Vote New York

For those who haven’t been following, the Staten Island Congressional run has gone through a series of twists and turns.  Candidates jumping in the race, and falling out just as fast.  We’ll go through a review before going on to the latest developments.

The Staten Island (13th District) seat is currently occupied by Vito Fossella since 1997; he is finishing out his 6th term.  Earlier this year, Fossella announced he would not seek re-election, but would finish out his term.  This announcement came after he was arrested for drunk driving in Alexandria, Virginia on May 1st, 2008, in addition a week later he confessed that 3 years earlier he had fathered a child out of wedlock.  This announcement left the race for the congressional seat wide open.

Frank Powers was seeking the GOP nomination; with Vito out of the picture it should have made things easy.  Though Frank Powers has never run for office, he is a retired wall street executive and has been closely involved with GOP fundraising for many years.  His wife Dianne currently serves as the GOP borough treasurer.  His fundraising power, along with his promise to use 500,000 of his own money on his campaign made Frank Powers an attractive candidate for the GOP.

To complicate the race a bit, Fran powers, son of Frank Powers announced he was seeking the Libertarian nomination.  There were fears that a father-son rivalry in the congressional race would distract from covering actual issues, making it easier for a democratic challenger to gain the seat.

In the “end”, Frank Powers received the GOP nomination.  His son Fran however, did not succeed in getting the Libertarian nomination.  Former ABC Radio employee Susan Overeem won the Libertarian nomination by a large margin, receiving almost three times the number of votes as Fran Powers. The story however is far from over.

Sunday, June 22^nd, 2008 Frank Powers age 67 passed away in his sleep. His sudden death would throw the congressional race into turmoil. Supposedly most if not all of the signatures for ballot access have already been collected. Most other potential GOP candidates have already decided against running.

After Frank Powers’ unexpected death, the two most widely discussed potential candidates announced that they would not seek the nomination. Matthew Mirones, a former Assemblyman who operates a prosthetics company, said that he has decided to sit out this race. And Lisa Giovinazzo, a lawyer and part-time journalist with the cable network NY1, also said she had decided against running. Deadlines are closing in, and the GOP still has no nominee. The Republican party may have to look to other parties for a nominee.

Carmine Morano, a businessman who is a member of the Independence Party is being eyed as the latest potential GOP nominee. Mr. Morano said that, although he is a collecting signatures to run on the Independence line, he is hoping to be selected by Republican leaders, too.

Others with a little hope are collecting signatures for the nomination. Jamshad Wyne, a cardiologist who is the finance chairman of the Staten Island Republican Party, is also a candidate for the seat. Dr. Wyne said that he has already collected 2,000 signatures and that he plans to continue getting more until the filing deadline.

But he has little support among the party’s leaders. They point to the fact that Dr. Wyne was fined $5,000 and placed on probation for three years in 2003 by the state Health Department’s Board for Professional Medical Conduct. The board said that he had practiced “with negligence on more than one occasion.”

There is also a chance that Libertarian nominee Susan Overeem, having already defeated Fran Powers, might seek the Republican nomination.

Regardless of who gets the nomination, a decision needs to be made soon. Deadlines are nearing, and the longer the GOP is at a standstill, the more time is given to the Democratic congressional campaign.

The dollar has been on a steady decline causing a rise in prices across many markets. Hardest hit is the American consumer. Many businesses try to adjust to the harder times. Turning a negative into a positive, Nick Spanos founder of Bapple has started selling buildings here in NYC in Euros. The weaker dollar creates a favorable exchange rate for many foreigners dealing in Euros, or Pounds. More on the story from CNBC:

