John Flanagan
Public Authorities Reform Before End of Session? Perhaps
About a year ago, reform of the state’s public authorities came close to a reality before legislation talks broke down in Albany, and now, with state legislators set to adjourn for the summer on June 23, Newsday has an editorial calling for reform once again.
Critics of authorities, semi-independent state agencies like the M.T.A. and the Long Island Power Authority, have long called for reform, saying the bodies have too little oversight and are prone to irresponsible spending.
“There’s been a lot of work being done to prepare the ground for agreement,” Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, chairman of the Assembly committee for authorities, told us Monday. “Over the last week, I’ve been in what I’ll call very, very constructive and active discussions directly with Governor Paterson and his senior staff about the single most important reform,” public authorities reform, he said.
Discussions, of course, do not necessarily mean forward movement. read more »
The Debate Over Spitzer's Abandoned Plan
After the death the death of Eliot Spitzer's plan to give undocumented residents driver’s licenses, the new debate is about who's to blame for the way things turned out.
During a roundtable discussion with legislators on Inside City Hall, Democratic Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, Jr. of the Bronx said it was Spitzer’s fault for not holding out for some concession.
read more »
Everyone Out of the Pool
"Bruno is believed to be trying to persuade the four governor wannabes (Long Islanders Michael Balboni, John Flanagan and Kenneth LaValle, plus Raymond Meier of Oneida County) to run for re-election next year, knowing open seats are much harder to protect. Consider that Bruno, discussing the race for the 2006 Republican nomination for governor on WROW Tuesday, named every GOP hopeful - except his four Senate colleagues," the Syracuse Post-Standard reports. read more »
But considering the strength (and number) of other contenders vying to take on Eliot Spitzer in 2006, any attempt to scare off these relative small-fry seems a little redundant.
(via Democracy in Albany)Who Owned Lizzie's Getaway Car? Besieged Club Guy Andrew Sasson
