What's Under the Tree?

Many gifts were exchanged throughout the country as millions of people celebrated this holiday season. Many of these people, either due to conflicts in schedules or just because they felt like it, exchanged those gifts early. Politicians and other important figures are no exception. Sorry, some of the gifts are non-returnable!

Alan Hevesi:

Of course, Hevesi had to do some of the legwork to receive the gift. But all he had to do was admit to a felony and vacate the State Comptroller's office.

Eliot Spitzer: Alan Hevesi's head on a platter.

The "Day One" Express is now pushing full-steam ahead now that Hevesi's mess has been removed from the tracks. Spitzer will also have the opportunity to mold the future of the Comptroller's office. While it is possible that he will butt heads with Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver, it is also likely that Spitzer can use his momentum to sway enough representatives in the merged State Assembly (for the purposes of confirming a new Comptroller) to pass his choice and undermine Silver's power.

Sheldon Silver: Alan Hevesi's head on a platter.

Hevesi's resignation places Silver in a commanding position when the time comes to install a new Comptroller. The State Assembly and Senate will merge to confirm the potential Comptroller, with each representative on equal footing, regardless of the chamber of the Legislature in which they were elected to office. Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno and his Senate Republicans are marginalized as Silver's Assembly Democrats consist of by far the largest faction.

This scenario gives Silver a path to reassert his power on the state government and prove that he is still very much a part of the Three Men in the Room.

The outcome of the selection will determine whether Spitzer or Silver is the victor and if they received the actual head on the platter, instead of the plastic fake.

Joe Bruno: An investigation into his ties with groups involved in horse racing and those that might have given him far too many perks in return for favors from the powerful Bruno.

From the Times' article:

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The trip, which included three aides to the senator and a veterinarian who has been close to Mr. Bruno for years, would become a catalyst for investigations into the business activities of Mr. Bruno, a thoroughbred enthusiast who has long raised horses on his farm in Brunswick, N.Y., northeast of Albany.

The trip to Kentucky was arranged by two officials at the Friends of New York Racing, a short-lived advocacy group formed by racing fans and executives intent on overhauling the Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga tracks, the centerpiece of an industry that generates $1.4 billion a year in economic activity in New York State.

After producing a 20-page report in December 2005, the group dissolved this year amid infighting, with many of its top directors and staff members joining a consortium that is now vying for the state’s lucrative horseracing franchise.

In recent months, the advocacy group and one of its founding directors, Jared E. Abbruzzese, have emerged as central elements of separate investigations by the state lobbying commission and a federal grand jury.

The lobbying commission is examining whether Mr. Abbruzzese, a businessman and longtime friend of Senator Bruno’s, violated state law by giving free or discounted flights to the senator.

Federal authorities are examining, among other things, whether substantial payments by Mr. Abbruzzese to Mr. Bruno’s private consulting firm were part of an effort to influence the senator, who is likely to have a major say over who gets the racing franchise.

The authorities have also issued a subpoena to Wayne R. Barr Jr., a lawyer and business associate of Mr. Abbruzzese’s, who helped arrange Mr. Bruno’s trip to Kentucky.

The person behind the Friends of New York Racing was Timothy G. Smith, a former executive at the P.G.A. of America, the golf association, and at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

The new group was formed in late 2004 in response to the economic threat that video lottery terminals and casinos run by Indian tribes posed to the New York and national horse racing industries.

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The trip is referring to a trip to Lexington, Kentucky that included a visit to a racetrack and auction and concluded with a fundraiser for Bruno's Senate Republican majority.

Michael Bloomberg: A very good year.

Aside from the Sean Bell incident and the ten-day Queens blackout in the summer (two large asides), Michael Bloomberg has had a pretty good year. Whether he runs or not, the speculation that he would run an independent bid for the White House in 2008 is keeping him popular.

Democrat State Senator Efrain Gonzalez: An indictment to match the previous one.

Republican State Senator Mike Balboni: A nice job with the Spitzer administration.

New York Democrats: Not only do they receive much-needed aspirin to treat a case of Hevesitis, but they also have the chance to pick up Balboni's seat and move one closer towards taking the State Senate.

New York Republicans: Not a very good holiday for them. However, Governor Pataki's reign at the top is ending. With complaints that Pataki did not maintain a strong Republican Party in New York State that led to the trouncing of most Republican candidates around the state, this is a chance to clean house.

New York City Council: Pay Day!

New York Residents: More of the same in the state governemt? That's Mickey Carroll's prediction.

Residents Surrounding the Atlantic Yards: Not quite what a lot of you wanted.

