CHatter
June 13th, 2008
Siegel Invites Obama to Read the Constitution
Every year for the past 39 years, Norman Siegel celebrated the Fourth of July by going to Central Park and reading the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights. For 38 years, he read them quietly to himself, but last year expanded the tradition to an out-loud reading to an audience of 60.
Siegel has bigger plans for this year.
The day that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York) conceded the Democratic nomination to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois), Siegel sent a letter to Obama's Senate office, inviting the presidential candidate and his family to participate in the event.
“It's a near-perfect setting, and it will send a super message to all Americans about the need for this nation to follow the Constitutional system more than we have in the past,” Siegel said.
Siegel also gave a copy of the letter to State Sen. Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn), who is planning to pass it to people he knows working for Obama's campaign.
Siegel is running for the third time in 2009 to be public advocate, but said he wanted the focus to be the 2008 election and Obama's campaign. With or without Obama, he hopes to have a larger showing this year from local elected officials. City Council Member Gale Brewer and State Sen. Bill Perkins, both Manhattan Democrats, attended last year.
“I consciously decided not to tell him that I was a candidate for public advocate,” he said of the letter.
But an appearance by the presumptive Democratic nominee would have its benefits for Siegel, whose campaigns have tended to generate fewer campaign contributions than his competitors’.
“Clearly if he came,” Siegel said, “that kind of exposure can only help, I would think.”
Ignizio and Tobacco Explain Being Left Out of Fossella Speculation
Staten Island Republicans had such trouble recruiting a candidate to replace retiring Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) that the nominee they eventually got is a little known former Wall Street executive, Francis “Frank” Powers, apparently in a family feud with his son, Francis “Fran” Powers, Jr., who tried to get the Libertarian nomination and is now considering running on his own line.
But as the top-tier and second-tier elected officials declined to run, two names were almost never mentioned: Council Member Vincent Ignizio and Assembly Member Lou Tobacco.
Both said that they were not offended to be left out of the speculation. They explained that they immediately took their names from the list once Fossella announced his retirement.
“My name was in several publications,” Ignizio said. “I never played the speculation game. I was not interested in being the candidate from early on.”
Tobacco, who will run his first general election campaign this November, wanted to keep his spot in Albany, leaving the Congressional seat to more attractive candidates.
“They have the most experience and a proven track record of getting the Island to elect them,” Tobacco said.
Retiring Reps. Still Have Almost $2 Million in Bank
New York's four retiring members of Congress will leave office in control of their campaign accounts, allowing them to continue to play a role on the political stage for years to come.
Rep. Michael McNulty (D-Albany) is the poorest of the group, in terms of what remains in his campaign account. According to Open Secrets, he has $126,736 cash on hand. Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-Erie), a fundraising powerhouse, will leave with the most—$1,010,835. Reps. Jim Walsh (R-Onondaga/Wayne) and Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) have $373,358 and $248,496, respectively.
Laurence Laufer, an election law attorney with the firm Genova, Burns & Vernoia, said the four can utilize the money for a variety of purposes, including contributing to other political candidates, local party committees and charities. They are banned from using the money for personal use, such as vacations. Refunding the money, however, is an almost unheard-of practice.
The accounts can also be reactivated for a future federal race if desired and can be transferred for use to a state or city race, in accordance with local laws.
“The basic premise is to use the funds to make political contributions,” Laufer said.
Former Rep. Jack Quinn (R-Erie) retired in 2004, but his committee is still filing reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for the less than $100,000 which remains in his account. Expenses in Quinn’s April report include legal representation for his committee and car expenses, along with donations to other candidates. Quinn, who was a Washington lobbyist until recently, donated to congressional races and to several campaigns in Western New York. His son, Assembly Member Jack Quinn III (R-Erie), received $1,000.
Former Rep. Major Owens (D-Brooklyn), the state's most recent retiree, had little activity on his account recently. His latest FEC filing shows $1,638 on hand with over $30,000 in debts owed for loans made by Owens himself.
Investigations Committee Not Investigating Slush Fund
The revelation in April that millions of dollars of the city's budget had been allocated to non-existent organizations has led to an increased focus on oversight in City Council, and in particular on the importance of the Oversight and Investigations Committee, chaired by Council Member Eric Gioia (D-Queens.)
