Sheldon Silver

The executive director of the labor-backed Working Families party just released a statement reiterating his opposition to the property tax cap that was passed in the State Senate today, saying it was wrong for those senators to "side" with Governor David Paterson on the plan.

Dan Cantor, Executive Director of the Working Families Party said: "The Senate made the wrong choice today in siding with Governor Paterson on his tax cap plan that will badly hurt school children without cutting taxes.
Thankfully a majority of Senate and Assembly Democrats and leaders like Speaker Sheldon Silver are standing up for our public schools and for real property tax relief. The Assembly's supports full funding for our schools and providing real relief to middle class families and seniors who need it most."

State Senate Leader Dean Skelos just announced he’s bringing lawmakers in his house back to Albany this Friday to pass a property tax cap bill.

It’s a measure that Skelos notes is favored by Democratic Governor David Paterson.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has said earlier that he opposed capping property taxes because that could leave school districts, which rely on property taxes, unable to pay their bills.

Which puts Silver in a familiar role of opposing the governor and State Senate leader. Just like old times.

Here’s that decade-old shark ad I referenced earlier, in which the New York Republican State Committee told upstate voters that “Sheldon Silver and the New York City Democrats just picked a New York City liberal for every major statewide office.”

And they’re going to tax and spend, the ad says. While the ad only names Sheldon Silver, it was a not-so-veiled effort to protect Republican Senator Al D'Amato from his Democratic challenger that year, then-congressman Chuck Schumer.

The regional appeal is similar -- in spirit, at least -- to the plea Republican State Senate Leader Dean Skelos made in his letter to upstate billionaire Tom Golisano - who says he’ll spend $5 million in this year’s legislative races.  read more »

In a letter dated today to billionaire Tom Golisano - who is vowing to pour $5 million into this year‘s elections - Republican Senate leader Dean Skelos makes the case that Republicans are the ones who have tried to make state government fiscally prudent and transparent.

And Skelos ends the letter by reminding Golisano, a Rochester man, that Democrats aren't so much from upstate. (Old theme!)

“Without the checks and balances we assure, state government would be totally controlled by Democrats from New York City. Keep in mind that a Democrat-controlled Senate would be lead by Malcolm Smith of Queens, Tom Duane from Greenwich Village (Manhattan) and Jeff Klein from the Bronx. The Assembly would be lead by Speaker Sheldon Silver of Manhattan. Thus, it is critical that you join our fight and help us achieve reform.”

Here’s Sheldon Silver playfully introducing Democratic County Leader Jose Rivera, also an assemblyman, at the Bronx Democratic County Dinner last night.

Silver told the crowd that Rivera was “in the Assembly for five years and he went to Albany Medical Center and the doctor told him to go on light duty. So, he went to the City Council for 13 years. And then he was all cured and he came back. Now he’s working again real hard.”

“I say that in jest,” said Silver to Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Guests also included Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, likely Republican mayoral candidate John Catisimatidis (who had brief chats with Silver and Cuomo); City Council members Eric Gioia, John Liu, and David Weprin; Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV; and former county leader Roberto Ramirez.

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Say one thing for Eliot Spitzer, in light of newly released testimony from the Troopergate affair: He knows how to stick to a story.

The former governor was spared, from a legal standpoint, because, according to the State Commission on Public Integrity: "[t]he failure to supervise subordinates, without more, does not violate the Public Officers Law." (The commission made public some 277 pages of sworn testimony it took from Mr. Spitzer on May 9 in Manhattan, and found that four of Mr. Spitzer's aides violates ethics law.)

But the documents do show the way in which Mr. Spitzer held fast to his claim, even after he left office, that it was his staff and not he who ordered the state police to create and disseminate travel records of Joe Bruno, who was then majority leader in the State Senate and Mr.  read more »

Sheldon Silver, who is facing a Democratic primary for the firs time in more than two decades, has raised $308,044.93 this filing period. He has $3,039,290.90 of cash left on hand for his campaign [number fixed].

Notable expenditure: $22,500 in March for polling by the Boston-based Kiley & Company.

