Brodsky’s statement on comptroller
On Thursday, The Journal News – following the instructions of Kelly MacMillan, chief of staff to Assemblyman Richard Brodsky – submitted a written list of six questions to the Greenburgh Democrat that dealt with his bid to become state comptroller, the election of Tom DiNapoli as comptroller and the ongoing feud between Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the legislature over DiNaPoli’s election.
MacMillan today e-mailed this response from Brodsky:
“In the end, and after many missteps, the Legislature, on a bi-partisan basis, did what it was supposed to do, use its best judgment to elect a Comptroller. The Constitution gives that power solely to the Legislature.
“The Governor has no role. The reason for that is simple. The Framers did not want the Governor to select the person who audits the Governor’s agencies. Clearly, the Governor and the panel did not see it that way, as public comments and the selection of a close ally of the Governor (although otherwise qualified) evidence.
“We know very well how we are publicly perceived, how much of it is because of institutional failures, and how much is the layers of inaccurate criticism that we left unanswered.
“In the end, we will continue to do what we think is right, as we did in the election of Tom DiNapoli, but we will be much more assertive in our explanations of what we do. The public interest is in having a Legislature that can check abuse of executive power. We’ve done a good job of that (authority reform, for example) and will continue to do so.”
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Westchester Integrity Committee Packs a Full House
February 8, 2007 – Lake Isle Country Club, Eastchester, NY. 275+ were in attendance to support the continuing success of the anti-corruption campaign waged by the Westchester Integrity Committee. On hand were Independence, Democrats, Republicans, and Conservative Leaders, political consultants, law enforcement, State, County and Local elected officials, originating from NYC, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties.
They included:
The Honorable Andrea Stewart-Cousins, NYS Senator, 35th District and Key Note Speaker
Michael Edelman, Esq., Republican Consultant and Guest Speaker
Cathy Stewart, New York County Independence Party
Chairwoman and Guest Speaker
Harry Kresky, Esq., Vice Chairman New York County Independence Party Chairwoman
Dr. Jessie Fields, Vice Chairwoman New York County Independence Party Chairwoman
New York County Independence Party Executive Committee
Richmond County Independence Party Executive Committee
Kings County Independence Party Executive Committee
Queens County Independence Party Executive Committee
The Honorable Philip Amicone, Mayor, City of Yonkers
The Honorable Chuck Lesnick, City of Yonkers Council
President
The Honorable Dee Barbato, City of Yonkers Council Member
The Honorable John Murtagh, City of Yonkers Council Member
Shelley Mayer, Esq., Counsel to the NYS Senate Minority
Tony Castro, Esq., Former Candidate for Westchester County
District Attorney
The Honorable Judith Myers, Westchester County Legislator, District 7
William Sayegh, Esq., Putnam County Independence Party Leader
Putnam County Independence Party Executive Committee
Putnam County Conservative Party Members
The Honorable Donald Smith, Putnam County Sheriff
Ken Jenkins, City of Yonkers Democratic Chair
Peter Fiumefreddo, Town of Mt Pleasant Democratic Chair
Louis Reda, Esq., Town of Eastchester Republican Chair
Nicholas Cicchetti, City of Mount Vernon Fire Commissioner
Anthony Futia, Town of North Castle Water / Sewer Superintendent
The Honorable Rory Bellantoni, Acting Supreme Court Justice
The Westchester Integrity Committee thanks everyone in attendance for making this night a success.
A special thanks goes to the many newly elected district leaders looking forward to the upcoming re-organization meeting of the Westchester Independence Party.
There is a point to what Brodsky is saying. I believe that Silver should have never have gone along with the panel in the first place. The legislature has the power to choose a comptroller and with good reason—the comptroller oversees the executive branch.
I am a big fan of our Founding Fathers. They were really onto something when they did not simply create a monarchy and forge an impenetrable executive. We have three distinct branches of government based on checks and balances. I don’t want the executive meddling into the legislative branch. I am leery of a Leviathan, even a reform-minded one. Remember history: some, after the Revolutionary War, simply wanted to make George Washington King-
he probably would have been a benevolent king. But that’s not the point. We cannot, and our history is not based on counting on the type of person in office-we count on the system and institutions to protect our liberty.However, as much as disliked the fact that the governor meddled by pressuring the panel to choose his people (a friend [Bill Mulrow] being one of the three), Silver really messed up twice by first agreeing to executive influence and by establishing what appears to be no legislative process. In fact, it appears that it was largely done behind closed doors. How did Brodsky lose? What was the vote? That’s not good and that should be reformed.
Still we must be sensitive to our system. The great experiment worked and we should vigorously protect our system of government.
As Thomas Jefferson said, “The leading principle of our Constitution is the independence of the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary of each other.” And consequently as Montesquieu said, “There can be no liberty where the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person.â€?