The plan to build office towers, the arena for the New Jersey Nets basketball team, et cetera, cleared Shelly Silver's possible objection and can proceed.

President George W. Bush: Well, he did get his new Defense Secretary through....

The New Democratic Congress: Lots of work.

Unfinished spending bills will have to go through for the current fiscal year to keep the government running. The Democrats are talking about ending the rule of the earmark on Capitol Hill, but with the Republicans opting to punt, the Democrats will have some tough battles ahead as individual representatives will fight to keep their projects, whether they are worthy or not.

Saddam Hussein: Death.

The Fox News story and their picture from last night.


The New York Daily News.


The New York Times.


Obviously big news, especially given the timing, coming at dawn on the day of a Muslim holiday, Eid ul-Adha. Historic as it is, KipEsquire warns not to overindulge in any celebrations. Hussein's fate was sealed once he was captured. However, his death does mark the end of an era in Iraq (whether you believe the new one is a good one or not) and the healing from his tyrannical rule can begin.

These are but the many gifts, whether they're good or not, that were found under the tree for many of the people that affect our lives daily.

As it is still within the Twelve Days of Christmas, Merry Christmas to all, and to all, Happy Holidays. Sorry, Bill O'Reilly, there are more holidays out there.


Picture of the 2003 Christmas Tree at the Capitol.

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Malcolm Smith Looks to Stuff His Wallet This Thanksgiving

Capitol Confidential posted some highlights from State Senator Malcolm Smith's first address to Senate Democrats, who formally elected him to be Senate Minority Leader when the new term begins on January 1st. Aside from stating that neither he nor Senate Democrats will comment on whether the Senate should put Comptroller Alan Hevesi on trial, Smith did note that he thought the 25% pay raise the New York City Council voted for itself was a top notch idea and should be imported to the state level as soon as possible.

The reasons Smith gave for his support for such a measure were that state lawmakers were hardworking and that there has not been an increase in eight years.

The $79,500 yearly salary for all members of the state legislature, both Assemblymen and Senators, has been in place for quite a while, thus, Smith's assessment on that matter is correct. It's a fact but that alone does not mean that these lawmakers deserve a raise.

However, Senator Smith's claim that members of the Senate are by and large hardworking falls flat on its face. New York's legislature is notoriously known as a body that has been driven to the ground. An army of lobbyists have found fertile ground in Albany, thanks to the Legislature. The Democrats and the Republicans have agreed to master the art of gerrymandering (via computer programs that perfectly slice and dice New York into Assembly and Senate districts) so that state lawmakers essentially have guaranteed employment for life. A state lawmaker is more likely to retire, die, or be indicted than be voted out of office. The Democratic wave that swept across the statewide offices and ushered in a Democratic Congress dislodged a grand total of one Republican State Senator. Government watchdog groups call for the legislature to pull itself into some sort of working order and transparency.

Certainly some measure of the dysfunction in Albany falls under the domain of outgoing Governor and wannabe President George Pataki, who forms one-third of the infamous "Three Men in a Room" system that handles much of policy and pork of the state government. However, the other two men in that room, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D) and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R), have been directly responsible for the mess in the Legislature. And a majority of the lawmakers in both chambers have been happily letting the Legislature throw itself down the drain. As long as they maintain their jobs-for-life with the least strenuous work schedule possible.

The question for Senator Smith is "Working hard or hardly working?"

As thin as the case for the City Council was, the act that Smith is trying to pull is ridiculous. The case that each member of the Senate or the Legislature is a hardworking servant of the people of the State of New York doesn't even have a leg to stand on. Smith, instead of outlining a vision to fix Albany, used his first words as the incoming Senate Minority Leader to call for a larger paycheck.

This is not to say that every member of the Legislature is a sack of crap or that all members do not care about New Yorkers. There are exceptions, perhaps quite a few. Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer should provide cover for these lawmakers as part of the campaign to change everything starting on "Day One." Hopefully, such plans are in the works.

Malcolm Smith, for his part, should use the prospect of a pay raise to rally Senate Democrats to work and work hard. He should back up his words with action. His next words should call for a more efficient and more transparent state government. Whatever he has said already about fixing state government must now be repeated, especially to members of the Senate Democrats. After letting his hopes for a raise be known, he should be prepared to work for it.

Of course, since all it would take to get a pay raise is an agreement with Senate Republicans over lunch and a conversation about the joys of incumbent-friendly districts, hoping that Smith (or the rest of the Legislature for that matter) will back up his claims with true action is more than likely a futile exercise, no matter what is said about reform.

It is now up to Malcolm Smith to prove that sentiment wrong.

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