<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>The Wonkster &#187; Eye on Albany</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/category/albany/eyeonalbany/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster</link>
	<description>Gotham Gazette&#039;s blog about New York policy and politics</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 31 Aug 2012 19:38:29 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>Schneiderman Working With JCOPE on Lopez Scandal</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/31/schneiderman-working-with-jcope-on-lopez-scandal/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/31/schneiderman-working-with-jcope-on-lopez-scandal/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Aug 2012 19:38:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eric Schneiderman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sheldon Silver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vito lopez]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11161</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“If true, the actions of Assemblyman Lopez are reprehensible, and the decision of the Assembly to keep secret the provision of &#8209; and even the existence of &#8209; a settlement agreement was wholly inappropriate and contrary to the public interest. Our office policy requires that agreements of this kind do not include confidentiality provisions. On [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">“If true, the actions of Assemblyman Lopez are reprehensible, and the decision of the Assembly to keep secret the provision of &#8209; and even the existence of &#8209; a settlement agreement was wholly inappropriate and contrary to the public interest. Our office policy requires that agreements of this kind do not include confidentiality provisions. On May 30, 2012, an OAG attorney provided the Assembly&#8217;s counsel with a copy of a model pre-litigation settlement agreement which included no provision mandating secrecy or confidentiality.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">“Our office has already been in communication with Ellen Biben, the Executive Director of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. We have already provided the Commission and the press with copies of all communications with the Assembly in our possession relating to this matter, and stand ready to work with JCOPE to ensure a full and fair investigation.”</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">BACKGROUND ON OAG ROLE IN EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">The Office of the Attorney General serves as litigation counsel for the State including state agencies, the Governor, the Comptroller, the Legislature, the Office of Court of Administration, some authorities, and state employees and officers, including members of the legislature.  That is, we are the State&#8217;s trial lawyers, as opposed to the lawyers within agencies and the Legislature who act as general counsel.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">We act primarily as defense counsel representing these entities when they are sued. In this matter, because no litigation was initiated, the Office of the Attorney General did not represent the Assembly in its internal employment dispute.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">We defend the State, state agencies as well as individual state employees in employment litigation which does not include administrative proceedings, or pre-litigation investigation, or alternative dispute resolution.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">In the course of litigation, we analyze whether it is in the best interests of the state to settle matters before trial, taking into account, for instance, saving taxpayer money.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">The OAG settlement policy provides that all Settlement Agreements be public in accordance with the principles of Open Government except for compelling reasons, including public safety.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Accordingly, the OAG standard settlement terms do not include confidentiality provisions. Further, our policy is that when defending the state in litigation, we do not enter into any confidential or secret litigation settlements, and we would not view a sexual harassment case as a compelling exemption to this policy.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">In employment litigation, clients often request that the terms of the settlement be confidential and we regularly reject such requests based on our policy.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">State agencies, including the Legislature, consult with us from time to time on matters where we have expertise such as bankruptcy, employment, and contracts in a non-litigation context, or in anticipation of litigation.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">We do not, in our work defending the State:</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(1)            make agency management or business decisions;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(2)            participate in agency internal investigations or ethics determinations;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(3)            participate in the internal workings of the Legislature or their proceedings as it relates to employment issues;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(4)            negotiate agency agreements with employees outside of the litigation context; nor</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(5)            represent agencies or employees in administrative proceedings such as the State Division of Human Rights, other than representing ourselves.</div>
<p>Everyone involved in the settlement between the Assembly and Assemblyman Vito Lopez&#8217;s accusers are now <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/silver-thinks-jcope-investigation-is-a-great-idea/">facing major scrutiny</a>. The office of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman had to sign off on the <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/state/1437-brooklyn-boss-lopez-punished-by-ethics-panel-for-sexual-harassment">sexual harassment settlement</a> and as such they are also under the lens. In a statement just released by Schneiderman&#8217;s office the AG says he is cooperating with the Joint Commission on Public Integrity:</p>
<p>“If true, the actions of Assemblyman Lopez are reprehensible, and the decision of the Assembly to keep secret the provision of &#8209; and even the existence of &#8209; a settlement agreement was wholly inappropriate and contrary to the public interest. Our office policy requires that agreements of this kind do not include confidentiality provisions. On May 30, 2012, an OAG attorney provided the Assembly&#8217;s counsel with a copy of a model pre-litigation settlement agreement which included no provision mandating secrecy or confidentiality.</p>
<p>“Our office has already been in communication with Ellen Biben, the Executive Director of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. We have already provided the Commission and the press with copies of all communications with the Assembly in our possession relating to this matter, and stand ready to work with JCOPE to ensure a full and fair investigation.”</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/31/schneiderman-working-with-jcope-on-lopez-scandal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Silver Thinks JCOPE Investigation is a Great Idea</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/silver-thinks-jcope-investigation-is-a-great-idea/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/silver-thinks-jcope-investigation-is-a-great-idea/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Aug 2012 22:33:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sheldon Silver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vito lopez]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11154</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is facing tremendous scrutiny for his role in settling sexual harassment claims against Assemblyman Vito Lopez. Everyone and their Governor has expressed interest in having the newly-formed Joint Commission on Public Ethics investigate the allegations against Lopez and the deal that led to his censure. You can now add Silver&#8217;s name [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is facing tremendous scrutiny for his role in settling sexual harassment claims against Assemblyman Vito Lopez. <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/ethics-board-to-get-earful-on-vito-lopez/">Everyone and their Governor</a> has expressed interest in having the newly-formed Joint Commission on Public Ethics investigate the allegations against Lopez and the deal that led to his censure. You can now add Silver&#8217;s name to that list of people.</p>
<p>&#8220;I would welcome a JCOPE investigation, as a JCOPE inquiry would supersede any confidentiality agreements that exist and allow all of the facts to come out,&#8221; said Silver in a statement. &#8221; Those facts will show that any decision by the Assembly to enter into any settlement agreement was both legal and ethical and made out of deference to the wishes of the complainants.  In addition the Assembly has written to counsel in any previous settlement asking for a release from any confidentiality clauses that may exist so that we can legally and properly release to the public all information relating to any settlement and how it was reached.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/silver-thinks-jcope-investigation-is-a-great-idea/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Ethics Board to Get Earful on Vito Lopez</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/ethics-board-to-get-earful-on-vito-lopez/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/ethics-board-to-get-earful-on-vito-lopez/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:25:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citizens Union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Common Cause]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vito lopez]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11149</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sonia Ossorio, President of NOW NYC said:
&#8220;Assemblyman Vito Lopez&#8217;s reported acts of sexual harassment against numerous employees make him entirely unfit to serve the public in any capacity. Just as disturbing is Speaker Silver&#8217;s cover-up of Lopez&#8217;s earlier transgressions, which demonstrate an ongoing acceptance and tolerance for sexual harassment. It is absolutely unacceptable that in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Sonia Ossorio, President of NOW NYC said:</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">&#8220;Assemblyman Vito Lopez&#8217;s reported acts of sexual harassment against numerous employees make him entirely unfit to serve the public in any capacity. Just as disturbing is Speaker Silver&#8217;s cover-up of Lopez&#8217;s earlier transgressions, which demonstrate an ongoing acceptance and tolerance for sexual harassment. It is absolutely unacceptable that in the hallowed halls of government, women demanding the fair and equal treatment to which they are entitled under the law should be met with secrecy and muzzled. JCOPE must investigate the full extent to which members of the Assembly staff, and of Mr. Lopez&#8217;s former and current staff, were aware of his conduct, and the Speaker&#8217;s role in burying these egregious charges. We will not allow the New York State Assembly to disregard women&#8217;s rights.&#8221;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY said:</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">&#8220;Sexual harassment is illegal and revelations that it was handled secretly to protect a powerful member of the Legislature in 2012 in Albany are shocking. In a democracy, government must be held accountable to protect all of the state&#8217;s residents, yet only in the last week has the Assembly acted to protect its female employees based on the information provided by the very brave women who, refusing to accept Vito Lopez&#8217;s sexual misconduct, reported it to the relevant authorities. JCOPE must investigate the extent of Lopez&#8217;s misconduct, every thwarted attempt to report it, and the failure of process which resulted in that conduct being hidden, tacitly accepted, and allowed to continue. Voters require a public airing of the facts. JCOPE is the appropriate entity to investigate, inform the public of what actually happened and hold the responsible individuals and entities accountable.&#8221;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Citizens Union is also sending a letter to JCOPE calling on them to investigate.Th</div>
<p>The Joint Commission on Public Ethics should be expecting quite a few complaints regarding Assemblyman Vito Lopez and the allegations that he sexually harassed women working for his office.</p>
<p>The National Organization of Women NYC and Common Cause are filing a joint complaint with JCOPE asking them to investigate the scope of Lopez&#8217;s &#8220;misconduct.&#8221; Citizens Union which is the sister organization to the Gotham Gazette, is <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2012/08/citizens-union-wants-to-pull-jcope-into-vito-lopez-sex-harrass-investigation">calling on JCOPE to investigate</a>, as is <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2012/08/gov-cuomo-jcope-should-investigate-sexual-harrassment-allegations-against-vito">Gov. Andrew Cuomo</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Assemblyman Vito Lopez&#8217;s reported acts of sexual harassment against numerous employees make him entirely unfit to serve the public in any capacity,&#8221; said Sonia Ossorio, President of NOW NYC, in a statement. &#8220;Just as disturbing is Speaker Silver&#8217;s cover-up of Lopez&#8217;s earlier transgressions, which demonstrate an ongoing acceptance and tolerance for sexual harassment. It is absolutely unacceptable that in the hallowed halls of government, women demanding the fair and equal treatment to which they are entitled under the law should be met with secrecy and muzzled. JCOPE must investigate the full extent to which members of the Assembly staff, and of Mr. Lopez&#8217;s former and current staff, were aware of his conduct, and the Speaker&#8217;s role in burying these egregious charges. We will not allow the New York State Assembly to disregard women&#8217;s rights.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://politicker.com/2012/08/that-was-fast-vito-lopez-announces-his-exit/">Lopez has denied the allegations</a>, saying that he intends to prove &#8220;the political nature of these accusations.&#8221;</p>
<p>“I have worked tirelessly over the years to bring important  programs and services to the poor and working poor,&#8221; he said in a statement. &#8220;This could not have  occurred without the support and time commitment of dedicated staff,  many of whom have benefited from the positive work experience in the  positions they currently hold and in the subsequent careers that  they have pursued.”</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/ethics-board-to-get-earful-on-vito-lopez/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hunger Action to Cuomo: Raise the Wage</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/hunger-action-to-cuomo-raise-the-wage/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/hunger-action-to-cuomo-raise-the-wage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:47:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mark Dunlea]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11143</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Cuomo Should Use Labor Day to Raise Minimum Wage
(Albany, NY) Hunger Action Network of NYS called today for Governor Cuomo to raise the state minimum wage by using Labor Day to convene a minimum wage board.
