MTA: Show Me Your Books ! (Its The Law)

A new era of transparency began this Monday for hundreds of our state public authorities – whether they like it or not.

For decades these agencies were able to keep multiple sets of books that advocates dubbed a “shadow government” – books that they were not obliged to share with anyone. This practice is now history with the passing of the Public Authorities Reform Act. It requires many of these quasi-governmental corporations to be more transparent and required even to subject themselves to independent audits.

“We certainly have the authority now to recommend that board members be censured, that they be warned and in the most extreme cases, we can recommend to the governor or to the local appointing authority that board members be removed from office,” said David Kidera, Acting Director for the Independent Authorities Budget Office.

But this information isn’t just for government officials like Liu or DiNapoli. The information is also going to be available online for anyone with an internet connection and a whole bunch of time ! Click here for your chance to play junior auditor.

NYT Paterson Article #2 Arrives

So the big New York Times expose that was rumored to outline resign-able offenses has never materialized, and probably won’t. Instead there have now been two anything but flattering articles, the second of which was published last night.

First, on Tuesday there was a profile of Paterson’s senior adviser David W. Johnson which goes into his troubled past and sudden rise to be one of the most important players in Paterson’s administration. That being said, it’s not entirely convincing in the sense of actually showing Paterson to be a bad governor. Anonymous staffers indicate Johnson is not a good adviser, and the article sort of wonders aloud if a criminal background, especially (unproven) allegations of domestic abuse, should preclude someone from rising to such a position.

Now comes the second article, which is much more to the point of Paterson’s ability to govern. It is worth a full read, and casts the Governor as someone who is detached from the job and seemingly out of his depth. Key summary:

Those interviewed describe the governor as remote from the most seasoned people around him, and increasingly reliant on people whom he feels comfortable with but who lack deep experience in government, including his former driver, David W. Johnson, and his former Albany roommate, Clemmie J. Harris Jr., who retired from the State Police on disability a decade ago and has been appointed special adviser to the governor.

Some lawmakers say that despite the state’s crippling crisis, Mr. Paterson has seldom engaged with them, beyond denouncing them. And several former state commissioners say he has virtually no involvement with those he has running major agencies, only rarely participating in policy meetings.

Some Questions:

Will there be a third article?

If you were thinking about donating money to Paterson’s campaign, which launches officially tomorrow – do these articles give you pause about his right to or chances for re-election?

And finally – assuming for a moment Spitzer could have acknowledged his indiscretions but not been forced from office for them, would NY have been better off with him as a disgraced one-term governor than with his replacement?

Paterson Aide’s Quick Rise Draws Scrutiny (NY Times)

As Campaign Nears, Paterson Is Seen as Increasingly Remote (NY Times)

Schumer To Giants: If You Are A NY Team, You Should Practice In NY

The NY Giants organization had planned to discontinue their regular summer training at the University of Albany as soon as the practice facility adjacent to the new Meadowland Stadium was ready to go. The potential lose of this seasonal tourist staple has worried local business leaders and university officials who have been petitioning the team’s front office to reconsider.

Senator Schumer, a self described Giants loyalist, went so far as to call John Mara, the team owner, to discuss the merits of the Giant’s remaining at the SUNY campus. His office released this statement:

Holding the training camp in Albany is good for both the Giants’ morale and cohesion and the local economy.  What’s more, the training camp has become one of the favorite ways for Capital Region families to spend a summer day and, quite frankly, it is the Giants last physical link to New York State.

The New York Giants have been practicing at the University of Albany’s campus since the Dan Reeves era and the facility has benefited both the team and the region … Each year, thousands of fans come to the University of Albany’s campus to watch their Giants and pump money into the local economy … We’ve now got all of our New York teams training in Upstate and I’m committed to keeping it that way. Anything we can do to keep the fans and money pouring in is a score in my book.

According to the NFL insiders discussions between both the team and the school are looking good and it seems very likely that the team will be returning for another summer upstate.

Now Senator, is there anything your office can do to help us fix up the defense…

Senator Quits In Face of Congressional Paralysis

U.S. Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, a centrist Dem, announced he will not seek a third term yesterday. On the heels of the loss of the Kennedy seat in Massachusetts, the news sent Dems “reeling” — but the real story is why he’s quitting when he could pretty easily win re-election. His announcement offers a depressing insider’s perspective on just how dysfunctional Congress has become:

“For some time, I have had a growing conviction that Congress is not operating as it should,” Mr. Bayh said. “There is too much partisanship and not enough progress — too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem-solving. Even at a time of enormous challenge, the people’s business is not being done.”

“This is colored by having observed the Senate in my father’s day,” Mr. Bayh said. “It wasn’t perfect; they had politics back then, too. But there was much more friendship across the aisles, and there was a greater willingness to put politics aside for the welfare of the country. I just don’t see that now.”