Mr. Brodsky is obfuscating the facts. The Governor never intimated that he wanted to choose a replacement for Alan Hevesi. He weighed in, quite appropriately, in conveying his belief that this particular selection needs to be as non-political as possible—and that the person selected by the legislature should be deeply experienced in financial management and oversight. The “Three Wise Men” process was endorsed by all sides. Would Mr. Silver or Mr. Brodsky have taken issue if the selection panel named only three—but included an assemblymember? Of course not.
Mr DiNapoli has always been the darling of the establishment in Albany. He was the establishment choice for Nassau County Executive -
but was primaried and defeated by an insurgent- Tom Suozzi.Mr. DiNapoli has no financial management experience. Sure past comptrollers have developed that expertise on the job—but the legislature was being asked to pick a new comptroller—to replace a convicted criminal. They should have abided by the selection process agreed to. It was clear—that Bill Mulrow, Howard Weitzman, and Marsha Stark were all more qualified that DiNapoli to step in and hit the ground running.
it’s the perception of the legislature co-opting the selection of a comptroller with financial experience in
favor of one of their own with no financial experienc.
Brodsky can use whatever constitutional arguments he wants
but that does not change the fact that the assembly agreed
to a process and then renegged…it does not change the fact
that when the public needed to be shown that politics could
take a back seat to integrity that the democrats were not
capable of recognizing the need for reform..the selection
of a comptroller wound up as a turf batter between sheldon
silver and the governor at a time when the public overwhelmingly choose spitzer to change the way business
is done…may dick brodsky needs a real challenge next
time around from a greg ball type candidate
GOVERNOR SPITZER IS THE RIGHT MAN AT THE RIGHT TIME TO OCCUPY WHAT TEDDY ROOSEVELT CALLED, “THE BULLY PULPIT”; GREG BALL IS A PHONY, WHO BLOC-VOTED; AND COMPTROLLER TOM DiNAPOLI WILL DO US ALL PROUD AND THE MEDIA NEEDS TO STOP URGING A MUD-FIGHT
The cartoon, ultimately, is an unintended compliment for it shows that Tom will take his job seriously, as he has every job to-date and has a proven record of serving the public with honor and distinction since he was 18 years old. He is a superb public servant, and one upon whom youth was not wasted; without doubt, George Bernard Shaw would surely agree.
Greg Ball, the newbie of the hour, exaggerated his last name by falsely seeking honor while hiding in a block-voting of his own. Last I checked, he didn’t blaze a trial of fiery independence and vote for Bill Mulrow, the only candidate that had actually run for the spot 4 years ago and well deserved at least some votes! There is no fraud worse than phony honor, phony integrity or phony reform. Greg Ball needs to re-read the Declaration of Independence where “sacred honor� was more prized than life, liberty and property, and eat a slice of humble pie for he rides a horse that doesn’t exist.
Our Free State would have been well served by any of the candidates, the three chosen by former Comptrollers McCall, Goldin and Regan, or Assemblymembers Richard Brodsky and Tom DiNapoli. Any would have done us proud. Tom surely will, and will continue to carry on the magnificent work of the Comptroller’s Office under Alan Hevesi, albeit, as a bachelor without an ailing wife who was at risk, health or otherwise.
The media loves a slugfest no less than those who own contrived wrestling matches. It is great entertainment, and makes money. While the late great Patrick Henry would certainly permit such conduct, he would opine, in my judgment, that the First Amendment is best when wielded by journalists alone, rather than corporate interests that employ journalists.
It is beyond dispute that everyday New Yorkers yearn to breath more freely, and have a better education for our kids, more money for our family, better healthcare without fraud, abuse or waste, and an environment that will not drown our grandchildren in water, choke them with poisoned air or rob them of drinkable water. (Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has served his notice of intent to sue Mobil Exxon and others for a lake of escaped oil under Greenpoint that makes the Exxon Valdez seem like a child’s paper boat).
Governor Spitzer is the man of the hour. He comprehends well the co-equal status of the three branches of government, and that respect is constitutionally mandated across the separated-bright lines of authority. He is a lawyer of national repute with unequaled ability, integrity and foresight. He knows that “up to 5,” permits an unconstitutional slate of “1.” As Governor, he has embraced the Bully Pulpit of Teddy Roosevelt, and like Jack Kennedy, will push and pull New York to do better than it has done before. Shaking cages is an art form, and Governor Spitzer is an artist to reckon with. The public trust imposed in him will earn rich dividends. Let us just lower the decibel long enough to applaud the changes that Governor Spitzer has already wrought: He has the people’s government at full alert, under media scrutiny! That is a feat bigger than any issue. It is as if he took an eight cylinder engine and turbo-boosted it to become a humming 12-cylinder engine of a Ferrari Testarossa that performs better for us all.
Applause is due our State leadership, and especially, our Founding Fathers who gave us a recipe for the ages: getting the best out of humanity by first separating power and then forcing its merger, in a voluntary manner, to govern!
Dated: 2/10/07
/s/
Ravi Batra
New York