SD-46: State of the Race 8/24 to 8/30

Media Coverage of Dark Horse Challenge Intensifies

Breslin Accepts Challenge To Debate Martland

In the race between 14-year incumbent Assitant Majority Leader Neil Breslin and his primary challengerLuke Martland news has been constant and consistent in the past week. So much so that infrequent as-it-happens or after-the-fact updates are implausible.

So begins the SD-46 State of the Race 2010 series, much in the same manner I ran the series for the 2008 Democratic Primary for Congress in NY-21 two years ago. While this one isn't quite that big, and no political story around this area is this year, Albany County's primary for State Senator has taken center stage along other major local races.

This entry will wrap up the last seven days activity on the campaign trail, and there was quite a bit of movement on both ends. To start, I no longer have to link to Sen. Breslin's official State Senate page; his name in blue now takes you to the campaign website that finally appeared this past week. The biggest news for me is that now both candidates finally have my interview questions, and their answers will be forthcoming.

But the biggest news for the voters is the big debate about to happen between the two candidates. Shortly after Martland challenged Breslin to return insurance-industry related donations, Martland then took his moment in the spotlight to challenge Breslin to a debate too.

It's happening tomorrow. So that's the setup for what's happened up until now, and a little bit of what to expect to come.

For what transpired in between, click below the fold for the state of the race...

(Cross-posted on The Albany Project)

Luke Martland



"Take Albany Back"

As mentioned, it was a little less than a weeks' time before Sen. Breslin accepted his opponent's challenge to debate publicly. The League of Women Voter's will be holding that debate tomorrow, and coverage will surely follow and likely define next weeks' news cycle.

This week was still dominated by various fallout from this story in which the incumbent was featured in a prominent television news broadcast that revealed he misunderstood the Prior-Approval Insurance bill he's been touting for months. This was a gift as good as gold to the Martland campaign, and once in the spotlight, he made continued use of the media to make his calls, both for Breslin to return campaign frunds from insurance companies and to debate him publicly.

He did this by traditional media outlets and some newer means. Over on the Martland Campaign's YouTube Channel, you can find his recorded versions of his two telephone town hall meetings he's conducted already. This was used by Congressional primary candidate Tracey Brooks two years ago, and it's notable that she ended up with the most votes in Albany County, if only by a slim margin. It may indicate that this method of outreach may work well in this area, and Martland is making use of it.

He's also using YouTube to archive two major radio interviews. First with the ultimate inside scoop guy, Fred Dicker, on his morning radio show last week:




And also with rising local media luminary Susan Arbetter on The Capitol Press Room:



Naturally, both interviews cover much of the same material that will likely be covered in my own forthcoming interview with the candidate. But they serve as good introductions with little fanfare over the public airwaves. If anything, this Martland's "name recognition week," and yes, while no polls have been conducted, I'd be surprised if all this media attention both on the newcomer bucking the system and the old-timer messing things up hasn't given Martland the m-word in all this.

That was this week in Luke Martland's campaign. Stay tune for next time...this week, Martland will be meeting with editorial boards from several major local publications.

Neil Breslin



"For All The Right Reasons."

Before the media circus, I was searching daily for a new Neil Breslin for State Senate website. It's no surprise that it's up now and that Team Breslin is in full campaign mode. For the longest time, that domain would take you to his old 2008 page, which simply said "Thanks for voting!"

But a little negative media attention for you coupled with a positively exponential increase in attention for your opponent with less than a month to go will kick things into high gear. The Breslin campaign has already started television advertising, and is also posting stuff to YouTube:



And so the race moves into Air Wars mode. Breslin has quite the cash advantage on his opponent, and for that reason alone I'd guess he is unlikely to meet Martland's challenge to return campaign funds from donors with insurance industry ties. But will Martland have enough to compete in the expensive realm of broadcasting and even cable?

It remains to be seen. But the campaign funds issue was synopsised, complete with Breslin's response to Martland's challenge, printed in this Friday's Inside Politics column of the Times Union:

The Democratic primary for Albany County's state Senate seat heated up this week when challenger Luke Martland called on seven- term incumbent Neil Breslin, the chairman of the Senate's Insurance Committee, to give back tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the insurance industry.

Breslin brushed aside Martland's claims of a conflict of interest, saying his legislative record makes it clear he's no friend of Big Insurance.

Both men say they favor publicly financed elections. But Breslin said legislation to that effect would never pass now as the state's economy continues to founder and that he is forced to operate within the system that currently exists.

Besides, it's not just about him, he said. "I'm on a team," Breslin said, referring to the Senate's Democratic conference, which is trying desperately to hold onto its three-seat majority after a tumultuous two years in power.

Breslin, who is assistant majority leader, said some of the money he raises can help defend Democratic seats elsewhere.

As of earlier this month, Breslin had a robust $420,619.73 banked. That's roughly 10 times more than Martland's $42,727.76.

Emphasis mine - SP

Statements that I believe to be poor excuses have been italicized, simple facts bolded.

The fact is that this race has heated up to temperatures that conventional-wisdome and, for lack of a better word, political-groupies would have predicted a few months ago. Yet Breslin's significant cash advantage, while not quite as exponential as last time, is much much larger than Martlands.

The poor excuses? I've covered that before. Like this past week, it's history now, and all opinions are just rough drafts in response to changing situations anyway.

The Primary is Tuesday, September 14th. Thanks for voting, thanks for reading, and stay tuned...the next State of the Race update is coming soon.

SD-46: Martland's Stand: Breslin's In Good Hands

Challenges Committee Chairman to Return Industry Contributions
Cites Conflict of Interest Challenge to the Tune of $125K

In the past week, Senator Neil Breslin has been the subject of widespread scorn and scrutiny thanks to heavy play of this embarassing story. It revealed that Breslin, now Chairman and longtime ranking member of the Seante Insurance Committee, did not know what was in his own bill.

Yesterday, Luke Martland took full advantage of the recent scrutiny and held a press conference. Since the root cause of fiasco's like this is the influence of lobbyist money on both legislators and of lobbyists being the real writers of legislation, Martland has called on Breslin to return $125,000 in campaign funds, saying this money presents a conflict of interest to any Senator.

The story once again made broadcast headlines. For the record, CBS6 is still reminding folks of Breslin's "huh, wha?" folly in it's promotional spots. This video comes care of competitor WNYT, and other stations are also picking up the storyline. This is a huge change for the district: two years ago when Breslin faced his first primary challenge, nothing was ever braodcast on the race; this year, I have to hop between channels!

Here's the news coverage:



The full uncut Martland statement is below the fold.

(Cross-posted on The Albany Project)

Martland Challenges Breslin to Return Insurance Contributions

State Senate Candidate Luke Martland Challenges Incumbent Neil Breslin to Return His Insurance Company Campaign Contributions
Cites Conflict of Interest for Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Breslin

(August 23, 2010. Albany) – State Senate candidate Luke Martland today called on 14-year incumbent Neil Breslin to return the more than $125,000 in campaign contributions he has accepted in the last 18 months while serving as chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee.

“As chairman of the State Senate Insurance Committee, Neil Breslin has accepted more than $125,000 in campaign contributions from the very same companies that his committee controls legislation over,” said Martland. “He should return all of those contributions so that there is no possible conflict of interest or appearance of improper influence.”

“It’s simple,” said Martland, “if you are in charge of passing legislation that will determine how much an industry makes in profit, you should not be accepting contributions from that industry.”

Breslin accepted more than $125,000 in campaign contributions from Aetna, Empire Health, CDPHP, Met Life, New York Life, Empire Dental and other insurance companies from January 2009 to June 2010 according to the New York State Board of Elections.

CBS6 Albany broadcast a series of stories beginning on August 18, which found that Neil Breslin did not know the contents of a prior approval insurance bill he sponsored and touted.

“We now know that Breslin, the Chair of the Insurance Committee, does not understand his own bills,” said Martland. “Legislation like the prior approval bill that Breslin did not understand have a huge impact on insurance company profits. If Neil Breslin does not understand these bills, who does? Who produces these bills? Who influences their content? Even if it is currently legal under New York’s “Swiss cheese” campaign laws to accept money from the same companies you oversee, it is unethical and Neil Breslin should return these contributions so there is no appearance that insurance companies are buying access or influence.”
Martland has already shown leadership on ethics issues. In May, Martland released his own tax and salary records and called on Breslin to release his tax records, law firm salary and client list. Breslin refused.

