Embattled Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos has told his members he is stepping down from his leadership post, the Daily News has learned.
Skelos, who along with his son was hit with federal corruption charges May 4, made the announcement during a closed-door meeting with his Republican members, a source confirmed.
He will be replaced by Senate Education Committee Chairman John Flanagan (R-Suffolk County).
Campaign postmortems are in full swing, and the sentiment at one election autopsy in midtown Wednesday morning was that Democrats flopped because they failed to run on their record, and that New York's Charles Schumer could ultimately emerge from the carnage as the most powerful member of the Senate—in 2017.
Nationally, the Democrats' loss of the U.S. Senate majority means that New York's two senators, Mr. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, will be in the chamber's minority for at least the next two years. The minority typically has little hope to pass legislation, but Mr. Berman said the newly constituted Senate presents an opportunity for New York's senior senator.
"Schumer is now the most powerful Democrat in the Senate," he said. "Chuck has done an amazing job of cultivating the Senate moderates. ... He knows how to make deals. He has a real feel for how to legislate."
Mr. Schumer, the Senate's third-ranking Democrat, could even find himself running the chamber if Democrats recapture the majority in the 2016 election, Mr. Berman said. "He's an alchemist," said the Republican consultant, alluding to the senator's ability to craft legislation and build coalitions to pass it. "And there are damn few alchemists in the Congress."
"Just because you're displaced doesn't mean you're disenfranchised."
It's evident that, a week after Sandy, thousands of New Yorkers are still reeling from her aftermath, many of them without homes, power or, particularly on Election Day, the ability to get anywhere near their assigned polling station. Although the plight of the displaced might be prioritized over casting a ballot, the threat of missing hundreds, if not thousands, of votes has become a major issue here, in New Jersey and in the rest of the Sandy-stricken states.
For this reason, Governor Cuomo, in a statement that included the line above, declared a measure that would allow all New Yorkers to vote from anywhere in the state. But, there's a stipulation: you can only vote for the President and Senate from a different location; you cannot vote for your local elections if you're not in your own district.
Today, any displaced voter in New York can walk into a polling station, sign an affidavit and choose the next President and Senator from New York. According to Cuomo, this was an "extraordinary" but necessary compromise: "We want everyone to vote... But in the local races, if you vote in a different Assembly district, a different Senate district, your vote will not count in that district. That is the downside to the system."
So, if you want your vote to actually mean something, find a polling site in your assembly district.
A proposed federal law could hinder the city’s bid to revamp Willets Point, business owners there are hoping.
But a city official said the bill, which would discourage municipalities from taking private property for economic development, could also squash future unrelated revitalization projects.
Willets Point United, a vocal group of stakeholders there, has long contended the city’s use of eminent domain to take their land for a mixed-use development is unfair and unethical.
“Does this sound like it should be happening in America?” attorney Michael Rikon said to an applauding crowd gathered around him at a Sunoco gas station in Willets Point on Thursday.
The bill, dubbed the “Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2012,” would cut federal funding to government agencies that use their power of eminent domain for economic development — putting the city’s plans for Willets Point in jeopardy. Eminent domain was traditionally used for public projects such as hospitals and schools, but the U.S. Supreme Court has taken a more sweeping interpretation of what constitutes a “public” project.
The group wants U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to support the bill, which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 28, but is pending Senate approval.
The act would also prohibit the federal government from using eminent domain for economic development.
Meanwhile, a similar bill is making its way through the state legislature, said state Sen. Tony Avella, a Willets Point United supporter.
Republican congressman Bob Turner announced plans Tuesday to challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who is running for re-election as New York's junior senator.
It comes just days before the state's Republican Party is set to hold its convention in Rochester, where Turner will be battling with other candidates for the party's nomination.
The announcement also comes as his district seat faces elimination, fueled by the battle between the state legislature and a federal judge over district lines.
In a statement, Turner said, "There is serious work to be done to get this economy back on track, and I will not walk away from that work now. I will run for the Senate, and I will run to win."
Turner, a freshman who inherited the congressional seat vacated by Anthony Weiner, is considered to be a rising star who may draw a lot of support from the national Republican Party.
