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Extras
Apr 26th - 5:43 pm
Former Sen. Carl Kruger was sentenced to seven years in prison.
“I accept responsibility for my actions and am truly sorry for my conduct.”
Prosecutors sought nine years behind bars for Kruger, but Judge Jed Rakoff chose to issue a lesser sentence, citing the ex-lawmaker’s “many good deeds.
A state Thruway trooper from Buffalo has been suspended without pay pending the results of an internal investigation into allegations that prostitutes were transported from Canada into Western New York. The probe is ongoing and could involve other troopers.
LG Bob Duffy’s trifecta revealed: Clip the Coupons, Right to Vote and Love to Run. He won $2,628 off a $2 bet.
John Benson notes that if Gov. Andrew Cuomo really wanted to make the case that it’s too early to speculate about 2016, he could have said something like: “We’re in the middle of an important presidential election right now, if you haven’t noticed, and the most important thing now is to help Barack Obama win another term.” But he didn’t even come close.
Veteran Democratic strategist Bill Lynch believes Cuomo would “think twice” before going up against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Others aren’t so sure.
NYC billionaire John Catsimatidis says profits at his oil company, United Refining Company, have increased 27 consecutive quarters since it started advertising that its oil is 100 percent North American.
Sen. Steve Saland officially launched his re-election bid.
Another twist in the incredibly weird world of second tier candidates in NY-6.
Cuomo’s press office is expanding.
Sen. Adriano Espaillat told the Stonewall Democrats is he’s elected to Congress “we’ll repeal DOMA in DC like we passed marriage equality in New York.”
Rep. Charlie Rangel, who’s skipping votes in Washington this week to work from his district office, also skipped the Stonewall meeting after receiving multiple invitations to attend.
Georgina Bloomberg would like to see her father run for president, adding: “I feel that, age-wise, this is probably his chance if he’s going to do it.”
Hours before a board was scheduled to vote on the closing of 26 public schools, the Bloomberg administration withdrew two of them from contention, retreating from their original plans in the face of strong opposition from a number of electeds – including Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
Quinn is No. 24 on Out magazine’s 6th annual list of the 50 most powerful gay men and women in the US.
Manhattan GOP Chairman Dan Isaacs is hosting a breakfast fundraiser for Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino.
At least seven NYC school workers have been arrested for sex crimes involving students in 2012.
Minus one candidate for Brooklyn BP in 2013? Marty Markowitz’s chief of staff, Carlo Scissura, is leaving to become the next president and CEO of the borough’s Chamber of Commerce.
A YouTube video slams Simcha Felder for backing President Obama in 2008. (He says he won’t be voting for the president this year).
Eric Golub thinks T-Paw is Romney’s best VP option.
‘Support’ Rally For Liu
Apr 26th - 5:33 pm
A reader forwarded an email invite sent by veteran Democratic consultant Bill Lynch to a “support” rally being held Monday for embattled NYC Comptroller John Liu “in light of recent investigations.”
The event is being held at a church, and Lynch is careful to note that this is NOT a campaign event, nor an effort to secure endorsements, but merely a moment to demonstrate general support for the comptroller as he battles for his political life.
Lynch’s firm, Bill Lynch Associates, served as the general consultant for Liu’s successful 2009 run for comptroller.
Liu has refused to pull the plug on his aspirations to run for NYC mayor in 2013, despite the fact that a top campaign aide was arrested in February on allegations of campaign finance fraud and a bundler was indicted on charges of conspiracy and wire fraud.
It will be interesting – not to mention telling – to see who shows up Monday. Here’s Lynch’s email in full:
Dear Friends:
This Monday, April 30th, at 6:00 pm there will be a rally in support of our city’s Comptroller, John Liu, in light of recent investigations. The rally is to take place at Mother A.M.E. Zion Church located at 140-7 W. 137th Street, between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard.