Luke Martland was raised in Albany, graduated from Albany High School and Princeton University and worked his way through Brooklyn Law School. He has served as an Assistant District Attorney and Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Attorney General’s office. He also ran the State’s sex offender registry at the Division of Criminal Justice Services in Albany.

Luke Martland’s stand on issues can be found at www.lukemartlandsenate.com.

Luke Martland is also on Facebook and Twitter.

###

Emphasis mine - SP

I find the bolded statements by Luke Martland extrememly hard to disagree with. The only thing I might add is that Breslin has accepted far in excess of $125,000 from the insurance and banking industry since he's been in the Senate. The Martland campaign might have also added the American Insurance Group, (aka AIG) to the list of companies Sen. Breslin has been in bed with, considering that this company played such a devastating and integral role in the recent financial meltdown.

It turns out that a solid media frame has evolved around this race that has completely turned that tables. Now instead of Luke Martalnd looking like an upstart challenger, Neil Breslin is looking more the defensive old-timer. And frankly, Breslin is making it worse for himself by failing to respond to the charges in story after story. To my knowledge, he still hasn't agreed to publicly debate Luke Martalnd under the watchful of the League of Women Voters, and that challenge was made weeks ago.

What does all this mean for a guy like me who's wanted change in this Senate district for some time?

Actually, it means that change has arrived. Even if Luke Martland's efforts don't get him into the Senate, the biggest problem in this district has been the combination of an unaccountable politician and an unaccountable press. In light of these new media events, I can say that we've finally got some a decent showing of accountability in the Capital Region press corps, and with that accountable politicians will follow. Whether that means we get a change of Senators or if it means a current Senator changes his ways, that is still the improvement I've been looking for all along.

Therefore, continued blogging on this race is getting more and more enjoyable. Stay tuned...my interviews with both candidates have been delayed a week, but are still forthcoming, and nowadays you never know what will make the airwaves!

SD-46: Sen. "What's In My Bill?" Breslin Caught on Camera

Media Pile-On Begins as Insurance Committee Chairman Misinterprets His Own Law

Earlier this week, I reported that Autism awareness advocates were about to pile on the criticism of Senator Neil Bresln. I expected some kind of follow-up in the mainstream media, but last night, both Senator Breslin and I got more than we bargained for.

Check out this incriminating report first aired on CBS 6 News last night. It turns out the Insurance Committee chairman's big prior approval insurance bill that he's been saying covers all of us really only covers 25% of New Yorkers, and when broadcast journalist Jerry Gretzinger brought this up to him, it was news to him.

Put simply, Breslin has never looked worse on the news: Because he doesn't actually know what's in the bill he sponsored, pushed through his committee, and has been touting like WonderBread for months, he's stuck on camera having to call one of his aides for clarification. Watch for yourself:



Here's another good question: how long before this goes away with only four weeks until your primary against Luke Martland?

And the best answer will be: this isn't going away. Not only has Luke Martland's campaign already pounced, but immediately after the broadcast, CBS 6 started running promotional spots with highlights from this reel. Immediately! They've been running with it ever since, local radio stations are picking it up, and the follow-up even mentions Breslin's primary opponent. From the looks of tonight's newscast and Martland's response, this could be the spark that lights the powder keg. The story touches on nearly all the arguments Martland has been raising against Breslin.

Below the fold, Martland's full response to Breslin being caught with his pants down, and some additional video from the one television news broadcaster that has been giving this race the coverage it deserves.

(Cross Posted on The Albany Project)

Be honest...if you were running against Breslin, would you waste this opportunity to send out a release like the one below. Not only that, as I type this, CBS 6 News is following up not only by quoting the release...they've even got Fred Dicker on it! My God...and he's reminding people of everything else in addition to this new prior approval fiasco...anyway, here's what Martland had to say about it:

Confused Incumbent Neil Breslin Doesn’t Know the Contents of Prior Approval Insurance Bill He Sponsored in State Senate

(August 19, 2010. Albany) – Incumbent State Senator and Chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee Neil Breslin could not explain to CBS6 News yesterday the contents of the bill he sponsored and touted to force insurance companies to seek prior approval from the state Insurance Department for rate increases.

When asked by reporter Jerry Gretzinger why he voted for this bill Breslin replied, “That’s a good question.” Gretzinger’s story appeared on CBS6 News on Wednesday, August 18, 2010.

Gretzinger reported that Breslin touted that the bill will cover everyone in New York. It turns out that only one person in four will be covered and protected from unregulated insurance rate increases. Breslin had to call an aid to respond to Gretzinger’s questions.

“Neil Breslin is out-of-touch and poorly informed about the issues that affect middle class families, seniors and small businesses in New York,” said challenger Luke Martland, who is running to defeat Breslin in the September 14th Democratic Party Primary. “He sponsors and votes for a bill he does not understand. We should not be surprised then that New York State is in the mess it’s in. Neil Breslin is part of the problem and we must change Albany’s leadership on September 14th if we are to fix our government.”

Luke Martland was raised in Albany, graduated from Albany High School and Princeton University and worked his way through Brooklyn Law School. He has served as an Assistant District Attorney and Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Attorney General’s office. He also ran the State’s sex offender registry at the Division of Criminal Justice Services in Albany.

Luke Martland has been making points about Breslin's ineptitude when he was acting president of the Senate during the 2009 coup; the possibility of his private law practice taking up too much of his time while serving as Senator; the fact that the Insurance Committee chairman takes more campaign contributions from the insurance industry lobby than any other; the list goes on...and the mainstream media last night, tonight, and probably tomorrow and well into next week, are now saying the same thing.

And if this isn't perfect timing for Martland's efforts, I don't know what is. This story is certainly giving Martland supporters cause to celebrate and kick things into high gear; in my own humble opinion, it should give Breslin's supporters serious pause, and reconsider their favorable opinion of a Senator who's been on the job for fourteen years, is a committee chairman, and Assistant Majority Leader

The media pile-on is sure to continue....the 5:30 news cast is almost over and they're still recapping. I'll update the video from last night with the follow-up broadcast. In the meantime, here's the first piece CBS 6 ran on the race just a week ago. It was the first time any local television news station ran a story featuring both Breslin and a primary opponent of his within a month of the election, and it touches on the possible split in the LGBT community:



Glad you enjoyed that bit of last week. It's 6:00 on Thursday again, and the prior-approval mixup is the freakin' lead story. Some folks want Breslin to resign over this....

Stay. Tuned.

SD-46: Breslin To Face Opposition from Autism Families

Advocates State-wide Say Breslin Bill is Detrimental -- Local Activist to Form Third-Party

With only about a month to go before Sen. Neil Breslin faces Democratic primary opponent Luke Martland, I was expecting an "October-in-August" surprise to come from either camp soon. Earlier this week, I thought that Martland challenging Breslin to a series of debates might be it...

But today, I recieved news from sources unnaffilliated with either campaign: Several autism advocacy groups are not-too-happy about a piece of legislation sponsored by Senator Breslin. While he called the legislation a landmark back in June, today groups like the Foundation for Autism Information and Research are calling on Gov. Paterson to veto the legislation.

They're not stopping there, either. Tomorrow at noon, fifteen total groups affilliated with this cause will be holding a rally in opposition to the Breslin autism bill at locations all over New York, including in front of the Capitol.

The full press release and the final wrinkle in all of this are below the fold.

(Cross-posted on The Albany Project)

Below, the press release from FAIR hammers Breslin almost as badly as the several statements Luke Martland has been making for months:

Autism Advocacy Groups Call on Governor Paterson to Veto Breslin Autism Bill.

Advocates Say Breslin Bill Favors Insurance Companies and Hurts Autism Families.

(August 17, 2010. Albany ) Fifteen New York-based autism advocacy groups and parents of children with autism today called on Governor David Paterson to veto the autism insurance bill sponsored by incumbent State Senator Neil Breslin. A bill that the groups say will deny insurance coverage and treatment for people suffering from autism spectrum disorders.

The bill would shift early intervention reimbursements costs from the insurers back to the counties and taxpayers. "S7000-B is a step backwards, not a step forward, in insurance coverage for Autism,” said Kathy Eiss, president of the Western New York Chapter of the Autism Society of America.”