UPDATE: A reader emails to say there's another $24,000 polling expenditure on 7/10 and another one for $332.55 on 4/17.

Here's one of Sheldon Silver’s Democratic opponents, Luke Henry, speaking before an endorsement meeting of the Stonewall Democratic Club last week.

In this clip, Henry challenges Silver’s commitment to same-sex marriage because, even as Silver helped it pass in the Assembly, he did little to try to flip the Republican-controlled State Senate, where the issue died.

“If there was a true, true commitment to these issues, we would have seen all his weight and force applied to the State Senate, which has been the obstacle. So that $3 million war chest should have been applied to the State Senate -- to making sure the State Senate was Democratic a long time ago.”

Stonewall voted to endorse Silver for re-election.

The Stonewall Democratic Club, one of the city's largest gay political clubs, held an endorsement meeting last night.

According to a club member, here is who the club is endorsing in a few key races:

-Challenger Kevin Powell over incumbent Representative Ed Towns

-Incumbent State Senator Marty Connor over insurgent Dan Squadron

-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver over his two challengers, Paul Newell and Luke Henry

-Incumbent State Senator Kevin Parker over challengers Kendall Stewart and Simcha Felder

-Manhattan Surrogate's Court candidate Nora Anderson

For those that want to get on the ballot this September in New York City, July 15 10 is the deadline to submit the signatures required, or, in the case of most candidates, including Sheldon Silver, more.

Silver's spokesman Jonathan Rosen e-mails, "More than 100 volunteers from across Lower Manhattan collected nearly 8,000 signatures to keep Shelly Silver as their voice in Albany." He also said that the Silver campaign has no plans to challenge anyone else's petitions.

The exact number of signatures required varies per district, but most Assembly candidates need only about 1,000 signatures to get on the ballot. Silver has two challengers also trying to get on the ballot.

Also at last night’s fund-raiser for Kevin Powell was one of Sheldon Silver’s opponents, Paul Newell.

It seemed like Newell, and fellow challenger Luke Henry, might get a boost when billionaire Tom Golisano announced he would launch a $5 million PAC to help shake up the legislative races and change Albany’s leadership-driven style of politics. But when Golisano made the announcement, he said he didn’t even know who was challenging Silver.

It might be somewhat mutual.

Last night, I asked Newell if he had gotten in touch with Golisano, as a campaign aide told reporters they would.

“I don’t know anything about it,” Newell said.

 

Rochester billionaire and three-time gubernatorial candidate Tom Golisano waved a $5 million check in front of reporters in Albany this morning and said he was forming a political action committee – “Responsible New York” – that he promised would help liberate lawmakers from the grip of party leaders.

Golisano has yet to endorse any legislative candidates, but his PAC will work on behalf of those who share his vision of reform. So far, he said, he has met with three Democrats running for the state Senate against incumbent Republicans. When asked about the G.O.P.’s slim control of that chamber, Golisano, who is still a registered Republican, said, “It has not been successful,” and he later wondered aloud why anybone would register with a political party.  read more »

Many people have thought for a long time that Michael Bloomberg’s solid waste plan--which included opening a garbage transfer station near Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District--would never pass in Albany, given that three Assembly members from Manhattan opposed it.

But at the end of session last week, the bill suddenly passed, with Sheldon Silver's support, although those Manhattan Assembly members still opposed it.

Matthew Washington, deputy director for Friends of Hudson River Park, which opposed the plan, couldn't quite explain what had changed. “Very early on, it seemed like he [Silver] was supportive of his members--Dick Gottfried, Deborah Glick, Linda Rosenthal--who’ve always been against using the Gansevoort site as a marine transfer station," Washington told me.  read more »

Recently, I wrote about the (legal and normal) process by which some politically connected nonprofits continue to get a good deal of money in City Council-distributed member items.

In the comments section on that post, a vigorous discussion ensued about the size of the salary earned by executive director William Rapfogel of the not-for-profit Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, which got $500,000 in member items this year.

For the record: he makes a lot of money by non-profit-world standards, but not quite as much as some commenters guessed.