CROTON On HUDSON,  NY — Bill Gouldman, candidate for the 90th Assembly District encompassing parts of Westchester and Putnam Counties today proposed an energy tax credit program to offset the tax windfall Albany is making from the accelerating energy costs.   “It is wrong for the tax collector to profit from skyrocketing energy costs that are altering the way people live. It is outrageous that out of touch politicians in Albany refuse to act as people are facing financial hardships unseen since the Great Depression,” said Gouldman a Putnam Valley resident. Assemblymembers Sandy Galef and Sheldon Silver strongly believe in maintaining the way gasoline and other enery sources are taxed. The present equation increases revenue to the state and counties as the price of gas and other fuels climb. Gouldman’s campaign asserts that about 35 cents of the cost of every gallon of gasoline sold in New York is a sales tax that goes to Albany.  Based upon that assertion, they extrapolate that gasoline tax is up nearly 30% from the 26 cents per gallon New York was collecting at the beginning of this year.  They further state that, “As we enter the height of electric usage in the hot summer months, Albany will also fatten its coffers profiting from surging electric rates. While the politicians preach to us, telling us to use mass transit to save money, the MTA is even now contemplating new fare hikes.”
“It’s simply outrageous,” declared Mr. Gouldman, “Albany should not be making money on people as they suffer.  It is time to do what is right and fair to fix this situation.  Albany must act to ease the people’s burden, instead of clinging to policies that add to them. Today I am proposing an Energy Tax Credit with Mass Transit Incentives that will provide people relief and help them survive,” announced Mr. Gouldman.
The Gouldman plan gives taxpayers a $3,600 New York State Income Tax exemption that would be boosted up to $7200 for users of mass transit.  It would be funded by higher taxes Albany collects from energy sales.
“The Assembly has shown it lacks the common sense that is needed to help ease the burden that people are facing,” said Gouldman. It is content with the status quo, but we the people are not,” Mr. Gouldman proclaimed.
“People expect a new era in New York.  They want their government to understand the reality that they face.   Solutions are what matter now.  Albany runs on the money it takes from us. It is time to get Albany out of our pockets. It is time for us to keep more of our money to enable us to stay in our homes, educate our children and afford the health care that we need. It is time to give us back the money Albany had no right take the first place” declared Mr. Gouldman.

John McCain spoke at a town hall meeting in NYC Thursday in what was supposed to be a town hall featuring both Jonh McCain, and Barack Obama.  McCain invited Obama to a series of 10 Town Halls between now and the November election.  The proposal was rejected by the Obama campaign saying 10 was just too many to fit into his schedule.  They did have their own offer of 5 joint appearances, only one of which would be a town hall.  It would also have 3 debates, and 1 in depth debate on foreign policy.  No agreement has been reached.  The town hall proposed by the Obama campaign would take place on Independence day.  Arguably a town hall on a holiday would get less attention, while people are celebrating.

McCain’s solo appearance at the town hall is not without criticism.  The audience was supposed to be people chosen at random.  Since Obama rejected the proposal, McCain stocked the audience with people more sympathetic to his views.  Fox News aired the town hall, which without Obama’s participation made it more like a McCain infomercial.

JOHN G. CHROMCZAK ANNOUNCES “YOUR VOICE…YOUR VOTE”

SUMMER LISTENING TOUR

New York, NY– The John G. Chromczak campaign announced the launch of its community listening tour “Your Voice…Your Vote.”  Throughout the summer, John will meet with members of senior centers, community groups and housing developments in the 25th senate district to talk about the issues that matter most to them.  

 “Too often, the individual voter gets lost among polls and statistics, which is why I am initiating a series of events in which I can interact directly with members of the community to discover firsthand which issues matter most to them,” said Chromczak.  “Change is about more than sound bites – to bring about real change, you need to engage the voters, find out what they would like to see changed, discuss the solutions that work best for them and then take action.”         

The first event will take place tomorrow at the Jacquelyn Hernandez Adult Day Program, which is part of the Cobble Hill Health Center in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn.  “At Jacquelyn Hernandez Adult Day Program, we are committed to helping our participants achieve a better quality of life.  Housing is probably the most important factor in a senior’s quality of life and we’re glad that this open forum will enable the seniors and disabled people that we serve to express their views and concerns about where they live,” said Jacquelyn Hernandez Director, Barbara Williams.