“Insurance Chairman Neil Breslin’s bill does not provide insurance coverage for people who suffer from autism,” said Michael Smith, chairman and northeast regional director of the Foundation for Autism Information and Research. “Breslin’s bill actually does more harm than good because it discriminates against people who suffer from autism and makes it nearly impossible for them to get treatment prescribed by their doctors.”

News conferences with other autism groups are being held across New York State .

“The first line of S.7000 (Breslin’s bill) mandates that health insurers cover treatment for people with autism. Unfortunately, the remainder of the bill wipes out the mandate and protects health insurers,” said Thomas Abinanti, in a letter to the editor he wrote to the Journal News. Abinanti is a parent, attorney and member of the Westchester Board of Legislators. “The bill is another example of ‘Albany Speak’ – that is, to say you are solving a problem, then make it worse.,” he wrote.


Autism advocates oppose the Breslin bill because it sets a standard for treatment for autism that must be “evidence-based, clinically proven and peer reviewed,” which is not required for any other medical disorder or disease. S7000-B sets a standard that treatment for autism must be "evidenced based, clinically proven and peer reviewed," which is not required for any other medical disorder or disease. “Chemotherapy for certain conditions often does not meet these criteria, especially “clinically proven,” but individuals are not denied coverage of chemotherapy.” said Mary Shuetz, a Board Certified Developmental Pediatrician from East Aurora . “Even the use of antibiotics, which is much more of a
common occurrence, rarely follows these requirements.”

Advocates also say that the Breslin bill will shift early intervention reimbursement costs from the insurance companies back to the counties and taxpayers.

Breslin is the chairman of the State Senate’s insurance committee and has accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from insurance companies and lobbyists in
New York and elsewhere.

“If I told you that a legislator who receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from insurance companies sponsored a bill that was co-authored by a powerful lobbying firm that represents insurance companies your eyes would widen,” said Chris Petrisino, parent and vice president of the Nassau-Suffolk Chapter of the Autism Society of America. “But that is what happened. And if this bill passes, our kids get screwed.’

Emphasis added - SP

Strong words from people who know what it means to be strong. This is a completely unexpected new wrinkle to this race and it will be interesting to see how it affects Breslin's bid for re-elction and the efforts of others to unseat him.

Which brings us to our final wrinkle: Autism could remain an angle of attack against Breslin depending on the outcome of the GOP "primary." Bear with me on the quotes there, but today, independently registered Michael Carey filed petitions to to run on a newly created third-party line in the general election. A short excerpt from today's Times Union Local Politics blog:

Carey Says He'll File 6,000 Signatures For REFORM Line

Bethlehem resident Michael Carey said he plans to file 6,000 signatures this afternoon with the Albany County Board of Elections to get on the ballot in the race for the 46th state Senate District.

Carey wanted to run as a Republican only to find out he was registered to vote but not enrolled in any party. Instead, he’s mounting his campaign on the REFORM line, a ballot line he created using independent nominating petitions.

Carey only needed 3,000 signatures — which was still three times as many as the major-party candidates.

If he does indeed file twice that many, it will be heavy lift for anyone trying to get him knocked off the ballot. Invalidating 3,000 signatures is no easy task.

Carey’s most likely opponent would be Republican Bob Domenici.

Seven-term incumbent Democrat Neil Breslin already faces a challenge within his own party from attorney Luke Martland. Whichever Democrat prevails in the primary would likely welcome the competition between Domenici and Carey for votes.

Emphasis added - SP

What's this got to do with autism? Well, Carey's son was named Jonathan, he was autistic, and New York State has Jonathan's Law because he died while under the care of health care aides three years ago. That sort of thing would turn me into a big activist, too, and Carey took that path and gained some local notoriety thanks to it: It was the lead of the story when he declared his candidacy for the GOP nomination.

Now I have to admit it was funny to watch Carey first insist that he'd be a Republican all his life then find out he actually wasn't when he first declared his candidacy against GOP-establishment-backed Domineci. But now the area's best-known autism activist has just formed The 2010 Third Party to challenge the a Senator on the same day his autism bill comes under heavy fire. That's a different story. And quite the surprise...

Stay tuned as this race continues to develop at it's new, improved rate of speed.

SD-46: What Would You Ask The Candidates

(Cross-posted on The Albany Project)

The race for State Senate in Albany County sees Sen. Neil Breslin is seeking his eighth consecutive term as primary challenger Luke Martland makes his first run for public office. I've been watching events unfold and reporting them here for the past few months, always reserving the right to inject my own opinions.

But at least once a race, I like to give the candidates the opportunity to speak for themselves without any of my spin. In the coming days, both candidates have agreed to submit to an extensive series of questions from arguably their toughest constituents: myself, and my fellow TAPpers. Before I get my microcassette recorder prepped and ready (and it's been hell chasing down blank tapes in this digital age!) I'd like to give you guys the chance to sound off.



Sen. Neil Breslin

After winning election in 1996 and joining his two brothers in county-wide elected positions, Senator Breslin has risen to become Assistant Majority Leader and continues to enjoy wide support in this heavily Democratic county. But all State Senators these days are struggling with a strong general air of anti-incumbency, and have to answer for the specific troubles of this past term, from the 2009 Senate coup to this years wildly late budget. What issue would you ask Neil Breslin about?



Luke Martland

Luke Martland, on the other hand, is a political newcomer in the 46th. He is so far Breslin's best-funded and most-covered Democratic challenger in the press, but certainly faces an uphill battle. He is running as an openly gay candidate and has so far been persistent in his criticisms of the Senator, while also racking up some criticisms against himself. What critical questions might you ask Luke Martland yourself?

Here's you chance to get your answers straight from the horses mouth. The interviews will be conducted early next week and will appear here the two following weekends. Thanks for the input, wish me luck, and keep up the good work!

SD-46: A Three-Ring Circus No More

Tim Carney is Knocked Off the Ballot for Invalid Signatures
Luke Martland Stands Alone in Challenge to Incumbent Sen. Neil Breslin

In early spring, Albany resident Tim Carney created two websites. The first was called timcarneyforassembly. The other was called timcarneyforsenate. Then, an Albany attorney named Luke Martland announced that he would challenge Senator Neil Breslin in a Democratic primary for sure. Carney's Assembly website dissappeared, and soon the local blogs were full of his wild assertations that he would win a three-way race against the 15-year incumbent with over $450K and his first well-funded Democratic challenger, Martland.

In the months between then and now, Carney lived up to his name, and gave me every reason to believe that his campaign for Senate would fail. We saw him post comical YouTube videos that nobody could take serious, and even his "official" campaign announcement was a grade B political stunt. And while I'd love to share them with you for pure entertainment value, I feel I really should just hang on to those crazy e-mails Carney sent me when he didn't like me sharing my opinion that his campaign was, well, a joke.

As of this Friday, it isn't a joke anymore. It's history. The Times Union is reporting that Tim Carney has been removed from the ballot. While Carney was able to survive an initial challenge to his nominating petitions a week ago, this time the Martland campaign sued in State Supreme Court for a second review, and the ruling left Carney short...by two signatures.

Head on over to the TU article to see Carney lose it if you like. For the length of the time I've been watching this, I've known the real race was between Luke Martland and Neil Breslin, despite the overwhelming odds Martland may face. From the beginning, Tim Carney's campaign has been a sideshow, an example of what can happen in any district when an opportunistic, unqualified noise-maker decides they have what it takes to run for high office. Such campaigns are useful only for entertainment value so long as things end up like this. Had Carney remained on the ballot, he would have split the vote of those who want progressive reform in this district. Now that he's off, things can return to where they should have been all along: a serious challenge between a powerful incumbent with both big money and the family political machine on his side...against an energetic new voice with naught but the courage of his convictions and just enough resources to get it done. Stay tuned for more as this two-way race develops.

SD-46: The Down-Low on the "Uprising"

There's a lot of chitter-chatter regarding this New York Uprising pledge that Ed Koch has tossed together. I'm of the opinion that the whole thing is a dumb stunt meant to benefit Ed Koch more than New York voters.

But it's got people's lips flapping, alright. Candidates of all stripes are coming out with their reasons why they did or did not -sign their names- point and click to get one the list, and of course jumping at the chance to explain why their opponents did or not do the same. Political theater, if you ask me, and today all the state's a stage.

