A New Chair For Hiram Monserrate

Hiram Monserrate, a first term New York State Senator from Northwestern Queens, may be finding himself a bit nostalgic next time he sits in his Senate seat... when he finds it in his personal office, rather than the large chamber in Albany he has grown accustomed to.

The New York State Senate voted Tuesday night to expel one of its own in a rare and controversial move. Hiram Monserrate of the 13th Senate District in Northwestern Queens was expelled from the Senate by his colleagues Tuesday night in 53-8 vote. 8 votes you ask? Doesn't that ring a bell with Mr. Monserrate's name? It should, because he was one of the 8 Democratic Senators who voted against same-sex marriage.

In fact, that is far from one of Mr. Monserrate's only missteps during his time in the Senate. Mr. Monserrate's real 5 minutes of fame came over the summer when he joined Pedro Espada Jr. in the coup that would leave the State Senate in a month-long impassé. Perhaps this would be the reason why there weren't too many friendly faces in the chamber Tuesday to support Mr. Monserrate.

Or perhaps the lack of empathy in the chamber stemmed from a desire to rid an establishment (that has been rocked by a few too many scandals as is) of one more embarrassment, criminal and most importantly wife beater. Mr. Monserrate was convicted in December of Assault in the 3rd degree, a misdemeanor. This is where it get sticky.

There is a clear lack of sympathy for Mr. Monserrate's actions, but the problem with his expulsion is a constitutional one. There is no clause in the New York State constitution permitting the Senate to vote upon expulsion, though state law necessitates the immediate removal if a Senator is convicted of a felony. Since Mr. Monserrate was not convicted of a felony, he has vowed to appeal his expulsion in the state's court of last resort, the New York State Appellate Court.

I think this begs the question... Should the Senate have expelled Mr. Monserrate? Lets look at the facts. No matter how you slice it, Monserrate has probably done something to piss you off. Though the only real grounds for his expulsion is his assault conviction, we have to remember the larger issue that he not only dragged his girlfriend through the lobby of his apartment building, but did this post-slashing her face open with a broken bottle and pre-driving her miles away to a hospital where no one would recognize him when many hospitals were closer. Aside from Monserrate's great track record with women he has abused his position of power to improve his standing in the senate through a coup that resulted in his receiving a committee chairmanship... and a $12,500 stipend. And if that's not enough to make you feel a little stronger for his expulsion, I'm sure a brief glimpse at his voting record will top you off.

So what have we learned from Mr. Monserrate? We've learned what crimes you can and cannot get away with in the New York State Senate. We've learned how much money it takes to buy back a dissident Democrat. ($12,500) And most of all, we've learned just how low a State Senator can sink.

Frankly, Mr. Monserrate, no matter what part of the State Constitution has been violated, you deserve every bit of your expulsion... and then some. What you have done is quite possibly one of the biggest embarrassments ever suffered by the New York State Senate... and that's saying something. You should have resigned while you had the chance and done the first decent deed of your tenure in the senate.

And it may interest everyone to know that Mr. Monserrate's former esteemed colleague, Senator Espada... who held out long enough in the coup to gain a leadership position in the Democratic party... has introduced legislation allowing for the immediate removal of a Senator convicted of a Class A misdemeanor. This way we can make sure there is no legal battle next time a scumbag and a joke need removed from our legislature. Enjoy that big leather chair in your new office, it's a steal for $25... but you should know all about a steal.

The Governor has declared there will be a special election for Mr. Monserrate's seat on March 16th. Lets see a Republican take the seat and return the Senate back to responsible hands and end the madness in Albany!

Campaigns, Elections and A Good Old-Fashioned Rant

Hey everyone. So I realize this is my first post in awhile. It's been a crazy couple of months. But now, with elections over and the year drawing to a close, I'll be keeping up to date with the Fabulous States.

I've spent the last few months working on a New York City Council Campaign and I am proud to say that my candidate, Dan Halloran, is now one of 5 Republican City Councilmen! Here are some pictures from the campaign...

Here are some of our St. John's College Republicans with our man Dan Halloran!

Here we are again with NYS Senator Frank Padavan

In a surprise endorsement, Former Governor George Pataki came out to support us!

I even got to meet, now 3rd term, Mayor Mike Bloomberg!

Of course, just because we were campaigning doesn't mean we didn't have some fun. Here we are partying it up with the Log Cabin Republicans at a Mayoral event!