According to Rapfogel, who I talked to on the phone just now, his current salary is $379,000, which squares with the number in the group’s 2005-2006 tax filing, the most recent one available online.

This is the first batch of member items to go through a new, more rigorous vetting process.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who hasn’t faced a Democratic opponent in 22 years, was out campaigning this Sunday, a spokesman for his campaign confirmed.

“Assembly member Silver spent some time on Sunday with a longtime resident of Village View who introduced him to some of her neighbors to hear their concerns and talk about his record fighting to preserve affordable housing in Lower Manhattan,” said Silver campaign spokesman Jonathan Rosen in an e-mail.

Silver’s campaign previously said he would not campaign until the legislative session ended and "once we know who all the candidates will be.”

That second part is usually code for the July 10 deadline for petitions and whatever additional time it takes to challenge the validity of those petitions in court. It looks like Silver isn't waiting.

This year, he's facing two Democratic opponents: Luke “Skywalker” Henry and Paul “Obamawitz” Newell.

 

Michael Bloomberg doesn't have very many reasons to be happy with Albany.

But here's one, maybe: Sheldon Silver is making encouraging noises about the mayor's effort to get a waste transfer station sited inside Gansevoort Park, an idea that seemed to stall in face of protests.

Here's a transcript, courtesy of an interested reader, of what Silver said during a press conference yesterday:

“One of the major problems with the bill that the Senate passed is that the actual language of the bill declares that a waste transfer station shall be deemed park purposes. We’re trying to understand if that means that children should be playing with the trucks that come in and out or the garbage that goes in and out.  read more »

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At a press conference in Albany earlier this afternoon, a very animated Sheldon Silver made the case against capping property taxes because, he says, it would hamper education spending.

Surrounded by legislative leaders, including David Paterson, who supports the tax cap, Silver said, “I want to know when school districts are paying double for fuel. We don’t tell them: ‘Tell the kids to bring sweaters and put the thermostat at 58 degrees.' I want to know the resources are at the schools.”

Silver also made the case that some people who are slated to get property tax relief may not really need it.

“I want to know we’re delivering property tax relief to people that need it, not people who choose to own five and ten million dollar mansions, who make more than a million dollars a year.”

One of Sheldon Silver’s Democratic opponents is asking him to release his tax returns, and, in making the case for him to do so, is quoting one of Silver's allies: Marty Connor.

In this Downtown Express article, Connor, who has been Silver's legislative partner and election lawyer for years, said he would release his own taxes for the last five years and says, “Why not do it?"  read more »

David Paterson spoke with Barack Obama around 2 p.m., he told reporters in Midtown during the New York State Democratic Party’s meeting.

“He asked me how the first two and a half months were going," Paterson said. "And I told him it might have even been more difficult than your campaign.”  read more »

From Geoffrey Gray's New York magazine profile of State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver:

He recalls a conversation he had with Robert Rubin—the former Treasury secretary, current Citigroup director, and friend of the billionaire mayor’s. Rubin, like us, was also stuck in traffic and decided to give Silver a call to talk up the proposal. Silver says, “Let me ask you something, Bob. Are you in one of those limo-type cars?” He was.  read more »

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It should, theoretically, be the least of concerns for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's primary challengers to petition successfully for a place on the ballot. (Only 500 signatures are required in the district.) But they're not taking any chances.

This morning, one of Silver’s opponents, Luke Henry, announced that he’s retained Alan Zimmerman, a petition specialist. In announcing Zimmerman's hire, Henry's campaign said, "No campaign for which Zimmerman has directed the petitioning operation has ever failed to get onto the ballot. This is no small accomplishment in New York, where candidates are often 'bumped' from the ballot for failing to comply with meaningless technicalities."  read more »

David Paterson said this morning that he expects to call a special session of the Legislature to negotiate budget cuts, possibly even before the next election, although he acknowledged that the legislative leaders—Joe Bruno and Sheldon Silver—would prefer to wait until after the elections are over.

