Pedro Espada Jr. | The New York Observer

Thanksgiving Without Turkeys

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:15:43 -0500

ALBANY—Sheldon Silver's Turkey is sweet and unroasted.

"I enjoy Thanksgiving by getting a Baskin-Robbins turkey-shaped ice cream cake," the Assembly speaker said yesterday. "My children don't like turkey."

State Senator John Sampson, the leader of that chamber's Democratic conference, told reporters yesterday on the floor that "I don't eat Turkey," and said he was a vegetarian, when asked.

David Paterson, according to an aide, is expected to spend Thanksgiving in Albany at the Governor's...

Senate Dems Insist They're Getting Close

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:28:29 -0500

ALBANY—It seems the State Senate Democrats are coalescing around a deficit reduction proposal--the question is whether it will be acceptable to everyone else.

"I said last night we're only $200 million apart on a $3.2 billion DRP," State Senator Liz Krueger said this morning. We've gone back in this morning with a number of additional proposals, as the governor himself has said that he would come back with."

"I hope that we get this...

Paterson Says That the Senate Has Secretly Promised to Vote on Same-Sex Marriage

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:47:44 -0500

ALBANY—A vote on same-sex marriage will be held "at a date not certain between now and the end of the year," David Paterson just promised publicly.

"This is the first time the Senate leadership has indicated that it will support a vote on marriage equality," Paterson said. He also committed to putting the bill on the calendar for a special session next week.

Conspicuously absent from the Red Room press conference where Paterson spoke...

Espada Promises the Repeal of Vacancy Decontrol and More

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:12:11 -0400

Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada said he would sponsor legislation to repeal vacancy decontrol.

Speaking at a rally organized by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, Espada was asked, in front of a crowded gymnasium, if he would support repealing that law.

“The question is answered by saying yes,” Espada said.

To make sure, a member of the group sponsoring the event asked Espada the question a second time.

“Very very clearly. The answer is yes. However,...

Espada: 'One Has to Be Very, Very Careful'

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:43:00 -0400

ALBANY—For those of you who can't get enough of State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., he sat down with Susan Arbetter on New York NOW this week for a long, wide-ranging interview. "One has to be very, very careful, because at any given time, an agreement, a deal could be cut that leaves you out," Espada, who did a double-double-cross to become the chamber's majority leader, told Arbetter. Here's a clip of Espada talking about the Democratic...

Klein Outraises Everyone, Espada Tells an Untruth About Filing

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:46:00 -0400

ALBANY—State Senator Jeff Klein raised more money in the last six months than any other member of his chamber. Klein's filing shows that the deputy majority leader raised $638,564, and has $866,984 in the bank. That's more than President Pro Tempore Malcolm Smith, who raised $575,835; Republican Leader Dean Skelos, who raised $256,022; Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, who raised $105,223; and Senator Carl Kruger, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who raised $541,510. It's...

Who Runs the Senate? (July 17 Edition)

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:05:00 -0400

ALBANY—So now that the Senate is nominallly a functioning body, who's running it? It's not an easy question to answer. "It's not a clear, bipartisan operating agreement, but it's not as though the Democrats have established clear control over the Legislature again and are consistently moving their agenda," Justin Phillips, a political science professor at Columbia University who researches state government, just told me by phone. "The Democrats are nominally back in charge, but until we...

Obscene Gesture: Senate Dems Take Up Anti-Mayoral Control Bill

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:14:00 -0400

ALBANY—Not only have Democrats in the State Senate turned their back on Michael Bloomberg's vision of school governance legislation, they're mooning him. Senators will act on a bill—called the "Better Schools Act"—that is stridently opposed by the mayor because it dilutes his influence over the school system by eliminating his ability to appoint a majority of the Panel for Educational Policy and giving members a fixed two-year term. It also has other mechanisms for increasing...

Republicans Leave as Dems Do Ordinary Senate Session; Medical Absence Leaves Them One Vote Short of Quorum

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:43:00 -0400

ALBANY—The same two-part dance played out on the chamber floor just now as in recent days: two parties, two procedures. After that happened, Republicans walked out of the chamber and into an immediate conference. But this time, double-flipping senator Pedro Espada Jr. remained alongside 30 other Democrats. (State Senator George Onorato has not yet checked in. Angelo Aponte, the Senate secretary, said he is absent to have an adjustment to his pacemaker.) "Despite some of the...

