Monroerising.com

Once again, our friends at Mustardstreet have an excellent post on the Public Defender fiasco.  Thomas Smith the Pious, head of the Monroe County Bar Association might not be suffering from white guilt as we speculated in yesterday’s post.

Mustard Street found information on Assemblyman Gantt’s own website that makes reference to a $150,000 state pork barrel grant  (scroll down to about 3/4 of page) for Monroe County Bar Association Foundation grant for “equal justice”. 

We all have our price and it is nice to know that a prestigious organization like the Monroe County Bar Association aren’t bought cheaply.

Nice work Philbrick and company! 

Tags: David Gantt, Monroe County Public Defender, Mr. Peabody by Mr. Peabody
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What in the world is going on?  The Monroe County Legislature’s Public Safety Committee met last night to discuss the process for appointing a new Public Defender.  Assemblyman David Gantt, Sister Grace and her cohorts, liberal clergy and several people who apparently suffer from white guilt effectively shut down the meeting. 

Channel 13’s website has a great clip of the raw footage of Assemblyman Gantt almost getting arrested. It really is unbelievable.  It looked like something from the 1960’s/1970’s activist protests.  F.I.G.H.T. veterans Ray Scott and Rev. Franklin Florence, Sr. were there using the time tested tactics of civil disobedience.  Yelling, hooting and refusing to leave when asked, so the meeting could go into executive session as is customary in matters involving personnel.

It was apparent the Republican legislators failed to anticipate Gantt’s behavior.  They violated conventional wisdom by engaging Gantt on the floor of the legislature.  In the clip of Gantt talking to legislator John Driscoll, Gantt doesn’t even realize he is talking to Driscoll, not Legislature President Wayne Zyra (we have some sympathy for the Assemblyman — we at monroerising.com have been know to confuse the two old white guys ourselves). Once Gantt realized he was not speaking to Zyra, he abruptly ends the conversation to go track down Zyra. 

Gantt’s behavior was way out of line.  Would this be acceptable in Albany?  Would he tolerate someone hijacking one of his meetings?

One quick note on Harry Bronson Democratic Leader in the legislature.  He is an embarrassment.  When plans to establish a bipartisan committee to appoint a new Public Defender were announced, the plan was initially praised by Harry Bronson.  It’s understandable that Harry takes his orders from Gantt (after all he works for Assemblywoman Susan John – no conflict there!).  Next time there is a big issue, Republicans should eliminate the middleman (Harry) and deal with Gantt directly.

We at monroerising hope that the Republicans stick to their guns on this issue.  The integrity of the legislature is at stake. Things have changed since the last time a new Public Defender was appointed.  Let’s focus on the future and not obsess about how it was done 30 years ago. 

Tags: Articles, David Gantt, Monroe County Public Defender, Mr. Peabody by Mr. Peabody
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As  you know, Democrats control both the governor’s office and the Assembly.  Governor Steamroller has made it clear that he intends to turn the Republican Senate Democrat as well.  Currently, the Republicans have a narrow majority, but significant money is going to be poured into several strategic races in 2008 in an attempt create a completely Democratic legislature.

We are deeply concerned about such a course of events.  Some whine about gridlock and how it prevents government from “doing its job.”  Based on our observations, we are usually better off when the government does less.  In a classic gridlock situation only legislation with broad support can pass.  Consequently, spending and other reckless activity by the government decreases. 

So what’s the point of all this? 

We want to bring attention to the sort of reckless legislation that a Democratic legislature would likely pass if they gained control of both houses.  Accordingly, on a regular basis, we will highlight a particular bill introduced by a Senate or Assembly Democrat that we consider to be reckless and ill-conceived.

First in our series is S.6738, introduced by Democratic Senator, Jose M. Serrano.  This bill would create penalties for state employees that disclose “confidential information” about individuals for whom they are performing government services.  One piece of “confidential information” covered by the bill is immigration status. 

 Reasonable minds may differ as to whether state employees have an affirmative duty to call the INS if they come across an illegal alien in the course of their work.  However, this bill would subject a state employee to a civil fine if they decided they had a duty take such a step.  In other words, New York law would punish a state employee for helping to enforce Federal law.

 And if there is any question as to the motivation behind this bill, read Senator Serrano’s own words in a blog post regarding this bill: “Republicans are calling New York a sanctuary city.  I say let’s make it a sanctuary state.”

 It’s because of bills like this that the Republicans must keep control of the Senate.