Below the fold, the Democratic primary for State Senate in Albany County offers an interesting way to look at how three different candidates are taking three different approaches to this charade:

(Cross-posted on The Albany Project

The manner in which each of the candidates deal with the NY Uprising has them each playing roles surely being filled in your home district.

Sen. Neil Breslin

Incumbent Sen. Neil Breslin has not signed the pledge. He was apparently considering it:

“No one’s asked me to sign it, but it would seem to me to be a good idea, but I want to make sure that pledges are a minor detail. I’m more interested in getting legislation that mandates it and I sponsor that legislation."
- Sen. Neil Breslin to Capitol Confidential, 7/21

Well, the deadline's passed before he could make up his mind. But honestly, and this is coming from a huge critic of the Senator, ignoring this thing completely is correct. Plus, he's got more important things to worry about.

Know your role: If you're an incumbent, or even a challenger, the best thing to do with NY Uprising, is just not worry about it. In this, Senator Breslin plays the role of the experienced politician who knows a campaign ploy when he sees one. Role-playing advice: Get a press release out about how dumb NY Uprising is.

Luke Martland

Primary challenger Luke Martland is probably close to the top of Breslin's worry list. Martland's campaign has grown in strength and visibility in recent weeks, and continues to use every opportunity to expose the Senator's shortcomings. This time is no different. Some excerpts of what Martland has to say about this from a press release yesterday:

“In June,” Martland continued “I was glad to sign NY Uprising’s pledge, which includes many of these same goals. But, I will go beyond the minimum in NY Uprising’s pledge. For example, I will also fight to fix New York’s Swiss-cheese campaign finance laws by lowering contribution limits, banning unlimited donations to “house keeping” accounts, and other reforms.”

“How could anyone,” Martland asked, “who truly believes in fixing our State’s broken and corrupt government be against meaningful ethics reform? How could anyone who cares about New York’s sky high taxes be against balanced budgets and an end to the excessive spending and debt that leads to ever rising taxes and jobs leaving our State? How could anyone (unless you are a 14 year incumbent running for reelection yet again) be against ending the Senate’s ‘life time employment club’?”

“The fact that Neil Breslin has refused to pledge to fight for these basic principles of balanced budgets, an end to corruption and real ethics reform says a lot about Neil,” continued Martland. “The stark differences between me and Neil Breslin get clearer by the day. I will fight for reform. Neil is trying desperately to claim that he is a reformer, but the fact is that he has been in power for 14 long years, represents the status quo, and has refused to commit to the most basic changes necessary to fix our dysfunctional government.”

Even though I support Martland's campaign, I find it hard to support this one. There are so many angles from which to expose Breslin's failure as a legislator, and Martland has consistently pointed these out during times that mattered. When the Senate continues to take long weekends while the budget goes unpassed, Martland called Breslin out for it; when Breslin flip-flopped on education spending, Martland took Breslin to task for it; lather, rinse, and repeat is a common refrain for the Martland campaign, and most of the time rightfully so...

Yet this episode breaks the string of effectiveness. Perhaps voters who don't pay much attention will filed into Martland's camp because of this, but personally I think the points to be scored here are too small as well as too meaningless to bother with.

Know your role: I hate to admit it, but Luke Martland's role here is that of an anti-incumbent politician who got a little over-eager and fell right into NY Uprising's stupid. What's worse is that he was doing just fine. Role-playing advice: Get back to what you were doing.

Tim Carney

Finally, Tim Carney appeared on the blogs for his statements on the matter. His comments over at Capitol Confidential have him brushing aside the pledge entirely. An advisable move...

...but aligning yourself with the Tea Party? And still trying to exploit the NY Uprising Pledge by lying about one of your opponents? Not so much:

From the Friends of Tim Carney for Senate,
July 22, 2010 – Albany, NY – Tim Carney has not sought endorsements or support from any political group except the Independence Party and the TEA Party Movement. The Independence Party went with Neil and many members of the TEA Party movement are passing out palm cards across Albany County for Mr. Carney.
::
::
We would like to know if Luke ever advocated for any type of reform in Albany in the past 20 years? Oh, yea he hasn’t lived in Albany for the past 25 years.
:
Tim Carney does not need to be on this list to be considered a reformer.

What else do we have to expect from a Tea Party Democrat but cheap political exploitation by way of ignoring the facts? Luke Martland was born and raised in Albany. He lives a short walk from the Legislative Office Building for crying out loud. And where Martland has been consistently giving progressives reasons to consider him as a serious option to replace Senator Breslin, Tim Carney has been consistent only in his ability to force us to not take him seriously at all.

Know your role: You know that one guy in your district who's always running about trying to get elected any way he can and only ever making himself look ever more unelectable? Role-playing advice: Get back to where you once belong.

That's the down-low on the "uprising" from where I sit. Who's playing what role in your neighborhood?

One thing's for damn sure: nobody's a "hero" or an "enemy" when it comes to Ed Koch's phony NY Uprising.

SD-46: The Press and the Picnic

Or, The Gubernatorial Candidate Came To Town And All I Got To Talk About Is This Lousy State Senate Primary

It's been two years since I first attended the Albany County Democratic Party picnic. This weekend it was actually back in Albany County, but alas, I was unable to afford a ticket. Nevertheless, I revelled in the memories of having been the only volunteer for the first challenger to State Senator Neil Breslin there, and two years ago I paid close attention to the press coverage of the State Senate primary...which amounted to a single print story published less than a fornight prior to primary day...

But this year, the Albany Times Union made up for my lack of attendance in their prominent print story about the picnic published in this weekends' widely-circulated Sunday edition. And even though Democratic gubernatorial candidate and surefire newsworthy victor-to-be Andrew Cuomo was there, instead the biggest paper in SD-46 lead with this:

You couldn't get into the Albany County Democratic picnic Saturday without passing Tim Carney.

The Albany man pressed laminated palm cards into the hands of his fellow partisans, telling them he has a plan to lower property taxes by raising income taxes. Nearby, blue-shirted volunteers handed out stickers touting Luke Martland, a former prosecutor. The men have one thing in common: They believe Sen. Neil Breslin, a Bethlehem lawyer seeking his eighth term, has become part of the problem in a problematic chamber.

"We have some good visibility, and people see that we're a serious campaign who can turn out volunteers and turn out people," Martland said. "I've met a lot of people, and just talking to them about the dysfunction, and how the current Senate can't even pass a budget while their taxes are up as a result and jobs leave the state, and how I'm going to fight to change that. Is it Breslin's fault alone? No. But partly his fault? Absolutely."

Emphasis mine - SP

There's eight weeks to go in this primary cycle, two years later, and if it ain't in print, then it ain't real. This challenge may be controversial, but I've never seen press coverage like this, so it's definitely real.

So for the next eight weeks, get ready for a fit-to-print, real campaign (and for more details below the fold).
=====================================
The local mainstream media's history of either giving the Breslins a pass when they weren't simply fauning over them, State Senator Neil and County Executive Mike both, make the next bit of the story all the more shocking to me:

Breslin was a few feet away, wearing a plaid shirt and resting between chats with voters beneath a blue tarp. His supporters -- including some Senate staffers wearing white shirts emblazoned with his name -- handed out buttons, but most of the loyal partisans in the group knew Breslin and came over to say hello.

"The picnic is all the hard-working people in Albany County who work for the party or participate in Democratic politics," said Breslin, who was backed by the committee. "I tell voters we'll begin to turn the state around, the economy's picking up, (and) I continue to be a major part of the purge within the Senate."

Aside from the less-than-flattering description, I'd say the quote choice is poor as well. Or perhaps it's the only stock campaign rhetoric Breslin had to offer.

Honestly, if it's been 14 years, then his tense is wrong. He should be talking about how he's already helped turned the state around. He's made earlier statements about running on his record...but this seems off-message and hollow.

I prefer Luke Martland's analysis, as quoted by the TU:

Which is exactly Martland's point: "He's part of the leadership of the Senate that can't pass a budget and now is taking weeks off. They're not even trying to do the job. Is that partly his fault? Yes. When they do come up with ideas to balance the budget, it involves raising taxes. Is that partly his fault? Yes."

All opinions aside, the main thing here is that the local mainstream press is actually giving the race the attention any race deserves. Openng up with a candiate who raised less than $1,000 but is still getting himself out there (and giving Breslin's best funded challenger so many inches) is a far cry from the reporting of last go round.

And good newspapers make for good democracy.

