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From
Crains:
Good-government groups have long sought to change the once-a-decade redistricting process in Albany that has resulted in oddly shaped legislative lines favoring incumbents. But with a proposal on the November ballot to finally and dramatically alter the process, the reformers are launching a campaign against it.
Common Cause New York, NYPIRG and others are opposing what they call "fake redistricting reform" that would be enshrined in the state's constitution if a majority of voters back it. The groups say the proposal is a far cry from truly impartial redistricting, which has been adopted in states such as California, because final approval of the district maps would remain in the hands of the Legislature.
"In the end, this is an attempt to constitutionally memorialize a system where both parties run roughshod over the voters," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York.
But some fear that reformers' solutions would run roughshod over the business community instead by facilitating a Democratic takeover of the state Senate, which could lead to more regulation and mandates for employers. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans two-to-one statewide, requiring the GOP to gerrymander to keep its numbers up.
Common Cause plans to raise money for a grassroots advocacy effort, though its funding is expected to be relatively modest.
From
Crains:
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has collected at least $650,000 in campaign contributions from recipients of tax credits to redevelop industrial sites during the past four years, a review of state data show.
Related Cos., its executives and entities controlled by the New York-based developer of Time Warner Center were the biggest donor, giving at least $262,700 to Cuomo, who is running for a second term. Syracuse shopping-mall magnate Robert Congel, members of his family and executives at his Pyramid Cos. contributed $143,250.
Critics of the incentives, which have cost taxpayers more than $1 billion since 2006, say they benefit wealthy developers and have done little to clean up contaminated industrial sites. Unlike other states, New York doesn't limit the program to cleanup costs, and a study found that 94% of its brownfields tax credits have been used for redeveloping properties instead of remediating blighted land.
"It's all too common in Albany for recipients of aid from the state government to be among the biggest campaign contributors," said Bill Mahoney, who studies campaign-finance data for the New York Public Interest Research Group, a government watchdog. "Even if decisions aren't being directly influenced by checks, there's definitely an idea in Albany that interest groups will be less successful if they don't find a way to funnel money to elected officials."
From the
Times Ledger:
State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis) was absent in Albany more than all his colleagues in the chamber, except for Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D-Washington Heights), who was mounting an unsuccessful bid for Congress.
But Smith was among the Senate’s top 10 drafters of resolutions adopted by both houses, the New York Public Interest Research Group’s review of the 2014 state legislative session found.
NYPIRG, a nonpartisan good government group, compiled an analysis of this year’s action in Albany. The report found lawmakers have sent fewer bills to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s desk than any state executive has received in the past century.
Smith was among seven senators who were absent and excused from at least 100 votes in 2014, NYPIRG’s report said.
Smith, who spent part of the session on trial in a federal corruption case, missed 808 votes. This put him directly behind Espaillat, an uptown Manhattan congressional hopeful who was not present during 891 votes.
Smith’s office said they believed his absences all occurred when he was in federal court and on trial for allegedly attempting to bribe his way onto the Republican line in the 2013 mayoral election.
In the Assembly, NYPIRG said four Queens lawmakers were among 18 who missed at least 150 votes, including Assembly members Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria) with 275 excuses or absences; Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) with 264; Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth) with 172; and William Scarborough (D-Jamaica) with 168.
No Queens lawmaker made NYPIRG’s lists of Assembly and Senate members who prime sponsored the most legislation that made it through their respective chamber — or both. A prime sponsor is the lawmaker who first backs a measure in his or her house.
But Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) was among 11 senators who prime sponsored at least 150 active bills in 2014, according to the report.
Avella, a member of the Independent Democratic Conference that had split from mainline Democrats and controlled the Senate with Republicans, was only able to get eight of these measures through both chambers, NYPIRG said.
From the
NY Post:
He’s king of the road — even while under indictment for political corruption.
Queens State Sen. Malcolm Smith has billed his campaign fund $100,632 for vehicle-related expenses since 2010.
Smith was reimbursed for two leased cars, E-ZPass payments and even parking tickets, according to an analysis by the New York Public Interest Research Group.
“While many politicians abuse their campaign accounts, Malcolm Smith seems to be a leader in this area,” said NYPIRG’s Bill Mahoney.
“He was billing his campaign for two cars at one time and he hasn’t had a competitive race in years.”
Smith, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment.
From
The Politicker:
An attorney with close ties to Queens County politics is planning to challenge embattled State Senator Malcolm Smith next year.
Mr. Smith, still reeling from an arrest on corruption charges earlier this year, is openly despised by his fellow Senate Democrats after caucusing briefly with a breakaway faction of Democrats that govern the Senate with Republicans and is considered a major target in 2014. In an interview, Mr. Avery, who already has a campaign website set up for the bid, directly stated his intention to run.
“I felt strongly: If I vote for a Democrat, they should conference with the Democrats so Democrats can be in charge of the chamber,” Mr. Avery told Politicker. “We need to get progressive legislation through the chamber.”
The Queens County Democratic Party, which has close ties to Senate Democrats through the shared consulting firm the Parkside Group, has been actively hunting for formidable challengers to take on Mr. Smith, who was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for allegedly taking part in a bribery scheme that aimed to land him on the Republican ballot for mayor.
Mr. Avery is vying for that support but the Senate and Queens Democrats have yet to decide on a candidate.
From the
Daily News:
Campaign finance violations have run rampant while toothless state authorities do nothing to enforce the law, a scathing new report reveals.
The report from the New York Public Interest Research Group found that candidates, political committees and their contributors broke the law more than 103,805 times between between January 2011 and January 2013, while the state Board of Elections did little more than send warning letters to offenders.
Among violators are 346 corporations that donated more than the state’s annual $5,000 limit.
