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Maloney Only New Yorker with a Golden Mouse in the House
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan/Queens) was New York’s only member of Congress to receive a 2006 Congressional Management Foundation Gold Mouse award in recognition of her website’s accessibility and content.

“Rep. Maloney’s website shows that she has identified the needs of her constituencies and has developed easily accessible content that meets their needs online,” said Beverley Bell, executive director of the Washington, D.C. non-profit.

Of the 615 House and Senate websites evaluated, Maloney’s was among 18 to receive the highest award.

New Voter on the Upper East Side
Council Member Jessica Lappin (D-Manhattan) has a new constituent: her son, Lucas Edwyn Wuertele, born to Lappin and her husband, Andrew Wuertele, March 4. He weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and is 21 and 1/2 inches long.

Lappin called her son—who they will call Luke—”perfect in every way.”

She will be on maternity leave from the Council for the next eight weeks.

Koch, Checking Out?
Along with his oddball movie reviews, former Mayor Ed Koch (D) sends out his weekly commentary to anyone who asks.

In his March 5 commentary, the famously spotlight-grabbing politician— who has hardly settled into retirement since losing the 1989 Democratic primary in his quest for a fourth term—included a comment suggesting that he is starting to feel his 82 years.

“I am one of Governor Spitzer’s supporters and friends. After he serves as New York’s governor for eight or twelve years, I hope to see him running for and winning the presidency, as FDR did,” he wrote. “If he serves as governor for twelve years, I doubt that I’ll be around to help. I’d be 94. How quickly time has gone. I have no complaints; it has been a wonderful ride and there is still a little more time left. But enough about me.”

Koch closed his analysis of Spitzer’s hard-charging approach to governing, “Keep it up, dude, you’re doing just fine.”

Brooklyn Council Member Simcha Felder sometimes complains about wasted time in the Council stated meetings. He tried this method of wooing his colleagues into backing his resolution requiring the Food and Drug Administration to post caffeine content on nutritional labels. And no worries about violating a gift ban, Felder said: he only paid 45¢ per can.

Earlier Primary, More Campaign Commercials
New Yorkers who feel they have missed out on having presidential candidates appeal to them during breaks in the evening news may be in luck.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) joined the governor in supporting moving up next year’s presidential primary. His bill would set the date for Feb. 5, 2008. Signatures on ballot petitions would be collected Oct. 30-Dec. 6. Currently, the primary is scheduled for March 4, with ballot petitions able to be collected from Nov. 26-Jan. 4.

Silver believes the earlier date is appropriate because of the size and prominence of New York’s population. More than that: New Jersey is also thinking of moving up its primary, so “presidential candidates could realize a more effective use of advertising dollars in the large metropolitan market,” according to a statement issued from Silver’s office.

Civil Confinement, By the Numbers
Estimated cost of civil confinement legislation for the coming fiscal year:
$81 million
Amount set aside in Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s (D) executive budget proposal:
$66 million
Estimated number of criminals to be included in the program:
133 currently, with another approximately 100 people added each year.

The costs for this program irked several legislators, including Assembly Member Joel Miller (R-Dutchess County), who supported the bill.

“You could build a really fine hotel and put a 30-foot fence around it, and get mental health professionals in twice a week,” he said, speaking on the floor of the Assembly just before the bill was passed. “It shouldn’t, even with cable television, come to $225,000 a person.”

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