Results tagged “senate”

The State Senate failed to vote on a measure legalizing same-sex marriage yesterday, but after a two hour closed door meeting with Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, Senate President Malcolm Smith, and bill sponsor Thomas Duane, Governor Paterson finally emerged to tell reporters that an up-or-down vote on same-sex marriage will be held "at a date not certain between now and the end of the year." Earlier, when pressed about the bill's chances in the Senate, Paterson said, "I can't explain the dynamic of the Senate, because nobody can."

One of the staunchest opponents to same-sex marriage is a Bronx state senator with two gay brothers, a gay grandchild, and a gay chief counsel. Democrat Ruben Diaz, Sr., a Pentecostal minister, has been a die hard foe of any bill that would legalize gay marriage in New York State, despite his supposedly convivial relationship with many homosexuals. "I love them. I love them," says Díaz, who grew up one of 17 children in Puerto Rico. "But I don’t believe in what they are doing."

While her husband Vince might be given "no chance in hell" if he were to run for public office, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon is being treated like a serious candidate after announcing that she will run for the Connecticut Senate seat now held by Democrat Christopher Dodd. McMahon is a good friend of CT Governor Jodi Rell, who nominated her for the the State Board of Ed earlier this year. McMahon's publicity stunt candidacy is being sold as a self-funded fiscally conservative but socially left-leaning outsider, that at least one political expert says "could improve the image of the party" in the state. The announcement gave McMahon's fellow Republican challengers a chance to make corny jokes about not expecting "smackdowns" and whether she was "a welterweight," despite that having no connection to WWE lure. Everyone expects McMahon to take heat for raunchy WWE programming, but no outlets mentioned what a liability her promotion of state gang activity may be through her son Shane's "Mean Street Posse" from the rough terrain of Greenwich, CT.

The Marijuana Policy Project [MPP] has produced two new TV ads for media markets in key New York Senate districts. The commercials feature patients who have benefited from medical marijuana, but you won't see them here in NYC, because uptight Eisenhower-era local affiliates of ABC, CBS and Fox have declined to broadcast them. Because reefer drives people into homicidal rages, or something! However, one local network, WNBC, has bravely accepted the group's money and is showing the spots, which includes testimonials from radical freaks like Conservative Party member Joel Peacock of Buffalo, who suffers from chronic pain as the result of an accident. In the ad, he says, "It took away the pain. It took away the nausea. I didn't have stomach cramps. I slept. It just did everything my medicine doesn't do. Please, ask your senator to have compassion." Whatever, hippie! In 2007, the state assembly passed a bill to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, but it never made it through the Senate. Watch the ads below:

The right-wing smear campaign against community organizing group ACORN is having the desired effect; yesterday the Senate voted 83-7 to deny housing and community grant funding to the non-profit organization. The vote—prompted by last week's arrest of ACORN employees in Florida accused of falsifying hundreds of voter applications last year—came as an unflattering secret camera video shot in ACORN's Brooklyn office surfaced. The video shows two ACORN employees advising a young couple, posing as prostitute and pimp, how to falsify documents to get a mortgage and tax breaks for a brothel housing El Salvadoran teens.

Senator Pedro Espada Jr. defected to the Republicans and brought the state legislature to a standstill in order to get the $2 million in pork that was rightfully his, and this is the thanks he gets: The New Bronx Chamber of Commerce, a "business advocacy group," has decided it would rather not be associated with the esteemed Senator from Bronxchester.

At least four Albany legislators are collecting sweet pensions on top of their annual salaries, including one Assemblyman who sponsored legislation last year to crack down on state workers for the same practice, known as "double dipping." Seventy-five-year-old Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Island) technically "retired" last year but continues to "work" at the state capital, where you're paying him $101,500 in salary plus a pension of about $72,000. Forget it Jake, it's Albany, where it's perfectly legal for veteran lawmakers to "retire" at 65 and start collecting pensions, but without actually leaving their jobs, giving up their salaries or even telling their constituents.

