The August 20,2009 Issue of The Capitol

Possible Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch explains how he has been spending his days.

Page 23

Fellow accidental Gov. Richard Codey gives some advice from across the Hudson.

Page 15

The Independence Partys has a new mission and new masters.

Page 19

www.nycapitolnews.comVOL. 2, NO. 8 August 2009

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www.nycapitolnews.com2 AUGUST 2009 THE CAPITOL

After so many years of refl exively deriding Albany as the most dysfunctional legislature in the country, the phrase can seem like journalistic

hyperbole. Laughing at some of the foibles of New York’s elected offi cials can be easy, especially when the people involved seem as if they belong to an earlier era when government served more as a patronage mill for the loyal than an honest broker for the citizenry.

Now, all New Yorkers can do is cringe and hope their friends around the country do not notice how meaningless the supposed reforms touted as the justifi cation for the absurd coup have been revealed to be, and how quickly. The hiring of Majority Leader Pedro Espada’s son to a $120,000-per-year job created and given to the younger Espada only after his father agreed to end the chaos that he started was the easiest for the public imagination to latch onto, and with good reason. The sad thing, though, is how narrow a tip of the iceberg this was.

The instigators of the coup were awarded rich lulus. Another $200,000 was awarded in raises to various staffers. In a time when most New Yorkers are pinching pennies to make ends meet, legislators have beaten the state treasury like a piñata, sweeping every dollar into their pockets. Of course, Albany has been doing this for years, lavishing taxpayer dollars on member items and personal perks that benefi t the public little. The difference here is that New Yorkers were promised reform over and over again.

There was no open and transparent budget process in the spring. There was no equal and fair distribution of member items. There was no implementation of the reforms presented by the committed that were belatedly recommended to the Senate majority.

Then came the coup. None of that was about power, said the revolutionaries. They were out for the reforms. Yet still, despite the leadership changes and new titles, little has been done.

They could not even hold to the promise of having legislation move fairly through the fl oor, as they vowed would come from Espada’s return to the fold. A bill could now pass if a majority of members supported it, like a real, grown-up legislative body. So of course, when the Assembly’s mayoral control for New York City schools

bill came before the Senate, New Yorkers were right to assume that its prospects were good, given that all of the Republicans and a majority of the Democrats had indicated their support.

Instead, the bill got bottled up by a few members of the Senate leadership, who opposed it. The message was both winking and clear at the same time: Meet the new reform regime. Same as the old.

Since then, the hits have kept on coming. Foreheads across the state are sore from the inevitable slapping of hands that comes with each day’s headlines. No wonder a recent poll showed close to a

majority of New Yorkers think the entire Senate should be replaced with new members, and more than a majority want their own senator replaced.

Indeed, 50 percent of New Yorkers now say that the state Senate, the upper body in the Legislature, has left them “embarrassed to be New Yorkers.”

In less serious times, such behavior could be tolerated. But not now. The situation the state of New York fi nds itself in is too dire for one single moment more of this chicanery, one more

thumb in the eye of the good people of this state who deserve better than their government is giving them right now.

The time has come to live within a state government that has actually been reformed, where the way business is done has actually been reworked. If the Senate Democrats are really committed to being servants of the public and not of their own self-

aggrandizement, they need to move in the direction of making this happen. If they are looking for good ideas to follow, there are more than enough out there already:

They just have to start listening to all the things they have spent the last months, and years, promising that they would do.

ForethoughtTime To Fill In The Empty Reforms

EDITORIAL

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www.nycapitolnews.com

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BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS

In Sheepshead Bay, among theRussian hair salons and clam bars, sits the El Greco diner, a gleaming

silver artifact straight out of the 1950s. Inside, only half of the diner’s seating is open for breakfast, while the other half is reserved for the larger dinner crowd.

But when Carl Kruger arrives for his blueberry muffi n and coffee, the velvet rope is lifted.

Kruger became chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee after leading the Amigo insurrection against the new Democratic leadership back in January. He says he turned down an offer from Senate Republicans to be majority leader to instead become one of the most powerful men in Albany, rewriting the rules of the Finance Committee.

“I could have done the power grab,” Kruger said.

He waved his hand, as if swatting at a fl y.

“Not what I’m about,” he said. “As the Finance chair, I can do more and infl uence more legislation and be a stronger voice in Albany than I could as the majority leader.”

Indeed, Kruger seemed to suggest at one point that the Finance Committee, under his leadership, was almost like a separate branch of government.

“When the governor’s offi ce understands that, and the Assembly understands that,” he said, “we’re a separate, co-equal branch. And we’re going to act that way.”

He later clarifi ed his remarks to mean that the Senate should assert itself as a separate branch of government.

Kruger has beefed up the committee so that it wields unprecedented power on legislation. In the past eight months, he has fl agged dozens of bills that would not normally come through his committee, reasoning, he says, that the state Constitution gives him just enough latitude to fl ag any bill he sees as having fi scal importance.

“People are going to have to be respectful of the fact that we have a constitutionally mandated role, like any other committee,” he said. “And we’re going to function as the Constitution allows us.”

But some Democrats say they are disturbed by Kruger’s ever-expanding infl uence.

“In a very strange way, he was fl agging bills that supposedly had fi nancial implications, but didn’t,” one Democratic senator said. “It was weird, because I couldn’t fi gure out why in many cases. Most of the things he held, it was just unclear why he even held them.”

Kruger has exerted his power in other

ways, holding up some of Gov. David Paterson’s appointments, such as Jay Walder, Paterson’s pick for chief of the MTA, or a nominee for civil court judge that Kruger felt was “disrespectful of the system.”

“We have to send a message,” he said.And he is far from done making

changes to committee operations. He envisions real-time, smart-phone budget updates, committee hearings across the state and a beefed up staff that includes investigators and forensic accountants. He said he plans to ditch use of Moody’s, the fi nancial research fi rm blamed by many for the mortgage collapse, in favor

of Global Insight, one of the world’s largest economics organizations.

He says he regrets backing off demands for an independent budget and powers to hire and fi re staff back in January, when Democratic leaders were trying to woo him back into the fold. Those may be back on the table. And given the Democratic

conference’s proven willingness to barter for loyalty, Kruger may get exactly what he wants.

Having represented his district for more than 15 years—a district he managed to keep mostly Russian and Orthodox Jewish by striking a deal with then Majority Leader Joe Bruno—Kruger is practically untouchable.

With more than $2.1 million in his war chest, he boasts of being the best fund-raiser in the entire Legislature, aside from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Last month, in an effort to boost his popularity among his colleagues, he wrote $1,000 checks to every member of the

Democratic conference except three—Eric Schneiderman, Daniel Squadron and Liz Krueger, the vice chair of the Finance Committee (with whom Kruger has often butted heads). There is no real bench of

people who might even think to take him on, leaving the senator essentially free to do and say as he pleases.

But others see Kruger as a potential liability, prone to going off on strange tangents and more interested in stymieing the Democratic agenda, like the payroll tax that was proposed to fi ll the MTA’s

billion-dollar budget hole. The plan was eventually scuttled in favor of a bailout that is believed to have done little to address the authority’s long-term capital problems.

“I don’t think he really sees, nor does he really care, about the politics, the big picture,” said one prominent Democratic senator. “I don’t think he has any interest enhancing our conference in any way. He always tries to fi gure out what’s best for him.”

To many, Kruger remains an anomaly: A Jewish senator in charge of a faction of dissident Latinos. A Democrat who chaired a committee in a Republican-held Senate. A white politician with a still staunchly white district in an increasingly ethnically diverse borough.

Kruger styles himself as an old-school politician, unafraid to mix it up with Republicans, but mindful of his loyalty to the Democratic Party. Of course, after the June 8 coup, when Espada and Hiram Monserrate fl ipped to the Republicans, Kruger said his role became clear.

“My goal was just to put this fucking thing back together,” he said.

The Amigos remain united, he says. The other day, after lunch at a Russian restaurant in Brighton Beach, Kruger said he invited Espada and Diaz (Monserrate was out of town) to his house for a bull session.

“I don’t want to say things prematurely,” he said. “But we’ve gained support along the way. The fact is that we’re friends and we talk to one another and are politically aligned with each other.”

Since getting his new position, Kruger’s interest in other races—he was once rumored to be eyeing a run for Brooklyn borough president—seems to have waned. He is now a member of the Senate leadership, which he identifi es as Espada, conference leader John Sampson and himself. And woe unto those who attempt to disrupt that, says Kruger.

“I think we have a great team,” he said. “And what I would hope is that everyone who is trying to work behind the scenes to undo that, and to try to mobilize their people to be a voice, the most that they could accomplish out of that is lose the majority to the Republicans.”

Voter dissatisfaction with state government is at an all-time high. Polls show that even incumbent senators may need to start updating their résumés in 2010. But Kruger is not worried. He may be king, but he is careful to project an air of modesty.

“I’m not a lawyer, I’m not anything but me,” he said. “And we’re going to do really good. As long as our own people don’t fuck us up.”

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“People are going to have to be respectful of the fact that we have a constitutionally mandated role, like any other committee,” State Sen. Carl Kruger said. “And we’re going to function as the Constitutionallows us.”

“I don’t think he really sees, nor does he really care, about the politics, the big picture,” said one prominent Democratic senator.

King Kruger Surveys His RealmPlans for more changes in Finance and the Senate leadership from the top amigo


BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS

Most legislators would agree that when they trudge back to Albany at the end of

September, closing the state’s billion-dollar budget gap will be the number-one priority.

But how big that budget gap is remains in dispute.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said recently that his numbers sync with Paterson’s projections about the budget gap.

“All of the prognosticators seem to indicate that the economy seems to be getting better,” Silver said at a press conference to announce a new park in Lower Manhattan. “So I know we should take a look, take a step back.”

And even some Senate Democrats, who at fi rst questioned the governor’s estimates, say they now agree with his assessment.

“His numbers are in the right ballpark,” said Parker, who has been a vociferous critic of Paterson.

But Senate Finance Chair Carl Kruger, who is expected to be a key player in the September session, remains unconvinced. And his recalcitrance could seriously hamper Paterson’s desire for a quick and painless defi cit-reduction plan.

“We’re not going to accept the governor’s numbers,” Kruger said. “I don’t care what the Assembly does. They’re grossly exaggerated.”

A late rally in the stock market, however, may mean that lawmakers may end up tangling far less than they were expecting.

The budget negotiated between Paterson and lawmakers this year was brought into balance by slowdowns in spending, billions of dollars in federal stimulus money and billions of dollars in new and higher taxes and fees, some of which have not yet kicked in. This go-around, Republicans would like to see the

governor and the Democratic majority commit to cutting more from the budget.

“I know they’ve taxed everything but the air the people in this state breathe,” said Republican State Sen. Martin Golden. “So there’s going to have to be some tough decisions made, and the legislature better be ready to make them.”

Legislators disagree on how much more they will get done other than wrestle over the budget.

“We’ll be discussing the budget, I think that’s why they’re calling us back,” said Sen. Shirley Huntley. “But if there’s anything other than that, I haven’t been told.”

Parker said he doubted the leadership would allow anything remotely controversial to come to the fl oor.

