One of the targets of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has been private lawyers and law firms that represent public schools and municipalities and then sign on with the state pension system.
The lawsuit will likely be filed later this week in state Supreme Court in Albany County and will seek restraining orders against Cuomo and DiNapoli, said lawyer James Roemer, who specializes in public sector employment issues.
While he wouldn't immediately divulge details of his legal strategy or name the initial plaintiffs, Roemer said he's representing four individuals from Long Island who have lost pension credits during the past few weeks.
Roemer said he believes thousands of lawyers could potentially join the suit, given the many private attorneys who work for government entities, including towns and villages, school boards and utility districts, and who have enrolled in the state pension system. Cuomo and DiNapoli say lawyers in private practice generally shouldn't get public pensions.
Why would Roemer care so much about this?
But Roemer, 63, who himself draws a six-figure pension for his work for a number of Capital Region municipalities, contends that the pensions are justified.
"For 70 years plus, this has been authorized," Roemer said, explaining that no one from the comptroller or other office had questioned the practice until now.
Cuomo and DiNapoli are doing the right thing. If a municipality or school district wants to hire a lawyer full-time, that lawyer should give up private practice and then declare him or herself as a public employee. But in these instances, we are seeing private sector lawyers asked to take care of a municipality's or school district's legal work and they contract it out to these lawyerrs. Thus, the lawyers aren't really full-time employees of said municipality or school district. They should not be receiving benefits.
And when the lawyer who is starting this lawsuit is himself a recipient of a large state pension because of his work with municipalities, you have to question the motive for this lawsuit.
There are summaries given for each of these videos. The first featuring Sen. Dorgan reads, "The Betrayal of Judge al-Radhi: Senator Dorgan discusses how Judge al-Radhi, the former Director of the Iraqi Commission of Public Integrity, fought corruption in Iraq at the direction of the U.S. and how the State Department turned against him in remarks at a DPC hearing." Yes, you read correctly. This judge was combating corruption and we turned against him.
The next one is Sen. Klobuchar: "To Attack a Problem is to Admit a Problem: Senator Klobuchar asks Major General William Nash (Ret.) why he thinks the Bush Administration has ignored corruption in Iraq at a DPC hearing."
The "to attack a problem is to admit a problem" line is a very smart one and convenient for this situation. It seems that any problem we wish to attack in Iraq is to admit a problem. That is a problem.
The third video featuring Sen. Whitehouse focuses on the "Iraqi Government Ministries Won't Allow Investigations into Corruption: Senator Whitehouse asks Judge Arthur Brennan to talk about the extent of corruption in Iraq at a DPC hearing."
The final video is Sen. Claire McCaskill discussing corruption in Iraq and questioning one of the key witnesses at Monday's hearing.
This was a very interesting hearing and necessary, considering the cost of this war and the corruption that has been widespread throughout. It's time we start to address these issues and the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, with leaders like Senators Dorgan, Klobuchar and Whitehouse, is the right committee to talk about these problems.
Only 25 Republicans voted against the measure (all of New York's Republicans voted in favor of the bill) and it passed the House with a veto-proof majority.
H.R. 6022 is also known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act of 2008. The text of the legislation reads as follows:
(a) In General- Except as provided in subsection (b) and notwithstanding any other provision of law, during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2008--
(1) the Secretary of the Interior shall suspend acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the royalty-in-kind program; and
(2) the Secretary of Energy shall suspend acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through any acquisition method.
(b) Resumption in Calendar Year 2008- During the period specified in subsection (a) but not earlier than 30 days after the date on which the President notifies Congress that the President has determined that the weighted average price of petroleum in the United States for the most recent 90-day period is $75 or less per barrel--
(1) the Secretary of the Interior may resume acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the royalty-in-kind program; and
(2) the Secretary of Energy may resume acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through any acquisition method.
(c) Existing Contracts-
(1) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CONTRACTS- In the case of any royalty-in-kind oil scheduled to be delivered to the Department of Energy for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve pursuant to a contract entered into by the Secretary of Interior prior to, and in effect on, the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall accept delivery of such oil.
(2) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CONTRACTS- In the case of any oil scheduled to be delivered to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve pursuant to a contract entered into by the Secretary of Energy prior to, and in effect on, the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, negotiate a deferral of the delivery of the oil in accordance with procedures of the Department of Energy in effect on the date of enactment of this Act for deferrals of oil.
