Assemblyman: Espada “auctioned” himself to the highest bidder
Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, R-Schenectady, is proposing legislation that would allow for recall votes of state or statewide officials they believed were derelict in their duties. Voters would have to collect a 50,000 signatures to do this for a statewide official and either 10 percent or 5,000 signatures for a state legislator, whichever is lower. Recall votes would have to take place within 90 days of receiving the petitions.
Tedisco (pictured here) criticized Sen. Pedro Espada, D-Bronx, who was at the center of a month-long leadership stalemate that brought business in the Senate to a halt. Espada and another Democrat in the Senate broke ranks help Republicans take control of the body away from Democrats. Espada was president pro tem of the Senate under the GOP coalition government. The second Democrat later went back to the Democratic conference, which created a 31-31 split.
After weeks of a stalemate, Espada went back to the Democratic conference and was elected majority leader last Thursday.
Tedisco’s proposal was prompted specifically by Espada, whom Tedisco claimed was willing to “auction himself off to the highest bidder four separate times.”
“Usually, when a mugging takes place it’s not done in broad daylight. But what we’ve seen with the Senate impasse over the last several weeks has changed that,” Tedisco said in a statement. “What Senator Pedro Espada has done, aided and abetted by many of his colleagues, is nothing less than an outright mugging of our democratic process and those who should and still can be the most powerful voices in our government.”
Tedisco said the most powerful voices should by the state’s 19 million residents. “The citizens of Senator Espada’s District or any other State elected officials should not have to wait until the end of a legislative term to send a message that their government is not for sale,” Tedisco said.
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I actually think Tedisco is conceptually on-point with this one… that makes me feel weird. If an actual law was enacted I feel the criteria should be a little more stringent maybe 30-40% of the voters, or else you would have regular challenges by small minorities of the represented populace. But, what we have seen here is someone holding up a huge part of NY’s legislative process and also wasting millions of dollars of taxpayer money. I think a “throw-the-bum out” policy would be a nice addition to NY’s constitution. It would make representatives more accountable to their districts.
Since when is it so unusual for ‘ASSEMBLYMAN-or-ELEKTED-OFFICIALS’ of any municipality/state to ‘AUCTION’ themselves to the highest bidder??? IT WOULD BE ‘NEWS’ IF THE CORRUPT SCUM DIDN’T – WOULDN’T IT???
Plunkett of Tamany Hall: “An honest politician is one who, when he’s bought, stays bought”. Some things never change.
finally a member of the republican party in a position
of responsiblity has called a spade a spade…Skelos
made a mistake dealing with espada and monserrat in the first place..you don’t do business with a democrat who
“only joins your caucus” but doesn’t switch his registration’ because you have to realize that in the
end his interests are really not with your party but
with his..and espada used skelos and then threw him
under the bus…the republicans will never get whats
promised to them by the democrats..but what they should
now do is support the appointment of Ravith as lt
governor and eliminate the possibility of espada
ever ascending to the job of governor
I agree with Tedisco a hundred per cent. Espada is a nobody who feels he can do what he wants, and when he wants to do it regardless of the Constitution.
This man has no business in office, and should be recalled by the people. He is a crook and doesn’t care about anything except being in charge. What would happen to the State if he was ever elected Governor? You think New York is in trouble now; get rid of this bum!
“The citizens of Senator Espada’s District…”
Espada doesn’t live in his district. That should already qualify him for dismissal. I would love to see all his represented people show up at his door step in Mamaroneck.
Sadly, the Republicans in Albany, under Pataki and Bruno, long ago sold out to the very same people the Democrats have always sold out to and decided to fill their pockets and disregard the taxpayers’ interests that they had cynically sworn to uphold. Had they adamantly defended even the CENTER, never mind the right of center, especially fiscally, this State would not be the total basket case it has become. It’s July of 2009, the Republicans are out of power, and Tedisco finally came up with an idea.