Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Conservatives should take George Marlin's advice

About a month ago, George Marlin wrote an op-ed addressing concerns for New York's Conservative Party and Republican Party.

The need for the Conservative Party and its principles has never been greater. That's because for the past decade Republicans have betrayed Conservatives on every conceivable issue: taxes, spending, abortion, gun-control, gay-rights, just to name a few. In recent years, Republican policies have been driven by lobbyists, not conservative principles.


Marlin ran for Mayor on the Conservative line in 1993. He's worked for the Port Authority and is author to Fighting A Good Fight: The History of the New York Conservative Party. He is a strong advocate for the Conservative Party and feels it has lately drifted away from its principles. He believes that if the CPNYS does not start waking up, it could lose its ballot line status the way the Liberal Party & Right to Life Parties did in 2002.

He concludes that this is the year the Conservative Party should return to what it did forty years ago and run candidates independently from the Republican Party.

So the party has no choice but to support candidates who are willing, if necessary, to cut their Republican ties and run independently in 2006.


There are over 155,000 registered Conservatives in the State of New York. Certainly, 200 people can be found to run for Assembly, State Senate and Congress if there is no intended Republican candidate for a district. Even if you're a registered Republican, you can seek a Wilson-Pakula and by filing the necessary number of petition signatures, get on teh ballot. Heck, I'm even considering filing with the BOE and getting myself in the race for State Senate or Assembly, just so there is a right-of-center candidate on the ballot this November. I don't have the money and I certainly wouldn't be able to run a campaign the way I would want, but at least there would be someone opposing the incumbent Democrat.

A City Council candidate in Queens received 14% solely on the Conservative Party line last year. Could you imagine what she could've gotten if the Queens GOP was smart enough to throw their support behind her? She still probably wouldn't have won, but it would certainly have shown the potential with the combined strength of both the Republican and Conservative lines.

Usually, members of the Conservative State Committee or County Committees put their names in to be on the ballot just so there is a candidate on the Conservative line. There is no campaigning, no passing out literature, no mailings. It may be time to change that.

If you reach out to your base, let them know they have a candidate on the ballot, get them to the polls, you are making a statement. We need more diversity in New York. Think about it.

NY Conservative Party
Fighting the Good Fight
Queens District 20 candidate

Sunday, March 12, 2006

What about the Libertarian Party?

New York is one of the only states that allow candidates to seek cross-party support. This allows voters to cast their support for a candidate on a Third Party line without feeling they “endorse” someone who is actually a Republican or a Democrat. It’s silly, but it is a tradition in New York.

Because of this system, New York makes it very hard to get ballot-line status. Where, in California, a gubernatorial candidate simply needs 60 signatures on a petition to be on a statewide ballot, New York requires a party to amass a 12,000 signature list for any candidate not endorsed at one of the five established party’s state convention (there is a minimum requirement within each of the 62 counties as well). Then, after accomplishing the feet of collecting valid signatures, the party needs to receive a minimum 50,000 votes in the gubernatorial election to remain on the ballot for the next four years.

This tells Third Parties that in order to be serious, you need to get the people throughout the state to be behind your cause. Right now, the three parties who have accomplished this feet (other than Republican and Democrat) and automatically on the ballot this November are Conservative, Working Families and Independence. Other parties have been there in the past but are currently off the fixed ballot. To get back on, they have to go through the whole process again.

Libertarians are a unique bird when it comes to parties. Both liberals and conservatives can bond with the party on certain issues, but a true libertarian could never fully support a Democrat or a Republican. Politics is simply not linear. It’s not just left or right, it’s a three dimensional grid with authoritarian liberals, authoritarian conservatives and libertarian liberals and libertarian conservatives.

The Libertarian Party is not on the New York State ballot simply because after succussfully petitioning and collecting 12,000 signatures, they need to receive 50,000 votes to remain on the ballot. This has been difficult, simply because an underfunded unknown who wishes to draw “protest votes” doesn’t always work when there are other established third parties that can do such a thing. The Conservative Party was successful at it in 1962 simply because there was no real party on the right of the political spectrum.

There is some talk in New York Libertarian circles to back William Weld for Governor this year. In my opinion, this would be a wise thing to do. It is the governor’s race and backing a likely candidate for governor could draw votes to your line and potentiall get the party its needed 50,000 votes. It wouldn’t matter if statewide candidates for Senate, Attorney General and Comptroller are not cross-party candidates with the Libertarian Party, it’s the governor’s race that matters.

There are 11,619,137 registered voters in New York state as of November 2005. Only 664 are Libertarian. The NY voter registration card gives new applicants the following options.