Queens veterans feel as though they are back at square one.
After the House successfully passed the Veterans Care Act, an amendment to the military appropriations that would have blocked the partial privatization of the St. Albans VA site, the Senate left the amendment out of its version of the bill, raising concerns among many veterans that the agency might try to revive the proposal at a later time.
Many have long opposed the project, in which a private developer would replace the existing Department of Veterans Affairs facilities with a new nursing home, rehabilitation domiciliary and expanded outpatient facilities in exchange for a long-term lease on part of the site, where it would put up housing and stores open to the general public.
Opponents, however, are against any lease to a private entity and instead want a full-service hospital there, so servicemen and women in Queens and Nassau counties don’t have to travel to Brooklyn, Manhattan or Suffolk County for care.
Five U.S. senators are calling for a federal crackdown on what they say are phony colleges handing out student visas to potential criminals and terrorists.
Sens. Diane Feinstein of California, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jon Tester of Montana, Bill Nelson of Florida and Charles Schumer of New York say the colleges are fronts for people who pay to illegally enter the United States.
The Democrats are calling on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Homeland Security to share information that could help identify the fake colleges.
The senators note several of the Sept. 11 terrorists entered the United States on student visas. They also cite recent incidents in California and in Florida where schools have been accused of being involved in the illegal visa scheme.
The senators will ask the federal departments to determine “high-risk factors” within 90 days and conduct site visits at schools that show a high risk factor through data — or the lack of data — that legitimate schools must provide to the federal government. The senators also seek stiffer penalties for “sham universities” that engage in student visa fraud.
Efforts by terrorists abroad to radicalize and recruit U.S. residents are an evolving problem, three top Obama administration officials told Congress on Wednesday.
The threat posed by homegrown extremists shows that the battle against terrorism has become more complex in the past year, underscoring the challenges of pinpointing and blocking terrorist plots, said Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
"Groups affiliated with al-Qaida are now actively targeting the United States and looking to use Americans or Westerners who are able to remain undetected by heightened security measures," FBI Director Robert Mueller told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
"It appears domestic radicalization and homegrown extremism is becoming more pronounced," Mueller said.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said al-Qaida has inspired an array of terrorist groups.
"We are all seeing more diverse activity" by a more diverse collection of groups, Napolitano said.
Homeland security officials will hand New York $18.5 million today to keep the city's prototype dirty-bomb detection system running, the Daily News has learned.
New York lawmakers had to battle the Obama administration for the money, putting it in the federal budget last year after homeland security officials stripped it.
Run out of an operations center in the city, the effort features more than 4,500 pieces of radiation detection equipment, many equipped with GPS locators.
It's all aimed at sniffing out a nuke or dirty bomb before it can get across a bridge or tunnel and be detonated in the city.
Terrorism experts warn that the Holy Grail for violent extremists is getting their hands on a weapon of mass destruction.
Even a dirty bomb, which does little explosive damage, could be devastating to the city and economy if it contaminates vital areas with radiation.
Gail Goode filed petitions containing over 45,000 signatures at the State Board of Elections in Albany Monday, making her an official candidate for the United States Senate. In an interview afterwards on Politics Tonight with Liz Benjamin, the candidate shared her outlook on the race ahead:
“New Yorkers have a right to a Democratic primary,” said U.S. Senate Candidate Gail Goode. Goode built an organization of citizens to collect over 45,000 signatures from registered Democrats, who agreed with her mission to give voters of the Empire State a choice for Senator in this year’s Democratic Primary. Goode has been a tough lawyer and advocate for the people of the City of New York. As a Deputy Borough Chief in New York City's Tort Unit, Gail has tried and supervised hundreds of cases defending hardworking people and saving New York taxpayers millions in litigation costs. As a former Assistant District Attorney, Gail prosecuted career criminals who committed violent crimes against New Yorkers. Noting that Gillibrand was appointed by Gov. David Paterson, Goode said, “I agree with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer who said before he took himself out of the race that “voters have an expectation for a Senate seat held by Kennedy and Moynihan, that there will be a discussion of these issues through the electoral process.”
