Election 2013

Sunday, January 16, 2011

True News Sunday Update: Mayorial Election 2013 Has Begun

A Cry for Attention

Today running for mayor means name recognition and image.  Nobody has Bloomberg's Billions so they need to start now to build public support.  Forgetabout a having the best plan to balance the budget without hurting New Yorkers with service cuts, higher fees and taxes.  Up until last week shooting we had Weiner on the cable almost every day blasting the GOP.  Today we have Manhattan Borough Presidents in the WSJ Stringer Is Sprinting in 2013 Race(WSJ). And there are others who are running already running hard

Candidate Quinn: Uncharacteristically Yells At MTA

Apologizing, M.T.A. Admits Blunders During Blizzard(NYT) * Snow Hearing Turns Up Heat on MTA(WSJ) * Ax New York's bungling transit leaders, says City Council(DN) * MTA: Mistakes Were Made With Blizzard Response (NY1) * Quinn Grills MTA, Calls Blizzard Breakdown ‘Beyond Shocking’(WCBS) * Council Speaker Calls MTA Blizzard Response "Ridiculous"(WNBC) * Christine Quinn - Corruption Protest - 13 January 2011

 

 

Candidate Liu: Hits Mayor on CityTime Contract Letter found by Liu reveals shady CityTime job offer pitch in '02 ... * Liu Hits at Mayor On CityTime Fraud * Mr. Comptroller? Try Mr. President * Budget hawk dropped ball on CityTime (NYP)

 

Candiate de Blasio: Demands the Mayor Boycott Glock Guns

de Blasio Wants NYPD To Ban Glocks, Bloomberg Doesn't‎ - Gothamist * Public Advocate de Blasio calls for NYPD Glock boycott* Bloomberg Knocks Down Public Advocate's Call for NYPD Glock Boycott (WNBC) * Mike ducks push for clip boycott(NYP) * Mike's Glock duck(NYP)

Sen. Chuck Schumer: Major Gun Control Legislation Doesn’t Have The Votes

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State Police

Paterson Pays Hush Money?  

The state police know more about the Paterson attempt to stop a woman from testifying in court in a demonstrate  violence case involving his top body man Johnson Andy's ire 'rai$ed' Blasts secret State Police pay hikes (NYP) * More state police sleaze(NYP) 

Comptroller

DiNapoli Learns Nothing from Hevesi, Morris and Steve Rattner 

Unqualified pol Tom DiNapoli hires unqualified pol Pete Grannis to help him mind pension money

Put drone politicians in a position of responsibility and who will they turn to for high-level help? Other drones, of course. Which is precisely what New York's new attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, and returning comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, have done. DiNapoli -- who won his job as the personal designee of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, whom he'd served faithfully -- has selected another veteran legislator, Alexander "Pete" Grannis, to be his first deputy comptroller.Hack pols hire cronies (NYP Ed) *  The Hevesi Team is on the Pay to Play Varsity Division (True News)

Paterson

Paterson Lies Till The End

While Paterson told the media he never asked for security after he leaves office, the NYP Dicker reports today that he went behind the Cuomo staff and secretly asked the head of the state police who he appointed for protection.  Paterson: I never asked for a detail Albany Times Union (blog) - ‎Jan 1, 2011‎ * Dave's 'secret' police irk andy Nixes Paterson's midnight deal for security detail (Dicker, NYP) *

Over 100 NY Leaders and Groups Offer Their Reaction to Cuomo's Speech

The Ax Falls

Over 100 NY Leaders and Groups Offer Their Reaction to Cuomo's Speech  
Sisto: Cuomo’s Medicaid Cuts Require Magic  *  Cuomo’s Budget Cuts Spending on Schools and Medicaid (NYT) * Cuomo unveils slash and hack 2011-12 budget (NYP) * NY Gov. Cuomo proposes no college tuition increase‎ - Washington Post * UPDATE 1-NY's Cuomo's budget seeks to reverse past "shams"‎ - Reuters * Cuomo to Cut New York State Spending by $8.86 Billion, Fire 9800 Workers Bloomberg * Gov. Cuomo's budget proposal would slash at least $700 million from New York City (DN) * Cuomo's budget presentation sticks to major themes (TU) * Silver: Don’t blame the legislature for everything (TU)  * Business Council Supports Gov. Cuomo's Fiscal Reform Budget * BUDGET-BRIEFING-BOOK  * NY Gov. Cuomo proposes no college tuition increase‎Auburn Citizen * State Budget Reaction: The Politicos (DN) * 1199/GNYHA Prepare For ‘Superhuman Feat’  * Capitol Confidential » CSEA, PEF, NYSUT don’t seem to be in partner mode *State Budget Reaction: Labor (DN) * joshrobin Josh Robin Bloomberg blasts Cuomo budget, breaking with ally. "Unfortunately, the budget does not treat New York City equitably;(Twitter) * DiNapoli Likes What He Sees “At First Glance”  GannettAlbany  * If you missed Gov. Cuomo's budget address earlier, you can catch it here in its entirety * City Hall News In response to #nybudget, @MikeBloomberg says NYC pays disproportionate share of taxes, and deserves its fair share of state aid (Twitter * Skelos: Cuomo Budget ‘Realistic’ (YNN) * Cuomo Budget Cuts MTA Operating Funds, Puts a Bandage on Capital Budget | DMI Blog * STATEMENT OF MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON GOVERNOR CUOMO'S 2011-2012 EXECUTIVE BUDGET * Video jukebox: reaction from Skelos, Silver, DiNapoli (TU) * State Budget Reaction: Education, Kids And Health *SecondAveSagas Second Ave. Sagas

 Cuomo removes $100M in dedicated transit dollars http://bit.ly/fLsVzU (Twitter) * State Budget Reaction: Transportation (DN) * WNYT.com: Cuomo's first budget gets mixed reviews 
* Bloomberg: Cuomo Budget Unfair To NYC (YNN) * Cuomo’s cuts to NYC $659.4 Million (WNYC) * YNNAlbany Cuomo budget soundbites - During his first budget address, Governor Andrew Cuomo touched upon some hot topics, inclu... (Twitter)* Judiciary singled out for a Cuomo jab (TU) * Blame Game Silver Video (YNN) * The Observer also has a nice roundup -- with photos! -- of the budget's main points. * The horsemen aren’t happy about Cuomo’s proposed 2.75 percent racing purse surcharge. 