Enrollment:
Republican
Democrat
Independence
Conservative
Working Families.
Other__________
No Party at this time

Partisans will select one of the parties listed. Applicants who don’t want to be affiliated with any party will either mistakenly register Independence (thinking it’s “Independent”) or check off No Party at this time. Very few people at the age of 18 will write in “Libertarian” in the Other box. The No Party... people are known as “blanks” with the Board of Elections and there are currently 2,334,392. Many of them could be libertarian and would gladly switch registration if the party was on the NY ballot.

William Weld seems like the likely Republican candidate for governor who will probably get cross-party support with the Independence Party, but not the Conservative Party. Being a candidate for government reform and limited government should interest the NYLP and getting 50,000 votes is key to expand influence in New York.

What could happen in the Libertarian Party becomes an official New York Party on say.. Row F?

The Libertarian State Executive Committee will have two years to get county committees organized and start voter drives before the next big elections in 2008. The registered 664 voters will expand to a few thousand. Having the party on a registration card will certainly get new voters to sign up as Libertarian without having to worry about them becoming “blanks.” They would be able to run their own candidates in the 2008 national elections and state legislature, then the 2009 local elections. They can build on their strength so by the 2010 elections, they could either cross-endorse Weld again (if he wins the election of course and if he lives up to party expectations) or choose their own candidate with a stronger base of support.

A strong Libertarian Party, especially in New York City, could do wonders to the system. It will be interesting to see if democrat or republican candidates seek the line if they are on the ballot, especially for local races in the state legislature and the NYC Council.

It all comes down to the State Party endorsing William Weld. There is no other candidate the party would even consider cross-endorsing in 2006. It’s an opportunity for the party and I feel they should take it. It could hurt some of the other third parties, but we live in a democracy. I believe in the right assemble and petition, even if I completely disagree with a parties platform.

New York Libertarian Party
Manhattan Libertarian Party
Board of Elections Voter List
Board of Elections Registration Card pdf
William Weld for New York

Thursday, March 09, 2006

MoveOn.org's Record of accomplishment

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Yes, that is it. As blogsite, DonkeyCons puts it:

They failed to prevent Clinton's impeachment, failed to help Dems take back Congress in 1998, failed to elect Al Gore, failed to help Gore win the Florida recount -- failed, failed, failed. By the time 2004 rolled around, MoveOn's presence in any political controversy was a certain bellwether of failure: Whatever side MoveOn is on, the other side wins.


Recently, MoveOn.org put their energies in a Primary race down in Texas. They backed challenger, Ciro Rodriguez, against Democratic incumbent, Henry Cuellar. Cuellar won with 53% of the vote, while Rodriguez received 41% while being backed by the Angry Left outfit. Some would argue this was close, but the two faced off in 2004 and received similar percentage totals. It appears all the money and efforts MoveOn.org put into the race were for naught!

Since MoveOn.org has not had any victories to date, we should watch the Sen. Joe Lieberman race in Connecticut closely. If their Angry Left challenger comes up considerably short against the incubment Senator, it should be the final nail in the radical organization's coffin.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Changing the face of New York Politics

I've heard many arguments for and against the NY rules on Third Parties. New York is a unique political entity in that:

  • its registered Conservatives are actually equal to the National Republican Party


  • its registered Liberals are supposedly the centrist New Yorkers and if you're really a "Leftist" you should be with the Working Families or Greenies.


  • its registered Republicans are a mix bag. Many are from the old "progressive" Teddy Roosevelt wing, many from the "good government" Rockefeller wing, and many joined the Party in the last twenty years because of Ronald Reagan.


  • its registered Democrats are also a very big mixed bag. In fact, there are so many different ideologies in the NY Democratic Party, the one thing that brings them together is the fact that Democrats frequently have Primaries and field candidates from the far left to the middle-right. If you live in NY, in order to participate on a yearly basis, joining the Democratic Party seems like the smart thing to do.


  • its registered Independences signed up with a make-shift pseudo-party of reform when they thought they were trying to tell the Board of Elections that that they want to be "independent" from political forces.



  • I am actually a supporter of Third Parties though I am not to pleased with how many of them run their current committees.

    Four years ago, three big parties were knocked off the statewide ballot by not getting 50,000 votes for their gubernatorial candidate.

    The Green Party (or is it this Green Party) gained ballot status when they backed Al Lewis (Grandpa Munster) for Governor in 1998. By having statewide status, the Green Party was able to enroll more than 37,000 members. By not having statewide status, the registration cards for the past four years do not have a checkbox for the Party.