All in all, it was a great campaign season. We saw the historical election of Mike Bloomberg to his 3rd term as Mayor of New York City. We saw two Republican governors elected: Chris Christie in New Jersey and Bob McDonnell in Virginia. My candidate Dan Halloran of the 19th CD, the Republican-Conservative-Libertarian-Independence candidate, won over the Democratic candidate in one of the most closely watched City Council elections. All in all, we did pretty good this year and we plan to do even better in the midterm elections next year.

I would like to briefly comment on one of the strangest elections this year. The 23rd Congressional District. For those of you who may not know, the 23rd district is located near the Canadian Border in the most Northern part of New York. In this race, which was being run due to an appointment of the former congressman to the position of Secretary of the Army, we had a moderate Republican State Assemblywoman, Dede Scozzafava, who had been nominated by the County Executives of the district, running against a conservative Democrat. Now, it's important to note that this district has not gone Democrat in over 100 years, and the plan was not to go Dem this time. However, that's before our country's idiot got wind of this and stepped in for yet another moment of shame in the spotlight. Sarah Palin and cohorts were outraged that a moderate Republican who had been nominated across the board by those representing the district locally, and who believes in the equal rights of LGBTQ citizens and the rights of women to have an abortion, would more than likely be the districts next Congresswoman. So what did they do? They nominated and campaigned for a Conservative candidate who, get this, doesn't even live in the district named, Doug Hoffman. Hoffman backed by Palin, Glen Beck and Tim Pawlenty, just to name a few (Do they even know where Watertown, NY is?) ran such a heated campaign in which he trashed Scozzafava, that he actually managed to push Scozzafava into dropping out of the race 3 days before the election. WHAT?! Let me sum that up for you. This dude from out of district and his conservative [insert offensive, yet appropriate title] cohorts, pushed the candidate who should have won, and was most deserving of the office out of the race, just before the election. So what did the White House do? The White House turned around and got Scozzafava to endorse the Democrat, Bill Owens, which she gladly did. (I wonder why?) And then sent Vice President, Joe Biden, to the district to campaign for the weekend. The 23rd Congressional District now has a new DEMOCRATIC Congressman.

So what have we learned from this race? I'll tell you what I would hope everyone has learned. These Ultra-Right Wing Conservatives have no place in the Republican party. And let this be a message to you Ms. Palin, while you know nothing of politics from your partial term as Governor of Alaska, you have no right to nominate a candidate in an election you know nothing about and push the most deserving candidate out of the race. You and your misguided and ignorant beliefs of right and wrong, good and evil do not stand for the entire country and they do not stand for the Republican Party. The reign of Ultra-Conservatives like you, Beck and Pawlenty is over and your days are numbered. While I do not think that there is anything inherently wrong with Conservatives, I have a real problem with people like you, Ms. Palin, who think that you have the only right ideals and that those who differ from you are wrong. The Republican party is headed in a new and more inclusive direction, in which we do not embrace those who would push out a candidate because their ideals differ from yours. You can point all the fingers you want for the loss of this district to a Democrat, but the only people at fault are you and your cohorts that stand against everything you don't believe in. Soon, you will find that you are the only ones standing there and then maybe you will realize that there is much more to the Republican Party than you and your delusional political stance.

Congratulations to all of the candidates in this years election! Lets make next year even better!

Everyone Hates Health Care III: Revenge of the Senate

Max Baucus, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has finally unveiled his much anticipated health care bill this week. And much like everything else associated with the health care debate, everyone hates it.

Senator Baucus' bill is the cheapest of all the bills circulating through Congress, totalling $856 billion over the next 10 years. But, the bill, which despite being negotiated with Republicans for months on a daily basis, at times, did not even win the endorsement of Olympia J. Snowe, the Republican Senator from Maine, with whom the Democrats have hoped to win support. Now the bill is drawing fire from both Democratic and Republican Senators alike, and a hailstorm of opposition from the House.

Among the many contested elements of the bill, is a 35 percent excise tax on high cost insurance policies. The threshold for these taxes would be on individual policies totalling over $8,000 a year and family policies totalling over $21,000. Republicans and Democrats alike have expressed concerns that the tax will only serve to hurt those in the middle class with more generous policies. While the tax is estimated to raise $215 billion over the next 10 years, many are still concerned that the tax will negatively affect many consumers. Senator John Kerry expressed his concern over the tax, stating that he felt the threshold was far too low. Not only is there this tax but there are tremendous fines for those who do not obtain healthcare coverage, penalizing individuals with a $950 fine and families with up to $3,800. So it would appear that, more than likely, you're gonna pay.

