Bolton-St. Johns Political Affairs Update from the Adirondacks...
The last few weeks have been busy in New York. Governor Cuomo continued his measured pace, signing 9 bills. His approvals included three infant safety measures, sweeping sexual harassment legislation, and a bill banning discrimination based on hairstyles. A complete list is here.
After years of criticism following the conviction of several Cuomo associates on corruption charges, Governor Cuomo and Comptroller DiNapoli finalized an agreement last week that would return oversight of procurement and contracting to the Comptroller’s Office. A handshake deal last April stalled on "disagreements around language" causing many good government advocates to accuse the Governor of reneging on the deal. After months of criticism, and continued delays, the agreement was laid out in a memorandum of understanding that was released last Friday.
...And last week marked the opening of a one-year look back window in which survivors of sexual abuse of any age can bring lawsuits against individuals and institutions. Advocates pushed for the enabling legislation, the Child Victims Act, for more than a decade. However, the bill continuously stalled in the Republican Senate, where it was met with criticism of the unknown fiscal impact, a cost that Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie called the “price of justice." When Democrats took over the Senate in January, they swiftly passed the bill before the first month was out, leading Democratic Senate Sponsor Brad Hoylman to point to the bill's passage as the "the beginning of a more representative government for all the people of New York State.”
With members on August Recess, the Capitol is quiet, but the politics are heating up. With the Queens District Attorney primary finally resolved, the race is on to replace Melinda Katz as Borough President.Two Democrats — Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer and Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman — have already declared their candidacies, while up to six others are waiting in the wings—Assemblymember Ron Kim, former Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, Councilmembers Costa Constantinides, Donovan Richards, Paul Vallone and Eric Ulrich. All are Democrats, save for Ulrich, a Republican.
...New polling shows Congressman Chris Collins (R) with a slim lead on primary challenger State Senator Chris Jacobs (R) and Collins is ramping up his fundraising efforts. On Saturday, Republican State Senator Rob Ortt of North Tonawanda officially joined the field. 2018 Democratic Candidate and current Town of Grand Island Supervisor Nate McMurray declared his candidacy as well. The Republican Primary in NY-27 will be a race to follow over the coming months. It could also have an impact on the Republican’s already dwindling presence in Albany, as Ortt and Jacobs would both be strong candidates for re-election to the State Senate in 2020.
Watch BSJ Partner Jack O'Donnell's analysis of the most recent polls in NY-27 here.
BSJ Client and Niagara Falls Bridge Commission Board Member Russ Quarantello Remembered for Work in Community
Long-time Niagara Falls Bridge Commission Boardmember, Russ Quarantello, passed away last Saturday at the age of 59. In Niagara Falls and across Niagara County, Quarantello was probably best known in his role as business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 237 where he spent more than three decades working his way up to the union's top position. A Lewiston resident who was born in the Niagara Falls, Quarantello started working three jobs at age 16, eventually finding a position at Viatran on Grand Island and later moving on to a job at The Carborundum Co. in Niagara Falls. In 1983, he was accepted into the union, where he worked his way up to positions of prominence, becoming a member of the executive board and later president.
The Census Citizenship Question Failed. But Alabama is Seeking to Exclude Undocumented Immigrants in Apportioning Congressional Seats.
When the government announced plans last year to ask about citizenship on the 2020 Census, analysts inside and outside the Census Bureau warned it could scare many immigrants from being counted. The question was ultimately blocked by legal challenges. But the fight over the census citizenship question seems to have been just one skirmish in a larger war over who deserves to be part of America’s democracy. Over the course of Donald Trump’s presidency, administration officials have signaled a desire to fundamentally alter the country’s system of representation, making it far more restrictive than ever before. In doing so, some have alluded to a lawsuit that, even if it fails, may still succeed in shaping the debate over representation. Filed last year by the state of Alabama and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) against the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau, it argues that the current system of apportioning congressional seats gives an unfair electoral advantage to states with more undocumented immigrants.
Upcoming Events
Monday, September 16th-Wednesday, September 18th
New York State Association of Counties Fall Seminar in Sullivan County
Tuesday, September 17th
The Joint Legislative Commission on Rural Resources and the Assembly Local
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Links from This Weeks's News Around the State & Country
Max & Murphy Podcast: The Future of the Republican Party in New York
State To Ask For Rensselaer ‘Green Light’ Challenge Be Put On Hold
LG Hochul Says It Would Be Troubling If Buffalo Diocese Files Bankruptcy
Who is Stephen Ross, the Billionaire Criticized for His High-End Trump Fundraiser?
New York Public Library’s Lions to Get Facelift
Can Britain’s Top Bookseller Save Barnes & Noble?
De Blasio Defends Claim City Has Divested from Fossil Fuels While Admitting it Hasn’t Yet
An Ex-Convict Got a Construction Job, but Not Everyone Was Happy
As New NYCHA Chair Takes Over, the Future of Public Housing Hangs in the Balance
Gregory Russ (pictured) arrived in Manhattan for his first day of work as NYCHA’s new Chair and CEO, with an enormous task in front of him. NYCHA’s short- and long-term futures have been complicated for some time. It’s the largest public housing authority in the country, with more than 400,000 residents, struggles to break even with annual operating expenses, is tens of billions of dollars behind in infrastructure spending for a state of good repair, and plagued by lead paint, mold, broken heating systems and elevators, and other calamities. Until Russ, NYCHA hadn’t had a permanent leader in 16 months, during which time Schwartz was named federal monitor through a January 31 agreement among Mayor Bill de Blasio, federal housing Secretary Ben Carson, federal prosecutors, and a judge. While de Blasio has taken more ownership of and put more resources into NYCHA than his recent predecessors, crises at the sprawling, 316-development, 176,000-unit public housing authority have spiraled. Recognition has set in more recently that drastic measures are needed, though it is unclear where all of the more than $30 billion estimated need to get NYCHA apartments and complexes into a state of good repair will come from.
Worth A Read
Errol Louis: The Truth About The Machine: Overly Simplistic Local Political Narratives are Flawed
The Secret History of ‘Easter Eggs’
Report Paints Damning Picture of MTA Labor Management
There has been no dearth of warnings about the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s overtime problems, but the state-run agency has done next to nothing in response, thereby endangering its bottom line, according to an authority-commissioned report released Thursday. Over the course of at least a decade, “MTA leadership has failed in its duty to safeguard the public’s funds and ensure that waste, fraud, and abuse are deterred and prevented,” wrote Carrie Cohen, the former federal prosecutor who won Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s conviction for corruption and was hired by the MTA to investigate overtime issues. A spokesperson for the MTA, which commissioned the report in apparent deference to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said it “makes important and well thought out recommendations that will help us address the significant problem of excessive overtime.” The MTA will hold a special board meeting on Friday, in part to discuss Cohen’s findings. Those findings paint a damning picture of the MTA’s timekeeping and labor management systems — systems that suffer from work rules “which often lack any modern justification,” “chronically high employee absences” and a complete lack of systemic uniformity across and within the MTA’s various operating agencies. The results, Cohen and her colleagues argue, speak for themselves.
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