SD-46: Petitions, Financials Filed; Breslin-Martland Race Is On

The Thursday deadline to get your signatures and balance sheets has come and gone if you're a New York State Senate candidate. In Albany County, three candidates have been at it, asking people for their John Hancocks and Ben Franklins to get them on the ballot and keep them well funded, and we have three very different results.

Defending incumbent Neil Breslin is in the upper echelon's of Senatorial cash hoarders. The Friends of Senator Breslin is reporting a haul of over $200,000. This was added to an opening balance in excess of that amount, for a grand total of over $414,000 cash on hand, one of the largest Senate war chests in the State.

Challengers Tim Carney and Luke Martland both handed in greater than the required amount of signatures to get on the ballot in the September primary. But only Martland has filed a financial report, since Carney's pull of less than a grand puts him in the "don't bother to file" category. It also very likely places him in the "non-competitive" category despite his grassroots tenacity. Luke Martland, on the other hand, has reported over $140,000 in total reciepts and has already outspent Breslin's campaign two to one, leaving him with about $55,000 in the bank.

Speaking of expenditures, I feel these items get a little lost when we all focus on how much people are taking in. I'm curious about what these candidates are doling out. Reports show that Breslin has been spreading the wealth to local Democratic committees and community associations. I'm not sure if this is common practice, but even if it is it sure looks like good old fashioned political patronage to me, and I find it inronic that Breslin is using all that insurance money to buy, well, more insurance.

On the other hand, Martland's spending reads like a virtual shopping list from a step by step how to run a local election instruction manual. These reports show us a candidate building a serious campaign from the ground up, and they prove beyond all doubt that Breslin has a truly serious challenger this year.

The Times Union's Capitol Confidential also lets us know that the Republicans, in Robert Domenici, have just $8,000 under their belt so far, which is, of course, not enough. But Martland's amount might be enough in such an anti-incumbent year and even against such odds when one considers where Breslin's cash comes from. Even CapCon and the other mainstream-media run blogs are running that meme now...

From CapCon:

Breslin’s haul includes tens of thousands in corporate donations from insurance companies and affiliated political action committees, a fact that you can bet Martland — who has already assailed Breslin of being too cozy with the insurance companies he’s supposed to be regulating as chairman of the Senate’s Insurance Committee — will try to hammer home over the course of the summer.

...and that's the fact more significant than any dollar figure or signature count. If Martland's message is able to catch hold, it could very well make up for Breslin's monstrous financial advantage. Either way, this looks like it will be Breslin's toughest re-election fight of his career, his race to lose, and will remain the biggest political news story of Albany County in 2010.

SD-46: Breslin STILL Refuses Ethical Disclosure Despite Calls from Martland, Cuomo

A full month after Luke Martland called on Senator Neil Breslin to fully disclose his list of clients, citing numerous credible sources, the Senator continues his refusal to confirm that there is no conflict of interest in his being an of counsel attorney at a union-busting and insurance-lobby law firm while the Senator sits as Chairman of the Insurance Committee in the Senate.

Today, Luke Martland adds gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo to his list of sources to bolster his argument:

BRESLIN IGNORES MARTLAND’S CALL FOR FULL DISCLOSURE OF TAX RECORDS, LAW FIRM CLIENT LIST AND SALARY

Andrew Cuomo Called for Full Disclosure in Acceptance Speech

June 3, 2010

(Albany) – Thirty days have passed since Senate candidate and former prosecutor Luke Martland called on 14-year incumbent Neil Breslin to release his tax records, law firm client list and salary. Martland released his own state and federal tax records to the press on Monday, May 3, 2010.
::
“It has been a month since I called on Neil Breslin to release his tax records, law firm client list and salary,” said Martland. “If Breslin has nothing to hide, why doesn’t he simply disclose this information,” questioned Martland.

Martland’s call for Breslin to release this information has been echoed by the Attorney General, the press, a large bar association and a federal judge.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called for full disclosure of outside sources of income for lawmakers at his nomination acceptance speech last week.
::
Despite these calls for full disclosure, Breslin has repeatedly refused to divulge his law firm client list and law firm salary.

For the record, Cuomo's statement reads as such, from the transcript of his campaign announcement video:

My Clean Up Albany Plan will enact strict new ethics laws, require full disclosure of all legislators' outside income, and have a real independent monitor, because self-policing is an oxymoron.

I'm assuming Sen. Breslin is supporting the future Governor's election. But will he actually take action and reveal his client list, or will he prove Cuomo's axiom that "self-policing is an oxymoron" is true? A recent interview in the Legislative Gazette by Faith Burkins-Gizmet reveals Breslin's arrogance:

Martland recently called on Breslin to release his 2009 tax forms, including income from the law firm where Breslin is of counsel, Hiscock and Barclay.

Breslin maintains he has already done that, providing the documents to the Albany Times Union in January after the newspaper asked all lawmakers to disclose their finances.

Martland also demanded that Breslin release a list of his law firm's clients, citing that the public has a right to know if there is a possible conflict of interest.

Breslin said he finds this argument "absurd." He said none of his clients have any business with the Legislature, and they are guaranteed confidentiality by law. He said it would be an ethical violation if he were to disclose his clients' names.

There's nothing to be read from this except arrogance. Breslin seems to believe if he keeps on ignoring these calls that they'll simply go away. How he sees this stubborness helping his campaign is something I simply can't fathom. If he would only reveal the client list as Martland and Cuomo are saying, his challenger and this blogger would have to find something else to write about, right?

As it stands, without a list of names to confirm there is no conflict of interest, there's no proof there is none. But there is proof that, as Cuomo said, self-policing is an oxymoron:

Breslin's continued refusal to provide full disclosure. And that's only one of the reasons Senator Breslin needs to be offerred a retirement package in September's Democratic primary.

On The Web

Luke Martland for State Senate

Donate to Luke Martland for State Senate.

Soundpolitic Sundays: Look On The Bright Side Edition

This column has been nothing but doom and gloom and demanding apologies and giving them for the past couple of weeks. This is not at all what I intended...and subsequently readership has fallen.

Friends, it's time to rememdy this lot.

My most popular post was a look at how a certain British sketch comedy troupe of yore could still be relevant to politics as well as tickle your Sunday funny bones in between bouts of talking heads.

Dear readers, I may be slow, but by popular demand (and out of spiritual necessity), this week on Soundpolitic Sundays, I'm going get back to looking on the the bright side:



Below the fold, more Python videos than should probably be allowed, coupled with some tidbits on their relevance to satisfy the political junkie in us all...

(Cross-posted on DailyKos and The Albany Project)

As with my last Python themed post, I feel a bit of background information is an order for those poor souls not yet privy to the fully Monty. The last blog has a bit. Wikipedia has a smidge more with regard to today relevant film, Life of Brian:

Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team. It tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Graham Chapman), a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as and next door to Jesus Christ, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.
::
The film was a box-office success, grossing fourth-highest of any film in the UK in 1979 and highest of any British film in the United States that year. It has remained popular since then, receiving positive reviews and being named 'Greatest British comedy film of all time' by several magazines and television networks.

As you can guess, the film is soaked through with satire, both religious and political. Our last subject, Holy Grail is also the same, but is traditionally more popular here in the States. Brian, as you just read, is often cited as the best British comedy ever made. After another viewing, I've determined that we Americans may have things backwards...

...but that doesn't mean several of the best clips from Life of Brian can't be Americanized! Indeed, the best political satire is timeless precisely because political history often repeats itself, no matter what country you're in.

Take, for example, this country's recent dealings with Hot Beverage Parties: The Tea Party is now a force to be -reckoned- heckled with in conservative Republican circles, and the Coffee Party is it's progressive -counterpart- opposite. Both come under scrutiny from both sides for undermining the goals of the "real" parties, Republican or Democrat. But really, folks, have you not read the Federalist Number 10 and Madison's words of wisdom regarding factionalism? And wasn't there a Democratic-Republican party at one point in time? And what about...

...fiddlesticks. This bit explains it all so much more elquontely:

JUDEAN PEOPLE'S FRONT



That's right! You're all splitters! Just like the only people the Tea Partiers hate more than us liberal communist socialis Democrats are the not-conservative-and-libertarian-and-fascist-enough Republicans they're splitting from. And just like some of us Kossacks hate the Republicans...but not as much as those Democrats in Name Only, that's for bleedin' sure!

