Politics on the Hudson

    The nearly 300,000-member Civil Service Employees Association announced today that is is supporting U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for re-election next year. Gillibrand had a strong working relationship with the union when she was in the House of Representatives, CSEA President Danny Donohue said.

   “Senator Gillibrand is an important ally for CSEA members and other working people. She understands the pressures that our members experience on and off the job and she has consistently worked with us. At a time when our state and nation face extraordinary challenges, we need extraordinary individuals representing New Yorkers in the U.S. Senate,” Donohue said in a statement.

   Gillibrand, a Democrat, said she would work with the union on President Obama’s agenda to improve the economy, create jobs and fix the health-care system.

   Democratic U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney has been talked about as an opponent for Gillibrand next year, but she has not declared she is a candidate. She is expected to make an announcement soon.

   Gov. David Paterson appointed Gillibrand as senator early this year to replace former Sen. Hillary Clinton, also a Democrat. Clinton is Obama’s secretary of state.

   Bills signed into law by Gov. David Paterson today will allow adult children to stay on their parents’ job-based health-care plan until they are 29 and unemployed workers to purchase insurance from their former employers for up to 36 months at a rate lower than what it would cost for an individual plan.

   Children age out of eligibility for coverage on their parents’ plans at 19 or in their early 20s. About one in three of the estimated 2.5 million uninsured New Yorkers are in this age range. They may not have a job, or it may not provide health insurance, and many people go without coverage. The law, which takes effect Sept. 1, won’t cost taxpayers any more money. Families will pay the premiums to insurance companies.

   The legislation for laid-off workers will double the amount of time they are eligible to purchase health benefits after they lose their jobs, to 36 months. Federal law known as COBRA gives people the right to purchase coverage under these circumstances. The new state law is retroactive to July 1. Earlier this year, Congress passed and the president signed a law earlier this year that lowered the COBRA premiums for people laid off beteen Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31 of this year to 35 percent of the full cost for nine months.

   A third law signed by Paterson today makes changes to the managed-care system, such as requiring faster reviews of requests for home-health care after a hospital visit, allowing providers to ask for reconsideration of a claim that is denied as untimely, allow providers who have just received their licenses or moved to New York to get temporary credentials, speed payment by insurance companies to doctors and hospitals.

   Also today, the governor signed legislation to strengthen the state’s tax-credit program for historic preservation. The credit provides incentives to developers, municipalities, businesses and residents to make investments in distressed areas by rehabilitating historic properties listed on the state and national registers.

   The state enacted a preservation tax-credit program in 2006, but incentives were not high enough to attract sufficient investment in struggling municipalites, particularly upstate, according to the governor. The cap on commercial credit value will increase from $100,000 to $5 million over five years, and from $25,000 to $50,000 for residential properties. Tax credits will be targeted to poor urban areas. The state will increase the share of qualified rehabilitation costs that commercial property owners can claim for credit from 6 percent to 20 percent.

   The program applies to taxable years beginning Jan. 1, 2010, and will expire five years after that.

   Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said the state needs Richard Ravitch, Gov. David Paterson’s lieutenant governor appointee, “on our team.” Paterson and Ravitch are defendants in a lawsuit filed by Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, and Sen. Pedro Espada, D-Bronx. The parties are due back in court tomorrow.

   Paterson appointed Ravitch, a former head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, on July 8, a day before the Senate resolved a month-long leadership battle. The seat has been vacant since Paterson replaced Eliot Spitzer as governor last year. 

   This is Silver’s statement:
   “Richard Ravitch has a long and distinguished record of public service. Time and time again, he has shown that he has the willingness and fortitude to tackle tough governmental and public policy challenges and bring about effective solutions that benefit all New Yorkers. Now more than ever, as we wrestle with the effects of a worldwide economic downturn on our state, we need Dick Ravitch on our team.

   “Mr. Ravitch is known for his ability as a fixer and has proven that he can get even the most difficult jobs done. In the early 1980s, he helped turn around a public transit system that was falling apart and on the brink of collapse. He was, and is, willing to do whatever it takes to build consensus and get things done in a pragmatic manner, always with New Yorkers’ best interests at heart.

