Silver Aide Defends No-Vote on Congestion Pricing

I just got off the phone with Sheldon Silver spokesman Dan Weiller, who tried to explain his boss's decision not to bring congestion pricing legislation to a vote in the Assembly today.

“There was not enough support for this legislation in the Assembly majority -- not nearly enough support to bring this to the floor,” Weiller said.

Unlike Michael Bloomberg, Weiller doesn't think there needed to be a vote to find out where Assembly members stand on the legislation.

“Our members have been available to the press all day today to talk about where they are, what their positions are, and whether they support it or not,” he said. “We don’t vote in conference. People were very plain about what their positions were. Many of them have been willing to talk publicly about that.”

So, what was Sheldon Silver’s position on congestion pricing?

“The Speaker has expressed qualified support for the concept of congestion pricing. There were issues with the legislation, as it was set forth, that he wanted to see addressed,” Weiller said. “But, as he said, he was a lot more inclined to support it than many others.”