East Village GOP

Britney Spears shaves head. The next Syd Barrett?

2007-02-19T18:43:00.000-05:00

To think of all the possible topics I could return to my blog with, it's about Britney Spears' shaved head. But it's something I was thinking about this morning and felt that it would be important to express some opinions I have on it.

The general opinion is Spears needs help.

Jupiter psychologist Dr. Nancy Vrechek says Spears' actions may be due to postpartum depression.

"Obviously, she's under some kind of extreme distress and people are speculating," says Vrechek. "But she could be in postpartum depression, experiencing extreme stress with a divorce and the paparazzi. People need to be a little more sympathetic.

If Spears is going through some sort of depression, or even some form of schizophrenia, she could be heading down the same path as Syd Barrett.

There is the story where Syd turns up during the Wish You Were Here sessions with shaved head and looking like a vagrant wondering the recording studios.

According to drummer Nick Mason's book Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett actually turned up at the studio in the middle of a recording session on 6 June 1975, which was also the day David Gilmour married his first wife, Ginger according to the book Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey. Barrett hadn't been seen by any of the band members in five years. He arrived unannounced, his head completely devoid of hair (including eyebrows, as alluded to in The Wall film) and had put on so much weight that most of the band did not recognise him at first. Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley (who was a guest at Gilmour's wedding reception) mistook him for a Hare Krishna devotee. Others were close to tears at the transformation: Waters later confided that he cried.

Barrett disappeared after that. A picture of him would turn up now and again until his death in July 2006, but for the most party, after the media left him alone, he vanished from the paparazzi. He did little from 1971 to 1975 anyway.

One can argue the same about Britney Spears. She gets tons of publicity right now and hasn't done anything that made her a star. It's time to stop giving this girl attention. Let her get the help she needs before she turns into a Syd Barrett.

Star Trek: Remastered TOS

2006-12-21T23:38:00.000-05:00

CSI: Miami

2006-11-29T18:59:00.000-05:00

Don't you think Carusso deserves an Emmy for his performances?

2007 Mission for Manhattan GOP Clubs

2006-11-29T10:58:00.000-05:00

The New York Republican County Committee has a list of district clubs throughout the borough. There are 12 Assembly Districts in Manhattan and each is supposed to have at least one corresponding district club.

The purpose of district clubs is to organize registered Republicans in an Assembly District and build the party on the local level. To build the party at the local level in 2007, each district club should increase membership and encourage those members to run for open county committee seats. Below are the level of vacancies in each district, followed by the Manhattan District clubs.

64 AD
New Amsterdam Republican Club
Chinatown Republican Club (no website)
65 AD
Knickerbocker Republican Club
66 AD
Village Independent Republican Club (not active)
67 AD
G&M Parker West Side Republican Club
Riverside Republican Club (not active)
68 AD
(No active Club)
69 AD
The Fighting 69th Republican Club
70 AD
Harlem Republican Club
71 AD
Lionel Hamption Republican Club
72 AD
(No active Club)
73 AD
Metropolitan Republican Club
74 AD
Vincent F. Albano Republican Club
Gramercy Park Republican Club (absorbed into TR Group & Albano Club)
75 AD
The TR Group

The list of county committee members at the Board of Elections as of December 2005.

If you're currently active in the county committee, a district club or you're someone who hasn't gotten involved yet and would like to, here are some suggestions for Republicans in 2007.

1. County Committee Members not involved in their local club should join it for 2007. I'm involved in my district club and I know their are District Leaders and committee members who are not part of local clubs. Most clubs have nominal annual dues, so there isn't a reason for county committee members to not play a role. There's nothing preventing a person from being a member of two or more clubs. Clubs like the Met Club and Young Republican Clubs are good for social events with special guest speakers, but for grassroots work, your district club can play a better role in building the party.

If you're a County Committee Member and learn that your Assembly District's club isn't that active, you can start a club of your own. If you can organize regular meetings of a dozen or so registered Republicans in a District, contact the County Committee and learn how you can register your meetings into an official Club. You can incorporate a new Club in your district, or, County can arrange a way to get you the charter of the official district club, if it's not active.

2. District Club leadership should market their district club and solicit membership. It could be as simple as a postcard mailing to registered Republicans in the district. Each club should have funds available to design and print a club membership card or application. The card or application should include a contact phone number or email, a website if available and should tell the Republican the day of the month the club meets and where. It should also mention that club members are encouraged to run for county committee so their voice can play a role in district politics.

Your target audience would be registered Republicans in your district who actually voted in the last General Election. A district could have 8,000 registered Republicans, but only 2,900 in the district actually went to the polls in the last election. You can obtain the list of Republicans who actually voted from the County Committee.

3. If you're not active at all but want to be, and your area doesn't have a club, and you want to get things started, run for county committee in 2007. The Manhattan GOP is supposed to have two committee reps for each Election District. Each Assembly District has anywhere from 108 to 130 Election Districts. You can petition to get on the county committee. If you visit Grassroots Initiative, you can learn how you can run for representing your Election District and start playing a role in local politics. It's as easy as getting one or two signatures in your Election District for a petition and submitting it with a cover letter to the Board of Elections. Grassroots Initiative can help you with the process. The Board of Elections then registers your petition for a Primary Election. If no one else has submitted a petition, you have officially been elected to the County Committee.

You don't necessarily need to go through the County Organization to get the ball rolling, but once you're on the committee, you will have to. There is also no reason to primary other registered Republicans at this stage of the game. There are plenty of Election Districts out there with vacancies and according to election law, you don't have to represent your Election District. You can be a committee member for the ED next to the one you live in.

There are over 1875 vacant committee seats in Manhattan, so we have a lot of work to do in 2007. We will have accomplished a lot if we can reduce our vacancy level to triple digits instead of quadruple digits. Each and everyone of us needs to play a part, so let's start by making 2007 a year of grassroots party development.

My Endorsements for Local Races - Nov 7 Election

2006-10-29T12:12:00.000-05:00

23 Assembly District - Queens
Stu Mirsky (R,I,C) is a man on a mission in his district and I whole-heartedly endorse Stu. His main reason for running is because the incumbent has gone unchallenged election after election and though she's well liked, she has not been a force in Albany for the district. She positions herself on insignificant matters that are almost comical. Mirsky has a background in government and is the type of reform-minded Republican that can win in the district. It all comes down to the GOTV in the area. His Assembly District has voted for Pataki (2002), Bush (2004) and Bloomberg (2005) even though the odds are greater than a 2 to 1 Democrat to Republican. The reason is many of the working class Democrats are conservative in nature and understand security and low taxes are more important than social policy. They aren't conned into voting for someone based on matters that don't affect them that greatly.

44 Assembly District - Kings
Yvette V. Bennett (R,C) gets my endorsement for the 44 AD, because she will bring the conservative message of school choice, lower taxes and individual freedoms to Albany. Bennett ran for City Council last year and did better than anyone expected. This year, with a smaller district, she will be able to target her message and certainly connect with the family person in the area. Bennett is in a district with a career politician as well, and change is always good. When you elect change for a two year term, you are telling the establishment of entrenched incumbents that enough is enough. By picking up an Assembly seat, we area bringing the Republican Party that much closer to blocking an Assembly override of a governor's veto. With Democrats and Republicans spending our money in Albany, an independent Republican who opposes pork-barrel spending will be important.

60 Assembly District - Kings/Richmond
Anthony Xanthakis (R,C) is the candidate for the 60 AD in Staten Island and it is a traditional Republican seat in Albany. to lose this seat will be a disaster for the Republicans in our minority status in the Assembly. With Matthew Mirones retiring, Xanthakis would make the perfect replacement, because he has served for Mirones for more than five years.

64 Assembly District - New York
Michael Imperiale (R,C) receives my endorsement, because his opponent, incumbent Sheldon Silver, is currently part of the Three Men in A Room that has ruled New York State politics the last twelve years. He has opposed transparency in the budget process, tax reductions, spending reductions, favored pork barrel projectsthat have inflated the budget to $112 billion, opposes School Choice, hampered development in Manhattan where he says he wants projects like the WTC and Farley Station to benefit NYers, but also feels companies like Madison Square Garden have a piece of the pie, and finally, Silver opposes Tort Reform and strong laws against criminals. He has been in the State Assembly representing Lower Manhattan for 33 years and it's time for a chnage. For many years, Silver had challenged the petitions of the Republican Party and ends up with either no opposition or a candidate from the Independence or Libertarian parties. This year is different. He finally will face a Republican and I implore every Republican to go out and vote for Imperiale and every anti-Silver voter to do the same. It will be a good test to see the strength Silver really holds.

73 Assembly District - New York
Robert Heim (R,I) is a former high level prosecutor with the Securities and Exchange Commission and has served his district in community and business affairs. He is a life-long Republican who believes the way to bring change in Albany is divided goverment and reform-minded officials. Heim likes to champion himself as a Bloomberg republican but in fact, he is more Republican than even Bloomberg. He has been endorsed by Henry Stern and the Liberal Party organization because he favors good-government policies that should reduce government waste, corruption and transparency. As a Republican, he will champion tax relief and reform the anti-business policies that hurt small businesses from surviving in New York City.

74 Assembly District - New York
Frank Scala (R) has a difficult rode ahead to win his race, but there is a chance for victory and that is why it is so important for every Republican, Conservative and independent to come out and vote the establishment candidate on the Democratic line. Like the race in the 64 AD, the ratio of Democrats to Republicans is a major impedement, but unlike the 64 AD, Frank Scala is running in a race where the liberal vote will be split. The incumbent lost the Democratic Primary, but will be on the balot as the Working Families candidate, because she secured their line. It's a three way race. This is a race that is is winnable and I go more into detail with the numbers in my next entry. Frank has years of experience with the neighborhood volunteering with the local community board and being nominated President of the 13th Community Council. He has fought for Quality of Life issues and would be a fine addition to the State Assembly.

82 Assembly District - Bronx
Raymond Capone (R,C) is running in a district that has the potential of building a strong Republican Party. Of all ten Assembly Districts, this is the one I am comfortable issuing an endorsement in, especially if the Bronx is successful in winning back the 34 Senate District race. The 82 AD included City Island, which started the City Island Republican Club earlier this year. By having an elected Republican in the Bronx, the Republican Party could once again build from the ashes created by the corruption under former Senator, Guy Valella.

25 Senate District - Kings/New York
Ken Diamondstone (WF) will be the first Working Families candidate I wil vote for. I was asked to be the (R) in the district, but could not devote time to a candidacy, even if I was going to simply be a name. If I'm on the ballot, I run. I don't sit idle with an unfunded campaign. I agree that no incumbent should go unchallenged and that is why I'm glad Diamondstone remains on the ballot fighting on the Working Families line. Diamondstone received 44% of the vote in the Primary. He received the endrorsement of the New York Times, a paper I clearly think is biased and faulty, but has championing major reform up in Albany. Clearly the incumbent, Martin Connor, is vulnerable. The incumbent is the democratic Go To guy when an incumbent fears opposition and the democratic process. Connor was the attorney in the court challenging petitions of his primary opponent, and of the Republican candidates Michael Imperiale in the 64 AD and Robert Heim in the 73rd AD. The man is not for reform, he is not for change and should be retired the democratic way. By electing Ken Diamondstone. Though I disagree with Diamondstone in nearly all the issues, his election would be a sign that New Yorkers need new blood in Albany. And who knows? If I still live in the Senate district in 2008, I'll have a reason to run against him.

26 Senate District - New York
Philip Pidot (R, Growth) would be a breath of fresh air in the Senate Majority up in Albany. Though his opponent, the incubment Liz Krueger, is a strong and well-liked Democrat, favoring Pidot is a no-brainer. Philip Pidot has the background of someone who will fight for changing how we do business in Albany. The positions he takes on all the major issues are the right positions for the Republican and Conservative voter and they even impress Liz Krueger immensely. If every Republican running for office this year in New York City had the background Pidot has and had the the ability to finance a strong campaign, we would see some strong competitive races and possibly many victories.

29 Senate District - New York
Dan Russo (R) gets my endorsement because he is a middle class New Yorker who is against anyone making politics a career. He is displeased with both Sheldon Silver and Joseph Bruno. The odds of victory are not in the cards for a Republican in this district, but by simply making the effort of getting on the ballot and making an incumbent go unchallenged in a district that is historically hostile to Republicans is an impressive and commendable act.

34 Senate District - Bronx/Westchester
Joseph J. Savino (R,I,C) is running a well financed and a very winnable race in the Bronx and Westchester. Savino wants to bring back the Republican message to his constituency and wants to bring a stronger Republican majority in the State Senate. Savino gives the voters an impressive resumé and the potential of strengthening the Republican voice in Albany if a Democratic landslide occurs on Election Day. Just above him, Nick Spano is at risk of losing his seat to the Democratic challenger, so by securing a seat in the area with a Republican would be helpful for our party. Unlike Spano, Savino has shown he is more conservative and not as easily persuaded by the left (Spano has received the Working Families in the past and with it, damaged Republican credibility).

- - If you're a registered Republican, or a right-leaning voter living in the above districts and considering candidates for this November Election, I encourage you to vote for the slate I've listed above. A well balanced divided government is important and if Democrats win the Governorship, Attorney General Office and the Comptroller seat, we will need to hold and gain as many seats as possible. We will still be in the minority in most situations, but as we see in Washington, one-party rule doesn't help the people as much as it helps the party in power. New York is the opposite in Washington, so voting Republican should be the preferable thing to do.

Rebuilding the New York Yankees

2006-10-09T23:51:00.000-04:00

The Problem.
The New York Yankees are old and need some youth injected into it. Unfortunately, Joe Torre isn't known to put his cards in young players. He'll try out one or two, but for the most part, he puts his faith in veterans and their experience.

The Solution.
Well, for one thing, never lock up all eight position players and seven pitchers to long term contracts. You need room to move the pieces around. You can make four position players and three pitchers the faces of your franchise, but when you start spending money on the entire 25-man roster, you get stuck spending a lot of money on untradable players.

Drastic times means some drastic measures. It's time get rid of players who may be fan favorites, in order to bring in some youth and new talent. To rebuild the farm system and to put the team in position to win a championship by 2008.

You got that right. Not next year. Joe Torre's last season should be viewed as another season without a win. George Steinbrenner has a "win-now-at-all-costs" mentality and unfortunately, that doesn't work even with $200 million sunk in aging players.

The 40 Man Roster

The Outfielders
Bobby Abreu
Melky Cabrera
Johnny Damon
Aaron Guiel
Hideki Matsui
Kevin Reese
Gary Sheffield
Kevin Thompson
Bernie Williams
Craig Wilson

Damon was just signed so let's consider him a lock next year. Everyone else is expendable. Personally, I'd keep Cabrera, because he's young and shows some promise in being a dependable everyday outfielder. I like Abreu as well and would consider keeping those guys as the outfield. A Guiel or a Wilson could be kept as a fourth or fifth string outfielder, but everyone else should be let go. It's time to move on. If some young talent can turn up, then Guiel and Wilson won't be needed.

There is another possible move that would be drastic, but may be neccessary. That is, move Derek Jeter to the outfield, while Alex Rodriguez moves back to his natural position of shortstop. Yankees have done it before. Mickey Mantle was a shortstop. Bobby Murcer was a shortstop. Both were converted to centerfielders.

The Infielders
Miguel Cairo
Andy Cannizaro
Robinson Cano
Jason Giambi
Nick Green
Derek Jeter
Andy Phillips
Alex Rodriguez
Sal Fasano
Wil Nieves
Jorge Posada

Giambi will probably be designated as the designated hitter. Moving Jeter to centerfield or rightfield would put Alex Rodriguez at shortstop and with Cano at second base, the Yanks will have a chance to fill in the corner infield positions with some new blood. Some youth, hopefully. The Yankees won with a player like Scott Brosius at third base, not a power hitter, but a hitter with some pop in his bat. Tino Martinez was an above average defensive first basemen and a player that could give you a clutch home run, but wasn't a .300 hitter. He did know how to draw a walk. Posada has a contract and has been a very good backstop for the Yanks, but it's time to find and groom a successor. I wouldn't trade Posada, but I wouldn't be surprised if we start hearing his name thrown around. The role players should be traded or released. After filling in the starting positions and then the back-up infielders, the role players from this year can then be looked at for next year.

Pitchers
T.J. Beam
Brian Bruney
Matt DeSalvo
Octavio Dotel
Kyle Farnsworth
Sean Henn
Philip Hughes
Randy Johnson
Jeff Karstens
Cory Lidle
Mike Mussina
Mike Myers
Carl Pavano
Scott Proctor
Darrell Rasner
Mariano Rivera
Tanyon Sturtze
Jose Veras
Ron Villone
Chien-Ming Wang
Jaret Wright

I'm looking at these names on the 40-Man Roster and with the pitchers, I'm thinking, "Who are these guys?"
This is not the pitching staff that won four world championships.
I like Dotel and think there's some life for him next year. Randy Johnson has another year and is untradable. Unless he retires, the Yanks are stuck. Pavano is a contract the Yanks are stuck with as well. Rivera is a given to stay and there is no reason to get rid of Wang, since he's a very good pitcher and he's a young pitcher. Proctor has been fairly reliable. The Yanks may well be stuck with Sturtze, but beyond that, it's time for some new arms
So far, I'm keeping Johnson, Pavano, Wang as starters (not because I want to but because I may have to) and Sturtze, Proctor and Rivera in relief. Everyone else can go bye-bye.

You have eight position players and only four should be locked into contracts. The others should be rookies or tradable contracts if they don't work out in a given year.

You have five starting pitchers and only one of those starters should be over the age of 35. You can have two in their early thirties, but the last two should be in their twenties. And you need two or three young 20-something starters available if one of the big five get injured or have to skip a start during the year.

With relievers, you have a good trio in the Proctor, Dotel, Riveral crew, but you'll need a couple of solid lefties. Meyers would be worth keeping, but another would be useful.

If Brian Cashman can get rid of all the extra weight on this team, the payroll should go down considerably. And if he has any power under his new contract, he should let George Steinbrenner know he insists on getting youthful and not spending money on players past their prime.

Fun with animation

2006-09-26T17:51:00.000-04:00

Blogger Cake of Death had a funny little play with that Soccer headbutt a few months back.
Gotta love the effort put into this stuff.

The 25th NY State Senate District

2006-09-20T22:06:00.000-04:00

Back in late April, I was in a discussion with Kevin Breslin, State Committee member from Brooklyn and District Leader from the Carrol Gardens, Park Slope, Cobble Hill area (I'm not sure what his specific AD was).

During our discussion, we were talking about local races and that I attempted a City Council run last year. He asked if I was going to run again this year

"No," I said, "I'm going to take a back seat and help on a campaign. I helped Frank Scala with his Special Election race in February and since he's staying on through the November Election, will help him through the summer."

I then added, "If I only lived two blocks west, I would've been in Shelly Silver's district and I would most certainly have put my summer on hold to challenge him."

Mr. Breslin then said, "Well, I can't do anything with Manhattan races, but the 25th Senatorial District runs in my part of town and into lower Manhattan, so if you know anyone who would be willing to run against Martin Connor and put his name on the ballot, I can take care of the Brooklyn part."

I said, "Well, I live in Connor's district, but I'm really not looking to run this year."

His eyes opened up and he made his pitch. "Look, Daniel, you don't have to campaign. Just go to the Manhattan County and get them to take care of the Manhattan part. I can get the Brooklyn side for you. I'm not asking you to campaign, but to just be a name. We can't let Martin Connor go unchallenged again like he was in 2004."

He told me to think it over and get back to him. I did for a couple days. But I felt this year is not my year. Too much has happened in the past twelve months from my council campaign, to work, to things in my personal life, and I didn't want another thing to add to it. I also knew that if I agreed to this and got on the ballot and was a candidate, I couldn't simply be a name. I know me. I would campaign. I would try to reach out to my voting base and all the time I'd spend on this campaign would ruin my personal life.

About a month after this conversation and right before petitioning, Kevin Breslin passed away. Whether or not his death would've affected petitioning in Brooklyn is unknown. I'm sure he had other Brooklyn leaders that would've picked up where he left off, but if I ended up campaigning and needed to appear in Brooklyn, I'm not sure how much I would've gotten done there.

Since I did not run and word from the Manhattan GOP was that there was no candidate for the seat, it appeared that Sen. Martin Connor was going to walk his way into a reelection.
Then I heard about Ken Diamondstone.

Ken Diamondstone sought received the support of the Working Families Party and the Green Party. As a registered Democrat, he also petitioned to get into a Democratic Primary against Martin Connor.

As usual, Connor challenged Diamondstone's petitions. Only, Diamondstone survived the challenge. And Diamondstone then got the endorsement of the New York Times.

When Primary Election results came in, Martin Connor won with 56% of the vote. A very strong showing by Ken Diamondstone.

So was that it? No. By having the Working Families and Green Party support, Diamondstone will be on the ballot come November 7. Primaries only bring out 20% of a particular voting base, while Generals bring out closer to 50%. And Generals also include all other voters, Republicans, Working Families, Conservative, Independents, all of whome could vote AGAINST an incumbent. So Martin Connor's Primary victory is not a win by any means.

I once said I could never see myself voting for some left-leaning "almost" socialist candidate with the Working Families Party, but knowing how undemocratic, democrat Martin Connor is, I think I've found my first WFP candidate. Here's hoping that 51% of the voters in the 25th Senate District agree and decide to vote out an incumbent.

2006: Opportunity Knocking?

2006-07-28T16:09:00.000-04:00

The New York State Assembly has been in control by liberal Democrats (and Republicans) for at least twenty-five years.

The lower-house has not had a conservative majority since 1973 and has lost the ability to block veto-overrides in 2002.

Because voters are showing lack of interest in local campaigns and also with special interest helping incumbants win time and time again, bringing reform to Albany is becoming harder and harder.

This year, New York City voters have an opportunity to start making some changes so new life can enter Albany and a reform agenda can be a key issue in making State Government work again.

How? you might be asking?
Well, by first, voting for the challengers instead of incumbants. In other words, by voting Republican.

Here are ten races where Republicans are challenging the incumbant Democrats:

23rd AD - Stuart W. Mirsky (vs. Audrey I. Pheffer)

44th AD - Viviana V. Hernandez (vs. James F. Brennan)

64th AD - Michael A. Imperiali (vs. Sheldon Silver)

65th AD - Michael Fandal (vs. Alexander B. Pete Grannis)

67th AD - Theodore Howard (vs. Linda Rosenthal)

68th AD - Dean Loren Velasco (vs. Adam Clayton Powell, IV)

71st AD - Glenda Allen (vs. Herman D. Farrell, Jr.)

72nd AD - Martin Chicon (vs. Adriano Espaillat)

73rd AD - Robert Heim (vs. Jonathan L. Bing)

74th AD - Frank Scala (vs. Sylvia Friedman)

The one race that can bring change to Albany is the 64 AD race against Speaker Sheldon Silver. By winning the seat, the Democratic Party will be forced to choose a new Speaker and with a new Speaker, new life can breathe into the Assembly chamber.

Reform is a very important issue with voters and it would be wise for all Republican Assembly candidates to formulate a similar message on issues or unite together as a "ticket" against the same-as-usual crowd that candidates Tom Suozzi and John Faso talk so much about.

The four basic reform issues I'd like to see brought to Albany are:

Statewide candidates consisting of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and Comptroller should be term limited to two four-year terms only.

The State Senate consisting of 62 members, equal to the number of Counties in the State of New York, should be representative to the counties and not by population.

The Senators should be elected to four-year terms instead of the current two-year terms.

Leadership positions and Committee chairpersons should be limited to a maximum of eight years.

Some people may want to see term limits for the Legislature as well, and part of me believes that many not be such a bad idea. Something like 5 terms for Assembly (two year terms) and 3 terms for Senate (four year terms). However, I am opposed to enacting such limitations where 80% to 90% of a legislative body could be ousted at one time. The only way to avoid such an event is to impose the limits on the next elected representative for such a district. That way, the imposed term limits will stagger the years throughout the legislative body when an official retires, win election for another office or loses to a challenger (or gets convicted of a crime, which seems to be happening more frequently).

Voters will listen to candidates running for office and consider voting for the challengers, if a case is presented against the incumbant and a reform agenda appeals to them.

*This entry has been cross-posted here.

Throwing Muses reunited for a couple of gigs

2006-07-28T14:48:00.000-04:00

Throwing Muses will be performing two shows in the early half of August.

Friday, August 11, 2006
THROWING MUSES
Boston, MA
The Middle East
w/ special guest 50FOOTWAVE
$20 / 18+

Virtuous tickets have sold out for this event, but tickets are available now from The Middle East.

Saturday, August 12, 2006
THROWING MUSES
New York, NY
Bowery Ballroom
w/ special guest 50FOOTWAVE
$21 / 18+

Virtuous tickets have sold out, but tickets are available now from The Bowery Ballroom.

Saturday, August 19, 2006
THROWING MUSES
Los Angeles, CA
Little Radio
w/ special guest 50FOOTWAVE

R.I.P Syd :(

2006-07-11T18:46:00.000-04:00

Remember when you were young,
You shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes,
Like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire
Of childhood and stardom,
Blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!

You reached for the secret too soon,
You cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night,
And exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome
With random precision,
Rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

Nobody knows where you are,
How near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pile on many more layers
And I'll be joining you there.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
And we'll bask in the shadow
Of yesterday's triumph,
And sail on the steel breeze.
Come on you boy child,
You winner and loser,
Come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine!

May the music and vision live on.
For fan information, please visit the website, Astral Piper.

He's back!

2006-06-27T23:55:00.000-04:00

Tell us how "Global Warming" has affected Your Life

2006-06-21T20:00:00.000-04:00

ABC News is looking for viewers' help in "reporting" on "global warming":

Witnessing the impact of global warming in your life?

ABC News wants to hear from you. We're currently producing a report on the increasing changes in our physical environment, and are looking for interesting examples of people coping with the differences in their daily lives. Has your life been directly affected by global warming?

We want to hear and see your stories. Have you noticed changes in your own backyard or hometown? The differences can be large or small--altered blooming schedules, unusual animals that have arrived in your community, higher water levels encroaching on your property.

Show us what you've seen.

Essentially ABC is asking viewers to send in their anecdotes of warm weather, which it will claim are evidence of a warming climate. OpinionJournal reader Jeff Beliveau, writes:

Tharg and me used to hunt mighty mammoth but he scared to cross ice bridge. It now too thin to take weight of even saber cat. Only mouse or rabbit can cross.

Many of my people have left the caves in search of food.

Sister's daughter's husband says it because of He-Who-Tamed-Fire. He say smoke from fire anger gods and they make it hot. Medicine Man say he full of mastodon droppings.

Medicine Man say Sun God told him Sun God get belly ache every 200 lifes of man. Belly ache make Sun God hotter, like when Og ate red berries birds don't touch.

Sun God say it good thing. He say now we can go south past ice to land he call "Iowa."

He mumble "junk science" and "media hype" and "poorly educated reporters." We no understand these powerful magic words. We afraid to say words now that Moon God warn us. She say magic words make research grants dry up. We no understand.

Must go, little Ky-Rock need help flaking obsidian.

(H/T: Best of the Web-Today)

This blog a year ago

2006-06-10T08:53:00.000-04:00

On April 28, 2005, I posted an entry on a NY Sun article quoting a speech made by Randy Daniels. Mr Daniels said:

I believe that we must harness the cost of government and bring it under control - I've said it before, I'll say it again: The government of New York is too big and spends too much of your money [applause]. And until we change that, until we change that, we cannot create the environment in which the investment will come into New York and create the new industries, and the new jobs, and the new hopes and opportunities of the future. We must change New York, we must and we can. ... We are capable of growing our way out of the economic hole that we are in; we have to make the decisions, do it, and move forward with the policies that will get us there. ...

The New York Sun added:

Right now, Mr. Daniel's and William Weld are possible Republicans that can run strong and successful campaigns against Eliot Spitzer. The Sun suggests they both run, along with perhaps John Faso, and give New Yorkers a Primary like the GOP is giving New Jersey voters. It is a smart move and Republicans shouldn't be afraid to hold competitive races for the most important office in the State.

On May 18, 2005, I came up with choices for the statewide offices and believe it or not, John Faso's name surfaces as the gubernatorial choice (You'll also notice I refer to his 2002 race with the wrong seat).

Governor. John Faso. He ran a strong and almost successful campaign in 2002 for Attorney General. Mr. Faso could certainly receive the endorsement of both the Republican Party and the Conservative Party (which would prove very important for a Gubernatorial race). A platform of fiscal discipline, non-partisan redistricting, Medicaid reform and pro-business initiatives could make him a winner over Elliot Spitzer. Other names floated are Sec. Randy Daniels and As. Patrick Manning.