“I would like to see things like marriage equality and vacancy decontrol,” Parker said. “I don’t think we have the votes to get them done.”

Legislators though are beginning to draw up wish lists of bills they would like to see considered, some which are pet projects and others which could prove too controversial for the Legislature to handle.

Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Klein said he would like the Senate to take up his subprime lending package—which started out as his bill until Paterson took it up as a program bill—and property tax relief bills during the special session. But other than that, a lot of the agenda remains up in the air. And with public confi dence in state government at an all-time low, how that agenda coalesces before the session may affect the survival of many lawmakers.

“We haven’t really gotten around to asking who wants what,” Klein said. “But after that fi ve-week fi asco, it’s more important than ever to do good things, which means pass important legislation that have positive impacts on people’s lives.”

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The publication forand about New York State Government


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Community input at every step.


BY ASSEMBLY MEMBER BRIAN KOLB

The wine industry has a long and rich history in New York State, which boasts 962 vineyards

and 169 wineries producing more than 200,000,000 bottles of wine annually. From the Finger Lakes to the Hudson Valley to the easternmost end of Long Island, New York generates some of the fi nest wines in the world, rivaling France, Italy and the Napa Valley.

According to the New York State Farm Bureau, “The wine and grape industry represents a contribution of $6 billion in economic impact” to New York’s annual economy. Our state is the nation’s third-largest wine producer, harvesting 150,000 tons of grapes each year, worth $40 million. As a lifelong resident of New York’s majestic Finger Lakes Region, this industry has always been a top priority for me. Its tremendous fi scal importance alone makes it imperative that we do all we can to ensure that it thrives and grows.

My Assembly minority conference and I have several proposals that would benefi t the growers, producers and retailers who rely on the vitality of this industry. Our 2009–10 Legislative Agenda, The Promise of NY, contains a proposal to

establish a special license to sell and ship New York wine and other agricultural products in gift baskets. We are also sponsoring legislation that would create a tax credit for wine bottling, packaging and labeling expenses for state wineries. Both of these bills would provide a measure of relief to small businesses that are overwhelmed by high taxes, burdensome government regulations and ever-increasing operational costs.

Furthermore, I am in favor of

legislation to simplify the State Liquor Authority’s (SLA) licensing methods. New York State is not doing nearly enough to expedite the permit and licensure process for liquor stores. The SLA estimates that about 90 percent of liquor license applications are incomplete. The result has been excruciatingly long waits to receive licenses, sometimes as long as 12 months. This overwhelming percentage indicates to me that the problem is not with the applicants, but with arduous and confusing regulations. There is a huge bureaucratic backlog at the SLA. Streamlining the process would help establishments receive their liquor licenses in a reasonable amount of time.

Additionally, I am sponsoring a bill that would authorize temporary permits, good for 24 consecutive hours, to promote New York wine, beer and liquor at festivals and other celebrations. This would attract more people to downtown establishments in smaller communities by lifting the open container ban and promote economic growth in these areas by opening a small window of opportunity for bar and tavern owners.

Earlier this year, a bill introduced to allow the sale of wine and liquor in grocery stores was rejected by the State Legislature. I do have concerns about

this proposal. First and foremost, these grocery stores should live up to their promise to promote and sell New York wines. It’s my hope that no grocery store would sell non–New York State wines exclusively, leaving ours at a distinct disadvantage. I believe that at least 20 percent of the shelf space should be dedicated to promote New York State wines.

Secondly, if such a bill is to be considered and approved, not one single liquor store should be put out of business. This would be absolutely unacceptable. We need to help all small businesses stay afl oat and be more economically competitive. These concerns must be addressed in any bill that allows grocery stores to sell wine.

As an assemblyman, it’s my job to fi ght for laws that lower taxes and promote commerce, tourism, economic development and job creation. I am humbled by this great responsibility and I take it very seriously. The families and businesses of New York State deserve no less.

Brian Kolb, a Republican represent-

ing parts of Onondaga, Ontario, Seneca,

Cortland and Cayuga counties, is the

Assembly minority leader.

BY STATE SEN. LIZ KRUEGER

Blue laws imposingstringent restrictions on how and when alcohol could be sold

in New York State predate the American Revolution by a century. Yet many of these laws restored after the end of prohibition in 1933 still exist, and they continue to have a negative impact on small businesses, wineries and consumers. Originally established to support a particular version of morality, blue laws, to modern eyes, appear mainly to function to restrain trade and limit choice.

Especially in this period of economic readjustment, it is critical that the state examine whether the legal remnants of our colonial past are helping or hurting the business climate in the state, and where it’s necessary to update our laws to refl ect realities of the 21st century.

Working with Assembly Member Joseph Morelle, I have developed the Wine Industry and Liquor Store Revitalization Act, which reforms the rules for wine and liquor sales for off-premises consumption. Current law reduces consumer choice by imposing limits on access to wine found in few other states. It hurts New York’s growing wine industry by making it harder for them to market their products. And it hurts small businesses—both grocery

stores and liquor stores—by imposing convoluted rules about who can sell what, and limiting the ability of existing businesses to grow or compete.

During this year’s budget process, this issue came up, but was primarily discussed in relation to allowing wine sales in grocery stores. I supported this goal, but was also sympathetic to the concerns of liquor stores about unfair competition, because of the ridiculous rules that they faced as to what they could sell. Under current law, a liquor

store can sell a bottle of wine but not a gift basket, soda or any food products. Liquor store owners can’t own more than one store, nor can they form buying pools like food stores to increase negotiating power with their distributors. These rules serve to limit opportunities for liquor store owners, making their concern about protecting their exclusive rights to sell wine, one of the few products they were allowed to sell, very understandable.

The discussions I had during the budget process led me to the conclusion that there were solutions that could address problems for all the players, and that those solutions had to involve confronting the blue laws head on. The state had already started this process a few years ago when we passed legislation allowing liquor stores to be open on Sunday, but that was only a small step in addressing the irrationality of our current laws.

The legislation Assembly Member Morelle and I have now introduced takes on the various anti-competitive aspects of our liquor law. Among its key provisions:

• Allows liquor stores to sell items complementary to their business, gift baskets, mixers and sodas, and food products;

• Allows liquor stores to sell directly to restaurants and other retailers;

• Expands legal operating hours for liquor stores;

• Allows liquor stores to form cooperatives for joint purchasing, which will create opportunities to take advantage of volume discounts;

• Allows liquor store owners to operate more than one store;

• Creates a medallion system enabling liquor store owners to auction off their existing licenses to the highest bidder;

• Allows grocery stores and drugstores to sell wine for off-premises consumption.

If New York is going to have a vibrant economy, it has to fi nd ways to support local businesses. Grocery stores and liquor stores are the quintessential local businesses, providing jobs and contributing to the economic stability of the community. New York wineries are a growing part of the agriculture industry in our state. The Legislature has the opportunity to remove barriers to the success of all these businesses and level the playing fi eld by repealing outdated blue laws.

Liz Krueger, a Democrat representing

parts of Manhattan, is the co-sponsor

of The Wine Industry and Liquor Store

Revitalization Act.

ISSUE FORUM WINE AND LIQUOR LAWS

Moving New York Out Of The 17th Century: A Proposal to Reform Wine and Liquor Laws

Wine Laws Must Harvest Businesses And Economic Interests, Promoting Local Products

The NY Wine Industry Association applauds the bold initiative and vision of the

Wine Industry & Liquor Store Revitalization Act

The people who OPPOSE theWine Industry & Liquor Store Revitalization Act are in favor of ...

... higher taxes for everyone to make up the budget deficit ...preventing the growth of the wine industry in the 3rd largest wine producing state in the US (we used to be 2nd!) ... causing local vineyards to close and put hard working people out of jobs ... supporting a monopoly onwine availability in NY which only benefits a small group of special interests

It is time for a change! SUPPORT the Wine Industry & Liquor Store Revitalization Act

This Act will ... ... help reduce the budget deficit with licencing fees and sales and excise tax revenues and PREVENThigher taxes for everyone ... support ALL small businesses- growers, wineries, manufacturers, distributors, and liquor stores as well as restaurants, B&Bs, hotels, and other tourism businesses ... REVITALIZE the growth of our wine industry ... CREATE 1,000s of new jobs across the state

Don’t destroy our family vineyards and farms!SUPPORT the Wine Industry & Liquor Store Revitalization


ISSUE FORUM WINE AND LIQUOR LAWS

BY ASSEMBLY MEMBERS MICAH KELLNER, JOSEPH MORELLE AND KEITH WRIGHT

New York’s budget crisis is deepening: In July, the Division of the Budget revealed that the

state is facing a $2.1 billion defi cit in 2009–10, which will grow to $4.6 billion the following year.

As we work to close the gap, it is clear that cuts will be unavoidable. But we need to limit the pain as much as possible, while doing everything we can to avoid raising taxes. The Legislature can do just this by passing a landmark economic development bill that is the ultimate win-win-win: creating thousands of jobs, providing lucrative new markets to small businesses, boosting key agricultural industries, improving consumer choice, and generating over $160 million in revenue—all without creating new taxes. This unique opportunity is the comprehensive Liquor Store and Wine Revitalization Act, which already has secured 24 Assembly Members and 12 State Senators as co-sponsors.

This is a simple and common-sense measure. While 35 other states allow the sale of wine in grocery stores and have

updated their laws so that wine and liquor stores aren’t subject to antiquated and draconian restrictions, New York’s statutes haven’t changed since the days of Prohibition.

Right now, wine and liquor stores are barred from operating in more than one location, can only sell alcohol, and must keep limited business hours—restrictions that not only defy modern logic and sensibilities, but actively prevent small businesses from adopting the kind of standard business practices that could help them survive the current recession and thrive.

We propose to allow wine and liquor stores to open new locations, develop cooperative buying agreements to leverage their purchasing power, offer other products to meet customer demand and grow their businesses, sell to neighborhood retailers and restaurants to drive community economic activity, and keep the same operating hours as food stores.

Not only would industry and small businesses benefi t, but a more competitive market would mean lower prices for consumers—not to mention the convenience of better shopping hours and

the ability to buy various food products at a wine shop or a bottle of merlot at the supermarket. It is embarrassing that New York, home to an internationally renowned wine industry, ranks near the bottom of all states in the number of wine outlets per capita. Why shouldn’t New Yorkers enjoy the same variety and price competitiveness as consumers in other states?

Expanding New York’s wine market will not only benefi t consumers, but will help our state’s wineries and provide an important boost for New York’s grape growing industry, which ranks third in the country behind California and Washington. With the 2009 grape harvest shaping up to be one of the most economically challenging seasons in recent memory, our farmers need to expand their markets now more than ever. From Long Island and the Hudson Valley to the Lake Erie/Chautauqua growing regions, New York’s grape growers and wineries, and the many thousands of New York residents they employ, stand to benefi t greatly from this common sense change.

We have given careful consideration to business owners who were concerned that increased competition in wine sales

Uncorking Opportunity for New York

BY SAL GENTILE

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has issued its proposed fi ve-year capital plan,

a $25 billion roadmap to the future of the beleaguered agency that was produced after months of painstaking discussions and consultations with outside groups.

