration’s latest efforts to rein in the financial industry, warning that the “segregation” of Wall Street could “destroy” a key segment of the city and state economies.
“Nobody’s suggesting that we shouldn’t have taxes,” Bloomberg said on CNN’s “American Morning.
“Nobody’s suggesting that people shouldn’t pay their fair share, If you single out one industry and you make that industry pay a disproportionate amount -whether you agree with it or not in a fairness test – it’s just not a practical sense. The first rule of tax policy is you can’t tax people who can move.”
“…If you segregate out one industry you will destroy that industry or have that industry move.”
Bloomberg’s comments come as President Obama is preparing to deliver a speech at Cooper Union Thursday during which he will again chastise Wall Street and make his case for reform.
During his CNN appearance this morning, the mayor sought to downplay the spat he had with the White House over not being given a heads-up about the president’s impending trip to his city.
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