The only downside is we aren't getting a primary. Is it good? Is it bad? It would probably be something the party would need if we were in New Jersey's situation where Republicans don't hold a majority to any particular branch or house. At least, this year, we have a chance to win some races and hopefully save New York.

The NY Times treatment of candidate John Faso

2006-06-04T12:03:00.000-04:00

The New York Conservative Party endorsed John Faso as its nominee for governor yesterday, setting up a political fight within the far-larger Republican Party between Mr. Faso, a fiscal conservative who opposes abortion rights, and a second candidate seeking the Republican nomination, William F. Weld, a former governor of Massachusetts who supports abortion rights.

This is the opening paragraph on a May 24 report from New York Times journalist, Patrick Healy, on John Faso, when he won the Conservative Party nomination for governor the day before. Apparently, abortion is the litmus test for all politicians in New York. In its first paragraph, the New York Times makes it a point on where the Republican candidates supposedly stand on abortion.

We have a state budget that is exceeding $112 billion, almost $50 billion of the budget is on Medicaid alone (where the NY Times once reported on being anywhere from 10% to 30% mired in fraud). We have a state government in desperate need of election reform and in dire need of Initiative and Referenda, where the People decide through ballot initiatives what our elected officials should do for a specific matter. We have high taxes and exorbitant spending, but to Mr. Healy and the New York Times, it is all secondary to abortion.

Then, Mr. Healy proceeds to focus on William Weld, the other Republican candidate for governor, who was not even at the Conservative Party convention, for the next few paragraphs. Perhaps after the Republican Convention, the New York Times would approach candidate John Faso differently, especially if he wins the GOP nomination.

Think again.

William F. Weld, the former Massachusetts governor, suffered a major rebuke from his own party on Thursday when he lost his bid to win Republicans' backing in the race for governor of New York, though he still won enough support to remain on the Sept. 12 primary ballot.

Another victory for John Faso and another opening paragraph that focuses on ...the other guy. The June 2 Patrick Healy report on the GOP convention reads very much like his previous story on New York Republicans. I understand that William Weld was considered the front-runner, but he lost. The Conservative Convention story should've only mentioned Mr. Weld and not given him as much attention in an event he didn't attend. At the Republican Convention, the story should've been about the winner and not so much on the "supposed" front-runner losing.

Of course, what is a New York Times article on Republicans without the topic of abortion. Mr. Healy waits until the fourteenth paragraph to mention the topic.

Other Republicans, reflecting Mr. Pataki's private view, say that conservatives who oppose abortion rights, like Mr. Faso, can no longer win statewide elections in New York. Some delegates noted that Mr. Weld, a moderate on social issues and a supporter of abortion rights, had won before in Massachusetts, a heavily Democratic state.

Whatever happened to the terms, Pro-Life and Pro-Choice? Apparently, these archaic terms might confuse the New York Times reader. Or perhaps, they do not fuel as much resentment towards Republicans when you omit the word "abortion," the the new defining phrase for Republicans is opposing or supporting "abortion rights."

This is very misleading and is especially inaccurate for candidate John Faso. The moderate position on abortion is not William Weld's position. Moderates believe abortion should be legal, but putting restrictions on certain types of procedures and encouraging women against getting abortions is a moderate position. Abortions for all is a radical and exceedingly barbaric position that the majority of New Yorkers... Americans abhor.

John Faso has stated he is personally Pro-Life and wishes abortion wasn't practiced. Sort of believing that beyond the natural abortion process known as a "miscarriage," when the body rejects a pregnancy on its own terms, abortion should not be a medical practice. Even though miscarriages are emotionally difficult for women, it is something that happens and cannot always be prevented. Of course, as an elected official, a complete ban on the practice of abortion is not something politicians should be imposing. Every situation needs to be looked at carefully and Mr. Faso understands this.

In November 2005, NY Newsday carried an Associated Press story on John Faso's position on abortion. Now archived, the AP report was discusssed at two New York blogs: Urban Elephants and News Copy.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- John Faso, a conservative Republican considering a run for governor, said Friday that while he is personally opposed to abortion, he would not support legislation to outlaw it in New York state.

"I don't think such an approach would be appropriate," the former state Assembly minority leader told The Associated Press.

Faso, a Roman Catholic, said that even if he felt such legislation was appropriate, he did not think it would be "politically viable" in New York.

...Faso said he would favor limits on late-term abortions and requiring parental notification when minors seek abortions. He also said he remained opposed, as he was in the Assembly, to Medicaid funding to pay for poor women's abortions, expect in cases of rape or incest. ~ November 11, 2005

So all this clamoring from the New York Times and other media outlets are misleading the general New York public on John Faso's position. A position that, in my eyes, is the moderate position on abortion.

It would be unfortunate for any candidate to be branded by the media on one issue, especially if the media is reporting inaccurate information. There is constant debate on whether their is a liberal bias in our media and even through denials, the media continues to show its bias by reporting from one side of a debate, a side that can be viewed as a personal and private side where many people wish government stayed out.

Will our media start holding candidates, both Republican and Democrat to the same standards? Or will be continue to hold Republicans to different standards? Are we a nation who defines its elected officials on simply one social issue?

The Two Party System

2006-06-04T11:31:00.000-04:00

I'm sure somewhere on my blog (or would it be on another one) I've argued the importance of a two party system. When one party has control of all aspects of government, the people lose power and are at the will of their elected officials. Ronald Reagan said in his 1981 Inauguration address,

"We are a nation that has a government--not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. ...All of us need to be reminded that the federal government did not create the states; the states created the federal government."

Today, in 2006, Democrats across the country try to present arguments to take back the Presidency, the Senate or the House of Representatives. In New York, the reverse is true and that is why advocating for reform is so important. New York City, a Democratic town, is overwhelmingly in one party control. New York State, which tilts to the Democratic Party, is on the verge of turning all it's power over to the Democratic Party because the NY GOP has put itself in a role of insignificance over the last six years.

New York is ignoring its impending crisis, because it tends to look at issues that have minimal importance when it comes to taxes and spending and government reform. The People of this State should be concerned with our government deciding matters for us. We are the People. And it is the People of this City and of this State that gives voice to government. If we stand idle and let the Government make decisions for us, then we fail to understand what our Fore Fathers gave us. A Nation that has a government. A People that has a State government.

What does this have to do with the Two Party System?
Balance. If the State Assembly is two-thirds Democrat and the State Senate is close to a 50-50 divide, The Executive posts should be controlled by fiscal conservatives. Namely, the Governor and the State Comptroller. I'm sure we could survive four years of one party control, but if we could avoid it, we should work to give the people a two-party system.

Sunday Morning Coffee -- Time For Catch-Up on NYGOP Politics

2006-06-04T11:10:00.000-04:00

Where has the EV GOP been?

I took a mental sabatical from politics. It takes its toll on the mind, especially being a Republican in New York City. I did recently report for Urban Elephant's on the Conservative Party Convention, but aside from that, I've been keeping tabs on the New York Mets and reading the New York Sun.

My reporting at the Conservative Party Convention nominations can be found below:

John Faso - Governor designee
C. Scott Vanderhoef - Lt Governor designee
John Spencer - US Senate designee
J. Christopher Callaghan - Comptroller designee
Jeanine Pirro - Attorney General designee

Advocacy for a Colonial New Amsterdam

2006-05-20T11:34:00.000-04:00

This year, Governor's Island will be open to the public and it's the perfect opportunity to start advocating for a historical renovation for the southern portion of the island.

It doesn't appear that I'll get my way with the High Line being made into a West Side light rail for commuters, so I'll still champion my idea of making the non-historical portion of Gov's Isle made into the likeness of our past.

This map shows lower Manhattan and Governor's Island side by side (if you do not see the full image, click here. Though the centuries have seen the tip of the island grow wider and wider, the shape of Governor's Island is very close to the original southern tip of Manhattan.

Williamsburg, Virginia preserves the historic past of our nation. New York's history is always changing and with every passing decade, parts of our history is demolished, then rebuilt for a new future. Building a New Amsterdam on Governor's Island will bring New Yorkers and tourists around the world to a distant past when New York was a small port colony and not the metropolis it is today.

The colony of New Amsterdam can be created, almost to scale, up to Wall Street, the old barrier to protect the colonists from potential attacks from the native population.

The New York Harbor already holds Lady Liberty and Ellis Island, two national treasures for Americans. Adding a Colonial New Amsterdam in our harbor would continue to expand the rich history for New York an educate all of us on what Americans accomplished in the City of New York.

Deconstructng Brian Kavanagh's Issues

2006-05-13T11:32:00.000-04:00

Today is a day to tear apart a Democratic candidates "Issues" page. In Manhattan, the 74th Assembly District looks to be another fun campaign, with three candidates already set to win your votes this November. The Republican will once again be Frank Scala, who ran against Sylvia Friedman in the February Special Election and lost.

I guess, the Democratic establishment feels Ms. Friedman will not be the best representative for the 74th, so the younger Brian Kavanagh is planning on primarying her. Mr. Kavanagh ran for City Council last year and came in a distant second to Rosie Mendez. Now, he's taking his stab at State office so he can be the next career politician like Steven Sanders (28 years in office) and Sheldon Silver (30 years in office).

So, today, Brian Kavanagh's message will be picked apart by me, a fiscal-minded East Village resident of his district. I've met Mr. Kavanagh and he's a nice man, so going forward I'm going to refer to him as Brian.

Tough fights require strong leadership.
It's been many years since our community-and all of New York State-had so much hanging in the balance in Albany. We need State government to be both more cost-effective and more responsive to the needs of ordinary New Yorkers. And we need to make sure that the political and legislative processes are open and fair so that our government is more accountable and more receptive to new ways of doing business. Brian Kavanagh won't just vote right-he’ll work day and night to provide strong leadership on the issues we care most deeply about.

- Brian's introduction on his Issues Page is simple and well written and gives the impression that he'll be a "progressive reformer." Unfortunately, as you will see, he takes very few progressive positions on many issues the district faces.

His talking points are the same as Democrats who are already in Albany and since 63 of the 65 Assembly Districts making up the five boroughs already have Democrats, I can’t see any real reform occurring.

Protect and expand affordable housing.
In Albany, Brian will work to reverse the weakening of our rent laws that has taken place in recent years. He'll bring renewed vigor to the fight to repeal the Urstadt Law and give New York City officials-not upstate Republicans-control over our own rent regulations. He'll introduce legislation to expand the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program to protect more seniors and people with disabilities struggling to pay their rent. He'll fight for State funding for production of new housing affordable to New Yorkers at all income levels, including a new Mitchell-Lama-style construction program.

- Everything in Brian's housing blurb has been argued time and time again by Democrats. Every year, Democrats talk about affordable housing, then when they are elected, they become an advocate for tenants, but get nothing done. Why? Because government controlled housing doesn’t work. Housing should be left to the free market. Government can set standards to protect people who choose not to buy their own home because they are unable to afford it, but the market should dictate the housing crop. The argument is available housing, not affordable. As long as government dabbles in building homes for people instead of letting the private sector take over, we will continue to have the "affordability" problem we've had over the last twenty years, regardless of whether the state or city controls housing. For a solution to the housing situation, see my blog entry at the New York Young Republican website.

Stand up for neighborhood residents.
Here in our community, Brian will be a tireless fighter to protect the rights of all Mitchell-Lama residents facing buyouts, stand up for StuyTown and Peter Cooper tenants in their battles with MetLife, and demand that the New York City Housing Authority provide public housing residents with the services and facilities they're entitled to.

- Mitchell-Lama, PCV/ST and NYCHA, three housing matters in the 74th. Brian is hoping to get votes for throwing in these tenants into his talking points. Unfortunately, his argument is not progressive, but more of the same.

Mitchell-Lama is a failed program that has locked up housing availability that was meant to be temporary. Its limited stock remains occupied by New Yorkers and prevents finding available units at reasonable rents for those seeking apartments.

Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town is a private community owned by Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company (a division of MetLife). There are more than 10,000 units available for New Yorkers who wish to live in the Lower East Side community. Brian makes out as if the landlord hates having tenants. "Tenants in their battles," he says. Every large residential community will have a small number of tenants who have issues. In Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town, there is less than 3% of the tenant population that are not complying with the law and these are the legitimate "battles" between landlord and tenant. Is Brian defending tenants that might very well be doing something illegal under the Rent Regulation Laws?

The various other complaints can be considered typical when dealing in a tenant-landlord relationship, especially with a property this size. Now, I'm a renter in the East Village. I don't own my apartment. No one in PCVST owns their apartment. MetLife owns it. The owner should be allowed to do what it wants to provide the best possible environment for its tenants within the laws. As a renter, I understand that if I want control over my housing, I should look to buy.

Lastly, NYCHA is brought up by Brian. It stands for New York City Housing Authority. If I remember my political science, an Assembly seat is State, not City. If he wants to solve the problems in NYCHA, he should advocate selling the housing to its residents and tell the City to let a private managing company to bid on running these buildings. NYCHA is said to retain a percentage of units as unoccupied. This is government controlling housing for you. Time to let the private sector solve this problem. If government gets out of the business of providing housing, think of all the billions of dollars that can be removed from city and state budgets. Instead of a $55 billion city budget, perhaps it would only need to be $45 billion and you and I can get our taxes cut. We can start in property taxes, so landlords could provide more "affordable" units.

Demand adequate funding for our schools.
Brian will work to ensure that every child in our neighborhoods has the opportunity for a quality education. He'll stand up to Republicans in Albany who have refused to support our public schools and comply with a court-ordered $5 billion payout to our City schools. He will fight to equalize the school funding formula, reduce class sizes, and deliver our hard-working teachers the compensation they deserve.

- Brian again pits the issue as a problem with "evil" Republicans. I’m sorry Brian, but New York is a Democratic state. If you see problems in this state, it's more than likely the "evil" Democrats who wish to keep the status quo. Republicans have solutions to education. It's not about throwing more money into a broken system, but opening the educational market by providing more choices to parents. Government can't do anything right, so why make it sound like government will know what to do with education? The court ordered funding is a sham. The courts never gave a dollar amount. The CFE did, so the $5 billion is not a real number. You want schools to get what they need financially? Then let school districts and community boards run the schools in their district, not the city or the teachers union. If you want to reduce class size, how about allowing parents to send their kids to the small classes in private and parochial schools by advocating a voucher program. Catholic schools are closing all throughout New York City because they have only six or seven kids in a class. You want government to raise taxes and spend money on building more schools, when schools are (or were) there in neighborhoods? Government can't even build buildings down at the World Trade Center site, what makes you think they'll be able to build enough schools to accommodate all the kids that are now school-less because their private or parochial school closed because of their "reduced class size" due to lack of enrollment?

Protect our community's quality of life.
Brian will press for new laws and better enforcement to stop bars and nightclubs from overwhelming our residential neighborhoods. He will work closely with other officials and community residents in the fight to prevent irresponsible and out-of-scale development. He will preserve and increase our access to open space by protecting our parks from development and excessive commercial use, facilitating greater access to the waterfront, and supporting community gardens.

- I like Brian's talking point here, but I'm sure I'd disagree with him if we got into specifics. I believe in the free market, but I do understand that neighborhoods need to provide a variety of small businesses and not just one type, such as bars and clubs, which are overburdening Alphabet City. Parks and gardens are definitely aspects of the district that make the East Side a great place to live. If a candidate ran on my platform and reduced some of the spending, maybe he or she could provide a percentage to protecting the natural aspects of the district.

Help keep us safe in our neighborhoods.
Brian will join with police precincts and community residents to create more effective police-neighborhood partnerships to keep our streets and parks safe from crime, while also working to repeal laws that mandate expensive, ineffective, and unjust prison terms for non-violent, drug-related offenses. He will also push State agencies, especially the MTA, to take all appropriate steps to ensure our safety and security.

- Brian contradicts himself here when he advocates keeping the streets safe, but then advocates allowing drug-related offenders to return to our streets. Fifteen years ago, the East Village was an area with drug addicts, drug dealers, high crime and blight. The city's crime prevention policies of the 1990s got these criminals off the street and sent them to jail. Now we're concerned with overdevelopment. Maybe this is Brian's solution to scare people out of the district. Allow the crime to return, so no one wants to come here anymore.

Guarantee access to affordable, quality healthcare.
Brian will work to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to quality affordable health care.

- One sentence that says, "I'll be another "yes" man in Sheldon Silver's State Assembly.

Ensure that hard work is rewarded by a living wage.
Working families need a living wage that adequately compensates hard work and enables full-time workers to provide for their children. Brian will never stop fighting for working families.

- Ah, the "living wage" term. It's really a joke. Lower our taxes, allow us to work for what we earn instead of having government take four months of our earnings. New York State's minimum wage is already $2 more than the National standard. It wouldn’t have to be if New York City didn't have a budget over $55 billion and a State budget over $110 billion.

Protect our civil and human rights.
Brian will work to protect and expand our civil and human rights here in New York State, regardless of what happens at the national level. That means ensuring that our state respects and protects the rights of racial and ethnic minorities, women's rights, LGBT rights, rights of people with disabilities, and the rights of all of us to privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and other rights that are central to our American democratic tradition.

- Brian, leave this to the Norman Siegels of New York. Our constitution protects us already and if there is a case I feel my rights have been wronged, I'll be calling a lawyer, not my Assemblyman.

Fight the reform battle-on every front.
Brian will be an outspoken voice for campaign finance reform. For redistricting reform. For election reform. For lobbying reform. For reform of the closed process that selects interim replacements when legislators retire. And for just about any proposal that puts power in the hands of people, not the special interests.

- One thing where New York City Republicans fail on is advocating reform. There are many Democrats that understand the importance of reform and if Republicans fail to use reform as a platform issue, then Democrats will continue to win. There are two key points for New Yorkers. Our taxes are too high and government is too corrupt to trust on every issue. Though the Democrats fill their talking points with government doing things for us, they also talk about basic reform matters such as redistricting, election reform, lobbying reform and campaign finance reform. Sadly, if Brian wants to truly reform Albany, he should be living in the 64th AD and primary Sheldon Silver. Unfortunately, I don’t know if any Democrat has the guts to do so.

Will Brian be more effective than Sylvia Friedman? Probably. Brian has more actual government experience. Ms. Friedman has been a local community activist over her many years, but I'm not too sure she could effectly work within and against her own party. If Brian wins the primary, then he'll likely win in November. If he really wants to advocate reform, he should quietly search for a candidate to challenge Sheldon Silver in 2008. As it stands, even if Brian wins and becomes our next Assemblyman, I don't see much progress in the district, in Manhattan, in New York City. It will simply be continuing the status quo.

Has it been seven years?

2006-05-09T17:26:00.000-04:00

Every day passes and sometimes it's hard to believe how long it's been when life brings the good, the bad and the tragic. Thoughts of what could have been and where I'd be in my life today if this day in history, seven years ago, never came to be.

Just one day can change you. It did to me. I can reminisce and dream, but reality tells me I am here in 2006.

An Anniversary Story

2006-04-24T19:42:00.000-04:00

The purpose of my blog is to focus on political issues primarily facing the Lower East Side and then the Metropolitan area. Of course there is the occasional "opinion" I grab and repost here, but for the most part, personal and work-related stories are not things I generally intend to blog about.

Today, though, I was told a story that was so touching, I feel the need to repeat it.

My job partially deals with a particular type of senior care when it comes to residential management. On a daily basis, I speak to a number of senior citizens and answer questions that relate to what I do and try to make their living situations more accomodating in these expesive times. Today, a woman I will call Alice, told me a story that shows us the power of love.

Alice, who is a pretty good looking mid-70 year old, first stepped into the picture back in the Fall of 2004. She and her husband, Harold, have been having tough times financially and when she learned of the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption Program, she came in to apply.

Harold has been sick. He had spent many months in the hospital and it wasn't looking pretty good for him. Alice, who doesn't have a High School diploma, had to get a part-time job to help out after Harold was layed off from work and through tough times, they had to sell many personal possessions to cover expenses. When Harold got sick, it made matters worse.

Now, with both of them out of work and only collecting social security, Alice heard about SCRIE and wisely chose to get her rent frozen, so she could help pay hospital bills and monthly expenses without worrying about rent chipping at their income.

In January 2005, Alice and Harold were approved for the SCRIE Program and they were very grateful for all my help and assistance.

In September 2005, Harold passed away, just before their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Alice informed me of her husband's passing, a man I never met, and I explained what she needs to do with renewal leases and when her SCRIE comes up for renewal in the summer of 2006.

Today, Alice came in asking for me to assist her in an appeal to get her SCRIE determination reduced. She may or may not get it, but because her social security benefits was decreasing by almost $400, she is hoping to get a reduction in her SCRIE benefits, because the new amount would return her to some hard times.

When we sat down to go over her appeal, she was her usual nervous self with mixed emotions of sadness and gratefullness. Suddenly, she brightened up and she sticks out her hand and shows me this nice wedding band on her ring finger.

"Harold got me this for our 50th Anniversary," she tells me. Almost in tears, she adds, "I just got it the other day from his nurse at the hospital. It's only $36, but it's from Harold."

The story:
While in the hospital, he noticed his nurse had a similar wedding band on her finger and he asked if she was married. She told him she wasn't and that she got the ring from a catalog. Harold asked her if she could show him the catalog, because he would like to get his wife a new wedding band, because their 50th Anniversary was coming up and she didn't have one. He picked out a ring and the nurse ordered it for him, but it was on back-order and it would take some time before they would be able to deliver it.

Sadly Harold passed away never able to give the ring he purchased his wife for their 50th Wedding Anniversary.

A couple weeks ago, a package came in to the hospital and the nurse who ordered it realized that it was the ring her patient had ordered for his wife months before. She found Alice's phone number and gave her a call to let her know of the gift her husband purchased only briefly before he passed away.

Alice now wears the ring with love and memories of a man she dearly misses. It may not be worth a lot in money, but it is worth more than anything to her right now. I told her she was fortunate to have someone who loved her so much and that she was able to have all those year's together. Some people never get what she had.

Targeting areas in Manhattan

2006-04-20T18:36:00.000-04:00

The two hardest boroughs for the Republican Party to penetrate are the Bronx and Manhattan. For some reason, I feel the chances in the Bronx are better than the central island of this consolidated city, mainly because the outer-boroughs have suburban havens, and suburbs usually breed more conservative-minded individuals.

But this is not to say that Manhattan should be ignored by the GOP. There are over 97,000 registered republicans in New York County and candidates should run for office representing these residents. The New York County Committee is attempting to activate district clubs in all twelve districts and this is certainly a good start to expand the party base and win votes even from voters not registered republican.

Because of redistricting, the State Senate districts are a lot hard for Republicans. For a long time, Roy Goodman (R) held the district along the east side of the island. When he finally retired from his position, a democrat won the seat, the borders were redrawn, and now, it would be extremely difficult to win back the seat, even if a lot of money was put into it.

However, there are three Assembly Districts and three City Council districts that should have candidates for every election cycle. These are districts that have had Republican officials in the past and could be a beginning to return republican ideals to Manhattan.

The 73rd AD is along the East Side of Manhattan and home to the Rockefeller/Lindsay Republican establishment. A true conservative Republican would probably not do well in any of these districts, but a fiscal conservative/social moderate can certainly crack the democratic machine on the island. Using the last three big elections (as I did with my Bronx post), the 73 appears to take a very centrist position for their elected officials.

Pataki '02 - 54.27%
Bush '04 - 29.56%
Bloomberg '05 - 85.15%

Mayor Bloomberg clearly won overwelmingly and surprisingly, George Pataki almost reached 55% in 2002. Bush's numbers were certainly low, but the 73 had the highest percentage for the President out of all 12 ADs.

The 65th AD is along the Upper East Side and a base where many registered Republicans reside. Bloomberg scored over 80% of the vote and Pataki won the district by falling just shy of 50%.

The 64th AD is the third district the Republican Party needs to field a candidate in for every electin cycle. The numbers may tell you that it wouldn't be worth trying, because the average percentage of the three big elections is around 41%.

Pataki '02 - 43.89%
Bush '04 - 21.7%
Bloomberg '05 - 60.1%

It's true that these percentages don't ring a potential for victory, but what could change this impression would be to tell you who holds the seat. Sheldon Silver is the Assemblyman for the 64. The Republican Party could certainly make strides up in Albany by knocking out Silver. You may argue that even if the Assembly Speaker loses his seat, the lower house will still be in control of the Democrats. True. But it won't be in Sheldon Silver's hands. The Democrats will have to select a new Speaker. That could be someone who is more reform minded and someone who comes across as fiscally responsible.

For City Council, the districts for Republicans are 2 CD, 4 CD & 5 CD. All three run along the East Side from Alphabet City up to Yorkville.

All throughout Manhattan, the Republican Party should run candidates, even though their chances of winning are slim. With the County organization making sure an active district club mobilizes party members, this can only increase the base and bring more of a balance to Manhattan politics. Unfortunately, not every district has a club and some that do don't have an active club.

Here are your Manhattan Clubs:

New Amsterdam Republican Club - 64 AD
(This club was once very active holding regular meetings and supporting candidates down in lower Manhattan.
With a change of leadership, it has not held regular meetings for some time.
If you live in the 64 AD and would like to get this club going again, email: contact@nycrepublican.org.)

Knickerbocker Republican club - 65 AD
This club does meet regularly at member's homes, but could use a perminent location.
The problem with locations is they cost money. If you live in the 65, these are the folks to contact first.

West Side Republican Club - 67 AD
There is also a Riverside Republican Club, but the West Side Parker Club is the one that is active.
The West Side Club is one of the few clubs that holds two meetings a month.

The Fighting 69th Republican Club - 69 AD
The 69 recently organized and has taken off with much success. The few bushels of Republicans in the district are pretty active. They now meet regularly.

Harlem Republican Club - 70 AD
The Harlem GOP has been around for some time now and consists of many members who are very active in the district.

Lionel Hampton Republican Club - 71 AD
This club has been around for a while, but has simply not been active on a regular basis.
This year, LHRC has made a commitment to begin organizing and expanding its membership.
Visit their website and shoot them an email to learn more.

The Metropolitan Republican Club - 73 AD
The largest Republian Club in Manhattan at the moment. It also houses the county committee.
The Met Club is usually the place that holds meetings and events on a regular basis. New Yorkers from all throughout the borough come to the Met Club for socials and working with district leaders.

Vince Albano Republican Club - 74 AD
The Albano Club reactivated last October and has held a monthly meeting consistantly since then.
The club covers Gramercy, PCV/ST, East Village and more along the East Side. It is certainly looking for new members and many district residents looking to get involved in the county committee and helping with campaigns.
To reach the Albano Club, contact albanoclub@gmail.com

The Theodore Roosevelt Republican Club - 75 AD
The TR Group started after the 2001 city elections and became a highly active club up through 2005.
This year, it has slowed down a bit, so maybe it's time for some new blood to reenergize its membership.
If you live in 75, know that you have a place to go.

Right now, there are no clubs in the 66 AD, 68 AD and 72 AD. If you happen to live in these districts and are interested in helping the New York County Committee form a club for those residents who are left out, email contact@nycrepublican.org

If in two years, we have active clubs in all twelve ADs and are buzzing with local activism, then who needs my point of focussing in simply 3 districts. We will have enough foot soldiers to get the Republican message out throughout the entire borough.

Building the Bronx GOP

2006-04-19T18:11:00.000-04:00

I've been doing a little bit of research for republican party building in New York City. I want to publish some of my research, in the hopes that perhaps republican leaders from the specific areas I mention learn that they have the potential in strengthening the Republican Party on a grassroots level against the mighty democratic machine.

I started with Bronx County, because after reviewing registered republican totals for each of the five boroughs, I thought it would be a quick and easy process for our northern most city member.

Right now, the Bronx GOP has one legitimate candidate running for State Senate. In the 34th SD, Joseph J. Savino is attempting to "take back" the seat once held by prominent republican leader, Guy Velella. The 34th SD is comprised of large sections of the 80, 81 & 82 ADs, which are the only three Assembly districts where the GOP has a fighting chance. Fielding Assembly candidates to run simultaneously with Savino's Senate race should greatly increase the interest for the republican base in the northern Bronx. Are there even candidates for the Assembly?

I'm not too familiar with the Republican Party up in the Bronx, but I certainly hope they aren't a one-man show. If Savino wins the seat, I can only hope that he will work with his republican base and develop prospective candidates for the Assembly and City Council for 2008 and 2009 respectively. The first thing the county committee should do is designate district clubs in the three Assembly districts, 80, 81, 82. It is these three ADs where the GOP has a chance.

Why do I say there is hope in these three Assembly Districts? Because Republicans can and have won in these ADs. Mayor Mike Bloomber won all three Assembly Districts in his reelection bid in 2005.