Now, out come the hatchets.“I suspect there are going to be serious

changes,” said Assembly Member Richard Brodsky, of Westchester. “The capital plan has to be seen with a greater level of uncertainty than with previous kinds of things.”

That level of uncertainty, according to MTA board members, legislators and transportation advocates, is due to the fact that the agency is without a permanent leader and a coherent plan for how to fi nance the future of mass transit in New York. The MTA’s incoming chairman and CEO, Jay Walder, awaits confi rmation by the Legislature, which may not happen until late this fall—if then.

The capital plan, meanwhile, has an outstanding $10 billion fi nancing gap, which the Legislature will also have to fi ll in order to fund long-term projects such as the Second Avenue Subway.

Even the $6 billion in bonds the MTA plans to issue are potentially in jeopardy:

Those bonds are backed, in part, by a payroll tax established by the Legislature in May, which has since grown politically unpopular. Marginal Democrats, such as State Sen. Brian Foley of Suffolk, have grown anxious over the political implications of the tax and have asked Democratic leaders to revisit it.

And a bill passed by the Legislature in June to overhaul the state’s sprawling system of public authorities would also have far-reaching implications for how the MTA makes key fi nancial decisions, and how much power the governor and Mayor Michael Bloomberg wield over the agency’s future.

“The MTA is in fl ux,” Brodsky said. “That fl ux includes not only the obvious change in leadership, not just the change in fi nancing that we put together, but the change in the way authorities function that is likely to occur.”

Already, the consequences of that fl ux are becoming apparent, with the Legislature trying to fi gure out how to fi ll the $10 billion hole while simultaneously trimming $2.1 billion from the state budget.

MTA board members and transportation advocates are angry that the agency’s leaders did not present their proposed capital plan to a public meeting of the board, as they historically have. This year, the MTA simply posted its blueprint

to the authority’s website and sent copies to board members, who did not have the chance to offer adjustments.

“They would have liked to have more input in the drafting of the current draft,” said Mitchell Pally, an MTA board member from Suffolk, of his colleagues. “That was disappointing.”

Pally, suggested that MTA leaders quietly released the plan without public discussion in order to avoid hamstringing Walder as he comes onto the job as chair.

“Whatever decisions are made on the capital plan in the next six months, he is going to have to live with in the next six years,” Pally said

Those decisions are likely to have major implications not just for the agency’s fi ve-year capital plan, but also for the longer-term fi scal health of the MTA.

There are two ways the governor and legislators could choose to solve that problem when they return in the fall: trim the MTA budget and force the agency to fi nd effi ciencies in its operating expenses, which many experts claim the agency’s leaders have not done, or create more dedicated taxes to back more debt fi nancing.

Many observers expect Walder, who helped set the London transit system on sound fi scal footing, to favor either a combination of the two or even an emphasis on making the MTA more

effi cient and transparent.If so, he is likely to encounter one

considerable obstacle: Richard Ravitch.Ravitch, Paterson’s disputed pick

for lieutenant governor, is seen by transportation advocates as favoring an approach that raises revenue for the MTA rather than one that corrals the agency’s runaway fi nances.

“He publicly has taken a line that the problem is just one of resources,” said Cameron Gordon, a senior lecturer in fi nance at the University of Canberra in Australia and a visiting professor at the College of Staten Island, who studies mass transit systems worldwide. “But the other problem is that the way that we run transit needs reform, and that’s the side that he does not pick up on.”

Still, transportation advocates say they are heartened by the fact that, at least in a few months, the MTA will have a chairman who actually has a relationship with the governor and his top aides, which many say the previous leader, Elliot Sander, did not.

“There is no question that the fact that the leadership of the MTA was appointed by Governor Spitzer, and they were not Governor Paterson’s people, was an uncomfortable situation, and did not lead to the ability of both sides to work together collectively,” Pally said. C

[email protected]

With Walder Still Waiting On Sidelines, MTA Plans Road AheadCapital plan remains in fl ux as incoming chair’s confi rmation remains stalled in tracks

could hurt their bottom lines. It’s natural to worry about the unknown, which is why we have worked hard to ensure that our bill doesn’t just bring wine to grocery stores, but also repeals the 1930s-era laws that have hurt wine and liquor stores for far too long. Experience around the country has shown that wine and liquor stores have not only survived in markets where wine is sold in food stores, but have fl ourished and provided economic boosts to their communities both locally and statewide. We are pleased that recent feedback from wineries and retailers about the Liquor Store and Wine Revitalization Act has been positive.

At a time when we need to expand and evolve our economy, we cannot afford outdated policies that restrict the free market’s ability to drive economic growth. Instead, we should seize this opportunity to simultaneously increase revenue and protect critical services. Let’s send the laws of Prohibition to the waste bin of history, where they belong.

Assembly Member Micah Kellner

represents Manhattan’s Upper East

Side; Assembly Member Joseph Morelle

represents Rochester and parts of

Monroe County; and Assembly Member

Keith Wright’s district includes West

and Central Harlem.

NY STATE B.C.T.C. 890 Third Street • Albany, NY 12206 • (518) 435-9108Learn more at our website: WWW.NYBCTC.ORG

Money is so tight that Governor Paterson wants to pile morehealth care taxes onto the backs of self-insured entities….

But at the same time…….

……Our government is willing to hand out public money forconstruction projects with no worker protections to ensurethat New York taxpayers are awarded the work.

The working men and women of New York State deserve better.

Pass A.3705 and clarify the definition of “public work.”Prevailing Wage jobs drive our economy!

CongratulationsGovernor Paterson

For your eff orts on behalf of the taxpayers of New York State!

The construction of “FAB 2” - a $4 billion project - will be completed undera landmark Project Labor Agreement thanks to the eff orts of

Governor Paterson, The Capital Region Building & Construction Trades Council, and

The Executive Board of the NYS Building and Construction Trades Council.

New York State Building &Construction Trades Council“Building an Economic Ladder to“Building an Economic Ladder tothe Middle Class through thethe Middle Class through theUnion Building Trades…”Union Building Trades…”EDWARD J. MALLOY

PresidentLAWRENCE DAVISSecretary/Treasurer


Finishing up his remarks as he announced the school supplies funds that the state began distributing from a mixture of

stimulus dollars and a grant from George Soros in August, David Paterson explained why he took the issue so personally.

“When children come to school that aren’t prepared, they feel separated from the rest of the class. How do I know? I’ve been there,” he said. “When I went to public school, I had large-print books delivered to the school for me to read. They weren’t always delivered by the beginning of the year. For a couple of weeks, I had to listen in the classroom while everyone else read. You have no idea what a humiliating feeling that is. But the books fi nally got there, and that’s why I’m standing here.”

What sounds at fi rst like the kind of thing of which afterschool specials are made really strikes at the essence of David Paterson: If he had just gone to a school for the blind like most people with his level of disability, he would have never had to wait for textbooks. He would have learned how to read braille, he would not have to spend hours locked away memorizing recordings and could be out doing most of the normal things politicians do to ingratiate themselves to voters. He has in many ways overcome his disability, but to a lot of people, in the process, he developed an overblown sense of what determination can do.

“He’s had more challenges in his life than some people, and Andrew Cuomo is not as much of a challenge as being blind

for 55 years,” explained one person close to the administration.

Politicians have rebounded from bad polls before. Michael Bloomberg was at 24 percent in 2003, in the middle of his fi rst term, but ultimately cruised to victory in his run for a second term. In the years since, he has convinced quite a few people that he should be allowed to overturn the rules to be able to run for a third, and remains a heavy favorite to win four more years this November.

Paterson, though, has neither the time nor the money that Bloomberg did—he has, in fact, been lagging in fund-raising with the collapse of both the economy and his popularity. He also has the realistic constraints brought on by his blindness: When Eliot Spitzer was having a bad stretch, as he did on more than one occasion long before the Emperor’s Club came along, his staff marched him from one event to the next, whipping up positive attention and good press. Paterson cannot.

There is something terrible in admitting this, even to the staunchest Paterson fans. But politics is full of people exploiting unfair advantages. A compelling presence face-to-face, he simply cannot put himself in front of enough voters to budge the polls—even his latest newsletter from the new “Governor Paterson On Your Block” program has only one public event on it, on one block. Another politician would have notes to remind him of whether he was in Nassau or Suffolk. Paterson has been known to make this parochially offensive mistake. Another politician would be

able to pretend to recognize people as he waved at them across the room. Paterson can only pull in a few people for his tight hug at each place he goes.

He already has a skimpy public schedule, with many days at a time going by without any announced event. A good number of the press releases he issues are to announce that he has ordered the fl ags lowered to half-staff. As the election year comes upon him, juggling this and a campaign schedule to do the barnstorming around the state will generate even more diffi culties. Unfair as it may be to have political disadvantages because of his disabilities, people around him have been anxious about this harsh reality for months.

There is not a governor in the country who has fared well amid the recession, and Paterson has hardly helped his own case. Adrift since Charles O’Byrne was forced to resign, buffeted by association with the cartoonish chaos in the Senate and pervasive sense of Albany dysfunction does not help, but digging the hole deeper, he has often been keeping his own counsel, sometimes just relying on people like his longtime body man David Johnson to be yes-men for whatever decision he has already made.

Convinced of his own cleverness, confi dent that having good intentions should be enough to win the day, refusing to acknowledge that the reality of his position in government and in the polls means he has to stop himself from doing things like 2 a.m. nightclub visits, and giving staff the impression that he

believes much of the antagonism against him is simply subtle racism, Paterson seems to believe that there still is a way to win next year, and that he is going to pull off the magic trick.

Marginal members of Congress have been nervous for months, and in the heat of the summer have begun to step forward and admit their concerns in public. The safer Democrats in the delegation are starting to get anxious too, starting to wonder what Paterson could mean for the Senate Democrats—clearly possessing enough problems of their own without an additional drag on the top of the ticket—whose continued hold on the majority is essential for gracious redistricting when the time comes to lose a seat or two for the 2012 elections. As for the Democratic state senators themselves, the few in competitive districts seem eager to see Paterson gone, and the rest are appalled by the thought of Paterson drag causing them to lose their majority again, or being stuck with a hold on power that remains

Road By Edward-Isaac Dovere

AheadTHE

THE CAPITOL AUGUST 2009 13www.nycapitolnews.com

hinged on Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada. They need more seats, and they need them quickly.

For months, the working assumption among the governor and his staff is that there will not be a primary. Either they will succeed in pushing his poll numbers up to the point where he can keep Andrew Cuomo at bay or they will fail to, and Paterson will drop out of the race. In some ways, the plan is simple: Sure, the Democratic leadership wants to know what he is doing by November, but Paterson thinks he can game things out a little longer than that. Slowly, he will build his polls back up to at least the low 30s, with Cuomo forced to wait, lest he sacrifi ce his immense goodwill or risk reminding people of the last time he took on an establishment black candidate in a gubernatorial primary. Come January, he will pick a lieutenant governor running mate—and if that person is, as most suspect, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi—will effectively cut into what

would be Cuomo’s various bases. With maybe a 10 percent bump, Paterson would move through the early months of 2010 with what will at least look like momentum, enjoying renewed strength in New York City and Long Island that could propel him through a Democratic primary and general election. He will have all but openly dared Cuomo to try messing with him, and left Rudy Giuliani and Rick Lazio for so long not expecting him to be in the race that they will not be quite ready to face him. If necessary, he would fi ght things out at the convention, taking advantage of his strengths and others’ weaknesses to leave New Yorkers with the choice of whether they want to get rid of their blind, black, personable, funny, incumbent governor, or whether they do not. And then, they seem to think, he shoots the moon, he pulls it off, and somehow ends up taking the oath of offi ce again in January 2011.