The SPR is almost full to capacity, so we can afford to do this. The overwhelming support for it is what surprised me. In the Senate, only one senator voted against this and in the House, only 25 representatives voted against it. Of course, all were Republicans.
Uncle Joe's gang dropped a major pork bomb yesterday, springing $218 million dollar worth of capital projects on an unsuspecting Dem minority and shunning every single proposal submitted by Democrats. What did Uncle Joe decide to spend your money on this year? Well, for starters he graciously decided to give GE, yes General Electric, $3 million dollars of your money. Really. He also deemed his own alma mater worthy of some of your hard earned cash. From the Times Union:
The Senate on Tuesday unveiled $218 million in capital projects, providing funds for private companies, local authorities and previously undisclosed big-ticket expenses such as a music center at Skidmore College and a semiconductor plant in Saratoga County.
The items, some of which were labeled by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer as "a horrendous thing to look at ... dripping with fat," include $4 million for Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's alma mater, Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, and $6 million for a semiconductor training center at Hudson Valley Community College, also in Bruno's district.
The Skidmore project is supposed to be the subject of a news conference Friday involving the Arthur Zankel Music Center, a campus concert facility now under construction, with Bruno speaking, a Skidmore spokesman said. No one would provide details Tuesday.
...
The projects amount to about $218 million of the $350 million the Senate can spend at its discretion. None of the projects are for Democrats' programs, said Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, who complained the list was dropped on the Senate minority by surprise and passed in three seconds without many members knowing what happened.
"What's the process? What's the review? Why?" she asked.
A spokesman for the Senate GOP did not return a call.
The remaining funds likely will be the subject of another resolution later this session, a Senate aide said. In a news release, Bruno called the grants "smart investments" but did not spell out what the money is being used for.
...
The Senate set up money for several private companies. GE would get $3 million for a digital medical X-ray equipment manufacturing plant, a project at the Rensselaer Technology Park touted by Bruno. The Hyatt Regency Hotel in Buffalo would get a total of $1.7 million.
"No one would provide details" and ""did not spell out what the money is being used for." Nice.
While state analysts are forecasting lean times, lawmakers are bankrolling what some see as a bumper crop of pork.
Late Tuesday, the Senate approved $350 million worth of capital projects. At the direction of Senate Republicans, the state will be spending $5 million to pay for buses at private or parochial schools, $1 million to finance an archival depository at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan and $500,000 for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
...
"The problem with these types of allocations is it's hard to know if they have any benefit," said Elizabeth Lynam, deputy research director for the Citizens Budget Commission. "How does anyone know whether these organizations have merit? Some may, some may not. There just isn't a lot of scrutiny of this part of the budget."
"The budget is already in need of cutting, and they continue to spend on the capital side without much restraint," she added. "They get the benefit of cutting ribbons now and paying for it later."
Edmund J. McMahon, director of the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center for New York State Policy, which advocates lower spending, said, "They're spending scarce capital funding on political wants when there are billions of real infrastructure needs and commitments that won't be covered by the current highway, bridge and mass transit plans."
Once again, as they do every other year, GOP Senators are embarking on their ritual stroll around their districts spending your money and cutting ribbons. It's quite the spectacle...
GOP super-hack Al D'Amato tells NY1 that not only will Fossella not resign, but that he'll run again and win.
"He's not going to resign," D'Amato tells NY1 political anchor Dominic Carter during tonight's "Wiseguys."
"He's either going to seek re-election or he'll decide because, and by the way, I don't think it has anything or much to do with winning or losing but the incredible publicity and strain that will [be] put on him and his family personally.
And that is the decision he has to make, and I think that if he runs, he can win. He can win as being an effective congressman, doing his job, connecting with people, but this will be an incredibly - day after day the publicity will be incredible."
I really hope he sticks around for another run. Please, Santa?
Hillary Clinton has won West Virginia. But since the state only had 28 delegates up for grabs, this will not have a huge impact on the delegate count.
Since all the media outlets seem to have differing delegate counts, I will go by the Real Clear Politics numbers here. Barack Obama leads with 1,874 delegates, only 151 away from winning the nomination. Clinton has 1,698.
UPDATE: The Clinton campaign has sent the following e-mail to supporters.
After tonight's tremendous victory here in West Virginia, it's clear that the pundits declaring this race over have it all wrong. The voters in West Virginia spoke loud and clear -- they want this contest to go on.
I'm listening to the voters -- and to you.