Tags: Articles, New York State, Occam by Occam
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If you remember back in the fall, both Richard Beebe and Ted Nixon advertised on Rochesterturning.com, the extremely leftist website that hates all things Republican.

As aspiring young website creators, Monroerising decided to review the legally required campaign disclosure filings to find out what a website like ours could charge for advertising.  Low and behold, we discovered that Ted Nixon doesn’t list any expenses for the advertising on Rochesterturning and as previously reported here, Richard Beebe has not reported any of his campaign expenses since the 32 pre-general election report.

The plot has definitely thickened.  Nixon and Beebe should report these expenses immediately. And the folks over at Rochesterturning, they have to realize that even though they are operating in a new political medium, they still need to follow the rules regarding political campaigns.

Oh, and one more thing, since Rochesterturning is so good at telling everyone else what they should be doing — we have a suggestion for them.  While they are certainly not journalists in any sense, they should adopt some ethical standards.  Is it ethical to take money from political candidates and then do “investigative” posting trashing these candidates’ opponents?

We at Monroerising will not accept advertising from any politicians  — we recognize the need to avoid any appearance of money influencing what we post about. We encourage all other blogs to follow suit.

Tags: Articles, Cincinnatus, Dick Beebe, Monroe County by Cincinnatus
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The research team at Monroerising reviewed the New York State Board of Elections campaign finance reporting database and discovered that Legislator Richard Beebe has not filed any disclosure reports since the 32 day pre-general election report. 

All other candidates for Monroe County Legislature in 2007 including all Democrats and Republicans (click link to view their reports) filed anywhere between 5 and 7 reports.  Beebe has filed only one report.  Another report is due on January 15th.

1st District Todd Dunn and Richard Yolevich, 5th District Mark Cassetti, 6th District Raymond Diraddo, 8th District Carmen Gumina and David Malta, 9th R. Anthony Lafountain and Doreen Levin (aka Mrs. Weese IV or V), 10th District Anthony Daniele and Ted Nixon, 11th District Michael Barker and Sue Davis, 15th District E. Daniel Quatro, 16th Vincent Esposito and Peter Kelderhouse, 17th District Edward O’Brien and Dan White, you get the idea.

Why is this important?  First of all, state law requires all candidates to provide this information to the public.  The lack of disclosure may indicate that Beebe has something to hide?  

Sources in County Legislative District 6 tell us they received 8 to 10 negative mailings, a number of those pre-recorded phone calls and yet Beebe’s last filing shows a campaign account balance of approimately $2,000 — hardly enough for one mailing!

Are there contributions Beebe received that exceeded campaign limits?  Are the contributions that would have caused concern and effected the results of last November’s election? Are there other rules and regulations Beebe didn’t follow?

Not providing information required by law gives the appearance that there is something in those reports he doesn’t want the public to know. This is a cloud hanging over Beebe’s head.  He needs to come clean and explain why he failed to file legally required disclosure reports. 

The fact that Legislator Beebe is the only candidate who didn’t file is very suspicious. There may well be something he is trying to hide. Perhaps the involvement of the special interest dominated Working Families Party?

Before you chalk this up to a novice candidate not familiar with the process, remeber Richard Beebe isn’t new to elective politics — he is a former mayor.  Campaign finance disclosure has been around for years and undoubtely, Beebe should have filed them in his previous campaigns. It is interesting to note that the address for the campaign account is his home — so he can’t say he doesn’t control the account and blame his treasurer.

We are notifying the state board of elections of these violations and we are encouraging local media outlets to follow-up on our research.  

Tags: Articles, Cincinnatus, Dick Beebe, Monroe County by Cincinnatus
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I’ve always been a big fan of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.  Despite the negative reaction of many at the mere mention of his name, I’ve always respected his political leadership skills. He is right on with these comments about the War on Terror and why it is so important.

Tags: Articles, Mr. Peabody by Mr. Peabody
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I just finished watching the Governor’s State of the State Address and all I can say is boy what a difference a year makes. I’ve never been a big fan of Elliott Spitzer.  I’ve always thought he was arrogant and didn’t really have anything in common with me — or anyone else who wasn’t a child of privilege. But at this point last year it appeared that we were about to witness something of historical significance.

For better or worse, it seemed that the “Steamroller” was really going to shake things up in Albany.  It appeared Joe Bruno’s days were numbered.  It appeared that Sheldon Silver was going to be on a short leash — that his days as to chief roadblock to progress would soon be over.