Hey, an increasingly smaller group of people insist, it could happen.

Except that very few people seem to want it to happen.

There was ecstasy in the Assembly chamber the day

that Paterson was sworn in. The Spitzer specter had been banished, the legislators saw a beloved one of their own thrust into the big job, and the public got to have some comedy and impressions to wash out the taste of a very odd prostitution scandal. But for those who had worked with Paterson, there was fear. They knew how erratic he could be (some just preferred the word “crazy”), they knew how reluctant he always was to tell people no, and they knew how bad he was both at hiring staff and comfortably delegating to them. (Remember the cute story he told in announcing Kirsten Gillibrand’s appointment about having met her when she was pregnant the day of the 2003 blackout, when he was trying to recruit her to run for State Senate in 2004, when he was minority leader? He did that without telling just about anyone at the time, including people involved in DSCC recruitment. The speech in January was the fi rst they had heard of it. More Paterson “freelancing,” they sighed.)

Paterson should be getting credit for warning of the fi nancial collapse from those fi rst moments as governor, the weekend after the Bear Stearns collapse. He was, after all, the fi rst prominent government offi cial to publicly discuss the problem in a major way. He should get the credit, as he subtly reminded people at this year’s New York City Financial Control Board meeting, for getting on television last July to warn that a terrible storm was coming. But he does not. People laughed at what seemed like rash overstatements then, and now do not even remember how right he was on the economy, or how ahead of the

pack he was on rallying to get stimulus funding for infrastructure sent directly to the states.

But still, knowing Paterson, they worried. They doubted.

And they have, for the most part, been sad to see their worst fears proved right.

Paterson’s record of the past 18 months has been so bad that even his friends are reluctantly starting to admit they do not want him to be the nominee. They are upset about his impact on the state and the Democratic Party, but more importantly, hate seeing a man they care about continue in a job that he is so ill-suited to do. If only, they say, he had just fi gured out some way to appoint himself to that Senate seat. That was the job that he really wanted, and which would have fi t his skills and temperament. He is a legislator, he is an advocate, they say, but he is not an executive. He does not have the abilities or the personality to do the job.

But there is no clear exit strategy. According to the conventional wisdom of the moment, Barack Obama just needs to pluck Paterson for some plum position—an ambassador to somewhere good, or maybe a cabinet job. Those slots, though, are basically fi lled, and even if they were not, if there were some great job for Patrick Gaspard to dangle, to have this as an excuse not to run, Paterson would need to get the appointment soon and leave in the middle of his term, which he will not do. The courts may eventually certify Dick Ravitch, but Paterson would be hard-pressed to leave the state in the hands of his appointed-under-a-cloud lieutenant governor. And if some uncertainty about Ravitch does persist, Paterson’s departure would make Malcolm Smith the governor—or maybe by that point John Sampson—or maybe Espada—or Dean Skelos—or someone else, depending on whatever happened in the locked or unlocked Senate chamber the day before.

And so he—and we—are stuck.

No one has been more ready to leap to Paterson’s defense than Rep. Charlie Rangel, who went so far as to respond to a question on NY1 about the governor’s

late July nightclub appearance with two women on his arm by asking, “How do we know he wasn’t trying to help these people across the street?”

A few days later, at the Soros-school supplies event, Rangel tried another cutting joke.

“I’m so surprised to see so many members of the press here to cover this story for you governor,” he said, “because I’m convinced that if you were to walk on water, tomorrow morning, the press would report that the governor can’t swim.”

Of course, Rangel is probably right. There has been blood in the water for months, at least since the days when outside consultant Judy Smith traipsed through Paterson’s offi ces in her long mink coat, pushing him onto Larry King and every other microphone to ruminate and speculate about whom he could possibly pick to replace Hillary Clinton. Smith thought this would raise his profi le, make him a national fi gure. It did, but by way of making him a national punchline. In a potential kiss of death for a politician, his persona with David Letterman, Jon Stewart and the Saturday Night Live writing staff was established: John Kerry was effete, John McCain was old. David Paterson was a doddering fool who was lost, in every way.

That image fed stories that fi t the narrative. Those stories, along with the unpopular moves he was making or getting blamed for led to more declining polls, which led to more bad stories. And then worse polls. And then worse stories.

The Senate appointment was the most public display of his problems as governor, but there have been others that have disturbed the people watching more closely, from his ranting about the judicial nomination process which has yet to produce any results to his backing away from a tough budget proposal into a secretive, shopping spree-style budget. The public and the politicians want to see

him lead, which is something he has convinced many he is completely unable to do.

“I think to a very large extent, David Paterson has been a victim of circumstances that are not his fault,” said one Democratic offi cial, while adding, “I do think that he’s done some things that have aided the impression that he’s not decisive.”

Paterson is hardly helping stem the tide. The morning of the Soros school event, he fi nally made the long-awaited, extremely popular mayoral control bill into law, but instead of taking advantage of a pre-set photo-op complete with

happy gap-toothed children, he signed it in private, without announcement, along with 79 other bills.

“I didn’t think it needed any kind of

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“With David, every other day another shoe is dropping,”

lamented one occasional Paterson

insider. “He’s running out of feet.”


public forum,” the governor explained later. “I didn’t think it needed any further amplifi cation from me.”

The missteps keep coming, from the breaking of his own hiring freeze to giving a job to a friend, to the call, recall, then call again of the special election for what was Anthony Semmenerio’s Assembly seat.

(“It was a mistake,” he admitted, somewhat grimly. “And you get a few of those from time to time, and we’re not running away from that.”

But asked after the schools event whether he would reprimand anyone on staff for issuing the proclamation without his permission, he did what he always does when pressed, using a joke to defl ect the questions.

“We shot someone the other day,” he said, leaning back in to add, “it was a registered fi rearm, by the way.”)

“With David, every other day another shoe is dropping,” lamented one occasional Paterson insider. “He’s running out of feet.”

People have gotten used to getting mixed messages from the governor. He routinely walks out of staff meetings where one decision has been made to announce that he is going in the opposite direction. He stormed into the Red Room the night the Senate coup broke in June to declare the events an outrage and demand the legislators go back to work. Then, when reminded by Post columnist Fred Dicker that he did not have the power to order around a separate branch of government, responded quickly, “That’s absolutely right, Fred—I have no place to actually dictate the process.” Two weeks later, he announced that he had asked Chief

Judge Jonathan Lippman to preside over a special session if mediation between the sides failed, though Lippman privately fumed at the idea that he could ever have stepped across the branches of government and had even put together a list of constitutional problems this would entail.

More and more is falling through the cracks. More and more is coming out garbled, as prominent staffers and people with heavy portfolios have departed and others have declined offers to replace them, leaving the administration’s

already overworked staff stretched ever thinner. When Disability Assistance Commissioner David Hansell decided to depart for a job in Washington in the spring, for example, he waited three weeks in vain for Paterson or Secretary to the Governor Larry Schwartz to respond to his resignation letter. With the clock ticking and the move to D.C. imminent, Hansell sent a last message to the Second Floor: He was locking the door on Friday, and he had no idea who would be there on Monday. The position remains vacant, though the governor’s offi ce says a search for a replacement is underway.

But to his old friends and allies, the worst and most depressing part of what is starting to be known as The Paterson Breakdown is watching the once reliably progressive leader unafraid to stake out bold positions crumple into himself in his effort to appeal to a statewide electorate. He continues to claim an interest in passing new legislation on property taxes, ethics reform, power for jobs, expanded unemployment insurance and gay marriage, but he has backed away from sure statements or deadlines on most. Overcome by confusion, legislators—aside from those who know how to get a message onto his special voicemail tape (and even they have their doubts about really getting through)—do not know how to get in touch with the governor directly or who on his staff to call with a priority. For all the consultants he has on the campaign payroll, few people know whose advice he takes to heart. For those who do hazard a guess, their opinions rarely coincide.

Take what happened in mid-August, when Paterson called a press conference in Manhattan to announce new legislation aimed at people who drive drunk with children in the car.

“I don’t think it is prudent to capitalize on a major tragedy that is high-profi le just for receiving attention,” he said, launching into a recap of the intoxicated mother who killed her daughter and nieces along with passengers in another car on the Taconic. Showcasing his impressive memory by recounting a list of statistics, the governor listed the bill’s provisions and said he had received a favorable reception from the legislative leaders, though he expected there to be

some negotiation. According to Paterson Press

Secretary Marissa Shorenstein, the bill was submitted just before the press conference began to the central staff of both houses of the Legislature. But among the people who still had not seen any text several days later was Republican State Sen. Chuck Fuschillo, who had introduced his own very similar bill the day before and said that he received no outreach from Paterson’s offi ce before or after the governor introduced his version.

By then, another controversy was erupting, as Assembly Member

Richard Brodsky and State Sen. Bill Perkins, chairs of their respective authorities committees, fumed that Paterson appeared to be backing away from his commitment to signing their bill reforming the operations and structures of authorities in the state. He had carried the legislation when he was in the State Senate, they reminded him, and as he himself noted when asked about his take on the bill at a hot press conference in East Harlem to announce a new housing project.

“In the current legislation, I would say that 90 percent of it is excellent,” Paterson

said, explaining that he was concerned with elements of the bill which would split fi duciary responsibility between the executive and legislative branches.

“We’re talking to them about perhaps having me sign the bill and then bringing forth chapter amendments that would restore single accountability to the process or having me veto the bill and then we re-pass it in September with some changes in the law,” he said, though when asked to clarify if that meant he would not sign the bill in its current form, responded, “I didn’t say that.”

The next day, Brodsky and Perkins sent a letter to the governor complaining that a letter from governor’s counsel Peter Kiernan made a fundamental attack on the provisions of the bill.

“After months of indications that the governor was where he always had been, we get a serious effort to gut the bill from the governor’s counsel,” Brodsky said, detailing the frustration.

Even more galling, Brodsky said, was that Kiernan’s objections were strikingly similar to the resistance which Bloomberg has expressed to the legislation. On top of that, Kiernan’s failure to call him in advance of issuing the letter, Brodsky said, was “unprofessional.”

Paterson has been having trouble getting help—even though he has reconciled somewhat with his old political sensei, Bill

Lynch, the relationship remains rocky. Famed fi xer Harold Ickes, who had been sitting in on strategy meetings months ago and been expected to take a larger role in the re-election effort, never came on board.

Which begs the question of who, if and when the time comes, will really be able to put an arm around the governor’s shoulder and tell him the game is over. The conversations so far, like those that seeped out of the July meeting of labor leaders in Kingston, have done nothing to convince him, by his account.

