November 2nd, 2010
With roughly 500 races in 50 states, there’s no shortage of indicators to keep an eye on this Election Day. But there’s an unlikely state that could help measure the extent of Republican gains Tuesday — New York.
While GOP Senate and gubernatorial candidates have been making gains in states across the nation, the controversial Carl Paladino is at the top of New York’s ticket. His serial scandals and stumbles have put him far behind Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in the polls. Likewise, the two Senate races show incumbents Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand far ahead of their obscure GOP challengers.
Despite the drag from the top of the ticket, polls show that Republicans might make gains in the congressional delegation for the first time in a decade. In 1998, Republicans controlled a dozen congressional seats in the Empire State — 10 years later that number was down to two. Read More…
January 26th, 2010
NEW York, New Jersey and Connecticut: We have a problem. And it’s not just the fiscal crisis. It’s the bipartisan culture of corruption that has swamped tri-state politics.
Longtime NY state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno’s indictment last Friday on eight counts of federal corruption charges – allegedly pocketing $3 million over 13 years – is just the latest insult in a decade of local political sleaze.
In the last five years, all three states have seen governors resign in disgrace. Jim McGreevey and Eliot Spitzer infamously resigned in sex scandals involving gay patronage and inter-state hookers, respectively. John Rowland – Connecticut’s first three-term governor since 1783 – is the only one to get sent to the pokey (so far), and his crimes seem comparatively quaint, including a hot tub installed for free in his summer cottage.
Two years ago, New York state Comptroller Alan Hevesi pleaded guilty to defrauding the government and resigned from office. Last spring, the New York City Council was caught misappropriating millions of taxpayer dollars to phony organizations. Read More…
January 15th, 2010
‘Enough already,” Jus tice Anthony Giacobbe sternly said yesterday at the Richmond County Supreme Court on Staten Island. He was admonishing attorneys representing the Working Families Party and its for-profit corporate arm, Data Field Services, for suddenly disclosing hundreds of pages of documents that they should have supplied long ago.
The trial is attracting standing-room-only audiences because it centers on allegations of collusion and possible corruption that have long dogged New York’s fastest growing political organization, the WFP.
At issue in the courtroom are alleged WFP efforts to end-run campaign-finance laws to boost City Councilwoman Debi Rose. Outside the court, everyone’s wondering about the WFP’s efforts in scores of other races.
“This is not about right and left,” says Randy Mastro, the petitioners’ attorney. “This is about right and wrong.” Read More…