This rally is not related to the Liu’s campaign and is not and endorsement effort; this is an opportunity for you to show your support for our Comptroller and stand with him during this challenging time.
We hope that you will be there and stand with us as we support our friend, John Liu. Please contact Arelis Tavares at 212-xxx-xxxx for more information or to RSVP.
Sincerely,
Bill Lynch, Jr.
Attorney Who Defended Corrupt Brooklyn Dem Boss To Probe WFP (Updated)
Apr 26th - 1:48 pm
Here’s the order – issued more than two years after it was first requested – granting Staten Island DA Dan Donovan’s wish that a special prosecutor be appointed in his stead to investigate possible Election Law violations in connection with the Working Families Party’s involvement in Debi Rose’s successful election to the NYC Council in 2009.
The order doesn’t specifically mention the WFP. But as Crain’s Insider reported this morning, Donovan made the request in February 2010 when he was in the midst of his (eventually unsuccessful) bid for the state AG’s office and did not want to be embroiled in a politically sensitive case.
The special prosecutor tapped by the court is Roger Bennet Adler. That name might ring a bell for longtime followers of Brooklyn Democratic politics.
Adler represented former Assemblyman/Brooklyn Democratic boss Clarence Norman during a sprawling investigation Norman’s judicial selection process by brooklyn DA Charles Hynes. At the time, Hynes accused Norman of using the Legislature, the party and his re-election committee as a ”personal piggy bank” to misappropriate more than $10,000.
In 2005, Norman was found guilty today of soliciting illegal campaign contributions. He was sentenced to two to six years in prison but remained free on bail while fighting the remaining charges. In 2007, he was convicted again – this time on charges that he shook down judicial candidates seeking party support. It was his fourth corruption trial in two years. He was sentenced to serve three to nine years in prison.
So far, no one has commented on why it took so long for Donovan’s request for a special prosecutor to be granted. One insider noted that whoever is tapped for the job must agree, and surmised that perhaps no one – until now – was willing to accept the challenge.
The Office of Court Administration appointed Adler on Jan. 12. In his capacity as special prosecutor, he has the power to subpoena records, testimony and witnesses.
Last October, the WFP settled a civil lawsuit charging that it skirted campaign finance laws to benefit Rose and other NYC Council candidates it had endorsed. The labor-backed party agreed to shut down its for-profit field operation, Data and Field Services, and pay more than $100,000 in legal fees the firm of former Giuliani administration Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, who brought the suit.
(That was actually the second settlement between Mastro and the WFP. Mastro accused the party of violating their first agreement and it was subsequently found in contempt).
The WFP also hired former Chief Judge Judith Kaye to conduct a probe and issue a report on its inner workings. Her services did not come cheap. In January, the WFP owed more than $107,000 to Kaye’s firm, Skadden Arps, and another firm, Levy Ratner, in connection with its DFS-related legal troubles. That debt appears to have been paid by mid-July, but the WFP was still paying thousands to DFS for fundraising and organizing services.
The WFP believed this was the end of several years of legal headaches, which included probes by Donovan and the US attorney’s office, which decided not to file charges, clearing the way for then-AG Andrew Cuomo to accept the party’s endorsement and run on its line, helping boost it to Row D on the ballot.
Also in 2009, the NYC Campaign Finance Board declared DFS to be an official arm of the WFP, and thus would consider spending by the party on behalf of any candidate to be a direct campaign expense, rather than an independent expenditure. To my knowledge, we have yet to see any audits of the 2009 NYC Council races on which the WFP and DFS did work.
UPDATE: Former Sen. Craig Johnson, a Nassau County Democrat, emailed me the following statement:
“Roger Adler served as my counsel when I chaired the Senate Investigations Committee. He is a brilliant attorney and is extremely fair minded, as evident in his dealings with the members of the Committee and the parties who appeared at hearings. He was an asset to the Committee and I am confident that he will run this investigation in the same fair, respectful manner as when served as counsel to the Investigations Committee.”