“I think that in a political party, the best way to have these conversations is privately, before they become public—that’s what the loyalty of the party deserves. And therefore, since none of these individuals called me, I’m not really sure how accurately they were reported,” he said. “I heard about this big meeting of leaders that was supposed to be doing the same thing a couple weeks ago, and then everyone at the meeting says they weren’t doing anything like that at all.”

The euthanasia will begin, most assume, with Rangel or some other prominent leader suddenly having very nice things to say about Cuomo, in a warning shot to Paterson. The suggestions will get louder and more pointed as time goes on without him listening, which he will not do.

Eventually, someone will get the message through to one of the two men: his father, Basil, or Carl McCall. They will carry the message: enough. Game over.

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For months, the working assumption among the governor

and his staff is that there will not be a primary. Either they

will succeed in pushing his poll numbers up to the point where he can keep Andrew Cuomo at bay or they will fail to, and Paterson will

drop out of the race.

David Paterson has so few defenders that Rep. Charlie Rangel told him,” “I’m convinced that if you were to walk on water, tomorrow morning, the press would report that the governor can’t swim.”


BY JOE WALKER

Being an accidental governor does not have to be a disaster. Just ask Richard Codey.

In his role as New Jersey State Senate president, Codey has been next in line to the governor since 2002. Whenever the governor leaves the state, even if only for a few hours, Codey steps in, as he has done more than 100 times.

In the unpredictable world of New Jersey politics, the understudy role always keeps him just a scandal or surprise away from the main stage, whether the governor is out of town or laid up for a month after being crumpled in a car accident.

But Codey’s longest stint in the top job was the 14 months between Jim McGreevey’s sudden resignation in July 2004 and new Gov. Jon Corzine being sworn in at the beginning of 2006.

That makes for at least one clear parallel Codey sees between himself and Gov. David Paterson.

“We both became governor without campaigning and raising money because two people had sex,” Codey said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Yet while Codey has maintained an approval rating above 50 percent for the entirety of his tenure, Paterson has been consistently struggling in the polls.

Codey had some built-in advantages. Under New Jersey law, Codey was allowed to remain as president of the State Senate even while serving as governor.

“Codey was the second most powerful guy in Trenton when he became the fi rst most powerful guy in Trenton,” explained Alan Marcus, a New Jersey political consultant.

As the state’s longest-serving legislator, Codey could call on his colleagues for help and guidance when the opportunity arose to step into the executive offi ce.

“It felt like the adults were in charge again when Codey took over,” said New Jersey Assembly Member John McKeon.

That made for a much less steep learning curve, Codey said, than what was faced by Paterson, whose experience was mostly in the Senate minority.

“Paterson’s experience in the Senate didn’t prepare him at all to be governor,” Codey said.

But there were similarities: Like Paterson, Codey displayed a knack for squeezing laughs out of the public. The Christian

Science Monitor called him the “Rodney Dangerfi eld of politics.”

He formed a collegial relationship with local media and he received relatively positive coverage during his term.

And like Paterson, Codey has had something of an up-and-down relationship with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. When Codey began his 14-month tenure, the two distrusted one another after Codey, while still a senator, offered to build a stadium for the Mets in New Jersey.

“I thought he was an asshole, to be perfectly honest,” Codey said of his initial impression of the mayor.

During the transition months between the McGreevey and Codey administrations, George Zoffi nger, president of New Jersey’s sports authority, denied Bloomberg’s helicopter access to a landing pad at Giants Stadium. Bloomberg had requested access so that he and his daughter could attend a Jets game. Zoffi nger suggested Bloomberg check the bus schedule, which instigated a war of words in the tabloids.

But then when Codey assumed the governorship, he went out of his way to smooth things over.

“I don’t know Bloomberg, so I call up his press secretary and I say, ‘You tell the mayor that I’ve arranged for [Zoffi nger] to let him land the helicopter there whenever he wants and I apologize for that idiot,’” Codey recalled.

“So, next thing I know, 15 minutes later, Bloomberg calls me and says, ‘I appreciate

what you did and, you know, the guy who runs the sports authority for you is a jerk-off.’

I said, ‘You don’t need to tell me that, I know that.’”

Codey has endorsed the mayor in his re-election campaign.

“He blew me away with his intellect and his ability to cut right through the red tape, identify a solution and go after it,” he said.

The candid politician who today still introduces himself in interviews as “Governor Codey,” has sympathy for Paterson, whom he considers a friend.

“I was the minority leader for four years. That was a piece of cake, that was easy as hell, you just criticize the governor when you thought he deserved it and, you know, that was it, because you didn’t have any real power,” he said.

“I once said on the radio that [Paterson] has an advantage over other politicians in that when he’s out in public, somebody gives him the fi nger, he can’t see it.” Codey said, adding that he cleared the joke with Paterson fi rst.

After a change in the state constitution, New Jersey will this year for the fi rst time in its history elect a lieutenant governor, almost certainly bringing his reign as the occasional governor to an end.

But should the governor and lieutenant governor both be forced from offi ce, Codey will be waiting to take the helm. Stranger things have happened in New Jersey.

[email protected]

Sympathy Across The Hudson From One Accidental Governor To Another

At fi rst Paterson will resist his father, determined to outdo the man who may have given him his genes and last name, but could not get elected lieutenant governor himself. Their relationship is strange, with David alternating between uneasy competitiveness and staunch fi lial deference to Basil. He will not readily submit to his father trying to get him out of a position of power, nor will he want to hear the bell rung by the man who failed to become the state’s fi rst African-

American governor, but was able to send Cuomo packing in their primary.

However it happens, Democrats hope the governor eventually sees the writing on the wall.

“He’s saying he’s running because he hopes images change and polls change and he can’t throw in the towel now,” said one high-ranking Democrat. “David Paterson is a smart guy and he’s been around New York politics a long time. If he feels that he cannot win, I think he will withdraw.”

He could make a dignifi ed exit, complete with masterful Sherman-esque speech. He could return to being himself, and with the Democratic majorities in the Assembly and Senate, have a full year of passing a wish list of progressive Democratic laws. For Paterson, the experience could be liberating. For the state, it could be transformative. For people who like the governor personally and are aligned with where he once was politically, it would be a dream come true.

This would mean relenting on his plans and dashing his own resolve, two more things that have never been Paterson strengths. But without the burden of trying to win another term on his back, he could do more in one year as a selfl ess lame duck than in a year or four more as a reviled leader under fi re. There would be more experiences like the Gay Pride Parade on Fifth Avenue in June, fi lled with signs declaring “We Luv Our Guv” and the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” blaring from the speakers.

Or he can forge ahead with the plan to run next year.

So far, that is generating at least public sympathy, even from those who have a personal stake in seeing him edged out of the nomination.

“His popularity is low, but he is our governor, and therefore we must respect him and we must help him,” said former Gov. Mario Cuomo, who came to a press conference in Manhattan to endorse Bill de Blasio for New York City public advocate but ended up being hounded by questions about his son’s prospects in light of Paterson’s troubles. “Why? Because he’s servicing us, because he’s trying to help us and we should contribute to that. What would you think of a person who said, ‘Oh no, I’d rather see him fail, even if it hurts the state, because I have a friend who I want to see replace him.’ What would you say to a person like that?”

As for his son, the former governor tried to downplay polls which show the attorney general 50 points ahead of Paterson, though he did respond to a question of whether he wants to see Andrew run for governor by saying, “If he runs for governor, I want to see it,” and answered a question about whether he would be all right with a primary between them by admitting, “I don’t know. I’d have to know a lot more.”

“Matilda and I have people coming up wherever you go—if you’re in Italy, if you’re in Greece, wherever you are—when people recognize you as a Cuomo, they come up and talk about how much they like Andrew,” he said. “It’s not people saying he should be the governor. It’s people saying, ‘We like what he’s doing.’”

Paterson’s polls seem to show the exact opposite. But maybe there is enough time, if he can hold on and keep everyone from jumping ship.

“If he hits 50 by Feb. 1, he’s in the game. If he doesn’t, he can stay in the game, but it’s going to be a very big problem for him,” said Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf. “If he hits 50 in November 2010, it’s too late.”

As to how any uptick might happen, given all the potential pitfalls in the sessions and budgets and everything else ahead, Sheinkopf shrugged.

“Too many imponderables,” he said. “It’s not a good time to be David Paterson.”

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“We both became governor without campaigning and raising money because two people had sex,” Richard Codey said of his similarities with David Paterson.” “It’s as simple as that.”


AG

GIE

KE

NN

Y

BY SAL GENTILE

Assembly Member José Peralta may still be a member of the Legislature’s lower chamber,

but in the eyes of his colleagues, he is well on his way to a promotion.

In the cloakrooms of Albany, at least, he has earned a new nickname: “Senator Peralta.”

That has become a running joke among Peralta’s allies in the Assembly, according to one person who has heard the phrase whispered in the corridors of the Capitol. Many there consider his ascension to the Senate a fait accompli.

Peralta is already preparing a run next year for the seat of State Sen. Hiram Monserrate, according to Democrats in Queens and Albany with knowledge of the matter. Monserrate has been charged with slashing his girlfriend’s face with a broken glass, with his case scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 15. If convicted, Monserrate will automatically be removed from offi ce.

Peralta, meanwhile, lies in wait. He is keeping his head down and his name out of the headlines, according to those close to him, but quietly putting the pieces together for a Senate campaign, should a jury fi nd Monserrate guilty—or maybe

even if not. He has discussed the idea with colleagues, and approached members of at least two organizations that would be infl uential in choosing a candidate to take Monserrate’s seat: the Working Families Party and SEIU 32 BJ.

“He and I have discussed that,” said Assembly Member Peter Rivera, a close friend and ally of Peralta’s. “He’d be the number-one candidate to replace Senator Monserrate, should Senator Monserrate become disabled because of any issues that happen in the very near future.”

If the seat did become open, Rivera, added, “I’d be an advocate for him to seriously consider moving to the Senate.”

Peralta has been encouraged by Democratic allies who remain angry at Monserrate for his role in instigating the Senate stalemate earlier this year, which threw the chamber into chaos and tarnished lawmakers across the state. Peralta has taken that anger as a sign that he can quietly begin assembling the support necessary to succeed Monserrate, even while Monserrate remains in offi ce.

“There’s no question that he wants to do it,” said a Democratic staffer who works in Albany, and who has spoken with Peralta and has urged him to run for Monserrate’s seat.

The knottier question, Democrats said, was whether Peralta would challenge Monserrate should the senator survive his criminal trial and run for re-election next year. Many angry Democrats are searching for a credible challenger to Monserrate regardless of whether he is removed from offi ce, but the organizations that infl uence and—more importantly—fund Democratic campaigns, such as labor unions, are less interested in seeing a battle royale.

“It’s not a question of, ‘Would he make a run if Hiram dropped out?’ If Hiram dropped out for one reason or another, he’s the guy,” said the staffer who has spoken with Peralta. “The only issue is whether or not Monserrate will still be there come next September.”