“It is clear that all kinds of pressure was brought to bear on several potential candidates to make sure that Governor Paterson’s appointee, Senator Gillibrand, did not have a serious opponent this year,” said Gail Goode. Even Robert Kennedy and Hillary Clinton who came from outside the State to run here in New York, had opposition. Goode thinks New Yorkers are paying a very heavy price for the field being cleared for the Senator simply because those working for her do not believe she can defend her very weak and inconsistent voting record in a competitive election.
Goode said: “The backroom pressure to push out potential challengers has robbed the ability of New Yorkers to put pressure on their Senate candidates to address their needs rather than the special interests and lobbyists that run congress and contribute to the Gillibrand campaign.”
Goode believes that the American Democratic process and a real discussion on issues and ideas will defeat the millions that Gillibrand will spend on her campaign, donated by lobbyists and special interests that control what happens in Washington. Goode’s concern for the danger facing our nation in electing yet another candidate who is controlled by Washington special interests runs so deep that she has spent her life savings on petitioning to gain ballet access. “Senators who say anything to get elected but do the bidding of the lobbyists have caused the BP oil spill, the Wall Street crash and many of the other serious problems facing our country,” Goode charges.
Anthony Como Files Petition Signatures for New York State Senate (15th District) with the Board of Elections
Anthony Como filed his petition signatures with the Board of Elections bringing him another step closer to winning the New York Senate seat in the 15th District. Como and his team of over 100 supporters were extremely excited after filing well over the required amount of petition signatures to secure the Republican, Conservative and Independence Party lines.
Anthony Como addressed his team and supporters, “I want to express my sincerest thanks to all my friends, family and supporters who carried and signed petitions for me. During this process we strengthened existing friendships, created new alliances and mended broken relationships. We have come together for a common cause and will fight together to bring State government back to where it belongs, in the hands of the people. Now that the petition process is over, I look forward to meeting residents and getting my message out of bringing reform, transparency and dignity to Albany.”
(Pictured L to R. Anthony Como and Senator Serphin Maltese)
Could another media mogul be looking to make a splash in New York politics?
Mortimer B. Zuckerman, the real estate tycoon and publisher of The Daily News, is considering a bid for the Senate seat now held by Kirsten E. Gillibrand, according to two people told of the discussions.
Mr. Zuckerman regards Ms. Gillibrand as vulnerable to a challenge and is hoping that, at a time of economic tumult and political unrest, his background as an outsider to government, and his record as a business executive, will appeal to the state’s electorate, these people said.
He would be the latest boldface name to weigh a run for the seat this fall; a former Tennessee congressman, Harold E. Ford Jr., is mulling a primary run against Ms. Gillibrand, a fellow Democrat, and will make a decision in the next few weeks.
The discussions were preliminary, the two people cautioned, with many details of a possible candidacy yet to be worked out. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were meant to be private and Mr. Zuckerman had not made up his mind.
Mr. Zuckerman is considering whether to commission a poll to test the viability of a candidacy, one of the people said.
A Zuckerman spokesman, Ken Frydman, declined to address any discussions that Mr. Zuckerman might have had about a Senate run, or any plans to conduct a poll.
Mr. Frydman said Mr. Zuckerman was unavailable for comment on Friday afternoon, but he added in a statement that the publisher “is not interested in running for public office.”
Mr. Zuckerman, 72, has long sought a national platform. He has cut a wide swath through the media landscape, buying and selling magazines like The Atlantic and writing a regular column for U.S. News & World Report, which he owns.
Though not currently enrolled in a party, he is known as a Democrat. But if he ran for the Senate, it would very likely be as a Republican or independent so he could avoid a costly primary.
Gov. Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg and other officials warned the Senate plan would:
- Force the city to close 100 health clinics.
- Blow a $1 billion hole in the state's budget.
- Threaten struggling hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities.
"It is really a disgrace and we've got to make sure that we fight before the bill is finally passed," Bloomberg fumed.