That's not meant as criticism, of course. But it does go to show that such cinematic silliness can be quite thought provoking. If the Tea Partiers had any capacity for thought or reason, they >might realize that some of their revolutionary positions really don't make sense. Remember those "Keep Your Government Hands of My Medicare" signs at their rallies? Tell me that doesn't remind you of this meeting of the People's Front of Judea:

WHAT HAVE THE ROMANS EVER DONE FOR US?



And that's the way it goes. All those women at the Tea Parties who plan to vote their representatives out of office might have been progressive suffragettes a century ago. And all those protesters who marched on Washington (all fifty million of them, or so they claim) had quite the easy time getting there thanks to all those interstate highways, didn't they? The list goes on and on...

Ah, but try talking reason to those types and your excercisng your futility muscles. Why is it we can't seem to get them behind the idea that collective government action is useful...especially when they're so excited about the fact that their own collective action can be used to "take back" their country? Maybe they need a leader for their "individual rights" movement. Maybe they should take a page from the man himself: Brian, mistaken for the Messiah:

YOU'RE ALL INDIVIDUALS!



Of course, in the interst of being "fair and balanced," a Tea Party fool might get just as much enjoyment by reading into that scene a little bit differently. Is this an allegory for Dems and progressive chanting "Yes We Can!" at another Barack Obama speech (as opposed to Repukes and 'baggers chanting "Drill Baby Drill" in front of a Sarah Palin appearance...in New Orleans)?

No. It's exactly what it is. We are all individuals and we shouldn't allow ourselves to be lead as such, no matter what side of the aisle we are on. The difference that Obama brings to the table is that he, too, encouraged us to think for ourselves. Now if he could just get the rest of our leaders to think for themselves instead of just thinking about the next re-election battle, we might get somewhere. Of if we didn't have all sorts of whackjob conservative reactionism to his Presidency we might get somewhere.

Y'know, I feel sorry for those Tea Party types sometimes. For one thing, they happen to be stuck being compared to sweaty testicles being shoved in your face by your college roomate after a night of hard drinking. This is something that I don't approve of (but am tired of scolding y'all about, so carry on if you wish). They might have caught a lucky break if somebody might have warned them about the phrase, though. Brian got a little help from his enemies, and learned a little bit about Latin verb conjugation in the process:

LATIN GRAMMAR LESSON



Ahh, the powers and the pitfalls of civil disobedience. All of us might do well to study a non-English form of verb conjugation, by the way. With all the new Americans of Hispanic descent that came (have come? are coming?) to American by the day, we might do well to start thinking of ours as a bilingual nation. I'm told that Spanish might have a little bit to do with Latin...

Blasphemy! Says the neofascist nationalist Limbaugh-Hannity-Savage crowd! This is America! We speak American here, dammit! How soon until those Arizona folks declare English the official language of the state and makes any human being suspected of not being able to conjugate (or define) the word "is" to prove their American grammatical abilities?

I wonder what the penalty would be for such blasphemy? The Right would probably prefer the harshest punishment possible. In the interest of saving the best for last, here it is: by far the funniest clip from Life of Brian, the Stoning Scene!



Ouch. And they say Joe Biden is gaffe prone! See that? No matter what side your on, if you say the wrong thing at the wrong time in front of the wrong crowd, your entirel political career is on the rocks. But only because the rest of the country is completely off its...

Before I end up saying something I shouldn't have and paying the ultimate price for it, I'm going to have to wrap this up by encouraging you all to do a few things:

First, check out Life of Brian if you haven't already. There's plenty more in the film where all this came from, and much, if not all, of it relates to todays current political culture. Commenters, feel free to suggest snippets I may have overlooked.

Second, I'm hoping to lead by example here. I've been rather stressed out by both my joblessness and by the political dysfunction here in New York in the past couple weeks (months...years) and it's very easy to get cynical, angry, depressed, and you can get really close to just throwing your arms up and giving up the ghost sometimes.

But life's a piece of shit when you look at it, anyway, or so goes the wisdom of Python. So if that's all you've got to look forward to, then you might as well just jump back face-first into the manure and try to get something to grow out of it, right?

Right. Third: Always look on the bright side of life.

So concludes this weeks' edition of Soundpolitic Sundays. Thanks for reading and tune in next week for...erm...whatever strikes me as irreverant, musical, and political all at once next Saturday night.

By the way...I feel better already. So...may all beings be free from suffering, too.

SD-46: Breslin Votes For Furloughs...Before Voting Against Them?

Though I may be a day or two late on this, Senator Breslin appears to be playing a dual role in the ongoing furlough fiasco.

As we know, all of our wonderful Democratic Senators voted for Governor Paterson's budget extender on Monday, which contained language to furlough about 100,000 hard-working state employees. Then, on Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that a restraining order on this measure was an order when considering a lawsuit filed by PEF.

AS it turns out, Breslin authored a resolution condemning the furloughs around the same time he voted for them. The Times Union reported this yesterday:

Cutting sting of furlough vote

Sen. Neil Breslin inserts poison pill cited in order delaying governor's plan

ALBANY -- Sen. Neil Breslin voted to furlough 100,000 state workers, including thousands who live in his Albany County district.

But Breslin, a Bethlehem Democrat, also got the Senate to pass a poison pill.

A resolution passed unanimously by the 62-member chamber Monday deemed the furloughs "contrary to the law and public policy of this state" and that "this legislative body believes it is not reasonable or fiscally necessary to impose furloughs on unionized state employees in violation of their existing collective bargaining agreements."


It was classic political defense for a legislator stuck between a rock and a hard place[...]

::


But will it serve as a political shield? Breslin denied politics entered into his calculations, but it seems he was working closely with PEF all along. Officials on both sides acknowledged they spoke continuously throughout the process, and when asked by Breslin was not attending a rally of over 2,000 state workers yelling at legislators about to vote for a furlough, PEF President Kenneth Brynien jumped to Breslin's defense.

"Neil said he's working right now to put together a resolution to send to the governor to stop the furloughs," said Brynien. "So, we gave him an out because he's working on our behalf. That's more important than standing in the crowd."

In addition, Breslin is facing two primary challengers who are attacking his stance on the furloughs.

Emphasis mine - SP

Below the fold, Breslin's defensive press statement and a bit of analysis...

(Cross-posted on The Albany Project)

Breslin explained his rapid about-face in a press release Monday, available on the Senator's official website:

For Immediate Release: May 10, 2010
Kelly Conboy | kconboy@senate.state.ny.us | 518-455-2225 518-455-2225

(Albany, NY)-“It is not reasonable or fiscally necessary to impose furloughs on unionized state employees in order to address the budget crisis.

Today, I submitted a resolution on the floor requesting that the Governor resubmit the emergency legislation for the period of April 1, 2010 through May 19, 2010 without including language that authorizes him to impose furloughs.

Unfortunately, in order to avoid shutting down many of the state's essential services, the Legislature has little choice but to vote for the provisions in the current emergency bill.”

###

Sounds pretty agreeable, doesn't it?

But really, this is just another one of those non-binding, feel-good resolutions that really doesn't get anything done. The judge did cite it in his ruling, but according to the Times Union, it was likely to take place anyway. So what's really going on here, in my own humble opinion?

I think the important point to remember is that Breslin is facing two primary challengers, Luke Martland and Tim Carney. Couple that with the fact that the Senator from Albany County most likely represents far more state employees than any other Senator, and it makes sense that he would be the one to craft such language, not for the purpose of actually getting anything binding passed...

...but for the purpose of political damage control.

Of the two challengers, it is Luke Martland who's been hitting Breslin the hardest, on furloughs specifically as well as on ethics, generally. So it's only natural that the Senator would find a way to squirm his way out of that "rock and a hard place," as the TU described it. Frequent commenters on the TU Local Politics blog, including myself, took this as the most important issue and the most obvious flip-flop during the weekly wrap-up.

I'll allow my re-posted comment to stand on it's own to express my opinion:

10.The Breslin furloughs fiasco presents an obvious non-quandry.

Any legislator could have “voted against furloughs” before voting for them. But it’s clear as to why it was agreed that Breslin offer up this flip-flop of epic proportions:

He’s facing two primary challenges in a tough anti-incumbent year. One of these campaigns (Luke Martland) is well organized and has been hitting Breslin hard week after week. As the Senator who represents probably more state workers than any of his colleagues, it makes sense that the Senate Democrats let Breslin take “credit” for this little stunt. In fact, this was almost as bad as Tim Carney’s little fake campaign announcement earlier this week.