For the moment, the political players are taking a wait-and-see approach, as are most Queens Democrats. Even Monserrate’s former chief of staff and successor in the City Council, Julissa Ferreras, feels she must “stay on the fence,” according to one person close to her, in order to maintain her relationship with Peralta should he decide to run. Ferreras publicly expressed her disappointment with Monserrate for his temporary move to the Senate GOP conference, which instigated the Senate coup.

As Monserrate Trial Nears, Peralta Prepares To Press His Own CasePopular Assembly member makes moves toward succession race, possible primary

Both Monserrate and Peralta declined comment.

Queens Democrats say Monserrate remains popular in his core constituencies—among poor Latino voters, for example—but that there is considerable resentment in the parts of his district that he did not represent as a Council member, which do not know him as well.

“He’s king in Corona. He can do no wrong,” said one Queens Democratic staffer. “However, in Elmhurst … they’re holding his feet to the fl ames.”

That anger could be a springboard for Peralta, whose base is similar to Monserrate’s, but who remains widely respected within the political establishment.

“José is a consensus builder and knows how to work with people,” Rivera said. “Everybody looks at him as the leader of the Latino community, at least in Queens.”

Still, Rivera cautioned against predicting what might happen to Monserrate, who has routinely surprised Democratic leaders in the past.

“For anybody to assume that Monserrate is history,” Rivera said, “[that] would be making a bad assumption.”

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BY CHRIS BRAGG

Pedro Espada, Jr.’s fi rst item of the agenda after switching to the Republican conference and

being voted in as Senate president was to retrieve the keys to the chamber from Angelo Aponte.

Next, Espada said, would be to fi re Aponte, the secretary of the Senate.

Other demands softened over the comings weeks, but on that point, Espada remained fi rm: He would not end the stalemate until his nemesis stepped aside.

“As Aponte’s leadership was developed, he was the key person in terms of setting policies, negotiating budgets. But he’s ill-tempered and ill-mannered with respect to his treatment or maltreatment of senators,” Espada said in an interview with The Capitol at the time. “We’ve asked and insisted on his resignation, and that’s why we can’t gain closure if Mr. Aponte is still in the mix.”

Nearly three months later, Espada is back with the Democrats, and is the majority leader, and Aponte remains the secretary of the Senate.

Espada did not return a call for comment, but if there is any consolation for failing to boot Aponte, perhaps it is that much of the secretary’s previous authority as a top policy adviser overseeing staffi ng

decisions and serving as one of the body’s chief budget negotiators is gone. Like Senate President Malcolm Smith, he now has a title that means much less than it did before the coup.

“Malcolm [Smith] threw Angelo under the bus,” one Democratic senator said. “He doesn’t have much responsibility anymore.”

This became especially evident, the prominent Democratic senator said, in the recent hiring of Pedro G. Espada. The younger Espada came aboard the Senate staff under the unilateral direction of John Flateau, an ally of new Senate conference

leader John Sampson, and without the consultation from Aponte.

Another indication of Aponte’s reduced role came in early August, when Sampson sent a letter to Aponte notifying him that he was relieved of his duties as the Senate’s interim fi nance secretary, and that Ahmed Diomande, the deputy secretary of the Senate Finance Committee, would take

that spot. The process was indicative, according to Senate Democrats, of both Smith’s reduced infl uence in the conference, and how much of Aponte’s authority had sprung from his closeness to Smith.

Aponte is somewhat distinctive in calling attention to what has traditionally been a low-profi le role: For most of the chamber’s history the job was purely administrative. The position evolved somewhat under longtime Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, when his longtime chief of staff, Steve Boggess, assumed the position, becoming

what his former colleagues describe as fi rst among equals in Bruno’s close-knit group of top senior advisers.

According to one senior staffer for Bruno, though, Boggess never handled substantive policy issues. Aponte, meanwhile, assumed the role of both a top policy adviser and

interim fi nance secretary. In large part, this latter title was assumed out of necessity, due to a frenetic transition last winter to the Democratic majority when the leadership situation remained unsettled until days before session began.

Aponte, as the former state housing commissioner, was seen as a suitable placeholder until a more permanent fi nance

Some see a reduced role for Angelo Aponte under the new Democratic order, some see signs of a return to control for him—and with him, Malcolm Smith.

“There has to be a bad guy for elected officials who never want to say no to anyone and want to make everyone happy,” said State Sen. Liz Krueger.

Speculation That Wings-Clipped Aponte May See His Power Soar AgainCoup target works out new role, with responsibilities being put back in his portfolio

secretary could be appointed, according to people involved in that decision. But several attempts to hire a fi nance adviser went awry, which helped lead to Aponte playing a major role in budget negotiations—a role that riled lawmakers on both sides of the aisle not accustomed to a staffer assuming such prominence.

In his role as secretary, Aponte also caught heat for enforcing more strictly rules of Senate decorum and for putting out a memo reminding lawmakers of a ban on lobbyists on the Senate fl oor. Senators from both parties chafed as Aponte became the go-to bearer of bad news about offi ce space and staffi ng redistributions under the new majority.

Part of the problem, the Bruno staffers suggested, may have been that Republicans had years to refi ne and adjust to the process of distributing resources, while Democrats were unschooled in having extra resources at their disposal.

In other words, when Aponte made the decision to deny Espada $1.9 million in member items because of questions about their legitimacy—helping seal the deal on Espada’s temporary souring on the Democratic leadership—a number of Republican lawmakers were ready to jump on the anti-Aponte bandwagon with him. In the days after the Senate coup, Senate Republicans blasted Aponte for everything from his decision to shut off the lights and video feed to his subsequent refusal to turn over the keys to the Senate chamber.

But Aponte supporters said that the professed dissatisfaction with him was driven less by any substantive issues with his job performance, and more by the desire of Espada and Senate Republicans to fi nd a scapegoat. Much of the Senate staff that came in under Aponte’s watch remains loyal to him. And there are indications that the tide may have shifted back to Aponte in recent weeks.

Pedro G. Espada’s controversial hiring and resignation led Sampson to implement a new policy under which Aponte, Flateau and Senate Counsel Shelley Mayer will collectively vet all new hires to central staff. This may signal a small shift back in power to Smith, since both Mayer and Aponte are close to the Senate president.

State Sen. Liz Kruger said that the new panel was acknowledgment that the conference had gone too far in acquiescing to the hiring demands of Espada, who has added hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries for new hires to the Senate payroll since returning to the Democratic conference.

Krueger said she believed the new panel would allow Aponte to again play a needed role.

“There has to be a bad guy for elected offi cials who never want to say no to anyone and want to make everyone happy,” Krueger said.

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which many GOP strategists felt was unwinnable.

Republicans expect him to change tack and focus on Foley.

“You’ve got this Long Island mafi a of Republican guys who can’t stand to have a Democratic colleague,” said a Republican close to Skelos. “The Long Island guys, in their quest to make Long Island pure, look at Foley and say, he is more damaged goods in a better district for us.”

Some observers had felt the Republicans would be better trying to fi nd a moderate woman to cut into Foley’s base, but Skelos began intensively courting Zeldin as early as January, when the two met in Albany to discuss the race. According to people close to him, Zeldin was initially set on mounting a rematch against Bishop. But the Democrats’ woes in Albany helped Skelos convince him that Foley was beatable.

The high level of interest among Republican leaders in Zeldin’s candidacy is likely to galvanize support among the institutional players that largely sat out his congressional campaign last year. That would be a big change from last year, when Rep. Peter King, an outspoken conservative stalwart, would not even return Zeldin’s calls or help him raise money.

“No one took him seriously,” said one Republican of Zeldin’s congressional race. “Some of the local party leaders didn’t like him.”

Now that Skelos is involved, Zeldin expects that to change.

“I have absolutely no doubt that others that weren’t participating in the congressional campaign are going to take a more active role now,” he said.

Anticipating a knock-down, drag-out fi ght, Zeldin has hired two veterans of one of the most hotly contested Senate battles in recent memory: Michael Johnson, a Senate Republican strategist who helped former Sen. Serphin Maltese raise close to $500,000 in his failed re-election bid last year, and Lisa Black, a former top press aide to Joe Bruno and Skelos who oversaw downstate operations for the Senate Republicans.

Zeldin has already started swinging against Foley, more than 15 months out from Election Day.

“Everyone is outraged at the fact that their STAR rebate checks have been taken away, at the fact that the payroll has been imposed against businesses, hospitals, schools and non-profi ts,” Zeldin said. “Incumbents deserve to be held accountable for their entire term, and not just the last six weeks.”

Foley declined to comment. Ibrahim Kahn, a spokesperson for Foley, said the senator was focused on governing rather than running for re-election.

Privately, though, Democrats say they plan on painting Zeldin as too conservative for the district, which they argue is trending Democratic by the day. According to numbers released recently, the district now has more registered Democrats than Republicans.

“If they’re going to recycle a guy who’s already been rejected by the voters, that’s fi ne by me,” said Rich Schaeffer, the Suffolk Democratic chair, dismissing Zeldin as a perennial candidate.

They may be aided in that effort by the Suffolk County Conservative Party, which has allied itself closely with Zeldin. The Conservatives have staked their ability to infl uence Suffolk politics on Zeldin’s viability as a candidate. If the Republicans win back the Senate, they will have done so by backing a candidate who was created, in part, by the Conservatives.

“It’s important for the future of the Conservative Party,” said Bill Fries, the party’s vice chair and the chair of Zeldin’s congressional campaign.

Zeldin said his association with the Conservatives would only help him play into what he sees as widespread anger among Suffolk’s largely white, middle-class electorate toward Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C. and New York.

“The policies that are being advanced from Washington to Albany are steering our country closer toward socialism,” he said. “If the best insult that someone on the other side can come up with is that I’m a conservative, my answer to them is that I’m proud of who I am.”

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BY SAL GENTILE

He rails against higher taxes, touts his military service in Iraq and totes his often-crying two

young children to town hall meetings in his hometown of Shirley.

For Republicans, Lee Zeldin is straight out of “central casting for candidates,” said Michael Dawidziak, a Long Island political consultant.

And more importantly, Zeldin is now the man GOP leaders are pinning their hopes on to win back the State Senate.

Zeldin, a 29-year-old attorney who mounted a failed bid for Congress last year against Rep. Tim Bishop, is aggressively pushing ahead with a challenge to freshman State Sen. Brian Foley, whom many Republicans see as the most vulnerable Democrat in the Senate.

“He has a big target on his back,” said Assembly Member Phil Boyle, whose district partially overlaps with Foley’s.

Democratic leaders in the Senate have pressured Foley to cast votes that have been widely unpopular in his traditionally conservative district, and which Republicans feel have made him

vulnerable to a strong challenge.He voted with the Democratic majority

in March to end a popular property-tax rebate program in order to help fi ll the state’s $14 billion budget gap. He then voted in May to pass an MTA bailout plan that relied in part on a new payroll tax on New York City and its surrounding counties, including Suffolk.

“They feel that they’ve got some good ammo against him,” said one Senate Republican strategist, who was not authorized to publicly discuss political strategy.

Republicans are planning to put pressure on Foley in the fall, when Gov. David Paterson is expected to call a special session to tackle the latest multibillion shortfall.

“Foley’s going to have to make some more unpopular votes,” Boyle said.

