Espada: Can’t Make This !@#$ Up

Could he sink any lower?

A letter dated July 31 was sent to the home of a Bronx woman who had signed a petition supporting an opponent of the Senate majority leader, Pedro Espada Jr.

In bold-face capital letters, it read “Notice of Legal Information Warning” and went on to say that the woman had been identified “as a person who has signed a legal document known as a petition.”

“Receipt of this letter is NOT an indication that you have done anything wrong,” the letter stated. “However, there is reason to believe that your signature has been obtained against the law.” The recipient was told to call “the Ballot Integrity Unit.” There was no answer at the number on Thursday afternoon.

The letter was signed by the “Concerned Citizens for Good Government,” but at the bottom of the page, in small type, it read “Paid for by New Yorkers for Espada.”

And yelling at protestors in Albany (the title of the Daily News coverage is priceless: CAN THE NY SENATE GET ANY FREAKIER? CAN IT????):

Want to do something about getting rid of this guy? Email me at vp [at] goMYD [dot] com to get involved.

Espada Confirms Our Worst Impressions of Him…Again

With crucial legislation (like the Revenue Bill that Republicans hate) waiting for a vote, Espada decides to take the day off depriving Democrats of their majority. You can’t make this stuff up, it’s too stupid. Here’s what the man said:

“I cannot participate in a legislative process that still has not addressed basic and important needs of our most vulnerable citizens. Working in the district today and tending to the needs of my constituents will be far more productive.”

Check it out the full article here.

Coup Crisis Redux: State Government Shutdown?

Instead of apologizing to taxpayers for shutting down the NY State Senate with the Coup last year, Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr and Minority Leader Dean Skelos are wrecking havoc again by making it impossible for the NYS Senate to pass a budget. The Senate has been passing emergency budget bills on a weekly basis for a while now. If a deal isn’t reached by Monday, government services will literally cease to be funded. State officials are preparing for the first-ever government shut down.

Paterson has proposed a budget with deep cuts to health care as a way to force the lawmakers to accept his proposals. Dems oppose the cuts, while Republicans are in unified opposition because the cuts don’t go far enough. (Hooray for the Party of No!) So far, Espada and Diaz have said they will not support the emergency budget bill to keep government operating.

The latest re: our favorite State Senator:

Both threatened to oppose future emergency spending bills – even if state government must go dark. For all of its dysfunction, Albany had never sunk that low.

If Paterson loses legal authority to spend money, no one can be sure what agencies will close, what programs will stop, what havoc will be wreaked.

[...]

Espada postured as defender of the downtrodden.

“We have to stop hurting working families and poor,” he huffed – as if those people wouldn’t be the hardest-hit victims of a government shutdown.

This is especially hard to take from Espada, the poster boy for government waste. As CEO of a chain of health clinics for the poor – financed entirely with state and federal funds – and he lives scandalously high on the hog. He has not only drawn a fat salary, but Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says he looted $14 million to support a flashy lifestyle.

His bank account is proof there’s plenty of fat in the state budget, yet he’s going to force a crisis rather than accept cuts.

Espada and Skelos – your state Legislature at work.

Daily News: Bill Hammond

More Photos From State Senate Coup Anniversary Party

Courtesy of MYD member Juan Carlos Pineiro Escoriaza, great photos from Saturday’s event:

Village Voice Coverage of Anniversary Party

From the Village Voice blog: “Pedro Espada Gets Sushi Surprise From Manhattan Young Democrats“:

“We are Democrats, but we do not believe that just because someone has a ‘D’ next to their name they deserve our unwavering support!” yelled Harris, her voice booming down the quiet Beechwood Drive where Espada resides in a picturesque two-story dwelling that stands in contrast to the brick apartment buildings dotting his 33rd District. (Though Espada claims he lives in a Bronx cooperative, which Cuomo’s suit says is paid for with a stipend from his Soundview HealthCare Network, the 20 grand in Japanese takeout also outlined in that suit was delivered to his Mamaroneck address.)

So along with $4.95 pre-made California rolls purchased from a Manhattan Duane Reade, the group packed voter registration cards into their wicker delivery basket, just in case Espada wanted to reflect his real residence. “We also have a red mesh jersey because he played for the Republicans,” said Al Benninghoff, a Manhattan Young Democrats president emeritus.

Other goodies included the group’s riff on the Napoleon Dynamite campaign tee, a number of sushi takeout menus, a first aid kit (because Albany needs fixing), and a framed picture of Espada and Monserrate at a Yankee game. They fringed $2 million in play money, representing the amount of member-item cash that spurred the defection, around the basket.

State Senate Coup Anniversary Party Video and Photos

This weekend’s protest at Pedro’s house was a great success.

Here is our video from the event:

And our photos:

DN: “Espada + Sushi + Mamaroneck = Protest”

And the coverage is starting to roll in — here’s our first hit, up on the Daily News:

Not busy tomorrow? Annoyed by under-investigation Bronx state Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr.? Here’s one option: Celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Senate coup at what critics call his “real” home — in Mamaroneck.

“Dozens of New Yorkers wearing “Don’t Vote For Pedro” shirts and armed with bullhorns and signs will gather outside the REAL home of State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. before marching to a nearby park for an afternoon of sushi and protesting in honor of the Senate Coup Anniversary,” says the invite in my inbox.