AD - Percent
80 - 53.86%
81 - 62.40%
82 - 57.07%

I understand Mayor Bloomberg isn't necessarily considered a Republican among most fiscally conservative individuals. However, the most conservative voters in the Bronx come from these three Assembly Districts. In 2002, George Pataki's percentages for these districts was in the the mid to upper 40s and in the 80 AD, his 47.46% was a winning total (if just barely).

When it comes to President George Bush's numbers in 2004, he received 26% to 31% in these districts. All other Bronx districts weren't higher than 15%.

These are helpful and hopeful numbers for republicans to start building a base of support through republican clubs. Regular meetings and organization help the party grow and reach more and more voters come to a decision to vote republican.

When it comes to a City Council race, the 13th CD is pretty much the only one that appears attainable for 2009. The 11th CD is worth running a good candidate as well, but it doesn't appear that the 11th has the odds the 13th has. The Republican Party should represent each borough with at least one elected official for council, assembly and senate, so the council seat should be the 13th.

In 2005, Phil Foglia ran a spirited campaign for 13 CD and received 35.6% of the vote. The republican party should not give up on this seat and hopefully they will have someone groomed for 2009.

Recently, a republican club started in City Island. There next meeting will be May 10th. If you live near City Island and are a registered republican, please join them and help them start a new base of support for Republicans in the Bronx.

Connecting with the East Village

2006-04-04T09:48:00.000-04:00

The East Village has its own website and it is appropriately called, East-Village.com.

I've visited the site on occasion and noticed it contains many resources that are particular to the East Village and Alphabet City. It's a great source of information for anyone who lives in the historic area or for someone who likes to visit. Get your fix on East Village businesses such as an East Village music store, East Village hair salons, East village hobby stores, East Village bars or lounges, East Village thrift shops, East Village pet stores, laundry mats and coffee shops and East Village hotels and if you are getting the opinion that I'm listing all of these things to attract internet searches, I have no comment on that. ;)

Apart from the site being very busy looking, I think it should definitely be a site for every East Village resident to check in on occasion. I also recommend signing up to its newsletter and perhaps even signing into the site.

If you're an East Village Republican or East Village Reformer, you should connect with your neighborhood. Many users to the site are small business owners and local activists. It is important to stay in touch with what your neighbors are thinking and feeling. I just signed up today and though I may not simply dive into another site with blogging and commenting, I want to see what the make-up of villagers are politically.

Shut Up! It's OUR Speech that's free!

2006-04-03T07:34:00.000-04:00

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

More than 25,000 evangelical Christian youth landed Friday in San Francisco for a two-day rally at AT&T Park against "the virtue terrorism" of popular culture, and they were greeted by an official city condemnation and a clutch of protesters who said their event amounted to a "fascist mega-pep rally." . . .

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, . . . told counterprotesters at City Hall on Friday that while such fundamentalists may be small in number, "they're loud, they're obnoxious, they're disgusting, and they should get out of San Francisco." . . .

Earlier this week, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution condemning the "act of provocation" by what it termed an "anti-gay," "anti-choice" organization that aimed to "negatively influence the politics of America's most tolerant and progressive city."

The Chronicle's editorialists do recognize this display of small-mindedness for what it is, but you still have to wonder how "America's most tolerant and progressive" city can elect people who so totally fail to grasp the concept.

From Opinion Journal's Best of the Web - Today

The GOP ticket isn't looking that bad

2006-04-01T13:57:00.000-05:00

This isn't an endorsement. It's just something for everyone to consider and take a look at who the GOP has to offer for the statewide races this November.

John Faso for Governor

Today the Legislature is passing a tax, spend and borrow plan that will lead to very large out year deficits. Their budget not only dramatically increases spending, but provides no reform of the two areas with the largest spending growth – Medicaid and education.

The reason New York has the highest state and local tax burden in the nation is that our Legislature consistently spends and borrows more than citizens can afford.

While spending increases and apathy toward reform have become customary for the Legislature, the lack of a response from Eliot Spitzer is most revealing. He has not raised more than a whisper in protest with his allies in the state Assembly. The Sheriff of Wall Street is mute on State Street.

Jeanine Pirro for Attorney General

[Jeanine Pirro will] be pushing the MySpace.com issue with Hudson Falls Central Schools Superintendent Mark Doody. The district recently warned parents of the dangers associated with ”social networking” sites and blocked them - including MySpace.com - from the school network.

Follow-up: MySpace complies.

J. Christoper Callaghan for Comptroller

He's been in government accounting for 35 years, the last nine as Saratoga County treasurer. Now he's pursuing the state's top accounting job, the elected office of state comptroller. He announced March 8 he won't run for re-election, but will instead seek the Republican nomination to oppose Alan G. Hevesi, the Democratic incumbent.

Callaghan also has met with state Conservative Party leaders and is pursuing that party's endorsement.

He's derided some of Hevesi's policies as "gimmickry" that could push state taxes higher; Hevesi, a Queens resident who would be seeking his second term in November, has so far refused comment on Callaghan's candidacy.

As Saratoga County treasurer, Callaghan has been part of the team behind one of the most financially successful counties in the state, a county with a budget consistently in the black, and which has general held tax rates steady or cut them for 20 years.

John Spencer for US Senate

John Spencer, the leading Republican and Conservative Party Executive Committee endorsed candidate to face Senator Clinton, blasted the ACLU-backed “Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act,” introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D, NY-14).

"This bill is a blatant attack to--once again--smear the good work of America’s vital alternatives-to-abortion network of crisis pregnancy clinics which provide a ‘true choice’ for women and girls in unexpected pregnancies,” said Spencer at a press conference hosted by numerous mothers helped by the EMC FrontLine Pregnancy Centers today.

“Having been adopted myself, I have always supported this organization and similar ones like it that help provide a real choice to pregnant women seeking counsel. Only those who see strictly through the prism of pure politics could oppose those seeking to choose life,” added Spencer.

According to today’s New York Sun, Nat Hentoff, a former member of the ALCU’s board, was quoted as saying “My God, what about the First Amendment?” when told of the ACLU’s support for the bill.

Also according to the Sun Mr. Hentoff also called the ACLU's endorsement of the legislation “a really extraordinary mistake.”

Conservatives should take George Marlin's advice

2006-03-14T18:40:00.000-05:00

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

What about the Libertarian Party?

2006-03-12T13:25:00.000-05:00

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

MoveOn.org's Record of accomplishment

2006-03-09T17:56:00.000-05:00

.

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.

Changing the face of New York Politics

2006-03-05T11:07:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-05T09:53:00.000-05:00

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.

Remarks on Special Election 2/28

2006-03-04T10:24:00.000-05:00

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.

The State Comptroller Race

2006-03-03T21:41:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-03T21:04:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-03T20:06:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-03T19:54:00.000-05:00

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.

Comprehending Conservative Party Influence

2006-02-26T22:58:00.000-05:00

“New York City is a liberal town. For a candidate, there is no benefit in seeking the Conservative Line.”

Many of us have heard someone within the Republican Party say something like the above quote. For many years, republican candidates running in New York City were told to seek the Liberal Party line, even though Liberals have roughly the same number of registered voters as the Conservatives do. Why? Apparently it’s because a “conservative” cannot win in New York. Well, let’s not tell Serph Maltese and Marty Golden and Matthew Minrones, Republicans who sought cross-endorsement from the Conservative Party, and happen to be some of the few Republicans holding office in New York City.

Today, Republicans are asked to seek the Independence Party line because there are four times as many New Yorkers registered to the Independence Party than to the Conservative Party. New York Republicans believe there are plenty of New Yorkers that refuse to pull the switch for Row A in the booth. I find it hard to believe there are many people like that. After looking through the November 2005 results, when it comes to the local council races, the Independence line received only a few hundred votes for each candidate.

So should we believe that the Conservative Party, though influential in New York State, is not that influential in New York City, especially Manhattan?

I’ve been looking at some numbers and I’m starting to believe the NY Republican Party needs to begin running candidates with a more “conservative” platform then in previous election cycles.

In the Racetrack2006, we have a chart showing endorsements for our current gubernatorial candidates. Column one lists the county name, column two lists the number of registered Conservatives and column three lists the number of votes the Conservative line received in the last gubernatorial election.

If you look at the totals, at first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference in registered voters to votes on the line. When you take the entire state into consideration, an extra 21,800 votes doesn’t seem like a lot. Certainly registered voters to other parties will cross party lines to issue a protest vote or a “platform” vote and 21,800 is a small amount when it comes to the 11.6 million voters registered in the State.

But let’s look at the votes in New York City. Also, let’s take into consideration that a gubernatorial election may only draw 40%-45% of the registered voters out on Election Day. Also, let’s not forget that the “conservative” receiving the votes was Gov. George Pataki.

Bronx - reg. Con 3,833 vote # 2,176
Kings - reg. Con 5,243 vote # 8,679
New York - reg. Con 2,323 vote # 4,664
Queens - reg. Con 7,014 vote # 10,745
Richmond - reg. Con 4,481 vote # 5,505
Totals - reg. Con 22,894 vote # 31,769

First, we see four out of five boroughs had more votes on the Conservative Line than there are actual registered Conservatives. Clearly, there are voters out there, Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives, “no party” people, who vote on the basis of conservative principles.

Second, New York County received twice as many votes on Column D than there are registered Conservative. It is highly unlikely that county turnout for registered Conservatives was 100%, so 50% of the total tally cannot be Conservatives alone. If we assume turnout was in the 40%-45% range, then the vote total of 4.664 votes only consists of 1,000 votes from registered Conservatives (give or take a hundred).

Third, many registered voters vote for a reason. The number one reason would be a vote for the candidate whom a person feels is the best choice. Another reason would be a vote for the primary alternative to the candidate you do not want to win. There are people who vote strictly along party lines based on their belief of party platform. And there are people who vote to send a message saying “I’m voting for you, but on this party line, because I want you to adhere to this party’s principles.” I did this with my vote for Robert Morganthau in last year’s election.

I think it’s safe to say the Conservative Party received about 21,000 votes for governor in 2002 by registered voters who are not registered Conservative. Oh, and what was the over-under I mentioned before by total number of votes statewide to registered Conservatives? 21,800.

I’ve discussed “conservative values” with a republican district leader who is Hispanic. Many Hispanic voters are registered Democrat, but hold conservative values and it is likely there second line of choice on Election Day would be the Conservative Party line. I was in full agreement because I have a list of registered Conservatives for my Assembly District and many of the last names listed are Hispanic. The district leader told me that the Republican Party should take the Conservative Party more seriously in New York City. Clearly, we are not winning when we run “independent” or “liberal” candidates against Democrats.

We’ve debated this topic before on Urban Elephants, and I’m not suggesting we run candidates that come across as extreme right-wingers to New Yorkers. What I am suggesting is we have candidates who seek the endorsement from the Conservative Party and campaign on conservative issues that both the candidate and the party agree with. When I sought the endorsement, I went to the CPNYS website and I read through the platform, so I had an idea where we would agree. I presented the chairman with my positions where we were in agreement and that was all I needed to do to get their backing.

35% of the vote doesn’t win elections. Republicans and Conservatives are apparently staying home on Election Day, because the candidates we’re running aren’t resonating with the voter’s values and beliefs. It’s time to alter our course. If we don’t try presenting a more conservative platform with our candidates, how do we know it will do worse in the polls than a liberal platform?

*Reposted at Urban Elephants.

Week in Review 1/30 - 2/3

2006-02-05T23:40:00.000-05:00

Monday, 1/30
Gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer, who has positioned himself as an enforcer against special interests, has turned to lobbyisst to help him raise money for his campaign. Mr. Spitzer raised nearly $1 million at a fundraising gala in December, which mainly included lobbyists.

Judge John Gleeson of the Eastern District ruled that the state Legislature needs to change the current system to make the elections for state Supreme court more democratic. The lawsuit was brought by a biartisan group of nine plaintiffs, including maverick Brooklyn surrogate Margarita Lopez Torres. The winners are the voters. The losers are the party leaders. But now, the voters must be even more aware of their local government.

Governor Pataki announced new legislation that will use $100 million of state funding to provide subsidies to low-income families for their energy bills. The additional program places priority on households with people who are age 60 and older or have children under 6, because they are considered vulnerable.

The Jamaica Bus Line began running under the banner of Metropolitan Transit Authority on Monday, part of the private line take over negotiated between the city and the MTA. While free marketers and capitalists see this as a danger, our mayor and city government under democratic control seem to think monopolies are the way to go. All you need is a little regulation to hold costs down and when they exceed the revenue stream, you just tax the people more. Right?

Longtime political aide, Lisa Rosenthal, won the Democratic candidate nod for the 67th Assembly District after two ballots from the district committee members. Charles Simon and Mike Lupinacci have successfully petitioned and will also be on the Feb 28 ballot. The Republican candidate will be Emily Csendes, a Harlem teacher who ran for the State Senate seat in 2004.

In district 74, community activist Sylvia Friedman upset the expected favorite, Stephen Kaufman, Mr. Sanders former Chief-of-Staff, and will go on to face community leader, Frank Scala.

Councilman David Weprin, who is chairman of the finance committee, has joined City Comptroller William Thompson Jr, has urged Governor Pataki to make the state sales tax exemption on clothing purchased under $110, permanent. Mayor Bloomberg & Assemblyman Sheldon Silver said they like your money and want the tax to remain. Sort of a “the less you have, the more control we have over you” mentality, don’t you think? Republicans should join Weprin and Thompson on this and be vocal.

Congressman Anthony Weiner says the Federal program, No Child Left Behind Act, is underfunding New York Schools. The problem with the congressman’s rhetoric is he argues as if the money was here in the first place and now the Federal Government is shortchanging us by $2 billion. Truth be told, prior to NCLBA, this funding didn’t exist. So any money received over nothing ($3.9 billion) is a heck of a lot of money.

New York’s junior Senator, Hillary Rodan Clinton says the Bush administration is racist (or maybe not that but close to it). Maybe Bush lacks the compassion he claims to have for failing to respond to hurricane funding in New Orleans. Of course, we all know she’s positioning herself for 2008. We also know that she said nothing about Biloxi and and the entire region outside of New Oleans. New Orleans has become the “Sunni Triangle” of the Gulf. You have an entire region that needs rebuilding, but the news and democrats focus on one particular area.

Tuesday 1/31
The Bloomberg administration’s revised plans to put an expanded eating establishment in the northern end of Union Square Park is angering some lawmakers, park advocates and area residents. The initial plans called for a year-round restaurant after a refurbishment of the 80 year old pavilion. Concerns over space for the farmers market, children’s playgrounds, public rest rooms arose with the park’s committee at Community Board 5. Read more about the latest developments in this New York Sun article.

The Pataki administration opposed an application by the Oneida Indian Nation to place nearly 17,000 acres of central New York property in a federal land trust that would essentially exempt the parcels from local and state laws and taxes.

Randy Levine defended plans for a new Yankee Stadium, saying its proposeed site is the only one available. Mr. Levine promised to use Bronx businesses and employ Bronx residents during and after construction. Community groups and parks advocates have attacked the planned stadium on grounds that it will displace 22 acres of Macomb’s Dam & John Mullaly parks.

A new poll says that if Sen. Clinton won the Democratic nomination for President, she’d lose. Republicans could be energized by this and run attack ads using a Donovan song.

Leecia Eve and Jon Cohen announced that they are ending their Lieutenant governor candidacies. Mr. Spitzer’s choice of Sen. David Paterson drew criticism in democrat circles, but it appears the weeds are being sowed and the lemmings are following the orders of their leader. Deja Vu to the 2004 Iowa Caucus for president, ain’t it?

State Senator Carl Kruger says the city’s housing authority should conduct systematic criminal background checks on its tenants. People with criminal records became an issue after the death of a police officer while he was chasing three alleged shoplifters, two of whom were living in public housing.

The MTA announced a pilot program with MasterCard and Citigroup that could lead to subway riders being able to simply tap and enter subway turnstiles. The device would be similar to PayPass, which is used by movie theatres and pharmacies. The pilot plan is expected to be tested on the Lexington line.

Rather than give back money the city has collected from us in last year’s budget, the mayor plans on keeping it, setting it aside for health costs, because remember, government knows what’s best for us. Whether its about smoking, health care, putting a device that lets everyone know we are speeding, or what-have-you, big brother wants to make sure we do as they say, and not what the constitution says.

In Tuesday’s New York Sun, J.P. Avlon continues to show his inability to grasp the right way New York Republicans need to unite, so they can be a force against the state’s overwhelming liberalism. I like J.P. I think he generally confronts issues with the right approach. But too often, he leaves his libertarian side and argues a liberals point of view. He thinks he’s being libertarian, but he’s not. Also, I don’t think he fully understands what the New York Conservative message really is. Sorry J.P. I know you have more experience that me when it comes to working in government, but perhaps that experience has pushed aside positions and values that many New Yorkers still have when it comes to how they want to be governed.
Wednesday
City Council members are set to introduce their first measures of the year, including a resolutin calling on Albany to give the council control over it’s rent and eviction laws. The state has assumed jurisdiction under the 1971 Urstadt Law. Hopefully the governor will not be completely foolish and listen to the New York City Council. Also, they’ll introduce a resolution telling the state to abide by judicial legislation when it comes to school funding. Normally legislators are supposed to write law, but the City Council feels comfortable when judges do the same. What can you expect when 48 of the 51 city legislators are democrats. Democrats feel comfortable hiding behind decisions made by others.

Rising county property taxes across the state remain largely the result of a costly Medicaid system, even as a cap this year significantly curbed local contibutions into the program. Without the cap, counties would have to pay $190 million more this year in taxes. The comptrollers office previously estimated that county taxes statewide would have to increase by an average of almost one-third by 2010. The governor has urged county leaders to put the savings towards property tax relief and for New York City to invest the savings into the city’s schools.

Thursday 2/2
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno continues to hold out on hope that some moneybags big name will step forward and run as a Republican for Governor. Sadly, no one close to the senator has told him that he must settle on one of the four candidates that are already in the mix. Lately, Mr. Bruno has come off as being very anti-republican and the party faithful has bitten their tongues and pass over on his remarks. He is in the pockets of kingpin Dennis Rivera, so there is very little hope for Mr. Bruno to return to the republican party. It would be wise for the Conservative Party to go back to its roots and run as many Senate & Assembly candidates in areas where republican principles have been removed. Bye Bye Senator.

Now that billionaire Tom Golisano has said he won’t run for governor (unless he pulls a Ross Perot and decides to reenter), a new poll shows have the registered republican voters still unsure who to vote for. My message to registered republicans, “GO ONLINE! DO INTERNET SEARCHES. VISIT URBANELEPHANTS.COM or NewsCopy.org or visit blogs.timesunion.com/capitol. DON’T BE OBLIVIOUS!”

Elected officials and business groups plan to protest today the increases on cigarette taxes Mayor Bloomberg an Governor Pataki have proposed. Critics of the tax higes say that before the city and state raise cigarette levies, they must start collecting taxes from native American retailers who have long been exempted. The opponents, included city council member, Oliver Koppell, and a state senator, Jeff Klein, cite a unanimous 1994 US Supreme Court ruling that the state could legally tax Native American ciagarette raitlers. Following the decision, state lawmakers passed legislation imposing taxes on the retailers, which they say the governor has refused to enforce.

The City Council will consider two bills aimed at improving the Administration for Children’s Services, an agendy reeling from the recent deaths of two children whose cases it was investigating. One bill would cap at 12 the number of cases a social worker could handle at one time, and a second measure would require the agency to submit the monthly reports to the council.

Friday 2/3
City Council members sparred with representatives of the MTA charging that they are not moving fast enough in making security changes to its infrastructure. The general council to the MTA told Transportation Committee members that most of the $591 million eearmarked for security improvements three years ago has been awarded out in contracts. Upon finding out that a $212 million contract with Lockheed Martin to add smart cameras would not take until 2998, several council members expressed dismay at the slow progress. The MTA said they were operating as fast as it can without rushing important assessments and testing of technology.

A coalition of small business owners across the city and state joined politicians outside city hall to create a unified front against proposed cigarette tax hikes. Opponents argue that not only do the txes hurt small businesses, they give incentives to smokers to seek purchases on the black market.

What's My Election District?

2006-02-04T11:45:00.000-05:00

If you've ever wondered how you can find out who represents you and what district you're considered to be in, The New York Gov website tells you how you can find out.

Week in Review 1/23 - 1/27

2006-01-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Monday 1/23
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is most famous for going after Wall Street malfeasance, but in immigrant communities his office is just as well known for prosecuting violations involving low-wage workers, illegal and legal alike. This approach has won him fans among many immigrants and their advocates, but some employers and lawyers are claiming he has unjustly put a priority on illegal immigrants instead of legal residents.

The new speaker of the City Council proposed legilsation that will require hospitals to notify patients of financial assistance plans and to report the amount of charity care they provide. Manny’s Law was drafted after an uninsured patient died when a hospital allegedly delayed surgery because of insurance status.

Gale Brewer, the Upper West Side City Councilor, wants to ban the sale of reconditioned mattresses as part of an effort to tackle the spread of bedubugs in apartments and hotels citywide.

A proposal to build a multimillion-dollar mall in a dilapidated area of the Bronx is sparking debate about whether the City Council has the authority to use its land-use power to block certain stores. Several City Council members and community opponents of the project are saying that opening a BJ’s, which charges a membership fee and generally does not accept food stamps, is a disservice to the local community.

With new budgetary concerns for Fiscal Year 2007, Democratic lawmakers fear the mayor may threaten to closer more firehouses.

Lawrence Kudlow calls for tax cuts to keep the New York economy on track. On Monday, he publishes an op-ed titled Capital Ideas, where he explains what New York State needs to do in order to steer the ship in the right direction.

Gubernatorial candidate, John Faso, writes an editorial on Govornor Pataki’s education tax credit which will benefit poor and middle-income New Yorkers. The first bill of such a plan was first proposed by Mr. Faso, when he was Minority Leader in the State Assembly.

Tuesday 1/24
Mayor Mike Bloomberg returns to his Rockefellor roots after he said he would not raise taxes and now proposes to raise taxes. Mayor Mike’s war on tobacco increases by 50¢, in addition to Gov Patatki’s proposal of a $1 increase on the state tax. The idea, he said, isn’t that this tax will increase city revenue, it’s just he wants more people to quit. The most likely outcome will be that poorer New Yorkers will deafult in their bills and have to collect welfare. The City Council should oppose this tax and it would be wise for each of us to call our representative and tell them to strike down this proposal.

The Upper West Side open seat in the 67 Assembly District has seven democrats vying for the nomination. Linda Rosenthal (favorite), Marc Landis, Arthur Greig, Charles Imohiosen, Charles SImon, Tom Weiss and Michael Lupinacci will all present their case for being the county committee nomination on Sunday, Jan 29. Under current county election law for Special Elections, the districts 240 committee members nominate the party candidate. Three democrats who don’t expect the nomination, Simon, Weiss and Lupinacci have been petitioning to get an independent ballot line. All candidates could also seek the nomination of the Independence, Working Families and Conservative Party, parties that already have perminent ballot lines.The lone republican candidate, Emily Csendes, who ran for the State Senate in 2004, is received her party’s endorsement Thursday night.

Wednesday 1/25
Republican candidate, John Faso, announced that he would not abide by a court decision requiring the state to give billions more dollars in aid to the New York City public schools. “The courts can’t make the Legilsture and the governor appropriate money,” Mr. Faso said. “The notion that we’re going to turn over school funding decisions to a single judge in Manhattan and three hand-picked special masters is absurd.

Nassau County Executive, Tom Suozzi, took on the state Democratic establishment saying party leaders like Sheldon Silver and party chairman, Herman Farrell were part of the problems that plague Albany.

Thursday 1/26
We’ve become that much closer to the candidacy of Tom Golisano, an independent businessman from Rochester, who has ran three times on a reform agenda and viciously attacked Gov. Pataki each time. It could spell major doom for the New York Republican Party and create a worse case scenerio by knocking the party down to the third of fourth row on the ballot.

Gubernatorial candidate, Randy Daniels, continues his writing campaign of op-eds on the rising costs of Health Care and how we can get it under control.

Friday 1/27
Former US Senate candidate, Ed Cox, has announced that he will not restart his campaign to challenge Sen. Hillary Clinton. This puts former Yonkers mayor, John Spencer, front and center as the republican candidate. Mr. Spencer has quietly been gaining support in the conservative and republican ranks and it is quiet possible that when the time comes, his campaign will explode as a real alternative against the former first lady.

For anyone who remembers the legislation passed in Congress that says states must improve their voting machines, will learn that New York has failed to have new and improved systems in place for this November. The legislation states that new systems must be in place by 2006. Of course, our corrupt incumbo-crats in Albany have spent the money elsewhere.

New York Sun columnist, Alicia Colon calls Governor Pataki to to lead the party at its current moment of disaray. Though her comments are well intentioned, they are not for the true reform-minded republicans. In all honesty, it’s time the NYGOP move on from the Pataki era and build with new leaders to take the party in the right direction. Two years after being sworn in as governor, George Pataki has taken the state party down a road to ruin. In order for the GOP to rebuild, we must look to new leaders like John Spencer, Ed Cox, Pat Manning and John Sweeney.

Week in Review 1/16-1/20

2006-01-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

Monday 1/16
Gov. Pataki has signed a new law to provide greater oversight and tighter regulation of state authorities that handle billions of dollars in public money for state purposes like maintaining the Thruway and running mass transit in New York City.

Under the state Office for the Aging is reviewing a program that will provide cash payments to people willing to assist their elderly neighbors during their free time. The services would be made available through a state Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly Program, which is expected to serve 51,000 seniors this year. A similar program is already available under Medicaid, mostly for the disabled.

Sen. Schumer has found a tax he opposes - the 3% federal excise tax tacked onto every cell phone bill. Sen. Schumer is demanding the Internal Revenue Service return the collected tax to the consumer. A federal appeals court in Washington DC ruled the tax is illegal because it applies to calls that are measured by distance. Cell phone calls are measured by time. Two other courts with jurisdiction over seven states have voided the tax.

Tuesday 1/17
Sen Hillary Clinton likened the House of Representatives to being run like a “plantation.” Unlike Trent Lott, Sen. Clinton is a democrat and will likely get away with her rhetoric. Republican challenger, John Spencer, has called on the senator to apologize for the divisive comment. Sen. Clinton, though, thinks she’s above it all and has done no such thing.

Gov. Pataki proposes legislation to tighten financial aid regulations for commercial colleges in the state in an effort to guard against giving grants to students who aren’t academically qualified. If implemented, the plan could reduce state spending on its largest student financial aid program by hundreds of millions of dollars. 2006 Budget.

Wednesday 1/18
What a week for Gov. Pataki. He will finish is long tenure as New York Governor aggressively proposing tax cuts and pro-growth legislation to encourage new startup businesses in the state. The governor proposed a $110 billion budget that is filled with goodies. Unfortunately, it proposes spending that is greater than the rate of inflation.

The L train becomes the city’s first computer controlled train as the MTA tests fully automated trains (except for a motorman) during off hours. New York City is the last major city to use the antiquated “Automatic Block Signals” system, which dates back to the New York system’s inception (1904).

Thursday 1/19
There’s an arcane law on the books known as the Blaine Law. The current state constitution includes this 19th Century anti-catholic law and it is often used to hinder school choice legislation whenever parochial schools are involved. Gov. George Pataki has proposed a school plan that would include tuition tax credits to parents who choose to send their kids to a nonpublic school. The Blaine Law would prevent the catholic school option. The issue of giving parents school choice will be on the forefront of the gubernatorial race this year. Conservatives advocate that government should not hinder options for parents and that it is the parent’s decision, not governments, to decide which school would best accommodate their child. Liberals wish to block school options for parents because they believe parents shouldn’t be making the decisions, government should. With government making decisions, liberals have to advocate the “Establishment Clause” which is simply bunk.

County Executive Tom Suozzi has set up his exploratory committee for governor and will now tour the state so he can get a feel of his gubernatorial chances. Democrats are furious because King Eliot should not be challenged in his right to be anointed. Republicans are happy, not because they intend on drafting a Wilson-Pakula for Suozzi, but hope a contested race on the Democrats side should and could damage Spitzer’s reputation. Regardless of which party we tend to support, incumbo-crats, regardless of political affiliation, need to be axed. Party hacks of both parties have depleted the resources in our state. We used to have 43 electoral votes (2 US senators and 41 representatives) two censuses ago and now we have 31 electoral votes. This means we are losing our residents because we drive away business with high taxes and unfriendly regulations for business.

Councilman Charles Barron (D) is at it again. He was at a council meeting sitting next to a statue of Thomas Jefferson. He objected, calling one of our founding fathers a “slave holding pedophile.” Councilman Oddo (R) responded by rolling his eyes and sighing.

The New York Yankees and New York Mets are one step closer to breaking ground on stadium construction. I’m just looking forward to when pitchers and catchers report at the start of February.