Espada's Promise

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:17:00 -0400

ALBANY—The four amigos walked out of the office of State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. and onto the floor of the chamber—saying little, if anything—where an extraordinary session by David Paterson has been called for 3 p.m. Republicans were there, too, and one handed me a letter that Espada, who has apparently flipped back to the Democrats, sent to his Senate colleagues. It reads in part: Several weeks ago we collectively began our historic, unprecedented journey for...

There and Back Again

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:56:00 -0400

The amigos just walked into the Senate chamber gallery from Pedro Espada’s office to pose for this photo. Steve Pigeon, the top operative for billionaire Tom Golisano, emerged to say that Golisano still supported Espada, who is now back with majority Senate Democrats. Espada, along with Hiram Monserrate, began the whole Senate coup by defecting to the Republicans, with the backing and active encouragement of Golisano. Democratic Senator Eric Adams had this to say about Espada's...

Source: Espada Triple-Crosses, Ending Stalemate

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:54:00 -0400

ALBANY—A Democratic state senator involved in negotiations just confirmed that State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. will be returning to that conference as co-majority leader. "I think the conference will go for it," the source said. Espada is right now standing on the balcony over the Senate chamber talking to Steve Pigeon. Espada told Fred Dicker that "Dean [Skelos] rejected an opportunity" and now he's returning to the Democrats. This would end the stalemate that has hobbled Albany...

Sources: Leadership Deal Has Smith and Skelos Splitting Top Jobs

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:17:00 -0400

ALBANY—Negotiations to resolve the State Senate leadership struggle include a deal that would make Malcolm Smith the chamber's president pro tempore and Dean Skelos the majority leader, sources familiar with the discussions said. Irene Liu at Capitol Confidential reported this earlier, and has more on the second level of leadership. I've heard that things are still fluid regarding the role of the much-maligned Senator Pedro Espada Jr., who currently claims the title of president pro tempore,...

Paterson Acts, Senators From Both Parties Complain

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:38:00 -0400

ALBANY—David Paterson publicly declared Sunday he would force the State Senate into a special session on Tuesday, barring some resolution of the leadership struggle in the chamber that is entering its third week. In doing so, Paterson had harsh words for senators, many of whom are former colleagues: "Over the last few weeks, the senators' conduct has been laughable. But what's going on around here these days is no joke, and I don't find it...

As Espada Speaks for Them, a Republican Coalition Maintains Its Posture

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:49:00 -0400

ALBANY—They're allied with him in the quest to wrest control of the State Senate leadership, but there are some lingering misgivings among Republicans in the chamber about the partnership with State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. "Several of them are in ‘Oh my God, what have we done' mode," said one Republican who is close to many of the senators. "Pedro is obviously enjoying this immensely. The image of Dean standing mute while Pedro pontificates is...

The Paterson Solution?

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:50:00 -0400

ALBANY—Thursday was a day of circular progression back to a stalemate in the battle over State Senate leadership, with a Democrat almost joining the Republicans on the floor for their daily routine of "session," but not, and Democratic lawyers almost re-filing a restraining order against State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., but balking at the bench. One thing grew clearer by day's end: a growing sense of futility and greater disconnect between the parties. As a...

Political Questions Aside, Espada's Health Clinic Passes Inspection

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:56:00 -0400

ALBANY—Just over a month ago now, shortly after State Senator Malcolm Smith made the fateful decision to demand some accountability to then conference-mate Pedro Espada Jr., I FOILed inspection records from his Soundview Healthcare Network, a nonprofit which Espada has allegedly used to promote his political campaigns. Espada has denied the charge. Anyway, no smoking guns. A man who complained, loudly and repeatedly, about his kidney dialysis. A woman who claims she had HPV and...