Johnson also reminds me that while he headed the committee, there were several “contentious” hearings, including one on the collection (or lack thereof) of taxes on cigaretts sold on Indian lands, and another on alleged abuses by the Medicaid inspector general to name two. He added: “Roger treated everyone with respect and fairness.”
Shakeup In NY-18 Alexander Campaign
Apr 26th - 8:31 am
Wappingers Falls Mayor Matt Alexander, one of five Democrats vying to challenge Republican freshman Rep. Nan Hayworth, who started out strong in the race, but has lost momentum recently thanks to the late entry of Sean Patrick Maloney, has lost his campaign manager.
I received an early-morning statement from TJ Helmstetter, confirming that he is no longer working full-time for Alexander’s campaign.
Helmstetter stressed that he remains “fervently in (Alexander’s) corner as an advisor and supporter,” saying the mayor is “exactly the congressman that the Hudson Valley needs” and “absolutely the best Democrat” to beat Hayworth in the November general election.
Helmstetter did not mention Maloney by name, but alluded to his recent endorsement by several powerful labor unions, including 1199 SEIU and 32 BJ.”
“It’s a shame that institutions – even so-called progressive institutions – are tipping the scales against the true candidate of the 99% in favor of the candidate with the most money in the race,” Helmstetter, a former spokesman for the labor-backed Working Families Party, wrote.
He also referenced the fact that Alexander and the rest of the Democratic field, which includes Tuxedo Park Mayor Tom Wilson, cardiologist and Cortlandt Town Board Member Richard Becker, and Times Square street vendor Duane Jackson, have been out-fundraised by Maloney.
“It’s obvious we need campaign finance reform,” Helmstetter said. “But in the meantime, I remain certain that Matt will win with a grassroots field campaign focused on voters of the 99%, and I will continue on in my support of Matt’s efforts to reform the system and win.”
“A proven and dedicated public servant, Matt is exactly the type of person we need in elected office. The fact that he accepts the medium income of his village – $40,000 – as a salary, compared to his millionaire opponents, speaks volumes about his sincerity in representing the people of his community, where he has lived for decades.
We need more Matt Alexander’s running for office, and we need more progressive institutions getting behind candidates of the 99% like him.”
Maloney, a former Spitzer/Paterson administration aide, announced early this month he had raised about $320,000 in the first quarter of 2012 and has about $310,000 on hand.
(According to the FEC, he has $322,413 on hand and $6,200 in debt).
Maloney didn’t formally announce his candidacy until the end of March. By contrast, Becker announced last summer and was quickly followed by Alexander.
He also didn’t live in the district until very recently, although he did maintain a second home in Sullivan County with his longtime partner, Randy Florke. The couple, who live in New York City, recently purchased a home in Beacon and plan to relocate there full-time, according to Maloney’s campaign.
Chris Ward On NYC Mayoral Run: ‘Never Say Never’
Apr 26th - 8:04 am
ICYMI: Last night on “Inside City Hall” former Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward refused to issue a Shermanesque statement ruling out a run for NYC mayor at some future date.
Here was his brief exchange on the subject with ICH host Errol Louis:
Ward: “I think I’ve said ‘no’ enough to that so maybe people are going to believe it. Look, it’s flattering. I love public life.”
Louis: “No because it’s not likely and not in the near future, or no because you just don’t ever want to do it?
Ward: “Never say never.”
That’s a consolidated version of what Ward said last October as he was on his way out the door at the Port Authority and when the speculation he might run for mayor first surfaced. At the time, he commented:
“I’m now reminded of General Sherman here at this point. Let me just say that it’s obviously extremely flattering that people would consider me for a post such as the mayor of the city of New York.”
“Given the politics of this town, it’s highly, highly unlikely that I would ever have that opportunity. But public service is what I’ve always enjoyed doing.”
Ward played a key role in overseeing rebuilding at the World Trade Center site, and was widely viewed as a competent and thorough hands-on manager.
However, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his New Jersey counterpart, Chris Christie, didn’t share that opinion.
Ward saw the writing on the wall and resigned. He now works in the private sector as executive vice president of the large international construction company Dragados.
Ward is keeping his finger in politics. He’s listed as a member of the host committee for an upcoming infrastructure-themed fundraiser for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand at which Sen. John Kerry is to be the “special guest.”
Here And Now
Apr 26th - 7:07 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in Albany, and holds a cabinet meeting in the Capitol’s Red Room at 11 a.m. The event is open to the press.
VP Joe Biden is in NYC. He’ll be speaking this morning at the NYU School of Law. The VP will discuss the Obama administration’s success in fighting terrorism here and abroad, and, according to excerpts of his speech, will recycle this line:
“If you are looking for a bumper sticker to sum up how President Obama has handled what we inherited, it’s pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.”
Former Sen. Carl Kruger is scheduled to be sentenced this afternoon for his conviction on corruption charges. He has asked for leniency; the prosecution has asked for nine years in prison.
Also in corruption news, there could be a verdict in the trial of former Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. today.
Using a poster of a red apple as a prop, Espada’s attorney called the embezzlement charges against him “rotten to the core.”
It’s West Point Day in the state Senate, led by Sen. Bill Larkin.
The NYS Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments today in “Hussein et al v. State of NY” – the Small Cities School Districts’ version of the CFE lawsuit that challenged the way education aid is allocated.
Today’s headlines…
The governor insisted he’s not going to allow himself to be “pushed politically” when it comes to discussing his possible presidential aspirations.
The governor said he’s flattered by all the speculation about his White House aspirations, but finds the 2016 talk “totally distracting.”
Tom Precious wrote that Cuomo’s initial insistence that he wouldn’t speculate about 2016 was “reminiscent of his father’s oft-stated ‘I have no plans to make plans.’”
Cuomo is at odds with Mayor Bloomberg over the “total disclosure” of teacher performance evaluation data, and thinks the issue “has to be answered this session.”
The governor thinks it will be “difficult” to get the Senate and Assembly to agree on a public campaign finance system in the remaining eight weeks of the legislation session.
The WFP is back under investigation. A special prosecutor requested by Staten Island DA Dan Donovan when he was running for AG in 2010 is now probing allegations that the labor-backed party skirted campaign finance laws in 2009.
Extras
Apr 25th - 5:00 pm
Newt Gingrich will suspend his campaign next week and start working on turning out conservative voters for Mitt Romney.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Chairman’s Committee, created in July, will hold its first meeting at the Capitol tomorrow.
Former Sen. Frank Padavan will not try to reclaim his Queens seat from Sen. Tony Avella.
Hillary Clinton’s TIME 100 gala speech was parsed for hints of a 2016 run.
Singer Ricky Martin will host a fundraiser in NYC for Obama on May 14. The event is a joint production of Obama for America, the LGBT Leadership Council and the Futuro Fund.
As expected, Mayor Bloomberg veoted the so-called prevailing wage bill, taking a veiled – and rare – swipe at his usual ally, NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, in the process.
RWDSU called Bloomberg’s position on the prevailing wage and living wage bills “incoherent and fiscally irresponsible.”
Josh Robin calculates that NYC taxpayers paid about $578 for every GOP vote in yesterday’s poorly-attended primary.
Pat Kiernan reportedly dropped just over $2 million for a house in Williamsburg, Brooklyn – a price a real estate source says is “is the highest price ever paid for a single family home” in the hipster ‘hood.
When Cuomo says there’s a lack of political will in Albany to pass congestion pricing, Noah Kazis believes the governor means there’s a lack of will on HIS part to get behind a controversial transit proposal.
The RNC tried an oldie but goodie: Filing a complaint about Obama’s “misuse” of government funds for election-related travel.