State Labor Law Sec. 653 gives the Governor the power to raise the minimum wage without the need for legislative [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Cuomo Should Use Labor Day to Raise Minimum Wage</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(Albany, NY) Hunger Action Network of NYS called today for Governor Cuomo to raise the state minimum wage by using Labor Day to convene a minimum wage board.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">State Labor Law Sec. 653 gives the Governor the power to raise the minimum wage without the need for legislative approval if the Labor Commissioner – in reality, the Governor – determines that the minimum wage is inadequate to support workers.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Hunger Action also said that Cuomo should convene a Labor Day extraordinary session of the State legislature to deal with a host of outstanding issues critical to NY workers, including raising unemployment benefits and strengthening Farmworker rights.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">“It is time for Governor Cuomo to listen to New York voters who overwhelmingly believe low-income workers deserve a pay raise. Low wage workers may not contribute to the Governor’s various political committees like the casinos do but they contribute to the state’s economy. Rather than yet another photo op on Labor Day, the Governor and legislators should be in Albany taking concrete action to help workers,” noted Mark Dunlea, Executive Director of Hunger Action Network of NYS.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Hunger Action Network of NYS has called the Governor’s office and Labor Commissioner Peter Rivera weekly since the legislature adjourned to discuss administratively raising the minimum wage but have received no response. Hunger Action filed a petition under Sec. 653 of the Labor Law to begin the process of convening the minimum wage board but so far the Labor Department has failed to rule on whether or not the minimum wage is adequate.  The Cuomo administration has acknowledged to Hunger Action that it does have the power to raise the minimum wage unilaterally.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Hunger Action has told the Governor and Rivera that it is willing to circulate a new petition, which must be signed by 50 individuals impacted by the minimum wage, if they are unwilling to act on the petition initially filed during the Paterson administration. Until recently, Paterson’s labor commissioner Colleen Crawford had continued under Cuomo.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Once the minimum wage is determined to be inadequate, the administration appoints a minimum wage board of labor, business and civic representatives to recommend within 45 days what the minimum wage should be increased to. The Labor Commissioner can then order a hike.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">There has been speculation that the legislature would raise the minimum wage in a lame duck session after the November elections as part of a deal to raise state legislators and Commissioners salaries (an issue of concern to Cuomo).  However, the escalating scandals involving the indictment of legislators for corruptions, patronage jobs and sexual harassment – and overwhelming public opposition &#8211; has made a legislative pay raise much less likely.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">
<p>“The minimum wage in NY isn’t even a poverty wage. The majority of New Yorkers who support a minimum wage hike want it to be raised at least $10 an hour so workers don’t have to flood food pantries looking for food to feed their families. It is time for Governor Cuomo to step up to the bat for low-income workers,” added Dunlea.</p></div>
<p>Mark Dunlea of Hunger Action wants Gov. Andrew Cuomo to take executive action to increase the state&#8217;s minimum wage. Dunlea thinks Labor Day would be a perfect time for Cuomo to convene a special board that could recommend an increase in the minimum wage that the governor would implement.</p>
<p>State Labor Law Sec. 653 gives the governor the ability to raise the minimum wage without legislative approval if the labor commissioner recommends it.</p>
<p>“It is time for Gov. Cuomo to listen to New York voters who overwhelmingly believe low-income workers deserve a pay raise,&#8221; Dunlea said in a statement. &#8220;Low wage workers may not contribute to the governor’s various political committees like the casinos do but they contribute to the state’s economy. Rather than yet another photo op on Labor Day, the governor and legislators should be in Albany taking concrete action to help workers.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dunlea also wants Cuomo to convene a special session of the Legislature to address various workers issues, including raising unemployment benefits and addressing farm workers rights legislation.</p>
<p>The governor&#8217;s office didn&#8217;t immediately respond to an email requesting comment.</p>
<p>Here is Hunger Action&#8217;s full news release:</p>
<p>Cuomo Should Use Labor Day to Raise Minimum Wage</p>
<p>(Albany, NY) Hunger Action Network of NYS called today for Governor Cuomo to raise the state minimum wage by using Labor Day to convene a minimum wage board.</p>
<p>State Labor Law Sec. 653 gives the Governor the power to raise the minimum wage without the need for legislative approval if the Labor Commissioner – in reality, the Governor – determines that the minimum wage is inadequate to support workers.</p>
<p>Hunger Action also said that Cuomo should convene a Labor Day extraordinary session of the State legislature to deal with a host of outstanding issues critical to NY workers, including raising unemployment benefits and strengthening Farmworker rights.</p>
<p>“It is time for Governor Cuomo to listen to New York voters who overwhelmingly believe low-income workers deserve a pay raise. Low wage workers may not contribute to the Governor’s various political committees like the casinos do but they contribute to the state’s economy. Rather than yet another photo op on Labor Day, the Governor and legislators should be in Albany taking concrete action to help workers,” noted Mark Dunlea, Executive Director of Hunger Action Network of NYS.</p>
<p>Hunger Action Network of NYS has called the Governor’s office and Labor Commissioner Peter Rivera weekly since the legislature adjourned to discuss administratively raising the minimum wage but have received no response. Hunger Action filed a petition under Sec. 653 of the Labor Law to begin the process of convening the minimum wage board but so far the Labor Department has failed to rule on whether or not the minimum wage is adequate.  The Cuomo administration has acknowledged to Hunger Action that it does have the power to raise the minimum wage unilaterally.</p>
<p>Hunger Action has told the Governor and Rivera that it is willing to circulate a new petition, which must be signed by 50 individuals impacted by the minimum wage, if they are unwilling to act on the petition initially filed during the Paterson administration. Until recently, Paterson’s labor commissioner Colleen Crawford had continued under Cuomo.</p>
<p>Once the minimum wage is determined to be inadequate, the administration appoints a minimum wage board of labor, business and civic representatives to recommend within 45 days what the minimum wage should be increased to. The Labor Commissioner can then order a hike.</p>
<p>There has been speculation that the legislature would raise the minimum wage in a lame duck session after the November elections as part of a deal to raise state legislators and Commissioners salaries (an issue of concern to Cuomo).  However, the escalating scandals involving the indictment of legislators for corruptions, patronage jobs and sexual harassment – and overwhelming public opposition &#8211; has made a legislative pay raise much less likely.</p>
<p>“The minimum wage in NY isn’t even a poverty wage. The majority of New Yorkers who support a minimum wage hike want it to be raised at least $10 an hour so workers don’t have to flood food pantries looking for food to feed their families. It is time for Governor Cuomo to step up to the bat for low-income workers,” added Dunlea.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/29/hunger-action-to-cuomo-raise-the-wage/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Silver Regrets &quot;Confidential&quot; Lopez Settlement</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/28/silver-regrets-confidential-lopez-settlement/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/28/silver-regrets-confidential-lopez-settlement/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Aug 2012 23:11:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sheldon Silver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vito lopez]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11134</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In July 2012, two employees in Assemblymember Vito Lopez’s district office filed a complaint about sexual harassment in the Assemblymember’s office.  We referred the complaint promptly to the bipartisan Assembly Committee on Ethics and Guidance and acted swiftly on their recommendations last Friday.