 “It is time for real change in Albany, and to accomplish this I want to start by making sure that every voice is heard and that every vote matters.  I look forward to listening to the voters of our diverse community and talking about their concerns.  And, if I’m elected to the senate, I will work day in and day out to ensure those issues are heard in Albany.  We need to change the way Albany works and that’s done by getting your voice heard, by getting your vote heard,” said Chromczak.

NY Gov Says WTC site faces delays, asks owner for 2nd look

6/11/2008, 8:26 p.m. ET
By AMY WESTFELDT
The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. David Paterson on Wednesday said the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site is over budget and behind schedule, and he ordered the site’s owner to come up with a realistic plan by the end of the month to rebuild it.

“It has become clear that the overall project faces likely delays and cost overruns,” Paterson wrote of 6-year-old plans to build five skyscrapers, a Sept. 11, 2001, memorial, a transit hub and a performing arts center on the 16-acre site.

Paterson asked Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to determine by June 30 if the latest schedules and budgets “are reliable and achievable.” The agency owns the lower Manhattan site.

“Accountability means demanding results and accepting responsibility, and that is what we must do if we want to recapture public confidence,” the governor said.

Paterson is the third governor to demand a quicker pace for a project that has been slowed by political wrangling, passionate arguments about the site’s symbolism, rising construction costs and the logistics of building so much at once on such a small space.

Former Gov. George Pataki predicted in 2003 that the steel framework would be completed at the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower by Sept. 11, 2006, the fifth anniversary of the attack that destroyed the site. Instead, steel just rose above street level last month, and the skyscraper, redesigned and moved from its original spot for security reasons, may open in 2012 at the earliest.

Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer last September ordered one of his top development aides to set a “master rebuilding schedule” for the site that was never released.

The Port Authority three years ago reset most of the deadlines for the project in an agreement with developer Larry Silverstein, who leased the twin towers’ office space six weeks before terrorists destroyed them.

It has paid more than $14 million in late fees to Silverstein this year for failing to excavate land in time and on Wednesday said it would pay at least another $9.6 million in late fees for failing to meet another deadline.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who represents lower Manhattan, on Wednesday called Paterson’s account “as realistic as it is disappointing.”

Except for Silverstein, who rebuilt and opened a third skyscraper destroyed on Sept. 11 two years ago, Silver said, “the litany of construction delays is an embarrassment to New York and an insult to those who acted with heroism and expedience during the rescue, recovery and the cleanup.”

Robert Lieber, the deputy mayor for economic development, said the Port Authority should offer regular public updates on changing deadlines or budgets to “ensure the level of clarity offered on June 30 is maintained until the reconstruction is complete.”

Ward “is conducting a comprehensive assessment” to ensure the site’s progress continues, Port Authority spokesman Steve Sigmund said Wednesday.

Architect Daniel Libeskind’s master plan for ground zero was chosen in early 2003 by Pataki and the state’s Lower Manhattan Development Corp. He planned five towers arranged in a semicircle, a memorial to the attacks, the transit hub and an arts center.

The memorial, once scheduled to open in 2009, is now set for 2011, the 10th anniversary of the attacks. The towers’ deadlines are now between 2012 and 2013; the Port Authority recently allowed delays of several months for two of the towers to try to lure Merrill Lynch to become a tenant. The company has not agreed to a lease.

The transit hub, once budgeted at $2.2 billion with an opening date of 2009, had once been $1 billion over budget, and its completion has been estimated between 2011 and 2013.

The commuter rail hub’s delays are affecting the memorial, which would be next to it and share infrastructure, and the performing arts center, which would be built on a spot that now welcomes commuters to a temporary train station. The performing arts center is not completely designed, and planners are considering building it somewhere off the site.

New York, NY, June 11, 2008 – State Senate candidate John G. Chromczak commends Gov. Paterson for demanding real results from the Port Authority’s new Executive Director on the progress of the World Trade Center site.
“If there is one project in all of New York that will keep our city competitive in the financial markets and prevent our city from falling into a deeper recession it’s the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site,” said Chromczak. “So many promises have broken, not just to businesses that wanted to remain and stay in lower Manhattan, but also to the people who live down here.” Chromczak commends Gov. Paterson for speaking out strongly on pushing the Port Authority to develop a realistic time table to be honest about what the real financial costs are going to be. “We live in the greatest city on Earth, we’re still the financial capital of the world and we’re a city built on hard work and big dreams, but lets be honest, lower Manhattan has become an embarrassment to all that New York represents,” said Chromczak. “Rebuilding the site is about healing a scar on our city, creating thousands of jobs for working families, and showing the world that New York is still the best place to work, live, and play.”