“In my father’s day, you legislated for four years and campaigned for two; now it’s full time. The politics never stops,” he said. “My bottom line is that there are a lot of really good people trapped in a dysfunctional system desperately in need of reform.”

But to New Yorkers, legislative paralysis is nothing new. Come to our General Meeting tonight to hear our President Taylor Stirek speak about the dysfunction in Albany — and what we as MYDers are going to do about it in 2010.

See you at 461 Park Ave S, New York, New York, NY 10016 @ 7PM! map

Times – Democrats Reel as Senator Says No to 3rd Term

Jonathan Bing to Speak at Tuesday’s Meeting

I would like to remind everyone that one of MYD’s most loyal supporters, Assemblyman Jonathan Bing will be speaking at our General Meeting next Tuesday, February 16th (General Meetings are every 3rd Tuesday of every Month!). Assemblyman Bing will be addressing MYD about the current issues facing Albany and will be answering any questions you may have.

In addition to attending our MYD General Meeting, Assemblyman Bing would be more than happy to have MYD members attend his 40th Birthday Party Fundraiser. The party is Thursday March 4th at Butter with Guest Speaker LT. Governor Richard Ravitch and Special Guest Dominic Chianese from The Sopranos.

For further details on Assemblyman Bing’s 40th Birthday Bash contact MYD’s Finance Director Alex Leopold at finance [at] gomyd [dot] com.

Governor: Bold… Or Reckless?

In Governor Paterson’s “State of the State” address earlier this week, he decided to throw the kitchen sink at an issue that is near and dear to MYDers’ hearts: campaign finance reform and ethics reform. (We’ve written about the need for campaign finance reform previously here and ethics reform here.)

Top-level bullets of the Governor’s proposed reforms, according ot the Times:

• New York would for the first time provide matching funds to candidates for state office, limit lobbyists to contributions no larger than $250 and ban corporate contributions entirely.
• The maximum contribution for any candidate for state office, including the governor, would fall to $1,000 from $55,900, and the limits would apply to candidates who opt out of public financing.
• Mr. Paterson is also including in his package a proposal he made last year to centralize ethics enforcement in Albany with a single independent commission charged with enforcing the state’s ethics and campaign finance laws.

He also suggested term limits for all state-wide officials (the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and comptroller), which would require a change to the state Constitution.

All this seems quite ambitious, but pigs will fly before all (and indeed, perhaps any) of it gets passed in Albany, which is beset by a plague of corruption and knee-deep in special interest campaign contributions. Public financing has passed the Assembly 10x, but here are Democratic State Senators firmly opposed to such legislation.

Could it be that by trying to get everything in there–and thus being unable to escape the impression that this is all a political ploy and not a serious attempt at reform–that the Governor risks the entire agenda?

As the TU notes:

What a shame it would be if Mr. Paterson, in his quest to get all these proposals passed, got none of them through. New York needs an able reformer, not a political martyr. Be bold, governor, but not reckless.

Young Getting It Done: The Bruno Gap

I live in Carroll Gardens, and I’m lucky enough to have Dan Squadron as my State Senator. A couple months ago, I bumped into him talking to constituents outside of the entrance to the Bergen Street subway stop on the F line. (He’s now put together a town hall with actual MTA reps for people who use the F — I should go and give them a piece of my mind…) MYD also honored him with a “Young Gets It Done” award at our party at the Griffin.

He’s not even 30, but he arrived at the State Senate in 2008 and has been introducing legislation many of his fellow Senators have nightmares about.

Exhibit A: Ethics overhaul, which is gaining steam in light of the conviction of former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R) on corruption charges.

“I call it the Bruno gap, and it needs to be filled,” Squadron said.

The draft bill would abolish the much-criticized Public Integrity Commission and replace it with two different bodies – one to oversee the executive branch and another the lobbying industry.

A third commission, with an independent investigatory arm, would be created to police the Legislature.

That commission also would have the power to randomly review lawmakers’ financial disclosure forms.

Any recommendations investigators made would be public, a change from current law.

Lawmakers would also be subject to more stringent public disclosure laws.

For the first time, they would be required to publicly report the range of their outside income.

Lawmakers with consulting businesses, like Bruno, would be required to list all clients, their compensation level and what services they did for them.

The bill would not require legislators who are lawyers, like Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, to list their clients. Schneiderman, a lawyer, said that’s because of lawyer-client issues.

The bill has an anti-nepotism provision that would bar the hiring of relatives of elected officials to high-level positions in the same house or for state jobs with salaries over $84,000.

The bill would also revamp the toothless Board of Elections and make it easier for investigations to move forward.

Joe Bruno: Guilty As Charged

A jury has found former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno guilty on two of eight counts of felony corruption charges, the DN’s Glenn Blain reports.

