Blair Horner

Blair Horner of the good-government group NYPIRG was just on Fred Dicker's Talk 1300 radio show, saying that Tom Golisano may "undermine his own efforts" if "he gets caught up in the courts."

Golisano, who pledged yesterday to put $5 million towards State Senate races, mainly in western New York, says he's launching a political action committee. Horner said the problem may be that laws surrounding P.A.C.s do not allow them to coordinate with campaigns at all.

Golisano, by his own admission, has already met with some campaigns.

"It's pretty murky," Horner said.

Blair Horner is leaving Andrew Cuomo's staff and returning to his work with N.Y.P.I.R.G.

Here's the statement:  read more »

Andrew Cuomo will unveil his long-anticipated Project Sunlight tomorrow.

The Internet database will track New York State "donors, lobbyists, special interests, state contracts, and elected officials--and the links between them.”

Spearheading this project for Cuomo is N.Y.P.I.R.G.’s former Albany activist Blair Horner, who Cuomo hired shortly after taking office.

Any predictions about what this is going to turn up?

Andrew Cuomo has just announced that he has hired longtime good government activist Blair Horner as a special advisor in the Policy and Public Integrity Unit.

Horner, a registered lobbyist with NYPIRG, will oversee "New York State's first-ever comprehensive Internet database tracking donors, lobbyists, special interests, state contracts, and elected officials, and the links between them."  read more »

Full statement after the jump.

-- Azi Paybarah

Immediately after climbing the 77 steps of the Albany Capitol for a photo op with his predecessor, a  read more »

Good government groups are taking advantage of the lull in news on Day 2 to outline the proposals they'd like Eliot Spitzer to include in his state of the state address tomorrow.

The ten proposals, presented at a press conference by Blair Horner of NYPIRG and Rachel Leon of Common Cause, include creating an independent ethics commission, ending "pay to play" and restricting the personal use of campaign contributions.

Unlike the executive orders for state employees Spitzer signed yesterday, these reforms would apply to legislators -- and would require their approval.

How would the new governor get that? Precedent would suggest the precise sort of three men in a room-style of compromise building that has characterized Albany lawmaking for years.

Still, Horner said, if that's what it took to get ethics changes, it wouldn't be so bad.

The list of ten proposals is after the jump.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

Random mini-highlights from a New School forum today about the incoming Spitzer administration:

NYPIRG's Albany man Blair Horner said the new governor "has to have a big reform victory that people understand" quickly, because the longer he's there, and the more Spitzer works with lawmakers, the harder it'll be to leverage public support for major changes.

Lobbyist and consultant Norman Adler criticized the much-discussed Brennan Center report about how to reform the state legislature for shoddy methodology. They "should be embarrassed to put that report out," he said.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld said that one major mistake he made as governor was to have been "too savage" with legislative leaders from the other party. Which makes it all the more intriguing to think about what might have happened if he ever made it to Albany.

And former New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio, who lost his seat because he passed a huge tax increase, partly in order to fund a CFE-like lawsuit, said his situation was made so difficult because, unlike governors in New York, he couldn't borrow money to pay for operating expenses.

-- Azi Paybarah

Writing about the other scandal of the day, Blair Horner thinks the indictment of labor-leader and Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin "should be an indictment of Albany's political culture. A culture that is far more interested in maintaining a clearly ethically challenged status quo than working for change."

George Pataki is going to Harvard. For a speech.

In the exciting world of federal interest rates...nothing changed.

Grand Army Plaza gets some changes that should make pedestrians happy.

Alan Hevesi will be greeted by the Young Republicans outside the NY1 studios, and from every reporter in New York.

Ben notices an interesting headline swap after the same-sex/gay marriage ruling.

A reader emails to report that Charles Barron gave Jimmy Oddo an ovation because Oddo, the Republican minority leader on the council, criticized Rush Limbaugh.  read more »

And above is Alan Hevesi in happier times.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here's something worth keeping an eye on: an announcement in the New York State Assembly of hearings on redistricting.

For good government types, redistricting would be a dream, wresting the reigns of power from the autocratic hands of legislative leaders and giving citizens a legitimate chance at unseating sinecured incumbents from their purposefully drawn districts.

But will Sheldon Silver really want to change any part of the system that has allowed him to compile a 105-seat, veto-proof majority?

Blair Horner, legislative director for NYPIRG, thinks Silver may not have a choice, optimistically telling Newsday's Lauren Weber that "it'll be hard for them to have hearings and then do nothing, especially with a new governor coming in who wants to see some changes."

Anyone out there want to take that bet?