However, it has been the opinion of Assembly counsel, which I endorsed, that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">In July 2012, two employees in Assemblymember Vito Lopez’s district office filed a complaint about sexual harassment in the Assemblymember’s office.  We referred the complaint promptly to the bipartisan Assembly Committee on Ethics and Guidance and acted swiftly on their recommendations last Friday.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">However, it has been the opinion of Assembly counsel, which I endorsed, that if an employee or employees represented by counsel request a confidential mediation and financial settlement, the Assembly would defer to the employees’ desire for mediation and confidentiality and that this precluded referring their complaints to the bipartisan Committee on Ethics and Guidance.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">While that opinion is both legally correct and ethical and can result in a resolution sought by complaining employees, I now believe it was the wrong one from the perspective of transparency.  The Assembly (1) should not agree to a confidential settlement, (2) should insist that the basic factual allegations of any complaint be referred to the Ethics Committee for a full investigation and (3) should publicly announce the existence of any settlement, while protecting the identity of the victims.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">I am deeply committed to ensuring that all of our employees are treated with respect and dignity and I take full responsibility in not insisting that all cases go to the Ethics Committee.   Going forward I will work with independent experts and our Counsel’s office to ensure that we put in place policies that both protect the interests of victims and provide adequate transparency and accountability to the public.</div>
<p>Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been facing intense scrutiny about the Assembly secretly reached a financial settlement with two women who claim to have been <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/topics/open-government/1437-brooklyn-boss-lopez-punished-by-ethics-panel-for-sexual-harassment">sexually harassed by </a>Assemblyman Vito Lopez. The Assembly paid the women $103,000 and the Assembly ethics committee later recommended Lopez be censured. In a late evening press release Silver&#8217;s office explains the series of events and says from now on financial settlements with employees should be made public.</p>
<p>&#8220;While that opinion is both legally correct and ethical and can result in a resolution sought by complaining employees, I now believe it was the wrong one from the perspective of transparency.  The Assembly (1) should not agree to a confidential settlement, (2) should insist that the basic factual allegations of any complaint be referred to the Ethics Committee for a full investigation and (3) should publicly announce the existence of any settlement, while protecting the identity of the victims,&#8221; said the statement from Silver.</p>
<p>Of course other questions about the whole affair linger&#8211;like, &#8220;Why wasn&#8217;t the entire matter referred to the newly formed Joint Committee on Public Ethics?&#8221; Gov. Andrew Cuomo has <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2012/08/gov-cuomo-jcope-should-investigate-sexual-harrassment-allegations-against-vito">called for</a> JCOPE to look into the charges against Lopez.</p>
<p>Silver&#8217;s statement says his office was alerted to the allegations in July 2012 but the New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/nyregion/claims-vito-lopez-harassed-staff-cost-state-103000.html">has reported</a> that the settlement was paid on June 13 2012.</p>
<p>Lopez <a href="http://politicker.com/2012/08/that-was-fast-vito-lopez-announces-his-exit/">resigned his position</a> as the head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party earlier today but refused to resign from the Assembly. Here is the full statement from Silver&#8217;s office:<span id="more-11134"></span></p>
<p>&#8220;In July 2012, two employees in Assemblymember Vito Lopez’s district office filed a complaint about sexual harassment in the Assemblymember’s office.  We referred the complaint promptly to the bipartisan Assembly Committee on Ethics and Guidance and acted swiftly on their recommendations last Friday.</p>
<p>However, it has been the opinion of Assembly counsel, which I endorsed, that if an employee or employees represented by counsel request a confidential mediation and financial settlement, the Assembly would defer to the employees’ desire for mediation and confidentiality and that this precluded referring their complaints to the bipartisan Committee on Ethics and Guidance.</p>
<p>While that opinion is both legally correct and ethical and can result in a resolution sought by complaining employees, I now believe it was the wrong one from the perspective of transparency.  The Assembly (1) should not agree to a confidential settlement, (2) should insist that the basic factual allegations of any complaint be referred to the Ethics Committee for a full investigation and (3) should publicly announce the existence of any settlement, while protecting the identity of the victims.</p>
<p>I am deeply committed to ensuring that all of our employees are treated with respect and dignity and I take full responsibility in not insisting that all cases go to the Ethics Committee.   Going forward I will work with independent experts and our Counsel’s office to ensure that we put in place policies that both protect the interests of victims and provide adequate transparency and accountability to the public.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/28/silver-regrets-confidential-lopez-settlement/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Shirley Huntley Faces Charges in Corruption Case</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/27/shirley-huntley-accused-in-scheme-to-defraud-ny/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/27/shirley-huntley-accused-in-scheme-to-defraud-ny/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Aug 2012 20:04:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eric Schneiderman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shirley Huntley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thomas DiNapoli]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11123</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[State Sen. Shirley Huntley told reporters over the weekend that she expected to be arrested — and low and behold the senator turned herself in today to face a number of federal charges.
Huntley is accused of helping to defraud New York out of nearly $30,000, including forging a document to make it appear as if [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>State Sen. Shirley Huntley <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/nyregion/senator-shirley-huntley-says-she-will-be-arrested.html">told reporters over the weekend</a> that she expected to be arrested — and low and behold the senator <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&amp;id=8787616">turned herself in</a> today to face a number of federal charges.</p>
<p>Huntley is accused of helping to defraud New York out of nearly $30,000, including forging a document to make it appear as if a nonprofit she had formed was using taxpayer funds to help the community as intended, according to state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman.</p>
<p>Huntley&#8217;s aide and a niece are  both accused of submitting false documents to the state in an attempt  to win funding for the nonprofit, according to an indictment made public today. The aide and niece received the funding pocketed the money, prosecutors said.</p>
<p>Huntley faces felony charges of tampering with physical evidence and falsifying business records in the first degree, as well as conspiracy in the fifth degree, a misdemeanor. Each felony carries a maximum sentence of 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison. If Huntley is convicted, she would be removed from the state Senate automatically.</p>
<p>She had told reporters on Saturday that she wanted her day in court.</p>
<p>Huntley is facing a primary challenge from Councilman James Sanders, and has said she plans on staying in the race.</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">â€śFalsifying documents, conspiracy and deliberately tampering with an open investigation are serious crimes. The individuals who schemed to profit at the taxpayersâ€™ expense and cover it up will be held accountable,â€ť Attorney General Schneiderman said. â€śMy officeâ€™s partnership with the Comptroller is designed to combat corruption in the public sector, and we will continue to work tirelessly to protect every penny of taxpayer money.â€ť</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">â€śPublic service is a privilege and a trust that should never be violated,â€ť Comptroller DiNapoli said. â€śI will continue to partner with Attorney General Schneiderman to root out public corruption and safeguard the use of public funds.â€ť</div>
<p>&#8220;Falsifying documents, conspiracy and deliberately tampering with an open investigation are serious crimes. The individuals who schemed to profit at the taxpayers&#8217; expense and cover it up will be held accountable,&#8221; Schneiderman said in a statement.</p>
<p>Schneiderman served in the Senate with Huntley and, in 2010. As a senator, Schneiderman was the chair on a special investigations committee that moved to expel former Sen. Hiram Monserrate after he faced charges of assaulting his girlfriend. The Senate voted 53-8 to expel Monseratte. Huntley voted for Monserratte&#8217;s expulsion at the time. The Senate would not have to vote to expel her if she is convicted of a felony.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/27/shirley-huntley-accused-in-scheme-to-defraud-ny/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>23</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Calls for Lopez&#039;s Resignation</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/calls-for-lopezs-resignation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/calls-for-lopezs-resignation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Aug 2012 20:14:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scott stringer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vito lopez]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11112</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The New King&#8217;s Democrats, a group that has been battling Brooklyn political boss Vito Lopez for political power on the local level have called for the embattled Assemblyman to resign following his censure by the Assembly for sexual harassment. &#8220;Yet again, Vito Lopez has embarrassed Brooklyn and the Democratic Party.  We have long been used [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The New King&#8217;s Democrats, a group <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/component/fpss/track/47/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5nb3RoYW1nYXpldHRlLmNvbS9pbmRleC5waHAvY2l0eS81Mi1vcGVuLWdvdmVybm1lbnQvMTQzMy1iYXR0bGluZy10aGUtYm9zcy1pbi1icm9va2x5bg,,">that has been battling</a> Brooklyn political boss Vito Lopez for political power on the local level have called for the embattled Assemblyman to resign following his censure by the Assembly for sexual harassment. &#8220;Yet again, Vito Lopez has embarrassed Brooklyn and the Democratic Party.  We have long been used to stories about his corruption, cronyism and nepotism,&#8221; said Alex Low, president of NKD. &#8220;Today&#8217;s news marks a new low.  Vito&#8217;s time has come.  We encourage other leaders to join us in demanding his resignation and calling for fresh leadership.&#8221;</p>
<p>The tide of calls for Lopez to resign seems to have started. Scott Stringer tweeted: &#8220;Assemblymember Vito Lopez has violated any trust that voters placed in him, and he should step down immediately.</p>
<p>Common Cause issued a statement , stating: &#8220;It is clear that Assembly Member Lopez should resign not only from the Assembly but also from his chairmanship of the Kings County Democratic Party.&#8221;</p>
<p>Here is Common Cause&#8217;s full statement: <span id="more-11112"></span></p>
<p>&#8220;Assembly Member Vito Lopez&#8217; shocking and abhorrent sexual misconduct demands a swift and strong penalty. Speaker Silver has acted judiciously by adopting the Standing Committee of Ethics and Guidance&#8217;s appropriate sanctions, stripping the powerful assembly member of his committee chairmanship and seniority. We particularly applaud the courage of the two unnamed employees of the State Assembly for coming forward with their complaints against a powerful senior member of the Assembly. It is clear that Assembly Member Lopez should resign not only from the Assembly but also from his chairmanship of the Kings County Democratic Party.</p>
<p>It is often the case that those who feel empowered to sexually harass one or two employees fail to stop there. It may well be that this is only the most recent instance of Assembly Member Lopez&#8217; gross misconduct. We call on the Joint Committee for Public Integrity to conduct the necessary broad investigation to assure New Yorkers and other employees of the State Legislature that such conduct will not be tolerated.</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">ssembly Member Vito Lopez&#8217; shocking and abhorrent sexual misconduct demands a swift and strong penalty. Speaker Silver has acted judiciously by adopting the Standing Committee of Ethics and Guidance&#8217;s appropriate sanctions, stripping the powerful assembly member of his committee chairmanship and seniority. We particularly applaud the courage of the two unnamed employees of the State Assembly for coming forward with their complaints against a powerful senior member of the Assembly. It is clear that Assembly Member Lopez should resign not only from the Assembly but also from his chairmanship of the Kings County Democratic Party.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">It is often the case that those who feel empowered to sexually harass one or two employees fail to stop there. It may well be that this is only the most recent instance of Assembly Member Lopez&#8217; gross misconduct. We call on the Joint Committee for Public Integrity to conduct the necessary broad investigation to assure New Yorkers and other employees of the State Legislature that such conduct will not be tolerated.</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/calls-for-lopezs-resignation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Williams and Cabrera Comment on Shootings</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/williams-and-cabrera-comment-on-shootings/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/williams-and-cabrera-comment-on-shootings/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:47:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[City Hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jumaane Williams]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11110</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this morning’s shooting and their families and friends.  It was a terrible act of gun violence and thankfully many more people were not hurt in midtown Manhattan.  But it’s not the only act of gun violence in our city this summer.