Dems Try to Restrain Espada, Again

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:41:00 -0400

ALBANY—Democrats are once again trying to have State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. restrained from performing the office of president pro tempore, which he claims to occupy as part of the ongoing leadership struggle in that chamber. I'm told by Democratic staffers that the suit will be filed this afternoon, but am not sure which court. The language is the same as in an order obtained last week—Espada would be constrained under Article IV Section 6—with one...

Skelos Refuses to Endorse Espada Publicly

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:37:00 -0400

ALBANY—Emerging from closed door negotiations, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. did not get an endorsement by Republican Leader Dean Skelos. Espada proclaimed to reporters: "I just want to address the many questions you have posed to my office this morning regarding some scurrilous rumors about their being an agreement that Pedro Espada would step down. Let's be clear about where this coalition stands. The coalition is firm, it's united. We are discussing the details of...

Democrats Cast Stones at Republicans, Espada

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:47:00 -0400

ALBANY—State Senate Democrats are launching a counteroffensive in the leadership struggle over their chamber. The target: State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. In four separate press releases sent over the course of 20 minutes, four different Democrats are criticizing Republicans who are standing by Espada's claim that he is the president pro tempore of the chamber. "I ask him and his fellow Long Island Republican senators the following question: Do you really believe that having Pedro Espada...

Republicans Make an Offer That Leaves Skelos and Espada in Charge

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:41:00 -0400

ALBANY—Republicans just made a counter-proposal for bipartisan operating of the State Senate, as the deadlocked chamber moves to resolve an ongoing leadership struggle. The Republican proposal would last until 2011. It would leave Republican leader Dean Skelos in the majority leader post and State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., a Democrat, as president pro tempore. The two would jointly publish an active list of bills, but any member could move to have a bill they sponsored put...

Espada Wants an IG Probe of His Investigators, IG Says No

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:19:00 -0400

ALBANY—The charges against him are selectively pursued, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. insisted. The Daily News reported this morning that Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson has subpoenaed his legislative records dating back to 1993. Last night, Espada's press aide put out an announcement confirming the investigation, and vowing he would file a complaint with State Inspector General Joseph Fisch for "prosecutorial misconduct and selective prosecution." "In 2000, it took a Bronx jury all of 15 minutes...

Paterson on Governing Amid Senate Chaos, Circling 'Sharks'

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:30:00 -0400

Ask David Paterson about Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and he will respond, without naming names, by talking about people who are “half-governing.” He does not mean this in a good way. “I am the only one who is governing the people of this state. Others, who comment, half-govern,” said the governor, in a wide-ranging, hour-long interview on June 15. “Let’s take this crisis,” he continued. “You haven’t heard anybody other than the governor suggest...

'This Mess Is Worse Than Ever'

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:46:00 -0400

ALBANY—Apparently, the court decision that both sides in the State Senate leadership struggle were waiting for has changed nothing. Both sides claimed victory when Justice Thomas McNamara dismissed a suit filed last week by the Democrats, a suit which would have declared Malcolm Smith (still!) the majority leader and president pro tempore in the Senate. Democrats said they would not appeal the ruling, and once again reiterated their desire to work out some sort of...

Espada Jr. Implores Dems to Show For Session, Warns, Vaguely, of 'Legal Implications'

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:08:00 -0400

ALBANY—Not surprisingly, Republicans are seizing upon the dismissal of the Democratic lawsuit against the coup they hatched last week to call upon their colleagues to join them for session at 3 p.m. State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., the defecting Democrat who has joined the Republicans in a "coalition" government, asked David Paterson to clean up his mess. "As a good Democrat, I must advise the head of my party to come out forcefully and ask these...

Judge Dismisses Democratic Challenge to Senate Coup

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:36:00 -0400

ALBANY—Finally, after delaying for negotiations four times, Justice Thomas McNamara dismissed a lawsuit filed by Democrats to declare Malcolm Smith the leader of the State Senate. I'm not in court because I was covering David Paterson, who spoke with reporters, but got the news from Democratic attorney Michael Kink's Twitter feed. Republicans told me last night that they believe this means the vote they took last week electing Pedro Espada Jr. as president pro tempore and...