Friday 1/20
It appears democrats will vote “no” on Judge Samuel Alito and his confirmation will be along party lines. Though we live in a Federated Constitutional Republic, where decision beyond the constitution should be left to the states, democrats still feel states should have very few rights. Where euthanasia and capital punishment are state issues, abortion is not. Strange, I know. Though democrats would gain the upper hand on a state level with elections if abortion returned to the state level, they are reluctant to support a judge who could potentially do them the favor. If they truly believe “mainstream” America favors a “woman’s right to terminate life,” why do they continue to fight the issue by saying lies to the American people?

Osama Bin Laden wants to be our friend. Cheney, Biden, Schumer and many politicians regardless of party, gave the finger to the mastermind behind 9/11. One can only home Vice President Dick Cheney would make a statement that would be along the lines of his lovely remark in the Senate chambers some time ago. Though the following may appear sexist, sexism is still seen throughout other cultures. If we could be politically incorrect for a moment here’s a wonderful slap in the face of terrorists:

“The American People have one thing to say to Osama Bin Laden and the terrorists who kill innocent civilians. We’re sorry you lack sufficient manhood to please women. We understand that you cowardly hide behind burkas, draping your image like the muslim women of your culture, because your reproductive parts are almost women-like. A real man would have the courage to show his face and be a man during wartime. Our liberal society has surgeons that can complete your desire to become true women, so if you want a truce, we can help you. We also treat our women equally, so you would not lose any of your rights as a woman.”

Wanted: Republican Candidates in New York Assembly Districts - Vol. 5

2006-01-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

The final New York City borough to review for my series on competitive assembly districts is Manhattan.

The heart of New York City, New York county has elected republicans to the assembly even when the voter ratio is greater than in the outer boroughs. However, it appears that these successes are a thing of the past and the county committee is trying to figure out what it needs to do to return to glory.

The New York Republican County Committee must field candidates in the following districts for every election cycle. They must pound it into the minds of the voters that New York needs a strong opposition party, an elected opposition party, to prevent us from slipping back into the the era of crime and economic recession.

Assembly District 64
Assemblyman Sheldon Silver.
Battery Park City, Wall Street, Financial District, Chinatown, Little Italy, Lower East Side, Corlear’s Hook.
The district that has the Assembly Majority Leader, it is imperative that the Republican Party challenges Mr. Silver every two years with someone strong and formidable. The district has a registration ratio of 6 Democrats to 1 Republican so it is certainly an uphill challenge. Also, Silver challenges petitions all the time and is successful. In 2005, the Republican Manhattan Borough candidate, with no money and no campaigning in the 64 AD, got 19.2% of the vote. (Candidate Barry Popik’s results can be found at Urban Elephants). Getting nearly 20% of the vote with no name recognition is certainly an encouraging sign for any Republican running in this district. A challenger to Silver in 2006 who makes the ballot will really give us a good idea on the potential of a real formidable candidate. If you know of someone running, definitely volunteer for petitioning. We need someone on the ballot so we can learn our chances.

Assembly District 65
Assemblyman Alexander B Pete Gannis
Roosevelt Island, Yorkville, Upper East Side East
This district has a registration ratio of 2.5 Democrats to 1 Republican. Definitely a district that a Republican can take on. The Knickerbocker Club is the local county club. A Republican should be fielded in this district with every election cycle for assembly.

Assembly District 66
Assemblywoman Deborah J. Glick
Abingdon Square, West Village, Greenwich Village, Soho, Tribeca.
This district has a registration ratio of 6.1 Democrats to 1 Republican. This would be a district to certainly consider a candidate. There is currently no active district club, so a strong candidacy could help build a local republican base and continue being a voice in the community. In order to bring better voting odds to districts is to field a candidate, with someone behind the scenes working to establish local representation. The Board of elections lists only 14 committee seats out of potentially 200 as filled. This indicates there is hardly any republican presence in an area that has potential of shifting to the right.

Assembly District 67
OPEN
Riverside Park, Upper West Side, West Side, Clinton (Hell’s Kitchen)
This district has a registration ratio of 4.8 Democrats to 1 Republican. Right now, Republicans are looking for someone to run in a Special Election expected for February. If no one steps forward, it will definitely be a seat to consider for November. The district is represented by the Parker Republican Club and I’ve heard there is a new Upper West Side Club, though I don’t have the name at the moment. Any Manhattan district below 5-1 should never miss an assembly election. Republicans should pound their platform over and over.

Assembly District 73
Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing
Upper East Side, Central Park East, Sutton Place, Hunter College, Park Avenue, United Nations, Grand Central, Murry Hill North
This district has a registration ratio of 2 Democrats to 1 Republican. Definitely a district that the Republican Party must go after year after year. The district is represented by the Metropolitan Republican Club, which is also the home base of the NYRCC. If the GOP doesn’t field someone for this district, then I suggest a coup to topple the Executive Committee of County. There is no reason this district remains unchallenged.

Assembly District 74
OPEN
Murry Hill, Waterside, Gramercy Park, Union Square, Peter Cooper Village-Stuyvesant Town, Alphabet City
The voter registration for this district is 5.1 Democrat to 1 Republican. I’m not going to say this is an easy district. It certainly does have a voting base that tends to focus on issues, though and should consider a candidate with every election cycle. There will be a Special Election for this district too and right now there is a candidate running. If you would like to help out, contact the candidate through the district club at albanoclub@gmail.com. The Vincent Albano Republican Club is the local club.

Assembly District 75
Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried.
Central Park South, Clinton, Midtown, Chelsea, Flatiron District, Gramercy Park West, Madison Square.
The voter registration for this district is 4.3 Democrat to 1 Republican. The district club is the TR Group, which was started by former council candidate Michelle Bouchard. It is a very active club that can certainly be home-base for any candidate running. County should not overlook this district either.

The remaining districts (68, 69, 70, 71, 72) republicans have almost no chance of winning with voter ratios 10-1 or greater. However, that is not to say someone should not run. The goal for running in these districts would be to build a club. Club organizations in communities show the voters of the district that the party cares about the people is should represent. It should be the voice of the people when they oppose policy initiatives that can hurt the area. Standing with the people during times when the people object to government could lead to increased party registration and involvement. The 69 AD has a club, The Fighting 69th and the 70 AD has Harlem Republican Club. Both need to help build local representation, as do the other districts in northern manhattan.

There are two objectives for anyone running for office. One, if you have a good shot of winning because of the odds and your competitiveness, you should run to win so New York City has more republicans going to Albany. Two, if you know your chances of winning are slim, your goal should be building the party in your assembly district. Get your supporters together to join or form a local district club. Get them to run for open county committee seats so Election Districts have representation. It’s grassroots in its most active form. Pretty soon, you should start to see your district go from a 11-1 ratio (like in the 72 AD - Inwood) to a 8-1 or 7-1 voter ratio. It can happen. You just need patience, determination and you need to start by getting involved.

Week in Review 1/9 - 1/13

2006-01-13T23:30:00.000-05:00

Monday, 1/9
A fifth private bus line has been brought under the operation of the MTA. Mayor Bloomberg announced an agreement had been completed with Green Bus Lines, which operates 230 buses on 20 routes.

By removing competition in transportation, New Yorkers are now beholden to the whims of the bureacratic beast known as the MTA.

New York’s traffic safety laws are among the best in the nation but still fall short in key areas, an auto safety watchdog group said in a study. Just 16 states earned “green” ratings in the Advocates for HIghway and Auto Safety report.

New York City Council members start the new year with padding their “war chests” for future endeavors. This week launched various fundraising events for councilors such as Eric Gioia, Simcha Felder and Peter Vallone, Jr. Because councilors are term-limited out, many are looking at possible futures in higher office.

Tuesday, 1/10
Community Leader and local businessman, Frank Scala, was unanimously nominated last night by the Vince Albano Club members and district committee members as the republican candidate for the 74th Assembly District. Mr. Scala has been involved in the New York Republican Party for over forty years and has been active in the community for more than eight years. For more information, go here.

Bloomberg announced that he was promoting his communications director, Edward Skyler, to the post of deputy mayor for administration. Mr. Skyler will assist the mayor in managing departments, including the Police, Fire, Labor, OEM, Budget and Law Departments.

The State Legislature opened its 2006 session racing against the clock to keep thousands of convicted sex offenders living in communities from vanishing from the public registry. Right now, the senate and assembly cannot agree on a uniform bill. The senate wants lifetime registration for offenders, the assembly wants to wait for a standard set by Congress. The democrat-controlled assembly apparently does not believe in state sovereignty.

New Speaker to the City Council, Christine Quinn, said she will allow members the option to publicly debate proposed legislation, which rarely happened under Gifford Miller. A more open and democratic process should help the council with make the right decisions when voting on new legislation.

Wednesday, 1/11
It’s done. The famous 2nd Avenue Deli is officially closed by the owner, Jack Lebewohl, who wants new lease terms with the new building owner. The neighborhood fixture needs to renovate and wants to renegotiate a new lease after the eatery is brought to NYC code.

Governor Pataki will include money in his executive budget for education tax credits that would go to parents of students for all schools, not just public. Proponents of education tax credits say the credits would be less powerful than vouchers but would still give low-income families more choices about where to send their children to school. Opponents such as UFT say the tax credits would siphon money from the public school system.
http://www.nysun.com/article/25656

Thursday, 1/12
The mayor filled his top two slots of his communications team, his latest of second-term rearragements. James Anderson, associate commissioner of Dept of Homeless Services, will be the new communications director. Also, Stuart Loeser will be the mayor’s new press secretary. Previously, Loeser was a spokesman for Sen. Charles Schumer (D).

With the completion of the Judicial hearings for confirming Judge Samuel Alito, New Yorkers and all Americans learned what a vicious and partisan politician Senator Charles Schumer is. If you didn’t realize it already, the Democratic Party, the supposed “inclusive” party, has shown its true colors of hate by spitting venom at anyone who is not one of them. It’s all about abortion. If the democrats really believed in “the mainstream of America” then they wouldn’t fear Roe v. Wade being overturned. Why? Because the mainstream in each state, according to them, would legislate to legalize abortion. So what is their problem?

New Yorkers of all stripes should be familiar with Albany, Inc. If there is a reason to forget party loyalty and vote for a true reformer in the gubernatorial race, then this is the reason.

Once again, Rich “Goose” Gossage was snubbed from the baseball Hall of Fame. The grandfather of the closer role, the Goose was known as “The Stopper” in his day and would be brought in during any point of the game. Imagine Joe Torre bringing in Mariano Rivera in the sixth or seventh inning to complete games. On a regular basis. It’s a crime not to vote this man into the Hall of Fame. Comparing Gossage to relief pitchers from the 1970s to the present, there is no better man with a record such as his.

Friday, 1/13
Thomas Golisano and Thomas Suozzi set up committees to enter the New York Governors race. All is fair in love and war. Golisano recently switched his party registration to republican and will petition if not chosen as a candidate in the GOP convention. Suozzi has remained silent up until recently, since he recently won reelection for Nassau County Executive and wanted to keep his priorities in order. Now it seems the man who started the Fix Albany campaign two years ago will start pecking away at the party establishment, Eliot Spitzer.

Randalls Island could get a water park. The city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee voted yesterday to clear negotiations for a proposed $168 million water park on the island. The current plan covers 26 acres of the island, including a 7 acre parcel for a year-round indoor beach club.

Wanted: Republican Candidates in KINGS Assembly Districts - Vol. 4

2006-01-08T19:00:00.000-05:00

Brooklyn is the strangest borough, because it has some Assembly Districts with a close 2-1 voter ratio to some districts as wide as a 15-1 voter ratio. Republicans really need to target some of these districts, because winning is certainly a possibility.

Brooklyn is not devoid of elected Republicans. Martin Golden is a State Senator and elected leader for the borough. If you know which district you live in, you can check out who your local leaders are by going to the Kings Republican County Committee page.

The following Assembly Districts are ones with good odds for a competitive race.
BROOKLYN
District 44
Assemblyman James F. Brennan
Park Slope, Prospect Park, Windsor Terrace, Kennigston and Flatbush. The registered voter ratio is 5.5 Democrats to 1 Republican. May not be a winner, but can be competitive and can help build the two republican clubs representing the district.

District 45
Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz
Midwood, Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach. Sadly, the voter totals for registered Democrats was unattainable, however, there are more than 9,700 registered republicans, which could mean the ratio is somewhere around 4-1 to 5-1.
*UPDATE* Ratio is 3.3 Dem to 1 Rep

District 46
Assemblywoman Adele Cohen
Brighton, Coney Island, Sea Gate, Gravesend, Shore Pkwy to Dyker Beach, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton. The registered voter ratio is 3.2 Democrats to 1 Republican. An active and well organized campaign could bring a victory.

District 47
Assemblyman William Colton
Gravesend, Bensonhurst (east) to Washington Cemetery. The registered voter ratio is 3 Democrats to 1 Republican. These numbers show that many of the southern townships of Brooklyn are competitive and winnable. Republicans need to start running real, legitimate candidates, instead of token candidates on the ballot.

District 48
Assemblyman Dov Hikind
Dyker Heights, Borough Park into Midwood, this gerrymandered district is slightly better than 3.4 Democrats to 1 Republican. Definitely a competitive district for a Republican.

District 49
Assemblyman Peter J. Abbate, Jr.
Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, up to Borough Park (south). The registered voter ratio is 2.3 Democrats to 1 Republican. The odds are similar to District 26 in Queens, which I know had a republican assemblyman in the past. I’m not sure if the 49 AD has, but with these odds, it can start.

District 59
OPEN
Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin and Marine Park. The registered voter ratio is 4 Democrats to 1 Republican. There will be a Special Election in February for this district, so Republicans need to jump on the opportunity here. The Dirksen Republican Club is the 59 AD Club. I’ve been told the Democrats in these neighborhoods do cross party lines and tend to have traditional family values. If you can convince them to vote using their conservative ideals, you could pull off an upset.

District 60
Assemblyman Matthew Minores (Republican)
Bay Ridge, Shore Road over the Verz. Bridge to Staten Island. I previously gave the 60 AD a 1.2-1 ratio, but I realized that was a bit low. The voters in Brooklyn have a 1.8 Democrat to 1 Republican, so that would average out to more of a 1.5 Dem to 1 Rep. Assemblyman Mirones does a fine job and if you live in the area, volunteering for his reelection campaign can give you experience for running in the future.

I’ve said this before, if you liven in a district that has a 8-1 voter ratio or a 5-1 voter ratio, even an 11-1 ratio, that should deter you from running. Every district needs party activity and the only way to build registration is to be active and let the communities know the republican party cares. The 43 AD is said to have only 2,975 registered Republicans out of potential 100,000 voters for a district. By starting a Republican Club, getting republicans organized and elected to their county committee seats, great things can happen. Even if no candidate wins local or state office, if you successfully increase your voter registration to 3,975 in four years, you have done your job.

Wanted: Republican Candidates in BRONX Assembly Districts - Vol. 3

2006-01-08T11:18:00.000-05:00

The Bronx is historically Democrat with small pockets of conservative-minded voters. It has 11 Assembly Districts and five have a voter registration ratio greater than 15 democrats to 1 republican.

Only three can produce campaigns that could be considered competitive and worth a venture by Republican challengers. The Bronx Republican County Committee is where you would need to present a case to why you think you would make a great candidate. You may also wish to consider reaching out to the Bronx Conservative County Committee.

BRONX
The 3 districts where republican campaigns could work:
District 80.
Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera
Jerome Park Reservour, Bedford Park, Bronx River Forest, Pelham Parkway, Morris Park, Van Nest, Westchester & Westchester Heights. The registered voter ratio is 4.7 Democrats to 1 Republican.

District 81.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz
Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Kings Bridge, Van Cortland Park, Woodlawn Cemetery, Norwood, Woodlawn and Wakefield. The registered voter ratio is 5.7 Democrat to 1 Republican. This is the toughest district I’m listing as a potential competitive district. In other boroughs, I would not consider listing a district that is so close to a 6 - 1 ratio.

District 82.
Assemblyman Michael Bennedeto
Eastchester, Pelham Bay Parkway, Hunter Island, Orchard Beach, Co-Op City, Baychester, City Island, Country Club, Shuylerville, Edgwater Park, Locust Point, Throgs Neck and Ferry Point Park. The registered voter ratio is 4.3 Democrat to 1 Republican, the best odds Republicans have in the Bronx.

If you are a republican or conservative living in these towns, and have an interest in serving your county in Albany, contact your county committee and help build the right-leaning parties. Do it now.

The steps you should take are as follows:
1) Registered with the Board of Elections as a candidate.
2) Hold fundraisers with family, friends, party members and aquaintences, so you can begin raising money.
3) Set up a website with your platform, the district information, organize a volunteer organization and solicit contributions.
4) Mail to all registered Republicans and Conservatives your agenda, your qualifications and give them options to contribute.
5) Make public appearances and be prepared to provide information on how attendees can help your campaign.
6) Expand your mailing to registered voters to no party and the importance of having at least one republican in your counties 11 member caucus. Solicit contributions.

If all works out, and you raise enough money to start expanding your campaign to the registered democrats, then you can potentially get voters to cross party-lines to vote for someone to bring a reform agenda to Albany.

Week in Review 1/3 - 1/6

2006-01-07T12:30:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 1/3
Congressman Vito Fossella called on the Dept for Homeland Security to rethink a possible change in the way it distributes its funds for urban areas, warning that the proposal could lead to a decrease in funds for terrorism prevention. The congressman believes that by expanding the number of initiatives, to cover natural disasters and health crises, the allocation of funds will decrease to large at-risk cities like New York.

Three Assembly seats in New York City will be part of a Special Election called this Spring. In Manhattan, the 67th Assembly District has been vacated by Scott Stringer, who has been elected the Borough President. The 74th Assembly District has been vacated by Steven Sanders, who retired and will be working in the private sector. In Brooklyn, the 59th Assembly District held by Mr. Frank Seddio, became open when he was selected to be a surrogate judge.

After declaring a "War on Guns" in his innauguration speech for his second term, Mayor Mike Bloomberg received some criticism from the National Rifle Association, accusing him of "intimidating law abiding Americans." Director of Public Affairs, Andrew Arulanandam said, "We take every threat towards the rights of law abiding Americans seriously, but we think the mayor would be better served if he would put his financial muscle towards cracking down on criminals, not intimidating law abiding citizens."

There were six murders in the city in the first two days of the new year. The homocides of 2006 come on the heels of a record-low year of violence. The number of homocides dropped to 540 in 2005, the lowest figure since 1963, the first year the Police Dept started formally tracking crime.

Post-holiday shoppers taking advantage of enticing regbate offers should watch out for scams, warns Senator Charles Schumer. Although as many as 400 million rebates worth are offered each year, nearly half are never received because of extensive documentation required for the refund. Many customers do not read the fine print for receiving a rebate. The senator called on the FTC to standardize rebate policy.

Wednesday 1/4
New York State reports a $2 billion surplus for the current fiscal year. Moments after the surplus was reported, Republicans and Democrats punced on the money, offering competing plans for what to do with it. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver wants teh state to devote the surplus toward complying with the increases in funding to New York City public schools, which the governor is appealing. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno says it ought to be used to help reduce property taxes and criticizing Mr. Silver's plan. Governor Pataki urged caution and planned on discussing the matter at his State of the State address.

Two deputies leave Mayor Bloomberg's administration. Peter Madonia, the mayor's chief of staff, will become the chief ooperating officer of the Rockefeller Foundation. William Cunningham, a senior adviser, will be an executive vice president at Dan Klores Communications.

Governor Pataki and legislative leaders announce a $435 million high-tech-center to be built in Albany and one of three tax-free business zones will be crated in Lower Manhattan to spur economic recovery. Both projects are supported by Assembly Leader Silver and Senate Leader Bruno.

Councilwoman Christine Quinn is elected Council Speaker and becomes the first woman to hold the title. Also various councilmembers are pushing for more individual and committee power within the new council.

Thursday 1/5
In his State of the State address, Governor Pataki outlined what could form the basis of his campaign platform for higher office. The speech targeted across the board tax-cuts, enforcing sexual predator laws, and domestic energy sources to lessen our dependency on foreign sources of energy.
Crime

1) Preventing the release of sex criminals into neighborhoods. 2) Creating longer sentences for people convicted of sex crimes. 3) Ending the statute of limitations for rape and sexual assault.
Taxes

1) Completely eliminating the 'marriage penalty." 2) Providing a $500 heating fuel tax credit to thousands of seniors. 3) Eliminating the state tax. 4) Cutting the income tax rate. 5) Cutting taxes on businesses.
Education

1) Committing more funding to 'high-needs' schools in NYC and throughout the state. 2) Expanding the number of charter schools throughout the state. 3) creating new summer math and science programs for middle school students. 4) Giving free SUNY or CUNY tuition to students who study math & science and committed to teaching in NY.
Energy

1) Reducing dependence on 'terror-promoting' foreign oil by making revneweable fuels available at gas stations across the state. 2) Promoting the development of hybrid vehicles. 3)Encouraging companies to develop clean, renewable energy.

A group of NY Republican activists launch a website, www.draftnovello.com, to drum up support for the state's health commissioner, Antonia Novella, to challege Senator Hillary Clinton. Governor George Pataki believes Ms. Novello will make a strong Senate candidate, though many elected republicans disagree and believe NY State County Committees should focus on two candidates already still in the mix, former Yonkers mayor, John Spencer and Sullivan county tax attorney, William Brenner.

Congressman Anthony Weiner introduces a bill to limit areas eligible for anti-terror funds and focus on protecting high-threat urban areas. The congressman was joined by Queens coucilman, Peter Vallone, Jr. saying the new system of allocating funds, by including natural disasters and health crises, is absurd.

Friday 1/6
A commision of economists, appointed by Goveror George Pataki, seek to overhaul New York's tax code and make some drastic cuts to spur major economic growth on par with the national rate. The seven panel commission led by Lawrence Kudlow, is recommending New York slash its top personal income tax rate to 5% from 6.85%, reducing the number of brackets to three, instead of the current five. During the past year, the panel reviewed the current structure and concluded a massive overhaul was needed to provide a new pro-growth structure, help business development and jobs upstate, and tax releif to every sector of the State.
For the Personal Income Tax

1) Reduce the top tax rate to 5% from 6.85%. 2) Reduce the number of tax brackets from five to three, lower the tax rates below the top rate, and widen the tax brackets. 3) Eliminate the supplemental tax. 4) Exclude all income from captial gains and dividends.

For The Corporate Taxes

1) Reduce the income tax rate to 5% from the general fanchise tax, the bank tax, and the income tax on life insurance companies. 2) Eliminate all alternative income bases and the capital, asset, and subsidiary capital bases of taxation. 3) Eliminate capital gains and dividend taxation. 4) Provide expensing for capital assets.

For the Estate Tax

Repeal the state's estate tax to conform with federal legislation.

The number of sexual misconduct complains against Dept of Education employees increased 21% in 2005 from the year before. Sexual allegations range from relationships with students and physical or verbal sexual harassment.

While a third accusation of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer threating or intimidating a individual to use his office against them, Mr. Spitzer is still denying the first one brought forth by Lower Manhattan Development Corporation executive, John Whitehead. As more developments appear in the press, the Attorney General must get out of neutral and begin to explain why more people are coming forward with his approach to using his power.

Wanted: Republican Candidates in RICHMOND Assembly Districts - Vol. 2

2006-01-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

This is my second post for candidates and leaders of our boroughs to focus on Assembly Districts that have potential for Republican victory. Because the odds are against the GOP, it is important to review the statistical analysis and find out what resonates with voters in a given district.

Staten Island
Richmond County Committee website has a contact page of the leaders for the 4 Assembly Districts that cover the borough of Staten Island. Two districts have the only two elected Republicans to the Assembly in all of the five boroughs. The other two have very good odds for the GOP and it would be a major coup to take over the entire island.

District 60.
Assemblyman Matthew Mirones (Republican)
Oakwood, Midland Beach, Arrochar, Rosebank and Bay Ridge (Brooklyn) make up the district, which has a ratio of 1.2 Democrats to 1 Republican. The Assemblyman is a Republican, so it will be important to volunteer for Mr. Mirones campaign to ensure reelection.

District 61.
Assemblyman John W. Lavelle
Old Place, Port Richmond, Westerleigh, Castle Corners, West New Brighton, New Brighton, Livingston, Tompkinsville and Stapleton make up the district. The voter ratio comes out to 2.7 Democrats to 1 Republican. Of the four districts, this one has the worst odds for Republicans, however it is considerably much better than what we see in the other four boroughs and definitely not unwinnable.

District 62.
Assemblyman Vincent Ignizio (Republican)
Tottenville, Charleston, Princes Bay, Rossville, Woodrow, Huguenot, Annadale, Eltingville, Greatkills, Richmond, Egebertville, Dongan Hills, and New Dorp. This district is already being held by a Republican and the voter ratio comes out to 1.3 Democrat to 1 Republican. Clearly, the two districts in Staten Island with the closest 1 to 1 odds have Republican Assemblyman. We need to assure they continue to hold these areas.

District 63.
Assemblyman Michael Cusick
Travis, New Springville, Bloomfield, Bull's Head, Richmondtown, Howland Hook, Port Ivory, Emerson Hills, Grasmere and Sunnyside. The district has a ratio of 1.6 Democrat to 1 Republican. Certainly very competitive odds for any Republican willing run a strong campaign.

*****

Wanted: Republican Candidates in QUEENS Assembly Districts - Vol. 1

2006-01-02T12:15:00.000-05:00

New York is a blue state and the City of New York is certainly a strong royal blue with an average 5-1 ratio of Democrats to Republicans. Not one of the sixty-five Assembly Districts that make up New York City has a republican majority in voter registration! This is clearly evident in the ratio of elected officials we have. Right now, there are only two Assemblymen out of the sixty-five that represent the five boroughs. For a strong minority voice for fiscal discipline and government reform, we should have about ten or eleven assembly seats.

It is possible to win some districts, even if the ratio is always favoring Democrats. Voters do cross party lines. We've seen it for citywide and statewide races. It's a challenge to convince someone to cross parties for a local race, but it is possible. Secure your republican base first, then reach out to the middle-of-the-road voters who will cross parties at the polls.

So, if you're a registered republican interested in running for office and live in one of the following districts, now is the time to approach your county committee and start organizing a campaign for November 2006.

QUEENS
There are 17 Assembly Districts in Queens.

District 23.
Assemblywoman Audrey I. Pfeffer
The Rockaway/Ozone Park area of Queens has a ratio of 2.8 Democrats to 1 Republican. The Republican Club you can contact is the Rockaway Republican Club. I'm familiar with some of the party leaders in the area and they will certainly bend over backwards to get you elected.

District 24.
Assemblymen Mark Weprin
The Little Neck, Bellrose, Glen Oaks, Oakland Gardens Fresh Meadows district has a has a ratio of 3.2 Democrats to 1 Republican. Challenging Mr. Weprin will be a big challenge, because his brother, David Weprin, is City Councilor for the area. Residents who aren't politically minded may think the Weprin brothers are one and the same. The Republican Club organization to contact would be the Queens Village Republican Club. The Club also would be the direct contact organization if you wish to run in the 33 AD.

District 25.
Assemblymen Brian M. McLaughlin
This Auburndale, Hillcrest, Utopia, Jamaica Estates district, like the 24 AD, has a ratio of 3.2 Democrats to 1 Republican. Republican candidates should be running on a reform agenda. 2006 could likely bring a Democratic controlled state. Assembly, Senate and Governorship. One-Party rule that can spend and bankrupt the state is not a good outlook. Someone who can voice opposition to Shelly Silver will be important.

District 26.
Assemblywoman Ann Margaret Carrozza
This Douglaston, Bayside, Bay Terrace, Beechhurst district has a ratio of 2.3 Democrats to 1 Republican. Republicans can't get a better voter ratio than this. Ms. Carrozza had a rough reelection in 2004 with challenger Peter Boudouvas, however, with strong opposition against the president, she was able to win. This year is a mid-term election. No president and Gov. Pataki won't be seeking reelection. Strong reform-minded Republicans in William Weld and Patrick Manning are seeking the governorship. The local organization to contact would be the Northeast Queens Republican Club, once known as the Bayside Republican Club.

District 27.
Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn
This College Point, Corona, Kew Garden Hills, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills district has a ratio of 3.7 Democrats to 1 Republican. The odds against a Republican are greater, but when districts are below the 5-1 average, you have to have hope. What becomes important is party organization and party support. If the support is out there for your campaign, you have a chance to get your message out.

District 38.
Assemblyman Anthony S. Seminerio
This South Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Ridgewood district has a ratio of 2.7 Democrats to 1 Republican. Republicans should seriously consider running a strong candidate and not a token candidate for the ballot. When you have these types of odds, you can potentially surprise the media and certainly the Democratic Party. With such good odds, you should contact the South Queens Republican Club. SQR would also be a organizational contact if you live in the 31 AD or 32 AD.

