"We're weeks - maybe months - away from any kind of agreement" on who will lead the state Senate.
Of course they will attend, both are wooing the Gang of Three in order to gain the majority.
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He was just elected Member of Congress, House of Representatives, 18th District, Illinois."I don't approve of the way Skelos handled himself or Malcolm," the senator continued. "Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, he comes to the table with a lifetime of experience...In this particular case, if he saw the Senate was dysfunctional, then the Assembly could have passed a bill and thrown it at the Senate."
"Waiting for Dean Skelos and Malcolm Smith to strip to the waist and duel on State Street is not the way of governing."
Their visit also came on the heels of the Republican-led state Senate's failure in an emergency session to reach a deal to reduce New York's budget deficit, estimated at $1.5 billion this year. Mr. Smith vowed to make better progress next year when Democrats assume the majority there, as well.Republican-led state Senate's failure in an emergency session? This appears without quotes, so a fair assumption is that any good reporter would follow that up with factual information to support such a statement, but he did not follow up.
Skelos' second score came when the conference of Senate Republicans voted to keep him as the leader, ensuring Paterson that he will have a formidable competitor for future negotiations and with a fragile non-majority for either party, he and the Republican have relevance. Paterson needs to make amends with Skelos and work with all the leaders to get the state back on track. As Governor he cannot afford many weeks like this week.
It is even unclear how Assembly Democrats view the governor’s plan, and that casts more uncertainty over the fate of the special session. They are scheduled to meet on Monday evening to discuss Mr. Paterson’s deficit reduction package, but there is no indication yet that the Democrats have consensus within their conference. And some members are likely to resist the governor’s calls for such deep cutsMr. Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, has not said publicly whether he would support the governor’s proposals.
Speaker Silver, Minority Leader Smith and Comptroller DiNapoli are simply attempting to box in the Senate Republicans with the various comments these three have made, yet Smith or Silver have failed to produce a proposal of cuts from there respective sides.
- Smith -
"The Senate Democratic Conference supports his efforts and asks for the support and unity of all New Yorkers as we make the difficult decisions necessary to get New York working again. The Senate Democratic Conference is considering a number of proposals to help meet our financial challenges. We remain committed to working with the Governor, Speaker Silver and our legislative leaders to cut wasteful spending while preserving money for vital services and growing the economy."
Where is his proposal of cuts?
- Silver -
"On November 5th, the Assembly released its Mid-Year Report on Economic Forecast and Revenues in which we projected an even larger deficit than the Governor projected today, in both the current fiscal year and the year beginning April 1, 2009. We also project that the overall economic outlook for the state for 2009 is bleak."
Where is his proposal of cut?
This is the type of partisan rhetoric that earns Albany its appropriate label of the most dysfunctional state legislature, this is nothing more than a showdown that will produce little of no results next week. Neither Silver and Smith are not operating out of any sincerity of doing what is right for the taxpayers, they are simply walking in the land of OZ, making this a political show and the Republican Senate will dig in and resist.
Today, Governor Paterson took the courageous first stepof reducing spending and addressing the budget gap. We are facing tougheconomic times and Governor Paterson’s approach is a prudent way tohelp New York State regain fiscal solvency.
The Senate Democratic Conference supports his efforts and asks forthe support and unity of all New Yorkers as we make the difficultdecisions necessary to get New York working again. The SenateDemocratic Conference is considering a number of proposals to help meetour financial challenges. We remain committed to working with theGovernor, Speaker Silver and our legislative leaders to cut wastefulspending while preserving money for vital services and growing theeconomy.
Our Conference appreciates and acknowledges GovernorPaterson’s efforts to respond to these challenging fiscal times byoffering substantive proposals that would address the root causes ofNew York’s deepening financial crisis. We will carefully examine theGovernor’s proposed cuts as we move toward our Special Session nextweek.