I appreciate that Gov. Paterson has again put a very important issue to New Yorkers at the forefront of his agenda.

According to a new poll conducted by Quinnipiac University from June 3 – 8, Obama is polling ahead of McCain in New York State in almost all demographics.  Overall Barack leads John McCain 50 – 36.  When Clinton was still a factor the polls had Barack leading 47 – 39 when put head to head with McCain.  Historically New York has voted democratic in presidential elections, 2008 seems to be no exception.  The more comfortable lead is thanks to Clinton for backing her former opponent.

Not all the republican opponents are backing McCain however.  Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has repeatedly refused to endorse John McCain, though now running a slimmed down campaign Ron Paul has not officially dropped out.  The Texas congressman has now announced his plans to hold his own convention in Minnesota simultaneous to that of the Republican National Convention this September.  In an election year where unifying the party is an important issue John McCain faces an uphill battle.

NEW computers for the Red Hook Public Library, a walk-in cooler for Hudson Valley Fresh, equipment for the East Durham Fire Department and funds to develop a Web site for the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce are among items state taxpayers will be paying for in the coming year, courtesy of the state pork barrel.

New York lawmakers included in the state’s 2008-09 budget some $200 million in so-called “community project funds” to be doled out to schools, libraries, police departments, churches, community groups, municipalities and nonprofit agencies in legislators’ districts.

Lawmakers say the money enables them to direct funding to critical programs within their districts.

KATHY Hammer, president of Public Access Northern Dutchess Area, the public-access television station better known as PANDA, agrees.

The station, which is struggling to recover from the theft last year of more than $20,000 and what current board members say was the mismanagement of the station by former trustees, said the three grants totaling $12,000 secured by area lawmakers will help the station improve and expand its offerings.

State Assemblyman Marc Molinaro, R-Red Hook, secured $2,000 for PANDA; Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, secured $5,000; and state Sen. Steve Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, secured $5,000.

“The former board members shut the broadcast facility down,” said Hammer. “These line item allocations allow us to continue to build on the equipment we have, and to build on our commitment to get the broadcasting capabilities of the station back up.”

Likewise, Red Hook Library Director Mary Anna Egan said that, without funding secured by Molinaro and Saland, new computer equipment, including an early learning computer center for children, would remain on the library’s wish list.

AREA FIRE departments, police departments, villages and towns also are in line for what commonly are called member-item grants, as are organizations like the Catskill Elks Club ($7,250 for parking lot repairs); the Greene International Golf Association ($50,000 for its award-winning Tech Valley Youth Golf Program); the Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Growers Association ($2,500 for marketing); and the Hurley-based Pan American Dance Foundation Inc. ($5,000 for youth programming).

DETRACTORS of the practice don’t deny that, in most instances, the programs being funded through member-item allocations are laudable. But they say the amount of money doled out is anything but.

The New York Public Interest Research Group is among the most vocal critics of the process, saying it is designed to keep the ruling party in each house of the state Legislature in power.

“It’s a political spoils system,” said Russ Haven, the legislative counsel for NYPIRG. “While many of the programs may be worthwhile, the funding is divvied up in a way that is based on politics, not on the merit of the program.”

THIS YEAR’S $121.7 billion state budget includes $30 million in member-item spending for Gov. David Paterson and $85 million each for the state Senate and Assembly.

It is left to the leader of each house to dole out the funds to members. Determining how that money was distributed to the individual members of each house this year was difficult because such breakdowns weren’t available from Senate or Assembly offices.

AN ANALYSIS by the Freeman of funding allocated to local lawmakers showed state Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, leading the pack among area senators in member-item funding, receiving more than $2.2 million for 183 projects in communities throughout the 42nd Senate District.