“Protestors will deliver a “Welcome to Mamaroneck” basket filled with symbolic offerings, including sushi takeout menus, a signed anniversary card, a Mamaroneck bumper sticker, $2 million in Monopoly money, and a framed photo with coup-cohort Hiram Monserrate to the Espada residence. Afterward, guest speakers, including Bill Samuels from the New Roosevelt Initiative will address the crowd.”

Espada, as you know, is under all kinds of investigations for allegedly chiseling money meant for the poor from his Soundview health clinics to bankroll his personal life.

Email vp [at] goMYD [dot] com if you’re not on the bus list — we’ll do our best to find a way to get you up to the party!

Espada Walks Out Of CBS Interview

When asked this weekend about whether he is really living in Westchester, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. stormed off in the middle of Tv interview:

He got testy when reporter Marcia Kramer reminded him that when she approached him last year outside his Mamaroneck home, he donned an orange ski cap and held a baby in front of his face to hide from the camera before speeding off in a car driven by his wife.

“I was not hiding from anybody. I’ve owned that home since 1991,” he said. “This is not a mudslinging session, so I say. If you want to make it that, you can come hide in the bushes at my house and you repeat the same thing all over again. Human decency should prevail, even on this show.”

As the program went to a commercial break, he took off his microphone and walked out.

“Please direct me to the way out, please,” he said over the anchors’ requests to come back.

You can watch a video of the interview here and you can watch him walk out below.

The Saga Continues…

So, quick update on where things stand in what I’m now referring to on Twitter as #NYsenatefail (though I’m sure that’s not original):

The Republicans did get their Temporary Restraining Order barring Lt. Gov.-designate Richard Ravitch from taking the oath of office today, pending further litigation to find out if Gov. Paterson’s bold move yesterday was, in fact, illegally and unconstitutionally bold.  Apparently the Republicans went judge shopping to do this, filing their lawsuit in senate GOP leader Dean Skelos’ home county, Nassau, rather than in Albany.  And the product of their shopping expedition is… State Supreme Court Justice Wolff Ute Lally (great name!).  Liz Benjamin reports:

There’s a good reason why attorneys for the Senate GOP/Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. coalition went all the way to Nassau County – Sen. Dean Skelos’ home turf – in search of a judge to sign a TRO seeking to block the swearing-in of purported LG Richard Ravitch.

State Supreme Court Justice Wolff Ute Lally, described to me by one Nassau County political veteran as a “Republican judge,” has a long pro-GOP history – as does her son, Grant Lally.

Justice Lally, for example, decided a case in 2008 that threw Democratic Sen. Craig Johnson – a top Skelos target – off the Independence Party line.

The attorney in that case? John Ciampoli, the same Senate GOP attorney who traveled down the Thruway last night to file the TRO.

Bonus (boldface added):

Grant Lally is a Long Island attorney, former head of the state Republican Lawyers Association, and former Bush I White House counsel who was a member of the so-called “Brooks Brothers Mafia” that protested the 2000 presidential recount in Florida.

Grant Lally also ran for Congress in 1994 and 1996 on the GOP and Conservative lines against Democratic Rep. Gary Ackerman.

Grant Lally and his parents agreed to pay a $280,000 fine in 1998 for accepting illegal campaign contributions from his family and then lying about it. It was among the largest penalties ever imposed by the FEC at the time.

Double bonus:

The Democrats say Grant Lally and Ciampoli have served as co-counsels in past cases (I have yet to be able to confirm this), and insist it was a conflict of interest for Justice Lally to sign the GOP’s TRO.

[insert snark about justice being blind here]

Now, hilariously, it appears that the TRO was in vain since the oath of office was already administered last night.  BUT LO! Pedro Espada agreed to come back to the Democratic fold today if he could have the majority leader’s slot (or co-majority leader — I’m not really sure). So the Senate Democrats were all ready to solve this themselves, except…

The Senate Democrats had hoped to gavel into extraordinary session at 3 p.m., gavel out immediately and then gavel back in to regular session to codify the leadership deal they have struck with Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. to end the Senate stalemate.

There was only one problem: Sen. George Onorato was missing.

Turns out he had a doctor’s appointment.  In Queens.  Seriously.

So now he’s driving back up to Albany and the Senate is “standing at ease” until 6:30pm.

Only in New York.

Senate Dems Offering “Realistic” Solution

More on the power-sharing agreements:

Just how much damage are Senate Republicans willing to inflict on New York in their quest for power?

In an attempt to end the stalemate of the last two weeks, Senate Democrats have offered a power-sharing agreement that would allow both sides to come back to the chamber without either one getting to claim victory or having to admit defeat. The power struggle would be put off for another day.

The answer from the GOP? A counterproposal that essentially restates their position.

The Democrats by no means are off the hook here. They risk losing the high road — a very relative altitude in a chamber that has sunk so low — by engaging in the same kinds of spin and shenanigans as the Republicans. Tuesday, for instance, had each side asserting that an judge had affirmed their claims to power, when in fact he said nothing of the sort. A far more accurate paraphrase of Justice Thomas McNamara’s decision would have been: Work it out and get back to work.

But the Democrats do deserve credit for at least offering a realistic way out of the mess that has gridlocked government for almost two weeks.

Meanwhile, Democratic Senators Klein, Valesky and Krueger have issued statements that appear to be directed at the Republican rank-and-file to ditch the krazy that is Pedro Espada Jr masquerading as President Pro Tem, exercise some independent judgement, and join the Dems at the table in the power-sharing.

Get The Senate Back To Work

Next Page »