Another element of the bill that has drawn alot of fire, particularly from House Democrats, is the inclusion of citizenship verification for all those applying for government subsidies for healthcare. A similar element was introduced in the House by Republicans, and quickly defeated. The Bill also eases income requirements for those applying for Medicaid, the already troubled and overburdened healthcare system for the needy. Senator Baucus' bill would also make massive cuts to the Medicare system totalling $500 billion. However, Democrats have assured that the cuts would not restrict benefits.

Of course, no discussion of the health care debate would be complete without discussing the never ending issue of the public-run insurance plan. The Senate bill is one of the few, if not the only, bill to not include the now infamous public option. Instead, the bill would create non-profit insurance co-ops that would help to foster greater access to affordable health care. Liberals are outraged that the public option has not been included and have made quite clear that they would not expect such a bill to make it through the house. Meanwhile Republicans have made quite clear that they would not endorse bills with the public option.

The Senate bill is likely the last bill to be put on the table by both houses of Congress. And now, we debate. Democrats are desperately struggling to find the 60 vote threshold that would allow them to prevent any filibusters of the bill. However, while the Democrats are one senator short of having that number, it is far from certain that the Democratic Caucus would be unanimous in keeping a filibuster off the table. The senate democrats are extremely divided over what they feel is important in the bill and their own individual concerns as to what the bill does and does not address.

With all of the opposition from all sides, it is hard to even imagine what will happen when it comes time to stick a bill together from the House proposals and the Senate proposals. But I must say that when it's televised I will have my popcorn at the ready for watching all the drama unfold.

“Do I believe there is enough consensus around here to get a bill done in the end? Yes,” says Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. “But I also believe it is going to be a difficult couple of weeks.”

I guess we shall see....

Sources:


NY Times

NY Post

NY Times

2010: A Gubernatorial Odyssey

As we hope for Rudy Giuliani to run for Governor of New York in 2010, we must look at his record and ask ourselves if he is really the right man for the job. Well first we must ask, what is the job?

New York State is currently suffering at the hands of the current leadership in Albany. We have a dysfunctional legislature. The State Senate spent over a month this past summer in an impassé while both the Republicans and Democrats battled over who had control of the senate, with the only clear fact being that Governor David Patterson certainly did not. The current leadership has done more wasteful spending than one could dream of, giving raises and bonuses in a time of financial crisis. We have bailed out the MTA, leaving New York City and seven surrounding counties with huge financial burdens to support, while the MTA continues to spend money unchecked, with no forensic audit having been done. Governor Patterson was not only unable to broker the deal, he has given the Chairman of the MTA a contract that awards him a half million dollars upon resignation. Taxes have been increased. The wealthy have received a host of new taxes, prompting them to pick up and leave New York, along with many jobs. New smaller taxes have been implemented to nickel-and-dime taxpayers. And we have instituted, for the first time ever, a tax on tax-exempt institutions in the twelve counties comprising the “Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District.” Unemployment is at the worst it has been since the early ‘90’s. Private sector jobs have dropped nearly 4 percent in the past year, that’s over 200,000 jobs across the state. New York State has reached a level of 8.6 percent rate of unemployment, and New York City has a 9.6 percent rate of unemployment. And under the current leadership we have hit a projected deficit of 8.6 billion dollars. Now ask yourself, could Rudy do a better job?

In 1993 when Rudy Giuliani took office as the Mayor of New York City he inherited a 2.3 billion dollar deficit. By responsible fiscal action in cutting spending and reducing the municipal payroll, Rudy was able to turn that deficit into a multi-billion dollar surplus, all while he lowered taxes. In fact, during his tenure as Mayor, Rudy enacted over 2.5 billion dollars in tax reductions. As Mayor, Rudy created over 450,000 jobs in the private sector as a result of his fiscal policies. Rudy dealt endlessly with the MTA’s many problems, having helped broker deals with employees to prevent strikes and helping to manage their never-ending fiscal problems, all while doing his best to prevent fare increases and service cuts. New York City is now one of the cleanest, safest and most prosperous cities in America, thanks to Rudy.