Both of the counts are in connection with Bruno’s relationship with businessman Jared Abbruzzese. They are:

Count 4: From March 2004 through November 2004 Bruno or his consulting firm received 11 payments from companies controlled by Jared E. Abbruzzese of Loudonville. Bruno allegedly did not perform legitimate work for the Abbruzzese companies, Communication Technology Advisors LLC and Capital & Technology Advisors LLC, and the payments were in effect gifts.

And…

Count 8: Bruno failed to disclose his participation through Mountain View Farm in a partnership with Abbruzzese involving thoroughbred race horses. The charge alleges Bruno received a check from Abbruzzese’s company, Bazaguma LLC, on Nov. 17, 2005.

He was acquitted on five other charges. The jury could not reach a decision on one charge, which is Count #3 from the above link.

Sentencing is set for March 31 at 9 a.m. (The 2010-2011 budget is due April 1, Blain notes). Both counts carry sentences of up to 20 years.

Merry Christmas, Joe. Perhaps this will be [one of the] catalyst[s] needed to get other Albany power players in line with the law AND the interest of the people of New York.

Via Liz B @ Daily News

Getting Democracy Back in NY State, Step 1: Campaign Finance Law Reform

Earlier this year, I had an interview with a mayoral campaign, and I asked the Deputy Campaign Director why he worked on campaigns. His answer still rings true for me: “Because getting the right people elected is the single most important decision we can make it in a democratic system.”

And how can we get the right people elected? Well, making it so they’re not lap dogs to only the rich and powerful could be a start. A Times editorial, written with the help with the independent watchdog group NYPIRG, lays out the sordid details of just how lax campaign finance laws are in the state of New York. Here in the city, the laws are much more strict; but Albany is still ruled by the iron law of cash.

Here’re the (frightening) numbers:

The average national limit for contributions in governor’s races is around $7,500 per election. In New York, the limit, if you can call it that, is $55,900 per person, more than the average New Yorker’s salary. The limits are high for other races as well — $15,000 per donor for a Senate race and $7,600 for an Assembly candidate.

Donations from individuals to political parties are limited to $94,300 per year, but there are no limits at all for contributions to something called party housekeeping, or party building.

New York law requires politicians to use campaign funds for campaigns. But most incumbents do not have to spend a lot since, thanks to gerrymandering, service in New York’s Legislature is almost a lifetime sinecure.

Making democracy work better for average New Yorkers, instead of special interests and folks who have the hundreds of thousands of dollars to give away, has to start with with reforming campaign finance law. The Times suggests:

¶Bring campaign contribution limits in line with those in most other states. That means no person or corporation could give more than a few thousand dollars to any one candidate.

¶Require politicians to fully and more precisely identify donors, including “bundlers” who give huge amounts by organizing groups of individual donors.

¶Get rid of the “housekeeping” accounts, which just give the rich even more political advantage.

¶No more slush funds. Politicians should spend campaign contributions only on offices, mailings, signs, ads — the real stuff of elections.

¶Create a workable enforcement unit at the Board of Elections and give it the authority to levy fines that bite. Refer the worst cases for prosecution.

The good news is that Senators Schneiderman and Squadron in the NY State Senate have introduced ethics legislation to bring about some of these changes. You can find out more about the legislation and give your own State Senator a ring to support the legislation at just about the only thing that works in Albany: the NYSenate.gov website.

What’re They For?

With the budget deficit in the Empire State reaching crisis levels, Gov Paterson has proposed cuts. State Senate Dems, however, are lining up to oppose his proposal:

Take, for example, the joint statement issued over the weekend by Sens. Craig Johnson and Brian Foley of Long Island, Neil Breslin of Albany, Darrel Aubertine of Watertown, David Valesky of Syracuse and Antoine Thompson and Bill Stachowski of Buffalo.

These seven Democratic pols… declared that they cannot possibly go along with trimming education aid in the middle of the school year, as Gov. Paterson has proposed to help close a $3.2 billion deficit.

Nor do they like Paterson’s suggested cuts in Medicaid funding for hospitals and nursing homes, which they dismissed as “untenable.”

Nor do they support Paterson’s plan to raise money by forcing New Yorkers to buy new license plates.

Okay, now we know what they’re against. So what are they for? How, pray tell, do they propose to resolve a cash crunch so severe that the state might not be able to pay its bills next month?

They’ve got nothing.

I get that cuts to education and healthcare are not ideal. But when they make up over half of the state budget, where else do you go? How do you close a gaping hole of several billion dollars? Are you going to cut pay and benefits to state employees? Raise taxes (yet again), in a state where the property tax burden is already crushing the middle class?

If New York doesn’t want to end up like California or many other states who have seen their credit ratings go south, we need to take action now. Instead of issuing feel-good statements about protecting education and healthcare, Dems in Albany need to step up and start offering solutions. Otherwise, aren’t we just like the Party of No we deride all the time?

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