All the Democrats Have to Do Is Wait

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:46:00 -0400

The coup instigated last week by Republicans in the State Senate has (at least until Hiram Monserrate changes his mind yet again) landed in a bizarre, unexplored no-man’s land—one seat removed from both failure and success, a 31-31 kiss-your-sister tie in the chamber. Granted, this denouement isn’t technically final. A lawsuit, which Democrats hope will void the coup and reinstall them as the chamber’s majority party, is still pending, while Republicans, with Pedro Espada still...

The Last Thing David Paterson Wanted

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:02:00 -0400

If David Paterson seems particularly anguished by the lunacy unfolding in and around the State Senate chamber, it’s for good reason: His chance for political redemption is slipping away—and there’s not much he can do about it. The governor’s political comeback strategy, to the extent he has one, relies on using his incumbency to showcase his executive prowess and build public confidence in his leadership. This means pushing high-profile legislation through the Assembly and Senate...

Appellate Judge: Espada Jr. Can't Be Senate President Yet

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:18:00 -0400

ALBANY—An appellate judge just granted a temporary restraining order preventing State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. from acting as temporary president of the New York State Senate, a post he claims to have assumed during a floor coup Monday. I'm still waiting for the actual decision, but Mike Kink, one of the top lawyers for Senate Democrats seeking to stop Espada Jr., Tweeted the results just now from a Kingston courtroom. Earlier this morning, an administrative judge...

'Courtesy Calls' Aside, Paterson Wants No Part of the Senate Mess

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:33:00 -0400

ALBANY—David Paterson's director of communications just swept through the LCA Room to deny a press release from State Senator Pedro Esapda Jr. which claimed the governor recognized him as the president pro tempore of the State Senate. "Absolutely not," Kauffmann said. Espada Jr. was sworn in to the post during a floor coup Monday, but the move will be litigated tomorrow by lawyers representing Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith. He said that during a 15-minute telephone call,...

Storming the Floor, The Coalition Gavels In

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:01:00 -0400

ALBANY—They came, they gaveled, they left. Despite pending litigation, the Republican-led coalition claiming to control the State Senate after a coup Monday entered the chamber and conducted some brief business, but left without passing any bills. I didn't get back to Albany in time to see it (Liz has a blow-by-blow here), but State Senator Kemp Hannon said that 32 members entered the chamber--30 Republicans plus the turncoat Democrats Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr.--were counted...

Monserrate Balks, Leaving Republicans With Half a Coup

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:18:00 -0400

ALBANY—The Republican-led coalition that led a coup in the State Senate Monday was unable to deliver on its promise to hold session today, as one of the renegade Democrats moved away from their fold. State Senator Hiram Monserrate emerged from a closed-door meeting with Republican leader Dean Skelos and fellow insurgent, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., to announce that the coalition is taking an "additional amount of time to ensure that the conversations that we...

Who Will Challenge the Senate Defectors?

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:13:00 -0400

Ongoing fluidity notwithstanding, it seems safe to assume that once their heads stop spinning, the state (and maybe national) Democrats will make it a serious priority to make both Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate into former elected officials. The senators, who cost the Democrats support of the State Senate by crossing the aisle to provide the 31st and 32nd votes to Republican leader Dean Skelos, come from overwhelmingly Democratic districts and will both, in theory,...

Espada Says He Has Keys, Talks With Duane

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:05:00 -0400

ALBANY—State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. just told reporters that he has the keys to the Senate chamber, and he will go inside and conduct a session in conjunction with the Republicans he partnered with in a coup earlier this week. "We have access, we have keys, and we will open the doors and do our business at 3 p.m.," Espada declared. He alleged that a surrogate for Smith asked David Paterson to have the locks...

Since When Have the Senate Dems Had a Problem With Thuggery?

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:30:00 -0400

It’s funny what a crafty and flawlessly executed backroom maneuver will do to people. Take the Democrats in Albany: They’ve suddenly discovered morality. The party’s public response to the Monday coup that saw Senators Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate defect to the G.O.P. and hand Republicans control of the chamber has been loaded with self-righteousness and moral indignation. “A thief and a thug,” is how Austin Shafran, the spokesman for Malcolm Smith, the Senate majority until...