"Time is not on our side here," Paterson said, speaking on Fred Dicker's radio show on Talk 1300. "I do have some sympathy for the cuts we made to SUNY," he said, but went on to add, "We need to find an overall solution" for the state budget deficit.  read more »

Luke Henry, one of Sheldon Silver's Democratic opponents, announced this morning that he's opening 400-square-foot campaign office on Madison Street in the middle of the lower Manhattan Assembly district.

Silver's other Democratic opponent, Paul Newell, opened a campaign office in Chinatown earlier.  read more »

In this clip from the DFNYC-Young Manhattan Democrats debate last Sunday, both Paul Newell and Luke Henry are asked if they would step aside to improve the other's chances against the incumbent they hope to unseat: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Both say no.

Henry, an attorney, also says he's the more viable candidate because he has more lawyers and money. Community organizer Newell says that “there is no question” that “the winds of change are blowing” in the district.

Of course, the argument between Silver's challengers about viability is purely relative. And perhaps one of them might feel more compelled to step aside if either had a a discernable route to victory. Consensus, needless to say, is that the don't.

As consultant Joe Mercurio told me, “I can’t even envision a way to beat Sheldon Silver."  read more »

The second part of yesterday’s DFNYC debate was for the Assembly race in Sheldon Silver's district, where the speaker faces two challengers: attorney Luke Henry and community organizer Paul Newell.
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One benefit to running against a longtime incumbent, as one of Sheldon Silver’s Democratic primary opponents shows, is that you can raise money in eye-catching amounts, like $32 (for the number of years Silver has been in office), or $354 (which is the number of millions NYC lost when they shot down congestion pricing).

Also, notably, I'd be willing to bet that the Assembly speaker has spent comparatively little time at Piano's, the Lower East Side music venue where, according to this flier, Paul Newell is holding his May 22 event.

There was some expectation that Sheldon Silver would attend the Stonewall Democratic Club annual fund-raiser on West 26th Street last night, since he already had a ticket, but the Assembly speaker didn't make it.

He did, however, send spokesman Dan Weiller, who is openly gay.  read more »

Democracy for New York City, the progressive group related to Howard Dean's Democracy for America, is holding a forum on Sunday, May 18 for the candidates in two upcoming elections: the one for Sheldon Silver's Assembly seat, and the challenge to State Senator Marty Connor.
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David Brock's group Progressive Media has scaled back its planned $40 million effort because the Obama campaign disapproves of 527s. [The Fix]

Obama said George W. Bush's comments about appeasement were a false attack. [AP]

Kirsten Gillibrand had a boy. [Capitol Confidential]  read more »

Here’s Village Voice investigative reporter Wayne Barrett in City Hall today, saying that Christine Quinn shouldn’t necessarily be held responsible for the City Council's recent troubles.
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In this campaign video, one of Sheldon Silver’s opponents, Luke Henry, hits the street to push his fund-raising philosophy.
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Should Governor Paterson indeed move the Moynihan Station project under the control of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as he said he wants to do, at least two members of the State Assembly are poised to resist the action: Richard Gottfried, the district’s representative, and Richard Brodsky, the chairman of the committee that oversees public authorities.

“It’s a New York project; it ought to be run by a New York agency,” Mr. Brodsky said. “As a bi-state authority, they [the Port Authority] have been unresponsive, remote and immune to reform.”

Moving Moynihan from the state-controlled Empire State Development Corporation to the Port Authority would remove the Legislature from any direct control over the project, taking away its ability to pass laws about the plan or have approval power via the Public Authorities Control Board. (The PACB blocked the project from moving forward in a phased plan at the end of the Pataki administration.)  read more »

The executive director of the Working Families Party, Dan Cantor, showed support for Sheldon Silver in an interview with OpenLeft published today, calling attacks from the left on the incumbent Democrat “intellectually shallow and politically naive.”  read more »

Sheldon Silver is giving money to the Stonewall Democratic Club for the first time. In the past, the 32-year-incumbent and Orthodox Jew has not conspicuously supported the causes embraced by many gay activists in his district--or at least he didn't before bringing gay marriage legislation to a vote in the Assembly last June.

Silver paid $500 for a ticket to the May 15 annual fund-raiser for Stonewall, which is based in his district and considered one of the major Democratic clubs for the gay community. He is also expected to attend.