Bottom line: If a measure is illegal, then don’t vote for it. That’s called principle.

It’s time we had a State Senator who we can be proud of so we can be proud to be Democrats once again. Check out Luke Martland for that opportunity

That's my opinion, and I'll stick to it unless I hear something really compelling.

As for shutting down state government...well...just how much of a change would that be? Nothing seems to be working with this batch of constantly re-elected goons anyway. And perhaps a full shutdown is just the thing needed to get their chaps back in the saddle again. Yes, it would be disastrous...

...but aren't they already a disaster?

Of course they are. And they are because nobody in their home districts hold their own two-faced "progressive" representatives to account.

I really hope that changes this year...in September.

SD-46: Show Me The Money!

Luke Martland Continues to Demand Full Disclosure of Unresponsive Sen. Breslin

More than a week after State Senate candidate Luke Martland called on Senator Neil D. Breslin to fully disclose the amount of money he makes and who he represents at his second job at a union-busting and financial industry lobbying law firm, the Assistant Majority Leader has failed to respond.

Undeterred, Martland yesterday brought forth the issue again, and vowed to continue doing so until he succeeds in getting Albany County voters the full disclosure we deserve. One thing Martland's press releases never fail to do is hammer the secretive Senator while tying his attacks in with recent legislative events:

“Instead of caring about New York’s families that are suffering pay cuts and job losses, Breslin is more interested in hiding his pay increases and multiple side clients. If only working families were as important to him as his secret clients, maybe the state budget would get passed and the furloughs avoided.”

- Luke Martland, Democratic candidate for New York State Senate, 46th District

Breslin's response to last week's inquiry from Martland was to shrug it off entirely. One supposes he was too busy authoring a resolution condemning the very furloughs he himself voted for. Perhaps the Senator considers himself so untouchable that Martland and his press releases might simply go away...

...but that clearly isn't going to happen. Luke Martland has been good about backing up his request with evidence to thwart Breslin's bogus claim that such disclosures are unnecessary. He cites a January finding by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York which came to the following conclusion:

“...all lawmakers, including attorney-legislators, should be required to disclose information about their sources of outside income, including the identity of their clients, their fees and a clear description of the services rendered.”

Emphasis mine - SP

Not content to simply cite a Bar Association report, Martland follows the perennial "rule of three" to further bunker his demands. He cites last Friday's Times Union editorial which echoed his own opinion, saying that all Senators should "be subject to full disclosure of their sources of income and actual or potential conflicts...which they have for too long refused to do." Additionally, he reminds us of what U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe told disgraced former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno in court: “Why is anybody worried about disclosure? Disclosure gets rid of the entire problem of conflict. How can there be a conflict if you’ve disclosed? That’s the whole function of disclosure. Let the public know...And then they can make their own judgments.”

I find it refreshing to see a State Senate candidate leading by example, as Martland has already released all his tax and income information of his own volition. And I say three cheers to Luke Martland for reminding the entrenched Senator of the lessons all legislators should be taking away from the recent conviction and sentencing of Uncle Joe.

"I believe in leadership by example," Luke Martland told me the first time I met him. It's also what Luke Martland says directly to Senator Breslin in a letter dated May 6th, which was also released to the press yesterday.

Interested? The letter is quoted in full below the fold.

The ball is in Breslin's court on this one. Stay tuned to see if all he does is keep dribbling.

(Cross-posted on The Albany Project)

Below is the full text of the letter Luke Martland sent to Sen. Breslin.

May 6, 2010

Senator Neil Breslin
Assistant Majority Leader on Conference Operations
502 Capitol Albany, New York 12247

Dear Assistant Majority Leader Breslin,

On Monday, May 3, 2010, I gave to the press copies of my state and federal income tax returns for 2009, my W-2, and a dividend form. The only information that I redacted from those forms was my social security number, my bank account number, and the street address of my home. I have also promised that, if elected, I will not have any outside job (in order to be completely free of any potential conflicts of interest) and to release my tax returns and W-2 every year.

I released my tax information because I believe that the voters have a right to know how much a candidate earns, and how he or she earned it. I believe that the voters have an equal right to know how much a Senator earns, and how he or she earned it. This includes a right to a full disclosure of any outside job(s) or sources of income, and any resulting potential conflicts of interest.

When I released my own tax information I requested that you do three things. First, follow my example and also release your 2009 tax returns and reveal your salary from your second job at the law firm Hiscock and Barclay. Second, reveal your client list so that the voters can know if there are any potential conflicts of interest. Third, reveal your time records so that the voters will know what general services you provided to these clients, and know when you are working at the law firm, as opposed to working on Senate duties.

Senator, you have so far not responded to any of these requests or released any of this information. As Assistant Majority Leader of the New York State Senate and Chairperson of the Senate Insurance Committee, you are one of the most powerful and influential people in State Government. Yet, you also work simultaneously at Hiscock and Barclay, and you have so far refused to reveal your specific salary or your clients. Without the release of your tax information and client list it is nearly impossible for the public to know if there are any potential conflicts of interest from the clients that you represent at Hiscock and Barclay.

As I am sure you know, this information is not covered by the attorney-client privilege. In January 2010 the Association of the Bar of the City of New York issued a report on “Reforming New York State’s Financial Disclosure Requirements for Attorney-Legislators.” In that report the Bar Association noted that under existing law the identity of an attorney’s clients and amount of income are not confidential and are subject to disclosure. The Bar Association also stated in its conclusion that “...all lawmakers, including attorney-legislators, should be required to disclose information about their sources of outside income, including the identity of their clients, their fees and a clear description of the services rendered.”

This is the exactly the same information that I am requesting that you release: 1) your outside income, including at your law firm, 2) the identity of your clients, and 3) time sheets or some other clear description of the services your provided to those clients. Not only do voters have a right to know this information, but, if there are no conflicts of interest then I fail to see how releasing this information would be a problem.

I want to make clear that I am only asking you to do what I have already done. I believe in leadership by example. As a result, I first released my tax returns and W-2, which reveal all of my sources of income for 2009 (which consisted of my state salary and approximately $40 in interest that I earned from one investment). I do not have, and did not have, any second job or outside source of income. I do not have, and did not have, any outside clients. Therefore, I have already released all of the information that I am requesting that you disclose. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Luke Martland

Since we're on the topic of "show me the money," I think it's time I started doing this:

Donate to Luke Martland for State Senate.

SD-46: Carney Makes It "Official"

Announces Intent to Challenge Sen. Breslin in front of Albany County Legislature

And then there were three. Yesterday, Albany resident Tim Carney made a public comment to the members of the Albany County Legislature and citizens in attendance that he will be challenging Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Neil D. Breslin in the 46th district, which encompasses all of Albany County.

During his address, Carney summarized his listening tour of all county municipalities and proposed that school taxes transition from property-based to income-based before stating his intent to run for the seat. This received an objection from one Legislator, sustained by the Chairman only after another Legislator offered an on-the-spot endorsement.

If that's not what you were expecting, then you're in good company. This blogger was expecting something completely different, and in that sense I got exactly what was coming to me. Carney's prepared statement and a full account of the miniature legislative circus it inspired below the fold...
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Carney used two online venues to announce his "announcement" last month and last week. First, there was his comment on the TU Local Politics blog that he would be "making a major announcement with many elected officials standing by my side." Second, there was a press release where Carney again informed members of the local press corps (and this blogger) that he “will be making a formal announcement to his intentions for this year's race for New York State Senate,” distributed last week.

When I arrived at the Albany County offices at 112 State Street, I hung around outside to see if anything had been set up. Nothing. So I went inside to find the Legislature preparing for its session. Carney entered as County Comptroller Mike Conners (who ran against Senator Breslin himself in 2004 on the Republican line) was giving his annual Fiscal State of the County address.

Once Conners was finished, I asked Carney if he would be making his announcement outside. He shook his head. It was then I realized, when Chairman of the Legislature Dan McCoy (also Chairman of the Albany County Democratic Party) announced that once a month the Albany County Legislature allows for citizens to sign up for five minutes of public comment on the floor.

At this, my brief conversation with Carney regarding the numbers he crunched after the 2008 primary in the 21st Congressional District ended and he signed up to speak. This was his campaign announcement.