Two other districts have modest odds for Republican Candidates. District 36 has a ratio of 4.2 Democrats to 1 Republican and District 37 has a ratio of 4.7 Democrats to 1 Republican. Winning in these areas may not seem likely, but if a well financed and well run campaign could surprise the nay-sayers. With more young professionals moving to the Astoria, Long Island City, Woodside, Sunnyside, Jackson Heights neighborhoods of Queens could bring more republicans into the areas.

The ratios I've presented are taken from the Grassroots Initiative study done on county committees (which I've written about before) and unfortunately Districts 28 thru 34 did not have republican committee information listed with the Board of Elections. The Queens county committee should work on providing the necessary information to the BOE and from there, work on building a base in the neighborhoods seven districts represent.

For a list of other Republican Clubs in Queens (and other parts of New York City, you can find them at Urban Elephants Club page. Find the nearest organization to where you live.

***Coming up***
Vol 2 - The Bronx & Staten Island Districts

Week in Review 12/26-12/30

2005-12-31T21:30:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 12/27
With Jeanine Pirro bowing out of the US Senate race against Sen. Hillary Clinton, the last standing Republican candidate who has crossed New York State and picked up countless Conservative Party endorsements is profiled in the New York Sun.

Former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer talks his record where he cut the surcharge on state income tax and the city's real estate transfer tax by two-thirds. He kept properties taxes from increasing above an annual average of 4% and as Senator, he'd vote to make the Bush tax cuts perminent.

On immigration, he would focus on stopping the flow of illegal immigrants first, then work with his collegues on developing a comprehensive plan to deal with those who have already entered America.

Spencer is pro-life and would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned so the issue returns to the states. He wouldn't impose abortion penalties for women or doctors, but instead, would try to divert funds to counseling programs aimed at adoption. Mr. Spencer is a product of adoption and believes it should return to society as a primary option.

Spencer, a former veteran from the Vietnam War, supports President Bush's War on Terror and has a few choice opinions for Sen. John Kerry, which are expressed in the NY Sun interview.

- - - -
Senators Schumer and Clinton are asking the Pentagon to spend $123 million of its wartime budget for New York projects that the Dept of Defense didn't ask for. Sen. John McCain lashed out at the earmarks in a speech on the Senate floor.

"During a war, in a measure designed to give our fighting men and women the funds they need, the Congress has given in to its worst pork barrel instincts," Sen. McCain said.

- - - -
The two leading candidates for Speaker of the City Council are Bill De Blasio of Brooklyn, and Christine Quinn of Manhattan.

- - - -
January 1, 2006 will see the New York State minimum wage rise to $6.75 from $6 an hour. In another change, state income tax for those earning between $150,000 to $500,000 will drop to 6.85% from 7.25%. Also, those earning over $500,000 will see their taxes decling to 6.85% from 7.7%.

Wednesday 12/28
The health department said it plans to spend nearly $1.4 million equipping hospitals with radiation detection devices that might become essential if terrorists detonated a dirty bomb. The equipment, largely paid for by federal grants, could help medical centers diagnose the thousands of people who likely would flood hospitals after such a blast.

- - - -
Four Iraqi children with life-threatening heart defects left a Bronx hospital after successfully undergoing open heart surgery. The children's families had sought help through US military forces stationed in Iraq.

- - - -
Charlie King, a Rockalnd County attorney and former candidate for Lt Governor, could surprise democrats as the leading candidate for State Attorney General. While the media focuses on the races of Andrew Cuomo and Mark Green and now with Jeanine Pirro in the AG race, Mr. King has quietly toured the state and continues to attract more an more support from the Democratic Party.

- - - -
New York City will likely report the lowest rate of homicides in more than four decades. According to police data, the city's total crime rate declined in nearly every category.

- - - -
Thursday 12/29
Mayor Bloomberg signs legislation that could be a boost for broadband Internet access in the city. The legislation, which passed through the Council, will create a "broadband advisory committee" to look at how the city can use its resources to expand broadband technology, particularly in neighborhoods that only have dial-up Internet access now. The creation of an advisory committee has support from Interent providers such as Earthlink, which testified in favor of the legislation. But the idea of expanding braodband may face opposition from telecommunication companies in the city.

- - - -
A Queens motel frequented by underage prostitutes has been shut down and an employee arrested, capping a months-long investigation. Officials padlocked the Executive Motor Inn on North Conduit Ave near JFK airport. The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Queens district attorney's office , the New York Police Dept, the Dept of Buildings and Dept of Finance. The cooperative effort has led to 12 other arrests throughout 2005.

- - - -
Fiddling Governor, George Pataki, is trying to recruit Health Commissioner Antonia Novello to run against Senator Clinton. Ms. Novello has a terrible record as health commissioner. She has presided over a vast expansion in state health care spending, a giant giveaway to the healthcare workers union accompanied by millions of dollars in Medicaid billing fraud and abuse.

Friday 12/30
Buoyed by low interest rates and a decline in crime, NYC is in the midst of a historic construction boom on par only with the real esate rush that defined the early 1960s and the late 1920s, eras that gave birth to iconic city structures such as the MetLife building and the Chrysler Building.

The executive director of the city's Planning Commission, Richard Barth noted that the city has gained more than 160,000 residents since 2000, bringin its total to more than 8.2 million, a record high. He also cited low interest rates, a healthy economy, improving quality of life, and a decreasing crime rate as factors contributing to the building boom.

- - - -
The city's 8,900 firefighters overwhelmingly approved a new 50-month contract with teh city, their union announced - although agreement will expire at the end of July 2006 because they had worked without a deal for more than three years. The new agreement provides a 17.5% pay increase retroactive to 2002, when the last deal expired for the Uniformed Firefighters Association.

- - - -

Who does the Law again?

2005-12-31T02:30:00.000-05:00

Gay City News, The Villager and Downtown Express (all the same publisher) recently interviewed Mayor Mike Bloomberg and discussed the issue of Gay Marriage. The piece, written by Paul Schindler, was published for the Dec 14-20 issues.

The cover page article tells of the trivial position the mayor has taken on the Gay Marriage issue. I couldn't help but think there was a hint of bias making the issue a republican-democrat battle, though for the most part, Mr. Schindler stayed on point.

The issue is the mayor has expressed support for Gay Marriage, yet a current court case has the mayor's lawyers defending the State Constitution which says marriage is between a man and a woman. From what I understand about how law is written, what the mayor is doing is the correct action. It is not the mayor's job to draft state law and he is bound to represent the city under current constitutional law.

Bloomberg this week explained his decision to appeal as one largely influenced by an analysis of the state Constitution carried out by the city Law Department.

“We believe… my corporation counsel believes that Judge Ling-Cohan’s decision is inconsistent with the state Constitution,” he said, when asked whether the city’s aim in the appeal was to overturn the decision or merely clarify the issue at the state’s highest court. “We had two judges Upstate who ruled the other ways. And I think that we should let the courts decide with clarity what the law is.”

Where Mr. Schindler drifts into partisanship was about two-thirds into the piece.

Monday’s meeting was the first occasion on which Bloomberg sat down with gay press representatives since a meeting in the summer of 2001 when he was still only a mayoral candidate. At that time, he was emerging as a Republican willing to show unusually strong support for gay rights compared to others in his party. Since that time, however, he has clashed with gay community leaders on several key issues.

Is Gay City News saying there are no gay Republicans? Are they saying the legislation of gay rights was never passed back in 1986 under the Koch administration? Are they saying Democrats usually show strong support for gay rights?

I think my third question is the big one. Where are the Democrats on the issue of Gay Marriage? Some Democrats are barking about the matter and want Gay Marriage legal, but the ones that are really have no say in the matter. Marriage Law is, as already noted, a state matter defined under the State Constitution. This sort of ties the arms of city officials who champion Gay Marriage, such as Democratic Councilors: Christine Quinn, Margarita Lopez, Gale Brewer, A. Gifford Miller, as well as Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Alas, two weeks after the article was published, we get a voiced opinion from a state legislator who submits a letter to The Villager and Gay City News.

Mayor Bloomberg’s claim that he hopes he loses his appeal against civil marriage for same-sex couples in the New York Court of Appeals is both patronizing and insulting to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. It is also an argument that defies logic.

...Mayor Bloomberg’s absurd position that he is in favor of same-sex civil marriage, while his corporation counsel argues against it, is nothing but the worst kind of political double talk and slight of hand that fools no one. Mayor Bloomberg’s actions speak far louder than his words.

Thomas K. Duane
Duane is state senator for the 29th District

I've gota an idea for Sen. Duane. YOU are a State Legislator. YOU are responsible for State Law. Propose a Constitutional Amendment Referendum in the State Senate to be put on the 2006 November ballot. Also, since you are Democrat, get your fellow Democrat, who is the Speaker and Majority Leader of the State Assembly, Sheldon Silver, to introduce the Constitutional Amendment in the lower House.

If all goes well, the referendum will appear on the ballot, democracy will once and for all decide the matter in New York State, and we will see where the people of this great state stand on the issue of Gay Marriage. Then the Democrats can get what they want. A decision made by the people. Why drag the matter through the courts? Laws are better applied when they are put to the people and not decided by a few activist judges.

It's almost as if Democrats and gay New Yorkers are afraid to do things by the book. If they did, I'm sure we'd find just as many Democrats opposes Gay Marriage as Republicans. And I could say there are a number of Republicans who support Gay Marriage, or very willing to put the decision to the people of the state via referendum, if the state legislature chose to do so.

I've seen Republicans try to dance around this issue in 2005 and it's not a difficult issue to dance around. I think it's clear that most New Yorkers, regardless of political affiliation, believe marriage should remain between a man and a woman. If you are a Republican who holds this position, there's no reason not to express it, because the numbers are simply in your favor. If you tend to be more libertarian and believe government already regulates social issues too much, say you support a referendum on the ballot for November, if the Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly that dominate New York City decide to act on the issue rather than deflect it to Republicans who aren't even in power.

P.S.
I think Speaker Sheldon Silver's position on Gay Marriage is quite clear. If you click on the above links to the three papers, Gay City News, The Villager and Downtown Express, you'll see the Downtown Express' interview with the mayor doesn't deal with the Gay Marriage debate. The Downtown Express covers the 64th Assembly District, which is Sheldon Silver's territory.

Maybe Harry Reid should do a Geico commercial

2005-12-27T20:05:00.000-05:00

Unfrozen Caveman Leader

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I'm just a caveman. I fell on some ice and was later thawed by some of your scientists. Your world frightens and confuses me! . . . When I see my image on the security camera at the country club, I wonder, are they stealing my soul? I get so upset, I hop out of my Range Rover, and run across the fairway to to the clubhouse, where I get Carlos to make me one of those martinis he's so famous for, to soothe my primitive caveman brain. But whatever world you're from, I do know one thing--in the 20 years from March 22, 1972, when he first ordered that extra nicotine be put into his product, until February 25, 1992, when he issued an interoffice memorandum stopping the addition of that nicotine, my client was legally insane."--Phil Hartman as "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer," "Saturday Night Live," March 23, 1996

"Mr. President, maybe I didn't have the education of a lot of my friends. I was educated in a little school in Searchlight, Nev. We didn't have English class. Maybe my choice of words wasn't perfect. Maybe I should have said we killed the conference report. But the fact is, that is what we had done. People can try to change the words and the meaning of it all they want, but that is what happened. I may not have the ability to express myself like the folks who were educated in all these private schools and fancy schools, but I understand the Senate rules. Everyone knows that cloture was defeated, killed, whatever you want to call it. That means that cloture was defeated and that bill is still before the Senate."--Harry Reid as "Unfrozen Caveman Leader," "U.S. Senate," Dec. 19, 2005

Week in Review 12/19-12/23

2005-12-26T18:45:00.000-05:00

Monday 12/19
New York risks losing many of its most creative residents if the city does not address the high cost of real estate, a study released found.

The report by the Center for an Urban Future considered trends relating to a wide variety of fields in the city's "creative core." Though the city remains a world leader with more than 300,000 creative workers in nearly 11,700 businesses, the study found NY lagging behind London in areas such as access to workspace and affordable housing.

New York is the sixth safest state in America. During the first half of 2005, crime in NYS decreased by 2.8% as murder dropped 5.3% and burglary fell 64%, according to FBI data. Overal crime has declined by 45% since 1994.

Tuesday 12/20
Democracy is Spreading, Freedom House Finds. Reports of increased freedom emerged from lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian territories. Observers attribute the results to the Bush administration's support of fledgeling democracies worldwide.

Unfortunately, when it comes to local politics here in New York City, Grassroots Initiative finds a crisis of local political representation that permeates each of New York's five boroughs. Vacancies in... county committees are rampant and there are few contested elections for [committee] seats. ...The result is limited democracy and over a million New Yorkers without any local party representation.

President Bush sharpened his attack against senators who blocked reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, zeroing in on lawmakers from New York and other target-rich states (i.e. Sens. Charles Schumer & Hillary Clinton).

The City Council's transportation committee unanimously voted to approve a bill that would implement "no-wake areas" on the Harlem River. The Committee chairman, John Lui, said the legislation was prompted by the proliferation of boats on the city's rivers and the fatal crash of a boater, Jim Runsdorf. The no-wake zones the bill would establish are Swindler Cove from High Bridget to University Heights Bridge.

Wednesday 12/21
Republican candidate for governor, William Weld, challenged Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to take a stand on the transit strike.

City Council, Bloomberg administration, and New York Nightlife Association may have reached a compromise deal on revamping the city's noise code. The parties were in down-to-the-wire negotiations as of today. The code has been hotly contested, partly because of its potential economic affects, for more than a year.

Thursday 12/22
Immigration advocates in New York are stepping up pressure on Senator Clinton and Senator Schumer, saying they have been diappointed in the lawmakers for their low profiles on the issue of immigration policy.

Gifford Miller ended his tenure as Council Speaker presiding over a council meeting that passed 36 pieces of legislation. The Health Care Security Act was on the floor, as were bills on finance, land use, noise code policy and graffiti removal laws.

New York State's Medicaid Program pays for the highest share of doctor and hospital bills, according to a survey by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. NY's Medicaid program covered 21% of doctor and hospital bills in 2003, more than double a national average of 9.2%.

New York City Council passed a resolution urging the state to opt out of the Real ID Act, a federal legislation that created national standards for driver's licenses. The council fears the Real ID Act will hurt immigrants and may not prevent against terrorism.

Jeanine Pirro officially announced that she will bow out of the US Senate race and now direct her sites on the Attorney General race, which already included prominent Democrats such as Andrew Cuomo and Mark Green.

Friday 12/23
The USA Patriot Act is extended until February 2.

Senate Republicans in Albany proposed a $2.4 billion cut in local government and school taxes through rebate checks and state subsidies. The Democrat-led Assembly, which would have to approve a 3-year plan, will review it but is skeptical of the approach of many provisions. Governor Pataki will review the proposal as well. The Senate proposal would involve tax rebates, tax breaks adjusted for rising property assessments, and measures aimed at cutting waste in local governments and school districts.

New York state will hire 100 state troopers as part of a new effort to crack down on illegal gun trafficking. The program comes after lawmakers at the special Wednesday session approved tougher penalties for gun-trafficking offenses. Under the $4.5 billion project, state police investigators and federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, will work with local police departments to target illicit gun sales.

************
Some readers may have noticed I did not do much talking about the transit strike, while bloggers throughout the five boroughs had lots to say. Well, the strike really didn't affect me a whole lot.

You see, I live twelve blocks from my job. I walk to work every day. Okay, well sometimes I ride my bike, but for the most part, I didn't have much to worry while the subways and buses weren't running. On Tuesday, the first day of the strike, I had a Christmas Party up at 83rd Street and ended up riding my bicycle the 77 blocks in 20 degree weather, but for the most part, I stayed downtown and did a lot of walking. I do a lot of walking anyway. It made for an exhausting week, but I could use the excersize. So could a lot of us.

Would I have done something drastic if I was in a position of power? Of course. I don't believe in having the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Transport Workers Union running and opperating our mass transit system. I agree with Nicole Gelinas on what we should do about our transit system. If not the way she describes it, in some way to prevent a mass transit shutdown. Our subway system was built by three, three, indpendent rail companies. We used to have many independent bus lines all using the same token for fare. The idea of the Second Avenue Subway line getting built by the MTA is proposterous. An independent company would have the line halfway dug up when the revival talk sprang up a decade ago.

I have a lot of underground rail ideas, but the likelihood of them getting done is less than the current projects that constantly get stalled. Have the shovels hit the ground with the SAS yet?

Happy New Year.

Matthew Long in Our Thoughts

2005-12-23T17:30:00.000-05:00

Because of the Transit Strike, firefighter Matthew Long was riding his bike to work and was struck by a charter bus. He is listed in critical condition and as of 2 PM today, is still hanging in there, but barely.

According to Tom Long, Mike [Long's] brother, the doctors say if Matt gets through the weekend, he'll have shot....

He is still fighting internal bleeding - - every time his blood pressure stabilizes, the bleeding reoccurs. The area of the bleeding is not easily accessible, requiring microsurgery to cauterize each reoccurrence. Matt is listed as most critical... Keep praying.

Matthew Long is a son of Michael Long, the New York State Conservative Party Chairman. Matthew also co-owns Third and Long Sports Bar with his brother Jim. This is a horrific story to hear around Christmas time. Let's hope Matthew stays strong and gets well.

If you wish to send sympathy and prayers and are not sure how to contact the Long Family, I recommend sending it to Third & Long at 523 3rd Ave. New York, NY 10016

Grassroots Initiative Study

2005-12-23T03:00:00.000-05:00

Recently published by Grassroots Initiative is a study on New York's Republican & Democratic County Committees of the five boroughs. The findings are very revealing and show that neither party is doing a good job reaching out to communities. With over 8.5 million New Yorkers, probably more than 6 million registered voters, have you ever wondered why elections are decided by only 1.2 million votes?

The 47 page report is titled: Vacancy: Democracy Take A Nap Party Politics in New York's Five Boroughs.

This report looks at political representation in New York City through the lens of the Republican and Democratic county committees in each of the five boroughs. Our primary objective in undertaking this study is to assess the state and health of New York's party apparatus, including the way in which the Republican and Democratic Party county committee seats are filled and what communities are or are not being represented in the process. To better understand this information and place it in a broad context, the study also explores public interest and awareness regarding political party committees and local politics in general.

The information may not be entirely accurate, however that is due to lack of cooperation by all ten county committees. Grassroots Initiative could only rely on records held by the Board of Elections, while letters and calls to the county committees went unanswered. If any county committee disputes the findings, they will need to update their records with the Board of Elections, because the City of New York only registers what has been found in this Study.

As a member of the Vincent F. Albano Republican Club for the 74 Assembly District, I have now set my sites on filling committee seats by primary day, September 4, 2007. According to Vacancy: Democracy Takes a Nap, the 74 Assembly District should have 228 County Committee Members [CCM]. The Board of Elections says there are only 55. My records for 74 AD give only 108 Election Districts, so that would mean 216 committee seats, but still, that means we only have 25.5% of our seats filled.

If I can accomplish my objective of having at least one committee member for each 108 EDs, then I hope it sets an example to all district clubs throughout the five boroughs that grassroots party building is possible.

Letter to the Villager #2

2005-12-18T19:00:00.000-05:00

There is another story in this weeks edition of The Villager which deals with the proposal of changing Avenue B in the East Village to a One-Way Street.

Last Tuesday, I posted on the crackdown of excessive nightlife and traffic along Avenue B. The article presented support for the suggestion of changing the narrowest of the Alphabets to a northbound one-way street.

A meeting at Community Board 3 held on Wednesday had many neighborhood residents opposed to such a change fearing a one-way street would make the strip feel less of a neighborhood.

Residents said that changing two-way Avenue B to one-way would make the area seem less like a neighborhood; the proposal sparked fears of traffic speeding up and accompanying concern about the impact this would have on the at least four schools that line the avenue.

I wish I could attend the meeting on December 20, but I'll be at a County function that evening and won't be able to present a plan I thought of which could reduce traffic build up.

The PetersonforNYC Proposal
Part of the problem is congestion forming at certain intersections along Avenue B from East Houston Strett to East 14th Street. I propose installing No Left Turn signs at designated points along Avenue B.

If a car is heading northbound along Avenue B, they will not be able to make a Left Turn at E. 3rd St, E 7th St and E. 13th St between the hours of 11 PM to 5 AM.

If a car is heading southbound along Avenue B, they will not be able to make a Left Turn at E. 12th, E. 6th St and E. 4th St between the hours of 11 PM to 5 AM.

Preventing left turns at points along the strip should clear the road from congestion at street crossings that tend to get a little crowded during the evening. It will force automobiles to drive to Avenue A or Avenue C, which are wider and can handle the increase of car traffic.

Of course, you do not want to prevent left turns at every crossing, because that would simply create issues on other avenues. I think a test program should be tried with No Left Turn signs and a study on how it helps with late night traffic. If it keeps traffic flowing and reducing noise pollution, it should be perminently enacted.

Letter to the Villager #1

2005-12-18T14:20:00.000-05:00

My local neighborhood paper, The Villager is a great read for anyone living in Alphabet City who wants to know how the liberal minds of the area work. I'm not sure if I'll actually send this letter to the Villager, but I want to respond to the cover story for this weeks issue.

Dear Villager,

Your editorial in response to Paul Schindler's story on Mayor Bloomberg's answers on gay marriage fails to offer the best democratic solution to the gay marriage debate. Perhaps it's because your paper supports an undemocratic solution to the debate.

The solution is an Initiative and Referendum for the People of New York State to decide whether they are ready to accept gay marriage. Eleven other States have already done just that and learned whether their State is ready for such a change. Unfortunately, New York is not a State that lets its voters enjoy the democratic process and many times leaves us out. Gay marriage supporters should organize and petition for a ballot measure instead of forcing our courts to rule against current law.

Gay marriage is not an issue that is supported or opposed by one party, though some local democrats try to make it a partisan matter. If gay marriage was favored by democrats, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver would have already brought the matter to the floor of the Assembly for a vote or at least drafted a referendum. Democrats who are tired of Mr. Silver's obstructionism should challenge the Speaker in a Primary so they can bring in new leadership to Albany.

Marriage Laws are currently a State matter and all the bickering on the City level cannot change what our leaders (Silver, Sen. Joseph Bruno and Gov. George Pataki) in Albany must decide.

Marriage is viewed differently by different people. We would like to believe our State is progressive minded in a way that is willing to accept change, but we will never know unless our State begins to present social issues to the People in the form of a ballot measure. WIth all the problems we read about in California, at least their State votes on countless Propositions in any given year. It's time for New York to do the same.

In 2006, when studying up on candidates for Statewide and local state races, learn their positions on Initiative and Referendum. If you have a chance to confront a candidate on the issue, ask them, "Would you push New York's government to embrace Initiative and Referendum so we have a say in the democratic process?"

Week in Review

2005-12-18T13:05:00.000-05:00

Monday, December 12,
56 of our 62 New York State Republican County Chairman met in Albany to cast ballots for the GOP Gubernatorial candidate.

23 Chairs voted for William Weld

23 Chairs voted for John Faso

2 Chairs voted for Randy Daniels

8 Chairman abstained from the vote

State Chairman Stephen Minarik had the votes weighted, which bases the value of the vote on the number of registered voters who voted republican in 2002.

43.2% for William Weld

10.2% for John Faso

1.1% for Randy Daniels

45.5% were abstemious

The vote helped officially launch William Weld’s website as the leading Republican candidate for Governor.

= = =
Hundreds rallied in Chinatown on Sunday to celebrate 6 million Chinese people who have renounced their membership to the Chinese Communist Party. State Assemblyman Michael Benjamin, along with representatives of several human rights groups spoke at the rally, which culminated with a parade through Chinatown.

= = =
Two City Council members are urging parents to be careful when buying video games this holiday season. Democrats Eric Gioia of Queens and Gale Brewer of Manhattan published a list of the 10 best and worst video games on the market for children.

= = =
A new group, People to Stop a Self Serving Council, is banding together to resist the NYC Council’s effort to extend Term Limits. PSSSC is the first New York group established to oppose the council on its term-limits initiative.

It’s three founding members are active in their communities. Kenneth Moltner is a lawyer who says the council is “shunting democracy for their own self-interests.” Frank Scala, a barber who is co-chairman of Community Board 6 says he “believes in the word of the voters.” Joe Metzger, a political science and history major at New York University says many of the current council only have their job because of term limits and don’t deserve to change the law. A national organization Don’t Touch Term Limits is working to unite all organized groups defending the voice of the people.

= = =
Tuesday, December 13,
The City Council is planning to pass a resolution condemning the proposal of President Bush’s advisory panel on tax reform to abolish the federal deduction for state and local income taxes and limit the deductions for home mortgages. David Weprin of Queens and candidate for Speaker, as well as outgoing Speaker A. Gifford Miller, said the proposal would harm high tax paying states like New York and California.

Lawmakers said the new proposal would increase the amount of money New York sends to the federal government by $10 billion. New York already sends $13 billion more in taxes than it gets back in federal spending.

= = =
Councilwoman Letitia James of Brooklyn, has offered a bill for vote that would impose stiffer restrictions on the use of eminent domain. The bill expresses support for two bills - that have already been presented in the two State Houses - that would mandate a local review process before government could take control of a private property.

= = =

Wednesday, December 14,
Congressman Anthony Weiner of Queens is urging Harvard and Georgetown Universities to return $20 million donations they received from a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud. The democrat from New York’s 9th Congressional District chastised them for “accepting gifts from a family that bankrolls terrorist organizations.”

= = =
The New York Sun editorial page lauds the opportunity for a Republican Primary after the results of Monday’s meeting in Albany among State County Chairman. The paper believes New York republicans will appreciate the chance to choose the candidate they feel best represents their values in the polls.

= = =
Thursday, December 15,
The mayor decided not to veto a bill that will increase the amount of money labor unions can donate to candidates running for office. As a result, the bill will quietly become law next month.

Chairman of the Campaign FInance Board, Frederick Schwarz Jr., said in a statement: “The Board is very disappointed and does not believe that the Administration has fully appreciated the ramifications” of this bill.

= = =
Friday, December 16,
Democrats worry Spitzer’s enemies could haunt his campaign. The New York Sun reports Eliot Spitzer has made more enemies than the average public official, and some democrats are worried those he investigated for corporate corruption may come back to haunt him as he runs for governor.

Nassau County Executive, Thomas Suozzi, has emerged on the sidelines as a potential challenger to the Democrat designate for Governor, and is expected to start raising money for a statewide bid after he is sworn in to his second term.

Yesterday, two county leaders - Robert Brehm of Schenectady County and Richard Schaffer of Suffolk - sent a letter to Suozzi demanding he disassociate himself with Kenneth Langone, a former director of the NY Stock Exchange, who is a target of an investigation by the Attorney General. The letter stated Suozzi should not be associating with someone who contributes to ‘radical right wing candidates.” Mr. Langone has contributed in the past to “right wing radicals” such as Sen. Charles Schumer and Sen. Joseph Biden.

= = =
Two State Legislators are going “phishing” for Internet scam artists. Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Democrat of Westchester, and Senator Charles Fuschillo, a Republican of Long Island, plan to introduce a bill that would target the practice by allowing the attorney general, industry, and non profits to bring civil cases against Internet “phishers,” a practice where an email is sent to someone using the same font and interface of a legitimate institution. The recipient is informed their account information is suspended or has become inactive and in order to correct matters, they must click a link and provide their personal information to update the records. “This is theft. This is theft of the worst kind,” said Mr. Brodsky, who is running for Attorney General. There were more than 15,000 “phishing attacks” in the month of October alone.

The House of Representatives approved a resolution aimed at protecting “The symbols and traditions” of Christmas. By a vote of 401 to 22, the House said that it “recognizes the importance of the symbols and traditions of Christmas” and that “it strongly disapproves of attempts to ban references to Christmas.”

Most members of New York’s congressional delegation voted in favor of the resolution, however, Rep. Gary Ackerman, a Democrat of the 5th District, voted against the bill, and Rep. Steven Israel, a Democrat of the 2nd District, chose to abstain from the vote.

King Kong

2005-12-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

I saw King Kong last night and I have to say, it is well worth it. I know some of you may have heard reviews that the script isn't the greatest, but what do you really expect? Watch the original 1933 movie. There is no script to this story.

Peter Jackson does a good job putting together a cohesive story set in the 1930s. He takes the movie to a new level, adds some elements not from the original, but the remake, by having Ann Darrows (Naomi Watts) develop a connection with the big ape. He treats us to unbelievable scenes on Skull Island where we see the reason Kong is King of the jungle. He tips his hat to the original movie at the end of the T-Rex fight scene, which was nice.

