Results tagged “mikegroll”

Governor Spitzer may back off his controversial plan to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants after weeks of bipartisan criticism. During a trip to San Juan, Puerto, Spitzer didn't quite rule out shelving the plan, acknowledging, "It's a tough issue." Spitzer's aides are apparently worried that the issue is preventing the governor "from advancing or even discussing other matters." The issue is disliked by voters, elected officials, and pundits all around - and also...

Rensselaer County Clerk Frank J. Merola is unhappy with Gov. Spitzer's plan to issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. As an employee of the State, he has no legal discretion over whether he can ignore the plan once it's enacted, so he's filed a lawsuit to block the initiative in state Supreme Court in Albany. In a statement explaining his lawsuit. County Clerk Frank Merola alluded to a recent public opinion poll that showed widespread opposition to Spitzer's plan licensing plan.

“New York residents have stated loudly and clearly that we are not in favor of giving license to illegal aliens and all we get from the Governor are lectures on how we are wrong, and that if we were as smart as he was, we would understand and support this policy. Well, 72% of New York residents, including myself and a vast majority of County Clerks are not as smart as the Governor and I am filing suit to prevent this travesty of a policy from being implemented.”

The State Senate also voted 39-19 to pass legislation that would overturn Spitzer's licensing plan. Any hope of that legislation making its way through the Assembly, however, is approximately nil unless Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver decides to oppose Spitzer's plan.

Governor Spitzer's campaign slogan was "Day 1, Everything Changes" but from the looks from this photo op at a memorial service for fallen NY State firefighters, things are politics as usual in Albany. The Post said this was the first time that Governor Spitzer and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno have appeared together since the Troopergate incident where Spitzer aides were planning to smear Bruno by distributing information about his travel plans to the press. The Post says the event was "no love-fest...They did not directly interact beyond exchanging a brief handshake and 'good mornings' when they arrived."

State Ethics Commission, long time no see! It's been about eight months since you found State Comptroller Alan Hevesi had violated state law, and now you're back on the radar with an investigation into Governor Spitzer's administration's conduct regarding use of the state police to track State Senate Majority Joseph Bruno.

Talk about timing! Governor Eliot Spitzer visited an Albany child care center and got a photo op with some kids, which could only help take the attention off his bitter feud with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. But we wonder if these tots have been paying attention to the news: The Post reports that when Spitzer told them to call him "Eliot," one kid declined and said, "I want to call you 'clown,'" a suggestion three of his classmates thought was swell.

The Post takes out a fraction of its crowded cover (A-Rod's 30th home run gets top billing) to trumpet that Governor Eliot Spitzer's aides allegedly looked for dirt on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, in hopes of getting a NYC DA's office to investigate Bruno. Not only that, a source says Spitzer's office allegedly contacted an "investigative agency...about a possible probe of Bruno before the accusations of the misuse of state aircraft became public nine days ago - suggesting a conspiracy aimed at Bruno was already under way." That is some source!

What a way to mark the middle of Governor Eliot Spitzer's first year in office: He has forwarded information about Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's statecraft and police escort use to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Albany DA Daniel Soares. That's quite a steamroll! But the story is totally, almost deliciously insane. If you've been trying to ignore the dysfunction of Albany, we urge you to stop - this is too good.

Yesterday, Governor Spitzer announced that he planned to introduce legislation to update and change New York State's abortion laws. The Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act, as Spitzer's bill is called will "encapsulate protections similar to those afforded by Roe, that a pregnant woman has the right to an abortion in two circumstances; first, prior to viability of the fetus, and second, at any time when necessary to protect her life or her health," according to Governor Spitzer's wife, Silda Wall Spitzer.

The top judge in New York State, Court of Appeals Chief Justice Judith Kaye, has threatned to sue the state if judges don't get raises by the summer. And according to the NY Times, a proposal to give them raises seems to have been a victim of the last minute deal-making for the state budget - Governor Spitzer did include a retroactive pay raise for judges, but lawmakers proposed a raise for both judges AND legislators. Then both were "dropped during closed-door budget negotiations." Ya gotta love bureaucracy - especially when Governor Spitzer, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver say they are all for a judicial pay raise.

Governor Eliot Spitzer announced a new plan to overhaul the state's workers' compensation program. Joined by smiling Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Leader Joseph Bruno, Spitzer called the deal "a remarkable win-win situation for both workers and employers."