With your help, I'm going to carry the energy of tonight's victory into the next contests in Kentucky and Oregon. And just as always, I'll be depending on you to share every step of this journey with me. You have worked your heart out, put yourself on the line for what you believe in, and given generously. And I'm not about to turn my back on you.
We've proved conventional wisdom wrong time and again in this race. We did it again tonight in West Virginia. Let's keep going.
Thank you,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Based on my math, if Clinton and Obama split the remaining superdelegates and the final states play out as they do, she cannot get the 2,025 delegates needed for the nomination. In fact, she won't even get to 2,000.
(This is an op-ed piece written by NY-26 Democratic candidate Jon Powers on gas prices and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.)
As Memorial Day approaches, many working families across Western New York are preparing their summer plans and struggling to find ways to afford our skyrocketing gasoline prices. The price for a gallon of gasoline is now over $3.85 and approaching $4 in Western New York, which means that car owners who have a 15 gallon gas tank are now paying almost $60 to fill up at the pump.
This is a direct reflection of Congress' lack of foresight on a clear energy policy that shifts the focus from the consumption of foreign oil to innovations that allow cars to get better mileage and alternative energies that we can create right here in America. This new direction would reduce our dependence on foreign oil, create good jobs right here in America, and ultimately reduce the costs of fueling our cars. Any shift in policy that moves away from foreign oil is going to take time, but the truth is, Congress has had 30 years of time to address this problem.
In 1975, the United States created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a result of the 1973 energy crisis. The purpose of the reserve was to mitigate supply disruptions so that Americans would not be left dry and allow the United States a safety net while Congress moved aggressively to create a sustainable alternative energy resource. Basically, it was created for times like these, times when our gasoline prices are going through the roof as a result of our addiction to foreign oil.
By adding oil to the reserve when prices are low, Congress made a sound investment that can provide a buffer to the economy and avert a crisis now that prices are high. But by continuing to stockpile oil at today's high prices, Congress is actually making the problem worse for consumers by simultaneously increasing demand for oil and reducing the supply available to the rest of us.
Today, Congress is voting on a bill sponsored by Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota which may have a temporary solution to the oil fix America finds itself in today. This legislation, experts say, could lower the price of a gallon of gasoline by as much as 24 cents. That could save car owners approximately $3-$5 each time they fill up at the pump. Senator Dorgan wants to divert 70,000 barrels of oil deposited into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve each day into our economy in order to help increase access to oil and thereby lower the price of gasoline.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve currently contains 702 million barrels of oil and is filled to 97% of its capacity. Using 70,000 barrels is not the answer to our long term problem, but in the short term it will provide some of the relief that many Americans need this summer.
A lasting solution requires developing an energy policy that weans America from our oil addiction and allows us to be self-reliant with regard to our energy needs.. I hope that Washington will have the courage to do that now, and developing such a plan would be one of my top priorities in Congress. But, in the meantime, Congress should pass Senator Dorgan's bill and give us all a brief reprieve from ever-escalating gasoline prices. This is a summer break that many Americans need.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) can hold 727 million barrels of oil, according to an SPR factsheet. Currently, there are 702.7 million barrels of oil stored in the SPR. Today, the U.S. Senate made sure no more oil entered the SPR.
With an overwhelming 97 to 1 vote, the Senate voted to halt storing oil in the SPR in a way to increase supply and thus, lower the price.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b) and notwithstanding any other provision of law, during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2008--
(1) the Secretary of the Interior shall suspend acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the royalty-in-kind program; and
(2) the Secretary of Energy shall suspend acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through any other acquisition method.
(b) Resumption.--Not earlier than 30 days after the date on which the President notifies Congress that the President has determined that the weighted average price of petroleum in the United States for the most recent 90-day period is $75 or less per barrel--
(1) the Secretary of the Interior may resume acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the royalty-in-kind program; and
(2) the Secretary of Energy may resume acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through any other acquisition method.
(c) Existing Contracts.--In the case of any oil scheduled to be delivered to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve pursuant to a contract entered into by the Secretary of Energy prior to, and in effect on, the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, negotiate a deferral of the delivery of the oil for a period of not less than 1 year, in accordance with procedures of the Department of Energy in effect on the date of enactment of this Act for deferrals of oil.
We have nearly maxed out our capacity with the SPR. It is nearly full and with prices as they are, we just cannot continue to do this at our expense.