Before I finish my thoughts on this, here is the prepared “bullet-point style” outline Carney used during his public comment, provided to me by the candidate himself:

Intro
Lifelong resident of the Capital Area

Moved to Albany 20 years ago

Raised Daughter - Graduated from U-Albany

Mother retired and moved in to downstairs Apt

Volunteer for St James Church/School Bazaar

Co-Founder DANA - 1st President

Ran for Albany County Legislature

City of Albany Charter Reform

Board member of Downtown Merchants Assoc

Helped with the formation of the Downtown BID

NFIB - Intro the Small Business works for America

ACDA - Property Manager - HUD/Home Store -GIS

Worked as Poll Watcher, Election Inspector, Committee Person, Campaign Worker & Manager,

4 years ago Upstate Co-Tom Suozzi for Governor

Last three years running Lester Freeman’s races

Over the past 4 months I have attended all the Board and Council meetings of the 19 Municipalities across

Albany County.
Village of Colonie is concerned about Landfill

Westerlo is buying a new town Hall needs funding

Voorheesville needs a new Fire Truck

Coeymans needs Rt 143 fixed

New Scotland wants to change it’s zoning

Watervliet is going to take a big hit in Tax sharing

This year most of them managed to tighten their belts, however they know there is going to be major budget problems. Change in Census Data and the sales tax distribution from the county worry many board and council members. They can’t raise property taxes any higher, the people don’t have it.

The three main subjects the average people are concerned about are:
Furloughs or layoffs - State Parks

Property Tax Reform

Albany County owned nursing home

Reform of state government
Property Tax reform = School Tax reform

Eliminate the way school taxes are collected through property valuation. All property owners who qualify for the STAR Tax program and their home qualifies for the Homestead provision they would not pay any school taxes. Homeowners and especially seniors would save on average $200-500 dollars every month. Most school taxes are 60% of someone’s monthly tax on their home.

Create an income based system to have a bigger and less intrusive and more fair system. The current system for commercial and land valuation would remain the same the balance of the school budget would be made up of an income tax based system. Similar systems are working in 5 states, including Ohio.
This would also jump start the Real Estate Industry.

I will be having a press conference on this soon with more details.

The city of Albany is not getting their fair share as the Capital of New Your State and in comparison to the other major cities in the state. We need our PILOT money increased or adopt a commuter tax to offset the city for services rendered.

The second biggest topic of discussion with county residents is the Albany County Nursing Home. Everyone see the benefits of a county owned nursing home.

I believe that we need a county owned nursing, however we need to take it a step further. I think we need a new idea like the Albany County Elder Care Center. At the Livingston School on Northern Boulvd is the land and the space needed to build a new Nursing home behind the school. Then build a new Assisted living home next to the nursing home and turn the school building in to a new senior services center. Move all the not for profit agencies that help our seniors into the school to create a one stop for our seniors to apply for benefits.

Emphasis added for readability – SP

After running through these points, Carney brought it all together and stated that, because of these issues, he would be running for State Senate in the 46th district.

At this, things got interesting when County Legislator Bryan Clenahan objected. "Is this the proper forum?" Clenahan asked the Chair. He continued, "This is the only time citizens have to address the Legislature and should not be used for making political statements."

Before Chairman McCoy could sustain the objection, another Legislator stood up. Known for his scruffy hair, blue jeans, and cowboy boots (among other things that make him less than reputable for holding public office), County Legislator Brian Scavo rose in Carney's defense.

"It takes a lot of guts," said Scavo of Carney's comments. Scavo then said he would support Carney's campaign, right there on the floor of the Albany County Legislature. Scavo had arrived to the session late, missing the Fiscal State of the County address, but was strangely just in time for the public comment period...

But Chairman Dan McCoy would have none of it. "Mr. Clenahan, you are correct. This is not the place to do that," said McCoy. The objection was sustained, so I'm assuming Carney's big announcement was stricken from the record. Or something. I asked Carney about this, and he didn't seem to care.

"I don't let that sort of thing bother me," said Carney. "I came to do what I said I would do." He maintained that Clenahan was a Breslin hack in the first place, and also worked for the New York State Senate in the second place, so it was he who was making the inappropriate political remarks.

I entertained that idea at the time, and I could continue to. But perhaps I cannot. I'm actually rather torn by it:

It makes a certain amount of sense to me that a Breslin ally in the Legislature would object to Tim Carney's public comment simply to inflict damage on an opposing candidate. It makes sense to me that the Chairman would sustain the objection because he, too, is a Breslin supporter: As Chairman of the Democratic Party in Albany County, McCoy made headlines last month when he publicly embraced and endorsed Senator Breslin when he made his bid for re-election official. This move came just days after the candidate review committee blew things wide open by not endorsing Breslin or either of his two challengers, the first major news item of the campaign.

Put it all together, and one could argue that the sustained objection to Carney's public comment proves that Albany County is firmly in the Breslin Machine's grasp. Carney didn't receive any such objection when he visited the town, village and city legislative bodies, that's certain. And he continues to make the excellent point that Senator Breslin has never made such rounds in his 15 years in office. But when Carney comes to the county level, suddenly there is resistance from Breslin supporters, who make an attempt to strike his existence from the record.

I do somewhat disagree with the objection on the following principle: that Tim Carney is a resident of Albany County and was commenting about ways to improve the situation in Albany County through his own action as a citizen running for public office.

Yet there is this one problem nagging at me as an Albany County voter and as a blogger. Carney's earlier statements about his planned announcement indicated to me something different than what actually occurred.

Again, his blog comments and amateurish presser told us he would be making a “formal announcement” as if it were an event entirely in and of itself all about him and his campaign...

What Carney actually did was make a public comment at an already scheduled public meeting that is supposed to be about the public.

That, and Carney earlier stated that he would make his big policy proposal "with many elected officials standing by my side" as if these were officials who would attend out of declared support for Carney...

In reality, Carney made his statement standing in front of an entire body of local elected officials who were required to attend for an entirely different reason.

In that sense, the objection does make sense to me. I can't craft any conspiracy theory that Carney's announcement was infiltrated by seedy pro-Breslin forces, because in fact it was Carney who had infiltrated, in a sense, a regularly scheduled session of the Albany County Legislature where many members and the chairman himself have already offered their support to the sitting Senator. So what did he expect?

I suppose Carney is correct in not letting this bother him. It does take guts and thick skin to do something like that.

But something bothers me about Carney leading me to believe I drove across the county to cover a formal campaign announcement and all I had to blog about when I got back home was a public comment period. If Legislator Clenahan hadn't objected and an accused sexual stalker hadn't objected to the objection, I wouldn't have had anything fun to write about, nor would there be any pertinent material to cover that took away from the substantive issues Carney raised.

The whole ordeal made it very difficult to focus on Carney's proposal, which I actually do like. Two years ago, Congressional candidate Darius Shahinfar proposed to stop using property taxes to pay for public education, instead using a Federal income tax to implement the federal education mandate. It's a proposal that I think really ought to be considered, and Carney does make excellent points about New York State's notoriously high property taxes. As Carney mentions, it seems to be working in Ohio, another large northeastern state...

...but it was still difficult to take seriously. And now that I think of it, his proposal regarding the Albany County Nursing Home is a county issue, not a state concern. And last I checked, Tim Carney was announcing his candidacy for State Senate, not for County Legislature...

...and when I last checked my materials to leave to cover the event, I was on my way to a formal campaign announcement, not a public comment period where I myself could have declared my candidacy for dog catcher. There was no media in attendance for the announcement, but, given this circumstance, how can one fault them?

I do respect Carney for having the guts to challenge a Senator whom I consider to have outstayed his welcome by underperforming for his district; I do think that looking for new solutions to the state and school fiscal crises is a worthy and timely endeavor; and I do think that a politician is still a citizen and therefore should be able to make a public comment unchallenged...

...but I'm starting to have second thoughts about Tim Carney as a serious candidate for the office of New York State Senate. Considering he's challenging one of the most entrenched names in the district, last night was probably a mistake in practice if not in principle.

Still, if he continues to run, I feel obligated to cover both challengers to Neil Breslin as this three-way primary develops.

I just reserve the right to make my own public comments about all three candidates’ remarks.

If anybody objects to these, then head on over to the challengers' websites

Tim Carney
Luke Martland

Otherwise...stay tuned for more news, commentary, and surprises in this fascinating race.