Rudolph W. Giuliani has demonstrated the experience, the knowledge, and the ability to lead New York State. We need a Governor who will take control of our state. Who will reign in wasteful spending. Who won’t increase taxes. Who will create jobs. Who will create functionality in our government. And who will stand up for the rights of our citizens. We need Rudolph W. Giuliani for Governor in 2010.

The Fiscal Hostage Taking

The Fiscal Hostage Taking:

When the MTA’s Greed Meets Albany’s Unrestraint

As people from Long Island, Upstate New York and Connecticut travel into work in New York City each day, they’ve all noticed one thing: it costs more. Bridge and tunnel tolls went up midway through July. Subway and bus fares went up by about 12.5 percent, 25 cents, at the end of June. In November, those who travel by way of taxi in New York City will find themselves paying even more than the already excessively expensive cab rides, when a 50 cent surcharge is tacked on.

Why is this all happening? Well there’s a very simple reason. The MTA needs more money. Earlier this year the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), following the example of our banks, went to Albany pleading poverty and demanding money from the New York State legislature in order to remain solvent; the MTA threatened fare hikes of over 25 percent for buses, subways and trains as well as extensive service cuts if an alternative source of income was not found. The MTA controls Metro North Railroad, Long Island Railroad, The New York City bus and subway systems as well as many New York City bridges and tunnels, including the Verrazano Bride, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge and the Queens Midtown Tunnel. After months of debate the NYS Assembly and Senate passed a bill to create and maintain additional funding for the MTA in a matter of two days. The bill is estimated to raise about one billion dollars for the MTA in 2009 and around 1.9 billion dollars in 2010. You may find yourself wondering: Where is all this money coming from? The answer is YOU.

The MTA Bailout bill has caused outraged protest throughout the 12 county region it affects, named the “Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District,” a region solely connected by the presence of the MTA within it. The bill has created a series of new taxes and fees to be imposed. Taxpayers, businesses, non-profit organizations, local governments, public schools, and hospitals are just some of those being hurt by the bill. The bill includes new license and registration fees, a new tax on rental cars and a surcharge on taxi rides. The elephant in the bill is a retroactive .34 percent payroll tax put on everyone, including New York State itself. “It’s offensive.” says Marc Molinaro, a New York State Assemblyman representing parts of Dutchess County. “It’s the first time, as best we can tell, in New York State history where New York State imposed a tax on tax-exempt institutions.”

While there is a section of the bill that allocates to reimburse public schools for their payment of the payroll tax, it leaves one to wonder, why didn’t they just exempt public schools from the tax? Assemblyman Joel Miller of the 102^nd Assembly District says, “People have to realize that even though there was some reference to ‘we’re going to give the money back to the public schools,’ that’s a lie. It’s not in the bill. It’s simply a reference to an INTENT to do something, and this government never follows through on intents, they don’t even follow through on the law. So that’s not happening.” And Assemblyman Miller is absolutely right. The language used in the bill is as follows: “It is the intent of the Governor to submit and the legislature to enact for each fiscal year after the ’09 – ’10 fiscal year in an annual budget bill an appropriation in the amount to be paid to school districts pursuant to this section.” Assemblyman Molinaro feels the same way, saying, “Living by a commitment made by the State of New York for future years is like hoping to visit Neverland.”

“We’re not paying it!” jokes Richard Barrett, town supervisor of Milan, a town of about 2,500 people in Northern Dutchess County. “The MTA tax is retroactive to March of ’09. And we never budgeted it because we were just informed that it was due.” While Milan only has to pay about 850 dollars, larger towns in the region have to pay far more. On the website for the town of East Fishkill one is welcomed with “ARE YOU FED UP WITH THE NEW MTA PAYROLL TAXES? PLEASE CALL THE NYS GOVERNOR AND ASSEMBLY SPEAKER AND LET THEM KNOW!” emblazoned in bold lettering. Supervisor John Hickman says that East Fishkill had to allocate upwards of 15,000 dollars to pay the retroactive tax for 2009 and that the town will owe 29,000 dollars in 2010. In fact, New York State itself has to pay about 15 million dollars into the payroll tax each year.

Think you’ve heard the best yet? Oh, it gets better. Despite all of the money being poured into the MTA, there has yet to be a forensic audit of the MTA. That’s right. Albany closed their eyes and handed over the keys to the bank. Not only has there not been an audit since the bailout bill was written, but the MTA actually hires the company that does their audit, which the MTA itself then submits to the state, after review. “I’m not even sure there’s enough ethics and morality in enough people to accomplish anything.” says Joel Miller, one of the assemblymen who have been pushing for an independent forensic audit of the MTA. “Here’s an organization that kept two sets of books and lied about their reserve funds; that increased fares when there was no need to increase fares.”