Marc Panepinto, a Democratic attorney who had been rumored to be interested in challenging Republican Sen. Mark Grisanti, appears to be going for it….but might be tripped up by an old election law charge.
New Roosevelt filed an amicus brief in support of the Senate Democrats’ lawsuit challenge the 63rd seat.
Rep. Charlie Rangel was a no-show when Congress reconvened yesterday. His spokeswoman says he’s working from his district office this week.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is taking aim at geese.
According to preliminary filings with the state Education Department, an overwhelming majority of school districts stated in their Property Tax Report Cards that they are proposing to stay within the property tax cap.
Here’s retiring Rep. Maurice Hinchey speaking on the House floor about the musician Levon Helms, who lost a battle with cancer last week.
‘This Is Ann Romney Calling’
Apr 25th - 4:32 pm
It’s a little late, since we already know the outcome of yesterday’s GOP primaries (Mitt Romney won in all five states, including New York), but this is nevertheless noteworthy.
A reader sent a recording of a robocall he received from Romney’s wife, Ann, in which she highlights the fact that couple has been married for 43 years and touts his abilities as a guy who “you can count on in tough situations” with the “ability to turn around struggling organizations.”
The individual who received this lives in Niagara County – an area where Newt Gingrich was expected to do well, thanks to his support from Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino. Gingrich did fare better in WNY than elsewhere in the state, but Romney still cleaned his clock, even though, unlike the former House speaker, he never stepped foot anywhere near the region.
So far, I’ve received no reports of any Gingrich robos.
The Ann Romney robo-receiver also got a (pre-recorded) call from the candidate himself two nights before the Tuesday primary. But Ann Romney was the closer, which makes sense when you consider that polls show she’s more popular than her husband. (The same goes for First Lady Michelle Obama).
Here’s the script of the Ann Romney call, which you can also listen to below:
“Because today is Election Day, I want to share with you a little bit about the man I know. Throughout our lives together, Mitt has always been a guy you could count on in tough situations. A strong and decisive leader who has the ability to turn around struggling organizations.”
“When Mitt and I were talking about him running for president, I had one question: If you can win, can you fix it. His answer was yes, and that was all I needed to hear. America needs a turnaround, and I know that Mitt is the person that can lead us. He needs your help to get it done, so please remember to vote today, and we would appreciate your support.”
Wealthy Congresswoman Avoids Criticizing Romney’s Wealth
Apr 25th - 1:39 pm
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, an Upper East Side Democrat, and her New Jersey colleague, Rep. Rush Holt, were tapped by the DNC to do some pushback against Mitt Romney, who has launched a fundraising blitz here and across the Hudson River in the Garden State in the wake of his five-state primary sweep last night.
Maloney and Holt embraced their task with relish, zinging the former Massachusetts governor at length on a media conference call, insisting his policies and ideology are bad for the middle class, women, students and, in general, the entire country.
The congresswoman said Romney’s victory speech last night should have been titled “Back to the Future,” because he’s using the “same old Bush play manual.” She slammed the Romney campaign for punting on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, telling the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein earlier this month they would have to “get back” to him on where the candidate stands on the question of equal pay for women.
The congresswoman also criticized the unwillingness of Romney – and Republicans in general – to heed President Obama’s call to make the rich pay more in taxes, saying that “Americans are not naive; they know a better American begins with everyone being able to pay their fair share.”
But she was temporarily knocked off her talking points when a reporter – I think The Capital’s Reid Pillifant – asked whether she thinks it’s fair game for Democrats to make Romney’s personal wealth a campaign issue – a potentially sensitive subject for Maloney, who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress with an average estimated net worth is over $28 million.
Maloney responded by pivoting as quickly as possible to the moment’s hot topic: The continuation of low-rate student loans.
“I think what’s fair game is his policies really,” the congresswoman said. “…The fact that he has his own wealth doesn’t mean that other Americans are going to have that wealth. I think what we have to look at is the crisis on student loans.”