Next in line was Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, who received just over $2 million in pork to spread across the 51st Senate District.

Sen. William Larkin, R-Cornwall-On-Hudson, received $2.17 million to distribute in the 39th Senate District; Sen. Vincent Leibell, R-Carmel, was awarded $2.15 million for the 40th Senate District; and Saland was allocated $1.95 million for the 41st Senate District.

Among local members of the state Assembly, where Democrats rule, Cahill brought home the most bacon, handing out $233,300 to organizations in the 101st Assembly District. That’s $86,800 more than the $146,500 Republican Assemblyman Thomas Kirwan of Newburgh was given to distribute through the 100th Assembly District. Assemblyman Joel Miller, R-Poughkeepsie, distributed $119,000 to local organizations in the 102nd Assembly District, while freshman Assemblyman Peter Lopez, R-Schoharie, got $109,000 for the 127th Assembly District. Fellow first-termer Molinaro was given $106,900 to spread throughout the 103rd Assembly District.

SCOTT Reif, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said several factors go into determining how much each legislator is allocated, “including community need and member seniority.”

“Our members make recommendations based on programs that they believe are worthy, and then we review those requests and, if appropriate, they will be part of the final budget,” Reif said.

The Assembly uses a similar process, said Cisa Moyo, a spokeswoman for Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan.

“The idea is that the Assembly members represent specific districts, so they know best what is needed in their districts,” she said. “We put an emphasis on programs that would not otherwise be funded and that serve a public purpose. We have and have always had an internal vetting process that’s applied very rigorously.”

HAVEN, at NYPIRG, said the fact that the level of funding differs among legislators and parties is an indication that the pork program is intended to be a political slush fund.

“With districts of roughly the same number of people, there’s no other way to explain the disparity in funding except raw political power,” he said. “That’s why senior members tend to get the most money, and that’s why less influential members of the minority party in the house don’t get much money at all.”

Haven said the projects up for funding should be subjected to a real review based on quality and need, as are other budget items.

Last year, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced his office would begin reviewing member-item allocations to ensure the programs receiving state funding “meet the legal mandate of having a public purpose.”

HAVEN said that, in most cases, critics don’t question the programs receiving funding, but rather the way the funding is awarded.

“It’s not that these programs are necessarily bad, although some of them look occasionally fishy,” he said. “It’s that there are considerations other than the merit of the program that goes into deciding which programs are funded.

“The party that controls the house – the Republicans in the Senate and the Democrats in the Assembly – their members get the lion’s share of the money, and that disenfranchises all New Yorkers,” Haven said. “It’s not based on the merits of worthiness or need of the particular group. … It’s based on other calculations, and they are very subjective and not vetted in any kind of hierarchy of need.”

SALAND concedes the process through which member-item funding is distributed to lawmakers “is anything but perfect.”

Even so, he said, “I think I would be remiss if I failed to make an effort to avail myself to this type of funding for my district.”

Saland said his office carefully reviews each request for funding and generally selects projects that focus on quality-of-life issues or otherwise would become a burden to property taxpayers.

“The vast, overwhelming majority of these projects are very important, critically important, to the respective communities they serve and often reflect an on-the-ground understanding of the community that a local legislator has,” the senator said.

The New York State Committee of the Working Families Party has endorsed Caroline Supervisor Don Barber as its candidate for state Senate District 51, the party announced Tuesday.

The endorsement, which follows a screening by the Herkimer-Oneida Chapter of the Working Families Party, will mean Barber will be on the party’s ballot line as well as that of the Democratic Party.

Barber is running against 22-year incumbent Republican James Seward. The district includes all or part of Greene, Schoharie, Herkimer, Otsego, Chenango, Cortland and Tompkins counties. The Tompkins County portion comprises the towns of Caroline, Danby, Dryden and Groton.

“We endorsed Barber because of his pledge to fight for issues that matter to ordinary New Yorkers — fair taxes, clean elections and good jobs,” said John Furman, Co-Chair of the Herkimer-Oneida Chapter of the Working Families Party.