   “I am well aware that the question of Governor David Paterson’s ability to appoint Mr. Ravitch to the position of lieutenant governor is currently being litigated. However, while the matter is under consideration in the courts, it is clearly in the best interests of New Yorkers to allow Mr. Ravitch to serve in the role. My Assembly colleagues and I stand ready to work with him – along with Governor Paterson and the State Senate – to take on the many challenges that we face.”

   When asked by a reporter this afternoon whether he could rule out a gubernatorial primary against Gov. David Paterson next year, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he was “focused on being the attorney general of the state of New York.”

   “As much as I can stay away from the politics, that’s what I seek to do. Next year will be a political year and we’ll deal with it then,” he said.

   Cuomo, a Democrat, repeated much the same words in response to a few more questions about his political intentions. He said he works to stay away from the politics “because my job, I can do my job better when I can work on both sides of the aisle. When I can work with Democrats, when I can work with Republicans when I’m not getting involved in political skirmishes.”

   Cuomo’s term is up next year, as is that of the governor’s. Paterson’s popularity has dipped sharply in recent months and Cuomo is considered by many to be a potential contender. A Siena College poll released last week found that 2 percent of New Yorkers think Paterson is doing an excellent job, 20 percent said he was doing a good job, 41 percent rated his performance as fair and 36 percent said it was poor.

   In a potential match-up between Paterson and Cuomo, Cuomo leads the governor by 65 percent to 23 percent, the poll found. Thirty-one percent of voters surveyed said they’d prefer Cuomo to run again for attorney general, but 45 percent said he should run for governor. Cuomo has a 63 percent to 21 percent favorability rating.

   Cuomo said the only political plan he has at this time is to run for re-election as attorney general. He joked that he could decide to do something else altogether, like retiring or playing baseball.

If you’ve got $250, Yonkers City Council President Chuck Lesnick wants to have lunch with you at the Chrysler Building in Midtown tomorrow. The event is a campaign fundraiser for the Democrat who is seeking his second four-year-term. He faces a challenge from Republican Jim Castro-Blanco.

The luncheon features Mo Vaughn, the slugging first baseman and 1995 American League MVP, who played nine years for the locally hated Boston Red Sox, though Lesnick might prefer perspective donors to focus on the two years Vaughn played for the more palatable Mets.

Since leaving baseball Vaughn has worked to build and rehabilitate affordable housing, through Omni New York LLC, of which he is managing director. The company’s projects include the renovation of the Whitney Young Manor apartment complex at 358 Nepperhan Ave. in Yonkers. The luncheon is from 12:30 to 2 p.m. More information is available by contacting Kim DiTomasso at 917-991-8276 or kditto31@yahoo.com.

Congressman Charles Rangel’s birthday bash at Tavern on the Green in Manhattan on Aug. 11 features an interesting assortment of headliner guests: Gov. David Paterson and Richard Ravitch, a former transit authority chairman and Paterson’s pick for lieutenant governor. Other featured guests include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, his Democratic opponent and New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson, New York’s junior U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan. Should be lively.

The top contribution to Rangel’s Victory Fund starts at $2,500.

   Gov. David Paterson will be in New York City, Erie County and Monroe County today to sign several bills.

   The first one, taking place about now, is legislation to refinance the Starrett City Housing Complex in Brooklyn so it can stay in the Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program for 30 years.

   Then he goes to Buffalo to sign a historic preservation tax-credit bill.

   Later in the afternoon, he will be at the University of Rochester Medical Center to sign health-care bills.

   With these bills, the governor will have signed about 220 so far this year. He has vetoed 23 bills.

Rob Astorino is calling on County Executive Andrew Spano to vouch for the more than 80 questionable signatures that helped him secure the Conservative line.

“He should put his reputation on the line and publicly stand by them,” Astorino said in a statement issued today.