“Just last night, a 13-year-old [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this morning’s shooting and their families and friends.  It was a terrible act of gun violence and thankfully many more people were not hurt in midtown Manhattan.  But it’s not the only act of gun violence in our city this summer.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">“Just last night, a 13-year-old child was heading to the store in Brownsville when he was gunned down and killed. We should be outraged and frightened by each and every one of these incidents, and they should strengthen the resolve of every elected official to do whatever necessary to pass meaningful and common-sense gun control measures. We all need to find ways to end gun violence in our city. Whether it’s on 34th street in Midtown Manhattan, a playground in the Bronx or a school yard in Brooklyn.”</div>
<p>Councilman Jumaane Williams and Fernando Cabrera want to remind New Yorker&#8217;s that gun violence is an everyday reality for a number of their constituents. The men co-chair the Council&#8217;s Gun Violence Taskforce and issued this statement in reaction to the shooting at the Empire State Building:</p>
<p>“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this morning’s shooting and their families and friends.  It was a terrible act of gun violence and thankfully many more people were not hurt in midtown Manhattan.  But it’s not the only act of gun violence in our city this summer.</p>
<p>“Just last night, a 13-year-old child was heading to the store in Brownsville when he was gunned down and killed. We should be outraged and frightened by each and every one of these incidents, and they should strengthen the resolve of every elected official to do whatever necessary to pass meaningful and common-sense gun control measures. We all need to find ways to end gun violence in our city. Whether it’s on 34th street in Midtown Manhattan, a playground in the Bronx or a school yard in Brooklyn.”</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/williams-and-cabrera-comment-on-shootings/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Brooklyn Boss Lopez Rebuked by Fellow Lawmakers</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/brooklyn-boss-lopez-punished-by-ethics-panel/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/brooklyn-boss-lopez-punished-by-ethics-panel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:03:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sheldon Silver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vito lopez]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11103</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Longtime Brooklyn party boss Vito Lopez will be stripped of his committee chairmanship and lose his seniority after an ethics committee found he violated the Assembly&#8217;s sexual harassment policy.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced today that Lopez will be removed as chairman of the Assembly Committee on Housing, banned from any other committee chairmanship or leadership [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Longtime Brooklyn party boss Vito Lopez will be stripped of his committee chairmanship and lose his seniority after an ethics committee found he violated the Assembly&#8217;s sexual harassment policy.</p>
<p>Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced today that Lopez will be removed as chairman of the Assembly Committee on Housing, banned from any other committee chairmanship or leadership position and stripped of his seniority.</p>
<p>Silver also said that Lopez&#8217;s staff allocation will be reduced through attrition to the amount of a first-term member. Lopez will also be forced to undergo sexual harassment training. His office will be prohibited from employing staff under 21 years old or interns.</p>
<p>The bi-partisan Assembly Committee on Ethics and Guidance recommended the sanctions after reviewing allegations of sexual harassment brought against Lopez.</p>
<p>“The Assembly has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment and we are committed to ensuring a safe and respectful workplace for all our employees,” Silver said in a statement. “The committee on Ethics and Guidance has been diligent in thoroughly and fairly investigating the allegations made in this case and I will immediately implement its recommendations.”</p>
<p>Lopez&#8217;s office has yet to return calls for comment.</p>
<p>The letter from Silver to Lopez contains graphic detail of the allegations against Lopez. The Assembly committee unanimously found that the allegations were &#8220;credible.&#8221; And the allegations include that Lopez groped between a staffer&#8217;s legs, forced them on a trip to Atlantic City where he made aggressive sexual advances and made inappropriate comments about their bodies and attire.</p>
<p>Here is an excerpt of the letter: <span id="more-11103"></span></p>
<p>The Committee unanimously found as follows:</p>
<p>1. That complainants&#8217; allegations of unwelcome verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature were credible, including:  That there was pervasive unwelcome verbal conduct by you toward both complainants from early June 2012 until the time they made complaints of sexual harassment in mid-July 2012, including repeated comments about their physical appearance, their bodies, their attire, and their private relationships;  That the unwelcome verbal and physical conduct escalated over time;  That there were multiple incidents of unwelcome physical conduct toward one complainant, wherein you put your hand on her leg, she removed your hand, and you then put your hand between her upper thighs, putting your hand as far up between her legs as you could go; That you required one of the complainants to take a trip with you to Atlantic City in July 2012, and that you attempted to kiss her, that she struggled to fend you off before you stopped, and that on the drive back from Atlantic City you again put your hand between her legs; and  That other incidents of unwelcome physical conduct occurred, including holding one complainant&#8217;s hand and playing with her hair. That complainants&#8217; perception that such conduct created an intimidating, hostile and offensive working environment was reasonable; That complainants&#8217; allegations that you required them to write to you about how much they loved their jobs and cared about you, and that you criticized their notes for being insufficiently effusive, were credible; That your response was not credible; and That you violated the Assembly&#8217;s Sexual Harassment/Retaliation Policy, which appropriately provides that every Assembly employee is entitled to an employment environment free from sexual harassment and that sexual harassment will not be tolerated within the Assembly workplace.&#8221;</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Removing Lopez as Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Housing and banning him from any other committee chairmanship or leadership position;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Reducing Lopez’s staff allocation through attrition to the amount reserved for a first term member and forfeiting his seniority in the Assembly;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Requiring the Assemblyman to undergo supplemental sexual harassment training; and</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Prohibiting Lopez from employing staff under 21 years old or interns in his Assembly offices.</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/brooklyn-boss-lopez-punished-by-ethics-panel/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>NY Pols React to Shooting at Empire State Building</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/ny-pols-react-to-shooting-at-empire-state-building/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/ny-pols-react-to-shooting-at-empire-state-building/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:31:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlie Rangel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eric Schneiderman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Gianaris]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11100</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At least one person was killed and 10 people shot today when a gunman opened fire at the Empire State Building today. The incident will surely spark more debate about preventing gun violence in the wake of the shooting at a theater in Aurora Colorado and at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. A number of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>At least one person was killed and 10 people shot today when a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/nyregion/several-people-shot-one-fatally-outside-empire-state-building.html?hp">gunman opened fire</a> at the Empire State Building today. The incident will surely <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/city/1434-the-political-reality-of-stemming-gun-violence">spark more debate about preventing gun violence</a> in the wake of the shooting at a theater in Aurora Colorado and at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. A number of New York&#8217;s elected officials have issued statements on the shooting.</p>
<p>Gov. Andrew Cuomo:</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">&#8220;Today&#8217;s shooting near the Empire State Building is a tragedy for New York City and our entire state. My administration, including members of the State Police, is actively monitoring the situation and working closely with city law enforcement agencies to ensure that the safety of New Yorkers and those visiting New York City comes first. I commend members of the New York Police Department, as well as the first responders and civilians, who acted bravely and took swift action to save the lives of others and prevent this tragedy from becoming much worse. Our state has no tolerance for senseless acts of violence that harm our people, and we will do everything possible to ensure that law enforcement officials have the tools they need so residents of the city and tourists can enjoy everything New York City has to offer without fearing for their own safety and security. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I send my condolences to the friends and family of the innocent victim who died in this attack, and wish those who were injured in today&#8217;s shooting a speedy recovery.&#8221;</div>
<p>&#8220;Today&#8217;s shooting near the Empire State Building is a tragedy for New York City and our entire state. My administration, including members of the State Police, is actively monitoring the situation and working closely with city law enforcement agencies to ensure that the safety of New Yorkers and those visiting New York City comes first. I commend members of the New York Police Department, as well as the first responders and civilians, who acted bravely and took swift action to save the lives of others and prevent this tragedy from becoming much worse. Our state has no tolerance for senseless acts of violence that harm our people, and we will do everything possible to ensure that law enforcement officials have the tools they need so residents of the city and tourists can enjoy everything New York City has to offer without fearing for their own safety and security. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I send my condolences to the friends and family of the innocent victim who died in this attack, and wish those who were injured in today&#8217;s shooting a speedy recovery.&#8221;</p>
<p>Attorney General Eric Schneiderman:</p>
<p>“Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims of today’s tragic shootings and their families. For those of us in government, and in law enforcement, the news of yet another mass shooting so close on the heels of the massacres at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin, and in Aurora, Colorado, should make it crystal clear that our current laws have failed to protect the public from gun violence. We must redouble our efforts to protect public safety so that New Yorkers don’t have to live in fear of the next deadly attack.”</p>
<div>Rep.  Charles Rangel:</div>
<div>
<div>&#8220;I am shaken by the news that a man randomly shot at innocent people at the Empire State Building, especially at an hour when many New Yorkers are starting their workday and hundreds of tourists are visiting.  My thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and the families and friends who lost their loved ones. I hope that those who are wounded will heal quickly and recover from the psychological harm that they endured.</div>
<div>This year, our nation has been plagued by frequent and senseless gun violence that has taken the lives of so many people across the country.  These arbitrary shootings are acts of terrorism that are paralyzing our communities.  We must unite to focus our policies on enacting stricter gun control laws that will prevent potentially harmful individuals from accessing such deadly weapons. It is the only way to make certain that our communities safer.&#8221;</div>
</div>
<div>Sen. Michael Gianaris:</div>
<div>“My prayers go out for the victims of this morning’s horrific incident caused by yet another act of senseless gun violence. It is long past time to fix our gun laws to prevent future tragedies from occurring. To the victims’ families, stay strong and know our hearts are with you.”</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/24/ny-pols-react-to-shooting-at-empire-state-building/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>DC 37&#039;s Interesting Endorsements</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/22/dc-37s-interesting-endorsements/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/22/dc-37s-interesting-endorsements/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:44:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DC 37]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Naomi Rivera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[William Boyland]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11091</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The city&#8217;s largest public employee union, DC 37, has released its slate of endorsements for the Sept. 13 primary. And, boy, are there are some interesting ones.