Observing the behavior of some politicians in Albany is like lifting up a rock and watching the cockroaches flip you off. After bringing the already slothful State Senate to a standstill this summer by aligning with Republicans, megalomaniacal scofflaw Pedro Espada Jr. of The Westchester Bronx was wooed back to the Democratic fold and handed the position of majority leader. But naturally the perks didn't stop there; it's now come to light that Espada's son, Pedro G., has been hired by the Senate for the job of "deputy director of intergovernmental relations."

And then there were none left to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand in a Democratic primary. There must be some fierce, behind-the-scenes fangs hiding under that Tracy Flick smile of Gillibrand's because it seems like every Democrat poised to step in her way eventually bows out. Yesterday Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney became the last to wave the white flag, leaving Gilly the path of least resistance previously paved by Stringer, Israel, McCarthy and even Caroline Kennedy, whose initial withdrawal from consideration for the seat first opened the door for Gillibrand. Politicker says that Maloney recognized how much of a long-shot she was to beat the well-connected, upstate fundraising powerhouse and feared losing her entire political career, which could eventually see her as chair of the Financial Services Committee she currently sits on. Both Maloney and Gillibrand passed along praise of one another after the announcement and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, "We've got a fabulous candidate now keeping her House seat and a fabulous candidate we hope keeping her Senate seat."

Looks like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand won't face a primary challenge next year: Rep. Carolyn Maloney released a statement indicating she's dropping a bid to challenge the newly anointed junior Senator. You can read the full statement here; here's an excerpt: "These are unique times with unparalleled challenges and running for the Senate is a full time job. Giving up for a critical period of time, the things I do best-passing legislation, working on the issues, serving New Yorkers would put politics before policy for the next year and a half... I may not be entering the race - but I will never leave the fight." The NY Times reports, "A person close to Ms. Maloney, who represents parts of Manhattan and Queens, said she reached the decision after days of consideration that running would mean leaving her current job at a point when she had significant seniority in Congress. "

According to Reuters, "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced an agreement with Republicans to vote on Thursday on the popular 'cash for clunkers' auto sales incentive bill." The program, funded with $1 billion to offer people $3,500-4,500 to trade in gas guzzlers and buy more efficient vehicles, ran out of money in days (and spurred auto sales), prompting the government to put together another infusion. However, in some areas, clunkers are all people can afford: A Bronx car dealer told NY1, "People do come and say, 'I got $2,000 and what can you do for me? What car do you have in that range?" while the recent purchaser of a used SUV explained, "It was more convenient for me and it fit into my budget. I can't afford a new car. I can't. Not in this economy. I can't."

It's believed that State Senator Pedro Espada Jr.'s central motivation for helping Republicans overthrow his fellow Democrats was his party's refusal to let him toss $2 million in pork to some dubious new non-profit groups with zero track record. So there's a certain grotesque poetry in the news that after paralyzing the State government for weeks, Espada was ultimately rewarded with that $2 million in pork-barrel spending, approved during a 3 a.m. session yesterday. Most of that money will be going to the New Bronx Chamber of Commerce, a "business advocacy group" that seems ill-prepared to distribute the largesse, considering its annual budget is usually $200,000. Espada says the money will go toward adult literacy classes, after-school programs, housing advocacy efforts, etc., but the group has never done anything like that before. The Village Voice made a noble attempt to figure out just what the hell the New Bronx Chamber of Commerce does, but all reporter Tom Robbins found was a brochure about their cocktail parties and golf outings. Reviewing Espada's allocation of the money, a Senate finance aide sent out an alarmed email to colleagues worrying, "I sincerely hope this doesn't come back to bite us."