Paterson to Democrats: Open the Chamber and Have a Vote

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:18:00 -0400

ALBANY—David Paterson wants the State Senate to vote on new leadership. Today he continued to blast Republicans and renegade Democrats who chose one of the last weeks of session to mount a coup in New York's upper chamber. Paterson also called on Democrats who still hold the keys to "open the doors" of government and vote. "They can resolve that issue by just holding another vote. If the votes are sustaining that leadership, then they would...

Smith by a Thread, Sampson Moving Toward Leadership, Duane Flirting With Republicans

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:05:00 -0400

ALBANY--Malcolm Smith is hanging on by a thread. A well-placed Democratic source told me the conference of black senators--without Smith--met yesterday and gave their blessing to John Sampson of Brooklyn to lead the Democratic caucus in the State Senate after a coup put a coalition of Republicans and renegade Democrats in charge. "It's not clear that Sampson has the votes yet to put this all together, he's a few votes short," the source said. Liz hashed out...

Democrats Put Out Dirt on Espada

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:35:00 -0400

ALBANY—Yesterday he was a "thief." Today, Pedro Espada Jr. is accused of "political extortion" by Austin Shafran, Malcolm Smith's top spokesman. "It comes down to money, and we obviously found out what Pedro Espada's price was," Austin Shafran, his spokesman said on WGDJ Talk 1300. "He was trying to give $2 million to sham groups with addresses that were clearly linked to Espada employees." Espada, as part of a deal that supposedly toppled Smith's control of...

Robo-Caller Seeks Info on 'Crook' Espada

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:13:00 -0400

Here’s a robocall that political consultant Steve Kramer--whose list of former clients includes Michael Bloomberg--is sending out to 6,000 voters right now in response to the Senate coup yesterday. Kramer said he's paying for it himself, and is ready to send another 6,000 tomorrow to residents in Pedro Espada's district in the Bronx. I got one call at my desk at City Hall, and another political operative based in Brooklyn told me he got a...

After the Coup, an Anti-Coup Clause

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:37:00 -0400

ALBANY—Blair Horner, the longtime good-government advocate just stopped me in the halls to share this tidbit about the rules just enacted by the Republican "coalition" government. "They require 48-hours notice on any resolution," he said, smiling. "So their own coup wouldn't be possible under the new...

Progressive Agenda 'On Hold'

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:59:00 -0400

ALBANY—Reproductive rights? Tenant protections? Greater access to health care? Forget about it this year, and all bets are off for next year. "For the broader progressive agenda, insofar as the Democrats have lost their majority, it's on hold," said Gabriel Sayegh, a project director of the Drug Policy Alliance. His group's major legislative priority--loosening drug laws to allow more non-violent offenders to attend drug treatment programs instead of prison--already passed in this year's budget. Sayegh considers...

Golisano: 'Don't Talk to Me About Ethical Background in Albany'

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:39:00 -0400

ALBANY—Tom Golisano is not concerned about whether, in his effort to build a "reform" coalition, he cut a deal with "a thief and a thug," as a Senate Democratic spokesman called Golisano's partners in yesterday's coup. "I'm not 100 percent confident, but very happy with the start," he said about the possibility of rules reforms in the chamber. I asked Golisano if there could really be rules reform, given both Pedro Espada Jr.'s and Hiram Monserrate's...

Paterson Won't the Leave State, Isn't Fighting for Smith

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:06:00 -0400

ALBANY—The first thing David Paterson was asked this morning, after speaking at a graduation for new state troopers, was whether he'd feel comfortable leaving the state anytime soon. Under a deal reached yesterday that has apparently toppled Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, if Paterson leaves New York (even to go to New Jersey), State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. would assume the powers of the governor, according to the state constitution. Yes, this is the same...

Smith Is Still Democratic Leader, But Not All Dems Are Willing to Say So

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:20:00 -0400

ALBANY—State Senate Democrats just met behind closed doors, and the consensus is to keep meeting. Malcolm Smith, we're told, is still their nominal leader after a floor coup yesterday. "I don't see any reason why not. I think that we have to maintain unity within our conference. This is a real test for us, and I think this is the time that we show what we're made of," State Senator Jose M. Serrano, a consistent...