LeBrun: Cuomo left tough chases till another day. (Albany Times-Union)
Detailing Cuomo: Gershman wants more. (Wall Street Journal)
Dissing Lawmakers: “I think that was a bit harsh.” (Buffalo News)
Closing Prisons: “You can’t make a trade-off for jobs,” says a county executive with a prison in his backyard. (The Post-Star | Glen Falls, NY)
Cuomo’s Decisions: “He left the hard decisions – what workers to lay off, what prisons to close, what Medicaid programs to reform – in the hands of politically-appointed task force.” (Syracuse.com)
Reacting to Cuomo: Scott and Dicker hear the shrieks. (New York Post)
The governor is moving to change the budget process altogether.







 

How Albany Operates Like the Mob II

How Albany Operates Like the Mob II

Breaking News Obama dismisses McChrystal after critical comments * Cuomo Accepts Millions From Special Interests He Assails (NYT)


How Albany Operates Like the Mob II

"I decline to answer under the Fifth Amendment."
Thomas Lucchese Three-Finger Brown"

"I respectfully decline to answer on the ground that my answer may tend to incriminate me"
Vito Genovese

" that "…to the best of my recollection I have no disremembrance of discussing with Scott any such question." Jimmy Hoffa

Ex-Aide to Gov. David A. Paterson Takes Fifth Amendment - NYTimes.com David W. Johnson is said to have declined to answer questions in investigations into a domestic violence case and free Yankee tickets.

Democratic Party

Friday, June 4, 2010

What About Reforming New York's Democratic Party?

Breaking News Judge Rules MTA Cannot Layoff Subway Booth Workers














New Democratic Party Spin
What About Reforming New York's Democratic Party? In the past 60 years, only two people have truly dared to reform New York City politics. In both instances, their motivations were not so much altruistic, as they were fueled by personal ambition and attempts to gain greater power over their party.

As the Democrats fight the mayor on non partisan elections it is an idea time to look at the sorry state of the city's Democratic Party elected officials have taken over the party positions with the sole purpose of centralizing power and using it resources to help in their reelection campaigns. The party has no agenda or issue it pushes beside fighting the mayor's non partisan voting proposal. Most of the people in party positions have never been challenged. It function more like the old soviet union then a democratic institution. It is even allow according to the U.S. Supreme Court to use politics to pick judges. Lopez Torres v. NYS Bd of Elections.

It has been 50 years since anyone has tried to reform New York's Democratic Party. In the mid 60's Robert Kennedy who defeated the democratic machine to become senator set his sights on cleaning up the state's Democratic Party.

Kennedy tried to clean up Manhattan’s Surrogate Court, which to this day remains a piggy bank for party patronage, calling the Court "a political toll booth exacting tribute from widows and orphans." He took aim at cronyism in Albany and fought to strengthen home rule of New York City. He also proposed nonpartisan redistricting, a move aimed at eliminating one of the main tools party leaders use to keep their incumbents in office for decades. Fiercely battled by a faction of the Democratic machine, Kennedy’s attempts to take over Albany were ultimately repulsed with the help of the Republicans, who were as deeply invested in maintaining the status quo as the old-line Democrats.

The first wave of reform came under Carmine De Sapio, the last head of Tammany Hall. In 1954, DeSapio campaigned against Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., the late President’s son, eventually persuading Roosevelt to abandon his run for Governor. Eleanor Roosevelt, the former first lady and Franklin’s mother, blamed De Sapio for derailing her son’s political ambitions and vowed revenge. Using her enormous political influence, over the next seven years Eleanor Roosevelt battled to oust De Sapio from his post as Manhattan’s Democratic county leader. He ended up serving 2 years in jail.

What is truly interesting, though, is that in the course of his battle with Roosevelt it was actually De Sapiowho became the reformer. De Sapio calculated that his best chance to stay in control of his party was to recast himself as the real reformer and open up the Democratic Party to as many people as possible. It was De Sapio who first welcomed women, African-Americans, and Latinos into New York City’s Democratic Party. He named the first Puerto Rican district leader in Manhattan, Anthony Mendez, and pushed Hulan Jack as New York City’s first African-American borough president.

De Sapio also fought for rent control and lowering the voting age to 18. He even changed the Democratic Party’s rules to allow for the direct elections of district leaders. Prior to De Sapio’s reform, district leaders were selected by the county committee and the county leader in the same kind of shady backroom deals in which the county leaders are still chosen today. * A Brooklyn Democratic district leader was busted for practicing law without a license.

Tripping: Jay Jacobs lost the Nassau for the Democratic Party

State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs on the difference between the Independent Democratic Conference and the "amigos" of yesteryear: "I would simply answer that I think the circumstances were different in terms of what the motivations were. I don't think you could put the motivations of this group beside the motivations of Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate." (NYO)