    The Liberal Party really goofed when they cross-endorsed a candidate who dropped out of the Governor's race. The Liberal Party, led by Henry Stern, is hoping to return to the ballot next year. They have over 71,000 registered members so they should be able to get a volunteer staff together to petition for a ballot line. The Liberal Party reminds me a lot of the Rockefeller-wing of the Republican Party. Unfortunately, there are some issues of their platform which don't come off as "centrist." If they wish to distinguish themselves from Working Families, they need to moderate their platform.

    The Right-to-Life Party became a strong party with ballot status from 1978 to 2002, but when they finally failed to get 50,000 votes, they got bumped off. When RTL was knocked off, it was a good time for the Conservative Party to try and coopt registered RTLs into their party. However, cross-endorsing George Pataki in 1998 and especially in 2002 may have made it hard for RTLs to consider joining the Conservative Party. Also, many RTLs are liberal democrats and even though the Democratic Party has outcast them, they cannot imagine joining the Conservative Party based on one issue that even the CP hasn't adhered to in recent years.

    This year should prove interesting. Will the above three minor parties get ballot status again? Will one of the three minor parties that still do survive the 50,000 vote minimum? Will other third parties, the American Reform party or Libertarian Party get themselves organized to the point of finally getting on the NY ballot? We are months away from learning the end results.

    The Attorney General Race

    It appears the one race the Republicans can agree on a candidate, the Democrats have a long list of names.

    Jeanine Pirro is racking up Conservative & Republican endorsements and it makes sense. Of the four statewide races, the AG race could be the one the GOP could actually win. And with the Democrats choosing the AG race as their big open field of primary contestants, why not be unified behind one person?

    There was a long list of names for AG back when Pirro was running for Senate. Balboni, Lazio, Riviezzo, Donovan and Parker were some of the many names floated when it appeared the State GOP was all behind Pirro as a Senate candidate. Though Chauncey Parker has not officially said he will not be a candidate, it is unlikely he will jump in after all the support Jeanine Pirro has recently gained.

    I think it would be wise for Parker to keep pressure on Pirro up until the May Convention. When you make someone's life too easy, they don't stay on their toes and make mistakes. Pirro has made enough already and she needs to stay on her game.

    Saturday, March 04, 2006

    Remarks on Special Election 2/28

    There were 7 Special Elections throughout New York State and two were right here in Manhattan.

    The 67th AD was held by Scott Stringer, who recently ran and won the office of President of Manhattan. The candidates were:

    Emily Csendes (Republican)
    Linda Rosenthal (Democrat, Working Families)
    Mike Lupinacci (Independence, New Leadership)
    Charles Simon (West Side Progressive)

    The voter registration of Democrats to Republicans is 4.9 to 1. With three Democrats splitting up the democratic base, there was hope that a strong turnout by registered republicans could possibly swing the seat to the GOP. Unfortunately, typical Special Election results showed low turnout and republican neglected to show up at the polls. Emily received 9% of the total vote. (Note: Lupinacci had two party lines and received 7% of the vote!)

    The 74th AD was held by Steven Sanders, who recently retired to work for a lobbying firm. The candidates were:

    Frank Scala (Republican
    Sylvia Friedman (Democrat, Working Families)

    The voter registration of Democrats to Republicans is 5.2 to 1. Even though the odds were greater than of the Upper West Side race, the voting base is much more moderate and there was certainly a chance of Frank Scala winning if the moderate Democrats and independents, as well as a good showing of registered republicans, turned up at the polls to vote. Unfortunately, with many New Yorkers not interested in local politics, many weren't even aware of the election and chose not to be a voice for change. Scala received roughly 30% of the vote, which is a strong showing, but still not enough. If it had been 30% of the republican base showing up and voting, things would've been different.

    The Board of Elections has not published the final vote total yet. When they do, I will study the data and make a follow-up post on the results.

    We need to become more active if we want to see change. I'm not asking that every registered republican become engaged in every aspect of local politics. I'm asking that you become aware of campaigns, that you spend a couple minutes of the day reading stories in the paper or a half hour on the internet and mark your calendar for an election. People looking to be more involved should contact the campaigns, offer financial support or by spreading the word about voting. By signing petitions and even hitting the streets to hand out leaflets or flashcards. Even if you end up doing it for just two or three ours for only one day, it's more than not doing anything at all. And it helps.

    Friday, March 03, 2006

    The State Comptroller Race

    The New York State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi (D), appeared to have an open field in a bid for reelection. The talk in the media was primarily on the Republican gubernatorial candidates and the US Senate candidates challenging Sen. Clinton.

    Now, we're hearing of potential GOP candidates for State Comptroller.

