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The Balancing Act Overcoming History Minefield of Issues And If She Loses... Stark Says Her Case is Clear Words with Weitzman Bill Mulrow Makes His Case Grannis to DEC Commissioner, Skirmish for his Seat Intensifies Grannis Begins Crafting Agenda Comptroller Bid Behind Him, Grannis Still Weighs In In Chancellor’s Proposal, Dollars Follow Students Lavelle on Himself, Staten Island politics Mayor Mike's Ambitious Plans Spitzer Searches on Google Lead to Cuomo Connor: Why I Want to Be Comptroller Spitzer Takes the Helm Grannis Pushing Comptroller Bid Now For the Count: How many kids are sleeping on our streets? Who Will Be the Latino Driving Force? The 20 — or Is It 21? — Powerful Latino Faces, Families and Future Leaders of New York City Duane-Casting Election Forecast 2009 – Commissioning the Comissioner Lactation Legislation on the Move Generals Picked, Battle Plans Made for Last Political Battleground Big Building Plans Raise Big Questions The Money Trail: Untangling the Campaign Finance Disclosures Tax Breaks Succeed in Reeling Movie Business to Big Apple As Bloomberg Crafts Anti-Poverty Specifics, Optimism and Worries Elsewhere: Counting and Discounting the Incarcerated In the Chair: James Gennaro Stewed Chicken and Carrot Juice with Yvette Clarke In the Trenches: Erin Drinkwater Au Revoir, Steve Kramer Editorial: Paying for Later, Playing Now? What Kind of Education Will New York Buy? By Billy Easton Out of State Plates Serve Up High Costs by Ivan Lafayette Cut Property Tax, But Increase Rebate Too by Vincent Gentile The Consequences of Ending Business as Usual by Alan Chartock
Who will the new state comptroller be?
In the beginning, it looked like Speaker Sheldon Silver would name the next comptroller, but Eliot Spitzer has already put his firm hand on things. Spitzer wanted the process opened to people from outside the legislature and got his way. If one of the many Assemblymen who wants the office is not selected, it will prove to be a humongous win for Spitzer, who is desperately trying to get party and insider politics out of the process.
So far, it looks like Silver is going out of his way to do what Spitzer wants.
Why do so many statewide officials come from Manhattan?
I suppose it’s because that’s where the action is. But believe me, when it comes to picking a comptroller, it’s critical to remember that both Spitzer and Lieutenant Governor Paterson are Manhattanites. Shelly Silver comes from Manhattan as well. Smart people like Eliot Spitzer are looking for balance.
Who will be selected to become the next Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation?
As I write this, the Spitzer team can’t seem to find anyone to run one of the state’s most important agencies. Spitzer’s top thinker on things environmental has been Judy Enck. She is adored by most environmentalists in New York but is known more as a policy person than an administrator. From where I sit, she would be perfect. But the Spitzer people haven’t been calling and asking for my advice. One of the arguments against the tough new conflict of interest laws that Spitzer has imposed is that people are reticent to jump through hoops for jobs that pay relatively little and impose what they see as draconian rules on you when you leave public office. The down side to changing the “revolving door, gift and transparency” rules is that some major talents will want nothing to do with government. But you can’t have it both ways. We need a set of tough rules if we are to keep venality and corruption out of government.
Who will win the special State Senate election on Long Island?
It seems that Spitzer has put all his might behind the Democratic candidate, Nassau County Legislator Craig Johnson. This is the end of business as usual, when Democrats like Mario Cuomo didn’t seem averse to a Republican State Senate that could be blamed for the ills of the state. Cuomo had very comfortable working relationships with Republican leaders Ralph Marino and Warren Anderson, both of whom at one time occupied the State Senate Majority Leader chair. Now Spitzer has put his all into the special election race, caused when he appointed Republican Long Island State Senator Michael Balboni to a top criminal justice line.
Of course, there is some risk to expending this type of political capital. Spitzer knows that if Johnson loses he looks more vulnerable. He also knows that Joe Bruno is on the ropes already. If Bruno loses yet another seat, it will bring the Democrats that much closer to taking control of the State Senate. As a result, if they win, Bruno and the Senate Republicans are going to be a lot easier to handle. Spitzer is a guy who thinks things through.
Plus, the Democrats have been regularly winning on Long Island. What’s more, this is the home territory of the State Republican Chairman, Joseph Mondello, a close compatriot of Bruno. The ambitious Dean Skelos, a young legislator from the same Long Island, is just one of the members of Bruno’s own conference after his scalp. If the elephants lose this one, there could be hell to pay.
Is it really true that New York State has the most dysfunctional legislature in the country?
Will someone please give me a break? The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU contributed to the perfect storm of reform by saying this. I really wonder whether these people or any of the people who are quoting them have ever seen the action in the Texas, Florida or Mississippi legislatures? My first job was running all over the country for the Eagleton Institute of Politics, helping to fix broken legislatures. Admittedly, it was a while ago, but trust me, New York with its professional staff and resources puts most other legislatures to shame when it comes to generating information about the executive branch and conducting investigations. It is interesting that when someone says something like this, everyone swallows it because they want to.
Alan Chartock is the president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio and the executive publisher and project director of The Legislative Gazette
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