We are concerned about the Governor’s recent reference to possiblyrolling back the gas tax cap, which is ultimately a tax hike onconsumers. Now is definitely not the time to be raising taxes on NewYorkers. A gas tax hike would hit Upstate and Long Island motoristsespecially hard, which is exactly the wrong prescription for dealing with this recession. The Governor has previously indicated that tax hikes should not be part ofa solution to the current state fiscal crisis. On behalf of theUpstate and Long Island families our Conference proudly represents, weask the Governor to honor that sentiment as this process moves forward.
I am posting remotely from phone, hopefully be back tomorrow.
He received a very warm welcome and in his usual style, he talked seriously and candidly about the severity of the fiscal situation facing the state, but added a little levity to the discussion from time to time.
As Vice President for Community Engagement, Dr. Johnson will serve as the chief advancement officer for the College, overseeing the Jefferson Community College Foundation, Public Information, Continuing Education Division, Small Business Development Center, Grants Office, Institutional Technology and Institutional Research areas of Jefferson. In this position, Dr. Johnson will play a pivotal role in developing community partnerships as a key liaison with local schools, businesses, organizations and Fort Drum to strengthen and expand educational opportunities in the north country.Read the rest here
The pending shift in state Senate control away from Republicans removes one clear obstacle to legalizing gay marriage in New York, though opponents aren't conceding anything yet and advocates say they have work to do.The Democratic majority of the New York State Senate sits at 32-30, there is no room to let a Senator, such as Darrel Aubertine, off the hook on legislation they are indebted to pass for the constituencies that put them there.
"And this party needs to develop a message and we need to talk to people about things that are relevant."There is one more to add to the platform and that is to speak candidly about the finances of this state. This should be a GOP platform, but David Paterson has capitalized on it, as he says,
He said that means reviving the upstate economy, lowering property taxes, making health care affordable and accessible, and improving the quality of schools, even if politicians have to cross powerful lobbies.
"Unless you have something interesting to say, you don't have a future," he said. "Successful political movements are about ideas."
"The only reason that I say that is it’s so clear right now after the downturn in the national economy, and the way the national public reacted, that those who are more candid are surviving when years ago it was perceived that those who brought the bad news suffered for it."Ray if you become state chair, make being honest, open and candid the "in thing," you can't lose.
Dear Secretary Cortés-Vázquez,
Tuesday’s historic election saw a record number of New Yorkers go to the polls to cast their ballot. We are a better, stronger democracy when more citizens participate in elections.
With the election now behind us, we have an opportunity to assess our voting processes, identify best practices from across the nation, and remove obstacles associated with exercising the right to vote.
For this reason, I am requesting that you submit a report to me within 60 days that will include the following:
A thorough assessment of the November 4 election, including an analysis of voter participation and the effectiveness of local Boards of Election in managing record turnout, as well as an identification of the most pressing barriers which interfere with full participation in elections by New Yorkers eligible to vote;
Recommendations based on that assessment and the best practices in other states, recommendations for how the State will increase voter participation, focusing on the following:
A) simplifying the voter registration process and reducing the burdens voters and Boards of Election face in filing and processing registration forms;
B) the potential benefits, disadvantages and costs of moving towards an early voting system, including easing the process of filing absentee ballots, extending the number of days citizens may vote and mail-in voting;
An update on the progress the State is making in modernizing voting equipment and, where necessary, issue recommendations to ensure New York’s voting machines and ballot are accessible to all voters and meet the highest standards to ensure accurate vote counts
I look forward to reviewing your report and subsequently working with the Legislature to advance proposals that seek to ensure that we are doing our part to remove any obstacles that may stand in the way of full voter participation.
Regardless of our political leanings, we should all be heartened by the increased involvement of New Yorkers in the democratic process. Greater voter participation strengthens our society. But, we in government can and must do better by ensuring that on future Election Days we provide New Yorkers with a modern and inclusive process that facilitates voter participation and engenders full confidence in our elections.
Sincerely,
David A. Paterson
Governor
New York State
Is that a positive sign of diplomacy?