“I've obviously been outraged by what I've seen,” Gioia said of the slush fund scandal. “And I've been trying to ask some pretty hard questions. People don't trust government because they have reason not to. When you open a newspaper, it's hard to think that your tax dollars are well spent when you see that there are phantom organizations that have received millions of dollars.”
Gioia is chair of the Council's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, but though he scored some headlines for grilling the city's budget director on why the fake organizations were not detected at a recent budget hearing, he said the bulk of the slush fund investigation was in the hands of the Department of Investigations.
His subcommittee, on the other hand, will continue focusing on things like banking, defective bullet-proof vests sold to the Police Department, access to food stamps and Aids care, among other issues.
“I view it as a way to shine sunlight on some pretty difficult issues in New York,” Gioia said of the committee's role.
With currently only a few on staff, Gioia said his goal was to have a handful of full-time investigators and lawyers working for the committee.
“You need enough to be able to find the facts and make the case,” he said.
Taxi Agency a No-Show for Miles Per Gallon Mandate Hearing
When Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.) unveiled his environmental initiative for the city on Earth Day 2007, his plan for the 13,000-strong taxi fleet to meet a 25 mile-per-gallon gas standard was greeted with enthusiasm. But setting a strict Oct. 1 deadline, however, has been criticized as asking for too much without enough time.
Representatives from the Taxi and Limousine Commission, however, did not show up to defend the deadline, which was not lost on the Transportation Committee Chair John Liu (D-Queens).
“I don't fault anyone,” he said, “for trying to avoid a beating.”
In testimony to the Council's Transportation Committee, Assembly Member Micah Kellner (D-Manhattan), representatives from the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, and a gaggle of taxi drivers criticized the availability of hybrid cars, the safety of the proposed models—the Ford Escape and Nissan Altima—and the arbitrary deadline. Critics testified that with a year extension, there will be time to mass-produce fuel-efficient models already tested for rigorous commercial use, like the Ford Transit Connect, which is currently used for taxis in parts of Europe. They argue this will better address safety and environmental issues.
“In the name of a worthy goal,” Kellner said in testimony, “the Taxi and Limousine Commission is using flawed metrics and a rushed timetable.”
A spokesman for the TLC said the commission has no plans to back off the October deadline.
Every year for the past 39 years, Norman Siegel celebrated the Fourth of July by going to Central Park and reading the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights. For 38 years, he read them quietly to himself, but last year expanded the tradition to an out-loud reading to an audience of 60.
Siegel has bigger plans for this year.
The day that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York) conceded the Democratic nomination to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois), Siegel sent a letter to Obama's Senate office, inviting the presidential candidate and his family to participate in the event.
“It's a near-perfect setting, and it will send a super message to all Americans about the need for this nation to follow the Constitutional system more than we have in the past,” Siegel said.
Siegel also gave a copy of the letter to State Sen. Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn), who is planning to pass it to people he knows working for Obama's campaign.
Siegel is running for the third time in 2009 to be public advocate, but said he wanted the focus to be the 2008 election and Obama's campaign. With or without Obama, he hopes to have a larger showing this year from local elected officials. City Council Member Gale Brewer and State Sen. Bill Perkins, both Manhattan Democrats, attended last year.
“I consciously decided not to tell him that I was a candidate for public advocate,” he said of the letter.
But an appearance by the presumptive Democratic nominee would have its benefits for Siegel, whose campaigns have tended to generate fewer campaign contributions than his competitors’.
“Clearly if he came,” Siegel said, “that kind of exposure can only help, I would think.”
Ignizio and Tobacco Explain Being Left Out of Fossella Speculation
Staten Island Republicans had such trouble recruiting a candidate to replace retiring Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) that the nominee they eventually got is a little known former Wall Street executive, Francis “Frank” Powers, apparently in a family feud with his son, Francis “Fran” Powers, Jr., who tried to get the Libertarian nomination and is now considering running on his own line.
But as the top-tier and second-tier elected officials declined to run, two names were almost never mentioned: Council Member Vincent Ignizio and Assembly Member Lou Tobacco.
Both said that they were not offended to be left out of the speculation. They explained that they immediately took their names from the list once Fossella announced his retirement.
“My name was in several publications,” Ignizio said. “I never played the speculation game. I was not interested in being the candidate from early on.”
