State Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. has apparently struck a deal with Senate Republicans in which he is now president pro tempore of the Senate, and Republican Dean Skelos is majority leader.
That means that after not-quite five and a half months of Democratic control, the Republican Party may once again seize control of the state Legislature's upper house.
This, a frustrated Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz just called to tell me, is exactly the set of circumstances he and the Riverdale political establishment sought to avoid — by supporting the incumbent, Efrain Gonzalez Jr., even though he was under indictment.
Mr. Gonzalez pled guilty earlier this month to fraud charges in connection with routing $400,000 in taxpayer money to his own pocket while a state senator. He was under indictment before last year's primaries, in which Mr. Dinowitz and Riverdale's Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club endorsed him.
"He would have been returned to office and he would have lost his job … and we would have had neither Efrain Gonzalez Jr. nor Pedro Espada. Of course we knew that at the time," Mr. Dinowitz said.
He later added he knew they were endorsing someone who was likely guilty of stealing taxpayer money, not that they knew for a fact that Mr. Gonzalez had done the deed.
Given what was at stake, he said, the ends justified the means.
"You already saw the difference in having a Democratic senate … in terms of the bottle law, the Rockefeller law," Mr. Dinowitz said.
The Democratically controlled state Senate has passed reforms to the much-maligned Rockefeller drug laws, loosening sentences for low-level offenders.
The reforms also allowed judges to seal the records of some criminals, which caused a stir the Republicans used to their advantage.
The Senate also extended the Bottle Bill to add a deposit to bottled water.
"Now they’re going to put into power people who are going to oppose the interests of New York City when it comes to housing … who are going to oppose a lot of other positions," Mr. Dinowitz said.
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6 comments:
I suspect that procedure wise the shift in power isn't legal. The 2 dissidents would have to change parties. Only *then* can the republicans take over the senate. Without that action, the only thing the 2 dissidents can do is decide not to support the current leadership. Unfortunately they're all pretty stupid about it in their grasp for power, so it'll be the courts who'll have to sort it out. It's a bit sad to see that they have to resort to trickery and under the table tactics, all in the quest for power. If Albany was smart, they'd oust them all.
" and we would have had neither Efrain Gonzalez Jr. nor Pedro Espada. "
So, in this scenario, who would have ended up as our Senator, and more importantly, why couldn't the BFRDC have supported that hypothetical person in the first place?
It looks like the Franklin club has helped to challenge the calcified Bronx Democratic leadership -- a good sign. But I fervently hope for a less cynical choice of candidates next time.
So let's see: Gonzalez betrayed his constituents and taxpayers generally buy stealing $400,000 in state funds. He betrayed his colleagues in the Legislature who voted to provide that money. Dinowitz says he knew the guy was a crook when he led his club to endorse him and work hard for his re-election. How is that any less sleazy than Espada turning his coat? As The Riverdale Press asked in an editorial at the time, "Now, in Riverthe Ben Franklin Club is the entrenched machine, its eye on the main chance, its principals reduced to the best deal it can make."
The Ben Franklin dinosaurs are going down in 2009!
First of all if you read correctly Gonzalez didn't steal $400,000, it was $200,000 not that that makes it any better. Also, the charges for dishonest services and stealing from the community were dropped by the federal prosecutors. Get your facts straight. Second, at the time, Dinowitz and was correct in judgement. Had Gonzalez won he would have to give up the seat and a special election would have been called allowing the Democratic Party to pick a viable candidate. Espada is a power hundry individual. He is not putting his community first. His beef started because he wanted the pork for two nonprofits that he was spearheading. What Espada failed to realize is that the Senate Dems are trying to do things differently and probably his attempts to get the pork as a problem that may hurt the party in the future. The guy is a dirty rat, any candidate, even one who is jailbound, would be better.
*At the time, Dinowitz was correct in judgement.
*Espada is a power hungry individual.
*What Espada failed to realize is that the Senate Dems are trying to do things differently and probably viewed his attempts to get the pork as a problem that may hurt the party in the future.
Corrections to earlier message.
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