With the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings over, a few Republican Senators have indicated their support for President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, federal judge Sonia Sotomayor. CBS News reports that Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) said she was "clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court," while Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Florida) said he takes "great pride in her historic achievement." And Sen. Arlen Specter, the former Republican turned Democrat, said Sotomayor had "displayed intellect, restraint and judicial demeanor." Last night, The Daily Show's Wyatt Cenac visited the South Bronx native's high school, Cardinal Spellman, to "expose [her] gang ties and racist affiliations by talking to her former classmates." See video after the jump:

Check it out, the State Senate did something! Look at them go up there in Albany, passing bills and not locking each other out of the Senate chambers: Just yesterday they voted 57-1, all by themselves, to pass a bill prohibiting drivers from text messaging or using any electronic devices—including iPods—while their cars are in motion. The bill's been a long time coming (a similar version was passed by the Assembly a while ago) and it will become law in November once Governor Paterson lowers his head to paper and signs it. Drivers caught violating the law will be hit with a $150 fine, but it could only be imposed as a secondary offense, when a driver gets pulled over for another violation. Still, some motorists approve; Dave St. Bernard tells the Post, "Sometimes I text and drive. I'm sure it is dangerous, but you get complacent sometimes as a driver. You think you can handle anything on the roads that comes your way." Lawmakers were motivated to pass the bill in part by a horrible accident in 2007, when an SUV driven by a texting teen collided with a tractor trailer in Ontario County. But when will government do something about texting while walking?

With Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) looking to challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the 2010 Democratic Senate primary, much is being made of Maloney is doing so much to the dismay of the Obama administration. But Rep. Charles Rangel thinks President Obama should stay out of race—and the NY Times says the same in an editorial!

With it being all but official that Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney will be taking on Kirsten Gillibrand in the Democratic primary for Senate next year, now comes the tough part for Maloney—finding a base of voters while getting little to no support from Democratic big wigs up top. The Times accounts just what a mountain she's up against: receiving an Obama/Steve Israel-like call from Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer scaring away a potential campaign manager and now watching Gillibrand take credit for her WTC workers bill. Maloney said, “Here she takes my bill and introduces it." Maloney's nascent campaign is trying to build some momentum off of the presence of Bill Clinton at an upcoming fundraiser of hers, but it seems that she can't even get any love there. A Clinton spokesperson made it clear the former president was strictly attending to thank Hillary '08 supporters like Maloney and added, "The former president believes that Senator Gillibrand is doing a good job as senator and this type of thank-you event, and any other he may do, should not be read as an endorsement or un-endorsement."

Kirsten Gillibrand may have creeped her way under the radar as Governor Paterson's surprise choice to replace Hillary Clinton as senator in January, but her path towards winning the election to keep the seat won't be as smooth. After much speculation, it appears that Manhattan Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney will throw her hat into the ring to challenge Gillibrand in the Democratic primary next year. Maloney, along with Long Island Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, have been critical of Gillibrand's former pro-gun stances and rapid "evolution" since she was named to the Senate. Recently Maloney said, "Some people run to get elected. I spend my time doing things. I've never lost an election. I don't intend to start now." The 61-year-old former city councilwoman faces an uphill battle against Gillibrand's quickly amassed war chest and the endorsements she's been racking up, most recently from powerful pro-choice group NARAL. An early Quinnipiac poll shows Maloney with a slight lead, but most voters undecided at this early stage.

If you've been following along with any of the various scandals simmering around Democratic State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr.—whose defection was instrumental in returning control of the Senate to Republicans and put him next in line to be Governor (should tragedy befall David Paterson)—then you get why some people think he's "really an unsavory character," in the words of Baruch College political analyst Doug Muzzio. But we may have figured out the cause of his troubles: multiple personality disorder.

With a controversial bill to legalize same-sex unions still waiting in the wings for a Senate vote, Republicans and Democrats in Albany are bickering like an old married couple. Earlier this week, openly-gay Democratic Senator Thomas Duane—the bill's prime sponsor—predicted he had enough votes to pass the measure, but a survey of all State Senators contradicted that assertion. And yesterday Bronx Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., who opposes the bill, blasted Duane's loose talk: "If Senator Tom Duane has the necessary Senate votes to pass the homosexual marriage bill in New York State, then he should release the names of those Senators who are supporting the bill. If not, he should shut up."