While the bill contains a clause allowing the State Legislature to commission an independent audit of the MTA, Assembly Speaker, Sheldon Silver, declined to bring the commission of an audit to vote before the Assembly. In fact, in a press release, Mr. Silver, who represents parts of New York City, predominantly in Manhattan, was quoted as saying, “The bill provides a stable, long term funding stream for our buses, subways, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North and spreads the burden equally among everyone who has a stake in the region's future.” Assemblyman Molinaro cares to disagree stating, “Quite frankly, other than the boroughs of New York City, Long Island and the four counties of the Mid-Hudson Valley get treated as second class citizens in the discussions.” He goes on to say that, “You have the four counties of the Mid-Hudson Valley shouldering disproportionately the burden without receiving the same service and with little address of the waste and fraud and abuse that exists within the agency. And that is offensive at best to us. It’s like a fiscal hostage taking. We’re forced to pay, we get limited services and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

In part H of section 1 of the bailout bill, Albany sought to create transparency and accountability within the MTA. But in reality, which Albany seems to exist outside of, part H created a sovereign leader of the MTA by combining the positions of Chairman and CEO. Now, the chairman of the MTA has fiscal and administrative power over all of the MTA and its subsidiaries. You may find yourself wondering, how does that create accountability and transparency? It doesn’t. Who is the MTA Chair accountable to? It would seem that many people are left asking the same question. He’s not accountable to the riders. He’s not accountable to those of us stuck paying the bill for the MTA. So who, then, is he accountable to?

So what has the MTA Bailout done for us? Fares and tolls still went up. New taxes and fees were imposed upon us. A position of unaccountable power was given to the leader of the MTA. What has been done for us, the people? The MTA has been given a nearly 2 billion dollar bailout, with no sunset on the taxes and fees imposed. They’ve raised fares and tolls for which the MTA expects 50 million dollars for each one percent increase. And as if that weren’t enough money already, the MTA recently held a public hearing on the topic of obtaining federal stimulus funds. As we all sit here scratching our heads over this bailout, my final question is: Is there any end to the greed of the MTA?

All interviews and writing by: Kyle T. Collins

In Memoriam: Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Remembering a man with many triumphs, many failures, many shortcomings, many tragedies but above all many great deeds. To a man who has helped to shape a nation and define generations. A strong leader and a strong individual. Though you have passed on, your legacy will live on forever.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy

1932 - 2009

In the News: We Want Rudy!

After hearing many whispers as to the possibility of a run for Governor of New York in 2010, we are beginning to see some clear signs that Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City, is seriously considering running. Web sites such as DraftRudy.com and Facebook groups trying to drum up support for a gubernatorial bid can be found all over and the Internet and Mr. Giuliani has reportedly told some of his associates that he plans to announce if he will run within the next 60 days.

In recent weeks, Mr. Giuliani has been wading into statewide politics, a move many people are regarding as a serious sign of his planning to run. Last Friday Mr. Giuliani had a meeting with Joseph Mondello, chairman of the New York State GOP and just yesterday Mr. Mondello announced that he would not be seeking another term as chairman. Following this announcement, aides to Mr. Giuliani were making phone calls to officials across the state to gauge support for Henry F. Wojtaszek, a candidate for chairman and a major supporter of Mr. Giuliani's 2008 Presidential bid.

Congressman Peter T. King of the 3rd Congressional district, representing parts of Long Island, met with Mr. Giuliani in recent weeks. “Several times, he said to me that he sees state government similar to where New York City was in 1993: out of control,” Rep. King said after meeting with Mr. Giuliani late last month in Washington. “So many people are saying the state can’t be governed, which is what everyone was saying about the city then. In Rudy’s mind, this is a challenge.”

Mr. Giuliani was quoted at an address he made at Crain's New York as saying: “If I thought that I could make a real difference in the state, really change things and it really needed me, then I probably would do it.”

While we don't know for sure yet if Mr. Giuliani will run, one thing is for sure. The State of New York needs a change in leadership and WE WANT RUDY!

Rudolph W. Giuliani for Governor in 2010

Sources:

New York Times

NY Post

DraftRudy.com