Republican leaders are also eager to reassert their dominance on Long Island, once a GOP stronghold. Skelos, for example, received heavy criticism in some Republican circles for sinking hundreds of thousands of dollars into the race last year to try to unseat State Sen. Craig Johnson in Nassau,

With Conservative Push, GOP Taps Zeldin As Senate Comeback KeyConvinced that Foley is weakest incumbent, Skelos aims to return Long Island to red

Leaders of the state Republican Party hope Lee Zeldin, 29, will help them win back the State Senate next year.


MARC

ANDERSON

BY SAL GENTILE AND CHRIS BRAGG

Business groups in New York were seething.

They had been outgunned by their liberal opponents in the battle over the state’s $14 billion budget defi cit. The new Democratic majority, with the help of the Working Families Party, had succeeded in fi lling the gap largely with increased taxes, mostly on the state’s highest earners.

So on April 2, a day after the budget was passed, Gov. David Paterson’s chief aide, Larry Schwartz, told a gathering of business leaders at a breakfast hosted by the Association for a Better New York that if they wanted to exert more infl uence over New York politics, they had to transform themselves into an organizational force akin to the Working Families Party (WFP), which had helped put the Democrats in the majority.

Little did Schwartz know the process had already begun.

The day before, Frank MacKay, the chair of the state Independence Party, had met in Manhattan with representatives of a wide range of business and civic organizations, from the Business Council of New York to the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

The agenda was simple: how to beat the WFP.

“They are a lobby group that needs to have a counterbalance,” said REBNY president Steven Spinola later.

MacKay’s pitch seems to have appealed. In the months since the April meeting, the Independence Party has collected tens of thousands of dollars in donations from some of the city’s most powerful developers, such as Tishman Speyer and the Durst Organization, as well as famed real estate moguls Leonard Litwin and Mary Ann Tighe, among others. The party also received $15,000 in June and July from the political action committee of the Rent Stabilization Association, a landlord group.

“We may be reaching out to a new party to see if it makes sense to work with them, and so far, we’re impressed,” Spinola said.

REBNY and the other business groups are in the early stages of marshaling their considerable resources to advance a pro-business and anti-WFP agenda across the state, with an effort in this year’s races already quietly underway. They have convinced the Independence Party to join them in the fi ght, and, crucially, to lend their ballot line when necessary in a number of key races. This includes helping conservative Democrats who are

being targeted by the WFP.“I think that there are places where we

can set up with certain people, several of them incumbents, who are being, for lack of a better term, accosted by the Working Families Party,” said Tom Connolly, the vice chair of the Independence Party, which last year seized control of who gets the line from the city party. “And I think there are opportunities for us to move on those.”

Connolly added that the party was being supported in that effort by business groups across the state.

“There are all kinds of business groups, there are all kinds of civic organizations that are looking to help,” he said. “Some of them are real estate people, some of them are business people.”

The party appears to be developing an organizational structure that serves two masters: Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano for upstate races and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for races in the city. MacKay has all but admitted that Golisano lieutenant Steve Pigeon dictates who receives the line in Erie County, and other Independence Party sources believe that his power extends across the whole of western New York.

With REBNY And Other Key Allies,Independence Party Regroups To Fight WFPRepublicans and targeted Democrats given line to advance pro-business agenda

In a number of instances this year the state party executive committee, led by MacKay, has ruffl ed feathers by asserting that they, and not the county parties, have the right to pick which candidates will run on their ballot line.

Michael Zumbluskas, a member of the executive committee, said these actions were necessary because local chairs will sometimes pick candidates based purely on personal relationships instead of viability or ideology.

“Most of the time, the county’s smart,” Zumbluskas said, “but sometimes, that’s not what’s going on. We have to look at the interest of the whole state and national interest.”

Maleta Snell, chair of the Onondaga County Independence Party, claimed that MacKay was overturning county decisions primarily when the local party was picking Democrats.

“They’re picking Republicans 99.5 percent of the time,” Snell said.

In response to these impositions, Snell and several other county chairs have fi led litigation against the state seeking to take back control of the Independence ballot line, including in Erie County, Pigeon’s home turf. The state party, however, has emerged victorious in almost all of these legal disputes thus far.

Going toward the 2010 elections, there is a sense that Golisano, who mostly backed Democratic candidates for Senate in 2008, may now be more inclined to back Republican candidates given his role in the June 8 coup and his upset over the millionaire’s tax.

He recently created a new political action committee called the “Upstate Leadership Committee” that will be funded by local businesses to support pro-business, upstate candidates and may play a role in this year’s elections.

The Independence Party, meanwhile, backed mostly Republican Senate candidates in 2008, and Bloomberg donated $1.2 million to the party toward these efforts.

MacKay, however, disputed the notion that the party was backing one party or another this year or in the key 2010 elections.

“We’re looking individual by individual and not grouping them into one party,” MacKay said. “We’re looking at their message of fi scal responsibility and how they can bring reform.”

MacKay, who is also national chairman of the Independence Party, said he was traveling all around the state—and country—speaking with small business owners and trying to sway them not only to convince them to donate money but also to become active members of the party. The grand ambition is to run a viable candidate for president in 2012.

“We’re poised to be the third major party,” MacKay said. “There’s an underlying energy that is coming from the small business community.”

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The Independence Party appears to be developing an organizational structure that serves two masters: Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano for upstate races and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for races in the city.


depressed ward, which includes neighborhoods like Arbor Hill, where vacant homes are as frequent as convenience stores or public housing projects.

“It’s been a transition for a lot of people in my ward, because they were used to going to their Council member and saying, ‘Hey, I need a job,’” he said. “So with a new Council member challenging that system, and not being able to pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, Joe or Mary needs a job, can you fi nd them a place to work?’ … It’s been diffi cult.”

As Ellis has discovered, Jennings’ campaign runs as strongly on personal promises as it does on mountains of campaign cash and labor endorsements.

Ellis encounters them everywhere—even among voters who want him to win.

One, Louis Wood, lives in a walk-up on Washington Avenue, right across from the park at the heart of the city, where a sizeable portion of the city’s young professionals and college-educated middle class live. Ellis is targeting them as prime potential supporters.

On a warm Thursday night in Albany, Ellis knocked on Wood’s door.

Most people were out enjoying the 80-degree weather, and even those who

BY SAL GENTILE

Corey Ellis fi rst heard the phrase in the fi res of last year’s presidential primary: “You could

run for mayor someday.”At fi rst blush, the idea seemed liked

nonsense. Jerry Jennings has been mayor

for 16 years. He has amassed a campaign war chest unmatched by any in Albany’s history. He has trounced even the most credible challengers, such as Assembly Member Jack McEneny, who ran against him in 1997 and won just 39 percent of the vote.

“He hired everything that moved and paid everything that didn’t,” McEneny said of his race against Jennings.

But the buzz among local Obama organizers continued to build. They were hungry for the next ‘inevitable’ race, a way to demonstrate that the Obama formula could be repeated on a local level.

The speculation reached a peak at the Democratic National Convention in August. Patrick Gaspard, the Obama campaign’s political director and a former colleague of Ellis’ from their days as organizers at the healthcare workers’ union 1199/SEIU, found Ellis at the Pepsi Center in Denver and grilled him: “I heard you were thinking about running for mayor.”

And so the idea started to gain momentum.

Ellis, a black, 38-year-old fi rst-term Albany Common Council member and former union organizer, began discussing the possibility of a run against Jennings with local activists and veterans of the organizing world. In addition to working for 1199 in New York City, he had been the political director for David Soares’ upset victory in the 2004 Albany district attorney’s race after moving back home to the city where he spent his childhood.

That campaign was the Working Families Party’s (WFP) fi rst serious entrée into capital district politics. The next year, the labor-backed party turned around and catapulted Ellis into the Council. He was one of three candidates backed by the WFP in 2005, but the only one to win on the WFP line in the general election, defeating the Democratic nominee.

“His approach to the campaign really comes out of that,” said Karen Scharff, the director of the Working Families Party’s capital district chapter.

Now, Ellis fi nds himself the last insurgent standing in a fi eld that once included as many as half a dozen challengers to Jennings, including the

president of the Common Council, Shawn Morris. All sensed an opportunity, but have since begged off challenging the Jennings machine and its massive fund-raising advantage.

Ellis himself is being outspent 20–1. Aside from some help from the public relations fi rm Berlin Rosen, he is handling

the politics himself, scrawling out electoral strategy on piles of print-outs in a dusty campaign offi ce on Central Avenue, just beyond the Capitol building, squeezed in between two vacant buildings.

Even his campaign manager, Justin Mikulka, is a political novice, an engineer and small-business owner who was drawn to Ellis’ message.

“We couldn’t afford to hire somebody in February,” Mikulka said, explaining the decision to install him in the job full-time. “By process of elimination, someone needed to do the work, so I just stepped into the role.”

By all accounts, Ellis is likely forfeiting what might otherwise have been a bright future in politics. He is seen as one of a new generation of “post-racial” black candidates, who can appeal to Albany’s historically disenfranchised minority precincts while also reaching into the wealthy upper wards. He is giving up his Council seat to run, but even if he were not, people expect Jennings to seek retribution if and when a political opportunity arises.

“There are consequences,” McEneny said of running against the Jennings Machine.

The year after McEneny lost his primary against Jennings, 40 elected offi cials in the area backed a primary challenger for his Assembly seat. Popular in his district, with several terms in the Assembly under his belt, McEneny kept his opponent at bay.

Jennings, in an interview, dismissed the notion of a machine ruling imperiously over Albany politics.

“I don’t want to hear about a machine,” he said, brushing off the idea. “We don’t have a machine here.”

Jennings added that while criticizing his base of support may be easy, Ellis’ own motivations in running for mayor

after less than a full term in the Council had received little scrutiny.

“You might want to ask him who is advising him and pushing him to run,” he said, calling Ellis a political novice. “Corey doesn’t remember when the projects, as they were called, in north Albany—which are now beautiful condos and homes up

there—existed, I don’t think.”

There is underlying resentment, the out-migration of the city’s middle class, the erosion of Albany’s tax base and the deterioration of the city’s housing stock (there are more than 600 vacant buildings). Despite all this, allegiances

to Jennings and his administrationrun strong.

Ellis represents the city’s most

First-term Albany councilman and former Obama organizer Corey Ellis is challenging four-term incumbent Jerry Jennings in the Albany may-oral primary.

“There are consequences,” said Assembly Member Jack McEneny, who ran against Jennings and the Machine in 1997 and lost by close to 20 percentage points.

Hoping For An Obama-Style Win, Ellis Chases Jennings In Albany Mayor’s RaceOutspent 20–1 and against odds, up-and-comer puts promising career on the line


were home, seemed otherwise disposed. (As Ellis banging on the window of one such apartment, put it: “They’re that drunk? They can’t be that drunk. It’s six o’clock.”)

But Wood answered, beginning by complaining that he tried unsuccessfully to volunteer for Ellis’ campaign, rattling off the names of groups that have endorsed him.

“I talked to Working Families, I talked to Citizen Action, I talked to you directly,” he said. “Nobody ever got back to me.”