A survey of all 62 state Senators shows that a pending same-sex marriage bill faces tough odds of passing if brought to the floor for a vote. Majority Leader Malcolm Smith says he won't do that unless he's certain it has the 32 votes needed for passage, and the survey, conducted by NY1, would seem to contradict the bill's primary sponsor, Thomas Duane, who has optimistically predicted "there are enough votes for it to pass and a cushion." Reverend Jason McGuire of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms tells NY1, "We're very confident in the fact that this bill is quickly going to crash and burn."

A rep for Congressman Steve Israel is denying a report of ugly backroom politics where White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel laid down the gauntlet and threatened that the Obama administration would essentially squash his campaign if Israel went ahead and challenged Kirsten Gillibrand in the Democratic Senate primary next year. The fascinating article in City Hall News said that Israel was "1,000 percent in" to run until meeting with Emanuel, who allegedly said that Chuck Schumer would steer big donors clear of the congressman and Obama was "prepared to barnstorm through New York’s black neighborhoods hand-in-hand with (Gillibrand)." The report says that the White House was doing a favor for a Democratic Senate trying to maximize 2010 funding in an effort to hold onto their current supermajority with some room to spare. A spokesman for Chuck Schumer admits the senator had "a friendly conversation" with the potential candidate before he called off his campaign last week. City Hall stands behind their piece, which also paints Emanuel and Israel as old friends who share a love of New York bagels.

Matt Lauer gave it the old college try with Caroline Kennedy today, using her appearance on the Today Show (to plug the Kennedy Profiles in Courage awards) as a chance to solve the ongoing mystery over why she dropped her bid to occupy Hillary Clinton's vacated Senate seat. A Vanity Fair excerpt of the forthcoming book Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died cited an unnamed "family adviser's" assertion that Kennedy's children had intervened and begged her to drop her campaign, telling her "that if she was getting this worked up just getting the job, they didn't want to see what she would be like in the trenches of a political campaign or a fight in Washington."

The Senate Finance Committee is meeting today to hear proposals for how to pay for President Obama's proposed universal health care plan, which is expected to cost $1.2 trillion. One idea is a 3 cent tax on soda and sweetened drinks, which could generate some $24 billion over the next four years. Here in New York, a proposed 18% tax on sugary drinks was dropped by Governor Paterson after pressure from the beverage industry; Susan Neely of the American Beverage Association insists "taxes are not going to teach our children how to have a healthy lifestyle." But Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is one of the experts appearing before the committee today to push for the soda tax, because, as he puts it, "soda is clearly one of the most harmful products in the food supply, and it's something government should discourage the consumption of." According to the Wall Street Journal, Jacobson also wants the government to "sharply raise taxes on alcohol, move to largely eliminate artificial trans fat from food and move to reduce the sodium content in packaged and restaurant food."

It wasn't tax problems, it wasn't because Governor Paterson wasn't going to pick her, it wasn't because of the indignity of the process—it was for the children. That's how a new book about Ted Kennedy spins Caroline Kennedy's abrupt withdrawal from her push to win Hillary Clinton's senate seat. A Vanity Fair excerpt from Edward Klein's forthcoming book Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died cites an unidentified family adviser's account of Caroline's oldest daughter (pictured) pleading with her, "Mom, you are above this." And her other children "told her that if she was getting this worked up just getting the job, they didn't want to see what she would be like in the trenches of a political campaign or a fight in Washington." The intervention reportedly "jerked Caroline back to reality," and the family friend insists that "after that conversation, she wouldn't have taken the job if Paterson had come begging on his hands and knees." The book, which examines the internecine power struggles currently roiling the Kennedy clan, also suggests that Caroline was only trying to please her ailing uncle Ted, who was pressing her to become a senator "almost like a last wish."