Tobacco, who will run his first general election campaign this November, wanted to keep his spot in Albany, leaving the Congressional seat to more attractive candidates.
“They have the most experience and a proven track record of getting the Island to elect them,” Tobacco said.
Retiring Reps. Still Have Almost $2 Million in Bank
New York's four retiring members of Congress will leave office in control of their campaign accounts, allowing them to continue to play a role on the political stage for years to come.
Rep. Michael McNulty (D-Albany) is the poorest of the group, in terms of what remains in his campaign account. According to Open Secrets, he has $126,736 cash on hand. Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-Erie), a fundraising powerhouse, will leave with the most—$1,010,835. Reps. Jim Walsh (R-Onondaga/Wayne) and Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) have $373,358 and $248,496, respectively.
Laurence Laufer, an election law attorney with the firm Genova, Burns & Vernoia, said the four can utilize the money for a variety of purposes, including contributing to other political candidates, local party committees and charities. They are banned from using the money for personal use, such as vacations. Refunding the money, however, is an almost unheard-of practice.
The accounts can also be reactivated for a future federal race if desired and can be transferred for use to a state or city race, in accordance with local laws.
“The basic premise is to use the funds to make political contributions,” Laufer said.
Former Rep. Jack Quinn (R-Erie) retired in 2004, but his committee is still filing reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for the less than $100,000 which remains in his account. Expenses in Quinn’s April report include legal representation for his committee and car expenses, along with donations to other candidates. Quinn, who was a Washington lobbyist until recently, donated to congressional races and to several campaigns in Western New York. His son, Assembly Member Jack Quinn III (R-Erie), received $1,000.
Former Rep. Major Owens (D-Brooklyn), the state's most recent retiree, had little activity on his account recently. His latest FEC filing shows $1,638 on hand with over $30,000 in debts owed for loans made by Owens himself.
Investigations Committee Not Investigating Slush Fund
The revelation in April that millions of dollars of the city's budget had been allocated to non-existent organizations has led to an increased focus on oversight in City Council, and in particular on the importance of the Oversight and Investigations Committee, chaired by Council Member Eric Gioia (D-Queens.)
“I've obviously been outraged by what I've seen,” Gioia said of the slush fund scandal. “And I've been trying to ask some pretty hard questions. People don't trust government because they have reason not to. When you open a newspaper, it's hard to think that your tax dollars are well spent when you see that there are phantom organizations that have received millions of dollars.”
Gioia is chair of the Council's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, but though he scored some headlines for grilling the city's budget director on why the fake organizations were not detected at a recent budget hearing, he said the bulk of the slush fund investigation was in the hands of the Department of Investigations.
His subcommittee, on the other hand, will continue focusing on things like banking, defective bullet-proof vests sold to the Police Department, access to food stamps and Aids care, among other issues.
“I view it as a way to shine sunlight on some pretty difficult issues in New York,” Gioia said of the committee's role.
With currently only a few on staff, Gioia said his goal was to have a handful of full-time investigators and lawyers working for the committee.
“You need enough to be able to find the facts and make the case,” he said.
Taxi Agency a No-Show for Miles Per Gallon Mandate Hearing
When Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Ind.) unveiled his environmental initiative for the city on Earth Day 2007, his plan for the 13,000-strong taxi fleet to meet a 25 mile-per-gallon gas standard was greeted with enthusiasm. But setting a strict Oct. 1 deadline, however, has been criticized as asking for too much without enough time.
Representatives from the Taxi and Limousine Commission, however, did not show up to defend the deadline, which was not lost on the Transportation Committee Chair John Liu (D-Queens).
“I don't fault anyone,” he said, “for trying to avoid a beating.”
In testimony to the Council's Transportation Committee, Assembly Member Micah Kellner (D-Manhattan), representatives from the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, and a gaggle of taxi drivers criticized the availability of hybrid cars, the safety of the proposed models—the Ford Escape and Nissan Altima—and the arbitrary deadline. Critics testified that with a year extension, there will be time to mass-produce fuel-efficient models already tested for rigorous commercial use, like the Ford Transit Connect, which is currently used for taxis in parts of Europe. They argue this will better address safety and environmental issues.
“In the name of a worthy goal,” Kellner said in testimony, “the Taxi and Limousine Commission is using flawed metrics and a rushed timetable.”
A spokesman for the TLC said the commission has no plans to back off the October deadline.