The original portrayed Kong as a monster and gave us a damsel in distress screaming throughout the entire picture. Jackson's remake shows us a real primate, the last of his kind, acting just as an actual ape should act.

It would not do the movie justice to see it set in 2005 for reasons of political correctness. We can imagine the fear of a giant ape running around New York, but present day society would try to capture and return Kong to his island. In 1933 New York, we can imagine the fear in New Yorkers and stopping the rampage at any means possible. Reminds me of the filmed electricution of Topsy, an elephant in Coney Island at the beginning of the 20th Century.

I was worried that I'd find myself in tears by the end of the movie. I do sometimes get sentimental with silly movies with emotion. But the emotion of Kong made me believe he was at peace. He did not fear his impending death. He accepts it, while spending his final moments with a woman who touches his heart.

Humor Me

2005-12-14T23:30:00.000-05:00

From Today's Best of the Web - Today by James Taranto:

From a Baltimore Sun article on Anthony Brown, who is running for Maryland's lieutenant governor on a ticket with Martin O'Malley:

He chose a partner who reflects some of the diversity of Maryland. Brown is the product of the marriage between a Cuban father raised in Jamaica and a Swiss mother.

"It does not hurt that he is an African-American," [Rep. Elijah] Cummings said. "African-Americans in the Democratic Party want to see somebody on that level representing them, coming from that community."

OK, here's a trivia question. Which of the following countries is in Africa?

a. Cuba

b. Jamaica

c. Switzerland

Actually, as far as we know, the answer is d. none of the above.

Community Center? Why not a Charter School?

2005-12-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

Today's New York Sun carries a story on the opening of five new Charter Schools, one will be run by outgoing councilwoman Eva Moskowitz.

Ms. Moskowitz officially announced yesterday that she will take control of the Harlem Success Charter School when she leaves the council next month.

The School will be located in central Harlem, historically one of the city's poorest performing districts. It is hope the school will serve as a model for 20 to 30 additional schools to open over the next decade.

Since we currently do not have a voucher program and have seen a large number of parochial schools close recently due to low enrollment, the expansion of Charter Schools is a good sign.

I've been thinking, though, about the recent victory for the community of Alphabet City with the old PS 64 school, used as a cultural center known as CHARAS/El Bohio until is was forced to close in 1998.

Why not convert this old school into a new school? A Charter School?

The Villager recently reported on the victory of neighborhood advocates who prevented the building owner from tearing it down and building university dorms. Though a community center sounds like a fine idea also, I still believe it should be a school. It was a school, make it one again. Renovatve it and make it into a Charter School.

It's a historical structure.

In its “statement of significance,” which the Landmarks Commission issues prior to calendaring a hearing, the commissioners cited P.S. 64 for its “rare Baroque-revival style.” Designed in 1903-’04 by famed architecht C. B. J. Snyder, the school was one of the first to introduce a ground-floor auditorium, which allowed it to function after hours as a community center. Among those to lecture there during the 1920s were former Mayor Jimmy Walker and governors Alfred E. Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

According to Landmarks’ prehearing assessment: “Snyder designed P.S. 64 when he was at the height of his powers, having mastered the technicalities of school design and construction. P.S. 64 is an unusually intact example of a school building retaining its original fence and sculptural seals and, unlike many H-plan schools, it has not had an addition.”

Let's return the building back to what it was originally intended for.

Avenue B Clean Up.

2005-12-13T20:50:00.000-05:00

On December 2, Alphabet City along Avenue B finally got their wish and had the NYC Police force come in to tackle noise complaints and disorderly conduct. The Villager reports:

Blanketing the avenue with 25 to 30 officers on foot, in patrol cars and vans — as well as on horseback to provide visual presence — police targeted quality-of-life and moving-vehicle violations from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., issuing a total of 99 summonses, making two arrests and towing seven cars.

Recently, with so many small bars and restaurants opening up, Avenue B has become the hotspot for young professionals and college kids. This is not the Avenue B I knew a dozen years ago when I first started hanging around the area. With the high volume of pedestrian traffic and Avenue B being the narrowist of the alphabet streets, congestion on the strip has forced many drivers to blow their car horn more often than not.

The police crackdown comes as Community Board 3 is considering possibly making a recommendation to the city’s Department of Transportation to change Avenue B from two-way to one-way northbound, as a way to lessen the problem of late-night traffic and honking.

I brought up the idea of a one-way Avenue B to two co-workers of mine who live in the area and both feel a one-way street would be a wise move. I have my reservations to the idea, but I do see the advantages of such a change.

Week in Review

2005-12-11T14:00:00.000-05:00

Council Member introduces Resolution on Iran’s stance on Israel. Council Member David Weprin, a Democrat from Queens, who is also seeking the Speakership, introduces a resolution denouncing comments made by President Ahmadinejad of Iran last month. The NYC Council does not have a say in America's foreign policy.

The chairman of Manhattan’s Libertarian Party, James Lesczynski, expects to appeal Judge Paul Feinman’s recent ruling that Mr. Lesczynski lacked the standing to challenge the city’s campaign-finance rules. Mr. Lesczynski had asked the judge to declare the rules unconstitutional. He argued that matching funds force him and other New Yorkers to fund speech they object to - a violation of an individuals free speech.

Roughly half of all students who enter city high schools do not earn any kind of diploma in four years. It was also reported that only 10% of black and Hispanic students earn a Regents diploma compared to one-third of white and asian students. Only 18% of NYC high school seniors earn a Regents diploma compared to 58% statewide.

Judiciary submits budget requests for Fiscal Year 2006-2007. The state’s top judge says her colleagues deserve a raise. The state’s judicial branch yesterday submitted its $1.96 billion budget proposal to the governor and legislature. The request, a 7.1% increase over the current budget, includes $69.5 million for judicial raises. The last time New York judges got a raise was in 1999. Governor Pataki proposed raising the judiciary’s pay earlier this year, but lawmakers balked.

Gubernatorial hopeful John Faso expects to be the Republican designate after the December 12 meeting of the 62 Republican County Chairman up in Albany. Also seeking endorsement are former Massachusetts Governor, William Weld, who has the support of State Party chairman Stephen Minarik, Pat Manning, an Assemblyman from Dutchess County, who is the only candidate to receive endorsements from six Conservative County Committees, and Randy Daniels, former secretary of State, who says he will seek the Conservative Party line if the Republican Party selects a candidate who is not suited for the party (i.e. Weld or Golisano).

Mayor Closes Deal on Four Remaining Private Bus Lines. The deal has reached $25 million to acquire the city’s four remaining private bus lines, allowing the MTA to operate all fleets by the end of February. The city had missed half a dozen self-imposed deadlines to take over all the private bus lines because negotiations failed to resolve concerns over the fate of both union and nonunion workers operating private fleets.

On December 1, The New York Sun wrote an editorial to the NY GOP to fire Stephen Minarik, Republican State Chairman. The Sun sites the leadership has not provided New Yorkers with an open process on candidate selections and by squashing the possibility of statewide primaries.

On December 1, The New York Sun wrote an editorial titled “Up to Code” which says Mayor Bloomberg has signed into law the first major revision of the city’s building code in nearly 40 years. Currently, New York City laws are considered “unfriendly” to builders in the Big Apple and slow the growth of economic development. Though the law lacks significant change, the Sun says it is a step in the right direction to open the market for new construction.

$1.1 Million of tax payer money went to city council candidates without competitive races. A preliminary review by the Campaign Finance Board said public money was doled out to candidates who won by 60% to 80% of the vote. Critics of the current system are sure to use the findings as ammunition against the program.

City Council Member, Tony Avella, announced his support for term limits in a letter to the 50 other members. “I find the thought of ignoring the wishes of the citizens of this city by plotting to overturn term limits offensive,” he wrote. Six of the seven candidates for Council Speaker publicly support plans for overturning the law.

The New York City Comptroller’s office released results of the third quarter job growth rate, which shows New York City lags behind the national average. Economic watchdogs at the Manhattan Institute explain the slow growth rate in New York has to do with high taxes and too many regulations that create “road blocks” on growth.

On December 5, the New York Sun reports thousands of residents reap the benefits of rent regulation, while living out-of-town. Rent Stabilization was created to protect middle-income residents from leaving New York City, but today, many enjoy the benefits of below market apartments, which forces the rental rates of available apartments to be higher than normal. Free market advocates say too many regulations and high taxes impedes the creation of housing for the middle class and believe an open and friendlier market to development will lower the currently high market rates. Supporters of Rent Laws say regulation is important for middle-income housing and deny the problem of abusing the laws is systemwide.

City Council Minority Leader, James Oddo responded to the NY Sun’s story on the abuse with regulated rents and called for the Department of Finance to investigate. Council Oddo says the report “cries for further investigation. We always hear about landlord-gouging. This is gouging by the tenants. Rent regulation has a chilling effect on private investment.” On Sunday, December 4, about 40 advocates rallied outside Mayor Bloomberg’s home asking the mayor to wrest more control over housing policy from Albany.

New York Sun columnist Alicia Colon says she called 800-FOR-VOTE and asked for a bunch of voter registration cards so she can switch her party registration from Republican to Conservative. Ms. Colon says she feels disenfranchised by how the NY State GOP is “fixing” the process of “selecting” candidates for next year’s statewide elections. The extra registration forms she receives she intends on distributing among her family.

The Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved a $5 billion budget for 2006 that increases security spending and does not call for a fare-hike before 2007. The budget also provides funding for 340 new PATH trains, airport upgrades and continued work on the WTC transportation hub.

The City Council voted to override a veto by Mayor Bloomberg to include the Hindu holiday of Diwali as one of the days when alternate side parking is suspended. It is the first Hindu holiday to warrant the parking regulations.

City Council Member Gail Brewer introduced legislation that would force community board members to file annual disclosure statements in order to avoid conflicts of interests with companies seeking commercial permits. community board members are subject to conflicts of interest laws but are not yet required to file financial disclosure forms.

On December 9, NY Sun columnist J.P. Avlon writes that the NY State GOP needs to get its act together, yet he doesn’t necessarily believe republicans should call for a primary. He sees the candidacy of William Weld as a step in the right direction and says a ticket with John Faso or Randy Daniels as Lieutenant Governor could bring across the state unity for state reform. Mr. Avlon sees republicans as one election away from irrelevance, similar to the current situation in New Jersey.

Thank God John Kerry isn't our President!

2005-12-06T17:30:00.000-05:00

I know it's funny to hear President Bush mangle his words every now and again, but Senator John Kerry is a real bafoon when it comes to discussing matters clearly. He continues to phrase his words in a confusing manner that even gets himself mixed up.

From James Taranto's Best of the Web - Today

Kerry Supports the Troops
The old proverb is right: A haughty, French-looking Massachusetts leopard who by the way served in Vietnam doesn't change its spots. John Kerry* appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer yesterday, and his comments on U.S. troops in Iraq were vintage 1971:

Schieffer: Let me shift to another point of view, and it comes from another Democrat, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. He takes a very different view. He says basically we should stay because, he says, real progress is being made. He said this is a war between 27 million Iraqis' freedom and 10,000 terrorists. He says we're in a watershed transformation. What about that?

Kerry: Let me--I--first of all, there is so much more that unites Democrats than divides us. And Democrats have much more in common with each other than they do with George Bush's policy right now. Now Joe Lieberman, I believe, also voted for the resolution which said the president needs to make more clear what he's doing and set out benchmarks, and that the policy hasn't been working. We all believe him when you say, 'Stay the course.' That's the president's policy, which hasn't been changing, which is a policy of failure. I don't agree with that. But I think what we need to do is recognize what we all agree on, which is you've got to begin to set benchmarks for accomplishment. You've got to begin to transfer authority to the Iraqis.

And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not--

Schieffer: Yeah.

Kerry: --Iraqis should be doing that.

Terrorizing kids and children and breaking sort of the customs! Didn't "Jenjis Khan" used to do stuff like that in Vietnam? Note, too, that Kerry isn't against this per se; he just thinks Iraqis should be doing it. It's highly reminiscent of Vietnam, only back then Kerry's words carried some weight because he sold himself as a veteran against the war, whereas now he's just the junior senator from Massachusetts.

* Do we really need a footnote when we describe him in the text?

Kerry was so intent on doing two things at once, he sounds like a fool. He wants to first; make a point that Iraqis need to take over responsibility where for the most part, the US military has been in charge of; and second, he also wants to disparage American soldiers by concocting some unsubstantiated attack on our men and women who have volunteered to represent our country. This is a man that the Democrats voted for to lead this country?

Draft Peter Hort

2005-12-04T15:30:00.000-05:00

The NY GOP needs strong candidates to send to Albany in 2006. While still having a slim majority in the State Senate, it will be important to find someone who can run on real republican issues and give a Democratic incumbent a difficult challenge. My first recommendation for 2006 is Peter Hort for the 25th State Senate District.

Peter ran against Jerry Nadler in 2004 and did modestly in a Congressional District that sweeps across the left side of Manhattan into Brooklyn. If the district had more moderate to conservative voters, he could've given his opponent a run for his money.

In October, I caught Peter at a GOP judicial endorsement meeting and asked if he thought of running for a seat in Albany. He said he has thought of a run for Assembly, but his Assembly representitive is Deborah Glick, not Sheldon Silver. He misses Mr. Silver's 64th AD by a few blocks and running against Ms. Glick wouldn't attract the same amount of attention that a run against Mr. Silver would. He's certainly right about that. Any formidable GOP candidate challenging Sheldon Silver would draw quite a bit of attention.

Assuming I read what Peter said about missing Mr. Silver's district by a few blocks, I have to believe he resides in State Senator Martin Connor's district. If he can't challenge Silver, then he should challenge the man who is involved in every petition challenge case brought before the Board of Elections. Martin Connor is a strong Albany Democrat in the Upper House. If Peter can get on the ballot and run a well funded campaign, I think he can win the State Senate seat. And every Senate seat is important in 2006.

I've had many discussions with consultants and district leaders and State Senate districts are big and difficult. But so are Congressional Districts and I have to believe Peter learned a lot in 2004. I think he can handle a Senate District. I just have one word of advice if he does run. Say you are "Republican Candidate for State Senate." Don't let the Democrats attack you for not being proud of your elephant blood.

So I ask New York Republicans to Draft Peter Hort for State Senate.

Civil Court Judge?

2005-12-03T20:00:00.000-05:00

The Board of Elections has finally posted the November 8 Election results and apparently someone in the 74 AD voted for me!

I swear it wasn't me, but I am very curious to know who it was.

Here's something for NY's 2006 candidates

2005-11-19T12:45:00.000-05:00

In Thursday's New York Sun, John Stossel explains how Wal-Mart is good for America and the attacks against the company are ill-advised.

First, Stossel approaches the myth of Americans not getting something in return as Wal-Mart makes millions. But we are the consumer. We do get something in return.

Take the simplest example. I buy a quart of milk. I hand the storekeeper money; she gives me the milk. We both benefit, because she wanted the money more than the milk, and I wanted the milk more than the money. This is why often both of us say "thank you."

Because it's voluntary, business is win/win. A transaction won't happen unless both parties benefit. Each party ends up better off than he was before. And when you have millions of successful transactions, you end up very well off - like the owners of Wal-Mart.

Why yes, that's it. As a business owner, my job is to provide a service to the consumer who wants my products. My goal is to make money, your goal is to own the goods I provide. Sounds like a win-win, doesn't it?

Wal-Mart started with one man and a vision. He opened a small store and from there expanded that business because that is simply the American dream. Free Market, right? Well, the market isn't as free as it used to be, but Wal-Mart founder, Sam Walton, was able to navigate through government regulations and create a large corporation.

In earlier eras, John D. Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt were depicted as evil. But the condemnation rarely came from consumers. It was competing businessmen who complained. And newspapers lapped it up, calling them "robber barons."

Vanderbilt got rich by making travel and shipping cheaper. Lots of people liked that. No one was forced to buy the oil on which Rockefeller got rich. He had to persuade people by offering it to them for less. He offered it so cheaply that poorer people, who used to go to bed when it got dark, could now afford fuel for their lanterns. These are "robber barons"?

"You could not find a more inaccurate term for these men than 'robber barons,'" said philosopher David Kelley. "They weren't barons. All of them started penniless. And they weren't robbers, because they didn't take it from anyone else."

Somehow, as time went on, capitalism started becoming evil. You can make money, but as soon as you reach a certain threshold, you become evil and must be penalized. Is that what our Founding Fathers fought for?

As for the issue of Wal-Mart's low wages to employees and lack of health coverage, Stossel hits the nail on its head.

"None of them was drafted. None of them was forced to work at Wal-Mart," said Brink Lindsey, a senior scholar at the Cato Institute. "That means that if they're working there, presumably, that was the best job they could get.

We have to remember, we are free to work anywhere we are offered a job. A Wal-Mart can come into a community and provide lots of jobs for individuals who would otherwise not be working. Many people who seek jobs at a business at Wal-Mart are going to school and simply need part-time work. Other employees are retired and because of how poorly government provides for them with social security, require a job to supplement their income. And work is all voluntary.

I think many anti-Wal-Mart folks forget is the big box store is usually a primer for getting a young person started in the workforce or a job where a local senior can keep themselves busy and be friendly to many of their neighbors. And Stossel closes by including something Democrats don't want you to repeat. A success story because of Wal-Mart.

Before Sha-ron Reese was hired at Wal-Mart she was on welfare. She'd lost custody of her kids and was homeless, living in her car. California store manager W.C. Morrison took a risk and hired her. "She had no references," he told us. "She had no work experience."

In her own words, she was "raw." But Morrison took a chance on her. That changed her life. Today, Reese has two people working for her. She's got her own apartment. She's regained custody of two of her kids. And she's a Wal-Mart customer. "Everything, just about, that's in my house," she said, "Wal-Mart sells."

A Video Message from Assemblyman Pat Manning

2005-11-17T22:30:00.000-05:00

The 2006 NY Gubernatorial Election is still a year away, but the State GOP Chairman wishes to call the race before it's even won. There are currently four candidates vying for the Republican Party (Golisano may have switched party registration, but he has not announced he's running as a Republican yet) and Chairman Minarik wants to call it for William Weld. No Primary. Sounds like he's afraid. Or that he looks for the money to flow. It's about money and not victory. Minarik wants to avoid a primary and choose a liberal Republican, which would alienate the conservative base throughout the State. That was what the GOP did in 1990 and it clearly did not bring victory.

Right now, three of the four candidates are seeking the Conservative Party cross-endorsement. It is clear that if William Weld is given the nomination by GOP County Chairs, then the Conservative State Chair, Mike Long, will simply go with either Pat Manning, John Faso or Randy Daniels. But at this point, why not have a Conservative Party primary? Wake up conservatives in New York and make the GOP mumble, "uh oh" as an active and energized conservative base literally goes to the polls for a PRIMARY!

Of the four Republican candidates, the one that I have faith in restoring the republican party and the one that I have faith in fixing the woes of New York State, is Pat Manning.

Today, he released a video message for everyone to see and hear him. From his own mouth, he wants to return New York's GOP to the party of Reagan.

Choose your player poison to watch Pat Manning address the State of the State of the GOP.
Windows Media Player
Real Player Video
QuickTime Player

All the News that's Fit to bend and reinterpret

2005-11-15T22:20:00.000-05:00

Today, The NY Times printed an Op-Ed titled: Decoding Mr. Bush's Denials.

Apparently, the NYTimes believes that history shows evidence leading up to removing Saddam Hussein from power went a particular way. The NYTimes is treading on old (false) interpretations of news and continuing to bend and twist it to create an unfavorable view of President Bush.
Why?
I guess they do not wish he wins re-election.

The firestorm attacks on the President continue with the chant that BUSH LIED!
Unfortunately, it is the liberal media, also known as MSM (Main Stream Media) that continues to lie and live in a world of make believe.

Immediately after the Op-Ed from the NYTimes, the White House puts out a press release specifically rebutting the NY Times Op-Ed piece.

Setting the Record Straight: The New York Times Editorial on Pre-War Intelligence.

It states many clear facts on pre-war intelligence.

Foreign Governments That Opposed The Removal Of Saddam Hussein Judged That Iraq Had Weapons Of Mass Destruction (WMD).

The Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) Was Judged Not To Have Different Intelligence Than The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) Provided To Congress, Which Represented The Collective Opinion Of The Intelligence Community.

Former President Bill Clinton Warned After 9/11 That The United States Could Not Allow Saddam Hussein To Continue Defying Weapons Inspectors.

The Weapons Inspectors Concluded That Saddam Hussein Sought A Nuclear Capability.

The President Never Connected Iraq To The 9/11 Attacks While Other Politicians And Independent Commissions Judged That There Were Contacts Between Iraq, Al-Qaeda And Other Terrorist Groups.

Congressional And Independent Committees Have Repeatedly Found No Political Pressure To Change Intelligence.

Each point is supported with referals.

If you read the NY Times, it's time for you to give the paper a pass. If you want to keep getting it for weekends, fine, but during the work week, Monday through Friday, you should switch to the broadsheet that doesn't have a table of contents for their daily Corrections (Some days, it's really large). That paper is the NY Sun.

"Bush Lied" Setting the Record Straight

2005-11-14T20:30:00.000-05:00

Today, Norman Podhoretz writes a very detailed outline of events that led to America toppling Saddam Hussein's regime. Mr. Podhoretz goes over various quotes and remarks made by politicians on both sides of the aisle and it presents a clearer picture on whether or not "Bush Lied" to the American people.

Though this matter has been raised and argued over and over again, Podhoretz says, I want to take one more shot at exposing it for the lie that it itself really is."

His piece is long and filled with detail on various intelligence agencies providing information on the threat Iraq poses. He goes over the intelligence reports reviewed by the Senate Intellegence Committee. How, when and why the Joseph Wilson IV claim became news and the misinformation it provided.

Right now, President Bush's poll numbers are really low. So low, in fact, that re-election seems unlikely. Oh, wait... he can't run again. My bad. Maybe Democrats should move on from their attacks and come up with a positive, progressive agenda to move America forward from where we are today. Otherwise, they lose again with the Iraq situation.

Blogger Bob Krumm has some thoughts on how Democrats should proceed in 2006. It's quite possible that if strong and well organized Republicans, who seek re-election, or plan to challenge Democrats, may present a clearer message to the American people about moving us forward. If Democrats aren't prepared, all their false hopes over the 2005 elections will be realized.

Arthur Chrenkoff, who has retired from blogging, used to compile "Good News" Reports from Iraq & Afghanistan through September and he gave us lots of information that clearly indicated many successes in these two democracies.

Iraqi bloggers have used blogger.com to keep online journals of their cities and neighborhoods. Iraq the Model had consistantly been on top of its game with reporting what Americans need to know about this society. Many other blogs are hyperlinked in the sidebar.

There's also a new website called The Other Iraq which deals with Kurdistan and the progress they've made in the last four years. It even includes promotional videos. Clearly, the nay-sayers must stop believing people from the Middle East are barbarians and incapable of Democracy and a free society. Their public display of bigotry does a disservice to humanity.

If Democrats continue to live in the past and argue that Bush Lied, then they themselves are lying to the American public. We need to move forward. We need progressive and positive ideas so sufficient stability returns to the region so American troops can return home. Until we reach this point, we must support every man and woman who is doing the job his or her country has asked of them.

Rent Exemption Expansion

2005-11-12T12:30:00.000-05:00

The City of New York has added a new rent-freeze program to the already successful Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption [SCRIE] Program. The new program is called the Disabilities Rent Increase Exemption [DRIE] Program.

There's also a Senior Citizen Homeowners Exemption [SCHE] Program that is available to qualified residents.

For receiving the necessary applications and information, you can call the city at 311 and they will gladly service your request.

First, About SCRIE Program which was started around 1971:

If you are 62 or older, live in a rent controlled or rent stabilized apartment or residential hotel, and have a disposable household income of $25,000 or less, you may be among the thousands of New Yorkers who can benefit from SCRIE.

Of course, not to many people who are 62 years or older are reading my website. I've asked my mom and dad to check in here once and while and they never do. However, some of you may know someone; a grandparent, someone's mother, who rents a stabilized unit and is beginning to feel the crunch of rent increases. Please check out the website for the Department for the Aging to find out more.

For the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption Program application, you can download it here.

Now, the new DRIE Program that has recently been passed by the City Council:

Eligible buildings, as defined by the law, are those that are regulated by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal

To qualify for DRIE, the family member with a disability must be named on the lease for the rent-regulated or co-op apartment.

The applicant must currently be receiving any one of the following forms of financial assistance:
-Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
-Federal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI);
-US Department of Veterans Affairs disability pension or compensation; OR
-Medicaid-related disability assistance.

For Individuals: Household income must be less than or equal to $17,004/yr.
For Couples: Household income must be less than or equal to $24,372/yr.

Please check out the website for the Department of Finance to find out more.

For the new Disabilities Rent Increase Exemption Program application, you can download it here.
For the questions and answers, you can download the FAQ sheets here.

Many seniors in the outer-boroughs may not know about the SCHE Program and if you know someone who qualifies, you should definitely let them be aware of this benefit offered by the State. What is SCHE?

SCHE provides a partial exemption of the assessed value of a legal residence that is occupied by a senior citizen who has a limited income.

Eligibility
Age -- Applicants must be age 65 or over by December 31st of the year in which the SCHE benefits would begin. If a husband/wife or siblings own the property, only one needs to meet this age requirement to qualify. If co-owners other than spouses or siblings own the property, all must be 65 or over.

Primary Residence -- The applicant must use all or part of the property as his/her primary residence.
Income -- The total adjusted gross income of all the owners of the property from all sources must be less than $32,400, which is the 2004 cap set by New York State (reset annually).

Property Ownership -- The owners must have held title to the property for at last 12 consecutive months before March 15th of the year when the SCHE benefits begin.

For the Senior Citizen Homeowners Exemption Program application, you can download it here.

I hope my posting this information will inform many New Yorkers about the SCRIE, DRIE & SCHE programs and that those who qualify can and will take advantage of City Tax Abatement Credits (TAC) that has been made available to them.

The one thing to remember is that anyone living in the five boroughs can call the City at 311 and inquire about what they qualify for.

Under the Radar

2005-11-10T21:00:00.000-05:00

NewsCopy reports that Assemblymen Pat Manning has been building strong ties with New York State Conservative County Committees and being successful in raising funds.

News Copy has learned that Pat Manning is rapidly closing in on additional endorsements and raising dollars at a frenetic pace, so much so that he could emerge in the near future as THE most-favored Republican candidate.

Manning has clearly emerged as a favorite among upstate County Conservative chairs, who view the 6'11" lawmaker as the freshest alternative to Weld or Golisano.

Pat Manning cannot win the Governorship as a Conservative alone, so it will be important to attract Republican Committees as well.

Republican chairs have been more direct in assessing Manning's chance, saying that it will depend on how much money he raises between now and the first of the year.

He may not be a millionaire but our sources continue to confirm that "the tall one" is raising more money than any other Republican statewide candidate, amazing progress for a little-known Assemblyman from Dutchess County.

In 1964, Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater brought the Conservative movement to the Republican Party and formed a new party that spread throughout the country. In New York, an unlikely State for conservatives, was the strongest Conservative Party coalition of all 50 States. It took sixteen years for a real conservative candidate to win the presidency with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.

In 1990, The New York Republican Party chose a liberal candidate, Pierre Rinfret, for governor to challenge Mario Cuomo. The losing candidate, Herb London, stayed in the race and ran as the Conservative Party candidate for governor and embarrased Pierre Rinfret's candidacy. Republicans did not make the same mistake in 1994 and was sure to get their candidate, George Pataki, on the Conservative Party line. But we're at a crossroads today. It is sixteen years since 1990. Perhaps Pat Manning is to New York, what Ronald Reagan was to the Nation.

To hear what Pat Manning is saying, visit StandTallNewYork.

Thank You

2005-11-09T22:30:00.000-05:00

I'd like to thank all the candidates that ran spirited campaigns for this year's election cycle. There were many good candidates that did not grasp the brass ring, but that doesn't mean we should hang our heads in defeat. The remaining two months of 2005 should be spent analyzing the poll data and the reasons for not picking up any seats for City Hall.

Some positives.

Russell Gallo got home from fighting in Iraq, was elected District Leader, set up a campaign committee and put together a Republican Club for the 47 AD. All this year. Russell pulled in a strong 30.5% in a first time campaign. Congratulations.

Pat Russo, the candidate with the best shot of winning, grabbed 45% of the vote. He had 46% in 2003 and was hoping the Mayor's coattails would push him over the threshold. Apparently, there weren't any. Four years from now, Mr. Gentile will be voted out by term limits. Maybe Mr. Russo will give it a go again. Third times a charm?