The NY Times reports that three watchdog groups are urging the NY State ethics panel to investigate leaks that came as Caroline Kennedy's Senate bid unraveled. Per a letter, the groups say "the commission needs to determine whether the Paterson administration violated state laws by leaking confidential information about Ms. Kennedy as part of a political strategy aimed at deflecting blame for her withdrawal." After Kennedy decided not to seek Hillary Clinton's vacated Senate seat, sources from Governor Paterson's office offered a myriad of reasons why Paterson never going to choose her anyway; one told the Post that "the governor 'had no intention' of picking Caroline Kennedy for New York's vacant senate seat - because she was 'mired' in an issue over taxes, her nanny and possibly her marriage." Paterson even admitted the leaks were from his staff, but claimed not to know who made them. The watchdog groups think a probe would help "[clear] the executive chamber from a lingering ethical taint or [vindicate] the public’s interest by restoring integrity to the appointment process.”

For years now, tenant activists have dreamed of a State Senate controlled by Democrats, because then they'd finally get changes to the rent regulation laws that the Republican majority had so consistently blocked. But advocates for rent reform are now dismayed to find that Democratic Senators are as beholden to landlord campaign donations as the GOP. Albany watchdog group NYPIRG reports that since January 2007, Democratic lawmakers have accepted more than $1 million in donations from landlords, about $500,000 less than Republicans raked in.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has come under (figurative!) fire from her new downstate constituency over her support of gun rights and 100 rating from the NRA. She's tried to smooth things over, by removing her name from a gun bill she co-sponsored and emphasized she's concerned just as concerned about gun violence as Senator Chuck Schumer. But now the NY Times brings up a case from her past as a young lawyer—and puts it on the front page: Representing Philip Morris against the Justice Department's attempt to get information on how the tobacco industry lied about the effects of smoking.

The NY Post offers some speculation about former governor George Pataki's meeting with Senator John Cornyn. Because Cornyn is heading the GOP's Senate committee, it was plausible, if not a great idea, that Big Bad John might be courting Pataki to run against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010. The Post reports, "But many believe Pataki's subsequent drift to the left and failure to control spending weakened the state GOP and quashed any hopes he had of turning his 12-year Statehouse reign into a bid for the presidency. Likewise, national Republicans view the prospect of a Pataki run for Senate as remote. A longtime Pataki associate said the Senate talk was likely designed to draw business for his private law practice."

The economic stimulus package will benefit New York more than any other state in several crucial ways, and Washington insiders say Senator Chuck Schumer deserves a lot of the credit. Much of the allocation is still being determined, but as it stands now, New York will receive more money for Medicaid relief ($12.6 billion), mass transit ($1.3 billion) and home weatherization ($403 million) than any other state. Schumer is widely credited with big Democratic wins in the Senate in the 2006 elections, and one unnamed Democratic "insider" tells the Daily News, "Pretty much everyone from Harry Reid on down owes their job to Chuck. So whatever Chuck wants, Chuck gets." And it's not just Chuck; even less senior players like Rep. Anthony Weiner have been bringing home the bacon, securing $390 million to help New York's aging housing projects. But Weiner explains that part of the recent legislative success simply has to do with the end of the Dubya era: "Trying to explain public housing elevators to the Bush administration was the equivalent of talking French to a fish."

President Barack Obama stressed the importance of his $800 billion economic stimulus package during his first prime time press conference. Before taking questions from the media, he explained why the package was important by mentioning his visit to Elkhart, Indiana, where the unemployment rate has tripled from 4.7% to 15.4% in the past year—"The single most important part of this Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is the fact that it will save or create up to 4 million jobs. Because that is what America needs most right now." He also added, after mentioning the plan has support, input and compromises from both parties:

Despite all of this, the plan is not perfect. No plan is. I can’t tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans. My administration inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion, but because we also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression, doing too little or nothing at all will result in an even greater deficit of jobs, incomes; and confidence. That is a deficit that could turn a crisis into a catastrophe. And I refuse to let that happen. As long as I hold this office, I will do whatever it takes to put this country back to work.