Perhaps most noteworthy is their endorsements of Assemblyman William Boyland, who is facing an indictment for federal bribery charges for allegedly soliciting $25,000 from an undercover FBI agent to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The city&#8217;s largest public employee union, DC 37, has released its slate of endorsements for the Sept. 13 primary. And, boy, are there are some interesting ones.</p>
<p>Perhaps most noteworthy is their endorsements of Assemblyman William Boyland, who is facing an indictment for federal bribery charges for allegedly soliciting $25,000 from an undercover FBI agent to cover legal expenses from his previous indictment.</p>
<p>Boyland is also being <a href="http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-06-04/news/32011767_1_expenses-brooklyn-democrat-federal-bribery-charges">investigated</a> for falsifying travel records for reimbursement, and has earned one of the <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/pol_only_bills_are_ones_taxpayers_1qBBCwRj6VaYxJxAb6bnhJ">least admirable records</a> in the legislature. Boyland had one of the worst attendance records of any legislator last year. He introduced no bills in 2011, and only sponsored three this year.</p>
<p>DC 37 is also endorsing Assembylwoman Naomi Rivera, who has recently come under fire for allegedly giving cushy government jobs to her ex-lovers.</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">&#8220;The DC 37 Executive Board endorsed this list of very qualified candidates, following a recommendation by the DC 37 Screening Committee, because of their proven record in support of the issues important to the men and women we represent who work so hard to serve New York,â€ť said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. â€śWe firmly believe that these candidates will best represent the interests of the labor community of our city and our state. Our endorsement brings with it a pledge to work diligently on their behalf with our powerful, sophisticated field operations to get out the vote. We have a proven record of successfully supporting our endorsed candidatesâ€ť.</div>
<p>&#8220;The DC 37 Executive Board endorsed this list of very qualified candidates, following a recommendation by the DC 37 Screening Committee, because of their proven record in support of the issues important to the men and women we represent who work so hard to serve New York,&#8221; said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts in a statement accompanying the endorsements.</p>
<p>A spokesman for DC 37 said they would respond to my inquiries about Boyland&#8217;s qualifications &#8220;as soon as possible.&#8221;</p>
<p>Here is the full list of primary endorsements: <span id="more-11091"></span></p>
<p>DC 37 Primary Day 2012 Endorsements</p>
<p>Thursday, September 13</p>
<p>ASSEMBLY DISTRICTS</p>
<p>Bronx</p>
<p>77th A.D. — Vanessa Gibson</p>
<p>78th A.D.  — Jose Rivera</p>
<p>80th A.D. — Naomi Rivera</p>
<p>86th A.D. — Nelson Castro</p>
<p>87th A.D. — Luis Sepulveda</p>
<p>Brooklyn</p>
<p>42nd A.D. — Rhoda Jacobs</p>
<p>55th A.D. — William Boyland, Jr.</p>
<p>57th A.D. — Olanike Alabi</p>
<p>58th A.D. — N. Nick Perry</p>
<p>60th A.D. — Inez Barron</p>
<p>Queens</p>
<p>25th A.D. — Jerry Iannece</p>
<p>38th A.D. — Michael Miller</p>
<p>40th A.D. — Ron Kim</p>
<p>SENATE DISTRICTS</p>
<p>Manhattan</p>
<p>31st S.D. —  Guillermo Linares</p>
<p>Queens</p>
<p>10th S.D. — Shirley Huntley</p>
<p>16th S.D. — Toby Ann Stavisky</p>
<p>Brooklyn</p>
<p>18th S.D. — Martin Malave Dilan</p>
<p>Bronx</p>
<p>33rd S.D. —  Gustavo Rivera</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/22/dc-37s-interesting-endorsements/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>NYPIRG looks for Board of Election&#039;s Teeth</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/22/nypirg-looks-for-board-of-elections-teeth/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/22/nypirg-looks-for-board-of-elections-teeth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2012 16:28:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Board of Elections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nypirg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pedro Espada]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11088</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The New York Public Interest Group went looking for the state Board of Election&#8217;s teeth and they didn&#8217;t find any. Thanks to two freedom of information requests NYPIRG discovered that the only action the BOE took against violators of campaign finance law over the last year were &#8220;modest&#8221; fines against committees that disclosed late.
NYPIRG points [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The New York Public Interest Group <a href="http://capitaltonightny.ynn.com/2012/08/nypirg-finds-enforcement-lacking-at-elections-board/">went looking</a> for the state Board of Election&#8217;s teeth and they didn&#8217;t find any. Thanks to two freedom of information requests NYPIRG discovered that the only action the BOE took against violators of campaign finance law over the last year were &#8220;modest&#8221; fines against committees that disclosed late.</p>
<p>NYPIRG points out that the BOE isn&#8217;t really doing its job when it comes to fining late-filing committees. &#8220;An examination of committees that haven’t filed recently shows that even in this area, the Board has not met its responsibilities to enforce the law,&#8221; wrote Bill Mahoney of NYPIRG.   2,328 active committees with $31,181,363.85 in the bank have still not disclosed any transactions made during the six months covered by the July filing period.  Many of these “missing in action” committees have not filed in a year or more.  The fact that the Board does not perform any audits raises the disturbing possibility that some of these candidates have simply pocketed the money.  While the vast majority of these filers may not have engaged in serious violations of the law, the Board’s anemic oversight and enforcement creates the impression that non-compliance with the law carriers little risk of real consequences.&#8221;</p>
<p>Anyone familiar with <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2009/07/17/espadas-filing-mess/">the escapades</a> of  former Sen. Pedro Espada and his long delayed campaign finance filings can recall the BOE&#8217;s no-so-dogged approach to getting Espada to file. Espada would miss a deadline and offer an excuse and the BOE would start waiting for him to file by the next agreed upon deadline, which usually resulted in another excuse for not filing. In fact NYPIRG&#8217;s report points out that Espada&#8217;s committee hasn&#8217;t filed in a while. Of course he has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/nyregion/ex-senator-espada-guilty-of-embezzling-from-soundview-health-network.html?pagewanted=all">bigger things to worry about</a> at the moment.</p>
<p>Update:</p>
<p>The Board of Election has issued this statement in response  to NYPIRG&#8217;s report:</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 29px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">While we share NYPIRG’s view that the enforcement of campaign finance disclosure is vitally important to the electoral process, we dispute the conclusions in the campaign finance report issued by NYPIRG today.  They allege wrongdoing by candidates and inaction by the State Board of Elections that is just not true.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 29px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Since 2006, we have initiated 5,042 lawsuits against candidates and committees seeking more than $1.5 million in court-assessed fines for failure to file campaign finance disclosure reports.  While we are criticized for seeking fines of only $1,000, that is the maximum allowable under current law.  In addition, we average more than 4,000 enforcement actions each year which stop short of litigation because the committees or candidates make their filing.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 29px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">With regard to persistent delinquents, between 2007 and 2010 the Board made more than 900 referrals to the Albany County District Attorney for failure to file.  During that same period 239 referrals of corporations were made to other District Attorneys around the state for corporate over-contributions.</div>
<p>While we share NYPIRG’s view that the enforcement of campaign finance disclosure is vitally important to the electoral process, we dispute the conclusions in the campaign finance report issued by NYPIRG today.  They allege wrongdoing by candidates and inaction by the State Board of Elections that is just not true.</p>
<p>Since 2006, we have initiated 5,042 lawsuits against candidates and committees seeking more than $1.5 million in court-assessed fines for failure to file campaign finance disclosure reports.  While we are criticized for seeking fines of only $1,000, that is the maximum allowable under current law.  In addition, we average more than 4,000 enforcement actions each year which stop short of litigation because the committees or candidates make their filing.</p>
<p>With regard to persistent delinquents, between 2007 and 2010 the Board made more than 900 referrals to the Albany County District Attorney for failure to file.  During that same period 239 referrals of corporations were made to other District Attorneys around the state for corporate over-contributions.</p>
<p>Since the law was changed in 2005, and local filers were required to file with the State Board, our total number of filers has increased more than seven-fold, going from 1,716 in 2004 to more than 12,300 last year.  During that time the resources allocated to the Board by the state have not kept pace with that increased workload.</p>
<p>The suggestion that we have not asked for additional resources is simply untrue.  The Board consistently seeks significant increases in staffing and funding from the Division of the Budget each year but as everyone knows the budget process is difficult in a bad economy.  This is also a persistent theme expressed during our Board meetings which are broadcast to the general public and anyone who has attended a budget hearing will hear that same request for the State Board from other advocacy groups.</p>
<p>Our goal as an administrative agency is compliance.  Even NYPIRG’s own figures obtained from the State Board demonstrate that a vast majority of filers are compliant with state law.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/22/nypirg-looks-for-board-of-elections-teeth/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cuomo unveils online voter registration</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/16/cuomo-unveils-online-voter-registration/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/16/cuomo-unveils-online-voter-registration/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:25:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DMV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[voter registration]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11083</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[New York ranks 47th among all states in voter registration. Over sixty percent  of the eligible voters in the state are not registered to vote. After months of discussion Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled sweeping changes at the Department of Motor Vehicles designed to make it easier for voters to register. The DMV will now offer [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>New York ranks 47th among all states in voter registration. Over sixty percent  of the eligible voters in the state are not registered to vote. After months of discussion Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled sweeping changes at the Department of Motor Vehicles designed to make it easier for voters to register. The DMV will now offer online voter registration and allow voters to change their party alignment or address online.</p>
<p>&#8220;Today, we are knocking down longstanding barriers that have prevented many New Yorkers from participating in the democratic process, while creating a more streamlined and more efficient system that will save taxpayers&#8217; money,&#8221; Cuomo said in a statement. &#8220;At the DMV, or in their own homes, New Yorkers will now have a convenient and secure way to ensure they are able to register and exercise their right to vote.&#8221;</p>
<p>Currently drivers fill out forms at the DMV to register to vote and the DMV processes about 300,000 applications a year in what is described by the governor&#8217;s office as a &#8220;cumbersome process.&#8221; The new site <a href="https.//my.dmv.ny.gov">https://my.dmv.ny.gov</a> will allow secure registration from home, while new electronic data entry devices at DMV locations will allow New Yorker&#8217;s to register to vote quickly.</p>