    Kathleen Jimino became the first name floated as a possible Comptroller candidate, first suggested by State Senate Majority Leader, Joseph Bruno. Sen. Bruno was hoping for a Tom Golisano to self-finance gubernatorial campaign. so campaign money could go to GOP Senate candidates and the other statewide races.

    In 2001, Kathleen Jimino became the only woman in New York State to currently serve as County Executive when she was appointed to this position. Six months later the voters of Rensselaer County approved her appointment by electing her by the largest margin ever afforded any Rensselaer County Executive in history!

    To date her administration is known for its consistent drive to assure that County residents benefit from the streamlining of services while at the same emphasizing that departments adhere to her strict budgetary standards.


    J. Christopher Callaghan became the Republican thrown into the mix and Mr. Callaghan actually has a website set up for his candidacy. He's known for being aggressive in grassroots party-building.

    A graduate of the State University at Albany Chris Callaghan has been engaged in the business of government finances since 1971, when he served as an accountant for the Facilitie Development Corporation. Callaghan has also been active in Republican politics since 1969, when he served as president of the Waterford Young Republicans. Long active in grass-roots Republican politics since then, he was the Republican town chairman for nearly 20 years and now serves a the committee's vice chairman


    C. Scott Vanderhoef is another potential candidate being tossed into the mix. Two points of interest on Mr. Vanderhoef:

    1) He’s won four elections in a suburban county dominated by Democrats (enrollment is 45,534 GOP/81,346 Dems).

    2) As a county executive, he has first-hand experience of what this GOP source called “Hevesi’s mismanagement of the pension fund” and the effect increased contributions has on budgets, and, by default, property taxes.


    If the Republican Party can field a strong ticket for all four statewide races, I think both Vanderhoef and Callaghan could put up a good fight against Hevesi. If one of them presents a strong argument as to why Alan Hevesi should be voted out of office, we may see a victotry here.

    Trans Bond Act & where we're at

    In the November Elections, there were four propostitions, two state and two city. One had to do with funding MTA projects with debt bonds and it appeared to be another gimmick under the auspices of New York State government.

    The Bond Act is to get the East Side Access and the Second Avenue Subway projects rolling. According to the MTA, the projects are months away from breaking ground. I'm still skeptical. It's a big government agency in control of both these projects and from experience, government (at all levels) has a terrible track record in efficiency and timeliness.

    When I ran for City Council last year, I addressed these two issues, because they are a concern for New Yorkers.

    1. I support the East Side Access Project and think all efforts to connect the Long Island Railroad to Grand Central Station will greatly benefit commuters.

    2. The Second Avenue Subway Project is something I am not pleased with based on its allignment. As a resident in Alphabet City, I see no benefit to a train running along Second Avenue. I live near Avenue D. With the current proposal, the SAS allignment has stations farther away than the already First Avenue stops at 14th St & Houston St.

    I've expressed my issues by emailing the MTA about this and received a "thank you for your comment" but no follow-up.

    I still do not support the SAS as it is currently proposed. Alphabet City residents shouldn't either.

    Colon thinks Randy Daniels can win

    On February 7, Alicia Colon wrote a column on GOP Gubernatorial candidate, Randy Daniels, suggesting he could be a formidable contender against Eliot Spitzer.

    My cynicism about the impotent New York Republican Party has almost convinced me to change my registration to the Conservative Party in protest. Clearly, Albany is not interested in supporting credible candidates. That was confirmed last week when Ed Cox withdrwe from the senatorial race because he lacked Governor Pataki's support.


    Well, Cox suspended his race quite some time again. It was doubtful he would jump back in. However, Colon is very unhappy with the current outlook for the NY GOP. The State Party has not lived up to standards its party members expect.

    Randy Daniels would make a wonderful Republican candidate for governor. There has been a lot of distractions with the other three. Weld and Decker College. Faso and his lobbying. Manning never getting traction and alleged infidelity to boot. Could all the scars from the other three candidates force the party base to suddenly nominate the quiet one? If there is a Republican Primary, and many of us on the local level desire one, columnist like Alicia Colon believe Daniels can walk away with a victory.

    Randy Daniels

    My Week in Review posts

    I have about three weeks of NY Sun papers that I need to throw in the recycle canister downstairs in my building. I will goe through them tonight and try to pull out some select stories that interest me. I probably won't continue my "Week in Review" though I do think it is something I should, because it would help document some current events that I may want to reference in the future.

    My neglect

    I'm not sure how much traffic I get at my blog, but if you do stop by, you may have noticed I've been not as active as I used to be. I've been busy with a lot of things that I hope to blog about and bring to this site soon. It's unfortunate, because a lot has gone on in the past month and I haven't said a word. I'll try to catch up.