Malcolm Smith To Bruno: Reform Train Is Leaving Station
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- April
- 29
Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith called on Senate Republican Leader Joseph Bruno to join the reform movement in the state, telling an audience of good-government groups in Albany today for Reform Day that “Joe Bruno. Your time has come. Reform is on its way.”
I later asked him to elaborate, and he said that Bruno needs to seek reform to state government.
“Reform is the call of the day and so you can either be on this train or you can be on the station,” Smith said. “And if you’re on the station and the train pulls out and leaves you, then you have to wave to everyone who is gone.”
Smith is seeking to win a Democratic majority in the Senate for the first time since 1965. Republicans hold a two-seat majority, and Bruno was vowed to retain his GOP majority.
Smith, though, said a main problem with state government is that the minority party has little influence, saying “We are no longer the Empire State. You cannot live in a state where for the most part you have legislators who don’t have the ability to do their job” because they aren’t in the majority.
He said the minority members receive few resources, such as only recently getting a phone in their conference room.
He said if Democrats take the majority, minority members would be allowed to bring issues to the floor if there is support within legislative committees.
As for giving more resources to the minority if he takes over, such as the phones, “We’ll just transfer it back to them.”
There was no immediate reaction from Bruno’s office.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 3:11 pm by Joseph Spector.
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Twice he says “on the station.” If you’re near a train, you’re either at the station, in the station, or near the station.