<p>Here is the description of the changes from Cuomo&#8217;s office as well as supporting comments from various good government groups: <span id="more-11083"></span></p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Increased Voter Registration Rates from Online &amp; Automated DMV Registration</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>According to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, 14 states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington—currently or will soon offer online voter registration.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Registration rates among 18-24 year-old citizens rose from 28 to 53 percent after Arizona introduced online and automated registration.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A recent study of Arizona&#8217;s online registration system found that young and minority voters are disproportionately likely to register online.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After registration was automated at DMVs, DMV voter registrations nearly doubled in Washington and Kansas and increased seven-fold in South Dakota.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Cost Savings from Online &amp; Automated DMV Registration</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Studies in Arizona and Delaware have demonstrated substantial cost savings for DMVs and county governments from automated and online voter registration.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In New York State, cost savings for DMV alone are estimated to be at least $270,000 annually. Additional savings for the county boards of elections once their software has been programmed to accept electronically the voter registration applications is estimated to be at least $150,000 annually.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Automated Voter Registration is More Accurate</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Officials in states that have adopted online and automated voter registration consistently confirm that paperless registration produces fewer errors than paper forms and reduces opportunities for fraud. A 2009 survey of incomplete and incorrect registrations in Maricopa County, Arizona found that electronic voter registrations are as much as five times less error-prone than their paper-based counterparts.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Expanded Foreign Language Access to Voter Registration</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Beginning today, DMV will make its driver license application (which includes the voter registration application) form available online and in its New York City offices in Chinese, Korean, and Bengali. The application had previously been available in Spanish. Notices will also be placed in those offices to alert customers that those translated forms are available.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Verifone terminals in each DMV office across the State will offer voter registration in Spanish as well as English.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Orange County Elections Commissioner Susan Bahren said, &#8220;The new voter registration transmittal program with DMV will assist our office in being able to process transactions faster and more accurately almost eliminating the need to contact voters for clarification, it will also decrease the paper process in our office significantly. I am looking forward to continuing this working relationship as we will move ahead to submitting the voter registration applications electronically. This is a great move for both DMV and the County Boards of Elections.&#8221;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Saratoga County Elections Commissioner William Frucci said, &#8220;The electronic exchange of voter registration data will help streamline the registration process. In view of the fact that we operate under very restrictive time constraints this process will provide the voter&#8217;s information from the department of motor vehicles to the county boards of elections more timely and more efficiently.&#8221;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Madison County Elections Commissioner Laura Costello said, &#8220;The voter registration and move transmittals generated by the new DMV system are a positive improvement over the previous documents. The registration format mirrors the NYS voter registration form and the information is legible and complete. The new process promises to be time efficient and secure.&#8221;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Erie County Elections Commissioner Dennis Ward said, &#8220;At the Erie County Board of Elections, we look forward to the use of the new New York State DMV Voter Registration application system. It is our belief that this is a major technological step forward which will result in the savings of employee time and taxpayer dollars. At the same time, the built-in safeguards will continue the policy of safeguarding the voting system against fraud while also meeting the voter identification requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act. The daily transfers will allow quicker processing of applications and the typed registration forms will be easier to process and will reduce the chance of error. We thank the State Department of Motor Vehicles for the initiative in taking this step forward.&#8221;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">John Kowal, Vice President of Programs at the Brennan Center for Justice, said: &#8220;Today, the Empire State, under Governor Cuomo&#8217;s leadership, is showing the nation that it is ready to lead when it comes to innovative election reform. Creating more options for voters to register, and ensuring they make it onto the rolls, will make a real difference. Some states that have instituted similar programs have seen up to an eight-fold increase in voter registrations through the DMV, while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. That is important for democracy and important for New York.&#8221;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Alex Camarda, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, said, &#8220;Citizens Union commends Governor Cuomo, the State Board of Elections, and the Department of Motor Vehicles on this important advancement in making voter registration easier for New Yorkers. For far too long, New York has been conducting an antiquated and cumbersome form of paper-based voter registration that diminishes participation in our democracy while increasing costs to taxpayers. The reforms announced today will modernize and ease the process by enabling New Yorkers to register online or electronically in-person at the DMV. This initiative serves as a model for all state agencies required to offer the opportunity to register those it serves.&#8221;</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Sally Robinson, President, League of Women Voters of New York State, said, &#8220;With the ability to register prospective voters online through the secure&#12288;MyDMV system, New York will become one of the leaders in online voter registration across the country. Online voter registration will not only provide cost savings and increased accuracy, it will also be a great convenience to voters. In a world that has largely left behind paper, moving New York State towards paperless voter registration will benefit both taxpayers and voters. The experience of other states makes it clear that electronically collecting voter registrations, and ultimately providing them to boards of election in the same form, will both save money and increase accuracy of the voter rolls.&#8221;</div>
<div>Increased Voter Registration Rates from Online &amp; Automated DMV Registration</div>
<div>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>According to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, 14 states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington—currently or will soon offer online voter registration.</div>
<div>·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Registration rates among 18-24 year-old citizens rose from 28 to 53 percent after Arizona introduced online and automated registration.</div>
<div>·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A recent study of Arizona&#8217;s online registration system found that young and minority voters are disproportionately likely to register online.</div>
<div>·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After registration was automated at DMVs, DMV voter registrations nearly doubled in Washington and Kansas and increased seven-fold in South Dakota.</div>
<div>Cost Savings from Online &amp; Automated DMV Registration</div>
<div>·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Studies in Arizona and Delaware have demonstrated substantial cost savings for DMVs and county governments from automated and online voter registration.</div>
<div>·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In New York State, cost savings for DMV alone are estimated to be at least $270,000 annually. Additional savings for the county boards of elections once their software has been programmed to accept electronically the voter registration applications is estimated to be at least $150,000 annually.</div>
<div>Automated Voter Registration is More Accurate</div>
<div>·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Officials in states that have adopted online and automated voter registration consistently confirm that paperless registration produces fewer errors than paper forms and reduces opportunities for fraud. A 2009 survey of incomplete and incorrect registrations in Maricopa County, Arizona found that electronic voter registrations are as much as five times less error-prone than their paper-based counterparts.</div>
<div>Expanded Foreign Language Access to Voter Registration</div>
<div>·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Beginning today, DMV will make its driver license application (which includes the voter registration application) form available online and in its New York City offices in Chinese, Korean, and Bengali. The application had previously been available in Spanish. Notices will also be placed in those offices to alert customers that those translated forms are available.</div>
<div>·<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Verifone terminals in each DMV office across the State will offer voter registration in Spanish as well as English.</div>
<div>Orange County Elections Commissioner Susan Bahren said, &#8220;The new voter registration transmittal program with DMV will assist our office in being able to process transactions faster and more accurately almost eliminating the need to contact voters for clarification, it will also decrease the paper process in our office significantly. I am looking forward to continuing this working relationship as we will move ahead to submitting the voter registration applications electronically. This is a great move for both DMV and the County Boards of Elections.&#8221;</div>
<div></div>
<div>Saratoga County Elections Commissioner William Frucci said, &#8220;The electronic exchange of voter registration data will help streamline the registration process. In view of the fact that we operate under very restrictive time constraints this process will provide the voter&#8217;s information from the department of motor vehicles to the county boards of elections more timely and more efficiently.&#8221;</div>
<div></div>
<div>Madison County Elections Commissioner Laura Costello said, &#8220;The voter registration and move transmittals generated by the new DMV system are a positive improvement over the previous documents. The registration format mirrors the NYS voter registration form and the information is legible and complete. The new process promises to be time efficient and secure.&#8221;</div>
<div></div>
<div>Erie County Elections Commissioner Dennis Ward said, &#8220;At the Erie County Board of Elections, we look forward to the use of the new New York State DMV Voter Registration application system. It is our belief that this is a major technological step forward which will result in the savings of employee time and taxpayer dollars. At the same time, the built-in safeguards will continue the policy of safeguarding the voting system against fraud while also meeting the voter identification requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act. The daily transfers will allow quicker processing of applications and the typed registration forms will be easier to process and will reduce the chance of error. We thank the State Department of Motor Vehicles for the initiative in taking this step forward.&#8221;</div>
<div></div>
<div>John Kowal, Vice President of Programs at the Brennan Center for Justice, said: &#8220;Today, the Empire State, under Governor Cuomo&#8217;s leadership, is showing the nation that it is ready to lead when it comes to innovative election reform. Creating more options for voters to register, and ensuring they make it onto the rolls, will make a real difference. Some states that have instituted similar programs have seen up to an eight-fold increase in voter registrations through the DMV, while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. That is important for democracy and important for New York.&#8221;</div>
<div></div>
<div>Alex Camarda, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, said, &#8220;Citizens Union commends Governor Cuomo, the State Board of Elections, and the Department of Motor Vehicles on this important advancement in making voter registration easier for New Yorkers. For far too long, New York has been conducting an antiquated and cumbersome form of paper-based voter registration that diminishes participation in our democracy while increasing costs to taxpayers. The reforms announced today will modernize and ease the process by enabling New Yorkers to register online or electronically in-person at the DMV. This initiative serves as a model for all state agencies required to offer the opportunity to register those it serves.&#8221;</div>
<div></div>
<div>Sally Robinson, President, League of Women Voters of New York State, said, &#8220;With the ability to register prospective voters online through the secure&#12288;MyDMV system, New York will become one of the leaders in online voter registration across the country. Online voter registration will not only provide cost savings and increased accuracy, it will also be a great convenience to voters. In a world that has largely left behind paper, moving New York State towards paperless voter registration will benefit both taxpayers and voters. The experience of other states makes it clear that electronically collecting voter registrations, and ultimately providing them to boards of election in the same form, will both save money and increase accuracy of the voter rolls.&#8221;</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/08/16/cuomo-unveils-online-voter-registration/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>DiNapoli: MTA tipped Apple bid on Grand Central space</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/30/dinapoli-mta-tipped-apple-big-on-grand-central-space/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/30/dinapoli-mta-tipped-apple-big-on-grand-central-space/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:30:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land Use]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eric Schneiderman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jay Lhota]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tom DiNapoli]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11071</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Apple store&#8217;s arrival in Grand Central Station was greeted with much ballyhoo, its unveiling like something out of a science fiction novel — appearing out of nowhere to stun the masses.