Peter Boudouvas took another stab at district 19 and pulled in almost 38% of the vote. District 19 is a winnable district for Republicans so there is definitely hope in 2009 when Mr. Avella cannot seek re-election.

Raquel Walker wanted to run as a Republican, but when she first registered to vote, she decided not to select a party, but did. That's the "Independence" Party con. A friend of mine did the same thing. Ballots are now clearly marked, I choose no party at this time. Ms. Walker ran only as a Conservative and had an uphill battle. But she pulled in a respectable 14% on a third party line. Thank you for the effort and we hope to see you on the Republican line four years from now.

New Yorkers wisely shot down the State Constitutional Amendment. When New Yorkers see Democrats and Republicans agree whole-heartedly on bad policy, then you should vote No. You should vote NO for anything you don't understand. Ballot initiatives always turn up again. If you understand it, then you an decide YES or NO. But if you don't understand it, NEVER vote YES. It is safer to knock something down.

Next year is State elected offices, Congressional seats and one US Senator. Another exciting year in the world of New York politics.

Voting on November 8

2005-11-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

Everything went smoothly and it appears everyone knows what to do at Bachetti Plaza on East 4th Street. The lines were short. Could it be a lot of people aren't going to the polls today? That would be disappointing. After hearing that Iraq had high voter turnout hovering around 65% of registered voters, it would be embarrassing if New Yorkers feel the need to poll a bunch of switches isn't important to them.

Since I finally voted in the past half hour, I guess it is okay to reveal my choices.

Mayor - Thomas Ognibene Conservative Party
Public Advocate - Jay Golub Conservative Party
City Comptroller - William Thompson Democratic Party
Supreme Court 1 - Matthew Grieco Republican Party, Karla Moskowitz Democratic Party, Martin Shulman Democratic Party
Surrogate - Kristin Booth Glen Democratic Party
District Attorney - Robert Morganthau Republican Party
Borough President - Barry Popik Republican Party
Civil Court - Ira Globerman Democratic Party, Tanya Kennedy Democratic Party
Councilmanic 2 - John Carlino Republican Party

My vote for mayor is a vote to let the mayor know he needs to shift right. Whether or not a vote for Ognibene does that is up for debate.
My vote for PA is because I know Jay and felt he would make a better Advocate than Betsy.
I chose Thompson simply because he does a decent job, I voted for him last time, I think he is the best candidate since no one else really campaigned or made an effort to let me know if they would be competent.
My reasons for choosing Moskowitz and Shulman as Democrats and not Republicans is simply because the are Democrats and there's no point in hiding that fact by pulling the Republican lever for them.
Surrogate had no competition so whats the point of leaving it blank?
Morganthau has been a very good DA and I want him to know my vote was for his line as Republican.
Civil Court, simply see Surrogate's answer.
I decided to vote for John instead of Claudia. I would like to see him get some kind of total so here's hoping the mayor's coattails will give him something above 20%.

As for the four Propositions:
I voted NO for the Amendement to the State Constitution
I voted NO for the Transportation Bond Act
I voted YES for the Ethics Code for City Administrative Judges
I voted NO for the Balanced Budget & Other City Fiscal Requirements.

Video Voters' Guide

2005-11-06T18:15:00.000-05:00

If you have Windows Media Player and want to get informed of who the candidates are in your district and borough, please check out the Video Voter Guide for more information.

Since we don't always get a chance to hear the Republican candidates, here are the "Right Leaning" candidates in high-speed connection who participated. If you have 56k dial-up and wish to view these candidates or others, please click the Video Voters' Guide hyperlink above.

Manhattan
Borough President - Barry Popik - Republican, Liberal

Councilmanic District Four - Patrick Murphy - Republican, Independence, Liberal

Councilmanic District Five - Joel Zinberg - Republican, Independence, Liberal

Councilmanic District Six - Josh Yablon - Republican

Councilmanic District Seven - Michael Petelka - Republican

Councilmanic District Nine - Will Brown - Republican

Bronx
Councilmanic District Thirteen - Philip Foglia - Republican, Independence, Conservative

Queens
Borough President - Philip Sica - Republican, Conservative

Councilmanic District Ninteen - Peter Boudouvas - Republican, Independence, Conservative

Councilmanic District Twenty - Raquel Lacomba Walker - Conservative

Kings
Borough President - Ted Alatsas - Republican, Conservative

Councilmanic District Thirty-Five - Anthony Herbert - Republican, Conservative

Councilmanic District Thirty-Nine - Yvette Bennett - Republican, Conservative

Councilmanic District Fourty-One - A. Brinmore Britton - Republican

Councilmanic District Forty-Three - Pat Russo - Republican, Independence, Conservative

Councilmanic District Forty-Five - Salvatore Grupico - Republican, Independence, Conservative

Councilmanic District Forty-Seven - Russell Gallo - Republican, Independence, Conservative

Richmond
Councilmanic District Forty-Nine - Jody Hall - Republican

Councilmanic District Fifty-One - Andrew Lanza - Republican, Independence, Conservative

Voting Recap

2005-11-06T12:05:00.000-05:00

I'm going to point out a few Council races where you do have a choice and hope you consider helping our government balance out between the two parties. For candidate information in the 2005 General Election, please view The Contest List for candidates.

Manhattan
District Two has John Carlino (R,I), Rosie Mendez (D,WF), and Claudia Flanagan (LP). All candidates can claim they can work well with Bloomberg. Rosie is the only one saying she can work with Ferrer. From here on, though, I'll assume Bloomberg is winning, so let's not talk nonsense. John is open to expanding charter schools and a voucher program. I believe if he ran a fully funded campaign, education would've been his No. 1 issue. D2 is all about schools and housing. Claudia was undemocratically knocked off the democratic primary ballot by CoDA, a Dem Club started by Rosie (She claims to have not been involved in CoDA petition challenges). As a Libertarian, she won't win, but she could take protest votes (who are aware of the ballot challenge) away from Rosie. Since no one has really heard of John or Claudia, all Rosie needs to do is run on who has endorsed her and not issues.

District Four has Patrick Murphy (R,I), Dan Garodnick (D,WF), and Jak Jacob Karako (LP). Another district with a Libertarian who won't do much. The real race is Patrick and Dan. The voter ratio between Dem and Rep is the narrowest of all ten Manhattan council districts. Patrick would bring real effective legislating to the council with Bloomberg. Dan would give us another Dem who whines and complains and fights the mayor any chance he gets. I would like to believe residents want to see solutions and will vote for Pat.

District Five has Joel Zinberg (R,I) and Jessica Lappin (D,WF). Joel is not a politician and watching the NY1 debate proved it. I thought he was more polished, but public speaking isn't legislating. Joel wants to save tax payers money by going after medicare fraud. Jessica is a seasoned insider working for Gifford Miller and believing money grows on trees in Albany and Washington D.C. It worries me when a politician wants money for this program and that program without questioning whether government should play a part or the market. Joel has the backing from the mayor.

District Six has Josh Yablon (R) and Gale Brewer (D,WF). If you want tax cuts, cheaper housing, competitive education and government reform, you want Josh. Josh has the experience and drive to bring real republicanism to city government. Gale believes high schoolers and non-citizens should be allowed to vote.

District Nine has Will Brown (R), Inez Dickens (D), Daryl Bloodsaw (I), Woody Henderson (WV) are mixing it up in Harlem. This race would be an exciting one if money was being poured into Brown, Bloodsaw & Henderson's campaigns. When you have a field of four, you can really split votes, but it's likely Dickens, with the support of Mr. Charles Rangel, will easily win. I'm not familiar with Brown's campaign effectiveness, but his year's of experience in the community would be a real asset with a second Bloomberg administration.

...to be continued...

Karma? Coincindence?

2005-10-30T21:50:00.000-05:00

Flippin' through the blog world, I read Kristin Hersh's most recent entry which I thought was cute. It has nothing to do with New York, but because I'm a fan, I think it's worth repeating.

We had a cheap champagne party on the last night of mixing during which Mudrock got a phone call from a Boston friend who asked him what he was working on. He told him, "50FootWave, Kristin Hersh's new band," to which the other-end-of-the-phone-guy says, "Oh yeah? My friend's recording Kristin Hersh's son's band in Boston today." Mudrock reaches the end of the conversation, looks at me and says, "Do you have another son? I mean other than the 3 that are here?" I nod and he says, spookily, "I know where he is."

Turns out Dylan's band, Happy Birthday L.A., was making their record in Boston at the very same time his dear ol' mom's creaky old band was churning out their's on the opposite coast. And Happy Birthday L.A. makes 50FootWave sound like a Juicy Fruit commercial. Grown up babies all doin' their thing and whatnot. How genuinely weird.

I'll be very curious to hear Dylan Hersh Going's music. If anyone happens to know a website of theirs or have a sample of their music, I'd love to give it a listen.

Democracy can work

2005-10-28T02:40:00.000-04:00

From the blog, Iraq The Model we read about the evolving process of democracy in Iraq. I know that many liberals (and there are paleo-conservatives too) that Iraqis are not the uncivilized barbarians they believed them to be. Yes, it appears that for the most part, the country does understand the workings of political parties and the freedom to express their opinions by forming voting blocks with a majority and an opposition.

With all the ups and downs that appear to happen in Iraq and Afghanistan, Middle East societies understand the importance of individual liberties. Here's hoping future successes will strengthen the security of these countries and bring our men and women home when the time is right.

State News

2005-10-24T21:45:00.000-04:00

I'm updating my sidebar with NewsCopy, a site that does a very good job keeping tabs on gubernatorial and senatorial rumbling across New York State.

The wordsmithie is staying on top of big names like William Weld, Pat Manning, Tom Golisano, Eliot Spitzer, Thomas Suozzi, John Faso, Randy Daniels, Jeanine Pirro, John Spencer and even some names you don't always hear about.

Stop by NewsCopy and catch up on State affairs.

Republicans Debating Issues

2005-10-24T17:35:00.000-04:00

The Gotham Gazette has transcripts for two debates that occurred on October 18.
The first debate was for Council District 5, between Dr. Joel Zinberg (Republican) and Jessica Lappin (Democrat). The transcript for the debate can be found here (CD5).

A Zinberg answer highlighted:

How would you manage health care in New York City?
Joel Zinberg: The problem of health care in New York is kind of a microcosm of the country. I think a good example of misguided attempts by the current City Council is the Health Reform Act they recently passed by overriding the mayor's veto. And this was termed by an editorial in the New York Times as such chop a block solution for local governments of what is indeed a national problem.

The council decided they were going to require... they start off with a very broad idea then they finally narrowed it down to large grocery stores and... they were going to require them to provide health care. I submit, and I think the Times agrees, that, number one, it's probably pre-empted by federal legislation. Number two, it's just a bad idea. A single locality cannot mandate something, then it puts itself at a tremendous disadvantage.

What we need to do in health care is we need to be innovative, we need to, for example, my idea for reforming Medicaid utilizing our resources so that we can save that $500 million and then actually use the $500 million for things like hiring more teachers, for firefighters or police, or, heaven forbid, letting people actually get health care with that $500 million rather than throwing it out the window. I think you also have to look seriously in involving the community in breast cancer screenings. I have done— I didn't just arrange for breast cancer screenings, I was there, I performed it as a public service, and I've done it for ten years. I ran the breast clinic at the city hospital. I was trauma surgeon at a city hospital. I know about disaster planning. This is something you need someone with real-world experience to approach.

The second debate was for Council District 4, between Patrick Murphy (Republican), Dan Garodnick (Democrat) & Jak Jacob Karako (Libertarian). The transcript can be found here (CD4).

A Murphy answer highlighted:

How do you propose the city address the projected deficit in the city’s 2007 and 2008 budgets? Are there new revenue streams you would propose? Are their specific inefficiencies or wasteful programs that you would seek to eliminate?
Patrick Murphy: This is clearly the most pressing issue that we will be facing in this city. I have spent a lot of time on this issue and looking through some of the recommendations. I think the Citizens Budget Commission, which is truly a non-partisan organization, has the right road map. We are looking at a $3 to $5 billion deficit in the out years. It could be more if have a little blip on Wall Street or in real estate; then we are in even more trouble.

Here is the issue: Budget growth is coming in four areas - current benefits to city employees, pensions, state-mandated Medicaid benefits, and debt, which continues to rise. Debt has gone up $10 billion in the last five years.

Here is what have to do: All of the things that have happened in the private sector in the last 20 years haven’t happened in the city sector. We have got to start moving from a defined benefit program to a defined contribution, 401K. Twenty-two percent of city employees will be new by that time, so we can do that without changing our promises to current employees. We have to start asking employees to pay for health benefits. That has been a challenge in the private sector, but people have done it. That would be a billion dollars right there. My road map is the Citizens Budget Commission’s. This is going to be a very difficult budget.

My advice to those voting this year. If you're independent minded and may vote for a Republican mayor, but balance it by voting Democrat for Council, just remember the City Council is 48 Democrat to 3 Republican. This imbalance in the Council gives more power to the Democrats when it comes to passing legislation. If the Democrats wish to pass legislation that you disagree with, if the Mayor vetoes it, it'll go back to the Council where only 36 "yes" votes are needed for a veto override. Electing a Republican in your district does more to the whole body of government. It'll create a stronger opposition voice who can form a coalition with moderate democrats to prevent liberalism running amok! Most registered Democrats in New York are moderate and not on the far left. Most Republicans are moderate to slightly on the right, without being right-wing extremists. Of the 51 seats, there are 32 seats with Republican candidates. The Council races that would have effective Republicans are districts 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 13, 19, 20, 35, 38, 39, 43, & 46. That's just 13 seats added to the 3 we already have. That would make the Council what it should be in New York City. 35 Democrat and 16 Republican. It will still be a Democratic controlled Council with enough Republicans to make a difference. It's not expected that all will be won by Republicans, but if five or six can be added to the 3 givens, it's a start for real bi-partisan government.

"Affordable" Housing Report

2005-10-22T19:40:00.000-04:00

Report on "Affordable" Housing:

Affordable housing production in New York is failing to meet demand, according to a report [released by] the city's public advocate, Betsy Gotbaum. The study blames the reduction in city and state funding and a restructuring of programs to address very specific objectives, localities, and demograaphics. Without current revenue to create new affordable housing, the report recommends low-interest loans and tax breaks to jump-start construction.

Sadly, we live in New York City, a regulated town, which does not help with the construction of "affordable" housing. At one time, government used to create public housing for low-income families, but now government has expanded to middle-income families. The artificial price fixing for housing is expanding the need for government involvement. Regulations and high taxes inflate the market for middle-income renters and creates a difficult task for many young professionals to find housing at an affordable range.

The State and City needs to step aside for a moment, remove the barriers for creating new housing, while lowering the taxes for builders and owners, so the market can deflate to an affordable level. Government can then go back to focusing on temporary housing for low-income familes that need help.

***UPDATE***
[Oct 24, 2005]
Today's New York Post makes the same point I make in their editorial pages.

New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, after a year and a half of study, has determined that "affordable housing" in the city is "not meeting demand."

Thanks, ma'am. We never would have guessed.

So, how to fix things? Maybe encourage development by rescinding Mayor Mike's record property-tax increase? Reduce regulation?

At the presser, Gotbaum said: "Now more than ever, it is crucial that lawmakers, developers, advocates and academics have a common reference point, an objective resource for understanding the cause-and-effect relationship between government policy and affordable housing development."

Yes, yes and yes!

So . . . what're the nuts and bolts? Unfortunately, here's where Gotbaum's report falls short.

One proposal is to increase the Real Property Transfer Tax to subsidize another 80,000 housing units annually. Currently, this tax is "only" 1.5 percent max. Never mind that homeowners have paid taxes on their properties from the get-go — increasing the costs of selling real estate will only reduce housing-market mobility (buying and selling).

Another idea is to increase the fee for building permits to finance the rehabilitation of the city's deteriorated housing stock. Of course, these incremental-cost increases are inevitably shouldered by consumers.

While, yes, those who win the lottery for newly minted "affordable housing" units will be sitting pretty, what about the rest of New York?

One way Gotbaum could help is by brushing up on the basics of supply and demand.

To reduce housing costs, you need to increase supply. To boost supply, you need to reduce taxes, regulation and other barriers that make building expensive.

As long as the city has artificially inexpensive housing, it's going to be in short supply. This latest proposal is really just another lame attempt to fix a problem that the city created in the first place.

Will they ever learn?
Probably not.

Say No to Proposition Number One

2005-10-18T20:50:00.000-04:00

This year's ballot in New York will have two Propositions. Both, in my opinion, should be voted down. Proposition Number One is a power grab by the legislature and it will only make the New York budgeting process worse. It's not that we don't need reform in how New York drafts and writes its budget, but Proposition Number One is not the way to do it.

If you are looking for interesting reads on Proposition Number One,

Stand Tall New York has:
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
and then some entries on how ill-advised this Proposition Number One is.

George Pataki, Eliot Spitzer, Hugh Carey, Ed Koch, Pat Manning and many others are afraid of what would happen if Sen. Joseph Bruno and Ass. Sheldon Silver were to increase their power in the State budgetary process. You should too.

***UPDATE***
Blogger journalist, Wordsmithie has also been covering NY's Proposition Number One (or Prop 1), and he notes that Pat Manning is the only person dubbing the proposed amendment as the Runnaway Spending Amendment. Well, it is. So we should say "No" to Proposition Number One (aka Runaway Spending Amendement).

Gotta love how some people think.

2005-10-18T20:30:00.000-04:00

James Taranto is great with news stories that aren't always phrased the best way.

If You Must Do It, Do It Right
The Associated Press brings us this curious report from Hackensack, N.J.:

A Bergen County grand jury has handed down a 20-count indictment against an area gym teacher, accused of sexually assaulting nine underage girls.

Jose Cruz, 44, was indicted Friday on charges that he improperly fondled the girls on various occasions between January and March.

Is there a proper way for a teacher to fondle underage girls?

A New Independent Force

2005-10-16T13:30:00.000-04:00

In New York, The Republican State Committee believes the Party is best served when they select a candidate that can run a strong and fruitful campaign to go up against a Democratic opponent. To them apparently, registered republicans in the State do not know which candidates would serve the State best and that we should trust the decisions of the committee.

Yesterday, the New York Post expressed disappointment in two matters: one, that Governor Pataki threw his support behind US Senate candidate, Jeanine Pirro, and two, strong US Senate candidate, Ed Cox opted to drop out immediately after the endorsement. This is very disconcerting, because even though the governor may be the current leader of the New York State Party, he will only be the leader for another fourteen months. When the Senate election is decided, Governor Pataki will be a private citizen. The Post somes up the GOP under Mr. Pataki simply

Fact is, the GOP — read: Pataki — has failed to cultivate new and exciting candidates. On the contrary: George Pataki's GOP has gone out of its way to push aside any potential candidates not personally selected by the governor's "in" crowd.

Since Pataki took office in 1995, there hasn't been a single GOP primary for statewide office.

In a way, the Pataki Party has discouraged alternative Republican voices outside anyone who doesn't ride his coattails. The last candidate to show he is outside the Governor's circle was fortunate to win his election the year before. Mayor Giuliani.

On the County level, we see the Republican Party doing much of the same. County Committees look for one candidate to run for a particular seat and discourage competition. Though from a financial standpoint, this makes some sense, if there is a chance of a primary, County Committees should really give it their blessing and wait for the stronger candidate to prepare for the real challenge against the Democratic candidate in the general election

One problem we see is the lack of leadership within County Committees. Recently, the Queens County Committee had a major upheavel that they tried desperately to keep under control. They were successful, but the battle scars were exposed. We also learn that the QRCC also chose not to throw support behind a young energetic candidate in Raquel Lacomba Walker. Ms. Lacomba Walker could be faulted for not petitioning for the Republican line regardless of County support, but it would've been in the best interest of the Party to back anyone who decides to run in a district where no other Republican candidate is put forth.

Unlike the QRCC, the New York Republican County Committee's ultimate goal was to field candidates in all ten Manhattan districts and was successful in fielding six. This is a good sign as they didn't shut out an opportunity to represent the Party on the ballot. However, the NYRCC did discourage having two potential primaries in two of the six council districts.

I think it is time for an alternative source to support candidates and organize a grassroots organization behind candidates who don't get support from their County Committees. Of course, every candidate should first go to their County Committee to seek support for help and direction through their respective District Leaders. But if that fails, a back-up plan is needed.

The alternative should be the Urban Republican Coalition. If the URC can build a strong organization, it can be the fallback alternative to Republican candidates wishing to run for local office. If a Raquel Lacomba Walker wishes to run and is told not to or not given any support, the URC can help the candidate petition for ballot status independently. If the candidate is backed by a County Committee but not given the resources to be competitive, the URC can help the candidate get his or her message out. If a candidate is turned away from running, because another candidate was selected as the better choice, if he or she is determined to run until the very end, the URC can work to bring about a Republican Primary, which would bring media attention and competition to a moribund local race.

Here's hoping the Urban Republican Coalition will eventually become that alternative to defending independent and reform-minded candidates wishing to run for office who are shut out of the process by the party organizations.

If I was George Steinbrenner

2005-10-13T03:30:00.000-04:00

Now that the New York Yankee season is over, it's time to look at what they have and what they can get rid of. In a sense, the team should be blown up where possible and rebuilt. It's not as if George doesn't spend money, so dumping what you can and getting something in return, then signing some Free Agents isn't out of the question.

Here's what I'd do:
Operations and Coaching Staff
1. If Brian Cashman wants to leave, then let him go. Another GM willing to work with the Boss should be brought in and take a new approach to the team.
2. If Joe Torre wishes to stay, he will need to reassemble a coaching staff. Stottlemeyer is gone. Joe Girardi is likely going to be hired as a manager in Florida.
3. Mazzilli can certainly be brought back as bench coach or Don Mattingly can be promoted to bench coach and Mazzilli can be Third base coach.
4. Louis Sojo can be moved to First base, which could leave Roy White the odd man out.
5. I would defintely hire Chili Davis as hitting instructor. A former switch hitter, he would have a better approach to both left and right hitters.
6. Ron Guidry could be used as pitching coach, unless there is a more experienced one available.

Pitching
Trade or do not resign the following: Mike Mussina, Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, Scott Proctor and Alan Embree.
The team is stuck with Randy Johnson, so there's nothing you can do with him. I'd hold onto Aaron Smalls, Shawn Chacon, Chin-Ming Wang, Tom Gordon, Mariano Rivera (of course), Tanyon Sturtze and Carl Pavano. Jaret Wright may not be movable, but if he is, I'd move him. I'd also try to bring in a young lefty starter or long reliever. Scott Kazmir, Ted Lilly or Glendon Rush. Any trades should be for replenishing the Farm.

With the impressive performances from Wang, Chacon and Smalls, and by trading Mussina, the Yankees have five starters behind Randy Johnson. If there's a chance to sign Jarrod Washburn, then certainly a Wang, Smalls and Chacon can be traded, but for the most part, I'd focus on pitchers 6-10 that fill in the bridge from starter to Rivera. I'd also start looking for a future closer now rather than later. Rivera has one, maybe two exceptional years left and a young lightening arm needs to be brought in and develop into a premier closer for the Bronx team.

Hitting
Trade, Release or do not resign the following: Gary Sheffield, Bubba Crosby, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Tony Womack, Ruben Sierra, Hideki Matsui, John Flaherty, Matt Lawton and Rey Sanchez.
Keep (some reluctantly because of untradable contracts) the following: Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada, Mark Bellhorn and Andy Phillips.

The Yankees need to clear themselves of their DH problem. Sheffield is a soon-to-be full-time DH. Ruben Sierra already is. Jason Giambi is expected to be the full-time DH next year maybe filling in at first on occasion. Womack, Lawton and Sanchez need to be replaced with better defensive players who are ten years younger. I know I say let Bernie go, but I would. I am open to resigning him as a part-time outfielder, part-time DH (for the rightside of the plate), but that offer wouldn't come until the rest of the roster spots are filled. The team needs to be younger and also another team may sign him up before you extend a one year contract to retain him. Letting Williams go to another team may be the only thing to rebuilding this team.

As for Matsui, I was for trading him mid-season for someone and perhaps try to resign him during the off-season. But now that his contract is up, I think the team needs a better defensive fielder. Matsui can hit, but his fielding is poor. I'd go for Mike Cameron for center field and try to fill the corner positions with high average hitters. Cameron can hit home runs and is great defensively, but you need to get a good outfielder who can draw walks, have minimal strikeouts and a high On Base Percentage.

The Yankees also have to steer away from the home run hitter. They still will have Rodriguez and Giambi. Posada is always dependable for a good dozen dingers along with Jeter and Cano. If they pick up Mike Cameron, he has the potential of 30+ round-trippers. A low strike-out/high BA player for back-up catcher, First Base and the corner outfield positions is key to future success. The team also needs some small-ball players. Players that can bunt for singles, steal bases, wrech havoc on the base path. Jeter is one of the only members of the 25 man roster that still thinks small ball in key situations. Your one-two and nine hitters need to be about getting on base and moving over on sac flys, bunts or singles.

If George Steinbrenner looks back at his team from 96-00 and looks at his team from 01-05, he'll see he didn't have a team made up of superstars. It was young players, trusty (and crusty) veterans and moderately priced stars. Girardi, Leyritz, O'Neil, Brosius, Knoblauch, Davis and Boggs were solid players that weren't looking for the big contract. They wanted to win as a team. At the time, the big pricetag players were Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter. But they came up through the Farm and had proven they were winners. As soon as George started throwing money around to Mussina, Sheffield, Giambi, Vazquez, Brown, and Rodriguez (or I can say as soon as New Yorkers voted in Cubs fan, Hillary Clinton), the Yankees can't seem to win again.

Here's hoping Mr. Steinbrenner has someone cross my blog and read my thoughts on bringing back a winning team.

Statewide Maneuverings

2005-10-08T14:00:00.000-04:00

In 2004, talk of Sen. Schumer running for governor concerned democrats of a bloody battle between the Senator and Attorney General, which could have turned New Yorkers off on both candidates. Sen. Schumer decided to announce he intends on remaining as New York's senior Senator, which allowed Mr. Spitzer to take the headlines as the Democratic candidate to beat (though Nassau County Exec. Thos. Suozzi is strongly considering a now-or-never run for personal gain and to make it interesting).

The media was waiting to hear from Gov. George Pataki and if he intended to run a fourth term. The general concensus was if Mr. Pataki ran, he would lose miserably. It was also said that there were no candidates waiting in the wings to succeed Pataki and that the 2006 elections will be the major blow for the New York Republican Party.

The NY GOP proved the media wrong when rumblings from republicans throughout the State began to make ink. The US Senate race already had four unofficial candidates. Congressman and State legislators began dropping hints of statewide office interest. As soon as Gov. Pataki announced he did not wish to seek a fourth term, we started to see placement in two of the four statewide seats.

Interest from Cox, Spencer, Brecht, Brennan, Daniels, Pirro, Sweeney, Meiers, Manning, Weld, Golisano, Lazio, Faso and Balboni all seems to make me believe the New York Republican Party does have names to throw into the statewide mix.

But as we begin to see the men and women fall into their place, I'm becoming a bit concerned about the candidates that may seem to be carpetbaggers or illegitimate for the Party. If the best Republicans can do is select candidates that haven't paid their dues for New York, then it won't matter how much money is raised or spent on campaigning. You can't paint over rust. Rust will continue to grow if not treated. We're seeing that already with our mayoral selection who, if he wins, won't provide us with a future candidate in 2009.

The NY GOP needs to build within and not from the outside. If an outside candidate is facing off with a member who has paid his dues, then a Primary is necessary. We need to see if the registered voters feel comfortable with a candidate who is either from another State or was registered with another party up until October 15, 2005. It's a big concern for me. We have a two party system which needs to see two sets of ideas. If the Republican candidate for Senate or Governor sounds too close to the Democrat, then I'm going to have to assume republicanism has disappeared from the North where it was born.

Council Endorsements for Election Day

2005-09-23T17:30:00.000-04:00

City Council Endorsements

District Two
Daniel Peterson (Conservative) of course, but if I'm not on the ballot (which is likely), Claudia Flannagan (Libertarian). It would be great to see John Carlino (R, I) beat Rosie Mendez (D, WF), but I have not heard much from him since early June when petitioning began when I told him I planned on forcing a Republican Primary. After failing to gather enough Republican petitions, I was unable to force a Primary. And when I learned I won't be on as the Conservative candidate, I reached out to John to help on his campaign. I have not heard from him. John has been MIA and not fundraising, so I don't know if I can vote for him. He sounded like a serious candidate, but unless he intends on doing a last minute push, I don't see him winning. I've met Ms. Flannagan at the Grand Street News sponsered debate. She seems very bright and the only Democrats praising the work of Mayor Bloomberg. If this election will be a cake-walk for Ms. Mendez, I plan to vote for one of the candidates she undemocratically challenged and forced out of the Democratic Primary.