But watching Governor Spitzer today — I could help but think that he looked different.  His gravitas is gone. To say he looks like just another politician wouldn’t be fair to politicians.  

It started with the announced deals on Wicks Law Reforms, Workers’ Compensation and an on time budget — things that either didn’t happen or “reforms” that weren’t significant enough to justify cutting down the trees that were sacrificed to make the paper the press releases announcing these deals were written on.

Then there was the Troopergate fiasco and subsequent lies to the public about what he knew.  Followed by the drivers license for illegal aliens debacle – not only was he wrong on this but he show how stupid he thinks we all are when he told us it would save all of us money on our car insurance.

The election for Governor is still a long way off — but after what I saw today, I’d bet that Elliott Spitzer’s historical significance will be as the first one term Governor since Averell Harriman lost his re-election bid in 1958. 

Tags: New York State by Mr. Peabody
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As the Christmas season comes to an end, I can’t help but shake my head when people talk about — or write about in the case of the Democrat and Chronicle — about this being the last one at Midtown Plaza. 

I know Mayor Bob Duffy (aka Mayor Blue Sky and Sunshine — you know the guy who claims the City’s best days are still to come) says it will be, but given his track record, I have my doubts.

After all, this is the same guy who took almost a year to sell the fast ferry.   Bob Duffy is the same guy who worked as Police Chief for Bill Johnson — you remember Bill Johnson – he was the guy who insisted Rochester didn’t have a gang problem.

I’m sure Mayor Duffy will go to Albany with his tin cup — pressure David Gantt, Joe Morelle, Jim Alesi, Joe Robach and company to get him money to complete this project.  My guess is that he will be successful in getting the money.  I’m also pretty sure that his city administration will show their inexperience and run into unforseen problems that will cause this project to drag out longer than they anticipated and at this point next year we will be talking about whether that will be the last Chirstmas at Midtown. 

The Mayor will have some excuse as to why it’s not his fault — and give some folksy talk about how great things are and then share a story about coming downtown as a kid — shoping at Midtown with his mom and having lunch at the old Manhattan Resturant. 

Tags: Bob Duffy, City of Rochester by Cincinnatus
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This is unbelievable — I found it on an interesting site — NiagaraTimes.blogspot.com.  This guy, Senator Eric Adams, is a freshman Senator and he says he can’t live on the $79,000 legislative salary.  If look at his Senate biography you’ll see he is a 22 year veteran of the NYCPD — retiring as a Captain.  A rough guess would be be is pulling a pension of about $50k per year — probably with full medical and he can’t make ends meet.

This is pretty embarrassing.  I hope Jim Alesi, Joe Robach and any other Republican Senator being targeted by the Senate Democrats use this as example number one of why we would all be in trouble if the Democrats ever take over the State Senate.  A vote for David Koon, Sandy Frankel or Rick Dollinger would be a vote to give this guy more say on what goes on in Albany.

Tags: Articles, New York State by Mr. Peabody
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Did you see the editorial calling on Maggie Brooks to leave politics out of government in the D&C this morning?  These guys are amazing.  They criticize the FAIR plan and the way it was approved, yet the make no mention of why the County really had no choice but to do what they did.

Assemblyman Joe Morelle — who also happens to be the Chairman of the County Democratic Party — (no injection of politics in government there) was successful at blocking County attempts to increase the sales tax in the state legislature.  Assemblyman Morelle accomplished this by having his mentor, Sheldon Silver, block the bill without even allowing the matter to come before the Assembly for a vote.

Why would Joe Morelle do this when an increase would have “protected the children”– the very people the Democrats claim to be so concerned about?  The answer is so simple that even the D&C editorial board should be able to understand. 

Raising the sales tax would be too painless. Plain and simple the goal was to limit Maggie Brooks’ options to either raising property taxes — or enacted a plan that would cause some group to be outraged. 

To top it off Morelle even voted against extending the current sales tax rate.  If this legislation was not passed (thankfully it was), the City of Rochester would be bankrupt. But there would have been one big benfit for Morelle — Maggie Brooks and the Republicans in the legislature surely would have to raise property taxes then.

What makes this even more galling is that he voted yes on every other county’s request seeking a sales tax extension or increase last year. 

Funny, but I don’t remeber seeing editorials on either one of these items.  They were probably written when I was on vaction.

Tags: Articles, Maggie Brooks, Monroe County, New York State by Mr. Peabody
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