Well, according to State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, there was something extraordinary about the Apple store&#8217;s arrival in Grand Central.
He says Apple had an unfair [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Apple store&#8217;s arrival in Grand Central Station was greeted with much ballyhoo, its unveiling like something out of a science fiction novel — appearing out of nowhere to stun the masses.</p>
<p>Well, according to State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, there was something extraordinary about the Apple store&#8217;s arrival in Grand Central.</p>
<p>He says Apple had an unfair advantage in the bidding process for the space thanks to help from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. According an <a href="http://www.osc.state.ny.us/osdc/mta_apple_lease.pdf">audit</a> by DiNapoli, the MTA worked with Apple for a year before issuing an RFP for the bidding on the space.</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">“While Apple may turn out to be a good tenant, the MTA set a troubling</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">precedent when it played favorites and gave Apple a competitive edge over</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">others for the Grand Central space,” DiNapoli said. “Apple was directly</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">involved in setting the terms of the lease and given exclusive access to</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">information more than a year before any other vendor knew the Grand Central</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">location was available. The company even signed a $2 million agreement with</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">the current tenant to vacate its space five days before the MTA issued the</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">RFP.</div>
<p>“While Apple may turn out to be a good tenant, the MTA set a troubling precedent when it played favorites and gave Apple a competitive edge over others for the Grand Central space,” DiNapoli said. “Apple was directly involved in setting the terms of the lease and given exclusive access to information more than a year before any other vendor knew the Grand Central location was available. The company even signed a $2 million agreement with the current tenant to vacate its space five days before the MTA issued the RFP.&#8221;</p>
<p>DiNapoli is recommending changes to the Public Authorities Law to allow for a more transparent bidding process.</p>
<p>The current law only calls for certain contracts to be reviewed by the state Comptroller&#8217;s office. DiNapoli&#8217;s proposed change would make all contracts over one million dollars eligible for review. DiNapoli&#8217;s office was not allow to review the process that led to the Apple lease before it was finalized because it was allegedly a competitive process.</p>
<p>MTA chairman Jay Lhota is a Cuomo ally and DiNapoli has a contentious relationship with the governor.</p>
<p>Cuomo never endorsed DiNapoli in 2010 and DiNapoli has been working with another one of Cuomo&#8217;s rumored political rivals Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.</p>
<p>Here is a timeline of events provided by DiNapoli&#8217;s office: <span id="more-11071"></span></p>
<p>A general timeline of how the process unfolded:</p>
<p>·    November 2008 &#8211; Discussions began between MTA’s RED and Apple</p>
<p>regarding the potential to lease space in GCT.</p>
<p>·    April 2009 &#8211; MTA approached Metrazur, occupants of the space on the</p>
<p>East Balcony of GCT, about a buy-out for the term of its lease, which</p>
<p>had ten and one half years remaining.</p>
<p>·    July 2009 &#8211; Metrazur approached Apple about the buy-out. Negotiations</p>
<p>between pairs of parties among the MTA, Apple and Metrazur commenced,</p>
<p>with an eventual $5 million buy-out agreement reached between Apple</p>
<p>and Metrazur. This amount later became the required upfront payment</p>
<p>amount in the RFP process.</p>
<p>·    May 18, 2011 &#8211; Five days before the RFP was issued, Apple and</p>
<p>Metrazur entered into a separate agreement in which Apple would</p>
<p>advance $2 million of the buy-out amount to spur Metrazur to vacate</p>
<p>the premises early. MTA solicited a letter from Apple stating that</p>
<p>the agreement did not bind them and that the lease would be pursuant</p>
<p>to a competitive RFP.</p>
<p>·    May 19, 2011 &#8211; MTA signed an agreement with Metrazur to terminate its</p>
<p>lease for $5 million.</p>
<p>·    May 23, 2011 &#8211; MTA advertised the RFP for the GCT space. Among the</p>
<p>RFP requirements were an upfront payment of $5 million as prepayment</p>
<p>of rent to fund the Metrazur termination agreement. On the same day</p>
<p>that the MTA publicly released its competitive RFP for bidders to</p>
<p>apply, Apple paid $2 million to Metrazur.</p>
<p>·    June 27, 2011 &#8211; Responses for the RFP were due; only Apple responded.</p>
<p>·    August 10, 2011 &#8211; MTA and Apple signed a lease for the GCT space and</p>
<p>Apple wired the remaining $3 million to a closing agent.</p>
<p>·    March 19, 2012 &#8211; The lease provided for Apple to make infrastructure</p>
<p>improvements. MTA indicated these improvements would cost about $2.5</p>
<p>million.  However, about $1.6 million of the improvements were not</p>
<p>yet completed and it is uncertain when they will be done. In</p>
<p>addition, by this date, Apple had not yet paid $414,142 for work done</p>
<p>by MTA to enable the infrastructure improvements.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/30/dinapoli-mta-tipped-apple-big-on-grand-central-space/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Con Ed lockout on hold thanks to power of Cuomo, storms</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/26/con-ed-lockout-on-hold-thanks-to-power-of-cuomo-storms/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/26/con-ed-lockout-on-hold-thanks-to-power-of-cuomo-storms/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:40:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crime & Safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gotham City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[con edison]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11065</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Gov. Andrew Cuomo has faced some criticism for not getting involved in the Con Edison labor dispute earlier &#8212; but better late than never.
With storms on the horizion, Cuomo announced today that he has convinced both sides to have &#8220;necessary personnel&#8221; return to work for the sake of public safety.
&#8220;At my request and in the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Gov. Andrew Cuomo has faced some criticism for not getting involved in the Con Edison labor dispute earlier &#8212; but better late than never.</p>
<p>With storms on the horizion, Cuomo announced today that he has convinced both sides to have &#8220;necessary personnel&#8221; return to work for the sake of public safety.</p>
<p>&#8220;At my request and in the interest of the safety of New Yorkers, Con Ed  and Local 1-2 have agreed that the necessary personnel will immediately  return to work to prepare for the possibility of an approaching storm  and will remain on the job for the duration of any emergency and any  following repairs,&#8221; Cuomo said in a statement.</p>
<p>This follows a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/nyregion/con-ed-and-union-to-meet-over-lockout-after-nudge-from-cuomo.html?ref=nyregion">letter</a> he sent yesterday asking for the state to oversee meetings between labor and management.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/26/con-ed-lockout-on-hold-thanks-to-power-of-cuomo-storms/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>NYPIRG provides look at Cuomo&#039;s top donors</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/16/nypirg-provides-look-at-cuomos-top-donors/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/16/nypirg-provides-look-at-cuomos-top-donors/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jul 2012 18:49:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11022</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With all the campaign filings pouring in over the weekend perhaps the most scrutinized has been those of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. A little scrutiny never hurt anyone; so here is the New York Public Interest Research Group&#8217;s breakdown of Cuomo&#8217;s top donors. See anything interesting, let us know.