District Four
Jak Jacob Karako (Libertarian) is my pick for District Four. I don't live in the district, so not voting there can work in Patrick Murphy's (R, I) favor. Mr. Karako is the only candidate talking about fiscal responsibility and repealing the 18.5% Real Estate Tax increasae of two year's ago. For a Democrat (he lost in the primary), his campaign is to the right of Patrick Murphy's. I have met and talked to five of the six Republican candidates running for city council in Manhattan. Murphy is the one who I haven't met. I do expect to run into him before election day, but at the moment, I am not comfortable endorsing him. Hopefully he can wow me. Until then, Mr. Karako is my choice.

District Five
Joel Zinberg (Republican, Independence) is someone I can support, because I've heard him speak and I've heard him address the issues for his district and for all of Manhattan. His opponent is Jessica Lappin (D, WF) and from what I've heard, Ms. Lappin has no conscience about whose money she takes for little government pet projects. I read in the Our Town weekly how she believes money grows on trees up in Albany. Someone needs to explain to her that the money used in government is from tax payers and I hope that someone is Dr. Joel Zinberg. A debate between the two of them would be entertaining, but I've heard she isn't much of a debater. She'll likely avoid any debate in the hopes that she can cake-walk into City Hall.

District Six
Josh Yablon (Republican) is the most conservative Republican candidate of the six in Manhattan and it is unfortunate he did not seek the Conservative Party line in time for this year's election. Perhaps it's a strategic thing, since the Upper West Side is known for being very Liberal. His opponent is councilwoman Gale Brewer (D, WF) and it's going to be a touch race, since he faces an incumbent. Mr. Yablon would be the perfect voice from the right in City Hall and if Patrick Murphy and Joel Zinberg win their races along with Josh, he would definitely form a strong voting block on fiscal responsibility. Josh is also someone who knows how to argue the housing issue and how the same old, same old hasn't been working, so why keep doing it. I honestly think having Mayor Bloomberg and conservative challenger, Tom Ognibene will help draw many conservatives and republicans out to the polls, which will be great for Josh. But will it be enough?

District Seven
Michael Petelka (Republican) unfortunately does not have a website where you can go and get a good feel for his campaign, but he was quoted in The Crimson on one of his democratic opponents, Victor Bernace (D), hoping Bernace would win making the race easier for him, since Robert Jackson (D, WF) is an incumbent. Mr. Petelka has been active in his community for many years and he's well traveled. I met him at a fundraiser and learned he would use his experience from his travels on how to represent here. I'm not sure how his campaign has been going over the last few weeks since I've seen him, but here's hoping he receives respectable poll numbers.

District Nine
Will Brown, Jr. has run for Council in the past and is running again this year and would make for a great city councilor representing Harlem and Morningside Heights. His opponent is Inez Dickens (D, WF) who has the support of David Dinkins and Charles Rangel, but in debates and public appearances, Will Brown has held his own in stressing the importance of Republican values. If his campaign does anything, it will help build and grow the Harlem Republican Club. Will Brown has worked tirelessly to build the Republican Party in northern Manhattan and has done so with great success.

District Thirteen
Phil Foglia (Republican, Independence, Conservative) will make a great City Councilor for the Bronx. While there are other Republicans running in the Bronx, district thirteen has a large conservative democrat & republican community. Mr. Foglia's opponent is James Vacca (D). Mr. Foglia has picked up endorsements from Mayor Bloomberg, former Mayor Giuliani, former Bronx Borough President Herman Badillo and current councilwoman Madeline Provenzano (D,C), it is looking good for the first Republican to win a seat in the Bronx in nearly a century.

District Twenty-Five
Masud Rahman (Republican) looks to be a great candidate for Queens and I'm under the impression he's getting County support. He faces the incumbent, Helen Sears (D, WF) and Rodolfo Flores (I), who has a hilarious website. Mr. Rahman may benefit from having many expected Ognibene protest votes as well as registered Republicans intending on re-electing Mayor Bloomberg.

District Thirty-Five
Anthony Herbert (Republican, Conservative) won't win district thirty-five, but he has become a true reformer republican in politics. He is sticking to his guns and running an urban republican campaign against incumbent, Letitia James (D, WF). Mr. Herbert has not changed his website from his Senate campaign from last year, but his political platform is the same and he would make a great addition in the city council as a Brooklyn representitive.

District Thirty-Eight
Vivian Vazquez-Hernandez (Republican, Conservative, Independence) is someone I had the priveledge to meet after a Republican Club meeting and she is definitely a strong minded Republican candidate. I endorse her for district thirty-eight and I hope she puts up a good fight and wins.

District Thirty-Nine
Yvette Velázquez Bennett (Republican, Conservative) is running in a very difficult district, since the area has had many young liberal minded twenty-somethings move in. Fortunately, there is still a decent number of long time Brownstone residents and many republicans who are members of the Brownstone Republican Club. I'm not sure if her chances are the same as Vazquez-Hernandez, but here's hoping they are.

District Forty-Two
John Whitehead (Republican, Conservative) is running against Charles Barron (D, WF). I don't think there really is any reason for me to explain why I endorse John Whitehead other than he is running against Charles Barron and he's running as a Republican and Conservative.

District Forty-Three
Pat Russo (Republican, Conservative, Independence) will win the seat for the forty-third district. He will win and I fully support him. If a republican can win 46% of the total vote in 2003, when there is no city-wide ticket candidate like the mayor, then he can certainly win when he has the mayor as a running-mate. The incumbent, Vincent Gentile, is facing criticism for sexual harrassment (charges were dropped) and his credibility has declined severely in the area. If Republicans are to add only a fourth seat to the three we hold now, this is the seat. But it can only happen if district forty-three republicans and conservatives go to the polls.

District Forty-Seven
Russell Gallo (Republican, Conservative, Independence) I met on the same night I met Vivian Vazquez-Hernandez. Mr. Gallo is a good man, a good American, a soldier and a man of integrity. If you live on Coney Island, Seagate or Brighton Beach, vote for Mr. Gallo.

I endorse our three Republican Incumbents: Dennis Gallagher, James Oddo and Andrew Lanza.

My Endorsements will be posted soon.

2005-09-19T22:00:00.000-04:00

As you are aware, I made my "selections" for the Democratic Primary and clearly, the Democrats don't think the way I do. I will be making my endorsements for the upcoming election, but I'm going to hold off for a little bit. If any candidate wishes to seek my endorsement, they are more than welcome to email me or drop me a line. That sounds funny. Who the heck am I?

Seriously, though, these pages can be found if you do a blogsearch.google.com. I want to throw my endorsements out early enough, but right now, if I went through every seat, I'd be at my computer for hours. If I have the time later, I'll do it. Otherwise, don't expect to see it in the next couple days.

CMJ Festival

2005-09-17T18:40:00.000-04:00

This weekend was the annual CMJ Music Festival where indie bands and unsigned bands are showcased in venues throughout the Metropolitan area.

On Saturday, I went to see the Dressy Bessy show at Mercury Lounge.

I showed up at around 7:30, just in time for Apollo Sunshine.
They kind of reminded me of a Pavement meets Ween meets Brian Jonestown Massacre. They were all musically talented and very good at their craft. Check them out.

At 8:30, Dressy Bessy went on and they were their typical poppy self.
I think the best way to describe them is they are the lighter-poppy side of the Breeders. So if you're a Breeders fan and want to go girl power angst, you listen to Sleater-Kinney. If you like the Breeders and want girl power pop, you go Dressy Bessy.
The three men in the band, lead guitar, bass & drums, all wore collared red polos. The three guitar players, lead, rhythm, bass, all played dark sunburst jaguars. The uniformness of their appearance had an added appreciation to their sound.

It was an early night for me. I didn't stay for the next band, which I heard lots of things about. I did buy a few of the Dressy Bessy discs I don't have, because they're hard to find in the local shops.

If you are looking for a more eclectic sound, try Dynasty. If Siouxsie were to join Nine Inch Nails, you'd have Dynasty.

Good News compilation from Middle East

2005-09-13T09:08:00.000-04:00

Blogger, Arthur Chrenkoff has retired from blogging after getting a new job that will prevent him from reporting international events with his own flare and also his impartial compilation of Good News from Iraq & Afghanistan. For 18 months, he has enjoyed over 3 million hits to his site and provided a great service to everyone wishing to escape the traditional "Bad News is News, Good News is No News" media reporting.

If your only source of news on the Middle East has been the New York Times or local media outlets, you should check out The Good News page for a different perspective. An impartial compilation of good news reported by AP, Reuters, BBC and various international news engines should help you understand that reform in the middle east is happening and that the rhetoric of politicians saying it's a quagmire doesn't hold weight.

Democratic Primary Recommendations

2005-09-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

It may seem weird that I'm posting recommendations on democrats for office, but since this is a democratic town, I feel the need to express my opinion on which democrats I favor if they were to win this year's election.

How did I come to my choices? Am I choosing the most liberal candidate to go against the Republican candidate so there's a chance the Republican can win? Or am I picking a moderate-to-progressive candidate in the hopes that they represent all New Yorkers? The latter is how I am going to approach this. Elections need to be good fights and if the Republican challenger isn't cut out to be an elected official, it'll be better to have a Democrat who does.

***UPDATE: How I did with my picks***

City Council Races
District Two. Mike Beys - 7% of the vote total
There are a lot of candidates to choose from in this district and I certainly know who I don't want to see win the Primary. My choice is Mike Beys. His chance of beating out frontrunners in Brian Kavanagh, Rosie Mendez, Gur Tsabar and even beating out Darren Bloch may not look good, but Mr. Beys can definitely be an effective councilor for the community. He's out on the street reaching out to the people and if a Democrat is to win, Mr. Beys is my choice.

District Four. Jak Jakob Karako - 9% of the vote total
The democrat that is easiest for me to throw my support behind is the one for District Four. Mr. Karako is fighting for fiscal responsibility. He's the only democrat talking about fiscal discipline when all the spend-thrift candidates are saying New York isn't getting its fair-share of money. Our budget is over $50 billion, don't tell me we need more money. All this money comes from our wallets and Mr. Karako seems to be the only candidate who knows this. The man has a degree in economics, so if you want someone who can honestly do more with less, then Jak Jakob Karako is the man for the job. He's also seeking the Libertarian line, so even if he loses the Primary (which is likely), he will appear on the November ballot.

District Five. Dan Quart - 27% of the vote total
The Upper East Side is a race where a Republican candidate could conceivably win and here's hoping one does, but if it comes to having a Democrat, I have to choose Dan Quart. The other front runner is Jessica Lappin and she is not cut out to be a City Councilor. Mr. Quart comes off as someone who knows the role of councilor and knows its limitations. Ms Lappin thinks everything wrong in New York is Republicans fault. As if the 3 Republican councilors have dominance over the 48 Democrats. As if a longtime Democrat who switched parties so he can be mayor is a real Republican. As if our State officials that represent New York City isn't dominated by Democrats 85 to 6. Ms. Lappin says she'll fight for money due us from Albany as if money grows on trees up there. Fall folliage is about to turn, Jessica, get your bucket to collect those leaves, because downtown is not where you should be.

District Nine. William A. Allen - 5% of the vote total
For the Harlem-Morningside Heights district, William Allen seems to be a candidate I can throw my support behind. He seems honest and sincere with his desire to improve the community in an effective way. Many of the Democrats in district nine appear to be activists and will probably serve the communities best remaining as activists. It's one thing to get face time in front of a camera to complain about issues, but it is another thing to actually work towards improving your neighborhood in City Hall. I believe Mr. Allen can be a leader in City Hall rather than simply using his seat as a bully pulpit on the steps.

District Thirteen. Stephen Kaufman - 26% of the vote total
Stephen Kaufman is a former Assemblymen and Councilor for Pelham-Throgs Neck part of Bronx. He has the support of the current councilor Madeline Provenzano and the endorsement by the Conservative Party. Though I will eventually throw my support behind the Republican candidate for this district, if the Democrats reclaim this seat, Mr. Kaufman is certainly the best alternative.

District Twenty-Four. Dilip Nath - 10% of the vote total
If I see an incumbent supported by the Working Families Party, I will not throw my support behind him or her. Whether or not Mr. Nath would eventually seek the WFP endorsement four years from now if he wins is another issue. Looking at Mr. Nath's website and reading up on his positions on issues, he appears to be a candidate that will reach out to the people in his district and work towards making it a better place for those who live there.

District Twenty-Eight. Clifton Stanley Diaz - Not on the ballot
"Clifton Stanley Diaz is employed with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority/New York City Transit. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he is also a security consultant and was a former U.S. Police Officer. Diaz formerly served as the president of the Rochdale Village Board of Directors and is the president and founder of the Rochdale Village Civic Association. He has served as a page boy in the New York City Council and as a intern in the office of City Council President Paul O'Dwyer. Diaz was also a member, treasurer and president of community school board 28 and was a member of community board 12."
As quoted from Gotham Gazette, Mr. Diaz gets my vote. With a resume like this, who better to knock off Allan Jennings in the Democratic Primary?

District Forty-Two. John Whitehead - 15% of the vote total
John Whitehead is challenging Mr.. Charles Barron for the seat in the Democratic Primary. Fortunately, if he loses, he'll still be on the ballot in November challenging Mr. Barron as the Republican-Conservative candidate. For the Primary and the General, I fully support Mr. Whitehead and hope he wins the votes of the Brownville-East New York district for one of the elections.

Manhattan Borough President Race - 9% of the vote total
Adriano Espaillat would be a nice candidate for MBP. There is a large field to choose from on the Democratic side, but I have too many concerns with most of the candidates. Mr. Espaillat's record in the Assembly gives me the opinion that he can do a respectable job as Borough President. The MBP race will probably be the most interesting, since the candidates are regionalized and will likely win the majority in their own districts that they represent, whether it's as a current city councilor or assembly person. It'll be most interesting to see who gets the largest percent on primary day.

Public Advocate - 5% of the vote total
The office of Public Advocate is a pointless office, regardless of who feels it isn't. There is no responsibility designated for the Public Advocate that cannot be issued to the Borough President. During a debate on NY1, candidate Norman Siegel said he'd open offices in all five boroughs. Well, guess what? There is an advocate in each of the five boroughs and they are called Presidents. The office is really a waist of tax-payers money. But to pick a candidate, I will throw my support behind Jay Golub. With a liberal town such as New York with 48 of 51 Democrats in the coucil and a mayor who positions himself as a very liberal independent with a Republican label, Mr. Golub (who will be on the November ballot as the Conservative Party candidate) is certainly the candidate to keep our city government on a moderate and centrist position so that all New Yorkers, even the very conservative ones, can be represented.

Mayor of New York City - 29% of the vote total
I honestly do not foresee Mayor Bloomberg losing his re-election this year, but if one of the leading Democrats is to win the Primary and possibly win election, my choice would be Anthony Weiner. I'm sure moderate Republicans or conservative Democrats would agree that, along with Jay Golub, Mr. Weiner is a Democrat that can best represent all New Yorkers in a fair and balanced way. Mr Ferrer simply doesn't understand the economics of taxes and thinks the more he taxes, the better he can unite the city. Ms. Fields' campaign has not had any momentum and given New Yorkers a reason to support her and Mr. Miller is too much of a wheeling-and-dealing politician. He also needs to study more on what works. Class size? Small classes doesn't necessarily improve learning. This myth was disspelled a few years ago. Apparently Mr. Miller didn't get the memo. And if he's so concerned about class size, he should support vouchers so that poor kids have the educational opportunity that his kids will have. Mr. Weiner has well thought out ideas and even though i don't agree with every position he takes, I certainly feel he can be a very effective leader for New Yorkers.

-------------------------------------------
None of my picks won their seat. I am not surprised.

Council District 2 Update! Vote AGAINST Rosie Mendez!

2005-08-14T13:25:00.000-04:00

As a resident of District 2 and a City Council Candidate, I feel it is important to point out some of the schinanigans on the Democrats side. Remember, most of the residents in D2 are Democrats, the party they believe is the democratic party, the better party. The party of freedom and choice. Well, apparently, that is not the case.

The 13 candidates battling for the seat: Michael Beys, Darren Bloch, Joan Brightharp, John Carlino, Manuel S. Cavaco, Claudia Flannagan, Brian Kavanagh, Michael Lopez, Mildred Martinez, Rosie Mendez, Christopher Papajohn, Daniel Peterson, Gur Tsabar

The first to announce candidacy was Councilor Margarita Lopez' Chief of Staff, Rosie Mendez. It's very normal for someone who is part of the current councilor's team to succeed a seat and it was first reported in The Villager.

The second to announce a run was Brian Kavanagh, a former chief of Staff for Councilor Gale Brewer. His announcement was also reported in The Villager.

Slowly, more residents threw their hat in the ring. The wonderful neighborhood minister, Rev. Joan Brightharp (no website) and aide to Council Speaker Gifford Miller, Gur Tsabar, who began to issue Op-Ed Press Releases to promote his candidacy.

Then, the list of candidates began to expand in the Spring of 2005. Darren Bloch jumped into the District 2 race and immediately picked up an endorsement from former Council Speaker, Peter Vallone.

By May, debates featured additional candidates: Mildred Martinez, Michael Lopez and Christopher Papajohn on the Democratic side and the Republican Party through in two of their own with Daniel Peterson and John Carlino. A month later, we saw the addition of Michael Beys, Claudia Flannagan and Manuel S. Cavaco.

On July 5, the most complete debate, with 11 of the 13 candidates attending, was held at the Henry Street Abron's Art Center in Corlear's Hook. It was organized by Grand Street News and featured 12 questions, 9 of which were about affordable housing. I'm guessing that affordable housing is a very important issue with those who already live in apartments and they did a good job skipping a question about crime (12 questions were given to the candidates in advancy). A democrats personal take was also featured in the lower east side publication. New York Newsday also spotlighted the district in their Thursday's Neighborhoods section.

The petition season ended on July 14, and every candidate filed their signatures with the Board of Elections. Then, All hell broke loose. Rosie Mendez and her cronies over at Coalition for a District Alternative [CoDA] challenged all the minority candidates in the Democratic Primary. Ms. Mendez is a female, so she felt the need to knock off the female candidates: Rev. Joan Brightharp, Mildred Martinez and Claudia Flannagan (who, like Ms. Mendez, is gay). She challenged anyone who is hispanic, so on the male side, that included Michael Lopez and Manuel S. Cavaco. Mr. Lopez is also handicapped. She was successful knocking off Mr. Lopez, Mr. Cavaco and Ms. Flannagan to bring the Primary down to 8 candidates. I happened to run into Mr. Lopez at Veselka yesterday and he informed me that Ms. Mendez was successful in her undemocratic attack on her fellow opponents. Fortunately for two of them, Mr. Cavacao & Ms. Flannagan, they are petitioning for Third Party ballot status.

Many of the Democratic candidates, Gur Tsabar, Chris Papajohn, Mildred Martinez & Rev. Joan Brightharp, stood at City Hall and attacked the ruthless actions of CoDA and the Mendez team. Mr. Bloch, Mr. Kavanagh, John Carlino and Daniel Peterson also stand with the democrats in agreement that all who seek office should have a right to be included in the political process.

The Primary for the Democratic Party is still a month away and we could find these actions damaging for Rosie Mendez. Voters may decide to unite behind other candidates and seek to shrink the vote total for Margarita Lopez' successor. If Ms. Mendez is successful winning the Democratic Party line for the November election, alliances may form for the other candidates that will appear in November. Manuel Cavaco has a good shot of winning the Working Families ballot line, Claudia Flannagan could be successful being on the ballot as a Libertarian. John Carlino will have both the Republican and Independence ballot lines. The person who can benefit the most is John Carlino and it would be wise for him to start reaching out to some of the democrats.

Alternatives in the Mayoral Election

2005-08-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

I hope many New Yorkers who will vote this November won't think they are limited to simply the Mayor and the Democrat who wins the Primary this September. There will be other candidates on the ballot and you really need to think about expressing your true voice and not throw your vote against the candidate you like least.

Tom Ognibene may have lost his chance to challenge Michael Bloomberg in a Republican Primary, but he will be on the ballot as your Conservative Party candidate. If you are a conservative New Yorker, whether your registered with the Party or as a Republican or Democrat, you should protest your displeasure with the Mayor and his challenge to freedom of choice. We do not live under communism where all dissentors are silenced in an election.

Audrey Silk is running as the Libertarian candidate. If you loathe anything Republican or Conservative and can't bring yourself to vote on a candidate that sits on the "right" of the political spectrum, and all your Democratic choices appear weak in your opinion, Ms. Silk is a good choice for you. The Libertarian Party is for your civil liberties, your privacy and lower taxes to boot. If you feel Mayor Bloomberg will simply walk into the City Hall this election and hate your Democratic choices, protest with Audrey Silk. Let the media open their eyes in surprise.

As for the Democrats voting in the Primary, from my standpoint, your two choices are Gifford Miller and Anthony Weiner. Forget about Fields and you should certainly forget about Ferrer. A two-time loser in the mayoral elections, Mr. Ferrer has already stated he intends to raise your taxes in more than one area just so our City Budget is larger than what it already is. Our City Budget is already at $50,200,000,000 a YEAR! Think about that for a minute. Think about how big that is. Can't get a good idea? Well just think of it this way. The City of Detroit runs a $1,500,000,000 annual Budget. That's 33 1/2 times smaller than NYC. Think Detroit is a bad example? How about the State (STATE) of New Jersey. Their annual Budget is roughly $27 billion a year. That's almost half the City of New York. And Mr. Ferrer wants more money taken from New York taxpayers to make the City of New York even bigger. Not good. You remember his Two New Yorks motto? Well, apparently, he is completely ignorant to the fact that his ideas will only expand the "divide" he's trying to fight against.

At this point, do I believe Mayor Bloomberg will win? Likely. But maybe if enough of us play our own game with this election, he will realize he's not as loved as he thinks.

Wanted: Republican for the 64th.

2005-08-06T13:00:00.000-04:00

If you are a Republican living in the 64th AD and you have thought about being involved in politics and serving your State up in Albany, then we have a job for you.

Must be articulate and capabable of raising substantial cash. We can help with organizing events.
Must be in favor of major government reform on the State level without increasing our taxes.
Must be willing to be in the public eye as often as possible during a long and what could be a difficult campaign.
Must be able to connect with the residents in the 64th and explain the many errors of the current Assemblyman.

If you are out there, then please contact me through this site and I will connect you with the right people in order to make your dream true. You will be our primary candidate and divert 90% of our energy to your campaign. The remaining 10% is all you need with your personal staff.

The High Line's best Use?

2005-08-06T11:30:00.000-04:00

If any of you have ever been along the West Side of Manhattan between 14th & 30th Street, you may have walked under a tressle and not thought much of it. Queens and Brooklyn residents certainly wouldn't. Well, that tressel is for train tracks of the old High Line that used to transport freight along 1.6 miles of track.

On August 4, Sen. Hillary Clinton joined Rep Jerrold Nadler in pushing for federal funding to convert the strip of elevated rail into a Park.

There's been a major movement to prevent the demolition of the tressel and convert it all into a Park. The organization, Friends of the High Line was organized to do just that. This is a great idea and I am open to creating as much park space on this rock known as Manhattan, but has it ever been suggested to renovate the elvated track into an Air Tram?

There's been much talk about extending the No. 7 train from 42nd St down along the West Side and terminate where a sports facility would be constructed over the Pennsylvania rail yard. But that's roughly down to 32nd Street. What about a train extending further down? Politicians say they want to develop the West Side of Manhattan and make it easily accesible, but what are they really doing to provide such accessibility?

It appears we are getting pieces from our politicians that simply do not fit together. Let's do this, then do this, then do this. Use tax payers money and not have anything make sense. In the end, someone will say, "I regret we didn't consider utilizing what we had and done it this way." But I'm just bloggin here and not at any of these meetings, so who am I to say my thoughts on this issue haven't been suggested.

Here are my proposals on the High Line use.

1. Renovate the High Line into an Air Tram that runs from Ganesvoort St & Ninth Ave up along the existing track to Eleventh Ave & 30th St and the Jacob Javits Center. This would improve West Side commuting and do it in a way that provides beautiful scenary of our piers and the Hudson River.

2. Renovate the High Line into a promenade as suggested, but secure funds to extend the L Train under 14th Street to reach 10th Avenue, then dig a track underground running up 10th Ave to connect to the proposed No. 7 line extension. You have to have a transfer point for the 7 extension. It would be useless to have a track terminate in the middle of the West Side without a connection point.

Where are our councilors on this? The High Line is something our city government should be talking to the people about. Wouldn't you feel more connected with your City Council if they discussed matters such as the High Line, instead of passing legislation that has nothing to do with City legislating?

If you live in Manhattan, remember your Councilor is a Democrat. Rather than finding out if you want the High Line as a Park or an Air Tram, they pass Resolutions that mean nothing, do nothing. They punch the clock in the morning, earn a salary paid by our tax dollars, pass Resolutions and then punch out at the end of the day. Not one Republican candidate campaigns on passing useless Resolutions lke the above. They are running issues campaigns and want to work with the communities on issues like the High Line. And keep your taxes down. So remember this when you vote in November.

Should NY reshuffle the campaign deck?

2005-07-30T20:00:00.000-04:00

Bush political adviser Karl Rove told a closed-door fund-raiser for Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele in Washington on Tuesday that Steele's campaign for the Senate is a top White House priority for 2006.

Steele is running for a Senate seat left empty by the retirement of Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes. The capital lobbyists who attended the even were urged to exert more effort for Steele than usual for an empty-seat contest. Steele, an African-American, fits in with Bush's emphasis on raising the GOP share of the black vote. ~ Robert D. Novak reports Jul 30, 2005.

Polls indicate that in a race for New York's Senate, Clinton beats either Pirro or Edward Cox by 30 points. ~ Siena Research Institute Jun 14, 2005.

New York Governor, George Pataki, announces he will not seek a fourth term. ~ All the local papers Jul 27, 2005.

I'm not Stephen Minarik, but I see a huge opportunity here for New York to seriously take a look at what would be some wise reshuffling for the 2006 elections. For some reason, our State Party Committe thinks hand picked candidates would be best for the party when it comes to elections. Many of us in the grassroots base in the republican party for major reform recommend primaries. Clearly, many of our recent elections had hand-picked candidates who have lost elections by embarrassing numbers. But if the influence of nudging potential candidates in the right campaigns is something Mr. Minarik wants on his plate, here are some suggestions.

First, I would contact Westchester D.A. Jeanine Pirro and give her my approval to run for Attorney General. The Democrats are going to field either Andrew Cuomo or Mark Green or both. Rick Lazio has been suggested for the seat, but who has a strong record to run on? It's Jeanine Pirro. Attorney General is the office she wants and I believe it is the office she has potential in winning.

Second, I would call Secretary of State, Randy Daniels, and tell him that he should forego running for Governor and decide his best seat is to challenge Hillary Clinton for the US Senate seat. Nothing would be better for the Republican Party than to have two African-American Republicans (Mr. Daniels & Mr. Steele) running for the US Senate.

What about Ed Cox and William Brenner and John Spencer? Well, I think keeping a primary for US Senate would be a good thing, but the third thing I would do (if I was Mr. Minarik) is contact Ed Cox and recommend he run for Governor.

Ed Cox is probably the strongest Republican candidate from New York State. Why not see him take a shot at the most important office for our State? He will most likely run a heck of a good campaign against Hillary Clinton, but our current Senator will be very difficult to beat. My belief is that Ed Cox can run a just as formidable campaign against Eliot Spitzer and it is just what the Republican Party needs to do for next year. Our State Budget is $107 billion with Medicaid bankrupting the State. Mr. Cox is just the type of Republican to travel to every county and campaign on major reform and fiscal responsibility.

Randy Daniels is considered a future star in New York politics, but he's still considered an unknown among the average New Yorker. When Mr. Daniels does speeches, he explains the importance of the Reagan Revolution for New York and how we need to return New York back to when it provided jobs throughout upstate. Sen. Clinton ran a campaign in 2000 on bringing back jobs upstate, but she has not delivered. And with reports in New York City saying that 50% of African Americans are jobless, we need a messenger who can come in and say that the Democrats have not fullfilled their promise.

The fourth office, State Comptroller, will be a tough battle. Alan Hevesi has been doing a pretty good job and it will be difficult to exploit any shortcomings. However, this is not to say that Republicans should not run a candidate against Mr. Hevesi. If John Faso wishes to take another stab at it, by all means, he should run. If Rick Lazio is serious about seeking a statewide office, Comptroller is certainly something I believe Mr. Lazio can benefit New Yorkers.

I can't say I expect these changes to take place, but I implore Mr. Minarik to consider playing a hand that has potential of victory in two, possibly three of the Big Four offices next year. I have a right to dream.