New York ended up on the short end as Senate brokers showered cash on states whose senators were among the last holdouts before Democratic leaders locked up the 60 needed votes.
New York's best hope now is emergency surgery to undo the shafting before the bill becomes final.
A health care overhaul passed by the House last month is more generous to the city and state, and negotiations over the differences start in January.
Under the Senate plan, the biggest rewards go the states that, unlike New York, have been Scrooges to the poor in need of medical care.
"We are in a sense being punished for our own charity," Paterson said Monday.
- The Senate health care bill would cost New York between $1.1 billion and $1.25 billion a year, according to Gov. Paterson's office.
- The House bill would save the state about $4 billion a year.
- New York State, which covers half its Medicaid costs now, will keep covering half under the Senate bill.
- Most other states will get 100% federal aid for three years and 82% to 95% thereafter. Nebraska gets 100% forever.
- New York City would lose funding for about 100 community health clinics and would have to close them, Mayor Bloomberg says.
- The Medicaid cuts would force a 15% reduction in payments to providers – including hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies and community clinics – New York House Democrats say.
- The House plan would cut $2.6 billion over 10 years from reimbursements to New York hospitals for treating people who cannot pay their bills.
- The Senate bill cuts $5.5 billion, according to the Health Care Association of New York.
Mayor Bloomberg has dispatched the head of his get-out-the-vote operation and a team of top aides to Massachusetts to push for votes for a candidate who hopes to replace the late Ted Kennedy in the Senate, The Post has learned.
About a dozen operatives shipped out in recent days to support Democratic hopeful Alan Khazei, who is running in today's four-way special primary election for the chance to assume the storied seat.
The Bloomberg operatives are covering zones statewide, with door-knocking and phone- banking.
Bloomberg has also hosted two events for Khazei, raising about 15 percent of the campaign's cash overall so far.
The endorsement:
"Massachusetts has big shoes to fill. Our country needs someone with an amazing record and new, bold ideas that can move the country forward. I know Alan is that person."
MOVE BACK TO BOSTON IF YOU CARE THAT MUCH ABOUT MASSACHUSETTS.
In unusually revealing remarks, Gov. David A. Paterson said on Wednesday that he never envisioned himself becoming governor and that he is trying to do the best with the situation he has found himself in.
Speaking at a luncheon organized by The Associated Press, Mr. Paterson said that when he ran for lieutenant governor in 2006 on a ticket with Eliot Spitzer, he had hoped that then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would later become president and Mr. Spitzer would appoint him to her seat.
“I did not sign up for this,” Mr. Paterson said. “I wanted to be lieutenant governor. I had this grand plan that Hillary Clinton was going to become president. Maybe the governor would appoint me to the Senate.”
Rep. Carolyn Maloney has decided not to pursue a challenge against appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the 2010 Democratic primary, just weeks after her advisers were quoting saying she was definitely in the race, The Post has learned.
Maloney released a statement detailing her intentions, in which she gave her reasons for not running -- but did not say she was supporting Gillibrand should she face another challenger.
Politicians are always prattling on about the glories of democracy. They boast about how they got rid of those nasty smoke-filled back rooms, where sebaceous party hacks used to select the candidates, and replaced them with primaries and with openness.
Truth is, politicians hate primaries. Those who are in command do, anyway. They go out of their way to knock off anyone who opposes their preferred candidates, apparently in the belief that matters of such weight cannot be left to lesser mortals, sometimes known as voters.
In this regard, New York Republicans and Democrats are equal offenders. The state Republicans under Gov. George E. Pataki worked hard to shut out any challenge to their designated favorites in the state’s presidential primaries... Party bosses would have gotten their way, too, had the courts not intervened and said, uh-uh.
With Ms. Gillibrand, the Democratic desire to eliminate democratic competition is especially striking because not a single voter has had a chance to pass judgment on whether she belongs in the United States Senate.
It’s not just that she was appointed. The man who named her, Gov. David A. Paterson, was not elected to his own office. It’s a double whammy, intensified for some New Yorkers by Ms. Gillibrand’s — how to put it — demonstrated flexibility on certain core issues.
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