Ellis tried to put out the fi re, offering Wood the chance to enlist.

But it was too late. “I’ve already told Jerry I’m supporting

him for one more term,” Wood said, urging Ellis to move on to undecided households. “You need to work on that.”

Ellis descended the walkway. His companion canvasser, also a former Obama organizer, marked Wood as a “no,” so other canvassers do not mistakenly call the house or drop off literature. Resources are precious in this homestretch before the primary.

The canvasser sighed. “There’s a lot of people in bed with

Jerry,” she said, crossing off names with a pencil, “so to speak.”

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Federal Courts Could Now Veto State Courts On Taxes And MoreCloverleaf Realty v. Town of WawayandaDecided by: Second Circuit Federal Appeals Court, July 15

Seventy years ago, the United States Supreme Court set forth the now-famous “Erie Doctrine.” Under Erie, federal courts in New York (or any state) must apply the law of the state in which they are located when deciding many legal issues. Erie ensures judicial consistency: Regardless of whether a person uses a state or federal court, the same substantive law applies.

One consistent Erie principle has been that statutes of limitations—the amount of time a claimant has to fi le a lawsuit—is a matter of substantive law. Thus, federal courts in New York have applied the periods set by the State Legislature. Until last month, that is; in mid-July, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit carved out a new exception now allowing some lawsuits that would be time-barred in New York State courts to go forward in a federal forum.

The new rule emerges from a simple tax dispute in Orange County. Needing to improve its water system, the town of Wawayanda approved a special assessment tax on property. Cloverleaf Realty, which owned two parcels in the town, was assessed $38,000 in new taxes. Under protest, Cloverleaf paid the assessment and fi led suit in New York Supreme Court to declare the tax invalid

for violating several state and federal laws. But the state court dismissed the claim, noting it was untimely, since the four-month statute-of-limitations period had expired. Cloverleaf then sued the town in federal court, making similar federal law claims. The federal trial judge in Manhattan dismissed the suit, concluding the litigation was precluded by the earlier state-court judgment.

In July, the federal appeals court overturned the district court. Traversing a dangerous path that could lead to duplicitous state and federal court litigation, the appeals court gave Cloverleaf another chance to litigate. Although the court noted that Cloverleaf’s state and federal claims were “essentially identical,” the court said the Supreme Court has long recognized the expiration of a statute of limitations does not extinguish an underlying right—a litigant is free to vindicate that right if another jurisdiction permits it. Relying on New York Court of Appeals precedent, the court then wrote, “We conclude that New York law does not depart from the traditional rule.”

The ruling could have considerable importance for those who want to

challenge municipal decisions. Such challenges made under New York State law, in the form of Article 78 proceedings, can usually be brought under federal law as well. A broad interpretation of the Cloverleaf case would allow for the re-litigation of these cases and mean a federal court in New York could effectively veto settled state-court rulings.

Your Rights Can Be Classifi edDoe v. Central Intelligence AgencyDecided by: Second Circuit Federal Appeals Court, August 5

In September 2005, Jane Doe fi led a lawsuit she could probably never win—she sued the Central Intelligence Agency. Forbidden from revealing even her real name to the court, Jane Doe’s case is a remarkable example of the sobering reality faced by American operatives and their families who forfeit many of the fundamental rights they work to protect.

Jane Doe is the wife of a former covert-status CIA employee. At some point in recent history, Jane, her husband and their children were assigned to work overseas. While abroad, the CIA discharged Jane’s husband for classifi ed reasons. Jane’s family immediately departed for another country, listed in court documents as “Country A.” However, because of their former covert status, Jane and her family have been unable to leave Country A.

Alleging the CIA has failed to provide her any assistance prevented her from

returning to the United States, and rendered Jane a “prisoner in her own home,” who lives “constantly fearful of eventual detection,” Jane sued for severe emotional distress. Jane argued that the CIA violated her constitutional rights guaranteeing access to the court by preventing her from meeting with her attorney or preparing certain court documents because, the government contended, such actions threatened national security.

To dismiss the suit, former CIA Director Porter Goss fi led a statement with the court saying Jane’s litigation would “necessarily result in the disclosure of classifi ed information,” and could cause serious damage to national security, and the state-secrets privilege prevented both Jane and her attorney from viewing any information that might assist Jane’s case. The district court granted Goss’ request to dismiss.

Last month, the Second Circuit Appeals Court affi rmed the district court’s decision—none of Jane’s fundamental rights were violated. The court wrote that she has “no right to use material that is alleged by the government to contain state secrets.” Thus, Jane had no First Amendment rights to use classifi ed information, even where lack of access would mean the certain dismissal of her lawsuit.

Although the court said the government could not simply assert “state secrets” in every case it wished to not litigate, the judges offered no method to determine what cases fell into this category.

—James McDonald

Jerry Jennings’ political operation is the stuff of legend in the state capital.

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TC: You’ve been here about a month. What have you done so far?RR: I’ve been meeting with budget offi cials, commissioners, businessmen, labor leaders. Learning about the economic conditions of the state. I spent a little time in Washington talking to the New York State liaison’s offi ce. I’ve tried to get a grasp of what’s going on with the health-care bill in Washington, particularly how it affects the state. That’s what I’ve been doing.

TC: What’s your take on the budget right now?RR: I’ll be very honest with you right now. I have a viewpoint, but my responsibility is to advise the governor of that before I advise the public. It’s really a little premature for me to talk about it. The facts are the facts. The governor made it very clear, there’s a $2.1 billion budget defi cit for this year, $4.6 billion defi cit next year. When the stimulus money stops coming, we all fall off a very, very steep cliff.

TC: Will you also be looking at the current conditions at the MTA?RR: It’s not occupying my time at all now. There’s not anything I can do about that right now. The governor appointed a very talented individual, I hope the Senate not delay confi rmation hearings so that Jay [Walder] can take over. I think he’ll make a great chairman. It was a wise appointment by the governor. When I was chairman, I didn’t like people telling me what to do, so we give Jay the same benefi t of the doubt.

TC: Will you be involved in easing his

transition into the job?RR: I will help him in any way I can. He’s a talented guy.

TC: After the ceiling collapsed at a subway station in upper Manhattan, a lot of people are worried about safety at the MTA…RR: You should have been here in 1979! Those things happened fi ve times a day. They spent a lot of money to restore it to a state of good repair, but it’s not there yet. That’s why I was so disappointed the Legislature failed to provide full funding for the entire fi ve-year capital plan.

TC: You mentioned a while ago that you weren’t interested in returning to the public sector, yet here you are.RR: I have a masochistic streak.

TC: Has your return to politics changed your opinion of the public sector?RR: As I said to you, I care a lot about New York. This was an unusual set of circumstances. I didn’t have a good reason to say no when the governor asked me. I’m very fond of him and I respect him enormously. There was no reason not to help. The only thing I gave up was a lot of leisure time.

TC: And golf?RR: I could be playing golf, you’re absolutely right.

TC: Do you talk to the governor about his low poll numbers?RR: I don’t believe in sharing with anyone my personal conversations with the governor. I think he’s got a lot of guts.

A lot of people turned polls around in a shorter period of time than he’s got. The election’s not until next year. A lot is going to happen in the next six months. A lot of serious problems in the state. When the public sees how he addresses those problems, I think you very well might see a change in the public’s attitude. The public’s pretty fed up with government and the average citizen doesn’t see the distinction between this offi ce and that offi ce. Somebody showed me a poll that said 70 percent of New York State thinks the Legislature and the whole government are ineffective. There’s a lot of cynicism, and frankly some of it’s understandable. The governor doesn’t deserve any of it. He’s trying hard. We still have an unstable situation in the Senate.

TC: The courts have decided that you should not preside over the Senate as a tie-breaking vote. Was that right of them?RR: First of all, there is some legal ambiguity on things I could conceivably vote in the event that there was a tie in the Senate. Whereas the governor wanted that in picking a lieutenant governor to address the problems that would occur when two people were asserting they were president pro tem in the Senate, and that was intolerable, could have produced a constitutional crisis and could happen again. People seem to switch parties with the frequency that autumn leaves fall off trees. That’s without characterizing motives. It’s important to have some stability. I don’t think casting tie-breaking votes, if indeed the lieutenant governor would have the power to do that on substantive legislation, is particularly relevant. No. I think the important thing is that there be a succession, in the highly unlikely event that the governor is not able to serve. But the important thing is, the main reason he picked me, he asked me, well I said, ‘There are a thousand people who cast the deciding vote in the Senate, that’s not the reason you picked me.’ And he said, ‘Look, you have experience in the fi scal crisis of New York. You’re well-connected with labor and business. You seem to understand the economy. The state needs your help.’

I think that the most important thing that I’ll be able to do has nothing to do with casting votes or presiding over the Senate.

TC: Do you anticipate advising the governor on choosing a running mate for 2010?RR: I’m sure if he asked me, I could manage to come up with a few ideas. I hadn’t really given it that much thought.

TC: How often do you and the governor talk during a day?RR: We talk whenever we have to, whether it’s several times a day—we had dinner one night last week. I’ll probably see him again this weekend. We talk when we have to talk. He has a busy schedule.

TC: There have been some people who say that those close to the governor are not willing to tell him the truth about certain things. Do you see any of that? RR: David Paterson is a smart man. There’s nothing I could possibly tell him about his political status that he doesn’t know better than I know. And therefore I offer no commentary on that subject. I think he’s determined to address the problems the state faces. I know that sounds like hype, but it’s really true. Just because it’s simplistic doesn’t mean it ain’t true. He’s going to face up to this very honestly.

TC: Has he gotten an unfair deal?RR: David Paterson’s had every bad break that any human being could have. The economy’s gone to hell. The expenditures are up, the revenues are down. One problem after another. It’s very hard to get good people to come in and serve in his administration in the last year or two, particularly when the press is writing every day, and some of it in very bad taste, I might add, about his political demise. I think he is surrounded by some very able people and he wishes there were a lot more. It’s a struggle.

TC: A staffer for another politician just told me that you’re “the Shaft of New York,” because you can fi x any problem. What do you think about that?RR: What’s Shaft?

The FixerWhile judges up in Albany may have sealed his fate, Richard Ravitch sat

at his desk in Midtown Manhattan, trying to fi gure out how to save the state.

Ravitch says he is focused on his task at hand. He talked to The Capitol about the budget, the governor’s sliding poll numbers and a certain 1970s movie icon to which some people have compared him.

What follows is an edited transcript.

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Visit RecyclingDoneRight.org and tell Governor Paterson to support a bottle bill that protects you, your family and the environment. Let’s do it right.

For more information on bottle laws that promote healthy choices and a healthy environment visit

www.RecyclingDoneRight.org

We should do everything we can to encourage environmental stewardship and healthy choices for our kids.

But Albany passed a bottle bill that makes recycling more expensive and less convenient for consumers, and promotes sugar filled drinks. It doesn’t have to be this way. We need a bottle bill that covers all drink containers, is cost-effective and convenient for consumers, and supports community recycling programs.

Tell Governor Paterson and the State Legislature you demand a better bottle bill.

Let’s not sugar-coat our recycling programs.

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The August 20,2009 Issue of The Capitol

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