Cuomo&#8217;s Top Donors
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With all the campaign filings pouring in over the weekend perhaps the most scrutinized has been those of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. A little scrutiny never hurt anyone; so here is the New York Public Interest Research Group&#8217;s breakdown of Cuomo&#8217;s top donors. See anything interesting, let us know.</p>
<p><a style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Cuomo's Top Donors on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/100231069/Cuomo-s-Top-Donors">Cuomo&#8217;s Top Donors</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/16/nypirg-provides-look-at-cuomos-top-donors/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Independent Democrats donate to Dem challenger</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/16/independent-democrats-donate-to-dem-challenger/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/16/independent-democrats-donate-to-dem-challenger/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jul 2012 18:33:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fred Dicker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jeff Klein]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Neil Breslin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shawn Morse]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11018</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I reported earlier this year that Albany County legislator Shawn Morse, the man challenging Senate Democrats&#8217; deputy minority leader Sen. Neil Breslin, had been in talks with the Independent Democratic Conference.
Today filings reveal that the IDC and its leader, state Sen. Jeff Klein, are ready to put their money where their mouths are when it [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/state/1371-senate-dems-look-to-natl-issues-for-help">reported</a> earlier this year that Albany County legislator Shawn Morse, the man challenging Senate Democrats&#8217; deputy minority leader Sen. Neil Breslin, had been in talks with the Independent Democratic Conference.</p>
<p>Today filings reveal that the IDC and its leader, state Sen. Jeff Klein, are ready to put their money where their mouths are when it comes to challenging incumbent Democrats. The IDC donated $9,300 to Morse and Klein donated $9,300 from his campaign war chest.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really nothing personal about Neil,&#8221;ť Klein told Fred Dicker on Talk 1300 AM earlier today. &#8220;This is about growing the IDC. There&#8217;s no secret that we want to add members.&#8221;</p>
<p>Breslin issued a news release attacking his challenger and Klein.</p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">â€śMy opponent has taken a significant sum of money from Republican backed Senator Jeff Klein.â€ť</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">â€śHow can the residents of our communities trust an individual who claims he is working for them when he is, in fact, taking money from Republicans whose main focus is protecting the wealthy on the backs of New Yorkâ€™s struggling working families? When it comes to voting in the Senate, who will he be beholden to? This is a man who changes his party affiliation at will for personal political gain.â€ť</div>
<p>&#8220;My opponent has taken a significant sum of money from Republican backed Senator Jeff Klein,&#8221; he said. &#8220;How can the residents of our communities trust an individual who claims he is working for them when he is, in fact, taking money from Republicans whose main focus is protecting the wealthy on the backs of New York&#8217;s struggling working families? When it comes to voting in the Senate, who will he be beholden to? This is a man who changes his party affiliation at will for personal political gain.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/16/independent-democrats-donate-to-dem-challenger/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>New front in battle for state Senate</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/13/new-front-in-battle-for-state-senate/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/13/new-front-in-battle-for-state-senate/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:21:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electoral Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Owen Johnson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricardo Montano]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=11005</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Eighty-two-year-old Republican state Sen. Owen Johnson has indicated he will not seek reelection this year, throwing into doubt the balance of power in the Senate.
Democratic County Legislator Ricardo Montano will now face whomever the GOP establishment picks over weekend meetings, according to Newsday.
Last time around in the legislative soap opera, Senate Democrats looked to be [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Eighty-two-year-old Republican state Sen. Owen Johnson has <a href="http://politicker.com/2012/07/long-island-state-senator-suddenly-indicates-retirement-plans/">indicated </a>he will not seek reelection this year, throwing into doubt the balance of power in the Senate.</p>
<p>Democratic County Legislator Ricardo Montano will now face whomever the GOP establishment picks over weekend meetings, <a href="http://politicker.com/2012/07/long-island-state-senator-suddenly-indicates-retirement-plans/">according to Newsday</a>.</p>
<p>Last time around in the legislative soap opera, Senate Democrats looked to be positioned well to pick up and defend seats on Long Island until, well, they <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/city/611-republicans-see-opportunity-to-retake-the-state-senate">blew it in a pretty ugly way</a>.</p>
<p>Democrats <a href="http://old.gothamgazette.com/article/albany/20120515/204/3717">face an uphill battle</a> this year as Republicans control the Senate 33-29 and also appear to have the loyalty of the Independent Senate Democrats, who have toyed with running incumbent Democrats in the primary<a href="http://old.gothamgazette.com/article/albany/20120515/204/3717"> and have met with at least one primary challenger to a long-term incumbent Democrat.</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/13/new-front-in-battle-for-state-senate/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cuomo issues few &#039;messages of necessity&#039; this session</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/02/cuomo-issues-few-messages-of-necessity-this-session/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/02/cuomo-issues-few-messages-of-necessity-this-session/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:14:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cuomo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bill Mahoney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[david paterson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nypirg]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10905</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Gov. Andrew Cuomo only issued five messages of necessity this past legislative session, compared to the 29 he issued the year before and the 57 Gov. David Paterson issued in 2010. We bring you these numbers thanks to a legislative session breakdown by Bill Mahoney of the New York Public Interest Research Group.
Messages of necessity [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Gov. Andrew Cuomo only issued five messages of necessity this past legislative session, compared to the 29 he issued the year before and the 57 Gov. David Paterson issued in 2010. We bring you these numbers thanks to a legislative session breakdown by Bill Mahoney of the New York Public Interest Research Group.</p>
<p>Messages of necessity can be issued by a governor to allow a bill to be voted on before it reaches its normally required three day aging period. That period is in place in some part to allow proper vetting, debate and public disclosure of legislation. However, in Albany, major legislative deals have been pushed through late at night before anyone can actually examine them thanks to messages of necessity issued by governor.</p>
<p>Cuomo was criticized for issuing such messages during a late-night <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/03/14/deals-done-in-the-dark/">blitzkrieg of legislation in March</a> that saw the passage of a new pension tier, DNA database legislation and the extremely controversial district lines.</p>
<p>Along with the reduced number of messages of necessity was a markedly reduced number of passed pieces of legislation. There were only 571 pieces of legislation passed by both houses this legislative session &#8212; that is less than the 588 passed in 2009 when the Senate was paralyzed by a coup. It is the lowest number in recent memory. Mahoney provides numbers dating back to 1995 and this year is resoundingly the lowest.</p>
<p>Mahoney notes that, the report  &#8221;&#8230;does not draw conclusions on the substance of bills or a particular legislator’s impact, or the overall legislative output, since legislative &#8216;productivity&#8217; is more complicated and subjective than simple numbers. However, we believe that these are one of the many parts of the discussion about the activity of the Legislature and individual legislators.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/07/02/cuomo-issues-few-messages-of-necessity-this-session/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A race brewing in the 22nd</title>
		<link>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/06/28/a-race-brewing-in-the-22nd/</link>
		<comments>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/06/28/a-race-brewing-in-the-22nd/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:00:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eye on Albany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew Gounardes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marty Golden]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/?p=10895</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The battle between Republican Sen. Martin Golden and Democratic challenger Andrew Gounardes is on the top watch list for Senate Democrats who are hungry to get back into the majority or at least add a seat or two.
Golden is a logical target for Democrats &#8212; he is one of only two remaining Republicans that represent [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The battle between Republican Sen. Martin Golden and Democratic challenger Andrew Gounardes is on the top watch list for Senate Democrats who are hungry to get back into the majority or at least add a seat or two.</p>
<p>Golden is a logical target for Democrats &#8212; he is one of only two remaining Republicans that represent the five boroughs; he is a long-term incumbent; and the Republican majority has used &#8220;New York City&#8221; as a derogatory term towards Senate Democrats and their issues.</p>
<p>Democrats have had some trouble raising funds and their list of challengers has come together slowly because of the late-in-the-game deal on redistricting, but Goundares has been running hard since he declared in January and the press releases attacking Golden on issues have been coming fast and furious.</p>
<p>Today&#8217;s shot across Golden&#8217;s bow has to do with bridge toll relief. But housing issues are the hot button in the race at the moment. <span id="more-10895"></span></p>
<p>As The Politicker <a href="http://politicker.com/2012/06/golden-campaign-slams-tenants-pac-over-attack-mailer/">reported earlier this month</a>, tenants&#8217; groups have been gearing up to unseat Golden because of the perceived pro-real estate leanings of the conference.</p>
<p>Michael McKee of Tenant&#8217;s PAC told me earlier this month that Golden would be one of their biggest priorities this campaign season.</p>
<p>Tenant&#8217;s PAC sent out a mailer attacking Golden and it roused the first official statement from Golden&#8217;s campaign. The statement ignored Goundares but lashed out specifically at Tenants PAC.</p>
<p>&#8220;These mailings, which are a distortion of Senator Golden’s record, are being orchestrated by the Manhattan-based Tenants PAC,” Golden&#8217;s campaign manager <a href="http://martygolden.com/">said in a statement</a>.</p>
<p>However, Gounardes may soon be hard for Golden to ignore. Gounardes has been hitting subway stops, collecting signatures and shaking hands for months. And some of the top senate Democrats think they have a future star in Gounardes. They also think a good amount of the &#8220;city-based Democratic brain trust&#8221; will be invested in the race, since it will be one of the most prominent contested races in the five boroughs.</p>
<p>Also, just a glance at my inbox demonstrates the sheer consistency of  Gounardes&#8217; campaign and the range of issues he is looking at: campaign finance reform, women&#8217;s issues, housing, transportation and a a slew of labor endorsements.</p>
<p>Goundares is trying to get someone&#8217;s attention &#8212; and pretty soon it will likely be Golden&#8217;s.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/06/28/a-race-brewing-in-the-22nd/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