According to a search of campaign finance records, Silver has never given a contribution to the group before. Nor has he given to Lambda Independent Democrats.

The May 15 fund-raiser is the first major event the group has hosted since the Assembly passed the same-sex marriage bill last year. It's also in the run-up to the September primaries, which Silver is taking more seriously than usual as he faces two spirited challengers.  read more »

Inez Barron, wife of outspoken City Councilman Charles Barron, just kicked off her campaign for State Assembly, and, while vowing to be an independent voice for change, hasn’t ruled out seeking the support of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

“No I have not been in touch with Shelly Silver -- our campaign is a grassroots campaign,” she said.

When asked if that meant not seeking Silver’s support, Inez replied, “I didn’t say that.” So, would she? “I might.”  read more »

With all the talk about Sheldon Silver's efforts during the congestion pricing fight to keep his members happy, it's easy to overlook the fact that he's been quietly tending to his other constituents—the ones who will, barring a shock upset, vote to return him to his seat on the Lower East Side later this year.

A reader passed along this ad for Silver, which appeared in this week’s issue of Downtown Express.

A spokesman for Silver’s campaign said it was paid for by the campaign and ads like this have appeared throughout the past decade. (His campaign finances show he has run ads as early as February in any given year.)

Silver is facing two Democratic primary challengers this year, and may have inspired a billionaire mayor (and his top political aide) to look at the race anew.

Here's spokesman Jonathan Rosen's e-mailed explanation:  read more »

Michael Bloomberg is having another run at Albany lawmakers, but this time, he's taking a less direct approach.

At an event in midtown yesterday afternoon, Bloomberg said he was donating money to help Arnold Schwarzenegger’s effort to push nonpartisan redistricting in California and said he hoped the efforts out there would advance the issue here.

If California could do it, Bloomberg said, it might "shame" New York lawmakers into doing likewise.  read more »

Michael Bloomberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke with Charlie Rose about the economic and political issues they're facing at the annual Card Luncheon, which is going on at the Four Seasons in midtown right now.

Bloomberg acknowledged the economy is tough, but said that because the cost of construction is coming down, "if you want to build a building, now is the time to do it."

Schwarzenegger thanked the mayor for donating money to push the governor's plan for redistricting in California.

Bloomberg said he'd like that to happen here, and that if legislators can't be convinced to do it, he could "maybe shame them into doing it."

Here are the priorities listed on this year's New York City Card, according to a release sent out by the mayor's office:  read more »

One of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's challengers in the Democratic primary this year, Luke Henry, released his tax information this morning and called on the 32-year incumbent to disclose more about his outside sources of income.

The other challenger in the race, Paul Newell, a community organizer, released his tax information last month.  read more »

Dan Squadron is trying to unseat fellow Democrat Marty Connor for state Senate, in the district that represents lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

But more interesting than the people on the ballot are how Demoratic power brokers are lining up in that fight. Schumer is supporting Squardon, his former aide, against Connor, who didn’t support Schumer in his 1998 primary for Senate.

But as the invitation for Connor’s May 8th fund-raiser at the Ritz Carlton shows, he's got a good chunk of the rest of the party establishment.  read more »

Just days before the deadline to get federal funding for congestion pricing, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine suddenly came out loudly in opposition to the plan.

This morning, WNYC's Soterios Johnson asked Corzine if he had discussed congestion pricing with Michael Bloomberg before that time, and what led him to vocally oppose it so shortly before the deadline.

"We had long discussions with many people in the administration," Corzine said. "And I with the mayor himself, and had no conceptual difference of view with regard to congestion pricing. In fact, New Jersey drivers today are paying that $8 price to come across the George Washington Bridge or come through the tunnels. We had, I thought, an agreement that there wouldn't be any increase in congestion pricing beyond the $8, or, it would be offset by what we were already paying.  read more »

At the mayor's appearance in Bay Ridge with John McCain, I saw Kevin Sheekey, the deputy mayor who recently went on NY1 to blast Sheldon Silver for not bringing congestion pricing to the Assembly floor for a vote.  read more »