Conservative Party members are suing leaders over signatures used as part of the party’s vote that they allege are forged and fraudulent. Several lawsuits have been filed with New York State Supreme Court, and the Westchester District Attorney’s office this week notified the New York State Attorney General’s office about the allegations.

“Mr. Spano publicly scoffed at allegations that these signatures are forgeries yesterday-on the very same day when the Westchester District Attorney notified the State Attorney General about the matter,”  Astorino said. “If Mr. Spano is so sure these signatures are valid, let him vouch for them. I challenge him to do that publicly.”

Union leaders from across the state met with Democratic Party leaders in Kingston this afternoon for more than two hours to lay out issues that they say the party needs to address to ensure their support.

Several county chairs in attendance said there was no ultimatum put to them by labor, and the unions didn’t indicate that they are ready to abandon Gov. David Paterson’s election bid next year.

“There was a very frank, good discussion around the table and I came away feeling that we have a great opportunity to do work on a couple of problems the folks at the table brought up,” said Nassau County Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs, the incoming state party chairman.

“I felt that there was a general sense that they’d like the governor to succeed, but work needs to be done.”

Labor leaders urged Democrats to not abandon legislative issues that are still outstanding, such as reforming the state’s industrial development agencies—which have not allowed non-profits to get help for construction projects. They also talked about getting approval of a farmworkers’ bill of rights, which has yet to pass in the Senate, passing a same-sex marriage bill and retaining funding for education and health care.

Labor leaders in recent weeks have grumbled that they may not support Paterson in his election bid in 2010 as Attorney General Andrew Cuomo contemplates whether to jump into the gubernatorial race.

County party leaders said the 2010 elections were hardly discussed and there was no discussion of which candidates might get labor’s backing. The chairs of Monroe, Onondaga, Ulster, Bronx, Brooklyn and Nassau counties attended.

“I didn’t see it as an effort by them to intimidate, threaten or give us an ultimatum,” said Monroe County Democratic Committee Chairman Joseph Morelle, who is also a state assemblyman. “I felt it was like a real opportunity for them to express their dissatisfaction and work on the relationship to a much larger degree than we have.”

The sides agreed to meet again later this year.

A Republican running for Westchester County District Attorney wants an outside prosecutor to investigate election fraud and forgery claims made by Conservatives.

Dan Schorr earlier today called on District Attorney Janet DiFiore, a Democrat who has the Conservative Party line, to have outside counsel look into allegations that party leaders forged signatures to help get DiFiore and County Executive Andrew Spano the Conservative line.

“We need a prosecutor who is independent and can investigate this matter and determine if there was fraud and forgery on the part of members of the Conservative Party,” Schorr said. “People need to know their elections are not tampered with. We must have zero tolerance for any kind of election fraud.”

DiFiore’s office said they have notified New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s Office, which has jurisdiction over these matters. A spokesperson for Cuomo’s office said they’ve been contacted by several people, including DiFiore, and are looking into the matter.

“This election law matter is pending before the New York State Supreme Court,” Lucian Chalfen, Westchester County district attorney’s spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement. “We are confident the court is aware of the appropriate steps to be taken should the evidence support any criminal allegations.”

Members of the Conservative Party this week filed suit against party leaders — Chairwoman Gail Burns and the recording secretary, Christopher Gannon — claiming that more than 80 signatures favoring Spano, DiFiore and others were forged. It’s alleged that the signatures do not match ones on record at the county Board of Elections.

The suit is one of two that have been filed by Conservatives, claiming that their party leaders wrongfully gave out that line to Democrats on two occasions.

Leaders reject those accusations.

Schorr, who did not get the Conservative line, said while the courts will determine the civil suits, it’s up to the independent prosecutor to determine if anything criminal was done. If that’s proved to be the case, he added, perpetrators would face felony charges and up to 7 years in prison, if convicted.

Schorr said his call was not about politics or sour grapes, but  protecting Westchester’s political system.

“I’m trying to take this out of politics. All I’m asking for is that someone independent from the system investigate,” Schorr said.  “At the end of the day, these people will be fully prosecuted or cleared. Then the public will know an independent person fully investigated this case.”