If you are scoring at home, gas prices in New York are $3.896 today, according to Gas Buddy.
One of the last times Senator Eric Adams appeared on video, he was calling for a legislative pay raise while also adding, "I deserve a raise! This time though, Sen. Adams has something very interesting he is touting.
Sen. Adams will push for legislation that will bring PistolCam to New York. PistolCam is a camera that is mounted to a gun and records the activity of said gun. You can see Adams discussing and demonstrating the use of PistolCam below.
Being that my memory of Sen. Adams is derived from his loud-mouthed call for a pay raise on the floor of the Senate, I am glad that I can say that memory is now very distant. I am happy to see Sen. Adams touting this new technology, even saying that we should not be afraid of this new technology. This can help us and in the wake of the Sean Bell travesty, it will give us a better idea of what our police officers are shooting at when they engage a criminal or criminals.
(Note: If you haven't seen Gunner Palace yet, please do. It is a great documentary about the 2/3 Field Artillery Unit and shows you what the early years of this war looked like.)
Iraq War veteran and NY-26 Democratic candidate Jon Powers helped host a viewing of the documentary film Gunner Palace at the Elks Lodge in Batavia. Gunner Palace featured the same artillery unit that Powers served with in Iraq. According to Powers, documentary filmmaker Michael Tucker literally walked up to the palace one day and asked if he could follow the daily lives of the 2/3 Field Artillery Unit living in one of Uday Hussein's palaces. They obliged, and Tucker followed the unit around for two months filming what these soldiers did in Iraq on a daily basis.
Powers held a question and answer session afterwards that focused mostly on issues with the war and veterans affairs. He argued for mandatory funding for the VA, saying that other departments receive mandatory funding while the VA does not.
Powers also talked about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, saying that while our military has served us valiantly in Iraq, we need to address more than just the military piece of this war. He also expressed the need to address Afghanistan and focus on Afghanistan again.
He also argued for a strategic redeployment of our forces from Iraq.
"I don't use the term withdrawal because I don't think we can just pick up and leave," Powers said. "What I mean by that is we've gotta stay engaged economically. We've gotta stay engaged diplomatically with the neighbors and with the Iraqi friends we have but we also have to look at just the simple humanitarian side of this."
Powers believes that with a Democratic majority and a Democratic president, we can see solutions to these problems. He talks about this in the video below.
Powers is always impressive in a room of people. He is very approachable and he gets it. When talking about national security, Iraq, military and veterans' issues, Powers is on top of his game. He knows the ins and outs of these policies and his experiences in Iraq provide him with unique insight into our current foreign policy.
Here is a video from Powers answering a question during the Q&A last night.
West Queens Independent Democratic Club, and Citizen Action of NY
Invite you to a Panel Discussion:
Clean Elections and the Movement for Social Justice Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 7:00 PM
All Saints Church in Sunnyside, Queens
(43-12 46th Street, Sunnyside, NY 11104, #7 local train to 46th Street)
CLEAN ELECTIONS PUTS POWER BACK WHERE IT BELONGS
IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE
Panel Discussion Will Include:
The Fight for Universal Healthcare through Clean Elections
Clean Elections: A Civil Rights Necessity
Power and the Rent Wars: Why Are Tenants Losing?
Clean Elections Here and Now
Why Full Public Financing of Elections? Clean Money/Clean Elections is a full public financing system for election campaigns under which candidates who agree to limit spending, not take any private interest money, and collect only a limited number of small, individual contributions from their constituents, can qualify for a set amount of public funds to run their campaigns.
Clean Elections levels the playing field, focuses on the needs and interests of the voters, and is a common-sense solution to restoring democracy.
Co-sponsored by: Democracy for NYC, Met Council on Housing, Metro NY Healthcare for All Campaign, Mitchell-Lama Residents Coalition, West Queens Greens, Long Island City Alliance,Democracy Matters, Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens, New Visions Democratic Club
I received an e-mail from Don Barber's campaign with a letter to the editor that was written to one of the local newspapers in the 51st Senate District. In it, Carl Fruer of Ithaca discusses the absence of Sen. Jim Seward at the Hotel Worker Appreciation Dinner. Here is an excerpt:
Hotel workers talked about many things at the event, but certainly one thing that stood out was the low starting pay that is typical at local hotels. Most start at the NYS minimum wage of $7.15 and often don't rise much above that. Add the less than full-time, full-year work that is typical, and it is clear why many hotel workers struggle with poverty.