And then, on safer ground, Maloney was off on running, lamenting how many young people have more student loan debt than credit card debt, and praising President Obama for being “very clear and very personal” on this issue by revealing that he and the first lady only managed to pay off their own student loans eight years ago.
Holt jumped in at some point to take the heat off Maloney, picking up the standard Democratic talking point about Romney being out of touch with regular folks. The former governor “has demonstrated over and over again that he doesn’t understand the lives the concerns of ordinary Americans, and his policy shows it,” Holt said, adding: “He doesn’t understand them, and he doesn’t seem to want to do anything to help them.”
Maloney did later add that she wants to “stay away from class warfare” and prefers to “just look at the math.”
“How in the world can you continue the college loan program…if you’re supporting the Ryan budget and all the cuts that come along with them,” she said, insisting that what Romney should do if he agrees with the Obama on extending low rate student loans is “call on congressional leaders like Speaker (John) Boehner and tell them to support the president’s proposal; the only thing standing in the way of keeping college affordable is the Republican Congress.”
Ulrich Blasts Addabbo’s Gay Marriage ‘Flip-Flop’
Apr 25th - 7:33 am
ICYMI: NYC Councilman Eric Ulrich didn’t need much urging during a CapTon appearance last night to blast his new Democratic target, Sen. Joe Addabbo, for changing his mind on same-sex marriage – a move Ulrich predicts will cost the senator votes in the fall election.
Addabbo, as you’ll recall, was one of three Democrats who voted “no” on the same-sex marriage bill in 2009, contributing to its demise, and then changed their votes – at Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s urging – to help the measure pass last summer.
“I think that his flip-flop on gay marriage is going to hurt him,” Ulrich said. “I don’t believe that I’ll have to bring that up. I think that that’s clear as day.”
“People know that he voted against it first, and then voted for it two years later…He’s never revealed what his personal opinion is.”
“And I think that with the conservative voters, particularly the Orthodox Jewish and the Catholic community, people who don’t agree with same-sex marriage, that they feel betrayed, that he was trying to have his cake and eat it too.”
“So, people remember that. I’m not going to have to remind them of that. That’s still fresh in people’s minds – especially in parts of the new district.”
Addabbo, who is a former NYC Council member, came under fire from the gay community after his “no” vote in ’09, although advocates did not target him as they did others (like, say, former Sen. Bill Stachowski, who was ousted by a “yes” voter, Democratic Sen. Tim Kennedy, in 2010).
Liberal Democrats had supported Addabbo’s successful push to oust former GOP Sen. Serphin Maltese in 2008. They felt betrayed by Addabbo’s “no” vote, but he insisted it was consistent with what his constituents wanted.
He made the same argument after his “yes” vote, even as he intimated – but never explicitly stated – that he personally opposes gay marriage.
Interestingly, while the four Republicans who crossed the aisle to vote “yes” and push same-sex marriage over the finish line last summer have received massive financial support in the form of campaign contributions from the gay community, the three Democrats have not experienced the same largesse.
As a result, Addabbo has about $1,600 in his campaign account, though the Democrats insist he’ll have what he needs to fight a spirited campaign against Ulrich.
Ulrich admitted his challenge is an uphill battle, even though the district has been redrawn to be less Democrat-dominated.
He did note that he’s able to run this year without the risk of losing his current job on the Council, and so there’s very little downside to his bid, which came as something of a surprise to those of us who were pretty sure he wouldn’t run.
The councilman also told me he’s more than willing to take the pay cut (the Council’s base salary is $112,500 a year, compared to the Legislature’s $79,500) and the Queens-to-Albany commute if he wins.
Ulrich, as you’ll recall, headed up Mitt Romney’s NYC campaign. Even though he criticized Addabbo for flip-flopping on gay marriage, he defended Romney’s shifting of positions, insisting that’s what all presidential candidates must do after playing to their respective bases during the primaries.
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