But what does this have to do with Senator Seward? Well a lot in my opinion.
As low as the wage is and as poor as these hard working members of our community are, they would be worse off if Jim Seward had his way.
If Seward had his way and succeeded in 2004 in his effort to block legislation to increase the NYS minimum wage, these workers today would likely be making $5.85/hour not $7.15. Luckily, Seward did not get his wish and on December 6, 2004 an overwhelming majority of the Republican-dominated State Senate voted for the increase and overturned the Governor's veto. Only 7 other Senators joined Seward on that day in his lonely stand against fairness.
What a powerful letter. In the 51st, this shows how out of touch with working class workers Seward is.
I don't know how well this will go over here, but it's a scenario that keeps coming up in conversation, though mostly unacknowledged. It's only one of many possibilities, but it's plausible. In Upstate 2050 style, I thought it might be worth writing up as fiction.
It's not a forecast of the future, but a possibility to contemplate as we keep discussing the relationship between Democrats and various kinds of reform.
(If there's enough interest, I'd be happy to find a home for more stories on the general Legislature 2020 subject.)
Redistricting Re-emerges (fiction)
ALBANY - As the census comes to an end, arguments about the political redistricting that follows are disrupting the usual peace in Albany.
"Our legislature has brought New York to the edge of the progressive wave," said Assembly Speaker John P. Marquez (D-Mount Vernon). "The voters clearly appreciate it, re-electing us 99% of the time over the last six years."
Senate Majority Leader Natalie Gregorio (D-Hempstead) concurred. "After decades of retrograde motion, the Democratic New York State Senate is finally helping our state's residents at full speed."
Outside of the Capitol, other signs suggest that state residents aren't happy about their government. The Assembly's approval rating fell to an all-time low of 7% in a Quinnipiac poll, while the Senate scored 12%. (56% of respondents replied "Don't Know," however.)
"It's the usual suspects complaining," said Marquez. "The Times, the Post, Gannett, Newsday, the Times-Union, the Manhattan Institute, the Brennan Center - corporate media journalists and researchers who think they can run government better than the people elected to run it. They even think they can draw districts better than the people who represent those districts."
"Marquez is one of those strange people who bought a gold medal and thinks he earned it," replied Dr. J.L. Bradley of the Manhattan Institute. "My predecessors here railed against the waste they saw in New York government back in the 90s. I can't imagine what they'd think now."
Together4NY spokeswoman Inez Ralston suggested fundamental problems in the election system. "They have no real connection to voters," she said. "They don't need to have a connection, really, when the Assembly is 127-22 Democratic and the Senate is 48-11. The 2012 redistricting really locked in Democratic super-majorities in both houses."
"We used to argue for changes in the rules," she continued, "and those might have helped, but the basic problem is that reformers, even Democratic reformers, can't break into a system stacked so heavily in favor of incumbents."
Bradley cited out-of-control member item spending as his main concern. "In 2008, they distributed around $300 million, a relatively tiny share of the budget. In 2020, they're up to $10.4 billion, a much larger share of the budget, with about half of that going to pay for services to communities that really need tax relief in some form. It makes them look good at election time, though."
Ralston noted that, while Together4NY is strictly non-partisan, the demise of the New York State Republican Party is also cause for concern. "It's not just that the districts are gerrymandered - it's that in many cases, there isn't anyone around with the strength to fight anyway."
Voter registration statistics suggest that while Democratic registration continued to climb, Republican registrations plunged over the years. The roughly 3-2 advantage Democrats held in 2010 became a 5-2 advantage in 2020, though there are now more unaffiliated voters than Republican voters.
"Some of that is demographic shift and a change in the political climate," said Ralston. "Some of it is people just giving up."
Newly-elected State Republican Chair Michael O'Rourke argued against that, blaming "Downstate machines and corruption plus the perpetual squeeze Democrats have put on Upstate New York - a lot of people have just had enough of New York State government and moved away."
O'Rourke suggested that Republicans would be seeking change through the Governor's mansion, a statewide race he believes they can win despite the party's failure to rally around a candidate in 2018.
Governor James Walton (D) couldn't be reached for this story, but in previous press conferences has argued that "I'm busy cleaning up the Executive Branch. It's up to them to clean their own houses."
Powers held a question and answer session afterwards that focused mostly on issues with the war and veterans affairs. He argued for mandatory funding for the VA, saying that other departments receive mandatory funding while the VA does not.
